Ethan found it hard to comprehend being asked to draw lots in a situation like this. However, he couldn’t think of a reason to refuse either. Besides, Demi was his benefactor. There was no point in rejecting it now.
Ethan reached into the box and drew a lot.
[Archive Acquired!]
[Archive: Personal Hygiene (D)]
Ethan processed the new information that entered his mind. Hygiene is the practice of preventing disease and maintaining health. Personal hygiene involves individual efforts to maintain cleanliness, such as oral and hand hygiene, bathing, changing clothes, checking the state of food, and improving one’s environment.
Though not perfectly, Ethan also gained some understanding of other archives related to personal hygiene. These included public hygiene, healthcare, parasites, infectious diseases, illnesses, and soap.
The problem was that Ethan was already practicing personal hygiene as much as his environment allowed and fully understood its importance.
“What use is this archive to me?”
<Not only archives but also items and skills may hold no value to you.>
“Well, that’s not the issue here.” Ethan turned to Demi. “What happens to me now?”
Even without Demi’s confirmation, Ethan knew he had died, stabbed from behind. Yet, seeing that he still existed with consciousness, it wasn’t entirely over. At least, he hoped so.
<I do not have the power to bring the dead back to life.>
“I figured.”
<However, I can nullify death.>
“…How?”
Demi gestured to a door behind them.
<Go through the door behind me. Then you will return to a point before your death.>
“I’ll go back?”
<Yes. You will ‘regress.’>
“To when?”
<I cannot send you back to a time before our contract. The closest point is just after that.>
“How is that possible?”
<I cannot explain everything, User.>
Ethan decided to accept it. This was an entity from another world—there was no way he could comprehend everything.
<Go through the door. Limbo cannot be maintained endlessly.>
“Got it.”
Ethan walked past Demi and opened the small wooden door. Darkness awaited on the other side, making him hesitate. Glancing back, he saw that Demi wasn’t looking at him but instead staring at another door across from the small wooden one—a massive double door.
Demi remained still, as if expecting someone to arrive.
<User.>
Though curious, Ethan heeded Demi’s urging and stepped through the door.
Ethan stood in the center of the magic circle he had drawn to form a contract with an otherworldly entity, gripping a pistol in one hand.
<User analysis. Status abnormality detected. Current state: Continuity loss. Limbo transition data found. Decompressing… Decompression complete. Ethan Dora Charasen. Mage. Level 1. …It’s good to see you again, User.>
“You came back with me?”
<I retain the same data as before the regression. So yes, in a sense.>
A notification appeared before Ethan’s eyes.
[Quest Generated!]
[Quest: Why Did Ethan Dora Charasen Die? (D)]
Ethan muttered, “I’d need to figure that out even without a quest.”
<Do you have any guesses?>
Ethan looked down at the gun in his hand.
“Nothing else comes to mind.”
<You concealed it when you used it.>
“But it made a loud noise. Could someone recognize it just from the sound?”
<Yes. But only if they already knew about firearms.>
Ethan nodded.
“For example, even though Dark God Yorr’s magic isn’t commonly practiced anymore, people still know about it—like the face-flaying spell. Even if someone has never seen one of Yorr’s dark mages, they can deduce that such magic was used from the traces left behind.
Likewise, Demi, if your followers used guns during your invasion of the Empire twenty years ago, someone in this world must know about firearms.”
<…I take issue with the term ‘invasion,’ but if we’re only discussing the use of firearms, then yes. Some individuals in this world, Damarat Yurmuth, are aware of their existence.>
Ethan nodded.
“Then it stands to reason that I was targeted because I used a gun. Right?”
<That is a valid deduction. But how do you intend to find the culprit, User? Do you have their face, distinguishing features, or any clues?>
Ethan answered, “No.”
<Then how will you find them?>
“That’s simple.”
Ethan smirked.
“I’ll take the basic magic practice test again.”
After using his pistol in the basic magic practice test, Ethan once again met with Arca. By recalling his previous experience and responding the same way, their conversation played out identically.
“A secret, huh? Got it.”
Arca left just as before.
Ethan watched her retreating figure, then turned toward his dorm.
Focusing, he detected a presence behind him. Though the steps were carefully muffled, someone was definitely approaching.
“Etha—”
At the sound of his name, Ethan whirled around and drew the dagger from his coat.
The attacker, the same one who had killed him before, flinched and took a step back in surprise. However, they quickly steeled themselves and charged at him.
Ethan didn’t hesitate.
His blade plunged into the attacker’s abdomen.
“Guh—!”
The attacker staggered. Ethan followed up with a kick, sending them collapsing to the floor.
Kicking away the dagger they had dropped, Ethan pulled back their hood—revealing a skinny male student wearing glasses.
“Damn it… Bohn Palmaise?”
<Who is that?>
Ethan answered Demi.
<A classmate known as an honor student. A bookworm.>
<A friend?>
<Not a chance. I don’t have friends.>
Ethan turned to Bohn.
“Bohn, why did you attack me?”
“…What?”
Bohn mumbled something under his breath. Ethan leaned in to hear more clearly, but he wasn’t completely off guard.
Then, in the corner of his vision, he noticed something—shards of a sharply fractured crystal.
<…Magic!>
Realizing the danger, Ethan pulled the dagger from Bohn’s abdomen. The crystal clattered to the ground.
Ethan didn’t stop there.
Gripping the dagger in both hands, he drove it straight into Bohn’s chest.
Bohn’s hands gripped down on Ethan’s arms, trembling violently—before all strength faded from his grasp.
For a moment, Ethan simply stood there, staring at Bohn, then at the sky through the corridor, listening to the distant laughter of students.
“…What should I do now?”
<User, you have killed.>
“No, that’s not what I’m trying to say. Is there no other way?”
<At present, there is nothing else I can do.>
Ethan first moved Bohn’s corpse to his dorm room.
“It was purely an act of self-defence.”
<I agree. However, there is no guarantee that a third party would see it that way.>
“We need to find out Bohn’s true identity. There must be a reason he suddenly attacked a fellow student.”
Ethan searched through Bohn’s pockets and found the key to his dorm room. Then, he made his way there.
<At a glance, nothing seems suspicious.>
“All criminals look ordinary.”
Compared to Ethan’s room, Bohn’s had more books, but there wasn’t much of a difference otherwise. Ethan opened the storage box, rummaged through his belongings, and checked under the mattress. If Bohn had never attacked him, Ethan might have stopped his search around this point.
But Ethan had already been killed by Bohn once before.
Bohn wasn’t just a suspect—he was an undeniable criminal.
“The answer must be in the books.”
Ethan flipped through Bohn’s books, scanning through them. Around the middle of his search, he came across a book that felt strangely heavy. When he opened it, he discovered that the pages had been torn out, leaving a hidden compartment inside. A small wooden box rested within.
Ethan opened the wooden box. Inside, he found a single ornament and several documents.
“As expected.”
<What is that?>
“This decorative pin… The emblem of a two-headed hound represents the Imperial Inquisition. And these documents… Even with a quick glance, they’re appointment papers. It looks like Bohn was an agent working under the orders of an Inquisitor.”
As Ethan reached that conclusion, a quest completion window appeared.
[‘Quest: Why Did Ethan Dora Charasen Die? (D)’ Completed!]
[Reward: 12 EXP]
[Reward: D-rank Lottery Coupon]
Demi asked a question.
<Yurmuth is an independent territory separated from the Empire. Can the Imperial Inquisition, which operates as a religious entity, even conduct activities in Yurmuth?>
“Of course not. It’s illegal. But the Empire still secretly dispatches Inquisitors to foreign lands to hunt down dark mages. However, because the Empire is so powerful, even if they cause trouble, they’re sent back without severe consequences.”
Demi asked another question.
<But isn’t dark magic illegal in other countries as well? For example, in Yurmuth?>
“Of course, dark magic itself is forbidden by the Mage Council. It’s a prohibited form of magic. The severity of punishment varies by country, though. If discovered, the penalty isn’t always extreme. In minor cases, offenders might get fined and exiled. Some are imprisoned or placed under house arrest, but if they swear off dark magic, they might be released. That’s why there are mages secretly practicing in it.”
Ethan tucked Bohn’s wooden box into his coat.
“In any case, I’ve identified Bohn’s true identity. Even if his body is discovered, as long as I have this, the Yurmuth Council won’t hold me accountable.”
Ethan took one last look around the room and was about to leave—until someone blocked his way.
“My, what a mess this room has become, Ethan Dora Charasen. What a shame to leave a friend’s room in such a state.”
Ethan looked at the platinum-haired, slender man who had appeared before him.
“…Professor Vine Wiz Decarun?”
Demi asked.
<Who is that?>
<A professor. First-year students don’t have many classes with him, but I know him from a general education course.>
<What is Vine’s area of expertise?>
<Mental magic.>
Vine entered the room, leaning on a straight, white staff, forcing Ethan to take a few steps back.
“So, what exactly happened here, Ethan?”
“I— I can explain everything. Bohn attacked me. It wasn’t a joke—he came at me from behind with a dagger. We fought, and somehow, I managed to survive. But in the process, Bohn was killed. I knew I’d be punished for murder if I left things as they were, so I searched his room to figure out why he attacked me.”
“Oh? And what did you find?”
Ethan took out Bohn’s wooden box.
“This is the proof.”
“I see.”
Vine snatched the wooden box from Ethan’s hands.
“The Imperial Inquisition, huh?”
“Yes.”
“That must mean you’re a dark mage.”
“…What?”
Ethan had already been wary of Vine’s behaviour. So when Vine swung his staff, Ethan reacted quickly.
But Vine hadn’t merely swung his staff.
A translucent blue blade formed at the staff’s tip, slicing through Ethan’s left ankle.
Blood splattered across the room.
“Ahhh—!”
Ethan screamed and collapsed onto the floor.
Vine spoke.
“Bohn was a skilled student. He always measured his opponents and executed his actions neither excessively nor insufficiently. And yet, he got himself killed in a counterattack… Well, I suppose you’re still just a student. Understandable. But ‘we’ in the Inquisition won’t see it that way.”
“…‘We’?”
“Yes. I am the Imperial Inquisitor stationed in Yurmuth.”
“…Damn it.”
“I’ll have to send you to the Empire. Or maybe… I should interrogate you myself first. Let’s find out what you’re hiding.”
Ethan grasped the gun inside his coat.
He could draw and fire it, but he’d likely get only one shot. Judging by Vine’s skill, even landing that single shot wasn’t guaranteed.
Ethan spoke to Demi.
<What should I do?>
<Do you trust me, User?>
<At this point, why wouldn’t I?>
<Then do exactly as I say.>
After hearing Demi’s suggestion, Ethan frowned.
<You must be joking.>
<I am not.>
Ethan realized he had no real choices left. If he attacked and failed, he’d be dragged to the Empire’s Inquisition.
<Alright. I’ll trust you.>
Ethan pulled the gun from his coat.
Vine, seeing the firearm, lowered his stance and raised his staff.
“A Terra weapon, as expected?”
He seemed prepared to dodge the bullet.
But Ethan’s gun wasn’t aimed at Vine.
Ethan placed the barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger.
Once again, Ethan opened his eyes in Limbo.
Demi stood before him, arms crossed, looking down at him.
<I never said you only had one chance.>
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