Chapter : 15
I’ll Save You in the Bad Ending Route
Father’s Letter
The next morning, I found Damian sitting alone in a corner, eating dry bread and reading a book.
“Pina, do you want to eat over there today?”
Pina raised a brow when she spotted Damian behind me.
“Lana, you’re really not scared of Damian, huh.”
“Nope. After talking to him, he’s actually pretty nice.”
Pina pouted, then quickly broke into a grin.
“Well, if you say so!”
With Pina’s permission secured, I approached Damian with a light heart. I tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hi, is this seat taken?”
Damian flinched and stared between me and Pina. Then he looked around as if hoping an empty seat would magically appear.
“H-Huh? You’re sitting here?”
“Yeah. Is it okay?”
“…Oh. No one’s here.”
“Good! Then we’ll sit.”
“Okay~”
I acted like I just wanted this seat, not like I came over specifically to sit with Damian. Even though we had agreed to meet today, he was still restless and nervous.
I couldn’t miss the opportunity, so I asked:
“Huh? You’re reading a potion book? Studying already in the morning? That’s so cool. What kind of potion are you making this time?”
“Huh?”
Pina’s eyes immediately sparkled.
“Damian, are you good at potions?”
Her gaze was pure and curious—exactly what you’d expect from the top-ranked scholarship student.
Damian, flustered at first, gradually got pulled into a passionate discussion with Pina about magic theory.
Before long they were deep into formulas and incantation structures.
“So if you look here… this is a fire spell notation. But if you add one more stroke…”
“Oh! You’re right! No wonder the power output was weak!”
Wow… I feel like an ordinary student dropped in the middle of a genius symposium.
If I want to keep up with these two, I’d better start studying seriously.
Who would’ve thought I’d end up transmigrating into a game world and actually study magic?
That was when something landed on my wrist as I buttered my bread.
“Caw.”
A crow. I yelped and jerked my hand up. The crow beat its wings to match my movement, then settled in front of Damian, staring at him with black beady eyes.
It had a letter in its beak.
“Huh? What’s this?”
“…My family’s courier animal…”
Oh right—each noble wizard family has a messenger familiar.
But even as he explained, Damian’s face turned to stone.
“…Father sent it?”
The crow nodded.
Damian took a biscuit from his pocket and offered it. The crow traded the letter for the biscuit like it was a business deal, spread its wings, and disappeared out the window.
Damian opened the letter, hands trembling.
Just hearing the word Father made me tense. I didn’t want to seem nosy, but my eyes kept drifting toward the envelope.
Why write to him now?
The faculty incident? The classroom explosion?
A moment later, the legs of a chair screeched loudly. Damian was trembling with both hands over his mouth.
“Mmgh!”
He looked like he was about to vomit.
Pina gasped.
“Damian, what’s wrong?”
I jumped up with her.
“Are you okay?”
But Damian didn’t answer. He bolted out of the dining hall. Pina bit her lip anxiously.
“What happened? I thought he said it wasn’t from his father?”
She looked worried, as if the letter might be cursed. A single sheet of paper lay where Damian had been sitting.
I picked it up, thinking the same thing—maybe a curse spell. But the moment I read it, I understood.
For Damian, the letter was practically a curse.
“To my beloved son.
I heard what happened at school—how you activated magic during class and shocked your professor.
Such a pity that I wasn’t there to see it myself.
I am always moved when I hear you display the power I raised you for.
I hope I may witness it next time.
As I always tell you, don’t worry if one or two people die. No lives are equal. All are noble sacrifices for your talent.
Whatever happens, your father will take care of it.”
My stomach churned. I couldn’t bring myself to read the next page.
Damian carries trauma from killing someone when he was only eight. And his father wrote this?
How could any sane father say that?
Furious, I crumpled the wretched paper and chased after Damian.
At the end of the hall, Damian staggered out of the bathroom. His lips were pale—he’d clearly thrown up everything he ate. I rushed over.
“Damian, are you okay?”
“…Did you read it?”
I froze. His eyes were like ice.
“…Yeah.”
“…You saw everything. I see.”
I could’ve lied, but I blurted out the truth. No turning back.
“Sorry for reading it without permission. But… after seeing it, I couldn’t just sit there.”
My hands were shaking, partly from anger. I know everything about Damian’s character—his past, his trauma, the “love” that was really abuse.
Knowing it and seeing it, though, are completely different.
The person in front of me wasn’t a tragic character in a story.
He was Damian Belfet, a real person.
What players skimmed in a few lines was his painful reality.
“D-Don’t come near me.”
He covered his mouth again.
“I—I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore… You’ll die too… Me taking the Orion exam? Impossible…”
Tears streamed down his face.
I stepped closer. He flinched and tried to push me away.
“Damian, that’s not true.”
I grabbed his shoulders. He stared at me, startled—his eyes blackened by shadow magic peeking out from beneath his bangs.
“Dark magic isn’t a magic meant to hurt people. It’s about how you use it!”
One year from now, Damian becomes a real monster if he sides with the villain.
But if he stands with the protagonist, he becomes a hero—his magic saves countless lives.
Even dragons kneel before his strength.
A genius like him shouldn’t suffer like this.
I stared him down with all the resolve I had. Damian trembled and turned his face away, voice cracking.
“Y-You’re wrong! I am a monster! You know what happened! B-Because of me, people…! I even hurt the professor!”
He struggled to pull away, but I held on.
“No you’re not! You’re someone who saves others! I know what happened last year—how you hurt those five seniors because you were protecting a kid they were bullying!”
My shout echoed through the corridor. Damian’s eyes widened, tears spilling.
That incident—five seniors slammed into a wall by dark magic.
Everyone assumed Damian snapped.
But he was defending a victim—who then fainted and remembered nothing.
A witness spread rumors, and Damian was branded a problem student.
I know the truth. And I will tell him.
“H-How did you—”
“I… happened to see it. You’re not a monster.”
His eyes shook violently. He bowed his head.
“But… you don’t even know me…”
“You’re always trying not to hurt anyone. You’re already controlling your magic more than anyone knows.”
I chose every word carefully. I took a breath, letting go of game knowledge and seeing the human boy before me.
“And you study potions to help control your dark magic, right? So you won’t lose control during a new moon?”
Damian shook under my hands. He nodded. I smiled gently.
“Damian, I believe in your kindness. You’ll use that power well.”
He didn’t answer. Tears dripped onto the floor.
“Let’s study potions together. I’m sure there’s a potion that can stabilize dark magic.”
Damian slumped.
“…You think there is?”
“With how hard you work at potions? You’ll find it. And…”
I swallowed.
“When you’re ready, will you think about taking the Orion exam with me again?”
Damian lifted his head, stepping back in surprise.
“Damian, I have to graduate this year. My family’s in a tight spot. The exam zone is Caliphrand. I need a dark mage like you.”
I pressed my hand to my chest to steady my voice.
“That’s how it started, sure. But… the more I get to know you, the more I realize how amazing you are. Your talents shouldn’t go to waste. I don’t want you to spend school life misunderstood and alone.”
My voice grew stronger. I pictured the Damian from one year later.
“Dark magic isn’t black magic that sacrifices people. It’s power that saves people. That destroys monsters. Come to the Orion exam with me and show the world what your magic really is!”
Damian stared into empty air. He clenched his fists, then slowly loosened them.
“No. I can’t… If I lose control in front of everyone… I’ll just be a killer. You might die too.”
“That won’t happen. I see who you are. You’re someone who saves people. And…”
I grinned confidently.
“I’m stronger than you think.”
His shadow trembled in fear. I reached out to grab his hand.
Just then, the afternoon bell rang. Damian turned and ran. I shouted after him:
“Five o’clock today! Come to the armory! I’m on duty! After that we can talk! I have something I want to give you! You better show up!”
He hesitated, glanced back…
and disappeared down the hall.
