Chapter sponsored by Ix and Melekono. Thank you for your support.
Quasimodo eventually died but as the tigers that leave behind their skin when they die so did he. He left a red jewel when he died and I packed it right away before anyone else noticed.
I didn't check it properly, but I had a feeling that it was the nucleus of Quasimodo and the source of its power. It was a stone similar to a spirit stone that is created by the power of the spirits.
In the case of Quasimodo it can be called cryptid core not spirit stone.
I rolled the jewel over my finger and opened it gently. Heat swirled inside the red jewel, a flame that continues to burn and regenerate endlessly.
This familiar feeling was the fire of Quasimodo and it was a very interesting subject for me.
'I don't know how to use it, but it won't hurt to have it.'
It was fortunate that Zero Order didn't find out about this. Maybe that's even the reason he came.
I was trying to breathe a sigh of relief, but a familiar person was approaching me from afar.
A dazzling gray hair that is clearly visible even in the dark night and at the same time, the inside of the hair was pink. It was a strange two-tone hair.
I immediately changed my facial expression and hid the jewel.
"You are here President."
The president, who always had a smile that was hard to understand, was uncharacteristically serious.
"Mr. Rudger, what the hell happened?"
That resolute voice was full of will to hear the truth from me no matter what.
I waited knowing this would happen and explained in detail what I had seen and experienced to the president. Naturally, it was a different truth from what the Zero Order had been told, with another lie added to it.
"This is what happened."
"Is that so?"
After hearing the story, the president covered his mouth with her hand. I kept an eye on the scene and was thinking of taking the questions in moderation.
'Head…'
My head was dizzy and my vision was spinning like a whirlpool swirling inside my skull. Is it because of the aftermath of excessive fighting and extreme tension?
My body slowly leaned to the side.
"…Mr. Rudger!"
The last thing I saw was the bewildered look of the president who looked at me and shouted in amazement. It was the first time I realized that she could show that expression.
* * *
The magic festival of Theon ended successfully. There was no accident that I was worried about, and people were all satisfied and went back to their daily lives.
The unsettled atmosphere has been completely reversed by one festival. But people won't know that on the last day of the festival, a fire broke out while fireworks were in full swing.
Some people were distracted by the flashy fireworks, but there were people who tried desperately behind the stage to prevent the fire from spreading.
"Still, it didn't cause any major damage, though."
While reading the report of the warehouse fire in her office, Elisa slipped the papers to one side of her desk and yawned gracefully.
The fire at the logistics warehouse was almost finished because she, the president, stepped up herself but she still thought at the words Rudger had told her the day before.
'The culprit behind the logistics warehouse fire is Crollo Fabius.'
Elisa, who crossed her arms, tapped her arms with her fingers.
'He was an honorary teacher who was staying in Theon thanks to the former president, probably.'
She didn't care about Crollo Fabius. Although he came from a family famous in the Durman Kingdom, it was all in the past.
The Fabius family fell under a curse and the reason why such a person entered Theon was probably because he made some kind of deal with the former president.
Elisa didn't care if such a person was in Theon anyway, so she bothered with him.
'To take a teacher hostage in collusion with the Black Dawn Society.'
Elisa reflected on what Rudger said to her the previous day.
– The Black Dawn Society and Crollo Fabius joined hands. From the fire in the warehouse to the previous attack in the banquet hall, it was all by Crollo Fabius.
-Is that true? What happened to him?
– I killed him.
The voice sounded so indifferent that it sounded as if he was saying that he had cleaned up the trash on the side of the road.
– He was practically impossible to subdue because he used the monster of fire that previously attacked the banquet hall.
– So you killed him?
– I was also in danger, so there was nothing I could do about it. If I left it alone, I could not guarantee the safety of teacher Selina, either.
– I'm not trying to blame Mr. Rudger. Rather, it's a relief that there were no deaths. It's just, I was a little surprised.
What she heard from Rudger was quite shocking.
Crollo Fabius joined hands with the Black Dawn Society to rebuild his family. And on the last day of the festival, taking advantage of the crowds, he must have been planning to launch a terrorist attack as he did in the banquet hall.
However, thanks to Rudger's performance, their plans ended up falling apart and she even heard the shocking truth that Crollo Fabius was the culprit who caused the Roteng fire in the past.
If the suppression of the incident was even a little late, the festival held after a long time might have been ruined at the end.
'The Black Dawn Society.'
When she checked, the external forces hiding in Theon were called the Black Dawn Society. The suspicious movements that had been caught inside Theon for a while were also them.
'Those who have been moving before must have also been them.'
Elisa knew about the existence of the Black Dawn Society but she didn't expect them to hide so deep in Theon.
'I've been ignoring them because there's been no direct contact so far.'
But after this festival she has no choice but to change her attitude.
'I'm glad they were caught before an incident happened.'
On the last day of the festival, about 20 members of the Black Dawn Society were captured alive. Half of them by Aidan and the other freshmen and half by Rudger Chelici.
Two people were killed: Crollo Fabius and Joanna Lovett.
'It would be fortunate if there were no fatalities.'
However, there were parts that were not clear.
First of all, it's good that the situation ended safely thanks to Rudger's actions; however, all of this was too neatly done.
'There are criminals and there are witnesses. I'm glad there were no victims. Not bad. It's a good thing.'
Things worked out strangely well.
All the remnants of the Black Dawn Society hidden in Theon were captured alive, of which Crollo Fabius and Joanna Lovett, who led the Black Dawn Society, died.
Except for the deaths of the two key members miraculously there were no victims and all that happened was that teachers Selina and Rudger were injured.
'Maybe.'
That's what Elisa had in mind.
'What if Crollo Fabius wasn't the real killer?'
What if there's another killer and he blamed everything on Crollo Fabius?
Elisa soon shook her head.
'What am I thinking?'
Rudger and Selina couldn't have been the culprits in the first place.
Selina is a spirit user but the spirits she has contracts with are intermediate level spirits of water, wind, and earth. It was practically impossible to also have a highest level fire spirit along with those three.
'It's impossible unless you have two souls in one body.'
Then what about Rudger?
'Even more impossible.'
Just looking at the magic that Rudger has shown so far is enough to already have an impact on academia. Besides, what about coordinate designation magic that has not been officially revealed yet?
All of them were related to the manifestation system.
Such a Rudger also had a highest level spirit of fire?
Why would a talented person like that come to work as a teacher at Theon?
In addition, Rudger even burned his arm while saving Selina from the fire. If he had a contract with a spirit of fire, that injury didn't make sense.
In the end, thinking rationally, the culprit was Crollo Fabius.
Elisa rubbed her cheeks with her hands.
'Yes, it's not good for my skin.'
She felt sorry for Rudger, too.
He saved Theon from a crisis while she was not present. Originally, that was her job as president.
'I'll have to give Mr. Rudger a personal thank you later.'
Looking at the duel that day, it seemed like he lacked a little bit of mana, so should I bring him some healthy medicine?
Knock, knock.
While thinking like that, someone knocked on the door of the president's office.
Elisa's expression, which had been loosened, changed completely.
"Come on in."
As soon as the permission was given, the door of the president's office opened and a woman entered. She had beautifully colored hair that seems to have brought the blue color of the vast sky. Even the smell of water appeared as soon as she entered.
Elisa smiled at her.
"Nice to meet you Ms. Casey Selmore."
Casey Selmore, a [Colour] wizard.
She stared at Elisa and their eyes were tangled in the air.
* * *
Theon hospital room, which would normally have been quiet, was unusually crowded.
"Teacher Selina! Make sure you get well soon!"
"Here's a hospital visit gift."
"I'll put the flowers here!"
"Thank you all."
The next day after the festival students came to visit Selina after hearing that she was injured in an accident during the festival.
"I heard you got hurt while managing the firecracker warehouse. Are you alright?"
"You must get well!"
"Yes, I will."
First of all, Selina is in the hospital room because of an accident caused by poor management of magic powder at the end of the festival.
What happened in the logistics warehouse was kept secret, so the students all believed Selina had an accident.
Maybe it's because she's usually popular but Selina's hospital room was filled with bouquets of flowers for her recovery.
"Thank you all so much!"
Selina thanked the students who visited her one by one, even though she might be tired of too many visits. Some boys blushed and even stuttered at the bright smile.
"Who's making so much noise?"
At the same time, the blinds next to Selina were lifted.
"Oh, Mr. Rudger?"
"You have a lot of nerve to scream in a space where the patient has to rest. Would it be okay to call it a challenge to me?"
"Sin, I'm sorry!"
When Rudger frowned, the students who had gathered rushed out.
Rudger shook his head at the sight.
"Teacher Selina, you don't have to force yourself to accept all the students' stubbornness."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you Mr. Rudger."
"The noisy students were at fault, it's not your responsibility."
"But you hurt yourself trying to save me, didn't you? In terms of the cause, Mr. Rudger is in the hospital room because of me."
"I'm the one who made the choice. And it's a wound that will heal soon. I just need to rest for half a day."
That's why the two were assigned the same hospital room.
"Oh, you did, didn't you?"
At Rudger's words, Selina wriggled her fingers.
"Well, I wanted you to stay longer……Should I say that I'm sad? I think it's a good opportunity……."
"What did you just say?"
"Oh, no! Nothing!"
Selina, realizing that she was thinking out loud, waved her hand with a red face.
Rudger looked carefully at Selina and asked.
"Are you sick?"
"Yes, yes, yes?!"
"Your face is red."
"Well, that's… I mean…."
Selina closed her eyes tightly.
"I, I have never had any evil thoughts or thoughts that it would be nice to be with you! I really didn't!"
"Yes…? Oh, yes."
Rudger was bewildered by Selina's behavior and he hoped she wasn't sick.
'No way… … Am I being watched?'
It was probably because she shared the same room with a man, right? Even though it was only for half a day, it seems that she certainly lacked consideration.
Selina, on the other hand, blamed herself for saying that.
'I'm a fool! I didn't have to talk this much!'
It was an opportunity to be alone with Rudger for a long time, but she couldn't talk properly.
'But it's hard to bear. Just looking at his face makes my heart explode.'
Selina placed her hand on her chest, which was still beating like crazy.
'This feeling. It's the first time.'
So she has no idea what to do next or how to deal with Rudger.
'Should I ask Ms. Merylda later?'
When I was thinking about that, Rudger closed the blinds again.
'Ah.'
Selina had no choice but to suck her fingers in regret.
Lying on the bed, Rudger had a ring in his pocket.
'Zero Order said that there will be a meeting of executives and handed it over. Does that mean that there is some kind of device in this ring?'
Rudger looked around at the ring.
'Hmm. What about this?'
There was a gleam in his eyes.