Chapter 68
“Your identity has been confirmed, Yuria Prisis and Erica. It’s an honor!”
“Thank you.”
Yuria gave the staff member a polite nod with a gentle smile, while Erica wore a face full of discontent.
“Erica, let’s go.”
“…Yeah.”
“Oh dear, Erica. You’re being too informal; that’s risky, you know.”
“…Ugh. Yes, yes, fine.”
“Hehe.”
Erica grimaced in irritation before grumbling reluctantly. With her silver hair temporarily dyed black, Erica had been in a foul mood since earlier.
It was understandable. She could tolerate being paired with Yuria, someone she didn’t particularly like, for a mission. But the role of being Yuria Prisis’s personal assistant was too much to bear.
“By the way, Erica, black hair suits you. You almost resemble the Commander.”
“Stop talking to me. I don’t feel like chatting.”
Mindful of the students passing by, Erica forced her words out grudgingly. She had hoped she wouldn’t need to keep up this act once they entered the Academy, but it had only gotten worse. The place was bustling with people.
“Hehe. The Academy looks so lovely all decorated for the festival.”
Instead of responding, Erica raised her head to take in the sight. Having spent the past few days tailing Cynthia into the Academy, she noticed the changes.
The Academy was adorned with colorful decorations for the festival. Banners were draped over every tree, and various structures were festooned with symbols representing Crescent Academy.
“How far do we have to go?”
“Hehe, we have plenty of time. Let’s take a tour.”
“Ugh, if we have so much time, why didn’t we come later…”
Erica resisted the urge to abandon Yuria and escape.
“You never know what might happen. It’s better to familiarize ourselves with the Academy’s layout.”
“…Fine.”
Annoyingly, Yuria was right, which only made her more irritating.
“Sigh.”
“By the way, black hair really suits you. Why not dye it permanently? Instead of a temporary change, I think it matches our organization well.”
“No thanks.”
“Well, that’s a pity.”
Yuria lightly touched Erica’s hair before resuming her brisk pace.
Finally, the day had arrived—the first day of the Academy’s festival. Over the past week leading up to the festival, nothing significant had changed.
There was no decisive evidence against the Vice Principal, nor any clarity on what the enemy’s plans were. As a result, the original plan was put into action.
Following the Commander, Ryu Yeong, Yuria and Erica infiltrated the Academy. Their mission was to be on the inside to handle any incidents anticipated on the second day of the festival.
“That’s the dorm building.”
“I know that much already.”
“Oh, right. My apologies.”
Only then did Yuria recall that Erica had been in and out of the Academy a few times already. She had intended to provide a helpful tour, but it seemed unnecessary.
“Then there’s no need to explore the entire Academy.”
“Yeah, I’ve been to most of the key areas already.”
“Hehe. As expected of you.”
“… ”
Whether it was Erica’s dyed black hair or Yuria’s natural charm, the two of them drew attention wherever they went.
While Yuria seemed accustomed to such stares, Erica was not. She found it incredibly uncomfortable.
“Can we go somewhere less crowded?”
“Hehe, just one lap around the lake.”
“…Fine, whatever.”
Erica’s exasperated sigh had no effect. Yuria cheerfully led the way toward the Academy’s grand lake.
“What are you doing? Hurry up!”
“…Sigh.”
Despite her reluctance, Erica followed. She kept herself motivated with the thought of receiving a nice bonus if she endured just today and tomorrow.
***
“Yuria and Erica have safely entered.”
“Okay, that’s a good start.”
“But they went in earlier than expected. There’s not much for them to do yet.”
“Well, this is a good chance for them to get along.”
The likelihood of that happening was close to zero. For that to occur, Erica would have to change her attitude, but Erica was the type who never wavered once her mind was made up.
It would probably take a significant event to alter her stance.
“When are you heading in, Commander?”
“It’s a day without any classes, so I’ll go as late as possible.”
“Are you planning to go straight to Yuria’s lecture?”
“I need to meet the kids at the lecture hall before that. We agreed to go together.”
Finally, the day had arrived.
If only we’d found something and dealt with the Vice Principal directly before this, it would’ve been great.
But of course, life doesn’t work the way you want it to.
Especially this time—this wasn’t the kind of situation where I could just blow things up out of frustration.
With a quest tied to it, I couldn’t afford the mindset of “Oh well, it can’t be helped if we fail.”
If it were any other task, I wouldn’t have handled it so cautiously.
“Well, nothing’s likely to happen today anyway.”
“Let’s hope so.”
According to what Yuria discovered, the plan begins on the second day, so today should be uneventful.
Probably.
‘Ugh, this is frustrating.’
It was one of the rare times where I had to be pulled along helplessly like this, and it was beyond frustrating.
“Still no word from them?”
“Who do you mean by them?”
“The guys we handed the communication tools to. The ones surviving in Crescent’s back alleys.”
“Ah, right. No, nothing so far. It seems like they aren’t moving from the outside.”
“Okay, then we can forget about them for now.”
With the intimidation we left them under, it’s unlikely they’d slack off. Since there’s been no word even a day before the event, it seems like there’s no peculiar movement.
Now I could focus solely on what’s happening inside the Academy.
“I’ll go check on what the Vice Principal’s doing. He might make a sudden move the day before.”
“Well, it seems unlikely he’d do anything in broad daylight, but you never know.”
“…”
Addy’s words had a peculiar way of pushing my buttons.
Was she mocking me or not?
Her way with words had improved significantly lately.
“Anyway, I’ll head out.”
“Yes. Just in case, I’ll stay at the office as late as possible today.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
Woong—
After confirming Addy’s slight bow, I closed my eyes and reopened them.
The sky was a clearer blue than usual.
Whoooosh—
Even the cool breeze that came at just the right time was refreshing.
I teleported directly to the rooftop of the vault building where the Vice Principal’s office was.
The weather seemed to acknowledge the festival—it was perfect today.
‘Let’s hope nothing happens.’
As I stood on the roof, enjoying the cool breeze and surveying the surroundings, I heard voices from the building entrance.
“You’ve arrived?”
“It’s been a while.”
The voices were new—distinct from the usual conversations I’d overheard from guards switching shifts.
‘The Vice Principal?’
One of the voices undoubtedly belonged to Vice Principal Randgar Bayel.
I quickly crouched and erased my presence even further.
Lately, I’d made suppressing my presence a habit while tailing the Vice Principal.
Thanks to Erica, the stealth skill she taught me came in handy.
“There have been a lot of incidents recently.”
“Haha. They’ve all been handled well.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Not at all. That’s the role of the Vice Principal.”
‘Who’s this?’
The Vice Principal’s tone was the most polite and respectful I’d ever heard from him—clearly addressing someone of higher rank.
‘If he’s addressing a superior…?’
“The Headmaster has been away for far too long. My apologies.”
I was right.
The person speaking with the Vice Principal below was none other than the Headmaster.
The Headmaster of Crescent Academy, Vinuar Christia.
‘When was the last time I saw him?’
It was normal for the Headmaster to be present in the Academy, but his face was unfamiliar since he was almost always absent.
I vaguely recall seeing him during the entrance ceremony.
“Haha, it’s fine. Let’s go inside. I’ll give you a brief overview of recent events. There’s also the graduation lecture coming up.”
“Very well.”
With that, the two entered the building.
Until now, I’d been so focused on the Vice Principal that I forgot the Headmaster’s office was also in this vault building.
‘The festival must have brought the Headmaster back.’
Seeing the Headmaster in person, with his long white hair, gave me a sense of relief—but also deepened my suspicions.
The return of Crescent Academy’s leader, Headmaster Vinuar Christia, was undoubtedly good news for me.
If the Vice Principal tried anything foolish, we’d have another strong ally on our side.
But the Vice Principal must’ve known the Headmaster would return during the festival.
‘From his reaction earlier, he seemed aware of it.’
Randgar Bayel greeted Headmaster Vinuar without a hint of surprise—his demeanor was natural.
He appeared not only aware but even pleased to see the Headmaster.
To proceed with such plans during the festival, knowing the Headmaster would be present…
“…What’s going on?”
It either meant the Vice Principal was that confident or he had an entirely different plan.
No matter how strong the Vice Principal was, the Headmaster was still the Headmaster.
And not just any Headmaster—Vinuar Christia.
Even though he was older now, Vinuar’s Earth Dragon was entirely unaffected by his physical limitations.
‘Hmm…’
Suppressing my growing unease, I slowly rose from where I’d been lying.
I had to stay optimistic.
If things went south, I could count on Headmaster Vinuar to fight alongside us.
That was reassuring.
Woong—
Shaking off my unease, I teleported to my dorm room.
It was about time to meet the kids.
—
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