My Uncle is the Strongest Dark Mage

Chapter 45

Starting with Heming and Jeon Reidel, the Magic Boost App quickly spread among the first-year students.

The rapid expansion was so fast it was hard to believe it all happened overnight.

"Heh."

Jealousy couldn't help but burst into uncontrollable laughter.

This was slightly different from what he had anticipated.

'So you're planning to make one last big hit and run, knowing you'll get caught anyway?'

Without caring about being caught by the professors, he pushed forward with his plans.

He had thought the person would act boldly and recklessly, swept up by their own schemes, but this was far more extreme than expected.

To openly distribute the app to the majority of the students and step out into the spotlight like this.

This was a reckless acceleration like no other.

A person even more absurd than he had imagined.

What kind of thought process does this guy even have?

"I trusted you to handle things, but now I'm not sure if I should anymore."

In front of him, Maril looked up with a dissatisfied expression.

Presenting the smartphone with the Magic Boost App installed on it, she relayed the news that the app was suddenly spreading rapidly among the students.

"Are you sure you can resolve this without any problems?"

"Of course. That was the plan from the beginning."

At Maril's words, Jealousy smirked and nodded confidently.

While there was an added purpose of legitimate 'goofing off,' Maril had agreed to help him primarily out of concern for the students' safety and to address any potential dangers.

This was born from her sense of responsibility as a princess, cultivated by watching her father, King Raymond, dedicate himself to the nation from a young age.

"The reason I readily helped after hearing the full story of the incidents happening at the Academy was that I believed you had the ability and at least some willpower to resolve them. But now, I'm not so sure."

"Don't doubt me, alright? It's not like any major problem has arisen."

In fact, things had worked out for the better.

It meant he could resolve this bothersome matter even faster.

If the culprit had continued lurking in the shadows, it would have been even more annoying for Jealousy to deal with.

"This incident will prompt the professors to take action. You may not feel it yet since you're still young, but the position of a professor at Benedict Academy is not something easily granted."

This was a greenhouse directly created by Demon Lord Ern Benedict to nurture the seeds of the future.

Professors held the role of caretakers of that greenhouse.

Ern Benedict had put more care into establishing Benedict Academy than most organizations.

If they stepped in personally, the culprit of this incident would likely be caught with ease.

"That's why I'm saying this. All you've done is escalate the matter, forcing the professors to intervene and capture the culprit themselves, regardless of whether the students suffer in the process."

As far as she knew, many students had already started using the app.

An app so suspicious it might have been created by a Black Mage.

All of this happened because Jealousy sped up the process.

If they had taken more time and proceeded slowly, it might have been possible to catch the culprit before things escalated this far.

"See? You really don't know anything after all."

The culprit's actions became bolder and more aggressive.

Because of that, the professors could apprehend him even faster.

Thanks to Jealousy's efforts, the culprit had underestimated the professors' capabilities.

And Jealousy, who needed to catch the culprit and hand him over to Oman, couldn't just sit by and watch.

"This situation has now put me in a position where I have to act immediately. You still don't understand how serious this is."

He had to catch the culprit before the professors did.

Above all, if things continued to escalate at this pace, it might eventually lead to harm reaching the Young Lady.

'That can't happen.'

If even a single scratch were to mar the Young Lady, his life would be over that very day.

Saying this, Jealousy scanned Maril's smartphone.

Just like Jeon had done the previous day, he meticulously examined every aspect of the app.

Something Jeon hadn't found the slightest anomaly in.

But comparing Jealousy to Jeon was like comparing night and day.

The hidden magical properties buried deep within the app.

The route through which it infiltrated the smartphone.

Even the rituals added to its programming.

By connecting a spirit to the smartphone, he hacked into it, extracting every piece of information it could offer.

"Ah, I see. With this method, it makes sense why no one could find you no matter how thoroughly they searched the campus."

He successfully uncovered all the abilities the other party possessed.

What kind of Reverse World they operated with.

Why they distributed such an app to the students.

How the app's mechanism worked—everything was laid bare.

"Good work, Princess. You're more capable than I thought. I'll make sure to use you again if something like this comes up in the future."

With a dismissive attitude, he tossed his smartphone onto the table, causing Maril to frown.

She checked the smartphone up and down, worried the screen might have cracked.

"Everyone at the Academy should know this is what your personality is like."

"That's exactly why I showed you my true self in advance, isn't it?"

After observing her interactions with Arina, Jealousy had become certain.

Her exceptional intelligence and insight could rival even Oman's.

Though still young, her talents hadn't fully blossomed yet, but in time, she would undoubtedly become a formidable figure.

For that reason, she was a dangerous individual to Jealousy.

Her keen insight might one day deduce his true identity from the smallest of clues.

Someone to handle with extreme caution at all times.

If possible, she was someone he should avoid meeting altogether, like Professor Magnus. But since she stuck to Arina like glue, even that wasn't an easy task.

Thus, Jealousy decided to reveal his true essence to her alone.

Of course, he hadn't shown her the truth of being Jealousy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, or the face hidden behind his disguised mask.

'Trust has already been established.'

Moreover, there was no risk of his true nature leaking out.

They had already formed a contract under the name of a deal.

The fact that she hadn't revealed anything about Arina's existence to her father or the Demon Lord showed how tight-lipped she was.

It was unlikely she would ever go around saying, "That professor is actually such and such."

"Well~ Don't worry too much~ I'll resolve this entire incident by today or tomorrow at the latest~"

He adjusted his tone of voice again.

From being Jealousy of the Seven Deadly Sins dispatched from the Dark District to Clara Propol, a professor at Benedict Academy.

His slightly slower speech and the sharp gaze from earlier were gone, replaced by a rounded smile that made Maril wrinkle her brow in distaste.

"Oh~ Just to be clear, don't even think about pressing this app out of curiosity~"

"That's obvious."

"And make sure Arina doesn't press it either~"

Her rounded smile narrowed slightly.

The murderous intent of his true self peeked through the mask of Professor Clara.

With her insight, Maril could clearly see his terrifying true essence, which he made no effort to conceal.

"Understood~?"

Watching her demand a firm answer, Maril thought to herself.

She didn't know why this person had entered the Academy as a professor.

She couldn't guess the reason behind hiding his true identity either.

But one thing was certain—his reason for disguising himself as an Academy professor was connected to Arina.

And it seemed to be for protection, more or less.

If Jealousy trusted Maril because of the loyalty she had shown to Arina, Maril trusted Jealousy because he made no effort to hide his intent to protect Arina.

Of course, his actions that disregarded the safety of other students for that purpose had somewhat shaken that trust.

'What on earth is he?'

Maril had casually inquired about Professor Clara to Arina before.

As a result, she learned Arina knew nothing.

Not a clue about Professor Clara's true identity or even the fact that someone was watching over her.

'Is it related to that incident?'

The Grant Department Store terror incident.

At the time, who killed the culprit and erased their own memory?

Arina barely realized she was somewhat related to it, but she had no clue about the deeper truth. She could only vaguely guess whether that entity was also connected to it.

In other words, there's someone behind Arina.

A colossal force capable of covertly placing her in Benedict Academy, which lies under the Demon Lord's sphere of influence.

'Isn't it none other than the Dark District?'

In the end, there was only one answer.

Not even the Grant Association, Arina's family, nor any noble household could pull that off.

In this world, the only force capable of such a feat was the Dark District, which operates beyond the law's reach.

The real question was how she became involved with the Dark District.

'Well, does it matter?'

Having speculated this far, Maril stopped thinking any further.

Excessive curiosity can sometimes be poisonous.

She trusted her own eyes.

From the moment Arina entered the Academy up until now, Arina had always acted sincerely towards her.

Whatever secrets Arina may hold, the fact that they were friends would not change.

"Of course. I'll keep that in mind."

"That's good to hear~"

At Maril's firm response, Professor Clara slowly rose from her seat with deliberate movements.

After gently patting her shoulder, she walked toward the infirmary door but then suddenly turned back to Maril as if something had come to mind.

"And~ when I reveal my true self, you can say whatever you like~ but when I'm in disguise like this, I’d appreciate it if you played along~ You never know who might be around, and if a slip of the tongue comes from the Princess, it’d put me in a really bad mood~"

Don't use informal language with me while using formal language with the other professors.

Either use formal language with me too, or speak informally to everyone equally.

Don't make your attitude stand out unnecessarily.

It would only draw suspicion.

Unlike herself, Arina lacked the ability to notice the bird that hears the words of day and the rat that hears the words of night.

"I’m sorry, Professor."

Seemingly understanding the warning, Maril immediately changed her tone and bowed her head.

She truly was a Princess who quickly understood words.

Perhaps it was because she had mingled with nobles since childhood—her perception was sharp.

"No~ It was just a precautionary remark, so don’t take it too much to heart~"

With a satisfied smile at her response, Professor Clara opened the door and walked out.

Watching Clara’s retreating figure, Maril pocketed the smartphone lying on the table with a complex expression.

'Is it really okay like this?'

Separate from Arina, that person is far more dangerous than expected.

Would it be the right choice to expose their identity and deal with it now?

But at the same time, the thought lingered—was that even necessary?

Whatever the circumstances, it seemed sincere that they wanted to protect Arina.

As she had said before, Maril trusted her own eyes.

At least as long as Arina was attending the Academy, she believed that person would never harm this place.

"For now, I’ll let it slide. But if they even pose the slightest danger, I’ll eliminate them immediately, no matter who they are."

At those words, Jealousy, disguised as Professor Clara and leaning against the infirmary's entrance, chuckled softly.

"Sure, that works."

As expected, she was tight-lipped—a good trait to have.

Just in case, he had planned to confirm until the very end.

But it seemed there was no need for that.

"Good. It’s fortunate that neither of us needs to eliminate the other."

As long as Maril maintained her position as Arina’s friend, Jealousy would never lay a hand on her.

Thus, as long as Arina remained Cain's niece, the situation Maril feared would never come to pass.

Cain wished for Arina’s peace.

And the Death King always achieved his desires, no matter what it took.

That was the essence of the Seven Deadly Sins—or rather, the Dark District.

"Now~ Shall we go sweep away the audacious little pests who dare disturb our Young Lady’s daily life~?"

Professor Clara, twirling her light pink hair, began walking slowly.

The morning sunlight streaming through the window stretched her shadow long across the wall.

As if painting another figure, her dark essence was etched in black.