The World of this Fantasy Novel is in Crisis

His tone wasn’t exactly pleasant, but at least he didn’t seem to be lying. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Satin clamped his mouth shut. Thankfully, Cain didn’t mock him. If anything, he looked eager to share what he’d seen.

“There was a huge desk in the old man’s lab. Piles of paper were stacked on it, but they were flipped over, so I couldn’t see what was written.”

“Do you think it was something about black magic?”

“Who knows. There was also a carpet on the floor.”

“A carpet?”

There were no carpets in the school hallways or classrooms. Not even in the teachers’ offices or their studies.

Satin had once found it surprising, thinking that since carpets were commonly used in the West, they’d be used here too. He hadn’t given it much thought, though—just figured it was probably because carpets were hard to clean. It hadn’t seemed like anything important.

But maybe it was.

“People tend to do things in similar ways.”

That line came out of nowhere, right in the middle of the talk about carpets.

When Satin tilted his head in confusion, Cain added,

“I mean when they’re trying to hide something.”

“Ah.”

He’d read online stories about people using the same password for every website and getting hacked across the board.

Satin recalled the night he’d secretly followed the teacher.

“He made a hidden compartment in the confessional floor.”

“There might be something like that under the lab floor, too.”

“And? Did the teacher say anything?”

Satin pressed him, but Cain didn’t answer right away. He paused, then spoke with a slight frown, as if the memory left a bad taste in his mouth.

“It felt like that old man could see right through me.”

“Why?”

“He asked what I wanted to do once I went back to Cloverland.”

“…Did he catch on to something?”

Cain just shrugged. He had no idea.

A brief silence fell between them. The awkward pause made them both glance around. It was only then that Cain realized he was still gripping Satin’s collar. He coughed abruptly and scolded him.

“Hey, back off a little.”

“You’re the one who needs to move if you want space.”

Satin shot back, baffled by the comment, and Cain stepped away with a sheepish look. His ears were turning red.

The two of them had been standing right up against the door all this time. There was plenty of space behind them, but they’d been in such a rush, they hadn’t even thought to find a better spot to talk.

Cain stepped back and sat on the edge of the bed. Satin took a seat in front of him. Before long, Cain spoke again.

“I told him I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“And?”

“Then he asked me what I thought magic was.”

“…That’s random. So what did you say?”

“I said it’s something that makes money.”

Satin nodded—he wasn’t wrong.

“And?”

“That’s it.”

“…You didn’t get anything useful out of it? Like a way back in or something?”

Cain gave a sly grin. The look on his face made Satin’s hopes rise. Cain kept smiling as he answered.

“The locking mechanism was simpler than I expected.”

“You think you could open it from the outside?”

“If I had some thread and a thin wire, yeah.”

Satin was curious how that would work but didn’t bother asking. What mattered was that it could be opened.

While he was silently pondering where he could find some wire, Cain suddenly spoke again.

“But why didn’t he do anything?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, he could’ve killed me right then, but instead he just let me go.”

It was a reasonable suspicion—and a valid concern. That’s why Satin was so dumbfounded.

“You went there even though you thought you might die?”

“I wanted to see what was inside.”

“Your teacher probably wanted to check something, too.”

“Check what?”

“Whether you’d come if he called.”

Cain frowned, silent for a moment.

Satin had also worried something might happen to Cain while he was inside the teacher’s lab. Though, deep down, he’d guessed nothing would. It had been a rational judgment.

“Think about it. It hasn’t been long since Tim died.”

If their teacher had been a sadistic killer who murdered for pleasure, Satin would’ve broken down the lab door and dragged Cain out without hesitation. But that wasn’t the case. The teacher didn’t kill for pleasure—he had another motive. The deaths were just a side effect.

“You came here after Maggie disappeared, right?”

Cain nodded at Satin’s question. From what he’d heard before, Cain had arrived about two months ago. That meant Maggie had vanished even earlier. There was at least a two-month gap between Maggie’s disappearance and Tim’s death.

“I think, for the teacher, not arousing suspicion is just as important as his research.”

“You’re saying people would start getting suspicious if two kids disappeared back-to-back.”

“Exactly. That’s why I figured he wouldn’t kill you yet—or wait, that sounds weird. I mean, I figured he wouldn’t experiment on you.”

“So when do you think he will?”

“Dunno. Maybe once the kids have forgotten about Tim?”

There was no way to know exactly when that would be. How much time would have to pass before the teacher decided it was ‘safe’? How important was murder to someone like that?

Cain muttered a quiet curse.

“Fucking deranged old man.”

“Next time, you might not make it out so lucky.”

“I know.”

Despite acknowledging the danger, Cain’s face showed no trace of fear. He looked pissed, sure, but scared? Not even close.

Satin was quietly impressed.

He’s got guts.

Cain was only sixteen, yet fearless. He had knowingly walked into a place where he might die. Satin knew he wouldn’t have been able to do the same.

Was that kind of boldness something you were born with, or something learned?

Satin admired Cain’s courage, but at the same time, it saddened him. It felt like watching a kid who’d been forced to grow up too fast. His older sister used to say that being able to act like a kid when you’re still a kid was a rare and precious thing.

And look who’s pitying who now.

Satin hadn’t grown up in a great environment either. But the hardships he’d faced were fundamentally different from Cain’s.

At least Satin had a bed to sleep in, and three meals a day. If nothing else, he hadn’t suffered physical deprivation.

And ever since moving in with his sister, he’d barely interacted with anyone outside. His world had become narrow and still—but it had been a stable life. Just thinking about those days brought him peace.

Never thought I’d end up living like this.

If his sister hadn’t died, he’d probably still be living that way—unchanging, undeveloped, but not unhappy. There’s a quiet beauty in a life without pain or growth. Like a garden that never withers. An eternal spring.

He wished Cain could have someone like his sister, too.

“What’s with that face? What’re you thinking about?”

Cain had pushed himself halfway up and was eyeing him curiously. Satin gave a sheepish smile and shook his head. He couldn’t exactly tell someone with amnesia that he’d been reminiscing about the past. So he casually changed the subject.

“Rogers.”

“Why are you bringing up that blabbermouth?”

Maybe Cain was salty about Rogers talking about him—he sounded annoyed. But he didn’t seem genuinely angry, so Satin didn’t scold him for it. He just said,

“He might be able to help.”

“Do we really need him?”

“I mean, if we want to check whether there’s a hidden space in the lab… we’ll need three people, don’t you think?”

One to actually go into the lab. One to stall the teacher and buy time. And one to distract the other kids.

Cain understood immediately, without needing further explanation.

“Is there a reason it has to be Rogers?”

“He’s suspicious of the teacher.”

“Well, that’s unexpected.”

Cain rubbed his chin. They must’ve seen each other often in the archives, yet had zero interest in one another.

Still, the fact that Cain didn’t immediately shoot down the idea gave Satin some confidence.

“Isn’t it better to have more people on your side, no matter what you’re doing?”

“As long as you’re sure none of them will stab you in the back.”

“You went into the teacher’s lab all by yourself, and now you’re saying that?”

***

After afternoon classes ended, Laigeis was just stepping out of the classroom when he saw Rufus standing in front of the dining hall.

“What’s he doing just standing there?”

“The clock’s broken,” Rufus replied.

“The clock?”

Following Rufus’s gaze, Laigeis looked up at the wall clock mounted outside the dining hall. He pulled out his pocket watch and compared the time—the difference was considerable. Since Cloverland didn’t have any clockmakers, they’d bought a used one from elsewhere, and it seemed it had finally given out.

“I’ll bring back a new one next time I get the chance to go out.”

Rufus nodded and headed back into the kitchen. Laigeis, meanwhile, returned to the lab, lost in thought. But his mind wasn’t on the clock.

Earlier that morning, Laigeis had met with Cain.

What a waste of talent.

Even after stepping into the lab that all the other kids were desperate to see, Cain had barely reacted. He’d only given the place a cursory glance. When Satin had first entered, he hadn’t been able to hide how thrilled he was.

There’s no personality type that’s particularly ideal for becoming a mage—but to become a dark mage, boldness and emotional detachment are crucial. The field was dangerous, and no one respected it.

In that regard, Laigeis held Cain in high regard.

Despite having little interaction with the other students, Cain never showed a hint of loneliness. He made no effort to hide the fact that he wasn’t fond of the school. Yet he neither defied nor cowered before Laigeis.

He’d make a fine apprentice…

If the experiment succeeded, Laigeis could take him on as a disciple. But if, by any chance, it failed, he’d be throwing away a valuable talent. Even so, he had no choice.

Laigeis was old. At this point, furthering his research mattered more than nurturing a student. He couldn’t perform the same experiment on Satin again—Cain was now the only viable subject. A waste, perhaps, but a necessary one.

Any mage in my position would make the same choice.