Another ordinary morning.
The monotonous daily routine repeats day after day.
Today, too, the day would pass without any particular problems.
With that thought, Jagan, an administrative staff member at the academy, arrived at work, rubbing his eyes absentmindedly.
‘Am I seeing things because of overwork?’
That thought crossed his mind, but no matter how much he rubbed his eyes, the scene before him didn’t change.
Documents related to the budget of the Imperial Academy.
Those records had been tampered with by someone.
The idea that someone would dare to meddle with something directly managed by the Primordial Dragon made him wonder, ‘What kind of lunatic would pull something like this?’
As he tracked the trail, a strange name emerged.
…Riyan?
‘Why is his name suddenly coming up?’
A newly appointed professor who was rapidly making a name for himself.
Even Jagan knew of him—Riyan’s name was everywhere these days.
The fifth-ranked Marbas, renowned for his cunning and meticulous planning among the 72 Greatest Evils, and even the fourth-ranked Gamigin, who wielded shadows to devour any attack, knew him well.
Not only had he subdued countless demons, but he was also a genius professor reputed to be producing Swordmasters en masse.
‘It would actually be stranger not to know about someone like him.’
However, what disturbed Jagan was that this name had appeared in such a context.
‘Why would a professor like him even bother doing something like this?’
If he needed money, he could simply ask anyone.
The Primordial Dragon, even the Iron-Blooded Duke—if he requested, there would be no shortage of people willing to stuff his pockets with gold without expecting repayment.
‘…But then, the evidence is just too clear.’
A guard reported that Professor Riyan had been seen sneaking into the main academy building late at night.
The manipulated records and the account where the missing funds flowed directly belonged to Riyan.
He had even used the money to purchase various magical artifacts.
Most incriminating of all, security cameras had captured footage of Riyan tampering with documents in the administrative office.
Every piece of evidence pointed to one person.
Naturally, Jagan began to feel a throbbing headache.
From his perspective, it would be right to expose this misconduct to the public.
The truth was glaringly obvious, but Jagan knew what had happened to those who had turned Riyan into an enemy.
He, too, might face that fate.
The job was undoubtedly important, but could any job be worth risking his one and only life?
There were still too many things he wanted to accomplish, too many days he had yet to live.
‘Let’s just pretend I didn’t see this and bury it.’
Choosing peace over conscience, he decided to erase the evidence of tampering and restore the records to their original state.
With that, he would have returned to his usual routine.
***
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Someone grabbed his hand.
Turning his head, he saw a familiar face.
White hair and golden eyes.
The genius professor shaking the empire.
The source of all his trouble, the very person who’d put Jagan in this difficult position by committing embezzlement out of nowhere.
“An academy staff member covering up a crime instead of reporting it—is your mind really intact?”
The new professor rebuked Jagan, his expression solemn.
The boldness of his words and demeanor reminded Jagan of a theory he had previously dismissed.
Having seen Riyan directly use the stolen money, he had been convinced that Riyan was indeed the culprit.
‘But… was there more to this? Could there be another culprit?’
“So, you were falsely accused, weren’t you? I’ll share the materials right now; let’s investigate together and find the real perpetrator.”
The evidence, the eyewitnesses, even the indelible traces of magical energy—everything had been expertly forged, so catching this person wouldn’t be easy.
With that, Jagan requested cooperation.
But the response he received was nothing short of absurd.
“Falsely accused? What are you talking about? I simply have a habit of stealing, being from the slums. I never feel satisfied unless I earn money by taking it from others, no matter how much I already have.”
In the slums, this was common sense.
The professor stated this ludicrous claim nonchalantly.
“Stop trying to change the subject. What’s important here is your lack of professional ethics.”
Riyan scolded Jagan as if Jagan were the one who’d committed a horrible crime.
At this point, it was hard to tell who was the one caught embezzling.
“It’s not too late. Make the right decision now. If you don’t stop here, you’ll never be able to live with yourself.”
The criminal was advising him to report him.
Stunned by the bizarre situation, Jagan was left speechless.
However, as if unwilling to tolerate even this hesitation, Riyan’s expression turned deadly serious as he spoke again.
“If you find it difficult to decide, I’ll help you. If you don’t expose all my crimes right now, you’ll experience my Soul Sword up close.”
‘Why is he threatening me like this?’ Jagan couldn’t understand, but there was no way to refuse.
An unmatched genius who had not only reached the pinnacle of magic but had also attained mastery over the sword.
Jagan knew he couldn’t possibly prevail against someone like that.
In the end, Jagan was dragged away by Riyan.
He didn’t understand why this was happening to him, and tears slipped from his eyes from the sheer frustration.
***
A rare holiday.
Even though it was a day when the students could freely go out, the area around the main building was crowded with them.
The reason was quite simple.
Recently, at the center of every incident, he was always involved and this time was no different; it involved Professor Riyan.
However, if there was something unusual, it was that instead of denouncing a vile enemy and exposing their crimes, he was confessing to a crime he himself had committed.
“I was blinded by momentary temptation and ended up doing something I shouldn’t have. If I hadn’t been caught by this staff member here, I would probably have continued to embezzle the budget.”
The professor lowered his head, ashamed to face everyone.
The employee who had reported him recited all the evidence of Professor Riyan’s embezzlement before everyone.
Witnesses, video evidence, handwriting and magical traces—all the proof pointed to the fact that he had indeed committed the crime.
In truth, even with all the clear evidence, everyone here would probably trust the professor over the hard evidence.
No matter what that employee ranted about, it wouldn’t have mattered… but Professor Riyan himself had confessed.
With the Primordial Dragon confirming that he wasn’t being mind-controlled, there was no room for doubt.
Professor Riyan really had embezzled the budget.
***
Naturally, chaos ensued.
Speculations flew, ranging from thoughts that he had embezzled funds to accomplish something significant to theories that he was testing the security level of the academy.
Everyone was in confusion, but the one in the worst state was the young girl leading the security team.
It wasn’t because she was shocked that the professor she believed in had committed a crime, nor was it disappointment over seeing the ugly side of the idol she had looked up to.
No, the issue went much deeper than that.
Karen’s mind couldn’t accept the very idea that Professor Riyan had done something wrong.
Pushed to her limits, the girl finally did something drastic.
Her broken mind, unable to process this common-sense-defying situation, found someone to pour all her resentment onto.
‘Our professor would never do anything wrong, so this must be the fault of that employee. That despicable person must have schemed to slander the professor.’
With that conclusion in her mind, Karen threw a stone with all her might at the innocent employee.
The stone hit its mark.
Blood flowed from the direct hit to the face.
Everyone understood that she had done it out of loyalty to Professor Riyan, but Karen’s actions had clearly crossed the line.
Given that the professor himself had already confessed, venting anger on an innocent employee was plainly wrong in any way one looked at it.
Medical staff rushed in to treat the employee.
The atmosphere instantly grew chillingly tense.
Karen received rebukes from everyone, and the students who admired Professor Riyan learned the importance of respecting boundaries, even while holding him in high regard.
However, it didn’t end with Riyan’s embezzlement being confirmed and him receiving due punishment… that was not what happened.
The wound on the employee’s face—the flowing blood was undeniably a “blue” hue.
A sign proving the man’s wicked nature.
Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned to Jagan.
His face turned pale.
Sweating profusely, the man yelled, “W-Wait! I swear I didn’t do anything!”
A lie that even a four-year-old wouldn’t believe.
Everyone’s faces naturally twisted in anger.
Feigning an innocent look while shedding fake tears, Jagan continued to plead his innocence—a truly shameless demon.