“What’s wrong?” Cain asked, studying Satin’s face. Satin shook his head.
“It’s nothing, I’m just feeling a bit off today. Just keep talking.”
Cain frowned slightly, “Even if I’ve never seen his face, I knew someone like him. People may call him a philanthropist, but I always thought he had some ulterior motive.”
“Why?”
Cain shrugged and gave a bitter smile, “There’s no such thing as pure goodwill in this world.”
“Is that your only reason? No other reason?”
“Of course there’s more. But I only found out after coming here.”
Cain paused briefly, “Did you know, a kid apparently ran away before I came here?”
“I heard about it earlier. A girl named Maggie supposedly ran away.”
Of course, she didn’t really ran away. She probably has vanished from this world the same way Tim did.
“Did you also hear that the old man searched everywhere for her?”
“Huh?”
“I never heard of such a thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“People in Cloverland all know about the old man. He’s a wizard, a quirky wizard who does charity work.”
“So?”
“If he had been searching for the missing kid, it would’ve been big news. But I never heard of such a thing.”
Satin understood exactly what Cain was saying. Cain noticed the recognition on Satin’s face and chuckled, another mocking laugh, “Why do you think that the old man didn’t search for the missing kids? It’s because he simply didn’t need to, don’t you agree?”
“...That makes sense.”
“If you’re right, then they’re all dead.” Satin rubbed his forehead. How many children had died that way? Beneath the ground where they stood, how many had turned into that black ash?
Were they all children? Innocent children? Even if they weren’t innocent, killing them like that was wrong. The guilty should be punished, but children shouldn’t be treated that way. The weak should be protected; that’s how it should be.
‘I feel dizzy.’ As Satin thought this, Cain grabbed his arm. Though still a boy, Cain’s grip was as strong as an adult’s.
“Hey, snap out of it.”
“Ah, I was just distracted for a moment…”
A moment of silence passed. What should they do now? Satin had shared his side of the story, believing Cain was the only one who would listen, but he hadn’t planned what to do next.
Satin managed to come up with a plausible idea:
“We should kill the teacher.”
Cain frowned, it didn’t seem like a plausible idea. In response, Satin quickly came up with another suggestion, “No, I said it wrong. I meant that we need to alert someone outside and find help.”
Cain looked at Satin thoughtfully before shrugging, “Who would believe us? To others, that old man is a kind, elderly wizard who helps kids. And what about us? We’re just orphan brats, nuisances. I ask you now, would they believe us?”
“They wouldn’t…”
“Exactly, so we need a different plan.”
“What do you suggest?”
It seemed Cain had another idea. He squinted and smiled, it was the first time Satin had seen Cain genuinely smile. It was so radiant that it momentarily made the serious situation seem lighter. He truly is the protagonist, it truly felt surreal.
“First, we need to figure out why that old man is killing the children.”
To Satin, the act of killing children itself was the problem. Knowing why didn’t seem to matter. No matter the reason, nothing could justify the act.
While Satin blinked in confusion, Cain continued, “And then, report him to the Temple for being a dark wizard.”
“Ah.” So that’s how they involved the Temple Knights.
“What’s with that face? You don’t like my idea?”
Cain Frowned, and Satin quickly shook his head, “No, it’s just… You know I don’t have my memories.”
“And?”
“What exactly is a dark wizard? What’s the difference between that and a regular wizard?”
“You’ve become a complete idiot now, haven’t you?”
Satin felt wronged by Cain’s harsh words but couldn’t argue. Cain knew things that Satin currency didn’t, so he couldn’t refute being called an idiot, “So, explain to me. What’s a dark wizard?”
“A dark wizard is one who breaks the rules.”
That explanation wasn’t very clear, Satin was about to ask what Cain meant by ‘rules’ when Cain continued, “Rules are what wizards must follow. More precisely, it’s like the wizards’ code of ethics.”
“Ethics?”
“Like not to violate one’s dignity, not to use life as a tool, and not to disrespect the dead.”
Cain helpfully counted the three rules on his fingers. Satin pondered their meaning for a moment, but the three rules seemed quite similar to each other.
“Does that mean you shouldn't kill people?”
“It’s not that simple, wizards kill lots of people during wars.”
“Then what does it mean?”
“Not violating someone’s dignity means not using mind control magic, not using life as a tool means not experimenting on people with magic.”
“And the last one?”
“Don’t bring the dead back to life.”
Now it made much more sense. Satin nodded but then became curious, “You’re very knowledgeable, is everyone else usually this knowledgeable?”
“I guess? I learned these things from reading books, since there’s nothing else to do here.”
Satin had thought that Cain was in the library because he liked books, but apparently it seemed like that wasn’t true. After all, the novel Dark Age never particularly mentioned that Cain was an avid reader.
‘What does it matter anyway.’
Satin brushed away the useless thoughts. From the moment the teacher had burned a twelve-year-old alive, Satin had decided not to follow the story. His sister probably didn’t want such a grim past to become reality either.
Besides, this is the point in time before the prologue, so knowing the contents of Dark Age wouldn’t be particularly helpful.
Satin returned to the conversation, “So how are we going to find out the teacher’s true motive?”
“If we can enter the teacher’s lab, we should be able to find something.”
Satin nodded. It made sense, while he didn’t know how wizards conducted their research, there would probably be records, and having tangible evidence would be even better.
Cain rubbed his chin and added, “But we need to find a way to get in.”
“Can’t we just enter when the teacher isn’t around?”
“It’s not that easy, since it’s always locked.”
“What about the windows?”
“The windows are blocked too.”
Satin tilted his head slightly without realizing it. When he went out to the front yard, he had seen the front of the school and there was nothing blocking it. He distinctly remembered seeing the windows lined up on either side of the entrance.
Cain, noticing what Satin was thinking, clicked his tongue quietly, “They’re that don’t open, they don’t even have any locks.”
“How do you know that?”
“It's not hard to get up to the second floor or so.”
“Ah, right.”
Satin had just decided to not think about the settings of Dark Age, but he found himself thinking about it again. In the novel, Cain was captured by a dark wizard after living as a pickpocket and petty thief. Climbing over a low building wouldn’t be a challenge for him.
Satin thought a moment before speaking, “There’s a way to get in naturally.”
“How?”
“I could go in. People already think I’m the teacher’s apprentice. Well, not really, but everyone seems to believe that.”
Cain’s eyes narrowed. It was hard to tell if he was worried or skeptical. Satin hadn’t yet gained enough experience to guess Cain’s thoughts just by looking at his expression.
“Explain more.”
More details? Satin scratched his head and spoke slowly in response to Cain’s demand, “Everyone wants to be the teacher’s apprentice, right? If I was the teacher’s apprentice before losing my memory, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to want to regain that position.”
Satin’s explanation was long. Cain, lost in thought, didn’t reply and just rubbed his chin. The current Satin is different from the old Satin. He is also different from the other kids. He cannot accept the norms of this world, or more precisely, the norms within this school.
What if Satin was really suffering from memory loss, rather than just pretending? There are differing opinions on whether human nature is inherently good or bad. However, the desire for a more comfortable life is a natural instinct, unrelated to good or evil.
If a person were to wake up having lost their memory and find a gold bar in front of them. And the people around you said it originally belonged to you. Wouldn’t it be natural to pick it up?
“Besides, I’ve gained the ability to see magical power. The teacher seemed interested in this. If I express a desire to become a wizard, surely…”
“The old man would try to use you.”
“Yeah, and that would give me an opportunity to get into the lab.”
“Definitely seems more feasible than sneaking in.”
“Right?”
“What if you end up falling under the old man’s control?”
“Huh?” Satin blinked in surprise, Cain met his gaze with a look full of suspicion. Satin thought his face resembled a wild cat checking a trap.
“You were originally that old man’s loyal servant. How can I believe you won’t become that again? Aren’t I right?”
“Yeah, that’s a reasonable doubt…”
Satin smiled awkwardly. It was the first he’d been met with such suspicion. No matter how righteous a person might be, standing next to a villain makes them look like a villain too.
Credits:
TL: Sajin
PR: Lil Coal
TL Comments:
TL: Cain’s fall in love with Satin arc frfr
PR: im as useless as Cain suspicions, but enjoy!
