ACADEMY'S UNDERCOVER PROFESSOR
While I was contemplating whether to kill Aidan or not, I remembered when he had carefully approached the werewolves.
—His stupid act of pulling out a crude recovery potion and smiling at the werewolf's child.
—It's okay. I won't hurt you.
Thinking about Aidan's life or death, I shook my head.
I couldn't kill him.
I could be as careful as I could if I did the work I had to do, but I couldn't completely rule out the situation where I was suspected by Aidan.
'Should I bring up the situation where I became a professor in Sören after I was caught up in terrorism while getting on a train?'
In the end, it was natural if something completely unexpected happened.
There was a saying of 'black swan theory'.
—When an event that's completely unexpected occurs, it analyzes the event by fitting together the cause of the event through the results of it, and in fact, it claims that there was a prelude to such an event and that it was possible to predict it.
It meant that post-analysis was easy, but pre-investigation might be harder to do and that the event's causes were forced to fit together.
But looking at my situation…
It was impossible to fit the string of causes together, even if the black swan's theory was being considered.
'Most of all, I can't disturb Aidan anymore because he's getting attention from the principal.'
Of course, I was the one who had suggested giving him award points to the principal.
But that was inevitable. I couldn't deny that the trio of Aidan, Leo, and Tessie were at the scene at the same time.
And what could have been the result if I were to punish Aidan thoroughly when the principal had not yet completely cleared me of her suspicions?
In fact, the principal did not like the aristocratic-centric atmosphere in Sören and was satisfied with the appearance of a commoner boy who played a big role.
'Moreover, although Aidan is a commoner, he possesses the rare Uncommon Magic.'
According to his data, it was his teacher—a wandering wizard—who had taught him when he was young.
It was a funny thing for him to be able to learn Uncommon Magic quickly just because he had been taught about it, and it was even funnier that his teacher was a wandering wizard.
If it wasn't a strange fate, what was it, then?
Anyway, Aidan was a boy who knew how to use such uncommon magic and had been secretly receiving the attention of the principal for a long time.
It was a dangerous thing and I would gain suspicions if I messed around with Aidan.
It was better if…
'Why don't I use Aidan?'
As with the Uncommon Magic that he had, I had a strong feeling that something about him would bring about all kinds of events.
The same went for his actions and his mental attitude.
—It felt like he was born to bring along righteousness.
I thought that a person like Aidan might be able to face the Black Dawn Society hiding in Sören.
'It's not bad, but I'll just leave it open as part of the possibilities.'
After that night, I didn't even know what Aidan thought of me, and no matter what method had been used for him to learn uncommon magic, he was still only a student.
It was better to watch over him for the next few days or weeks, judging from the severity of the situation.
It wouldn't be too late to make a judgment then.
'Let's concentrate on my recovery for now.'
The voices had completely gone, but my body was still sore from the aftereffects, so I had no choice but to take a rest.
I was worried about class the next day, but at that rate, I thought my recovery would be almost completed by morning.
I closed my eyes while thinking so.
***
Terina Lionhowl frowned while looking at the burnt-out evidence.
All burned to the ground…
The site that used to be an abandoned factory was nothing but burnt traces.
"Captain… What can we investigate if the situation is like this?"
"It looks like everything got burnt."
Just as the two lieutenants said, the factory was burned down, and there were no clues left as to why it happened.
Terina tapped the ashes with the tip of her military boots.
"As expected, this is strange. A fire breaks out in an abandoned factory where people don't visit often, and everything around here has been burned down."
"Did they burn down everything because they didn't want to leave behind a tail?"
"I suppose so."
When she heard the news of the fire, she had vaguely guessed that it would be like that.
Looking at the ruins where there was nothing left, something tasted bitter.
Terina patted her chin and arranged her thoughts.
'The death of Belfort Ricksen… A mysterious thief… Werewolf… Fire in an abandoned factory… All happened the same day.'
All of those puzzle pieces were put in one place, and they formed a picture to a certain extent.
But there was a big hole in the center of the puzzle, the most important piece…
It was not known who was behind the incident.
"Lloyd. Were there any other cases besides this?"
When Terina asked him, Lloyd pushed the rimless glasses on his face with his fingertips.
Lloyd, whose hair was neatly brushed in pomade, had more of a scholarly appearance than a knightly one, so to speak.
And in fact, his main tasks were related to obtaining and organizing information and incident identification.
"There were no other special cases except for this one, but…"
"But?"
"I also heard that werewolves appeared at Sören Academy."
"Sören Academy?"
It wasn't that Terina didn't know about Sören.
It was the Empire's best educational institution that fostered wizards.
Established with the full support of various kingdoms, empires, and magic towers, Sören was also a place with history and tradition that was over hundreds of years old.
In particular, it was also a famous place for giving equal opportunities to the commoners and those belonging to the lower class if they had the ability, not just for the nobles and the rich.
Sören was located within the empire, but it was a place that was free from the empire's touch.
'Werewolves appeared in Sören, he said?'
"Yes. It appears that werewolves from Leathevelk infiltrated Sören through a sewer pipe."
"It must have been a big deal for the students."
"Fortunately, there were no deaths. There were about two people injured, but even their injuries didn't affect their lives."
"What happened to the werewolves that hid in Sören?"
"The currently appointed professor dealt with them."
"I see. If it's a Sören professor, then they're bound to be an exceedingly decent wizard. How about the werewolves? Is there anything left?"
"None. The professor burned them all."
"Burned?"
For a moment, she thought it was similar to the burning of the factory, but it was too much of a speculation.
In the first place, it was common for flame spells to be used as the elemental magic to effectively eliminate monsters such as Cryptids.
"Hmm. Sören. Sören, huh…"
"Do you want to go to Sören? You might get some clues."
Terina shook her head at Lloyd's question.
"No. Not yet. For now, I'm focusing on gathering the clues around here."
However, it seemed necessary to keep in mind that there was also one possibility in Sören.
"Someday, we'll find out."
That's why she had come forward.
The people who were doing their activities secretly in the Empire…
She needed to uproot them and restore national stability—that was the mission and significance of the Nightcrawler Knight Order.
* * *
* * *
The classroom in which Ludger taught spellcasting…
The students gathered there while talking among themselves about what had happened last time.
Of course, the subjects of the conversation were werewolves and Ludger.
"Did Professor Ludger really hunt the werewolves?"
"They said he was a soldier. I heard that he also achieved a military achievement for hunting Cryptids, so it's probably true."
"Whoa. I already thought the atmosphere that he had was no joke from day one, so it was real."
In addition, Ludger had stopped the fight between the commoner Lynne and the aristocrat Dynema Romley, and even his adult-like speech was also mentioned in the middle of their conversation.
Before the first day of class, Ludger's evaluation was not so good among the students.
That was because he hadn't said much about what he would teach in his class and had also announced conducting joint classes for the first and second-years.
He had boasted that they would know what he was about to teach when they came into his class, but how many people believed in that remark?
It was said that he was a new professor, so why would he be so confident?
His evaluation had improved when his past track record was revealed a bit, but there were still some negative judgments toward him.
However, the source code that he presented on the first day of his class was a groundbreaking spell.
From the moment he showed the spell, the students' evaluation towards Ludger was bound to change.
Not only did the students who didn't attend Ludger's class regret not taking his class just because he was a new professor and a fallen aristocrat, but there were also some students who tried to change their course time so they could enter Ludger's class.
Even the fourth-years, who were getting busy preparing for graduation, were rejected for applying to his lecture late.
As time went on, more conversations about Ludger's lecture circulated around.
Even fellow professors were interested in Ludger's source code spell, and rumors had been circulating that the news had also entered the magic tower.
The werewolf case was like a cherry on top for Ludger's achievements.
Among the first and second-years, the name Ludger Chelysie was bound to be known.
'Professor Ludger's name is mentioned a lot these days, huh.'
Elendil, who was still listening to the story about Ludger, recalled Ludger's appearance that day.
—The man who said the words he wanted to say coldly toward her, who held the status of a princess.
No, his attitude, which seemed rather oddly hostile to her, clearly made her dumbfounded.
No matter how she had done something wrong, he didn't have to speak in such a harsh way.
'Moreover, he actually treated my junior, Lynne, tenderly.'
At that time, the situation was so urgent that she decided to overlook it, but now that she thought about it, she felt it was somewhat unfair.
She couldn't believe that there was someone in this world who looked down on the princess and cared more for commoners.
Wasn't it usually the other way around?
Of course, such a thought came to her mind when she saw Ludger fighting with the werewolf under the moonlit night.
Just in time, the back door of the classroom opened, and a girl came in.
She had ash-gray short hair and relatively long side hair.
It was Lynne.
Her shoulder shuddered at the burdensome gazes some students had toward her.
Because of her incident with Dynema at the beginning of the semester, the aristocratic students did not look at Lynne favorably.
As a result, Lynne was in a situation where she went around alone without making friends.
Seeing that the seats in the classroom were almost full, Lynne had to go to the only empty seat.
It was the most burdensome seat since it was beside Elendil, the princess.
"Hello, Lynne. How have you been since that day?"
"I… I'm fine. Elendil."
The seat next to the third Princess.
Even the aristocrats who wanted to make connections with the imperial woman were avoiding such a burden, yet the commoner Lynne sat there.
Even when Elendil greeted her in a tender manner, some students' eyes were bound to stare at them profoundly.
'What is that commoner doing? When did they become so close?'
Lynne couldn't raise her head, as the gazes toward her were getting more intense.
'Aaah. Why are they doing this only to me?'
To be frank, it was her honest feelings that she didn't want to be involved with anyone.
What happened at the beginning of the semester was just something light.
No, it was not light, but it was just something that happened accidentally.
After her mistake, Dynema was punished accordingly, so she didn't mean to say anything about it anymore.
But it was just uncomfortable for the third parties to step up as they pleased as if it was their business.
Because of that, it was not normal for her to be hated by the aristocratic students.
Creeaaak.
The front door of the classroom opened.
All the students shut their mouths.
"…"
"…"
Everyone sat upright and stared at Ludger, who was entering the class through the open door.
The man was exactly as looked on the first day. His movements were restrained, and his footsteps were silent.
The only thing different was his attire.
On the first day, he had worn a gray suit and a black frock coat along with a silk hat, but what they saw was different.
He wore a white longcoat with a black suit underneath along with a red necktie with the addition of a wine-colored scarf that was wrapped around his neck.
He didn't wear a hat.
His sharp gaze and sculptural appearance were clearly revealed.
The students were focused on the sight.
Some of the girl students stared blankly at Ludger.
"I'll start the class."
Along with those words, a pile of papers that Ludger brought was scattered in the air.
A total of 80 sheets of paper flew in the wind and settled naturally on the students' desks.
They were printed materials by a copy machine containing what he was about to teach that day.
"Today, I will explain the basics and principles of spell casting, one of the specialties of the Elemental Property."
—One of the four specialties of spell casting, Elemental Properties.
It was the most important field for the wizards, and it was also the most popular specialization that most people thought of when they thought about 'magic'.
Even then, when magic had developed in various ways, the students would still think of fire, water, ice, and wind when they thought of magic.
In other words, however, it was the most basic knowledge that most of the freshmen who had just entered Sören had already learned.
When they heard that they were going to learn it again, the students' reactions, who expected some marvelous class, were bound to be somewhat disappointing.
It was then that Ludger continued his explanation.
"But this alone will not satisfy your passion and desire for learning magic, so I'm going to show you a new method here today."
"New…"
"Method?"
Was there anything they needed to know for the elemental magic?
When the students were all wondering, some of them who had already learned the advanced course noticed what Ludger was trying to do.
"This is a method to increase the power of elements that you can use from at least 20 percent to at least 80 percent."
"There's such a thing?"
They couldn't dismiss it as a lie, as Ludger had shown his own unique ways so far.
"What do you think?"
Ludger asked while skimming over the classroom.
"Are you interested now?"
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