Chapter 13

When night fell, I knocked on the door of the training room as instructed.

“You may enter.”

Having received permission, I opened the door. The back half of the room was partitioned off by thick curtains.

“Come straight through to the other side of the curtain.”

As told, I stepped through the curtains. There sat the President on a four-poster canopy bed, wearing a sheer, translucent nightgown. The dark nightgown, combined with the President’s somewhat petite, youthful physique, created a strange sense of immorality.

It occurred to me that this might be a deliberate “Dark Magic” choice to evoke that very feeling. Dark Magic seems to have a tendency to make healthy places intentionally look unhealthy.

“I didn’t know there was a bed like this in the training room…”

At the very least, you would never find something like this in the White Magic industry. You might find beds in a nap room or a breakroom, but I doubted they would have canopies.

“Now, we shall perform the Dark Magic Succession Ceremony. Please take off those clothes. You must change into a Dark Mage’s robe for this.”

Come to think of it, my robe was strictly that of a White Mage—or rather, a generic mage’s robe. A Dark Mage’s robe was, as the name suggested, as black as the midnight sky.

“Don’t worry, if you follow my instructions, you won’t fail. You might get tired halfway through, but once everything is finished, you’re welcome to sleep right here in this bed.”

“Understood…”

Awkwardly, I changed into the Dark Mage robe. It was heavier than I expected.

“First, I shall recite the liturgy praising Satan, the King of the Underworld. Please repeat after me.”

For the next three hours, the Dark Magic Succession Ceremony continued in earnest.

To be honest, it was a very… intense three hours. I can’t go into specific details, but the petite girl took the lead from start to finish. Once the ritual was complete, a naked President Kelkel gently patted my head.

“You did well to hang in there until the end, Franz-san.”

“I’m sorry if I was lacking in any way… I did my absolute best…”

“Not at all, Franz-san, you have excellent intuition. With this, you should have mastered the fundamental Dark Magic spells.”

It was then that I noticed a change occurring within my body for the first time. A long list of spell names I had never even heard of was lining up in my mind.

Summon Imp
Summon Evil Spirit
Summon Poison Scorpion
Converse with Evil Spirits
Mental Control Resistance
Mental Control (Minor)
Physical Weakening (Minor)
Life Drain (Minor)
Fear Amplification
Peatland Walking
⇒ Continued on next page

“All these spells that were never taught at the magic school are just… there!”

“Well, there’s no point in learning how to summon a poison scorpion in the world of White Magic, is there?”

“President, actually… what use is ‘Summon Poison Scorpion’ anyway?”

I could only imagine it being used for assassination.

“Poison scorpions can drive out insects from indoors or conduct surveys. For example, they can check if a second-hand property has termites or if poisonous spiders are living there.”

“You guys do that kind of work!?”

“White Magic can purify a property where evil spirits have taken residence, but it can’t deal with termites. Dark Magic handles those countermeasures. Managing vacant properties is one of the core jobs of the Dark Magic industry.”

So Dark Magic is actually quite integrated into society. I had no idea.

“And Mental Control… I feel like that can only be used for no-good purposes…”

“It works on animals, too. So, it’s useful for temporarily relaxing horses or cattle with rough temperaments to transport them safely. It can also be used to provide a healing effect.”

Dark Magic is actually useful for daily life…

“In eras with full-scale wars, it was mostly used for military power, but in a peaceful era, it has plenty of practical uses. Now then, it’s getting late.”

The President patted my head again and then gave me a gentle, motherly hug. Being held by her like that, a sense of peace came over me before any carnal thoughts could arise. I truly felt that she sincerely wished for my happiness.

“Sleep soundly tonight and recover. Lack of sleep is a formidable enemy to many things. It might not matter much to men, but for things like… beauty, for instance.”

I thought that if she was that much of a beauty after living five centuries, she probably didn’t need to worry, but perhaps she was just diligent.

“When people think of Dark Magic, they have a strong image of working through the night.”

“That does happen sometimes. But today counts as overtime, so you’ll receive overtime pay.”

“I feel a bit of guilt… getting paid for doing naughty things with the President…”

I knew it was work, but it felt almost too convenient for me.

“That’s a lovely thing to say, Franz-san. Well then, just consider it a way to pay me back by working hard at our company from now on.”

“Yes! I’ll work my tail off for the company!”

For a President like this, I could handle any amount of overtime.

“Ah, wait. Let me correct that slightly.”

Did I say something wrong?

“Please don’t work for our company; work for the sake of society. In the long run, that will be better for the Dark Magic industry. If we are accepted by society, the industry and the company will flourish even more.”

Is this Cerberus woman a saint?

“Also, you don’t have to ‘work your tail off.’ No one can keep that up forever. This company is built to function even if people only work moderately.”

Seriously, President Kelkel is a saint.

“Tomorrow, please be kind to Cerulia-chan. Even being apart for one day makes a familiar feel lonely.”

“I understand. Cerulia is my precious partner.”

With that, I fell asleep alongside the President in a bed so large and wide I wondered where one could even buy such a thing.

I had a dream of chatting with the President in a cafe. It was a night that left me certain: in this President’s company, everything would be just fine.