Charlie’s eyes twitched.
A faint smirk visible between the bandages, eyes that seemed to mock. The blatant ridicule made his teeth grind.
‘I definitely used the technique.’
Why… isn’t this bastard falling…?
‘Why?’
The Ruins Wayne he knew was a loser who even got beaten up by neighbourhood kids.
And that same guy had just withstood a technique from a martial art instructor?
Sure, Charlie had attacked lightly, thinking only to knock him over…
‘Does that make any sense?’
He trained in the meantime? That loser who was infamous back in university?
And then—
“An artifact, huh!”
Charlie gave a hollow laugh like he had figured it out.
“Ha, you haven’t changed a bit, have you!”
“!”
As if all his doubts were cleared, he stood up, brushing himself off.
“Everyone in our year knew you were an artifact scammer! So what is it this time? Those expensive-looking shoes?”
From 100 meters away, Ruins’ attire screamed nobleman. Given the Wayne name, wearing pricey artifacts wouldn’t even raise eyebrows.
In fact, back in school, that’s exactly how he barely avoided repeating a year.
But now?
He’s throwing Charlie’s own words back at him?
“Ha, a hero who relies on artifacts is no different from a professor copying exam answers! The kind who’d die first on the battlefield—yet still shows off!”
The professors watching looked startled, but were starting to nod in agreement.
“Oh. Ohh…! It was an artifact!”
“So that’s how he resisted the martial art professor’s technique…!”
“Knew it…”
The professors glanced at one another with serious expressions.
“If it’s an artifact, could it be related to how he passed through the front gate?”
No—more like, they hoped it was related.
Especially now, with key posts like Head Professor left vacant, and everyone eyeing promotions. A promising newcomer was never welcome.
“If everything in life could be solved with artifacts, then training would be pointless.”
“We can’t have someone worse than the students. This year’s applicants are just…”
But the president was different. She stared at Ruin with an unreadable expression.
Then Charlie shouted again.
“Please take a look, Madam President! A professor who relies on artifacts can’t teach students! And I say this as someone who knows that man. He’s unfit to teach at Haven—”
“Yes. Interview passed.”
Charlie smiled, as if he’d expected it.
“See? Interview passed—”
…Excuse me?
The professors froze and stared at the president. She simply smiled brightly.
“Sir Wayne demonstrates excellent defensive technique. That alone qualifies him to teach at Haven.”
What?
“Excuse me?”
“Madam President!”
The professors tried to protest, but she ignored them cleanly.
“I’ve made my decision. The interview is over. You may all leave now.”
“B-but, Madam President! We must properly assess his qualifications—!”
Then she gave a frosty smile.
“Qualifications. That’s a fair point. But I found it most memorable when our martial arts professor screamed in pain. If we’re evaluating qualifications, we’ll need to test the current professors too. Shall I oversee that?”
None of the professors could pretend they didn’t know what that meant. Their mouths snapped shut.
Even Ruin turned his head, surprised. He’d thought of using Charlie to pick up extra points another way.
‘Well, whatever.’
What mattered was that he passed the interview and could go claim his severance pay.
And right now, lingering here any longer wasn’t a wise choice. As if to confirm that, Ruin glanced discreetly at his gloved hand.
The president spoke again.
“Let me explain the employment contract process. Ah, but before that—Sir Wayne, we have something special to present to you. It might take a moment, so please wait in the administration office.”
Something special?
He wasn’t sure what it was, but Ruin accepted and left his seat.
“Then I’ll see you shortly.”
Charlie’s voice muttered beside him—‘The shoes are an artifact!’—but the president simply kept smiling.
‘They’re not, though. Just regular shoes.’
Sure, they held some mana and could be mistaken for artifacts, but the magic was just basic ‘thermal insulation’ woven into the fabric.
The only noticeable artifact was the bandage—and even that was a low-tier one with just a ‘constant cleanliness’ effect.
That was why the president smiled with meaning.
“The Chairman will find him very interesting.”
As she turned away, a butler approached. A soft-featured older man, but in truth a seasoned assassin. He had served as her bodyguard since her childhood.
That’s why he eventually said what was on his mind.
“Unexpected. You said you wouldn’t be hiring for a while.”
And yet she went so far as to approve the hire mid-meeting. Was she really planning to pay the toll for passing through the front gate?
“With a special treatment like that, he’ll stand out. The other professors are bound to act.”
She knew exactly what they’d do—what they’d always done to remove troublesome colleagues. By using the students.
‘That’s Haven’s latest problem.’
Several times already, certain upperclassmen had dominated and harassed professors. Openly, at that.
“You didn’t even want to assign him to general education, did you?”
So she was trying to get rid of him in a way that didn’t make her responsible—because of his famous name?
But the president simply smiled.
“That Professor Ruins… he grabbed my hand.”
“…Pardon?”
Rather than answer, she glanced down at her own hand with a strange look.
【Starving Hellfire】
Burns all mana it touches. Reacts even more violently to cursed energy.
She knew her own power well.
Her body was specialized for executing demons—convenient, but it also incinerated her allies’ energy. No one, not even comrades, would ever touch her. They’d lose their power… or suffer agony close to death. She could never forget those eyes that treated her like a outcast.
But Ruins was different. With not a shred of hesitation, he had seized her hand—eyes filled with certainty. As if saying it was nothing at all.
“If he were a demon, he would never have touched it.”
“What if he didn’t know your ability?”
“If that were all, he wouldn’t even be worth watching.”
Her eyes narrowed subtly.
“Either way, he’s not an ordinary man. I’d like to observe him a bit longer.”
The butler was quietly stunned. For her to say that much…
“You don’t suspect he might be a spy?”
“He passed my test. So—‘for now’—he passes.”
The butler’s eyes sharpened.
Passed. That meant, at the very least, he wasn’t from the Union’s enemies.
“About sixty percent certainty.”
The butler’s expression grew disapproving.
“…That’s ambiguous.”
He wasn’t a demon, but he couldn’t be considered an ally either. In times like these, when they had to be on the lookout for spies, more caution was needed.
“Hmph. And it’s interesting that the sparrows didn’t register him either.”
At that, the butler—rarely startled—spoke up.
“That couldn’t possibly be the case, but… if by any chance a spy managed to avoid your magic—”
“It’s fine.”
“…Pardon?”
The President smiled with an executioner’s gaze, as if saying that would actually work in her favour.
“Great power comes with a great price. Even if there was some way to bypass my magic, they’d have had to pay an enormous price for it.”
“!”
Her magic wasn’t normal. And if something had been strong enough to resist her magic, the price for it couldn’t have been light.
Yes. It would’ve required either a penalty equal to self-destruction or a cost of ridiculous magnitude.
Which meant it would definitely show, and naturally they’d be caught. In a way, it would’ve been a stupid move.
“Well, on the flip side… if they’re human, they’d be a talent we absolutely cannot let slip through our fingers.”
“…Excuse me?”
The President only smiled in response.
The one weakness of the Sparrow Surveillance Unit was that it couldn’t detect people with exceptionally high luck.
And so far, only herself and the Hero had ever evaded the sparrows’ detection. There was no way she wouldn’t be intrigued.
‘Was it because they’re that talented… or because they’re that much of a spy?’
The President gave a faint, curious smile, like someone watching a moth dance too close to a flame.
“…By the way, I didn’t expect Professor Wayne to be that tall.”
The butler tilted his head slightly.
It was true that Ruins Wayne was tall. Contrary to the rumors of being a reclusive, gloomy mage, his physique and appearance weren’t bad either.
‘If he could stand up to the martial arts instructor, he must’ve trained a fair amount.’
Still, it wasn’t to the extent the president seemed to be mentioning it.
Unless… she meant something else?
“Fufu. He’ll probably be very popular in class.”
…That mummy?
Away from the president and back in the restroom, Ruin let out a sigh.
Honestly, nothing good came from being around the president for too long. More than anything, the risk of being found out was the real issue.
‘That was close.’
He pulled off his black leather glove slightly, revealing something shocking.
「Gasp—You!」
Even the Shadow God stared at Ruin’s hand in shock.
Though only slightly exposed, the palm was red and raw, covered in severe burns. No—peeled, to the point that the muscle tissue beneath was visible.
The Shadow God stared at Ruin as if horrified.
「You’re insane. You were enduring that?!」
If I hadn’t, I’d have turned to bone dust.
Ruin exhaled again.
“Altar.”
In that instant, a shadowy altar materialized before him.
Ruin reached into Wayne’s doctor bag and picked up something with visible distaste.
【The Gatekeeper’s Underwear】
“…I offer this.”
He hadn’t offered it before because it felt unworthy as a sacrifice—but now? At this point, anything would do. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.
Suddenly—1,000 points. Wait, what? 1,000?
‘…?’
A thousand points for just a pair of underwear?
When he looked at the Shadow God as if to ask what kind of taste that was, a flustered response came back.
「W-Well, they’re golden panties… In our realm, that counts as a pretty high-level reward…」
…Ah. Is that so.
You have diverse tastes, I see.
Ruin selected one of the available purchases.
【Lesser Totem of Healing】 – 500pt
With a flash of light, the totem shattered, and a small vial fell before him. He immediately tapped the burn wound with the liquid, and something amazing happened.
Flash!
The potion regenerated his injured hand. Not perfectly, of course—but the third-degree burn improved significantly, more like a first-degree wound now.
This would be enough to fool the president, and the rest would heal naturally over time.
Still, it had been unnerving.
‘She has a power that even torments her allies, yet she still offers a handshake?’
Anyone else would’ve refused to touch her—at most, exchanging business cards or a brief verbal greeting.
If he’d responded like a normal person, Ruins Wayne would’ve been eliminated on the spot—in more ways than one.
‘She probably held back only because it was an “interview.”’
Yes. A power that’s harmless to humans but inflicts hellish agony upon demons.
But that was fine. As long as he didn’t die, pain like that—whatever.
‘I can endure it.’
What spy hasn’t been tortured a few times in their life?
Just then, the ginseng spirit scoffed.
「Stop acting cool, you poser. Don’t tell me you’re into this kind of—pfft!」
Ruin promptly moved to dunk the ginseng into the toilet.
‘You must be thirsty. Drink up.’
「You lunatic!」
‘Seems like your tastes lean toward toilet water.’
「I’m your patron deity, dammit!」
The ginseng braced itself in a wide stance, refusing to be flushed.
In any case, Ruin had passed the major hurdle that was the interview—but a much more serious problem remained.
‘That woman… she was seriously trying to incinerate Ruins Wayne.’
That’s why she looked so surprised when they shook hands.
Of course, Ruin, ever cautious, had already activated [Misfortune]—to weaken her ability’s effectiveness.
But—
‘She used more power than I expected.’
He figured she’d hold back, knowing she was dealing with Wayne. But she hadn’t held back at all.
‘I didn’t think she had that kind of nerve.’
A terrifying woman.
Fortunately, Misfortune was a passive-type curse—not visible to the naked eye, and nearly impossible to detect—very useful. But still…
【Infuse Misfortune】
A power unlocked by training in “Wanderlust.” Injects bad luck into both “others” and “self,” causing “Misfortune (Level 1–5).”
It was a near-cheat-level skill—but also a double-edged sword. Since the misfortune applied to both target and user, it was basically a “Let’s suffer and die together” move.
The problem was what that misfortune actually involved. It literally meant “random bad things will happen.”
‘So I used only Level 1 on purpose…’
Level 1 had some predictable patterns, so Ruin had long since learned to handle it. It barely even counted as misfortune anymore.
But—
‘The problem is, that Level 1 was almost like a Level 2. Which means the misfortune coming my way… could be serious. That’s bad.’
Maybe that woman had figured it out—that he’d suffer soon enough from the backlash, so she just let him go.
‘But it still hasn’t happened. I have no idea what it’ll be.’
The longer it takes, the worse it’ll be. Damn it!
Just then, the ginseng, still dripping with toilet water, staggered into its pot and muttered,
「What’re you talking about? Your misfortune’s already arrived.」
…What?
It has?
But nothing’s happened yet…
TL : Official Illustration of Charlotte Saint, the president.
