Chapter 10 – The Headmaster Interview (2)
Charlie’s eyes trembled.
That faint smirk between the bandages. Those eyes, clearly toying with him. The unmistakable sneer made his teeth grind.
‘The technique definitely landed.’
So why… why didn’t he fall?
‘Why?’
The Ruins Wayne he knew was the kind of loser who got beaten up by kids in his neighborhood.
And now he’d withstood a self-defense professor’s takedown?
Sure, Charlie hadn’t gone in at full strength—just enough to trip him—but…
‘How the hell…?’
What, did he train up or something? That pathetic nerd who was a walking joke in college?
Then—
“Artifact, huh!”
Charlie suddenly let out a laugh, as if he’d figured it out.
“Ha! You really haven’t changed, have you!”
“!”
He brushed himself off and stood up, looking satisfied with his own conclusion.
“Everyone in our year knew you were an artifact scammer! So what is it this time? Those fancy shoes?”
Ruins’ outfit gave off aristocratic vibes even from a hundred meters away. Considering he was a Wayne, it wouldn’t be surprising if his clothes were enchanted.
In fact, back in school, he’d barely passed because of those artifacts.
And now?
Returning his own words to him?
“Ha! A hero who relies on artifacts is no better than a professor who copies answer sheets! Guys like you are the first to die in war, but you act like hot shit!”
The watching professors looked like they’d finally understood.
“Ah, I see…! It was an artifact!”
“That explains how he withstood a self-defense professor’s attack!”
“Knew it…”
Some of them exchanged glances and checked among themselves.
“Do you think the artifact has anything to do with how he passed through the front gate?”
No—rather, they hoped it did.
With several key posts currently vacant—including the chief professor role—everyone was aiming for promotion. No one welcomed a rising star.
“If artifacts could solve everything, training would be pointless.”
“Being worse than the students is unacceptable. The standard of applicants these days…”
But the headmaster was different. She simply looked at Ruin with an unreadable expression.
Then Charlie raised his voice.
“You see, Headmaster! A professor who relies on artifacts can’t teach students! And I speak from experience—I know this man. He’s completely unfit to teach at Haven—”
“Yes. He passes the interview.”
As if he had expected it, Charlie let out a triumphant laugh.
“See? I told you he—”
…Huh?
The professors froze and stared at the headmaster. She responded with a bright smile.
“Mr. Wayne exhibits excellent defensive technique. That alone is more than enough qualification for a Haven professor.”
What?
“…Excuse me?”
“Headmaster!”
The professors protested, but the headmaster waved them off cleanly.
“I’ve made my decision. The interview is over. Please disperse.”
“But—but Headmaster! Shouldn’t we further evaluate his suitability—!”
Then the headmaster gave them a chilling smile.
“Suitability, yes. That’s fair. But I was rather impressed by the sight of our self-defense professor screaming. If we’re doing an evaluation, the current faculty should be included. Shall I handle that?”
The professors knew exactly what that meant. They all fell silent.
Even Ruin was slightly surprised. He’d intended to use Charlie to score some points in another way.
‘Well… this works too.’
What mattered was that he’d passed the interview—and could now move on to recovering his stolen retirement funds.
And right now, staying here any longer wasn’t ideal. As if to confirm that, Ruin casually glanced down at the gloved hand he’d used earlier.
The headmaster spoke up.
“Let me explain the employment contract procedures. Ah, but before that—there’s something we need to issue to you specially, Mr. Wayne. You’ll have to wait in the administration office for a bit.”
Something to issue him specially?
Ruin didn’t know what it was, but he accepted and left his seat.
“Then, I’ll see you shortly.”
From the side, Charlie shouted something like “His shoes are the artifact!” but the headmaster just smiled quietly.
‘They’re not, though. His shoes are ordinary.’
True, they carried some magical warmth enchantment embedded in the fabric, so it was easy to mistake them for artifacts. But that’s all.
The only real artifact of note was his bandages—and even those were low-grade, with nothing more than a “perpetual cleanliness” enchantment.
Which was why she smiled so meaningfully.
“The Chairman’s going to be very interested in this one.”
As she turned away, a man approached her—a soft-featured elderly gentleman who, in truth, was a veteran assassin. He had served as her guard since her childhood.
And so, he couldn’t help but speak up.
“That was unexpected. You said there’d be no new hires for the time being.”
Now even scheduling a meeting? And she was really going to grant him the toll share?
“With a privilege like that, he’ll definitely stand out. You know what the other professors will do in response.”
No doubt they’d pull the same stunt as before, using the students to drive out those they disliked.
“It’s been Haven’s headache lately.”
Several times now, senior students had bullied professors openly—acting above them with impunity.
“Did you… not want to even assign him as a liberal arts professor?”
Given Wayne’s prestigious background, maybe this was just a low-pressure way to push him out.
The headmaster smiled and replied:
“That Professor Wayne… he took my hand.”
“…Pardon?”
Instead of answering, she looked down at her own hand thoughtfully.
【Gluttonous Hellfire】
It burned away all mana it touched. It reacted even more violently to cursed energy.
The headmaster knew her power well.
It was a convenient ability specialized for executing demons, but because it also burned away the strength of allies, not even comrades dared to touch her. They’d lose their powers—and suffer unbearable pain. The looks they gave her… she could never forget them.
But Ruins had been different. Without even a moment’s hesitation, he took her hand—gripping it like it was nothing.
“If he were a demon, he would never have touched me.”
“What if he simply didn’t know about your ability…?”
“If that were the case, he’s not worth worrying about.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Either way, he’s not just any ordinary man. I want to keep watching.”
The butler was quietly surprised. For her to say that…
“You don’t suspect he’s a spy?”
“He passed my test. So ‘for now’, he passes.”
The butler’s eyes thinned.
“Passes,” huh. Then at the very least, he wasn’t a demon.
“About sixty percent.”
The butler frowned.
“A vague number.”
That meant they couldn’t treat him as an ally either. In times like these, when demon spies were a threat, caution was paramount.
“And… why wasn’t he detected by the sparrows? That’s curious too.”
The butler looked genuinely surprised.
“That can’t be. If, by some chance, a spy managed to avoid your spell…”
“It’s fine.”
“…Ma’am?”
She smiled—not kindly, but with the gaze of an executioner.
“With great power comes great cost. Even if he somehow bypassed my magic, he must’ve paid a hefty ‘price’ for it by now.”
“!”
Her magic wasn’t ordinary. And to resist it, one would need something of equal magnitude—which would come with a steep penalty.
A price so severe it would practically destroy the user.
If that were the case, it would show itself soon enough. He’d expose himself. In trying to be clever, he might’ve already sealed his fate.
“On the other hand, if he is human… he’s someone we absolutely must not lose.”
“…Excuse me?”
She smiled again instead of answering.
The sparrow patrol’s one weakness was that it couldn’t detect those with incredibly high Luck.
Until now, the only people who hadn’t been picked up by their senses were herself and the Hero.
There was no way she wouldn’t be interested.
“Whether it’s because he’s that gifted… or that dangerous.”
With the kind of gaze she reserved for the Butterfly, she smiled subtly.
“…I didn’t think Professor Wayne would be so tall.”
The butler tilted his head.
It was true—Ruins Wayne was quite tall. Contrary to rumors of him being a shady shut-in magician, he had a good build and a decent sense of style.
‘To withstand a self-defense professor’s attack, he must’ve trained.’
Still, it wasn’t so remarkable that the headmaster would comment on it. Unless…
Was she referring to something else?
“He’ll probably be quite popular once classes begin.”
…That mummy?
* * *
Ruin exhaled deeply as he stepped into the bathroom, away from the headmaster.
Staying around her too long was asking for trouble. Most of all—this was a problem.
‘That was close.’
He pulled back the black leather glove on his hand—and revealed a shocking sight.
「Whoa, you—!」
The Shadow God stared at his hand in disbelief.
Just a small reveal—but the palm was badly burned, skin red and peeling. No—past peeling. You could see the muscle underneath.
The Shadow God looked horrified.
「You lunatic! You endured that?!」
Well, if I hadn’t, I’d be nothing but bone dust right now.
Ruin sighed.
“Altar.”
A shadow altar appeared before his eyes.
He reached into Ruins’ medical bag and, with a disgusted look, pulled something out.
【Gatekeeper’s Underwear】
“I offer this.”
He’d avoided offering it because it felt beneath him, but desperate times…
Then, instantly—1,000pt. …What?
‘A thousand?’
Just for a pair of underwear?
He looked to the Shadow God as if asking what kind of taste is this, and got an embarrassed reply:
「W-well, it’s gold underwear. That’s a reward-tier item in our circles…」
…Okay, sure.
Very broad tastes, apparently.
Ruin selected one of the items now available to him.
【Totem of Recovery (Low Grade)】 – 500pt
The totem shattered in a flash of light, and a vial dropped into his hand. He immediately dripped it over his burnt palm—and something amazing happened.
Flash!
The potion began regenerating the injury. Not completely, but enough to downgrade it from a third-degree burn to a first-degree.
That was enough to fool the headmaster. The rest would heal naturally.
Still… he was rattled by her.
‘A woman who would extend a handshake despite having a power that hurts even her allies…’
Anyone else would have refused that handshake outright. They would’ve simply handed her a business card or exchanged polite bows.
If Ruin had responded like the others, Ruins Wayne would’ve been “eliminated”—in more ways than one.
‘She must’ve toned it down because it was an interview.’
It was a power that didn’t affect humans but caused hellish pain to demons.
But it didn’t matter. As long as he didn’t die, pain was nothing.
‘I just have to endure it.’
This wasn’t the first time he’d been tortured as a spy.
Then the ginseng mocked him:
「Oh please, don’t get dramatic. What are you, into this stuff?—ACK!」
Ruin tried to dunk the ginseng in the toilet.
‘You must be thirsty. Drink up.’
「You psycho!」
‘It seems toilet water is your preference.’
「I’m your patron god, damn it!」
The ginseng flailed, trying to brace itself across the bowl in an X-shape.
At any rate, passing the interview was a major milestone.
But one serious problem remained.
‘That woman—she was planning to burn Ruins Wayne completely.’
That explained the shock on her face when he took her hand.
Of course, Ruin had activated his Unluck ability in advance, to reduce the effectiveness of her powers.
But—
‘I ended up using more force than I intended.’
Since she was dealing with a Wayne, he thought she’d show restraint. But she hadn’t held back at all.
‘Didn’t expect her to be that bold.’
A terrifying woman.
Unluck was a passive curse—subtle, invisible, undetectable. Extremely useful.
【Infuse Misfortune】
A power from training his “Wanderlust” trait. It allows him to inject misfortune into himself and others, invoking a debuff (1 to 5 tiers).
An overpowered skill—but a double-edged sword. Because it curses both the user and the target. A mutual destruction kind of deal.
The problem was what the “misfortune” actually entailed—completely random bad events.
He’d limited it to Tier 1 to play it safe…
And Tier 1 generally followed predictable patterns. For Ruin, it wasn’t even really a debuff anymore.
But—
‘It acted more like Tier 2. Which means the backlash for me is going to be serious. This is bad.’
Maybe that’s why the headmaster let him go. She might’ve realized what he did—and knew he wouldn’t be able to withstand the consequences.
‘Still… nothing’s happened yet. Wonder what it’ll be.’
The later it arrives, the worse it is. Dammit!
Just then, the ginseng finally crawled back into its pot, wobbling, and muttered:
「What are you talking about? You’ve already been hit by misfortune.」
…What?
“It already hit?”
But nothing has happened… right?
