I Became the Dark Wizard Who Rules Over the Heroines

5 – Admission-5

Proper people don’t try to learn dark magic.

People who are sure to succeed their households with the support of good houses.

Except for a few change white families, such as the Ernst family, and military families.

For the nobles who normally operate their territories and live as bureaucrats, getting involved in dark magic was just a weakness.

In situations like this, secondary sons of noble families, declining nobility, or people who were in such fierce situations that they would not be able to maintain their status without erecting a military service or killing a gigantic monster.

She must have been one of them.

“Sorry… there was no need for you to hear that.”

Perhaps realizing that she had gone too far in anger, Claire closed her mouth with her head bowed.

I know. She will prove her abilities in some way.

She’ll create her place with her sincere attitude and faultless character, even if her talents are insufficient.

But that’s a story from the future I know of.

It would feel harsh to her, who had walked into this classroom prepared to stake everything on learning black magic, to be told to find another way.

Rather, it would have been better if we hadn’t met. But I couldn’t say that making our relationship bad at this moment would be helpful in the long run.

Apart from several colleagues I should grudgingly exclude, it was better to maintain a mediocre relationship with all my colleague characters.

I’m not skilled enough to teach black magic either. It might be better to consult the professor instead of developing bad habits because of me.

That was sincere.

My knowledge was, after all, knowledge about this world and the future.

In front of problems like how to control magical power or the mindset to use magic effectively, I was no different from a freshman.

I see, so this is how it is.

Still, if it’s not about black magic, I can help.

What?

Her small, delicate eyes were shaking, wanting to believe my words.

Just as I said.

It was a bit risky. I could say that raising Claire’s favorability for now, solving her problems, was the best choice I could make.

But the risk isn’t high.

If my starting status had been a bit nobler, or if I had received teachings from a particular swordsman or a special priest, I might have had to utilize it.

But I didn’t have anything right now. Even though I belonged to the nobility, it was meaningless to behave like a nobleman at the academy with this status.

We’re newbies and at the same year. I don’t know how much I can help, but there are also concerns that can be somewhat resolved by simply talking about them.

Claire is not special.

If I became friendly with Caterin and tried to pull her into it, I would inevitably be hated by those who despised her.

She was a woman who enjoyed suppressing others through fear and was skilled at concocting shady schemes. Regardless of how excellent her skills were, there would be many who disliked her.

Being friendly with Claire is not a decision that requires firm determination and resolve.

A few noble students might look down on me if I got along with the commoners, but even if I didn’t meet her now, it’s not like they would hold me in high esteem.

Thank, thank you!

She bowed her head. She was a kind person.

Well, we have the next class, so let’s call it a day here.

The classroom door opened. A few men with grim expressions walked in.

What, someone was still here?

There was no one I knew. No matter how much I thought about it, there was no reason to regard them as special individuals in front of me.

What were you doing until this hour, hanging around with such losers?

No, it’s nothing! I was just, attending supplementary…

Still?

When the man at the front exclaimed in surprise, the two men behind him snickered, mocking us.

Hey, Claire. At this point, you should know your place.

…

This is not good. Their words weren’t wrong, but the manner of addressing her was far too disrespecting.

You have no intention of properly learning black magic anyway, right? Like your whore mother, you’ll probably be running around looking for men.

Don’t say things like that…

It was a well-known story. Claire’s father was a fairly high-ranking nobleman, but her mother had been a consort.

The academy was a place where young people from various countries gathered to hone their scholarly abilities and foster friendships. However, as always, there were those who used that space to satisfy their carnal desires.

There are those who seek a moderately beautiful woman of a manageable class for fleeting use as a mistress or lover.

Not only men, but also women desired such liaisons, dreaming of a free love that deviated from the countless restrictions embedded in the aristocracy. Some women, more calculating and desperate, strove to establish such relationships.

They knew that simply by establishing a bond with the offspring of an esteemed family, the gifts from the man could procure tremendous profit.

“What, isn’t it? Whatever you learn here or do, ultimately the goal is to find a passably good man and sell yourself?”

“… “

Claire couldn’t open her mouth.

I understand. She never entered this academy with such motives.

Since I was aware of her future, I knew of her potential and her sturdy willpower could be beneficial to the party.

However, she might have been oblivious to that in her current state.

She couldn’t even properly use a single shadow arrow. It wouldn’t have been strange to believe she couldn’t escape such circumstances through her efforts and abilities.

“You have a brain, use it. What can that girl, who can’t even use a single shadow arrow, do?”

The rough man approached and aggressively grabbed Claire’s left shoulder.

“Why bother with those naive nobles? How about having fun among ourselves? We could help each other during our time at the academy.”

“Please, don’t do this!”

They seemed to mock Claire as if she wasn’t even there.

“So, what are you going to do?”

His smile was malicious. Claire couldn’t muster a counter-argument.

I stepped forward cutting between the two people.

“Stop it.”

“What are you doing, you vermin?”

“You seem to have a lot of considerate thoughts? You’re even claiming responsibility for someone else’s life.”

“This none of your concern.”

“It’s none of yours either.”

The man was far from decent, neither an individual of high class nor one of wealth.

Dark magic is an easy power to acquire: a commoner or a fallen noble only needs to pay the price.

It was not only Claire who refrained from learning such techniques.

“So you’re just the same waste, aren’t you?”

“Oh-ho…”

As if intrigued, the man gazed at me.

“You’re just the same, unable to even cast a single shadow arrow. At least she can sell her body… what can you possibly do?”

“I can do far more than you think.”

“If you’re thinking of learning dark magic… it’s something you should definitely know.”

The man took a step closer to me.

“In this field, recognizing who’s strong and who’s weak is very important, you know?”

He glared at me murderously as if he could easily kill someone like me without blinking.

“Well, I was advised to keep my temper under control at the academy…”

His rugged appearance revealed something of the life he had lived.

He was a commoner. His word choice, body language, and action were a clear indication that he wasn’t a noble.

“I’m not someone who made a remarkable pact with a demon. Though I’m confident in my magical operation, I’m nowhere near the level of the real dark mages here.”

He must have been originally a mercenary, or perhaps from a background even worse.

The Academy, of course, selects its members carefully, so he was definitely not an openly criminal person. Alternatively, he might have had an aristocratic family willing to sponsor him.

Either way, he would have revealed his prowess.

The sheer fact that a commoner had built up the kind of track record required for Academy admission itself was a testament to his extraordinary accomplishments.

Also, it goes without saying that a commoner can’t showcase his abilities just by handling menial tasks or cleaning the yard.

“Even so, you’ve probably killed a few greenhorns like me, right?”

Killing people. It is the most primal, and relatively ethically least reproachable, lucrative sacrifice.

There was no need to necessarily sacrifice human lives for black magic. But, that sacrificing them could be rather efficient was a well-established fact.

This man would likely belong to such a category.

“Do you think I can’t do it?”

I nodded my head.

“I don’t think you can. You probably don’t have the skill.”