I’m Not the Mastermind

The next day.

Yujin was on his way to the Headmistress's office after receiving a summons from her.

She mentioned something about following procedures and wanting to ask him some questions, but Yujin suspected it had to do with his dark magician act in front of Reina.

Knowing Reina, she had likely rushed to report him immediately. The thought of her urgently demanding his apprehension in front of the Headmistress brought a faint smile to his lips.

'I really am a terrible person.'@@novelbin@@

To be fair, Professor Reina hadn’t done anything particularly wrong. At most, she’d conducted a background check on him.

Of course, back on modern Earth, digging into someone’s past would’ve been considered a serious offense. But here, it was unlikely to cause any significant problems.

Still, Yujin couldn’t shake a slight feeling of guilt. Once the misunderstanding cleared up, he resolved to apologize properly.

With that thought, he arrived at the door to the Headmistress's office and knocked.

Knock knock.

"Headmistress, it’s me."

"Ah! Oh, come in, please!"

The door swung open abruptly, faster than Yujin had expected. He paused, a wry smile forming on his face.

The Headmistress had been waiting right by the door for his arrival.

Though she was technically his superior, seeing her disregard the hierarchy to this extent made him smirk. It wasn’t exactly what he had in mind when he envisioned his life as a professor.

Yujin spoke calmly.

"There’s no need to treat me like a superior. You are, after all, my superior within the academy, aren’t you?"

"B-but..."

Seeing the Headmistress stammer, Yujin let out another faint smile. Her reverence for dragons was so ingrained that she seemed incapable of acting otherwise.

"You seemed perfectly fine acting normal in front of Professor Reina. Just do the same with me."

"I-I couldn’t possibly... It’s one thing not to interfere with your amusements in front of others, but when it’s just the two of us—"

'Technically, it’s not just the two of us,' Yujin thought wryly.

Tiamat stood nearby, observing the scene with a neutral expression. Of course, there was no reason to mention her presence to the Headmistress.

Still, the notion of "amusement" resonated with him. As Tiamat had pointed out yesterday, he was beginning to realize he had truly become the kind of dragon who enjoyed such games.

Taking on the role of a professor in human form, playacting as a dark magician in front of Reina—these were indeed the antics of a dragon indulging in amusement.

He doubted his own motivations differed much from that perspective.

With a slightly bitter smile, Yujin spoke.

"Then just act however you feel comfortable. But don’t behave like this in front of others."

"Y-yes, of course!"

"Also... may I come in now?"

Realizing they were still standing outside, Yujin’s question jolted the Headmistress.

"Oh! Yes, of course, please come in!"

She quickly stepped aside, allowing Yujin to enter.

Once he was inside, she swiftly closed the door and moved to sit at her desk, positioned elegantly by a beautifully decorated window.

"Please, have a seat," she said, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk.

Yujin walked over and sat down. The Headmistress handed him a stack of documents.

"These are the forms. Please fill them out or sign where needed. Feel free to take your time reviewing them—"

Whirrrrr!

"I’m done."

"...Excuse me?"

Before she could finish her sentence, Yujin had glanced over the documents, picked up the quill, and completed everything in a flash. His speed was so astonishing that the Headmistress was momentarily stunned.

The quill moved so quickly that faint wisps of smoke rose from the parchment.

"Th-that speed... I mean, are you sure you don’t need to review them more carefully?"

"I already did. Application form, contract, research achievements summary, personal introduction, development plan, and so on—I went through everything. The contract didn’t contain any unreasonable clauses, and the rest only required factual or fabricated information, so it wasn’t an issue. My research achievements and personal introduction didn’t have much to say, though I filled in appropriate details. Given that my appointment is essentially prearranged, it’s not particularly meaningful, is it?"

"Well, that’s true, but still..."

The Headmistress, still bewildered, checked the documents. While the sections with written text seemed slightly singed, the content itself was flawless.

'He listed his magical circle level as the entry stage of the 8th Circle. Considering I’m at the peak of the 8th Circle and the Magic Association’s chairman is mid-7th Circle, it’s a fitting claim for the setting.'

The Circle—a system of magic unique to mortals, where permanent mana rings were formed around the heart to wield magic.

Long ago, a dragon shared knowledge with mortals as part of its amusement. The idea was simple: by forming a mana ring around the heart, mortals could generate and manipulate mana from within.

The number of rings carved into the heart determined one's level, and as the number increased, so did the quality of mana and the amount that could be created or stored.

For dragons, however, this system was unnecessary. Dragons possessed an infinite supply of mana, far superior to that of mortals, and they manipulated it with sheer willpower. For such transcendent beings, the circle system was nothing more than an encumbrance.

Still, Yujin had to provide some kind of information about his "level" in his self-introduction, so he had arbitrarily written "beginning of the 8th Circle." It was a fitting decision.

After all, the story of Yujin flicking his finger to subdue the Magic Association’s president had spread like wildfire just the day before. Many people now believed Yujin’s level far surpassed the president’s.

The president of the association was a 7th Circle magician, which earned him the title of Archmage. However, since Yujin had subdued such a figure with a mere flick, claiming an 8th Circle level was appropriate.

At the same time, claiming a level equal to or higher than the Headmistress's "end of the 8th Circle" could have disrupted the hierarchy within the academy. Thus, "beginning of the 8th Circle" struck a reasonable balance.

And more importantly, if he had claimed a level higher than the Headmistress's, it would have raised doubts among others.

'After all, the last known being to reach the 9th Circle was the founder of the Karrandar family...'

No one had reached the 9th Circle in thousands of years, with the sole exception being the half-dragon, half-human ancestor of the Karrandar family.

Of course, Yujin was a dragon, far beyond the 9th Circle and without any need for such a system.

But that was not the issue at hand.

The Headmistress quickly reviewed the documents Yujin had submitted and said,
"...There seem to be no issues with these forms."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. They’ll be approved shortly. You were already pre-selected for the position, after all. But..."

"But?"

"The problem is that the academy’s term has already started. Students have completed their course registrations, and the add/drop period has ended. It’s difficult to integrate your lectures into the schedule now."

"That does make sense."

By the time Yujin emerged from the Labyrinth, the academy was already assigning exams to students, specifically during their initial experiences with the Labyrinth’s first five levels.

Though new students had just entered the academy, their courses had been determined, making Yujin’s appointment awkwardly timed.

"So, I’ll be a department chair for now."

Yujin lifted the contract as he spoke.

A department chair typically handled administrative tasks within a university. While this reduced their teaching load, the academy’s system didn’t seem too different.

"Chair of Magical Studies... Quite an appropriate position for a newly appointed professor."

A department chair was equivalent to a sub-dean in university terms, often a coveted position for junior or mid-level professors due to the additional allowance and its positive impact on promotion evaluations.

In the academy’s context, it seemed fitting for a newly appointed professor like Yujin.

"It’s a position that doesn’t quite match your abilities, though..."

"It’s fine. Starting too high would likely provoke backlash, and honestly, it wouldn’t be as entertaining for me. However..."

Yujin waved the contract lightly and asked,
"It only states I’ll be chair of Magical Studies, but the department itself isn’t specified. Why is that?"

Typically, under a College of Social Sciences, you’d have chairs for Political Science, Economics, Sociology, and so on. Yujin assumed the academy’s Magical Studies division would follow a similar structure, but the specific department wasn’t listed.

In response, the Headmistress explained,
"It was difficult to determine which existing department your groundbreaking theories from your thesis would belong to. Also, the chair position rotates among the professors, so there’s little concern about who takes which role. Alternatively, we could establish a new department for you if you prefer."

"There’s no need to go that far. Hmm... What existing departments are there?"

As Yujin hadn’t explored such detailed settings while playing Labyrinth Academy, he wasn’t well-versed in its internal structure. He only knew it resembled a university in some ways.

"We have the Departments of Elemental Magic, Combat Magic, Practical Magic, and Phenomenological Magic."

"Then I’ll take the chair of Phenomenological Magic."

There wasn’t a profound reason behind his choice. He simply felt that concepts like time and space aligned more closely with phenomena. The Headmistress nodded in agreement.

"Understood. I’ll make the arrangements."

"Before that, may I ask one thing?"

"Of course."

"Leaving the department chair aside, who is the dean of Magical Studies? Technically, they’ll be my immediate superior for future work, closer than even you, Headmistress."

As mentioned earlier, Yujin only had a vague understanding of the academy’s structure. While the professors in Labyrinth Academy were introduced with their titles, such as "Professor of Magical Studies," their exact ranks or positions were often unclear.

Thus, Yujin felt it necessary to learn about the dean above him.

However...

"......"

The Headmistress avoided his gaze, a bead of sweat trickling down her temple. Yujin tilted his head in curiosity.

"Is something wrong?"

"Well... You see..."

She seemed reluctant to speak, her hesitation palpable. Yujin pressed further.

"Is the dean particularly strict or authoritarian?"

"No... Strict, yes, but not authoritarian. It’s just that..."

The Headmistress hesitated, then spoke as if apologizing.

"The dean of Magical Studies is... Professor Reina Sahart."

"Ah."

At that moment, Yujin immediately realized he’d made a mistake the day before.