I Became a Genius Black Mage at the Holy Academy

After Belek’s class ended a little early.  

— Ah, I wish we could start the Holy Battle classes soon.  

— They say they give you a token used during the Holy Battle if you take that class, right?  

The students left the lecture hall while chatting about various things.  

Rafia asked with an excited expression,  

“Hey guys, are you interested in the Holy Battle? I’ve only lived in the countryside, so I’ve barely seen any proper matches.”  

The Holy Battle was a sport where people competed using divine beasts or spirit beasts raised by them.  

It was generally categorized based on the number of participants and beasts, and also classified according to the divine beast’s weight class.  

‘That damn Holy Battle.’

Roan shook his head.  

“Not really. I just want to attend the classes.”  

In any case, if the event was set within the Empire, it was impossible for players to completely ignore the Holy Battle.  

The people of the Holy Empire were incredibly serious about it.  

If you ended up getting caught in the Holy Battle while struggling to find a clear route, you could easily become a professional Holy Warrior.  

It was a real trap.  

“Holy Battle! I love it! At our estate, I even bought season tickets to the annual local club matches! Come visit our estate during the vacation. I’ll show you around.”  

“Really?”  

However, Hector responded with great enthusiasm.  

Considering he had been sitting with a deadpan expression during Professor Belek’s class, it was like he was a completely different person.  

‘Why would you need to buy season tickets if it’s your own estate’s club?’  

Roan tilted his head in confusion.  

Anyway.  

Although Hector wasn’t a playable character, news about him did circulate from time to time.  

About half of the time, he would follow his family’s path and become an inquisitor.  

Quite a few times he also pursued a career as Holy Warrior or within related industries.  

“Holy Battle? Can undead participate in that?”  

“… What do you think the ‘Holy’ in the Holy Battle means?”  

When Demona asked innocently, Roan responded with an incredulous question.  

Obviously, the Holy Battle was a sport exclusively for divine and spirit beasts.  

If undead were involved, it would no longer be a sport but an all-out battle between priests and dark mages.  

… Well, it was such an obvious thing that it wasn’t even written in the rulebook.  

And if you carelessly made such comments.

“You heretic! How dare you try to insult the Holy Battle!”  

“Ouch. What’s your problem!”  

You were bound to offend Holy Battle fans everywhere.  

Roan paid no attention to the two and said.

“Hmm, anyway. The next class is Imperial History, but since the previous class ended early, how about we have lunch in the commercial district?”  

“Sounds good! Where should we go today?”  

By now, Riel and Rafia had gotten so used to the commotion between the two that they naturally followed Roan.  

“Well… I spent quite a bit of money yesterday, so today—”  

The biggest dilemma of the day was always the same—-the lunch menu.  

While Roan was contemplating a few options, someone blocked their way.  

Step!

“?”  

A male student with an imposing appearance akin to a hippo beastkin.  

He was slightly larger than Hector’s, so he couldn’t be easily ignored.  

‘Trian Lesterol? Ah.’  

Roan, who had been pondering why this guy was blocking his way, soon figured out the reason.  

“Hmph… So you’re the one called Darc, huh?”  

Trian looked Roan up and down and sneered.  

Swoosh!

Riel understood the situation instantly and bravely stepped forward.  

She displayed the qualities of a dignified holy knight.

However, judging by the slight contraction of his pupils, he seemed quite nervous.  

“Y-you! Who are you? Do you think anyone will be scared just because you put forward such a warrior as a substitute, Darc?”  

But to an outsider, it appeared as nothing less than a challenge to a duel, causing Trian to awkwardly step back.  

Despite his large size, he was still just a young boy.  

His ability to handle such sudden situations was still lacking.  

“Thanks. But let me handle this.”  

Roan pushed Riel back.  

She looked at Roan with a concerned—or perhaps cold and emotionless—gaze, then eventually stepped back.  

‘I can’t drag that kind girl into this. It’s annoying, but oh well.’  

Knowing the reason behind Trian’s behavior, Roan didn’t feel particularly upset or irritated.  

From the beginning, Trian was the main culprit who aggressively bullied Sion, making things difficult for her.  

Trian was also quite capable. He often placed second behind Sion, and since the Lesterol family was a major household, they were quite troublesome to deal with.  

Typically, players would only aim for first place by overwhelmingly defeating Trian, but the current situation was different.  

‘Third ranked Trian. This is going to be quite a hassle.’  

He had already caused enough trouble when he was in second place, so it was hard to imagine what kind of havoc he would wreak now that he’d been pushed to third.  

“…?”  

Just then, Sion, who was coming out of Hetron Hall, passed by them.  

It was clearly a scene of an honor student caught by a bully, and Sion appeared to hesitate for a moment as if she was considering whether to help.  

“Why can’t the undead participate in the Holy Battle? Have you even tried?”  

“Of course, it doesn’t make any sense! Do you really want to taste my axe?”  

“Shall we ask Roan?”  

But when Sion saw Demona and Hector bickering behind them, she quietly slipped away.  

‘You’re not supposed to do that!’  

Roan felt a twinge of betrayal seeing Sion leave.  

That was supposed to be Sion’s opponent to deal with!  

In any case, Trian seemed slightly deflated, possibly due to Riel’s successful intimidation.  

“Ahem! Let me ask you one thing. Darc, are you interested in becoming the top student of the year?”  

“Not at all.”  

Roan answered Trian’s question immediately.  

It was such an easy question that there was no need to think about it.  

Why would he bother coveting the position of top student and draw all sorts of attention?  

He planned to graduate quietly and then escape the Empire as soon as possible.  

“Hah. So you’re just a hypocrite! Did you think no one would see through your plans?”  

‘What do you want from me?’  

Roan looked at Trian with a slightly bewildered expression.  

It was a typical scenario, but experiencing it firsthand left him dumbfounded.  

If he said he was interested, would Trian say, ‘Honest, I see!’ and just leave?  

It wasn’t like this was some story about gold and silver axes.  

{TN:- The story refers to a well-known folk tale called “The Honest Woodcutter” or “The Golden Axe.”}

“Hmph. I’ll be watching you. It won’t be easy to keep the top spot while I’m around.”  

“I already told you, I’m not interested…”  

“I don’t believe you!”  

After venting a bunch of nonsense on his own, Trian eventually delivered the standard villain’s climax line.

“And if you’re from a noble family, try to pay more attention to your etiquettes. It’s embarrassing just to watch.”

It was a warning. The kind that only comes out when someone has nothing else to say. 

Roan nodded indifferently.

“Thanks for the advice. You’re completely right.”

If he responded appropriately, he’d back off on his own. 

Riel seemed quite annoyed, but since Roan, the person involved, remained silent, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything more.

‘The best way to deal with people like that is to ignore them—huh?’

Just when Roan thought he’d gotten through the situation without much conflict, Demona, who had been fighting Hector behind him, suddenly stood proudly by Roan’s side.

“Hey!”

“No, Demona. I’m fin—”

“Don’t you think you went too far? Roan’s family was wiped out when he was young, so he never had the chance to learn!”

What’s with this guy?

Why didn’t he just stay behind and finish the fight? 

Why come rushing in and stir up trouble over something that was almost resolved?

“W-Wickron? So it’s true you’re close to Darc?”

Even Trian was well aware about the reputation of the Wickron family and visibly shrank back.

“I speak as a member of the Wickron family. Apologize to Roan immediately! Is the honor of the Lesterol family built on the destruction of other noble houses? And you still dare call yourself a noble of the Empire?”

Roan stared at Demona in disbelief.

This guy! Why was he suddenly so articulate?

His speech was almost as smooth as flowing water. It felt as if the history and spirit of the Wickron family were focused on Demona at that moment.

— What’s going on? What happened?

— Is there a fight?

People passing by the Hetron Hall quickly turned their attention to Roan, Trian, and Demona. 

Trian soon turned pale and apologized to Roan.

“S-Sorry. I didn’t mean to go that far. I really misspoke. Please forgive me…”

He even looked like he was about to cry.

He probably didn’t intend to go that far. He just had nothing else to nitpick about, and Demona’s exaggeration was astonishing.

“Yeah. I don’t really care.”

“You brat. How can you bully a friend like that! Roan, if that so-called noble bothers you again, just tell me—Ouch!”

“But I can’t forgive you, Demona.”

Roan immediately slapped the back of Demona’s head.

Why make a big deal out of something that was already settled?

— Wiped out? What’s that about?

— Haven’t you taken Professor Kaina’s class? The Darc family…

The space in front of Hetron Hall was already abuzz with people gossiping about what had happened between Roan and Trian.

It was obvious that if the story spread this way, it would eventually turn into an absurd rumor.

— So, Darc suppressed Lesterol and made him cry?

— Darc made Lesterol cry?!

It was already starting to take shape.

“But, I-I was just trying to help…”

Demona protested with an extremely unjust expression.

However…

“Roan, I’ll make sure to properly educate this heretic brat!”

“Hey! What? Hey, hey! Ouch! Stop it!” 

As if he’d found the perfect opportunity, Hector grabbed Demona by the back of the neck, slammed him down, and began to stomp on him.

“No. You don’t have to go that far… Hmm. Well, alright.”

Roan tried to intervene, but it was already too late.

‘… Maybe this isn’t so bad?’

“Hey Rafia, why are you—! Gasp, Riel!”

Even Rafia and Riel soon joined in. They had been quite irritated by Demona’s tyranny, especially after he brought up the destruction of the Darc family. 

Although it was a bit unexpected from Riel, she was still a descendant of a prestigious paladin family. She had a knack for physical confrontations like this.

As Demona became covered in dirt in no time, Trian began to tremble uncontrollably.

‘These crazy people! They’re actually beating up someone from the Wickron family like this!’

He then glanced over at Roan, who was quietly watching the scene of Demona’s ‘education.’ Roan didn’t even blink at the sight before him.

‘I knew he seemed dangerous, but I totally underestimated him! He’s definitely showing that he’s cruel enough to punish even someone from Wickron just to make a point.’

It was a display to show that he didn’t care about his faction even if it included Wickron.

‘I should have realized this when he started forming a gang on the first day of academy…’

Trian was well aware of his own poor personality, but this was like flaunting his holy magic in front of Harden.

“D-Darc. Are you really going to forgive me?”

“Huh? Forgive you? It’s not even that big of a deal.”

Roan responded as if he didn’t understand what Trian was talking about. He’d already accepted Trian’s character.

“More importantly, why are you still here? Or do you have a hobby of watching people get beaten up?”

Maybe that was typical behavior for a villain.

However, at Roan’s question, Trian suddenly burst into tears and quickly started to flee. 

This wasn’t something that could be solved by asking for forgiveness. His only option was to disappear from sight as fast as possible and deem it as a final warning!

The thought of running into Roan’s gloomy face in a dark alleyway…

“I-I’m really sorry! Please just spare me this once!”

Roan stared blankly. He was dumbfounded as he watched Trian’s stumbling retreat.

‘What’s his deal?’

‘Even though I said I’d forgive him, he’s making such a fuss.’

It seemed that overreacting was the norm in the Holy Empire.

‘Then again, maybe this means he won’t bother me anymore?’

There was no way that someone who ran off crying would continue to harass him, right?

Around that time, Demona finally managed to escape from his friends.

“How could you call yourselves friends and beat me up like this…!”

Demona was now battered and bruised. He grumbled in frustration.

“Sorry, Demona. But you were the one who said those harsh things to Roan first.”

“What did I even say… Ouch. Don’t hit me!”

“I wasn’t! I was just trying to dust you off…”

When Rafia raised her hand to brush off his clothes, Demona flinched instinctively. Watching this, Roan nodded his head.

‘I guess he really did need a bit of a beating… No, this makes me sound like a real villain.’

After all, Demona was the one who did wrong first. But in the end, Trian wouldn’t bother him anymore, so Demona’s efforts weren’t entirely in vain.

… Though he did look a little pitiful.

Roan approached Demona and said, “Come to think of it, if it weren’t for you, that guy might have been more of a nuisance. Thanks.”

“Roan…”

Demona found tears welling up in his eyes. He was moved.

Then he spun around and yelled at his friends, “Did you all hear what Roan said? Apologize to me right now!”

He instantly started boasting.

“Apologize! I got beaten up because of you guys!”

However, his friends exchanged uncomfortable glances, then…

Woosh!

“Uh, uh? What’s going on?”

Instead of apologizing, they began to use the healing spells they’d learned the day before on Demona. The small wounds all over his body quickly disappeared.

‘Hmm. Impressive.’

Roan nodded. They had struggled during Professor Atoga’s class, but now they were using the spells quite competently. It seemed that motivation was key to improving their skills.

After finishing the healing, Hector laughed heartily and said, “There you go, no more injuries, so no need to apologize.”

‘Does that even make sense?’

Who would fall for that kind of reasoning…?

“Really?”

There was someone.

Demona moved his body around, making sure that everything was fine, and grumbled.

“What the heck! That was a waste of effort.”

Roan was stunned as he looked at Demona with his mouth slightly open.

‘This guy… Could he be…’

‘Is he actually an idiot?’

Still, since the victim said he was fine, maybe everything really was okay.

“… Shall we go get something to eat?”

“Sure. Let’s go!”

When Roan casually suggested it, Demona cheerfully walked ahead. 

Then he turned around and asked, “Oh, Roan. What do you think is the best part of a holy Battle? Is it the undead? Maybe something like a Death Knight?”

“…”

When Roan gave him a sharp look, Demona flinched.

“No, no. Who said anything about undead?”

Roan nodded in satisfaction.

‘There really is some educational benefit here!’

He thought as he looked forward to receiving a bit more help in the future.

——-

Translator’s Note; Thank you for the patience and continued support! The regular release (3-5 chapters/week) will begin henceforth. Please don’t forget to leave a review on NovelUpdates.

Happy reading!