ACADEMY'S UNDERCOVER PROFESSOR
Sedina Rochen was hanging about in front of Ludger because she had to tell him something.
That was why she didn't leave after Ludger told her to go and instead hung around the door, and it was fortunate for both of them.
"It seems like the subordinates are doing their own thing as they please."
"Ah, that… yes."
Sedina tried to explain something in Ludger's words, but she immediately nodded when she realized she didn't have to do it.
Just as Ludger said, it was an undeniable fact that they had done things as they pleased.
"What exactly happened?"
"One Second Order… No, someone tried to take care of things without any superior's order."
"Explain it from the beginning."
Ludger's ferocious voice made Sedina's thin body shudder.
But it was not a frightened response.
It was a thrill.
Because her gaze was stuck on Ludger's face, who was staring at her intensely.
"It started with a Third Order asking for information. He was gathering information about some of the employees he had handled while hiding in Sören, and he realized that one of them had made contact with the source of the rumor."
A stone that made wishes come true…
I'd pass it by, saying it was just an absurd rumor that would be common in an Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry if I had simply heard it from someone.
The Third Order had listened to that information as if they were attracted to it.
"That's how they found out the truth… That, somewhere in Sören, a fairly powerful Artifact is secretly kept."
"And the report must have gone up."
"Yes. You are right. The Third Order informed their superior, the Second Order, about this fact. And…"
"The one who received the report didn't report to the people above them."
"…Yes."
It was not a strange thing to inform the First Order of something as great as a Relic.
However, the Second Order cut off and concealed the information on his part…
And he did things as he pleased.
"Did they think I wouldn't know about it?"
Sedina responded hastily to Ludger's voice that even seemed a little angry.
"That… I also don't really…"
"Who's this Second Order?"
"It's someone named Demires."
Ludger tapped his chin and made a gesture for Sedina to say more.
"He is a member of the Second Order who is closely related to the Information Department and was in charge of their work. However, he wasn't as good as his own greed…"
"What do you think is the reason behind why Demires did this?"
"It's hard to judge, but I think that probably… he wants to make a big contribution and move up to the First Order position."
"First Order position?"
"Yes. The founder of our Black Dawn Society, the Zero Order, created the First Order position for seven people, and that position can be changed at any time."
When the story of the First Order came out, Sedina was unconsciously excited.
The First Order had nothing short of her admiration.
It was the same for the man in front of her.
"The First Orders are now firmly protecting their position, but there are not just a few Second Orders who are eager to take over their positions."
"I see."
Ludger shook his head and clicked his tongue as he was thinking about the Black Dawn Society's system.
He already thought that they were notoriously cruel people who brutally dealt with traitors, but he didn't think there would be another harsh rule inside the organization.
'Does that mean that a person who is abandoned or can't handle things properly will lose their seat?'
It meant that the current First Orders might have been there by taking over someone else's positions.
But what he was most curious about was the existence of Zero Order, the founder of the organization.
Who the hell were they to make that crazy rule?
'I'm sure they won't lose their position.'
There was a basis for that conviction.
And the obvious reason was also that he was certain of the Zero Order's power.
He didn't know what kind of guy they were, but Zero Order was the most important person he needed to be careful about.
"So how's the current situation?"
"Well, it seems that Demires did it by calling the other Third Orders who agreed with him. Before the Artifact was moved, he stormed the storage area, seized it, and is now on the run."
"His location?"
"Judging from the situation, he just figured out how to escape, other than that, he's still…"
"So he still hasn't escaped Sören."
"Yes."
Ludger brushed his chin lightly with his hand.
Sedina hadn't checked Demires's whereabouts thoroughly, so it must have been that urgent for her to inform Ludger first.
Considering the time the principal contacted him, it meant that it hadn't been long since the incident had taken place.
However, considering that the principal needed his help, Demires must have been good at running away because he was a member of a secret society.
"Is it a game of hide-and-seek?"
"Pardon?"
"No. I'm just talking to myself."
"Ah. Yes…"
Ludger turned his head and looked out the window.
It was time for the sun to set and the sunset to start burning.
Spring was not over yet, so the daytime was not long. The darkness of the night would cover the surroundings early on.
That would further interfere with his pursuit.
It was the time when the one who was being chased would slow down and the one who was chasing would feel some extent of relief.
That was his time to step up.
"I need to move right now."
"That…! Fi—no, professor, are you going to move on your own?"
"Of course. I have to deal with them before things get any worse."
"What should I do then?"
Sedina gathered her courage and asked so.
If Ludger said he was stepping up and she didn't do anything, it would be uncomfortable for her.
Besides, wasn't all she had been doing bringing in information.
She couldn't say that she was working by only doing that kind of thing.
"Nothing."
"Pardon?"
"Sedina, you've done your part sufficiently just by telling me about this."
"Me?"
She did her part sufficiently?
Sedina didn't know that would come out of Ludger's mouth.
No, it was questionable whether she had ever heard such a compliment properly in her life.
"Are you sure about those words?"
"Yes."
Ludger replied without the slightest hint of doubt.
"You did a good job."
"…!"
Sedina felt a lump in her throat at those words.
It was the first time that she was being acknowledged by someone else.
She was always treated like trash, that was why she had tried to run away from her family, but no one welcomed her after she had fled from that place.
* * *
* * *
She had thought many times that maybe she was at her limit.
But Ludger had acknowledged her.
Her eyes became red and it felt like tears were going to flow from there.
But she desperately held it in.
She couldn't show such an ugly face in front of the person she admired the most.
Flutter.
Ludger took his black long coat from the hanger.
"I will go now. I'll leave the rest to you."
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"…"
He said that as he passed by Sedina, who bowed her head while desperately holding back her tears.
It was no wonder she was hurt by the indifference that he showed when he seemed not to care about her.
Sedina knew that it was because of her own feelings towards him.
***
No, I just said a few words. What was wrong with her?
I shook my head while thinking of Sedina, who was left alone in the professor's room.
I had just said a few words to make her feel better, but I couldn't believe she was crying on her own.
I didn't understand her, but I thought it might be because she went through such hardships.
She was trying hard to pretend to be strong, but it was just a shell to hide the fragile part inside her.
'Is it the Rochen family?'
I had also heard of the Rochen family.
Although it was not quite right to call it recently. It was undeniable that the family had an emerging power among prestigious families.
However, a lot of rumors came out from their family, too. It was not well known, but I was sure the family had grown in all sorts of dirty ways.
If I had to put a grade on their evil deeds, they would be as bad as Belfort Ricksen, who died by my own hands directly.
Perhaps the Rochen family was much worse off than him.
'However, it has nothing to do with me now.'
That was obviously Sedina's personal business.
Her hatred of her family, and her connection to Julia Plumheart…
It had nothing to do with me.
She played the role of my assistant recently, but our relationship was nothing but a shell in the end.
I didn't have to devote myself to paying attention to it.
'I guess there's something else more important than that.'
My priority is to find the stolen Relic the Omnipotent Stone.
Once I heard where the other Black Dawn Society members fled to, there was no problem in chasing them.
Even though Sören was so wide and had a lot of spaces to hide…
That didn't mean I would never find them.
Coming out of the building, I slowly walked down the street and looked up at the sky.
Time was going slowly.
When the sun had completely disappeared beyond the western horizon, the light disappeared without a trace, and coldness was mixed in the wind.
When my surroundings became dim, I began to hear the noise of grass bugs one by one.
Stop.
I stopped my footsteps.
I looked around, but I couldn't see anyone.
No, there were actually students leaving school one by one or people walking around chatting among themselves, but it was true that no one was interested in me.
Well, it was because I was already perfectly assimilated with my surroundings.
Ater Nocturnus.
The black shadow that covered my body was swaying and hid my existence from the surrounding scenery.
It was my original magic called black nocturne in Latin.
Unusually, however, unlike its appearance, that magic was not a dark attribute elemental magic.
It wasn't even the Spellcasting-type of magic that I taught the students.
To be exact, it was a Summoning-type magic.
One of the five magic affiliations, Summoning magic.
There were four specialties in this Summoning magic:
Spirit, which followed the will of nature…
Golems that were made of metal and earth…
Creed that invoked and applied the remaining will of the soul…
And the last one was the Magic Beast I was using.
All wizards dealt with mana, and that mana was a mysterious power that had not yet been properly defined.
When a person dealt with that mysterious power, the mana itself was affected by the person's tendency.
Whether it was their body type, living experiences, the spellcaster's wishes, or hidden talents.
It didn't matter what it was.
All of those elements were woven into one, and the mana itself had its own will and had a shape as a Summoned Beast.
That was a Magic Beast.
The Magic Beasts, which had different forms and abilities, were in a different track from ordinary living things.
Even the Magic Beast I was handling right then was taking the form of 'clothes' rather than a normal summoned beast.
And its role was also heterogeneous.
"Let's go."
Seeeuukk.
The shadow at the end of my coat flowed like ink that was dropped in the water and moved on the ground.
Soon, a shadow that was clearer than the darkness laid like a carpet on the ground, creating a road.
I moved along the path that it led me to.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong?"
"No. It seems like there was something passing by just now."
"I didn't feel it, though? Was it bird?"
No one that I encountered in the dark could recognize me.
They couldn't even recognize my existence.
It was one of the abilities that my magic beast, Ater Nocturnus, possessed.
It devoured and got rid of the abstract power called the 'existence' of its summoner. It did not just hide its summoner, so it showed great performance that let its summoner conduct a magical search without even getting caught.
However, it could not be used for a long time.
Because my presence was being eaten, if I wore it for a long time, it would devour my existence.
Sraaak.
I took the pills out of my pocket and put them in my mouth.
I would not be able to use it for long because of its extreme consumption of mana.
Because even though it followed my order well, it didn't listen to me all the time.
It followed me because I fed it like that or else it would eat me at any time.
'Every magic that I use is missing some screws.'
As I was teaching the basics after coming to Sören, I realized that fact even more.
Still, I had no choice but to use it.
I kept moving in the dark while thinking so.
***
"Huh?"
"Flora? What's wrong?"
After finishing the day's study, Flora Lumos stopped in her spot while walking along the street with her childhood friend, Cheryl.
Cheryl was confused at Flora's sudden action, but Flora didn't answer her.
'Just now, something passed by me.'
It couldn't be seen with her eyes.
It couldn't be felt with her skin either.
If it were someone else, they would have mistaken it for wind.
But Flora wasn't like that.
'There's a scent.'
A strong scent came toward her and then moved away from her again.
It wasn't a mere scent; it was definitely a magic scent.
If the usual magic scent was sweet and stimulating…
The scent of magic just then was a little darker and deeper, like black coffee full of flavor.
'What on earth was that? A magic that can't be seen by my eyes…'
Even the fact that the magic passed by her…
Flora was curious, even though her pride was slightly hurt by her curiosity.
'The scent still remains.'
The reverberation of that scent still remained like a path.
'Let's go.'
Flora thought so and immediately took action.
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"Flora? Flora!"
Cheryl Wagner anxiously called out to Flora because of her weird behavior.
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