I Was Mistaken for a Saint in a Dark Fantasy

All things come down to luck.

Getting sick.

Being blamed by others.

Becoming a hero in an instant.

Having your life turned upside down.

Effort can never overcome luck.

Never.

===============Tap.

Inside the dormitory.

Jenny closed the worn, tattered notebook over the words she’d read more times than she could count.

Charlotte, who had been quietly watching her, spoke.

”The more I see it, the more I think you enjoy writing things down, Jenny.”

”Ha ha... well...”

”What do you mostly record?”

Jenny hesitated for a long moment before answering.

”Lucky moments.”

”Lucky moments?”

”Things that went my way. Like finding a coin on the road, or guessing right on a test question.”

”Or winning at the horse races?”

”Well... yeah, something like that.”

Jenny shrugged and pushed herself up off the bed.

”Alright. Shall we head out and collect some lucky moments to add to the notebook?”

”Where are you going?”

”Dinner, obviously.”

Wink. Jenny flashed a grin at Charlotte.

”Dinner with your dear fiancé.”

”How is that lucky?”

”In this academy where the only thing my budget can afford is the disgustingly awful cafeteria food, there just so happens to be a man who treats us to meals better than any restaurant in the city — for free — and he’s my roommate’s fiancé. If that’s not luck, what is?”

”Jenny is remarkably optimistic.”

Charlotte sighed and stood up from her desk.

On the desk lay the case file she had been reading until just a moment ago.

”This dinner is strictly for consulting on a case.”

”Is that why we go almost every week? And you always bring me along?”

”We meet once a week because nearly every incident that occurs in the Academy Territory gets brought to me, and I bring you along as a learning opportunity.”

”Hmm...”

It wasn’t entirely wrong.

Even if the knowledge was limited to matters of black magic, it was all strangely, remarkably useful for a healer.

’Thanks to Professor Yulian, my achievements in detoxification magic and exorcism magic have improved by leaps and bounds...’

It had gotten to the point where even the Academy’s own Professor of Toxicology was unofficially auditing Yulian’s lectures.

His classes were that valuable.

Jenny couldn’t find anything to say against Charlotte’s reasoning and pressed her lips together.

Charlotte caught the look and let out a small smile.

”Well, it’s true that my fiancé is a good cook. Come and compliment him — he’ll be pleased.”

”...Charlotte. I’ve noticed that you love to argue about everything, but whenever the topic turns to your fiancé, you never push back.”

”Is that so.”

Charlotte pulled the overcoat hanging haphazardly on the wall and draped it over her shoulders.

For a daughter of a marquis family and a scholarship student in the Hero Department, her mannerisms were remarkably down-to-earth.

”I’ll go put on some makeup first.”

”You don’t bother with makeup for your other classes, do you?”

Charlotte didn’t answer and disappeared into the powder room.

Jenny watched her roommate go, then let out a long, slow sigh.

”And to think someone like her has a match...”

Truly, she thought again to herself, life really does come down to luck.

***

Inside the dining room, bathed in soft, warm light.

Clink.

Two plates were set neatly before Charlotte and Jenny respectively.

”A clear fish consommé with water dropwort, and duck breast with a carrot garnish.”

”Every time I see Lord Yulian’s cooking, I find myself full of admiration.”

”Thank you, Miss Jenny.”

Yulian took his seat and folded his napkin carefully before placing it on his lap.

”Please, enjoy your meal.”

The meal continued with easy, light conversation.

”Miss Jenny, are you still working as an assistant healer at the infirmary these days?”

”Yes. My academy allowance alone doesn’t quite cover living expenses.”

Across from Jenny, Charlotte was quietly cutting into her fish with a fork and murmured under her breath.

”If you simply cut back on expenditures, you wouldn’t have any trouble making ends meet, but...”

Tap, tap.

Jenny gave Charlotte’s shin a gentle but pointed knock with her foot.

Few people at the academy knew about Jenny’s gambling habit.

Those who did were limited to her family, her roommate, and a handful of holy knights and priests who spent time around her.

To everyone else, her image was that of a diligent, warm, unfailingly courteous, quintessentially upright priestess.

So much so that people couldn’t quite understand what someone like her was doing spending time with someone like Charlotte.

Naturally, Yulian knew her in that same light.

Jenny forced a breezy smile in Yulian’s direction.

”After such an ascetic life at the seminary, stepping out into the secular world made everything seem so new and exciting. Before I knew it, I couldn’t seem to hold back.”

”I understand completely. When you’re just starting out in the world, the excitement has a way of getting the better of you. You come to your senses and find there’s nothing left in your pockets.”

”Has Lord Yulian had that kind of experience?”

”Of course. Everyone has a first time.”

Charlotte tilted her head slightly at that.

Yulian ever running out of money? That seemed difficult to imagine.

Even as a young man just starting out, he would have been operating alongside heads of noble families, not their children.

The thought surfaced briefly, but she chose not to say it aloud.

Yulian turned toward Charlotte.

”Are your classes going well lately?”

”I don’t have much interest in heroes, to be honest.”

”Picky eating is a bad habit, Charlotte.”

His gaze drifted to the edge of Charlotte’s plate.

A small pile of carefully sorted-out carrots had accumulated there.

Charlotte subtly covered the carrots with her palm.

”There’s a limit to the capacity of the human brain. There’s no need to clutter it with unnecessary knowledge. Isn’t that what you do as well, Yulian?”

”I agree with the part about not needlessly cluttering the mind, but I’m afraid I can’t agree that the human brain has a fixed capacity. There’s no limit to the human mind, or to human potential.”

Charlotte looked away.

”Still. I’m holding Third or Fourth Rank.”

”That is worth celebrating, Charlotte.”

The conversation continued for some time.

Eventually, as the three plates were nearing empty —

Yulian dabbed his lips with his napkin and spoke.

”Charlotte. What brings you to see me tonight?”

”There’s a point in my investigation where I’ve hit a wall. I came to ask for your consultation, Professor.”

”And the price?”

Yulian had resolved not to give Charlotte special treatment within the Academy.

That applied here too.

If she had come with a question about coursework, no price would be necessary. But consulting on a case was purely a matter of Charlotte’s own hobby.

He couldn’t do it for nothing.

Charlotte already knew this. She nodded and produced the payment.

”This should cover it.”

Clink.

A gold coin was placed on the dining table.

It was the allowance she had accumulated by solving cases, large and small, during her time at the academy.

Yulian looked at the coin and nodded.

”Very well. Let’s hear it.”

”Thank you. Pro-fes-sor.”

Charlotte slid the case file across to him.

”Recently, there has been a string of deaths among adventurers stationed in the Academy Territory and several upperclassmen.”

As the file was opened, photographs appeared — the dead, each wearing a grotesque, frozen smile.

Yulian paged through the photographs with an unhurried eye.

”As it happens, this is a case that’s been brought to me as well.”

”You’ve already been looking into it, Professor?”

”No. I only received an autopsy request.”

Yulian glanced at Perisia.

The cool-faced elf gave a small nod and disappeared upstairs.

The two continued their conversation in the meantime.

”I’ve already sent my findings to the Academy Territory’s Investigation Bureau. It seems the report hasn’t reached Miss Charlotte.”

”Lately, the investigators have been giving me the cold shoulder. Something about me stealing their results.”

”Jealousy follows exceptional people wherever they go.”

Yulian tipped his wine glass and finished the last of his red wine.

”While my adjutant retrieves the documents, let me hear your thoughts, Miss Charlotte. I’ll need to know what you already know and where you’ve gotten stuck before I can help.”

”Understood.”

Charlotte’s finger moved to one of the photographs.

An adventurer, back arched like a bow.

”This victim—”

Her finger shifted to another.

”—and this one. Every single one of them was found in a nearly identical state. The Investigation Bureau believes black sorcerers attacked the students.”

Black sorcerers had been growing increasingly rampant of late.

Ever since Yulian had launched his Black Magic Defense Course.

Perhaps they feared their standing would be threatened once heroes began graduating — reports of attacks on academy grounds had been coming in from all corners.

”But as you know, the Academy’s security isn’t so easily breached. Every attempt so far has failed.”

”That’s right.”

Charlotte nodded.

Numerous attacks had been reported.

But not a single one had succeeded.

”The Investigation Bureau maintains that they somehow broke through regardless.”

”And do you agree, Miss Charlotte?”

”No.”

She shook her head.

”I believe it was an accident.”

”An accident?”

”Yes. Every victim had undergone an enhancement procedure at the Academy.”

She pointed to another photograph.

A tattoo resembling a magic circle was engraved across the victim’s back.

”They were all engravings. The kind favored by adventurers who do their field training in the Eastern or Western regions, or plan to operate there.”

”You believe the engraving was the cause?”

”Yes.”

Yulian nodded for her to continue.

Encouraged, Charlotte pressed on with her deduction.

”My theory is this. These victims received their engravings from a Carvedoc using water dropwort and wild carrot as their symbolic components. But water dropwort closely resembles hemlock water dropwort, and mix-ups between the two are not uncommon — leading to accidents.”

Pfft—!

Jenny inhaled her drink the wrong way.

It was, unfortunately, because that evening’s menu had featured fish consommé with water dropwort and duck with a carrot garnish.

’Was the menu chosen on purpose...?’

It was a coincidence, of course.

But Jenny had no way of knowing that.

Unaware of Jenny’s turmoil, the other two carried on.

”So your conclusion, Miss Charlotte, is that the water dropwort and hemlock water dropwort were confused — whether by accident or by design?”

”Yes.”

Neither said it aloud, but both were already thinking of a similar case.

The Star Anise Incident.

The case where a criminal organization controlling E-Sector, blinded by greed, had supplied poison star anise to the noble families.

Charlotte believed this case followed the same pattern.

”So I investigated every Carvedoc at the academy who had worked on these patients...”

”And contrary to your expectations, they were all using proper, legitimate ingredients.”

”Exactly.”

Charlotte nodded, her expression darkening.

”No matter how I look at it, I don’t seem to have enough clues within my current knowledge to resolve this. Could you give me the clue I’m missing?”

At that, Jenny looked at Yulian with wide eyes.

She had witnessed Charlotte solve case after case, standing right at her side.

From everything she had observed, the only things Charlotte ever didn’t know were astronomical trivia entirely unrelated to the matter at hand.

And yet this was a woman who, in the process of solving those cases, had made veteran investigators look like amateurs.

And this was the person she was voluntarily asking for help from?

’I never really believed it when she said he was more capable than her...’

Jenny had assumed Charlotte was simply preserving her fiancé’s dignity.

But apparently, it hadn’t been empty words.

(For the record, she did not suspect it was love-blindness. It was simply very difficult to imagine Charlotte being love-blind.)

”It’s been a while since Charlotte has asked me for help. Does this mean I win this round?”

”Understood. That brings it to 345 wins and 33 losses.”

”My first victory at the academy.”

A small smile crossed Yulian’s face.

Whether it was the dinner menu or that knowing, unhurried air of his — as though he already had all the answers — something about that smile made Jenny feel a quiet chill.

”Very well. I’ll tell you. And it seems Ms. Perisia has returned with the autopsy report.”

Yulian laid the autopsy report on the table.

Charlotte and Jenny leaned in together and read through the findings.

[Abnormal rigor mortis. Tongue severely bitten through; molars cracked or missing.]

[Cyanotic discoloration of the lips and fingertips. Petechial hemorrhage in the conjunctiva. (Findings consistent with asphyxiation.)]

[Multiple poorly-healed and contaminated scars found across the back.]

”This is...”

”Miss Jenny. I’d recommend looking carefully.”

”Me? Why me?”

”Because I believe this case is connected to one of the leading theories in the current field of healing arts.”

”A leading theory... you mean...”

The first thing that came to mind was germ theory.

But Jenny tilted her head, uncertain.

”Is germ theory really connected to this?”

”I’m only working from conjecture myself. I can’t give you a definitive answer just yet.”

Charlotte, who had been scrutinizing the autopsy report, glanced at Jenny.

”Germ theory? What’s that?”

”Oh — right, Charlotte, you’d still be behind on the news.”

Jenny gave her a brief explanation of germ theory.

Charlotte took notes as she listened and nodded.

”So diseases can be transmitted through contaminated objects?”

”Exactly.”

Despite the rather scattered explanation, Charlotte grasped the core of it in an instant.

”Then...”

Something clicked.

Charlotte pushed back from her chair and stood.

She snatched up her overcoat and threw it on.

”The meal was wonderful, Professor!”

”Take care on your way, Charlotte.”

”Come on, Jenny. Before those investigators notice the truth before we do!”

With a gleam in her eye — the look of someone about to pay back everyone who had tried to shut her out — Charlotte urged Jenny to hurry.

Jenny was more or less dragged out the door by Charlotte’s forceful grip.

”Th-thank you, Lord Yulian — I mean, Professor!”

”Mind how you go, Miss Jenny. Take care not to get hurt.”

And just like that, the two were gone.

Perisia quietly began clearing the empty plates.

”I’ll handle the washing up.”

”I don’t mind doing it—”

”I’ll handle it.”

At Perisia’s firm tone, Yulian gave a bitter smile and sank back into his chair.

Then, once Perisia too had left the dining room —

Yulian sat alone in the quiet and murmured to himself.

”I did want to be the first to prove tetanus...”