25
Chapter 25
"I'm sorry..."
"For what? Did you do something bad enough to apologize to me?"
"It's... not that, but because of me, the Dean..."
I felt frustrated, yet I also felt sorry for the girl, who had been suffering in silence.
No wonder she couldn't focus on her lessons in this state.
"Look up, May."
Her face was clouded with guilt.
"If an instructor ordered you to lift a boulder that was impossible to lift alone, what would you do?"
"What?"
"Answer me."
"I would try my hardest to lift it."
"I said a boulder that you *cannot* lift."
"If I used all my strength, I might not lift it, but I could at least move it..."
I shook my head, thinking that was a typically May-like answer.
"I don't know."
"The answer is simple. Why not ask this instructor for help? Something impossible for you might not be so difficult for me."
"..."
'What is he doing? Why the sudden bragging?'
Bragging? Ark has no tact at all, but fortunately, May seemed to understand what I was trying to say.
"You cannot control how others perceive you. So don't try to change it; just walk your own path."
"I tried to do that..."
"You tried? Then why didn't you tell your instructor?"
"...I thought that if you stepped in, it might only make the situation worse."
True, since the rumor is that we're in an inappropriate relationship, she could think that.
But stewing over a problem you can't solve alone won't give you an answer.
"I have never forbidden you from asking for help. If a boulder you cannot lift blocks your path, ask for help. I will make sure to clear it for you."
Everyone, from trainees to instructors, has probably heard the rumor, so public opinion is already set.
It doesn't matter.
Manipulating public opinion is a spy's basic skill.
It's my specialty.
****
I finished the makeup lesson earlier than usual and sent May away.
Actually, today we did nothing except physical training, and I spent the time listening to May's
circumstances.
The academy representative selection is the day after tomorrow, but grinding for two more days won't make a huge difference.
It would be much more helpful to silence the baseless rumors tormenting her.
To extinguish the rumors, the first step is to find the original spreader.
Coincidentally, the ones I suspect most are right in front of me.
Sophia, Charlotte, Drant, and Louis. She said the rumors spread after talking to these four.
And Amelia.
The rumors might have started with those four, or one of them, but I'm certain Amelia is the one who spread them among the instructors.
Just last time I went to the infirmary, the wizard in charge seemed to have become close with Amelia and
viewed me as a shameless man who takes advantage of trainees.
As I was organizing my plan, Amelia, who had just finished her class, approached me—speak of the devil.
"What is it?"
"Have you heard that some strange rumors have been going around lately?"
Hmm, what's this?
"If you're talking about the rumor that May and I are in an inappropriate relationship, yes, I know. I was even summoned by the Dean today because of it."
"Did you know? Then why aren't you doing anything about it?"
I wondered what was going on.
I expected her to pick a fight over the rumors, but she was actually scolding me for not acting. This was unexpected.
"I only found out today after being summoned by the Dean."
"You only found out today?"
She looked completely dumbfounded, and honestly, I felt the same.
Since Amelia has a grudge against me, she definitely played a part in spreading the rumors...
So why was she making that face?
"I heard it from the Dean after class today. I assume you heard it sooner, Instructor Amelia?"
"I only found out today too!"
I had been testing her, and looking at her expression, she didn't seem to be lying.
So Amelia wasn't the one who leaked it to the other instructors...
"The students say it's already spread so far that both the trainees and instructors know. I'm not involved, so it's fine, but how could you, the primary party, only find out today, Instructor Bio?"
"I don't usually converse or socialize with the other instructors. I'm not the type to care about rumors, and lately, I've been too busy teaching May to have any spare energy."
"Even so. This is your business. Just deal with it already. Trainee May is suffering because you're dragging your feet."
"I intend to, but I take it you don't believe the rumors, Instructor Amelia?"
This was quite unexpected.
I thought she'd be the one most excited to trash my reputation.
Come to think of it, she's also a candidate, so she must have been busy preparing for the selection.
That made sense.
"Who would believe such nonsense? You're a pathetic, unmotivated person, but I know you're not the kind of scum who'd lay a hand on a student."
...?
I was a little—no, a lot—touched.
The Dean tried to kick me out without even asking, but my rival Amelia actually believes in me...
Did we bond through all our fighting?
"I'm truly touched that you believe in me, Instructor Amelia."
"D... don't misunderstand. You said you were summoned by the Dean, right? The fact that you're still here and not in a dungeon proves it's a baseless rumor. Besides, if someone as cunning as you actually did something like that, would you have let it become a rumor?"
"I... I see."
I take back being touched.
Amelia is still Amelia.
"I was wondering why the students have been ostracizing May lately. Didn't you notice anything during class?"
That hit a nerve.
I just let them do self-study every day and focused on May's training, so there was no way I'd notice.
Not just May, but the other trainees must have looked at her poorly, though they already hated me, so the looks were the same.
"I'm a bit slower on the uptake than I look..."
"It's not that you're slow; it's that you have no interest in your trainees. Just clear this up quickly. Don't make things harder for Trainee May."
I almost felt touched again since she was worried, but it seemed she was worried about May, not me.
Personally, I can't say I like her, but as an instructor, she's not a bad person.
"I'll handle it."
"Do it properly. I won't accept some excuse like, 'Trainee May couldn't perform because her mind was troubled by this incident.'"
Amelia really is Amelia.
"That won't happen."
After the conversation, I returned straight to the dormitory.
I washed up quickly and rolled around in bed until it was midnight.
Well, shall I get started?
I took out the necessary items from my Subspace.
'What are you planning to do with this?'
'Ark, what do you think is the most effective solution when caught in a scandal?'
'If you're innocent, a head-on approach is best. Weren't you going to gather the kids and talk to them during tomorrow's class?'
A head-on approach isn't entirely wrong.
But once public opinion has shifted, people aren't easily convinced.
'Tsk, the rumors are already everywhere. May might be a different story, but look at my track record—would they really believe me?'
'It'll most likely backfire.'
'Exactly.'
That's why May suffered in silence, unable to tell me.
'Then what's the answer?'
'Creating an even bigger rumor.'
'A bigger rumor?'
'Imagine you're a trainee. You peed your pants during class, and everyone saw it.'
'Of all the metaphors, why that one...?'
'Just listen. Everyone would make fun of you, right?'
'Probably.'
'But if the Magic Tower and the Imperial Family suddenly announced that a giant meteor was falling and the world would end tomorrow, what would happen?'
'What do you mean what? The world would be in chaos... Ah!'
He finally seemed to get it.
Not only would there be chaos, but no one would care about Ark peeing his pants.
Who cares about that when the world is ending tomorrow?
'So you're going to cover the rumor with an even larger one.'
Pretty much.
To be more precise, I'm not trying to replace the rumor entirely, but rather shift the focus away from May.
I can't just create a massive incident every time, nor would such an event automatically restore May's image.
I told her I'd help, but ultimately, salvation is something one must achieve for themselves.
Of course, since I'm involved, I plan to be fully supportive when she makes her explanation.
For now, I just intend to divert the attention.
To create the best possible circumstances.
Telling Ark he was right, I put on the black clothes and mask I had taken out.
It had been a while since I felt this heavy, cool sensation.
I think it's been nearly four years.
Among the missions of a Black Agent, it's rare, but sometimes we're ordered to steal treasures.
Either stealing treasures from other nations or taking something that was intentionally given to create a pretext for a dispute.
There were also times we had to retrieve imperial gifts that had been swapped for fakes.
Swapping the Emperor's own gifts... those palace officials must have twelve lives to be that reckless.
Since it's an uncommon task and not covered in depth during training, it's a difficult mission even for Black Agents.
Blue Mist was never deployed for such missions.
Because there was a specific agent who specialized in this.
Ghost.
He never showed his face to other Black Agents, or even to the Emperor, the true master of the Intelligence Agency.
He would have if the Emperor ordered it, but within the empire, there were more people hunting for Ghost than Blue Mist.
After all, Ghost's most frequent missions were stealing the assets of corrupt nobles by the Emperor's decree.
The Emperor avoided knowing his face, fearing he might accidentally describe him while drunk.
A veil of secrecy surrounded the agent known as Ghost, known only to the old man Daph, the Director of Intelligence.
That is my other codename.
****
It seemed darker than usual; today was the new moon.
Thinking the heavens were on my side, I moved between the trees, hiding my presence until I reached my destination.
It wasn't that far to begin with, so it didn't take long.
'What are you planning? This place is...'
'Shh, you're distracting me. Shut it.'
I silenced Ark and circled around to the back of the building.
Just like the faculty dormitory where I stay, there were pipes on the exterior here as well.
They likely shared the same design, as they were the same type of dormitory despite the different residents.
This was the trainee dormitory.
I climbed up the pipes and reached the rooftop in no time.
The entrance was locked.
While the faculty dormitory only had locking magic, the trainee dormitory had both magic and a large iron lock.
A primitive lock like this was a joke to me.
I easily dispelled the magic and took some Flensing Powder from my Subspace.
Made from the powdered roots of the Northern Flensing Tree, this powder hardens rapidly when infused with magic.
I filled the keyhole and piled enough on top before channeling my mana into it.
After about ten seconds, the powder hardened; I twisted the top of the flensing and easily picked the lock to get inside.
There were alarm spells installed all over the place, starting from the stairs.
On the ceiling, crystal balls that looked like video recording devices blinked red, indicating they were active.
The security was tighter than I'd expected, but I didn't take any special precautions.
The Black Uniform I was wearing is an artifact that nullifies both alarm and video storage magic.
It wouldn't work against spells cast by an 8th Class wizard or higher, but Roy is the only person in the Beluga Empire to have reached that level.
That old man finds everything tedious except for his research; there's no way he'd install magic here instead of the palace.
Sure enough, I passed right by without triggering any reaction.
Still, I might run into a dormitory instructor on patrol, so I muffled my footsteps and headed toward my destination.
I hadn't checked a map of the interior, but fortunately, the layout wasn't much different from the faculty side, and the place was exactly where I thought.
[Female Trainee Laundry Room]
—Closes at 8:00. No male trainees allowed. Male trainees must use the 2nd floor laundry.
The faculty dorms aren't separated by gender, but the students are.
Then again, there are far more trainees than instructors.
At the academy, the laundry is handled exclusively by the ladies in the dormitory's laundry rooms.
You drop off your clothes, pay based on the weight, and pick them up the next day.
'You can't be serious, can you?'
It seemed Ark had finally figured out my plan.
The laundry room shutter was down, so I used an Aura Blade to carve out a hole just large enough for me to slip through.
To avoid suspicion, I fit the iron plate I'd just cut back into the hole and pressed my mask against it, and it fused back instantly.
The mask I'm wearing is an artifact that can restore any object to its original form if it was cut within the last five minutes.
Whether it's a glass window or a wall, it can fix anything, which made it incredibly useful during my time as Ghost.
Enough reminiscing; it's time to get started.
Following the faint scent of fabric softener, I found rows of neatly organized laundry baskets.
In the faculty dorms, you write your name, but here they used six-digit student ID numbers.
Most were academy uniforms, but since many nobles attend, there were plenty of high-end clothes I recognized.
But clothes weren't my target.
I took a sack from my Subspace, sifted through the piles, and picked out only the underwear.
'I had my suspicions, but you shameless bastard, are you really an instructor?'
'Shameless? I told you already. This isn't for my own pleasure.'
After scooping up the underwear, I looked around and saw some slightly musty laundry nets in the corner.
They looked like clothes dropped off in the evening that hadn't been washed yet.
There was probably underwear in there too—should I dig through those?
After a moment's thought, I put on my gloves and pulled out another sack.
'You're taking those too? I thought you said this wasn't for your own pleasure!'
I could practically feel the contempt dripping from Ark's voice.
'It would be strange for an underwear thief to leave those behind.'
To be absolutely sure, I had no other choice.