ACADEMY'S UNDERCOVER PROFESSOR
Then I went on patrol and captured nearly 20 students, gave them penalty points, and forced them back into the dormitory.
I mean, why did those guys keep wandering around at night?
The first years were immature because they were new students, but I had a headache seeing that the second years were also caught in my patrol.
'That's how much everyone's interested in this werewolf case.'
The sun was already setting, and darkness blanketed the surroundings.
There were still quite a lot of students hiding inside Sören's land, although security guards were walking around and other professors were patrolling.
'Even though they are just students, they are kids who can use magic, so ordinary employees can't find the kids who are hiding.'
The werewolf case must have fueled their spirit of adventure.
To be honest, I was just going to ignore them and pass by, but I couldn't let them be because each one of them stuck out too much and it bothered me.
If I just ignored them, it was obvious that they would go even wilder when they became proud that they were not caught by the professors.
I couldn't stand that.
'There are a lot of them.'
Most of the students were obsessed with the idea that they would capture the werewolves.
I wondered why they were like that even when they would get penalty points if they got caught inside the school. It turned out that it was because of an official letter that came from Leathevelk.
If they killed the werewolves or captured the werewolves alive, the city itself would pay them a reward.
It was no wonder that it made the students' jaws drop.
'With the desire to be a hero, there's no one whose jaw wouldn't drop when they would get paid, and their reputation would go up if they caught the werewolves.'
Even ordinary people who were short of money would be fascinated by the prize money that they would get from knocking down the werewolves.
In the case of commoners, there was a system that supported scholarships and self-funding within Sören, but it did not provide all the magic textbooks and various other supplies.
There were so many things that the wizards had to pay for.
The same went for students.
If they became a hero in that case, they might have sponsors who noticed their abilities, so it was no wonder that everyone coveted it.
Some boy students seem to have done it because they couldn't beat their youthful passion of getting attention from the opposite sex.
'But since I've sent most of them back to the dormitory, I'll have to start tracking the werewolf again.'
It took a lot of time.
Besides, I realized that the situation was worse than I thought.
I didn't know there would be so many students.
Other professors must have also felt that something was strange and done the patrol more diligently.
If someone other than me found the werewolf first…
And if they noticed that it was not a normal Cryptid but something manufactured from a laboratory…
The situation would spread like a forest fire that was even more out of control.
'So before that happens, I should deal with it.'
I headed to the sewage treatment plant, the most likely route that the werewolf went through in order to sneak into Sören Academy.
Since Sören had a vast land, there was quite a lot of water used in Sören, so there was a huge sewage treatment facility outside the land.
—A place where a huge amount of water was drawn from the Ramsey River, and at the same time, a large amount of water was discharged through a huge earthen pipe.
Considering the size of the werewolf that I encountered at that time, it was highly likely that it went back and forth through the earthen pipe.
'Fortunately, no one has come here yet.'
Most professors went on patrol and sent students back to the dormitory or prepared for an unknown situation.
There was no one who thought about where the werewolf came from or how it moved or chased its prey like me.
Well, it was because that was not the way a wizard did it.
It was a hunter's method.
Walking around the darkened sewage treatment plant, I finally found a trace.
'Footprints.'
The footprints that had clearly stamped on the bushes seemed to have been engraved there for days.
Other people would have been naturally passing it by, but I didn't miss it.
After I approached the footprint and swept it with my hands, I was sure.
'Comparing the size by its footprints, it's a little smaller than the one I encountered then. It must be pretty intimidating.'
However, there was one problem…
There were two kinds of footprints.
Even the werewolf with a relatively larger size appeared to have made some footprints recently.
'Don't tell me, are both of them in Sören already?'
'I thought there was only one, but the footprints show that the guy who ate people in Leathevelk also came all the way here.'
I moved slowly and chased after the tracks.
The two steps initially moved in the same direction but then split on both sides.
—The small one to the right, the big one to the left.
I didn't expect those guys to split up there.
Originally, the wolf had a lonely image, but in reality, it was a beast that flocked groups. Of course, the same went for werewolves, who had inherited such strong tendencies.
Normally, they should've stuck together.
I didn't know why, but those guys were moving separately from that point.
I had to make a choice.
***
'I'm in trouble. I'm too late.'
Lynne, who had ash gray hair , which was rare even in Sören, was running on through Sören with magic textbooks in her arms.
It was a while ago that she forgot to go back to the dormitory and fell asleep while studying in the library.
Looking out the window with her hair clinging to her cheek, she rushed out of the library in a hurry when she saw the sun setting.
While running toward the dormitory, Lynne had no choice but to blame herself.
'Stupid! Idiot! Why did I have to doze off there?'
In recent days, her fatigue had accumulated, perhaps because she had concentrated on homework and studying more and had reduced her sleeping time.
Sören was uneasy, so the professors threatened students to go back to the dorm right away without doing anything else after school.
The source of trouble was that she opened some books in the library with a complacent thought that she would study a little more, then fell asleep.
It was also a student's duty to control their body condition.
Just because she dozed off due to her forgetfulness didn't mean it wasn't her fault.
If she was caught by the professor, there was no excuse for her to avoid a penalty point.
'Aah. Still, getting a penalty point is a bit painful.'
As she was tight on money, she was in a position that required her to survive on a scholarship in Sören. However, Sören's scholarship support amount decreased if the student had a penalty point.
When the student's penalty points were serious, their scholarship application itself was sometimes rejected.
She wouldn't be penalized so badly for one point, but the fact that she might get a penalty point itself came as a burden to her.
'Still, can't I just go back to the dorm before I get caught?'
She also had to avoid the eyes of the dormitory supervisor, but she was confident that she would not be caught by the supervisor—not the professors—somehow.
Lynne continued to move anxiously and walked fast on a road that was being illuminated by streetlights.
When she thought that she would certainly get the penalty point, she had some hopes that there was a possibility of her not getting caught, but she didn't want to move while hiding in the dark.
'Even so, it's too much. How come no one woke me up?'
After thinking so, Lynne sighed deeply.
Originally, it was the basic principle of students attending the academy to make friends and get close to each other, but it was largely due to the controversy caused by disputes with nobles from the beginning of the semester that she couldn't do so.
Due to Dynema Romley's disciplinary action, Lynne was considered an arrogant commoner who insulted the aristocracy, according to the aristocratic students.
Other commoner students were intimidated by the aristocrats and decided they should not go near her.
Still, there were some boy students who asked her if she was okay the next day after the incident.
Her appearance was the only reasonable excuse why those students were approaching her.
Lynne didn't feel like wanting to get close to those people.
* * *
* * *
'The librarian is gone, too. They didn't even want to wake me up in the first place.'
Perhaps the employee who worked as a librarian in the library was also on the side of the aristocracy.
'I'm already being disliked.'
Lynne bit her lips as she felt sad about her situation.
It was the moment when she decided to go back to the dormitory, wash up, and organize what she had learned in the day's class…
—Rustle.
"Who… who is that?"
Lynne stopped her footsteps unconsciously and shuddered.
She must not have been mistaken when she saw that the grass shook greatly beyond the darkness where the trees were planted.
"Hu-hurry up and come out. If you don't, I'll call other people."
Lynne had also heard the rumor that was circulating recently of a werewolf.
There were actually two people who had been hurt, so she couldn't dismiss them as false rumors.
To think that maybe there really was a werewolf that had been rumored…
A chill of fear flowed down her spine.
'No way, is it really a werewolf?'
Lynne stepped back, moving her shaky feet.
At that moment, the rustling sound in the dark approached her quickly.
…And something popped out from inside the bush.
Lynne shouted while closing her eyes tightly.
"Aaaaaah! Help me! I'm not delicious at all! If you eat something like me, you'll only get a stomachache!"
However, the expected shout of the wolf was not heard.
There was also… no pain.
Lynne cracked open her closed eyes slightly.
The first thing she saw was blond hair that shone brightly in the dark under the light of a street lamp.
Leaves were stuck here and there on her body, but her nobility had not faded the slightest bit.
Looking at her with her hands on her waist, she was Lynne's senior, one year above her.
She was the princess of the country.
"Really. What do you mean I'm going to eat you? Isn't it rude to say that in our first meeting?"
"Oh, oh?"
Lynne immediately noticed who the person in front of her was.
No, how could she not recognize that iconic person in the first place?
"Y-Your Highness?"
The 3rd Princess: Elendil von Exileon.
Lynne had also seen her in Ludger's class before, so she bowed her head immediately.
When she saw the princess, she was so shocked and shouted, 'Don't eat me,' so it was not strange to hear her say something about profanity.
However, when Lynne was about to bow her head, Princess Elendil stopped her.
"No, it's fine, it's fine. You don't have to do that."
"B-but….."
"It's my fault that I surprised you in the first place. And this is Sören. Did you forget? Everyone is equal in Sören. You and I are the same."
Listening to Elendil's dignified words, Lynne opened her mouth with an 'eh' without realizing it.
She didn't expect to hear Sören's ideology from the mouth of the princess herself.
Regardless, Elendil was only focused on shaking off the leaves on her body.
"Oh, but why is Your Highness in this place……?"
"I told you not to call me Your Highness. You're a freshman, right? Then just comfortably call me Elendil in a casual way."
"M-me?"
"Because it's more comfortable for me. I don't have any intention of acting impudently with my status in Sören in the first place. Did you say your name was Lynne?"
"Oh? Do you know me?"
"We're taking the spell casting class together. I have a good memory."
"You're amazing."
"Well, that class is really unique. I remember most of the students in that class because it was so intensely craved in my memory. And you're pretty noticeable, too."
Oh. was she talking about her hair ? Lynne smiled bashfully.
She never thought she'd get attention from the princess because of the of her hair.
"So why are you wandering around here late at night? Didn't the teachers warn you?"
"Well… well, that's……."
Despite her shyness, Lynne honestly explained why she was moving alone that late at night.
After listening to her whole story, Elendil opened her eyes wide.
"Whaat? No one woke you up? Isn't that too much?"
"No. It's still my fault that I dozed off."
"No! I can't just let it be. How could they do such a dishonorable thing? I will say something to the librarian as soon as pos—"
"M-more than that! What were you doing here?"
Lynne hurriedly changed the subject because she thought that it had become complicated on her part.
"Oh, you mean me? I'm still in charge of finding and sending back students who haven't returned to the dorm. Everyone must have been so loud right now."
"Uh… Aren't you a student, too?"
"You don't have to worry. I'm moving with permission."
"Oh, I see."
"Anyway, hurry and go back to the dorm. Oh, if you keep going through this path, there's another professor, so if you go back to the dormitory through this path, they won't see you."
"Oh, yes! Thank you!"
It was the moment when Lynne was about to leave while bowing her head…
Grrrr.
A strange sound came to Lynne and Elendil's ears.
If they hadn't heard it wrong, it was definitely the sound of a beast.
"…Lynne. Stay back."
Elendil glared at the darkness and pulled out her wand.
There were a pair of red eyes floating in the dark. It came slowly towards the two of them.
The streetlight showed a werewolf beneath it.
"…I didn't think the werewolf was real."
"The rumor wasn't fake?"
"Why are you so surprised? You were surprised the first time you saw me as well."
"Well, that's because anyone would be surprised if you suddenly come out from the dark like that!"
"Anyway, this is a big problem."
The werewolf in front of them did not look weak at all.
The eyes that were glaring at them obviously consisted of murderous intent.
Lynne and Elendil were pretending to be tough, but they were actually very scared.
Still, as students of Sören, if they couldn't do anything…
"—Get out of the way."
At that moment, there was a strong flame in the air.
The high-temperature flame engulfed the werewolf and burned its whole skin.
Fwoooosh!
The werewolf rolled on the ground, screaming.
Perhaps because of the beast's instinct to avoid fire, it did not die from a direct hit, but its flesh and fur melted down since it could not avoid the blow.
Its wounds were also recovering quickly, but it was enough to buy some time.
Both women's eyes turned to the place where the magic was casted from.
There stood a man.
Lynne shouted his name without realizing it.
"Professor Ludger!"
Ludger Chelysie.
He was wearing a black suit and a black frock coat, still neat and stylish.
Ludger's icy gaze moved away from the werewolf and turned to Lynne and Elendil.
Ludger opened his mouth to the two people who were overwhelmed by such spirit.
"Lynne… And Elendil von Exileon."
"Yes!"
"Yes, Professor."
The two waited for Ludger's next words, feeling fortunate that he had come to rescue them.
"Five penalty points for both of you."
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