“Stay put, unless you want to cause a ruckus.”
A voice came from behind my back.
I was so unlucky. I had no idea that the room I had chosen to enter would already have a guest there.
He must have heard the doorknob break and hid with bated breath.
It was Osian's fault for being so focused on Slaine and the contact that he neglected the others.
A magical force was felt behind his back, and a blue rope wrapped around Osian's body, binding him.
It was clearly a [Pure Magic] type of binding magic. Judging from the strength of the ropes on his skin, the opponent must not be an ordinary mage.
The voice behind him asked.
“Who are you, and why are you here?”
“I'm the janitor here.”“Ha. Even a passing dog wouldn't believe that. What's a janitor doing here at this hour, and you broke the doorknob to get in?”
Yikes. I guess these formal excuses don't work after all.
Osian thought. He'd subdued him first. If he didn't kill him right away, he had something to dig up.
“You'll have to answer properly. If you don't, you'll find that the ropes that bind you are capable of tearing you apart.”
As Osian pondered, the wizard asked.
“Who are you, and what brings you here?”
“I have business in the next room.”
“What? Are you aiming for that too?”
Osian felt something tug at his heartstrings.
But rather than clarify it right away, he decided to capitalize on the other man's surprise.
“That. I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Don't play dumb. You know what's going on inside the Academy right now.......No, wait, you sound vaguely familiar.”
In this unintentional moment, the opportunity to catch the other person off guard presented itself.
With a quick thrust, Osian snapped the magical ropes binding him.
With a snap, the ropes dissolved into the air and vanished as the mage gave a silent gasp of surprise.
Before he could regain his senses, Osian acted. He grabbed him by the throat and shoved him against the wall.
The hooded figure struggled, his face unrecognizable.
Even in the dark, Osian's night vision was bright, but he couldn't make out the shadowy figure beneath the hood.
‘A magic item.’
Osian quickly tore the hood off, revealing the wizard's face.
“......Terence?”
The man who had held him captive and sought information from him was Terence Progenen, the biological brother of his client, Thalia.
Terence's eyes widened as he recognized Osian.
“You, the look in your eyes, the way you talk!”
No amount of disguise could hide the charisma in his tone and voice.
‘Why are you here?’
Terence was about to shout in surprise when Osian's hand clamped over his mouth.
“Ew! Ew!”
Terence started to protest but Osian spoke a step faster.
“Quiet. Something's happening in the next room.”
“.......”
The moment Osian saw Terence's quiet reaction, he knew that he too was digging into this case.
Terence slapped Osian's hand over his mouth.
Oh, right, I forgot about that.
Terence let out the breath he'd been holding.
“Puh-ha, you bastard, you're suddenly covering my mouth......!”
“Shhh.”
“......!”
Terrence wanted to scream in disbelief, but he knew what was more important right now, so he kept his mouth shut.
His wide eyes, however, screamed, “I will find out why you are here.”
Osian and Terence leaned against the wall, trying to see into the space next to them.
“Looks like there's someone inside.”
“There is. I've seen people enter.”
“Wait. Does that mean there's someone in there right now.......”
“Well, there's a buyer and a seller, as they say.”
“What are they talking about? Damn, the soundproofing is so good I can't hear them, I'm going to have to use magic.”
Osian looked back at Terence, his eyes asking if that was it.
He'd thought he could still hear their conversation from the next room, but the soundproofing in the research wing was better than he'd expected.
If Osian couldn't figure out the location of a person running away by sound, I wondered if it would be okay to borrow the power of magic.
And eavesdropping magic didn't exist in the game.
“It's not hard, after all, sound is the vibration of sound waves. We just need to pick up those vibrations bouncing off the walls and amplify them.”
Terence made it sound like it was no big deal, but it was easier said than done.
The vibrations from the walls are so small that you wouldn't even notice them if you squint your eyes, but Terence can still detect them.
Terence didn't bother to explain further, but instead demonstrated.
He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment as he channeled mana into the wall, and after a moment, he could hear their conversation over the wall.
[Hey, are you sure this is the way to go?]
[Yes. Of course.]
The amplified sound wasn't the best quality, but it was enough to make out the conversation.
[Don't you want to be strong? You want to show the people who usually laugh at you what you're made of.]
[That, that.......]
I don't know who the contact was, but he seemed pretty competent.
It's not every day that you can catch a buyer's desire and scratch it with such skill.
[From what I hear, it has side effects.......]
[Oh, side effects. He did have them.]
[If that's true.......]
[Hey, buddy, listen to what I'm saying. It's past tense.]
[Past tense? So it's different now?]
[Of course. Dude, you're in luck today, because this is a newer, improved version, without the runaway side effects.]
Osian and Terence exchanged glances.
They weren't sure if it was real or fake, but they were inclined to wait and see.
[Well, in that case, now!]
[Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down, buddy, you can't be so impatient, it's not even the day yet.]
[What? That's a different story!]
[Shhh. Kill your voice. You want to get caught?]
[Well, not that.......]
[I told you, this one's new. Shouldn't I be more careful than before? Let's just, uh, call it a blind date, and then we can decide if we're going to have a good relationship or not.]
[So when's next?]
[Next time, um......come closer for a second.]
Their voices became much quieter since they were whispering.
Osian looked at Terence, and Terence shook his head.
He couldn't turn up the sound any higher.
‘Should we barge in now, then?’
Then, as if they were done talking, he resumed his normal voice.
[Okay?]
[......Yes, I get it.]
[Haha. Lighten up, buddy. Don't feel too bad, I think you're going to be one of our regulars for some reason.]
[Yeah. I hope so too.]
That's the end of the conversation.
They seemed to agree to see each other next time.
Osian and Terence had to exchange a look.
“What are you going to do, swoop in and grab him right now?”
“It's not that I don't want to, but I think it's premature.”
“What? Why?”
“Because if it's a tail, there's no point in catching it. Besides, if he didn't make the deal today, he wouldn't necessarily have brought that brand-new thing with him.”
“So you're saying that......he was just to see if they were willing to buy?”
“I can't just catch them by the tail. I need to recover the drug, analyze it, and find out where it came from and who made it.”
Terence clicked his tongue at how right Osian was.
“The good news is, if we can sneak up on him, we'll be able to meet up with our contact again.”
“I guess we'll just have to wait and see.”
So this one was a bust.
The situation was over, but they still had some personal business to attend to.
“So, what the hell, how did you get in here, and why are you looking like this?”
Terence pointed at Osian's haggard face. He was right to be suspicious, given the disguise he'd worn to get into the Academy.
“Why else would a fixer come here, but because he was asked to.”
“A request? Who made the request?”
“Didn't you know? The request was made by Thalia.”
“What?”
Terrence's eyes widened.
“You didn't know. Well, I was surprised, actually. The client said her idiot brother never listens to her.”
“Thalia, this idiot......I told her to stay out of this because she’s in danger!”
“The way you put it, I'm guessing you've been secretly researching it yourself, hiding it from your sister.”
Terence sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“Ha. Well, it is what it is. You stay out of this. This is my problem to solve.”
“I'm sorry, but that won't work. I've been commissioned, too. It's my job to fulfill it.”
“What? That’s what you’re talking about now? Don’t be so stubborn.”
“You're strangely concerned about me. Don't you know I'm strong?”
“I do. You may be strong in combat, but remember, this is the Grand Cloister, and if an outsider is found to be inside under false pretenses, what do you think will happen then?”
“What, you're worried about me?”
“I'm not worried, it's just that I get annoyed when you get involved!”
Osian smirked at Terence's reaction.
“Don't laugh, I'm serious.”
“I'm serious, too, but don't worry. I'm confident that I'll be able to hold my own.”
“.......”
Terence glared at Osian, but finally gave in.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I guess I'll wait for the next meeting.”
“Is that okay? Wouldn’t it be better to just catch that student and find out the contact information?”
“If the other party isn’t stupid, they’ll notice. Just look at their actions today. They deliberately didn’t make a deal the first time they met a new guy, but made a reservation for the next time. That shows they’re cautious, too. If you provoke them with such half-assed behavior, they’ll immediately hide in their hole.”
“Chet. Well, that's the way it is.”
“So, are you going to be the only one moving, or do you have a helper?”
“Of course I'm moving alone, it's too easy to get caught if we're moving together.”
Osian narrowed his eyes.
“When you put it like that, I'm guessing you're doing things in secret without letting others know.”
“Chet. So what? The professors aren't going to fix this anyway, they're just going to tell me to take it easy and stop meddling.”
“Maybe they're harsher than I thought.”
“Harsh, yes. It’s not a sincere teacher-student relationship based on affection. Professors are also people who belong to some school or organization. They judge students solely on their qualifications. That way, later on, when the child graduates, they can recruit him to their organization.”
“I see. So the Grand Cloister is ultimately a place influenced by the Magic Tower and the Schools rather than an independent educational institution?”
“......Or rather, the ideal place for that would be the Warlock Academy.”
-Heh.
Osian barely held back a sigh that threatened to escape.
Terence, who prided himself on his magic, had the audacity to admit this.
It was also a funny story that the master priest-disciple relationship existed not only among wizards, but also among warlocks.
In the distant past, was it a proper master-student relationship to confine people like livestock, suck their life force out of them, or slaughter them into rags?
‘No, but given Elyse's personality, it might be.’
The right kind of master-disciple relationship wasn't necessarily a positive thing.
Look at Elise Denarova now.
That stoic, emotionless, doll-like woman is a vicious warlock who summons the corpses of her family as her minions, and who seeks his own flesh.
Who would she have been trained by, of course, a vicious warlock master.
He taught well and she learned well.
It's just that it's black magic.
“That’s even stranger. Even if they exploit a weak point, how could they think of making contact in a research building where people come and go like this?”
“That......surprised me a bit, too. No way they'd do something so big in a place like this.”
There was a subtle unease in Terence's voice and Osian could see where it was coming from, all too easily.
“Perhaps, rather than exploiting a weakness and doing this here... they might have something they’re relying on.”
“......!”
Terence's eyes snapped to Osian but Osian's reasoning continued.
“It’s one thing for professors to keep quiet, and another thing for things happening inside the academy to be so quiet.”
There was only one answer.
“It means there's an accomplice, someone with considerable authority here.”