A Delightful Private Interview

After the lesson ended, I followed Veganon carefully down the hallway.

Veganon didn’t say a single word the entire walk.

The students watched us, whispering with fervent intensity.

It was me, after all, who had confessed to Veganon not once, but twice, just a little while ago.

There couldn’t be a more piping hot, entertaining bit of news.

What reason could Veganon possibly have for summoning me?

If she brings up decency again, I’ll be left speechless.

‘I’m not going to get expelled from the academy, am I?’

If that happens, I might have to get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness.

“Come in.”

Veganon entered the faculty office.

Then, she ran her fingers back through her hair and plopped down in her seat.

“I assume you know why I called you here.”

I immediately lowered my head.

“I am terribly sorry for confessing twice!”

Against my intentions, I had attacked Veganon with my confessions.

No answer came from Veganon.

I cautiously raised my head to see Veganon staring at me with a look of utter disbelief.

Her eyes said, ‘What nonsense are you spouting?’

That wasn’t it?

“You didn’t call me here because of that?”

“Ha, really now, Hanon.”

Veganon took a long, drawn-out breath and then pulled a beer from her drawer.

I have no idea why she keeps beer in there of all places.

She opened the beer and announced to me,

“How many times do you think I’ve been confessed to by students while working as a professor at Jerion Academy?”

My eyes blinked rapidly.

“You’ve received confessions before?”

“Is that really something the person who confessed should be asking?”

The world is full of peculiar tastes, it seems.

Though, whatever else his habits might be, Veganon was born with a face to turn heads.

No doubt some were bewitched, ensnared without a second thought.

‘Above all else, he is fundamentally a good person, isn’t he?’

Of all the professors, Veganon prioritized his students above all.

That alone, I felt, was reason enough to respect him.

“There hadn’t been one recently, but every year, there was someone like you. I don’t even bat an eye anymore.”

Recently, there hadn’t been.

Hearing that brought a strange solemnity over me.

Indeed, Veganon was aging; the students would have to be pretty young to catch up.

“What is the meaning of that expression?”

Veganon’s eyebrow twitched.

I offered a bright smile.

“I am merely thinking how relieved I am that you don’t care at all, Professor!”

My cheerfulness brought forth a reaction of disbelief from Veganon.

“More than that, it is I who is questioning. You, who never showed an ounce of interest in women, despite being surrounded by them, to confess to *me*.”

“I must have momentarily lost my mind.”

“It certainly seems that way.”

Madness, recognized by Veganon.

She stared silently at my brazenness, deciding not to pry further.

“You appear to have your reasons, so I will not press.”

I was grateful for her consideration.

“Hanon, the reason I called you here is regarding the traces you discovered on the ninth floor during the Autumn Mana Labyrinth War.”

A trace that looked as if a door had been opened before the entrance to the Mana Labyrinth.

I had consulted Veganon about this fact before.

“Have you heard something?”

“Yes, I’ve sought advice, and they’ve said that there’s a high probability an Apostle entered the Evil One’s Chamber.”

My face froze.

An Apostle entered the Evil One’s Chamber.

Which meant… one of the Apostles had likely acquired the ability to ascend to the earthly plane.

I understand now, why Veganon wore such a pensive face the entire way.

If, truly, one of them could breach to the surface world… the land would be ravaged.

“We’ve informed the Imperial Court. Other kingdoms are also addressing the Magic Labyrinth entrances in response.”

Multiple entrances exist to the Magic Labyrinth.

All entrances capable of a Disciple’s breach are anchored by an Academy.

“Of course, nothing is yet certain. We’re proceeding with caution based on your findings, but other possibilities remain.”

But if a Disciple’s breach is even remotely possible, we must prepare.

“Therefore, we will form a team to investigate.

We will summon suitable personnel from other Academies and descend into the Magic Labyrinth with all due haste to conduct our investigation.”

I understood then why Veganon had called me.

She, too, had heard from her students about my comprehensive knowledge of the Magic Labyrinth.

My knowledge and judgment proved invaluable during our escape from the Magic Labyrinth that autumn.

The source of my knowledge is unknown, but it certainly has proven helpful.

The traces I’d discovered.

The team was to be formed to acquire more detailed information regarding those traces.

“Of course, participation is entirely of your own volition.”

Veganon valued the will of her students above all else.

Though it was for the sake of the investigation, to descend with all due haste meant facing unknown perils.

Therefore, participation hinged primarily on one’s own decision.

After all, one could only be responsible for oneself if danger arose in the Magic Labyrinth.

And who could be more aware of that than I, who had returned from the Magic Labyrinth in such a sorry state?

The possibility existed that I had been so traumatized that I couldn’t enter the Magic Labyrinth again.

“I’ll go.”

Hence, I said it without hesitation.

If I don’t go, who will?

When it comes to descending into the Magic Labyrinth, no one possesses more knowledge than I.

Of course, I will go.

Veganon gazed at me silently for a moment, then said no more.

She seemed to have anticipated my response.

“You won’t regret this, will you.”

“The biggest regret in life is not doing what you could have.”

“That’s not something someone who hasn’t really lived should be saying.”

I got scolded for sounding like an old man trapped in a young body.

“Let me tell you just one thing.”

Vegaon set down her beer can and tapped my forehead with her index finger.

“No matter how bad the situation gets, make returning safely your top priority.

Even if an Apostle leaps, the best forces on the ground will be waiting.”

The adults feel responsible for entrusting the Demon Palace to children.

Vegaon, especially, feels a tremendous amount of responsibility in this area.

In the past, the Azure Sky generation ultimately failed to break through the Demon Palace.

What would have happened if the Azure Sky generation *had* broken through the Demon Palace back then?

At least students wouldn’t have to shed blood and descend into the Demon Palace like they do now.

Vegaon felt responsible for this, and that’s why she became a professor to guide the students.

Hoping that the students wouldn’t carry the mistakes she couldn’t fix and end up ruined.

‘She’s the kind of person who visits the graves of dead children every vacation.’

Vegaon’s alcoholism also stemmed from that unfulfilled regret.

One drink, then two, born from the guilt she felt towards the dead children, had become her daily routine.

Dark circles were visible under Vegaon’s eyes.

The Azure Sky generation collapsed, and from that day on, she was bound to the Demon Palace.

The fact that she never dated anyone and just wandered from academy to academy was also because she was chained to the Demon Palace.

“Professor Vegaon, if the Demon Palace disappears, does that mean you’ll be unemployed?”

When I abruptly threw out the question, Vegaon blinked.

Then, she let out a hollow laugh, as if she couldn’t believe what I’d said.

“What do you take professors for? There are plenty of places that would take me in this world.”

As she said, Vegaon’s skills were top-notch.

Even now, she would be welcomed enthusiastically anywhere.

“And the world isn’t that easy. It’s not for nothing that the country keeps building up its military might.”

Even if the Demon Palace disappears, the conflicts that arise between people will still exist.

Therefore, the country has no choice but to continue fostering its military power.

Even if the Demon Palace disappears, the academy will continue to exist.

Instead, risking death to descend into the Demon Realm would, from now on, be unnecessary.

“Then that is fortunate.”

I offered a small smile.

“It means you won’t find yourself out of a job, Professor.”

The year that stretched before me.

I intended to bring the Demon Realm to its end.

Veganon, reading the resolve in my eyes, fell silent for a moment.

Then, leaning back in her chair, she tilted the corner of her mouth upward.

“There’s been no shortage of youngsters who’ve said the same, and yet the Demon Realm remains.”

The world was overflowing with those brimming with confidence.

“But Hanon, perhaps you could be different.”

Even so, Veganon was the kind of professor who believed in her students.

“Because you’re the most unhinged of all the ones I’ve seen.”

It wasn’t brute force, but intellect that was being acknowledged.

Perhaps people really ought to use their heads after all.

“Give it a try. I’ll be watching.”

“Thank you.”

The day the Demon Realm met its end.

Veganon’s life, bound since the days of the Azure Sky Generation, would finally be resolved.

At that time, Veganon too would be able to live in peace.

“Speaking of which, how is the team composition coming along?”

The fastest party to conquer the Demon Realm.

Undoubtedly, I would see plenty of names I recognized.

Professor Veganon rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a list.

Why it was underneath a can of beer, I couldn’t say, but she handed the list to me.

“Unless it involves entering the Evil Sovereign’s chamber, there aren’t any strict limitations on the number of personnel, so many will be invested.”

“Though from the eighth floor onwards, that won’t matter much.”

“From there, it’s up to you all. You’ll have to divide the team once more.”

Ultimately, it’s the students who advance through the Demon Realm.

Therefore, the professors could only support the students, and were unable to interfere beyond that.

I accepted the list, letting my gaze drift over it.

Every promising student from the Jerion Academy was named upon it.

‘A staggeringly luxurious force.’

The Golden Blaze Generation.

Though Lucas wasn’t among them, their combined power was in no way insufficient to face the Archfiend.

I was appraising this force when –

A pause –

For the briefest moment, a single thought flickered through my mind.

The color began to drain from my face.

Perhaps, this was merely a possibility.

But I felt the need to confirm it.

My eyes shifted back to Veganon.

“…Professor, you mentioned personnel would be stationed at the entrance when we descend into the Demon Palace, correct?”

“Indeed, to guard against the Apostle’s potential leap.”

An Apostle’s leap was a global crisis.

Therefore, the forces stationed there would undoubtedly be the best the world had to offer.

What did that imply?

‘The world’s top combatants would be absent from their respective nations.’

My eyes narrowed, barely open.

Was there a hidden agenda behind drawing attention to the Demon Palace?

If so, it made sense that Isabel and I were caught in the Demon Palace’s transference, forcibly dragged to the ninth floor.

A clear intent from ‘someone.’

Consequently, the news of the Apostle’s leap spread from my lips to Veganon, then across the globe.

In other words, it was a narrative twist not originally foreseen.

‘Purely hypothetical, but –’

Perhaps this was the next stage of the accelerated scenario.

The story leading into the seventh act?

I needed to have a serious discussion with Baekmok-gong about this.