6
Chapter 6
I woke up to the loud sound of someone knocking on the door.
"Instructor Bio, are you in there?"
So it had finally come.
Since I wasn't summoned last night, I figured they'd call for me today.
I just didn't expect them to come looking for me first thing in the morning.
"Just a moment."
I quickly got dressed and opened the door, only to find a burly man standing there with a serious expression.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Chief Instructor Berman. The Dean is summoning you regarding what happened in the dining hall yesterday, so come along."
"Ah, yes. I understand."
I replied and followed the Chief Instructor out of the dormitory.
'What are you going to do?'
'What do you mean? I'll just go and explain exactly what happened.'
I was perfectly fine, and while the other guy did get his arm broken, he was the one who laid a hand on me without a word.
Besides, he would have received healing by now.
The Academy is overflowing with wizards, after all.
'I have the justification, so there's no reason to be afraid.'
"What is it?"
"It's nothing."
After walking for about ten minutes, we arrived at the Dean's Office.
Opening the door and stepping inside, I saw that the Dean wasn't the only one there.
There was the instructor whose arm I broke in the dining hall yesterday, the nameless instructor who had backed down after saying we'd see, and a greedy-looking, middle-aged man with a large belly.
Marquis Heinz? He was probably here because of his son.
I had seen Marquis Heinz's file when I worked at the Intelligence Agency.
His family records showed he had a son he'd finally obtained after taking in four wives.
Naturally, he would see red after someone messed with a son like that.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to show me any particular hostility, so it seemed he didn't know I was the one who dealt with his son's gang.
"Instructor Bio, Instructor Theres here says you broke Instructor Ryan's arm yesterday. Explain what happened in the dining hall yesterday evening."
"Dean! Haven't I already told you everything? There's no need to hear more. How can a guy like him be an instructor? You must fire him immediately."
Judging by the looks of it, that instructor I hit must have gotten here first and spun the story to his advantage.
"Instructor Theres. That's enough. Marquis Heinz is present, have some decency!"
"But that man insulted me."
"I've heard enough of your story earlier. So isn't it only fair that we hear Instructor Bio's side now?"
Oho, is this because he's a wizard? How rational of him.
"In the dining hall yesterday, a group of trainees was acting rowdy. I was about to stop them, but they suddenly collapsed out of nowhere. I figured I'd just go back to eating, but then that instructor over there came with his colleague and started harassing the victims all over again, so I stepped in."
"Are you saying Instructor Theres harassed the victimized students?"
"Nonsense! Ryan and I were just taking them in for questioning, but you interfered and insulted us!"
"Investigation? So at Belliard Academy, threatening the victims with expulsion is called an investigation? I didn't know that since I'm new here."
Instructor Theres's face flushed bright red at my mockery.
"I understand the circumstances. Still, breaking a fellow instructor's arm is clearly wrong."
Good grief, who started it in the first place?
"It would be faster to just show you rather than tell you."
Finishing my words, I pulled out a small dagger from my coat.
"Instructor Bio?"
I swung the dagger toward the Dean at a moderate speed.
Twang—
A transparent barrier deflected the dagger.
My wrist stung, so I must have used too much force.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"As you can see. Actually, it was worse yesterday. At least I gave you warning before showing you, but that instructor over there threw a punch without a single word."
"Are you saying Instructor Ryan was the first to use force?"
"That's right. He suddenly started swinging his fist, so I tried to defend myself, but that instructor's arm must have been fragile and broke, don't you think?"
"Y-yes... But didn't you insult us first?"
"What insult did I give?"
Perhaps feeling ashamed with higher-ups watching, both of them struggled to speak.
"Theres, you speak."
"We were trying to investigate to get to the bottom of things, but that rude fellow said the sound of dogs barking was too noisy..."
"When the trainees were causing trouble, they kept their eyes down and didn't make a peep, but when they collapsed, they rushed over to threaten the victimized students with expulsion—would you think that's appropriate behavior for an instructor? I mistook them for dogs."
As I openly fed them their own words in front of everyone, their faces... wait, there's one more.
Even Marquis Heinz, who had been watching with an amused expression, turned red in the face. It seemed he had finally realized that his son was among the group of trainees causing trouble.
"I see."
"Dean!"
"Keep your mouth shut. What did you do so well? You used force first without issuing a proper challenge and got your arm broken—do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"...."
The instructors had definitely tucked their tails between their legs, but Marquis Heinz's expression as he looked at me was ominous.
"Your name is Bio, isn't it? You've been going on about causing trouble—what kind of trouble did our son cause?"
Does he really not know?
I'd love to splash water on Marquis Heinz right now to give him even a taste of his son's misbehavior, but I can't do that.
"They harassed other trainees with absurd excuses. They pushed them down and poured soup on their heads. Honestly, I'm new so I can assume I didn't recognize their faces, but those two instructors over there must have known and didn't care at all while they caused trouble..."
I wanted to add at the end that I wondered what kind of upbringing they had, but I held back.
If I did, I'd really make an enemy of him.
"Nonsense! Our good son would never do such a thing!"
"Marquis Heinz, that part is already a confirmed fact. Trainee Damian and his group threatened two other trainees for simply sitting in their seats."
The Chief Instructor, who had been quiet all along, took my side—that was unexpected.
If I'd known this would happen, should I have spoken more harshly?
"Hmph, so they sat in the wrong seats?"
"The Belliard Academy dining hall does not have assigned seating."
"Ahem, anyway, our son is unconscious right now!"
Like father, like son—how shameless.
"The examination showed nothing unusual, so he should wake up soon."
"Marquis Banks? Could you speak so lightly if your own son had collapsed?"
"I'm unmarried."
"...Anyway,"
The situation seemed to be wrapping up, so I was about to leave, but the Dean suddenly stared at me intently.
"Excuse me, Instructor Bio?"
"Yes?"
"Do you have any idea what's going on? You said you were watching the whole time earlier."
I was momentarily flustered, but it didn't seem like he had figured anything out; he was literally just asking because I said I had been watching.
The sleep dart's effects usually last for about two to three days.
Since he'd wake up tomorrow at the earliest, or the day after at the latest, I thought about playing dumb, but then a better idea struck me.
"Well, I do have a few suspicions..."
"You have an idea about what's wrong with my son?"
Because it concerned his son, Marquis Heinz immediately lunged at the bait.
"Could I speak with you in private, Marquis Heinz? If my suspicions are correct, it might be difficult to discuss out in the open."
"Anything to wake my son up. Fine. Let's step outside."
I stepped out with Marquis Heinz, and we ducked into an empty classroom nearby.
"Speak quickly. Why exactly did my son suddenly collapse?"
"Please wait a moment."
I used a soundproofing magic to ensure no sound would leak out.
"From what I can tell, it seems your son and his group of trainees have been using Maricho."
"Ma... Maricho? What are you saying! That's ridiculous!"
His face instantly turned red as he threw a fit; I was glad I had set up the soundproofing magic.
Maricho is a plant that grows mainly in the southern part of the Eastern Continent. Ingesting it or inhaling its smoke causes hallucinations and severe addiction—so much so that the Emperor has strictly prohibited it.
Not only its distribution, but merely possessing it is punishable by death for commoners, while nobles face immediate stripping of their titles and confiscation of their property.
There is even a separate agency solely dedicated to regulating it.
"One of the symptoms of Maricho exposure is suddenly collapsing and losing consciousness."
"Couldn't it be caused by something else? How dare you make such false accusations!"
"Marquis, I am the instructor for the Ranger Class. Rangers are required to study herbology, and before I became an instructor, I briefly served in the Maricho Control Bureau in the South."
I opened my subspace and took out a silver plaque that proved I was an agent of the Maricho Control Bureau.
It was something I used during a past mission; I was glad I kept it on me.
"Ahem, then can you verify it?"
"I still carry the silver needles used by the bureau. I can prick him to verify it."
"Then let's go check. I'll need to see it with my own eyes to believe it."
"Understood."
I headed to the medical ward where the bastards had collapsed, along with Marquis Heinz.
I kicked the medical officer out, leaving just me and Marquis Heinz.
"Go ahead and do it quickly."
"Yes. If your son did use Maricho, the needle will change color."
I took a small needle from my subspace, lightly pricked the tip of Damian's thumb, and pulled it out.
Marquis Heinz's face, which had been watching the process closely, quickly turned pale.
That was because the needle, coated in red blood, was gradually turning black.
"Judging by the slow rate of discoloration, it doesn't seem like he's in a severe state of addiction yet."
"R-Right. He must have just tried it a few times out of curiosity."
"That must be it. He was probably tempted by some bad trainees around him."
As I humored him, Marquis Heinz gave me a strange look.
"If we leave him like this, he'll wake up by tomorrow at the earliest, or the day after tomorrow at the latest. But fortunately, I have an antidote on me, so he'll wake up right away if he takes it. It's a special product used by the bureau, so it even has a purifying effect."
"A purifying effect?"
"It completely eradicates the Maricho components from the body. As long as he doesn't take Maricho again, he'll pass any inspection."
Marquis Heinz's eyes wavered, seemingly lost in thought.
"Is there something you want?"
"Ah, I didn't say this expecting anything in return."
"I like honest people. Judging by your actions, you must want something."
"I'm serious. I don't even have any particular attachment to Belliard Academy. I simply wanted to help you, Marquis, since you're a busy man."
As I spoke, I forced open the Marquis's son's mouth and pushed in the antidote.
Naturally, it wasn't an antidote for Maricho, but for Rafflesia.
"He will wake up soon."
"Can I really trust you?"
"My lips are sealed. However, many people saw your son collapse this time. Furthermore, I'm worried that the Dean and other instructors might investigate and question me about my involvement in your son's treatment."
"You don't need to worry about that. I'll take care of it."
"Understood."
"Huh? Damian!"
Damian twitched, looking like he would regain consciousness soon.
"Then I will take my leave."
I bowed my head in greeting and left the medical ward.
'What are you doing? You're the one who knocked him out.'
'I have a plan for everything.'
I was a little worried since it was an impromptu plan, but everything worked out exactly as I had thought.
'What plan? You shouldn't associate with a guy like that.'
'Was it the saying you told me about last time? What was it... "Even orc dung has its uses"?'
'Aren't you misunderstanding the meaning? If you're going to negotiate, do it right. He's a pretty high-ranking noble, so he would have given you whatever you asked for.'
Of course, I could have asked for money as Ark said, but I already had 100,000 gold from selling the artifact.
Right now, getting fired was a higher priority than money.
That was why I deliberately mentioned the investigation to Marquis Heinz, hinting at the possibility of being questioned.
Since I had also mentioned earlier that I had no attachment to the Academy, he would surely send me somewhere else.
I thought I'd be stuck teaching for a semester even if I just did the bare minimum, but it looks like I can go home without taking a single class.
'Explain it so I can understand.'
This guy Ark wasn't getting it at all.
I briefly summarized and explained it to him.
'You thought of all that in such a short time and actually put it into action?'
'Why are you so surprised?'
This guy Ark said my skills were terrible last time, but now he's praising me.
'Seeing you earlier, you spoke so smoothly. It seems you have a knack for being a con artist too.'
'Con artist, my ass. Didn't you see my memories last time? It all stems from training and experience.'
Black Agents also had missions where they disguised themselves as spies to gather information, so their training curriculum included eloquence.
Besides, variables that weren't accounted for sometimes arose during operations, so one had to be good at thinking on their feet.
Even though it was three years ago, I was at the pinnacle of those Black Agents.
'But you aren't officially fired yet, right? Isn't it too early to be happy?'
'Don't jinx it.'