There may be an accomplice among the teachers teaching magic to students at the prestigious Grand Cloister Academy, or among the famous wizards studying magic.
It was a very rude assumption, albeit speculative.
Terence, who attended the Academy and was proud to be a part of it, should have been furious.
However, he couldn't deny it.
It couldn't be true. The assumption was wrong.
A million retorting words raced through his head, but they wouldn't come out of his mouth.
“Shit.”
The word, uttered after hesitation, was an admission of Osian's assumption.
“Yeah. Maybe you're right.”
Instead of thinking that it couldn't be, he thought that it might be.With that, the answer to a question that had been foggy in Terence's mind became clear.
“Trading in a place like this? Even in the middle of the night, there are other people walking around, so it’s dangerous if you get caught. It’s too bold to be considered a simple psychological attack. Considering what they do, there’s no need to take even a 1 percent risk.”
Terence ran a hand through his hair in disbelief.
“There is an accomplice in this research building. And he has the power and authority to cover up what is happening inside the research building.”
“Then we can at least call him an accomplice.”
“Accomplice? He could be the real killer.”
Osian shook his head.
“There's something odd about him. Think about it now. If you were the one doing this, would you experiment with something this dangerous in your own backyard?”
“......No. I'd probably do it somewhere safe, to see how things go first.”
“Yes, but the recent mage rampage has been confined to the Grand Cloister Academy. There are no reports of similar events elsewhere.”
This must have been confirmed by Ronan's information.
“But there's no indication of any secret dealings in the research wing here.......”
“Sounds like the real culprit is somewhere else and the person living here is just an accomplice.”
“Well, that's something we'll find out on our next contact. Except this time it's not the tail, it's at least the torso.”
“Right.”
Terence said the words, but he was still mildly surprised.
‘I thought you were only good at using your body.’
Analyzing and reasoning through the immediate situation proved otherwise.
On the contrary, he's quite colorful in his thinking, pointing out things that Terence hadn't even thought of.
Terence felt a strange sense of defeat.
He was handsome, fit, and a good fighter, but what about his brain?
Somehow, Elise's figure seemed to grow more distant.
Before he knew it, he was standing next to Osian, their arms around each other.
“No!”
“No to what?”
Snapping back to reality, Terence wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
It was a terrible, terrible thing to think about.
He'd have to work harder than ever to avoid that.
“I'm going to put a tracking spell on that Slaine fellow......and we'll know if he comes back to the research wing.”
“A tracking spell. That's certainly handy, but the downside is that we don't know when he's due back in the lab.”
“That's the least of your worries.”
Terence interjected.
“Why?”
“There’s a magic practice class in the morning in three days. That guy named Slaine, I checked briefly and he seems to be a second-year student. In that case, he has no choice but to do it.”
“Hmm. So Slaine's going to try to get the drug at least before then.”
“Yeah. Tomorrow at the earliest, the day after tomorrow at the latest, considering they'll be testing the drug's abilities.......”
“Tomorrow. That's sooner than I thought, but it's going to be busy.”
“......You're still going to come tomorrow with such a ridiculous excuse?”
“I can't help it. I'm not invited.”
Terence sighed at Osian's comment.
“You can come tomorrow. Just say you're a guest of mine.”
“......?”
“I have some authority to do so. I'm the Grand Cloister's proudest student, even if I look like it, and I'm almost graduating, so I'm trying to make myself look good everywhere.”
Terence is a mage of considerable quality.
Osian had to admit that. His unrestricted use of magic of multiple attributes is beyond genius.
Balud, Barbarian Warrior.
Elise Denarova, Warlock.
Martinez, Paladin.
Following these three, another wizard with heroic powers appeared, so his words would not be hollow.
“But why are you suddenly being so nice to me?”
“Who says I'm being nice? It's the least I can do as someone who works with you!”
“Well, I guess I should.”
“Besides, if you come in here undercover and make a scene, I'll be in trouble. I'd rather you say you were hired by me, that's a bit of a defense.”
There might be a fight tomorrow.
He hoped to subdue it before it got out of hand, but there was a chance he wouldn't be able to.
What if Osian gets caught then?
The difference in status between a sneaky fixer and an invited hired hand was significant.
Terence was concerned about that, and wanted to help, even though he was reluctant.
“That sounds like a good offer. Are we allowed to bring weapons?”
“By weapons, I assume you mean your sword, which you don't have with you at the moment.”
“Well, a janitor can’t carry a sword.”
“A sword would be......fine, but if you're carrying a sword like that, anyone who sees you will see it as more of a fashion accessory than a practical weapon.”
Especially since most people here have a magical supremacist mindset, it won't be a big problem.
“Well, they don't know you're the one wielding it, so that's a reasonable assumption.”
Terence had seen with his own eyes that the same sword could be so different depending on who wielded it and how.
If you can draw starlight from a sword and slice through an enemy, isn't that magic?
It's scary to face them as enemies, but as allies, he couldn't be more relieved.
“Besides that, can I bring magical items?”
“Magic items?”
“Artifacts from the ruins.”
“Ah, artifacts. It doesn't matter, as long as they're not dangerous weapons, they're usually allowed. Otherwise, you can say you’re bringing them in for my research.”
“Is that okay?”
“I said yes.”
Osian looked at Terence again.
At first glance, he thought he had scary eyes and looked like some kind of gangster, but now that he looked at him, he noticed that he could be this reliable.
“Then I will gratefully accept it.”
*
The next morning Osian headed to the Grand Cloister in his true form, not his disguise.
There was a small matter of disappointment that Ena, who was going to freshen up his makeup for the night, hadn't gotten around to it, but so what.
‘I need to buy a new set of clothes.’
His old outfit had been badly damaged in the ruins, so he was currently wearing something reasonably similar.
‘After this is over, I'll have to check out the self-repairing clothes.’
Osian arrived at the Grand Cloister in District 30 via tram.
At the entrance, a security guard naturally stopped him.
“Please show me your ID.”
Without a word, he showed his fixer's ID, and the guard raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
“Osian the Fixer. Identified.”
The guard handed Osian his ID back.
By his reaction, he must have been informed about his visit beforehand.
“What about that thing at your waist?”
“It's a sword. Is there a problem?”
“......No. Not really.”
The guard looked puzzled that Osian had brought a sword with him, but he didn't see what he could do with it, so he let it slide.
Osian arrived back at Grand Cloister Square.
As Terence had said, he had no trouble getting in, and the artifacts he had wanted to bring with him were not an issue.
‘I wonder if there's still time.’
Osian checked the time on the clock inside the grounds.
It was currently 4:30 pm and his appointment with Terence was at 5:00.
With nothing else to do for the rest of the day, Osian strolled to the plaza in front of the main building and sat down at the fountain.
How long had it been since he'd taken the time to relax like this?
Come to think of it, it hadn't been long.
'I've fulfilled requests, fought, practiced swordsmanship and many other things.’
It had only lasted half an hour, but Osian was grateful for the brief respite.
After all, after this break, there might be a fight tonight.
Closing his eyes, a gentle breeze blew in and tickled his face.
For now, Osian sat still, untroubled, unconcerned, unthinking.
How much time passed like that?
He opened his closed eyes when he heard a strange murmur around him.
Some of the students were leaving class and heading back to their dormitories, and some were leaving work.
‘Oh no. Did I attract too much attention?’
Osian looked at the sword at his waist and clicked his tongue.
‘An outsider with a sword in the center fountain, sitting still, must have made them wonder what the hell I’m doing.’
Osian shrugged and slowly rose from his seat, thinking that if he stood still, he might as well go somewhere else, away from the prying eyes.
“Ah.”
“Oh.”
As Osian turned to leave, the people watching him sighed.
Especially female students and female employees, they were sad to see him go.
‘What a great show!’
The water droplets from the fountain scattered, casting a beautiful light against the slowly setting sun.
Underneath, a sculptural, black-haired handsome man sits in the fountain with his eyes closed, as if immersed in the rainwater.
It was a picture that drew people's eyes.
Not only women, but even men were attracted to him.
It was as natural as the sun rising and setting to sigh when he left the room.
‘Shall I follow him and ask his name?’
Some brave souls decided they couldn't lose him, so they followed him.
That's when they saw him stop in his tracks and turn to face one of them.
“Hey, big brother. What brings you here?”
Thalia Progenen turned to face Osian with an innocent gaze.
‘What, what, he knows Thalia?’
‘Wow, what the heck. She has magical skills and a great family background, and she even knows a guy like that?’
Most people would have been jealous if it was someone else, but not Thalia.
She was quite a celebrity in the Grand Cloister, and unlike her brother, she had a very good reputation.
The people who had been following Osian backed away, swallowing back tears.
Osian and Talia continued their conversation.
“So, you were allowed to come in as you were?”
“I had help.”
“Who?”
Osian was about to say, “Your brother,” but he hesitated.
He wondered if he should tell her that Terence was trying to help him with this.
‘Apparently, Terence is working behind his sister's back, and this young lady, on the other hand, hired me without Terence's knowledge.’
This explained why they were brother and sister.
“It's just an acquaintance. It's not unusual for someone of my stature to have connections here.”
“Oh, right.”
I bluffed a little, but I was pleased to see that he was more receptive than I expected.
“So, work-wise, things are going well, right?”
“Don't worry about it. I'll have it fixed in no time.”
That would probably be determined tonight.
“Okay, I'll keep my fingers crossed.”
With those words, Thalia left.
As Osian watched her go, Terence slithered up behind him like a ghost.
“But don’t walk around without making any noise.”
“My little sister, sweet and pretty, isn't she?”
He had apparently watched my conversation with Talia from afar.
No, better than that, nice and pretty?
Osian looked at Terence, wondering what he meant.
Normally, he'd be shouting, “Don't ogle my sister!”
Instead, Terence was subtly bragging to Osian about Thalia's virtues.
“She's also surprisingly gullible and devoted. I'm sure her boyfriend or husband-to-be will be happy forever.”
“I don't know what you're talking about, but let's get right down to business. I'm not interested in that sort of thing.”
“Chit.”
“Why are you kicking your tongue?”
“......Anyway, we're supposed to figure out where Slaine is now and sneak up on him, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I've cast a tracking spell, so it doesn't really matter.”
The sun disappeared and night fell and Slaine headed back to the research wing as expected.
Osian and Terence entered the lab as well.
The lab was even quieter than yesterday. No one was wandering around, and many of the lab lights were off.
“It's unusually quiet today.”
“Yeah, it is. It doesn't seem like the right day.”
“What, you don't know?”
“I don't know everything that goes on in here.”
-Hmm.
Osian scanned his surroundings with a sharp glance.
None of the usual guards were milling about.
“He's in.”
Terence used tracking magic to locate Slaine.
He was in a seminar room on the third floor of the research wing.
Osian and Terence stood in the doorway of the seminar room. There must be a deal going on in there right now.
Just rush in and storm the scene.
“......!”
Osian felt a piercing sensation and immediately pushed Terence aside, launching himself in the opposite direction.
As Terrence looked at him with a questioning stare, the door exploded, sweeping them both away.