Chapter 64
“Do you seriously not know anything?”
“Yes! Truly, sincerely, I don’t know anything!”
“Same here!”
The desperation in the voices of the two kneeling men was palpable.
Their words carried sincerity, making it hard to believe they were acting.
“Sigh, if you don’t know, then what am I supposed to do? Are there at least any small groups moving suspiciously these days?”
“No, none!!”
“And an Academy attack? No one in their right mind would try something that crazy!”
The two men before me were Toby, leader of the Black Crows, and Beroli, leader of the Ten Arms—organizations that control the underworld of Crescent’s capital.
Once again, just like last time, they failed to provide me with satisfactory information.
“It doesn’t make sense that there’s no movement from outside.”
The reason I visited these two again was simple.
I was trying to find even a small clue related to the new main quest.
I wondered if there might be any suspicious activity outside the Academy, but it seemed there wasn’t.
“It’s safe to assume an outside attack would be difficult, right?”
“Th-that’s impossible!”
“Hmm?”
“The Black Shadow Corps preparing to attack the Academy—uhk!”
Toby quickly covered his mouth, realizing he had said something he shouldn’t.
I sighed.
“Sigh. Think whatever you want. Here, take this.”
Thunk—
I tossed a communication orb to each of the two men sitting before me.
The two of them picked up the orbs and looked at me with curious expressions.
“If you notice anything unusual, contact me immediately through those. A woman with a pleasant voice might respond instead of me.”
“What do you mean by ‘unusual’…?”
Both asked simultaneously.
“Didn’t I just say it? An attack on the Academy.”
“Understood!”
Leaving the two clutching their communication orbs tightly, I stood up.
Vwoom—
I returned to my office immediately.
Although I hadn’t expected much, I was still disappointed at the lack of information.
“So, an outside attack is truly out of the question.”
“You’re back. Judging by your expression… there’s no need to ask about the results, is there?”
Addy shook her head as if she had expected this.
The main quest, ‘Looming Ominous Tidings.’
It mentioned that the Academy would be “drenched in blood,” so I had assumed there would be incidents both inside and outside the Academy.
If it were me, I would’ve used a diversion tactic for sure.
That’s why I took the time to meet with those two again.
“Didn’t I tell you? Not only is an attack from outside impossible, but even infiltration is difficult. Only people like you and Erica are exceptions.”
“Still, you never know. If the Vice Principal is involved, he might disable the barrier.”
“I’ve mentioned this before as well. Anything that significant would be directly overseen by the Principal.”
Addy spoke with a frustrated sigh.
Sigh.
“Well, at least it was good to double-check. And it seems you gave them communication orbs too.”
“Yeah. If they notice anything unusual, they’ll contact you directly. Keep an eye on it.”
“Understood.”
I watched Addy give a shallow nod as I sat down in my chair.
It was hard to believe that something big enough to “drench the festival in blood” could be brewing without a single hint of activity.
“Are they operating with an elite group too?”
When I first saw the quest description, I had a rough idea of who might be behind the incident at the festival.
The Vice Principal was likely involved, and it was probably the same group that had summoned the undead during the inter-class competition.
“Has there been any word from Yuria?”
“No. It seems the interrogation is taking longer than expected.”
“That guy is impressive, huh.”
The man who had handed candy to Cynthia was proving to be more stubborn than anticipated.
Yuria could use magic to extract information, but it wasn’t working this time.
Apparently, a powerful barrier-like spell was placed on the captive’s mind, which would kill him if forcibly removed.
As a result, they had no choice but to rely on primitive, straightforward methods of interrogation—hearing the information directly from the captive himself.
That’s why it was taking so long.
“Things aren’t going smoothly.”
“Indeed. The festival preparation period is already upon us.”
“Hmm.”
As Addy mentioned, the Academy was gradually getting excited about the approaching festival.
The Crescent Academy Festival, held every May, featured everything from alumni gatherings like Yuria’s to student parties, event booths, and official Academy-organized events.
The festival turned out to be much bigger than I had initially thought.
The inter-class competition was apparently intended as a prelude to the festival.
“It’d be so much easier if I could just fight the Vice Principal and take him down.”
“That would make it impossible for the Black Shadow Corps to operate in Crescent ever again.”
“Why? If we catch a bad guy, it’d be good for them too, wouldn’t it?”
“Do you really think that’s how it’d go? With no evidence, we’d be the ones framed as the bad guys.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Addy cut me off firmly, as if what she was saying was obvious.
She was probably right.
We couldn’t even extract a confession from the subordinate we captured, let alone the Vice Principal himself.
If we fought the Vice Principal wearing Black Shadow Corps uniforms without a clear justification, it would undoubtedly frame us as the villains.
“Then what? Do we just sit and wait for something to happen?”
“We’re not just sitting, are we? Even if it’s a wild goose chase, you’ve been moving around, and Yuria’s been digging for information…”
Knock, knock—
Just as I was about to ask when I ever made a mistake, there was a knock at the door.
Click—
“Oh, you’re here too, Commander.”
“Yuria?”
The one who opened the door was none other than Yuria.
Until recently, I would see her maybe once a quarter, but lately, we’d been meeting much more frequently.
“Any progress?”
“Hehe, just a little.”
Addy asked, and Yuria gave a faint smile as she closed the door behind her.
“Oh, really? Did he confess? Are we ready to go after the Vice Principal now?”
“Not quite. But I did find out the date.”
“The date?”
“Yes, the date of their planned execution.”
Yuria’s expression turned serious as she sat down on the sofa in the middle of the office.
“When is it?”
“The second day of the festival.”
“The second day?”
“Yes, the day of the official student party—when everyone’s most relaxed.”
“So that’s when they’ll strike?”
“Yes. It’s almost certain. But I don’t know the exact method or what they’re planning to do yet.”
Yuria placed her hand on her forehead and continued speaking.
“I know their objective involves the Nameless Demon, but I have no idea how attacking the Academy ties into that.”
“Hmm.”
A brief silence filled the office as everyone seemed lost in thought.
“Yuria, have you finished analyzing the drug’s composition?”
“Oh, right. Yes. As we suspected, it’s a drug that temporarily draws out the body’s potential. Fortunately, it’s not addictive, but overuse would cause the body to collapse and lose control.”
“I figured as much.”
As soon as Yuria finished speaking, I recalled the image of Kane Hover, who had erupted into flames.
It was now confirmed that the potion Kane Hover drank and the candy Cynthia consumed were the same type.
The man I caught was undoubtedly the one who supplied the drug to Kane as well.
“Things aren’t going smoothly. Like you said, it’d be better if we could prevent it before it happens.”
“Exactly. Nothing should happen during the festival.”
“Hmm, still, no matter how I think about it…”
“Hmm?”
Yuria’s voice carried a note of seriousness as she continued.
“I believe we need to be inside as well. That way, we can respond immediately if anything happens.”
“Inside? You mean inside the Academy?”
“Yes. If they start something, it’ll definitely be from within. An external intrusion is too risky.”
“Hmm.”
Yuria’s confident tone made me feel uneasy.
Just earlier, I had been checking if there were any suspicious movements outside the Academy.
“Look at the undead incident before. The Vice Principal is already deeply embedded. They’re likely operating from within.”
“That’s… true.”
“So we need to prepare from the inside as well, without the Vice Principal noticing.”
“And how exactly would we do that…?”
“Well, the Commander is already infiltrating perfectly as a student, right?”
A smile spread across Yuria’s lips.
Come to think of it, she was right.
There was no way they could know I was the leader of the Black Shadow Corps.
“If we add just two more captains to the inside, we should be able to handle most situations.”
“Two captains?”
“Yes, two captains. If we ask Professor Amilion for help, it might work out.”
“Yuria, which two captains are you thinking of?”
“Hehe, isn’t there a certain captain who’s been idle lately?”
“Oh.”
“Aha.”
Addy and I likely thought of the same person.
Erica, shaking her silver hair and looking utterly clueless.
“How about Erica and I join the Commander inside the Academy on the second day of the festival?”
“That… doesn’t sound too bad.”
“Based on the information we have, it’s the best course of action I can suggest.”
“I agree. If the Commander, Erica, and Yuria are together, it’d be reassuring.”
“And since we have more information than our enemies, we have the upper hand.”
Confidence laced Yuria’s voice.
“At the very least, we can ensure the students’ safety.”
“Okay.”
Even though Erica’s opinion wasn’t considered at all, the plan was decided.
It wasn’t a bad idea.
It’d be ideal to stop anything from happening during the festival, but if not, we’d need to at least clean up the mess quickly.
“Let’s still do everything we can to prevent it. Not having any incidents is the best outcome.”
“Hehe, of course.”
“I’ll also start investigating the Vice Principal from within the Academy.”
Looking at Yuria’s smiling face, I reaffirmed my thoughts.
Now it was time to dig into the internal workings instead of focusing on the external threats.
—
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