The World of this Fantasy Novel is in Crisis

“Was there ever any other reason?”

“But Cain still doesn’t trust you yet…”

“Winning someone’s trust doesn’t happen overnight. I was going to try and convince him myself.”

Laigeis hadn’t lied to Satin—not exactly. Satin wasn’t someone worth lying to in the first place.

“I didn’t even realize that…”

Satin lowered his head, unsure of what to do with himself.

“Then… was I getting in the way of your research? If I go and bring Cain here now—”

“Leave it. If your attitude suddenly changes, he’ll think something’s off.”

“I’m really sorry…”

After sending the apologetic Satin on his way, Laigeis shut the door behind him.

The formula was already refined. He was confident it would succeed—yet the repeated delays in the experiment were beginning to sour his mood.

Is there really any reason to keep Satin around anymore?

Sure, here in the forest he served as a nanny for the kids, but outside, he was utterly useless. Ever since he’d lost his memories, even his role as caretaker had suffered. Just look at how he’d come running all the way here, swayed by the kids’ noise.

Once this experiment succeeded, Laigeis wouldn’t need to stay in this remote forest any longer. And once that happened, an incompetent nanny would be nothing but dead weight.

He can see mana, so maybe I could use him as an assistant…

But even that didn’t have to be Satin. If the experiment succeeded, Cain would be able to see mana as well—and with his memories intact. It’d be far better to take Cain in as an apprentice. And if he refused to obey, well… he could be disposed of, too.

If this experiment succeeded, Laigeis could get as many new apprentices as he wanted. He wouldn’t have to waste money or manpower anymore.

Well, today’s a bust anyway.

He was clearing up his things to return to the bedroom when a knock came at the door once more. Satin again? Laigeis frowned and opened it.

But the child standing on the other side wasn’t Satin—or Cain.

“What are you here for?”

“…There’s something you need to know.”

***

The day passed without incident. As Cain finished his dinner and stepped out, someone was descending the stairs.

Look at him, pretending to be all benevolent.

Whenever that old man flashed his kindly, affectionate smile, Cain felt his stomach churn. Of course, he didn’t make the mistake of showing it. Just like the old man, he wore a mask.

The old man paused briefly in front of Cain.

“Come to the lab at dawn.”

“…Yes, sir.”

“This time, I hope we won’t be interrupted.”

“Yes, teacher.”

As Cain responded obediently, the old man gave a faint smile and walked off toward the dining room. But just before he reached the stairs, Cain caught a glimpse of something in his hand.

What’s that? A coin pouch?

It looked like the old man wasn’t headed to the dining room, but the kitchen instead.

Must be payday.

The hairy one was always lurking near the kitchen. He was human, so he’d need to take care of his needs, maybe even bathe now and then—but whenever the kids were nearby, he wouldn’t budge from that spot. Cain suspected it had something to do with the wages he’d been hoarding.

He probably hadn’t come all the way out to this godforsaken place for pocket change. The old man must’ve promised him a hefty sum. If he’d been saving up for two years, it had to be a considerable amount.

Someone’s definitely going to snatch it the moment they get the chance.

If things went well and the Temple Knights showed up, not only the old man but the hairy one would be investigated, too. They’d need to confirm whether he knowingly assisted in dark magic research or was just a clueless bystander.

By the time he returned from that investigation, chances were, someone would’ve already looted all his pay. The kids here had no sense of conscience. Cain smirked as he imagined the stunned expression on that hairy bastard’s face.

That’d be hilarious.

As he climbed to the second floor, Robin stepped out of his room. Robin stayed in the room across from Cain and Satin. Ever since Tim’s death, he’d had the room to himself.

They weren’t exactly close, so Cain didn’t bother to greet him and simply walked past.

When he entered the room, Satin immediately turned to him with bright, eager eyes, as if he’d been waiting all this time. Cain sat down on the edge of the bed and said:

“The old man wants me in the lab.”

Satin’s eyes widened. “Right now?”

“No, at dawn. He said he hopes there won’t be any ‘interruptions’ this time. I doubt he said that just for show.”

The excuses had worked twice already—but would a third time really fly? Surely he’d start to suspect Cain was avoiding him on purpose.

“I’ve no idea what excuse to use this time.”

Satin rolled his eyes briefly, then offered a suggestion. “What if you hid in the forest?”

“For how long?”

“…Until the Temple Knights show up?”

Satin laughed weakly at his own suggestion, as if even he found it ridiculous. That laugh, once all too familiar, no longer looked like that of a snake.

Maybe more like a lizard now.

There was no telling when the Temple Knights would arrive—if they ever did at all. He couldn’t just live off tree berries in the woods while waiting for some vague future day to arrive.

But there were no better alternatives either. Cain sighed under his breath.

“If I don’t go too deep, I can probably hide out for a few days.”

He was used to hunger. Before coming to the school, he’d rarely eaten three meals a day. Going a day or two without food in the forest wouldn’t kill him.

With that half-baked plan in place, they didn’t have much else to say.

But the silence didn’t last long. Someone knocked at the door.

Satin got up to answer it. When Cain saw who it was, he frowned slightly.

What the hell is Robin doing here?

He had a bad feeling about this. He’d seen him earlier heading somewhere—what was that about?

“What is it?” Satin asked.

Robin hesitated before replying. “Teacher’s calling for you.”

“For me?”

“Yeah. He said to come right away.”

“What’s this about…? Got it.”

Though puzzled, Satin nodded and gave his answer. Robin turned and left immediately.

In that moment, Cain felt something twist in his gut. Robin’s eyes had flicked to him—only for a split second, maybe unintentionally. But something about it didn’t sit right with him.

After Robin left and the door shut, Satin turned back toward Cain.

“Why do you think he’s calling me all of a sudden?”

“What are you gonna do?”

“I have to go.”

Satin was clinging desperately to the teacher’s favor. That was his whole setup. Refusing a direct summons would be off-script.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Cain didn’t bother to hide the unease in his voice. Satin just shrugged.

“It’s still early. All the kids are awake—he wouldn’t try anything. And besides… I’m not the one he’s planning to use anyway.”

With that, Satin left the room, saying he’d be back soon.

Cain, now alone, sat in thought for a moment before getting up. He had to check something.

I need to talk to Rogers.

Normally, Cain didn’t see Rogers as someone dependable. But right now, he needed someone—anyone—to share this creeping anxiety with.

He stepped out and headed for Rogers’ room, only to see someone coming up the stairs. It was Jack, Rogers’ roommate. His face was unusually grim. So much so that he didn’t even notice Cain until they were close.

“Hey.”

Jack flinched and looked up.

“W-What?”

“What’s with your face?”

Instead of answering the question directly, Jack rubbed his nose and replied,

“Rogers… got caught stealing.”

“What?”

“He stole Rufus’s money.”

What the hell was this bullshit?

Cain’s jaw dropped in disbelief. Jack, misreading the look on his face, let out a sigh.

“Why’d he even do that? What’s he gonna spend money on in a place like this?”

“When did this happen?”

“Just now. Rufus said his money went missing, so Teacher searched everyone who was in the dining room. They found the money on Rogers.”

“…Was it in a pouch about this size?”

Cain formed a shape with his hands about the size of an apple. Jack nodded.

“Yeah, that’s it. How’d you know?”

“Doesn’t matter. So what happened to Rogers?”

“Teacher locked him in the Penitence Room. He’s not getting out until tomorrow.”

Jack looked like he had more to say, but Cain didn’t wait around. He turned and headed straight down the stairs.

It was a blatant setup. Cain had seen the old man heading to the kitchen earlier. He’d clearly seen the coin pouch in his hand. The old man hadn’t even bothered to hide it from view.

That bastard planned this.

When Cain reached the first floor, a few of the children were coming out of the dining hall. Maybe they’d witnessed the scene with Jack—everyone looked unusually quiet.

He said nothing to them and walked straight into the kitchen.

“What brings you here? If you’re here for snacks, I’ll skin you.”

Rufus, just beginning to clean up, grinned nonchalantly as he spoke.

“I heard someone stole some money.”

“Ah, that damn brat.”

Rufus scowled, genuinely looking pissed.

“What happened exactly?”

“What do you mean, what happened? The geezer gave me some money, I left it here, and then it went missing. Searched the kids, and boom—found it.”

He knocked his knuckles against one corner of the counter. It wasn’t a spot the kids would’ve had easy access to.

“Why’d you leave the money here?”

“Why not? I was working. Figured I’d grab it later.”

That had never happened before. Cain narrowed his eyes at Rufus, suspicious, but the man only clattered pots and dishes loudly into the sink, pretending to be too busy to notice.

Cain bit his lip and stepped back out of the kitchen.

Rufus was usually annoyed by the kids, sure—but not enough to frame one of them. He must’ve been following the old man’s orders. If there was something in it for him, pinning something on an innocent kid probably wasn’t a big deal.

And there had to be a reason the old man had chosen Rogers specifically out of all the kids.

Where did the leak come from?