Osian looked at his ID.
The name Eddie Rohr was written on the brass card, along with a picture of him in disguise.
The man's appearance was unfamiliar, even to Osian.
He had brown bangs that shaded his eyes, and his skin was tanned as if he'd done something rough.
And then there were the shaded cheeks and the high-powered glasses on his face.
No matter how you look at it, he was a different person. And the appearance in this photo was similar to his current appearance.
‘The power of disguise is amazing.’
Makeup alone can change a person's image, but what if you disguise yourself properly?
Even his family wouldn't recognize him.
‘Now the important thing is to get inside the academy.’Osian glanced at the large front gate.
There was a separate entrance for employees working inside, and a guard stood there.
‘They said I have to go through a checkpoint.’
As expected of a prestigious academy, there was a checkpoint at the entrance.
Of course, the checkpoints aren't excessive, just a procedure to check if you're bringing in any magic tools.
Osian casually stood in line, and eventually his turn came.
He casually handed the guard his ID, just as the person in front of him had done.
The guard checked his face against the ID and waved it away.
“Next.”
The first round was easy. The only thing left to do is to check for magic tools, but since I didn't pack any, I shouldn't be caught.
'This was easier than I thought. No, not that easy.'
Without Ronan and Ena's help, I would have struggled from here.
It would have taken me at least a week to get in here alone.
‘Now for the important part.’
Even from the outside, the Grand Cloister was quite large.
As far as the eye could see, the ornate buildings were overwhelming.
'Wide, but too wide.’
The number of students, workers, and staff moving around here must be over 1,000.
The space to accommodate all of these people is so large that the grounds alone are equivalent to a neighborhood.
In fact, Grand Cloister Academy and its adjacent neighborhoods alone occupy over 7% of the 30th district.
In front of the main building was a very large plaza.
Students here were gathered in groups of three or four, taking a break or having a meeting.
If you saw them like that, under the bright sunshine, you could say they were living the ideal academy life but that's not what Osian was looking for.
‘Just a bunch of shrunken, sullen guys.’
Not in the center of the plaza, but on its outskirts, a few students moved silently and walked alone.
‘Usually they're the ones who get high on the drug and wander off.’
But he couldn't move right now.
He was here as a worker, and wandering around alone in broad daylight would arouse suspicion.
The right time to move would be when the sun was setting.
Until then, it was better to familiarize himself with the overall structure of the Academy.
‘Besides, drug deals don't happen during the day, they're usually done at night, when most people are off work or back in their dorms.’
Osian slipped in among the moving staff and worked with them.
Normally, if you're undercover, you're not supposed to get too close to the staff, but Osian didn't have to.
“Are you the new guy they said came in?”
“Eddie Rohr.”
A man in his mid-40s with a grizzled face asked Osian politely.
“I, uh, I'm Baxton, the......who's going to show you around inside today.......”
“Long story short.”
The man who introduced himself as Baxton looked at Osian.
It was inevitable. Now he realized he'd let a stranger inside the Academy.
As a staff member, if he knew this, he should have informed the people on campus immediately, but he couldn't.
“You mean to tell me, sir, that you will forgive some of my debts...... just for showing you around for a day?”
Baxton is a janitor at the Grand Cloister.
One would think he'd be immensely proud to be a full-time employee of a place like this, but he's not.
He had debts to pay and a family to feed.
Baxton's janitorial job barely paid the interest, so he accepted the risky offer.
“As long as you don't pull any stunts.”
Ronan's help was much appreciated.
Even if Osian could infiltrate the organization safely, he'd have trouble operating from the inside.
That's why he'd deliberately hired a real employee to work alongside him.
That's enough to keep everyone else's suspicions at bay.
“By the way, what exactly are you doing here.......?”
“That's none of your business, you should only care about what you have to do.”
The cold words would have made a normal person cringe, but Baxton's shoulders slumped in understanding.
Typical small-mindedness. Osian was used to dealing with people like that, so he didn't point it out.
“That's the dormitories, and this building is the magic lab, where students, teachers, and researchers can study and use various fields of magic.”
Outside, there were outdoor training grounds and even what looked like greenhouses.
Baxton had been here long enough to know a lot about it.
His initial fear of Osian is gone, and he's happy to explain things.
When Osian stared at him in wonder, perhaps sensing the stares behind his glasses, he smiled awkwardly.
“I apologize. I got a little too excited, didn't I?”
“I don't mind. I don't know these things, so it's not like I'm annoyed to hear them.”
“Haha, that's nice of you to say.”
Just as Osian had gotten to know Baxton a little, Baxton seemed to know a little about Osian.
He wondered if he was someone who hid his identity, sneaking around and doing dangerous things, but he didn't give off that vibe.
Aside from his stern demeanor, he was surprisingly considerate of others.
You could tell by the way he listened to his story without getting annoyed.
‘I wonder what brought him to this place.’
Baxton wondered, but he knew he shouldn't ask, so he continued his tour.
As they walked down the hallway of the lab, light was streaming through the glass windows.
“Uh, isn't that Mr. Baxton?”
Three male students recognized him and approached.
It's usually a sign of familiarity when people call you by your first name. But these three didn't seem to fit into the “normal” category.
‘They're smiling, but they're actually laughing.’
Osian eyed the three students carefully.
A short, mousy blond boy was in the center, flanked by a skinny one and a burly one.
All of them wore Grand Cloister robes.
While Osian analyzed, Baxton spoke to the trio.
“You must be Raymond. How did you do in class today?”
“There's nothing to listen to, it's so easy it makes me yawn.”
“Heh, heh, heh. I see. I wish my son was as good as you. So, how are things going with Slaine?”
“Fine. Who else is going to be his friend around here but us?”
From the sounds of the conversation, Slaine was supposed to be Baxton's son.
Osian could see why Baxton was working here, and why he was drowning in debt.
‘He spent all that money to get his son into a magic academy.’
If his son had no talent, this wouldn't have happened, but the fact that he was admitted here proves his talent.
Not that the average laborer could afford the exorbitant fees.
‘And those three......well, that's just a guess.’
The fact that they're befriending Slaine right now is telling.
They spoke as if they were best friends, but underneath it all was a contemptuous feeling that Baxton's son could not get along with anyone else.
‘I don't think he knows that.’
Osian had seen him as a lowly citizen, but that didn't mean he couldn't be shrewd and manipulative.
Perhaps he knows that the students in front of him were looking down on him but he can't get angry. All he could do was shrug it off like a grown-up.
He was a hired janitor. Those three, on the other hand, are students who pay to be here.
If a fight broke out, it was obvious who would get kicked out.
The fight itself could not take place before such formal discipline. Baxton was a commoner, and the three in front of him were mages.
“Oh, by the way. Mister, did Slaine ask for some pocket money?”
“Slaine?”
“Yep. But he's too embarrassed to ask for it himself, so he asked us to do it for him. You know Slaine's personality, don't you?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Baxton smiled awkwardly, the corners of his mouth curling up.
Despite his expression, his insides were black and rotten.
He was being ripped off by his own son's friends, and he couldn't say no.
Slaine asked for it? No way. Baxton knows. He knows, and he pretends not to.
‘This must have happened more than once.’
It builds up and builds up, and eventually it's bound to spill out through the cracks.
Like right now.
“Well, I don't have any money right now, and I'm kind of busy training new people here, so can I give it to you later?”
“What? What's that, Slaine asked for it, do you hate it that much?”
“No, it's not that.......”
“Hey, mister.”
Raymond, the blond boy, said with a straight face.
“We're going to hang out with Slaine and use it for a good cause, and you don't like it? Really?”
“That's.......”
“Dude, look at your face. What was that look?”
“Ugh, huh?”
“Oh. Never mind, never mind. You're just in a bad mood. If you don't like it, you and Slaine are the losers, not us.”
Raymond waved his hand and turned to leave.
An impatient Baxton grabbed Slaine.
“Raymond, don't do that.......”
“Oh, let go of me! It's that or give it to me now.”
Baxton's expression was troubled. His trembling hand went to his pocket for his wallet.
Raymond gave him a look that said it all.
Osian, watching the scene, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them.
Then he spoke.
“Mr. Baxton. We need to move on to the next lab building, or the faculty will scold us.”
Osian's words interrupted the flow of events with precision.
Raymond, the other two and Baxton's gazes turned to Osian.
“If we're late again, that's a pay cut. We'd better get moving if we're going to make it on time.”
“Uh, uh, uh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, heh, heh, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me. I'm sorry.”
Baxton grabbed Osian's hand and dragged him away.
Being the perceptive person he was, he realized exactly what Osian was trying to do.
“Oh, well.”
The trio didn't even have time to catch him.
Their piercing gazes were directed at Osian for interrupting them, but he ignored them.
When they finally made it out of the lab wing, Baxton breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hah, thank you. How shall I repay you for your help?”
“I just helped you out because I was just wasting my time if you got involved in something annoying. And you don’t have to bow your head. You’re my shooter now.”
“I see.”
Baxton's expression lightened.
At that moment, a boy approached from one side. He was a small man with a discontented look on his face, and he glared at Baxton.
“Dad, what are you doing?”
“Huh? Huh. It's Slaine.”
“I told you, stay away from the lab, I told you so many times. Why don't you listen to me?”
“I'm sorry. How's life at the Academy these days? Is it worth it? I work here, and I don't even get to see my son.”
“Forget it, and I'm telling you, don't pretend to know me here!”
With that, Slaine shouted and stormed off.
By the looks of his reaction, he'd seen Baxton run-in with Raymond in the lab hallway.
Despite his embarrassment, Osian felt something stirring in his stomach.
It had nothing to do with him, but he was just annoyed.
“Haha, I've made my son angry again.”
“Maybe one day he'll understand his father.”
“That's nice of you to say.”
Osian's gaze followed Slaine's retreating form.
‘The timid nature, the dwarf size, the way he walks around alone with no friends, the uneasy look he gave me the other day.’
It may be sooner or later that a runaway situation will occur.
Osian's eyes took in Slaine's features.
“Oh, by the way. I'm going to take a quick trip to the restroom. I won't be long.”
“Oh, okay. I'll wait here for you then.”
Osian headed straight for the lab building he had just exited.
*
“Ha, that sucks. What's with that asshole all of a sudden?”
“What.”
“That janitor’s kid. He just barged in and left.”
“Oh, him? Yeah. I was just about to extort a decent amount of money when he interrupted me.”
In a quiet, shaded spot in the back of the lab, the small boy and the large boy gritted their teeth as they recalled what had just happened.
“Raymond. What do you think?”
“What?”
“The janitor. Do you want me to take care of him?”
“Never mind. He’s a guy that is old and comes here to clean anyway, so don’t worry about it.”
“What, you're being uncharacteristically charitable today?”
“It's just that I'm more annoyed with that asshole, Baxton.”
“Heh heh. Dude, Slaine’s in big trouble today. Raymond looks really pissed.”
Skinny laughed at the thought of Slaine's future, and the big man let out a low chuckle.
A figure approached the three of them.
“Huh? What is it?”
Skinny frowned.
Osian, who had just been chewing on something, appeared in front of them.
“There you are.”
Osian's gruff voice turned to the three of them.