I’m Not the Mastermind

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Yujin passed by Eri, who was retching, and retrieved the dagger lodged in the goblin’s neck and shoulder.

Of course, these two daggers belonged to Yujin. One was his regular weapon, and the other was a backup.

With the military-style daggers tucked under his arm, Yujin wiped them clean with a rag before putting them back into their sheath.

Fssss…

Soon, the goblin’s corpse turned to ash and scattered, leaving behind something that resembled a mana stone.

‘Come to think of it, it’s pretty much the same, right?’

Yujin thought as he looked at it. The monsters that emerge from Earth also scatter into ashes when they die, leaving only mana stones behind.

Is there some sort of connection between the gates appearing on Earth and the maze…?

He couldn’t tell.

If he had been a dragon while still on Earth, he might have been able to grasp some clear commonalities between the gates and the maze, but that wasn’t the case.

For now, he pushed his questions deep inside and turned to look at Eri.

She had stopped retching, but her expression still seemed dazed. Sia, his academy classmate and disciple, approached her, trying to comfort her.

‘She might give up soon enough.’

He had instilled some experience in her, but it’s different for everyone.

Some might toughen up, while others might ultimately flee from the pressure.

In any case, it wasn’t something he needed to worry about. After all, they were practically strangers.

Yujin did not possess a fragile disposition at all. In fact, despite his outwardly gentle demeanor, he had a strong will. The fact that he endured two months of hardship in Tiamat’s Tomb was proof of that.

Having lost his parents at a young age and lived a hard life as one of the Awakened Ones, he couldn’t sympathize with those who crumbled so easily over the experience of killing.

Of course, taking a life was indeed shocking.

The touch of death wrapping around one’s hand, the pungent scent of blood, the fear of extinguishing a life just like one’s own…

It is not something one can merely brush off unless they are someone who has witnessed the worst or are innately wicked.

However, for those living on the edge of death, not being able to endure it would mean death for them.

If one possesses such a fragile mindset, it’s better to live peacefully and do something else.

In that sense, it might actually be fortunate that Yujin had given her this experience early on.

“You’re harsher than I expected. You’re not overly kind to others.”

Tiamat also remarked upon witnessing this. She was slightly surprised that Yujin, who appeared gentle, could be quite harsh toward others. Yet, Yujin just smiled in response.

“Ha-ha, that’s only natural. There’s no need to be excessively kind to anyone. It’s about maintaining a balance of kindness that doesn’t harm oneself— that’s how society works.”

“Hmm… A human-like way of socializing.”

“Is it different for dragons?”

“Dragons are fundamentally few in number and have a strong sense of kinship. So, they don’t usually take the affairs of other dragons lightly.”

“Oh, I see. I’ll keep that in mind now that I’m a dragon.”

While Yujin and Tiamat were having such a conversation, the cleaning up around them was coming to an end.

“…It seems there are no remaining enemies nearby.”

“Good job, Mirien.”

Hugo took a breath in response to Mirien’s words as Chrome approached them.

“Phew, that was surprising. If the barrier hadn’t been deployed earlier, I would’ve gotten burned.”

“The barrier… Was it Sia who cast it?”

Hugo asked as he glanced at Sia, who was comforting Eri. She shook her head.

“Oh, no… I can’t deploy the barrier that quickly.”

“In that case…”

Hugo’s gaze shifted to Yujin, who slightly bowed his head and said.

“It was me. I apologize for breaking the rules and doing something unnecessary.”

“No, it’s fine. While the mission is important, scolding someone who helped to prevent a potential injury to a teammate wouldn’t be right. In fact, I’m grateful.”

Hugo waved his hand, bowing his head in gratitude instead.

“Besides, since you didn’t directly engage in combat, it shouldn’t affect the assessment of your leadership too much. So please don’t worry about it.”

“Is that so? In that case, I’m relieved.”

“And… Eri.”

Hugo turned to Eri with a somewhat stern expression. Eri, who had been sitting dazed, jolted and looked up.

“Y-yes…!”

“…Making a judgment to use magic without your leader’s command, and the fact that it could have harmed your teammate is a clear deduction factor. I believe you are most aware of this.”

“…Y-yes.”

Eri replied as she hung her head low. This incident would undoubtedly be a significant setback in her evaluation.

Yet she couldn’t say anything. It would be a situation where anyone, no matter how many mouths they had, would struggle to find words.

Hugo, who viewed this with a somewhat complex expression, sighed deeply and continued.

“However, I also made a mistake this time. I sincerely apologize for letting the monsters rush toward the rear.”

Hugo’s kindness was apparent. No one could criticize a mage who was already facing repercussions like this. Yet, he admitted his mistake openly and bowed his head.

“I would like to express my gratitude to Yujin. Thanks to your cover for my mistake, we were able to escape a crisis.”

“Ha-ha, you’re flattering me, it’s embarrassing. I should be thanking you for allowing me to participate.”

“No, I’m grateful too. To be honest, while I supported your joining, I had my reservations. You’ve embarrassed me a bit.”

At that moment, Chrome approached Yujin and spoke. Being a proud Dwarf, he was known for holding grudges, yet he lowered his head in thanks to Yujin for his help.

“Oh, and Academy lady.”

“Y-yes?!”

Chrome then glanced at Eri. In response, Eri jumped in surprise and answered. It was only natural, as she was almost the victim of her own magic.

Yet, Chrome did not get angry at her, who had stiffened completely.

“Why are you so tense? It’s natural for a novice to make mistakes! In fact, it’s common to get burned in the forge! Besides, you didn’t get hurt this time, did you?”

“Ah… Well… S-still… I-I’m sorry…”

“Well, alright. I’ll accept your apology. It seems that’s what’ll put your mind at ease. But next time you cast a spell, just give me a heads-up beforehand. That way, I can make myself scarce! Ha-ha-ha!”

Chrome laughed heartily as he patted Eri on the back. She grimaced in pain but seemed to have lightened up a bit.

With that, the mood of the party quickly brightened. Even the leader, Hugo, smiled as he watched.

After a while of comforting each other, Hugo said.

“Then let’s head out again. We should be reaching the entrance to the fourth floor soon.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

***

Even in the maze, there is day and night.

Strangely enough, in the maze layers where environments like prairies, forests, and deserts are formed, there are suns and moons, and time also flows.

How that is possible remains a mystery, but it occurred to the priests that the goddesses of the sun and moon might have had a hand in creating the tower, which is why such environments exist.

And thus came the night of the maze.

In the fourth layer, an environment that had transformed from a forest into a jungle.

Shortly after entering, as dusk fell and night began, the party started to prepare camp.

“The camping site can’t be too isolated, nor can it be too open. An isolated location poses the threat of ambush, while an open area risks getting sniped from all directions. Therefore, fundamentally, we should find a place with substantial cover and large structures around—”

Hugo was teaching the academy students the basics of camping while setting up a tent, while Mirien prepared the food. Hans, the porter, began gathering firewood under Chrome’s watchful eye, and Yujin…

“So you’re pretending to gather magic materials?”

‘Well, I have no other choice since that’s what I claimed.’

He was indeed pretending to gather magic materials.

Yujin said he’d go to the fifth floor for gathering materials, but typically, that means surveying the fifth floor while collecting— it doesn’t imply materials are only found there.

In fact, it was only through the consideration of others that Yujin felt he had no choice.

“And it’s not just a pretense.”

The game “Maze Academy” is a roguelike genre that feels somewhat like an open-world experience.

Roaming through the vast maze while collecting various treasures especially invokes that feeling.

Inside the maze, alongside the magical materials Yujin mentioned, several treasures lay undiscovered, and Yujin, once a player of the Maze Academy, was genuinely gathering them.

Deep down, Yujin felt a sense of delight as if he had entered the game.

“Hmm… You certainly have quite a few useful finds. Did you know about this beforehand?”

‘There are some known ones, but I think my dragon senses are particularly sharp as well.’

In fact, what Yujin was collecting included things he hadn’t seen in the original game.

It was simply that, from a dragon’s perspective, a strong concentration of mana and similar auras were particularly eye-catching.

Having gathered a few magical materials, he returned to where his party was setting up camp.

“Ah, Yujin! You’ve arrived.”

At that moment, Hugo, who had just finished setting up the tent, welcomed him. Yujin also smiled and replied.

“Ha-ha, I’m sorry. It seems I got lost in my own business while everyone was busy preparing for camp.”

“No need to worry about it. By the way, did you manage to gather any materials?”

“Yes, surprisingly, there were quite a few growing naturally around.”

Saying this, Yujin held up the pouch containing the materials he gathered. Hugo widened his eyes in surprise as he glanced at its contents.

“Oh… It seems you gathered quite a lot. Is everything in there magical materials?”

“Yes. There were cure herbs used for healing potions and a few mana herbs with minor amplification effects, and one of the ingredients for the Panacea, Kellow Seed… Well, I gathered various items for multiple uses.”

“Panacea? Isn’t that an elixir, second only to legends?”

Hugo’s astonishment was evident as he heard about the Kellow Seed. Yujin smiled and said.

“Kellow Seed is a very minor ingredient for the Panacea. The more precious ingredients are likely hidden deep within the maze.”

“Aah… I see.”

“Moreover, the ingredients for the Panacea are not yet fully identified. Even so, Kellow Seed is always found in medicines related to diseases, which is why it is presumed as one of its ingredients.”

“Come to think of it, I think I’ve heard something similar when receiving gathering requests. I was told that Kellow Seed is always in demand…”

“I haven’t gathered a large quantity. Compared to the size of the pouch, I haven’t filled it that much.”

“I see.”

Yujin displayed the inside of the pouch to Hugo, who nodded in understanding. He then said,

“In any case, good work, Yujin. The camping preparations are now complete, and food is being prepared, so please sit back and wait.”

“Understood.”

***

On the fire built from firewood collected by Chrome and Hans, stew bubbled and boiled away.

Soon, the party began to serve dinner, sharing conversations.

“So you’re from the East as well? No wonder the hair color and appearance seems Eastern.”

“Yes. Actually, my full name is Han Yujin.”

“Han Yujin… So Yujin is your first name and Han is your last name? I’ve heard that in Eastern countries, the surname comes first, and most surnames tend to be very short.”

“That’s about right. Moreover, most people are not nobles yet still have surnames.”

Yujin had seamlessly blended into the group and was chatting naturally. Eri, due to the circumstances, seemed slightly uncomfortable, and Mirien was a quiet type, saying almost nothing unless necessary, only contributing when Hugo spoke. Sia seemed to have a timid nature as well.

As a result, Yujin ended up mostly conversing with Hugo and Chrome.

“It’s quite interesting that a non-noble has a surname… I once traveled with a swordsman from the East, and he said the same thing. It always feels fascinating.”

“I’m more surprised how fluent your speech is. Honestly, the way you speak had me confused whether you were truly from the East.”

“Ha-ha, is that so?”

In reality, Yujin was communicating in the common tongue of the Western continent used within the Maze Academy setting, and he was using it very fluently.

He didn’t mention it, but even Yujin had been surprised by this at first.

Now that he had become a dragon, learning languages shouldn’t be difficult, but from the moment Hugo first spoke to him, he could listen and respond to the common tongue as if it were his native language.

“I’m even more surprised that you, an Eastern person, are a mage. I’ve heard that most focus on martial arts and that similar occupations are referred to as shamans.”

“I suppose magic just suits my aptitude, so I chose this path.”

Seeing Yujin smile while responding, Hugo asked,

“Which school of magic do you prefer? Your magical materials were heavily herb-based, so are you closer to the healing school?”

“I don’t particularly follow a school. I’m not affiliated with any school, as I mentioned, I came from the East.”

“Indeed… it does seem that mages can be quite closed-minded.”

Hugo appeared to interpret it as experiencing some discrimination merely because he was an outsider from the East. Yujin just smiled in response.

“By the way, about that Kellow Seed you mentioned being a component of the Panacea…”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I heard it can be used for various diseases, but the reason you brought up the Panacea specifically…”

“Are you aiming to create the Panacea, Yujin?”

Hugo seemed to ask this purely out of curiosity. However, Eri and Sia, who were eavesdropping nearby, turned their heads slightly, surprised.

“The Panacea?”

“Huh? Why are you two reacting like that?”

Chrome asked as he shot a glance at the two. The shy Sia recoiled and held her tongue, while Eri, somewhat closer to Chrome, said…

“Well… It’s nothing much. There’s a somewhat famous rumor going around in the academy…”

“A famous rumor? What kind?”

As she mentioned the academy rumors, Eri frowned slightly, contemplating whether she should speak.

But she quickly opened her mouth.

“Um, it’s a bit of an open secret. There are rumors going around that the Second Princess is unwell.”

 

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