Chapter 38

"Moli, it's very unhealthy for you to not exercise and always stay up late. You'll become a fat, lazy monk!" I said.

This is a popular term I learned online: "Dead fat otaku"—I heard that young people are afraid of becoming like this.

Sure enough, Moli immediately obeyed me and walked with me to ride the magic teleporter.

"Compared to a teacher who threatens me with obesity to make me walk and forces me to learn STD detection spells, I'd rather you were still in the legendary era," Moli sobbed.

After exiting the magical teleporter, an electronic screen on the exterior wall of a building caught my attention; it was broadcasting the news.

Moli quietly leaned on my shoulder. "Wow, teacher, you're on camera!"

I was immediately horrified. That was footage of me burning the cyborg in the Capitol! Good heavens, I was flying so high, where were the reporters hiding to get such a clear shot of me? It looked like they were practically right next to me, capturing even the embroidery on my sleeve! But I quickly forced myself to calm down. Thankfully, I hadn't lost my old fighting habits. A layer of black mist shrouded me, making it extremely difficult to recognize my face.

The anchor was saying, "... Yesterday, the summit was attacked by mercenaries in a suicide attack, and the situation was critical... At the critical moment, a dark mage stepped forward. He single-handedly fought against dozens of cyborg mercenaries, holding his own and decisively crushing the evil forces that intended to endanger the safety of the people..."

"Wow, teacher, you're so cool!" Moli whispered.

"... The time bomb planted by the mercenaries on the building was spotted by this astute archmage, who threw it directly into the sky. No one on the scene was harmed, so many people still thought it was fireworks celebrating after the incident..."

Phew... thankfully, the cyborg corpse I threw didn't hit anyone.

"... This dark mage used the infamous 'Shadow Manipulation' spell during the battle, leading many to suspect it was Archmage Mephistopheles Madsen. However, according to reports from officials at the scene, Archmage Madsen was on the attendee list for the day, while this dark mage appeared from outside, not from inside the summit venue. Therefore, whether this dark mage is indeed Archmage Madsen remains to be verified. Our reporters have not yet been able to contact Archmage Madsen..."

Ouch... I gasped. Oh yeah, I overlooked that. Mel was in the room at the time. What if someone in the room gave him an alibi? I'd be in big trouble!

That said, that spell is called Shadow Dance, not some kind of evil manipulation! Sigh... such poor journalistic ethics.

"... In an interview, Magic Council President Reynold stated that the valiant dark mage was not Lord Madsen, but he declined to reveal the mage's name... According to on-site reports, this dark mage also used the infamous Black Magic — Hellfire. This spell was invented by the priests of the ancient Shadow Moon Temple. Even today, it is extremely rare for such a large-scale Hellfire to be ignited within the temple. More than a dozen cyborgs were engulfed by the flames, a truly astonishing scene... The Northern Shadow Moon Temple currently has no priests active within the Federation, therefore, we suspect that this dark mage is very likely the one from over a decade ago..."

When I saw the Hellfire on TV, my mind went completely blank. The flames even revealed charred, smoking cyborgs, forcing the broadcast to blur them out. (Moli sighed strangely beside me.) Thankfully, Reynold didn't reveal my name. I don't understand what Reynold was doing; maybe he wanted to protect Mel? He should have just said my name out loud! After all, Hellfire roasting cyborgs looks utterly evil. If Reynold betrayed me for Mel's reputation, I wouldn't care. I'd rather be the one wanted as the villainous Black Mage than Mel! Yes, I have to tell Mel not to take the blame for me. Even Hellfire has been filmed; I don't want Mel's reputation ruined!

"... This attack is presumably orchestrated by the 'Dawn Alliance,' but a spokesperson for the organization has not yet responded..."

Ah, another extreme anti-magic organization?

"... According to the analysis of Federation experts, based on the battle report of Captain Lusien of the Shield of the New Star, the Dawn Alliance's several actions may have been intended to disrupt the summit, assassinate prominent mages attending, and create hostile magical sentiment. Archmage Mephistopheles is likely at the top of their list..."

What? So they really were after my Mel?!

It seems necessary to find a time to ensure that this so-called "Dawn Alliance" never sees the light of tomorrow again!

So what if people find out I'm a dark mage because of this!

Moli's scream startled me; I thought someone was coming to get me.

"Teacher! You're so cool!" Moli's eyes were practically sparkling. After her scream, she suppressed her excitement and said, "Teacher! When are you going to announce it? When... oh no... you can't announce it! If you do, you'll be overwhelmed by fans! You're so gentle, you don't know how to refuse at all! But... oh dear, it's so hard not to announce that I'm your apprentice so publicly!"

Moli's expression looked... well, it was like last year when her crush had just debuted and wasn't famous yet. She had that complicated feeling of wanting him to become famous quickly and be known by everyone, but also not wanting him to become famous because of her possessiveness.

Um... Moli, are you mistaken? If your teacher were to go public, wouldn't he be on the wanted list? Then you'd become an apprentice of a dangerous dark mage!

"Teacher... Oh, I can't take it anymore!" Moli screamed, "I'm going to download this video! I'll lick it ten times, no, a hundred times! No male god is as handsome as you! My teacher is the most handsome man in the universe!"

Good heavens, I facepalm, this apprentice must be insane!

Chapter 38

As soon as we entered the research institute, before I even reached my office, I suddenly saw the Five-Star Old Man (whom I least wanted to see) swaggering and charging towards me aggressively. He jogged up to me, his fleshy body stretching his tuxedo tightly... No wonder Mel thought it looked bad. After seeing the Five-Star Old Man in that suit, I really wanted to throw it away when I got back!

"Haha! I've found out!" the Five-Star Old Man said smugly.

What?

I immediately went on high alert, suppressing Absolute Protection and Teleportation, constantly on guard against any guards pounced on me. How did the Five-Star Old Man discover me? Had I underestimated him all along? Had he been using his ample fat to conceal his unfathomable Magic Power? Even journalists couldn't uncover my identity, how could he know? Damn it, if the Five-Star Old Man used this to embellish the story, my identity as a dark mage would definitely be labeled a potential demon lord, the Federation would officially issue a warrant for my arrest, and I hadn't performed any heroic deeds like slaughtering orcs or saving border people, so I certainly couldn't be portrayed as a positive dark mage, therefore...

"You're still trying to lie to me! You and Reynold broke up a long time ago! Hahaha!" He held his finger right up to my nose, and I could practically see the curly hair on it.

Forehead...

I think such dramatic ups and downs really test one's composure! Heaven knows I almost considered killing them just now... cough cough, no... I meant running away.

Moli couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

I didn't blame Moli, because I also wanted to laugh a little. The Five-Star Old Man had been scheming and plotting to make sure he didn't get enough credits. He first used all sorts of clumsy tricks to provoke Reynold, and then openly displayed his attitude towards me, which made Reynold punish him whenever he had the chance. He also severely suppressed Renault in the approval of various projects and financial audits at the research institute, which made the Five-Star Old Man get fatter and fatter every year.

Alas, this is what happens when magic fails and political maneuvering is inadequate.

The Five-Star Old Man glared at me, raising his chin with apparent satisfaction. He probably thought Moli was pandering to him, so he nodded solemnly. "Now look what's happened, Ciprins. No one can back you up anymore. Just you wait and see, haha! What, don't you know Reynold dumped you a long time ago? Like throwing away a rag! A pathetic little academician, thinking he'd won over the high and mighty Speaker, shamelessly believing it was love, and then completely disregarding the Vice President of the Research Institute—me! And what happened? Haha, last night he was seen making a passionate confession to Archmage Mephistopheles at the movie theater, and photos of it were even uploaded online!"