Chapter 50
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Infiltration
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"Professor Juery. Where are you off to?"
"...Professor Neyk?"
The one blocking our path was a professor we hadn't expected in the slightest.
His face still bore those sagging dark circles, and the corners of his mouth were curved in a subtle smirk.
A faint whiff of taboo energy emanated from him.
Professor Juery must have sensed it too, because her voice turned hostile.
"I'm looking for a cadet. Step aside."
"Are you searching for Cadet Chayuri Floridel?"
Professor Juery and I both gasped in unison.
Professor Neyk's response was even more chilling because of that unsettling smile of his.
Come to think of it, Professor Neyk had overseen the class placement exam.
And now this taboo aura he was giving off.
Anxiety washed over me.
"Cadet Chayuri Floridel left with his mother from the Floridel family. It seems he's planning to spend the weekend at his family home."
"...What did you say?"
Professor Neyk said it oh-so-calmly, as if he'd seen it coming.
It was just a hunch, but he was definitely connected to this incident.
"How would you know that, Professor Neyk?"
"I have a personal friendship with Mrs. Floridel. I saw her off when she said they were leaving, and I just got back. Well then."
Professor Neyk chuckled lowly as he brushed past us.
We rushed outside in a panic, but just as he'd said, neither Chayuri nor his mother was anywhere to be seen.
We even asked the guards, and they confirmed that the Floridel carriage had indeed left.
With no other choice, we had to return to the banquet hall.
In the end, Chayuri never came back, even after the banquet concluded that night.
Professor Juery recalled the time when she had first been appointed as a professor and put in charge of cadets.
Back then, she still had that fresh-faced greenness of a novice instructor.
'Professor! Could you explain this magic formula? I just can't wrap my head around it.'
Being new to the role back then, she had her share of shortcomings.
But the cadets quickly picked up on her enthusiasm, and before long, Professor Juery became one of the most popular instructors among them.
Among them, the one she had grown closest to was a cadet named Yuto Ronnight.
Yuto had a particular interest in precision magic.
As such, he often came to her with questions.
By the time Yuto reached his second year, he even said that after graduation, he wanted to join her lab as a graduate student.
She hadn't had any grad students up to that point, so the idea of him as her first disciple made her heart flutter with excitement.
'I'll be Professor Juery's disciple for the rest of my life!'
Was this what a prized pupil felt like?
Professor Juery never doubted that her bond with Yuto would last even longer.
Then, in the year Yuto became a third-year...
The incident happened.
Forbidden mages. The agonized screams echoing in her ears. The repulsive flow of entropy running backward.
Whenever those memories resurfaced—the noises she hated even thinking about—Professor Juery would instinctively ignite with rage toward forbidden mages.
Even after that event, Professor Juery chose to stay at the academy.
If she tried to leave, regret would flood her mind along with those screams.
Instead, to erase that pain, she developed a pathological hatred for forbidden mages, hunting them relentlessly.
Thud. Thud.
Professor Juery shook her head to dispel the sudden rush of old memories.
Lately, these flashbacks had been happening more frequently. Ever since she met that guy.
A cadet from commoner stock with exceptional talent.
She had misunderstood him at first and made a mistake, but now he was one of the few she could share her circumstances with.
And since meeting Ian, the clues about the forbidden mages she'd been chasing for so long had started to come into view.
"The president..."
As she walked down the corridor, Professor Juery organized the information she'd uncovered in her mind.
She'd suspected the academy president of being a forbidden mage for quite some time.
Every now and then, she would sense that taboo aura from her.
It wasn't constant. Sometimes she felt it, sometimes she didn't.
Professor Juery's theory was that the president had been dipping into forbidden magic for a long while.
She was skilled at controlling how much of that taboo energy built up.
At times, it was undetectable; at others, it leaked through.
It meant she used forbidden magic very sparingly.
Which implied she was cautious of the backlash,
and that she'd already accumulated enough of it to need to be careful.
'Digging into the president is too risky. But I've got Professor Neyk now.'
The president was far stronger than Professor Juery.
That was why she hadn't been able to touch her all this time.
But now she had a new lead: Professor Neyk.
Looking back, it felt stupid. He'd been in charge during the class placement exam scoring error incident.
Back then, a commoner had posted an absurd score and caused the glitch, so she'd suspected Ian.
Of course, there had been good reason. She'd sensed taboo energy from Ian.
And up until then, she hadn't felt any from Professor Neyk.
He might have been hiding it all along, or maybe he'd only recently stepped into forbidden territory.
Either way, investigating him was bound to turn up something.
The day after the banquet ended, Professor Juery headed straight for Professor Neyk's lab.
She knocked, and a graduate student with heavy dark circles under his eyes answered the door.
"Professor Juery...? Professor Neyk hasn't come in today..."
"Oh, that's fine. I have something to pick up from him. He's been notified, so I'll go find him myself."
"Sure..."
As expected, Professor Neyk hadn't shown up for work.
He rarely came to the lab on weekends unless there was major research underway.
Just in case, she'd asked Professor Plma to help by scheduling a lunch with Neyk to keep him tied up at that hour.
Naturally, none of the graduate students radiated taboo energy.
They were all cadets he'd recruited after joining the faculty.
If he'd tried pulling normal cadets into forbidden magic, they'd have reported him ages ago.
Professor Juery inspected Professor Neyk's private office within the lab.
The best outcome would be finding documents outlining their plans.
But the odds were low. They wouldn't leave something that crucial lying around.
Still, rummaging now was about doing what she could in advance.
Next week brought the field trip, when the academy would be hectic.
After that came midterms, meaning Neyk would likely hole up in his lab even on weekends.
With the resolve to uncover any clue she could, Professor Juery searched Neyk's room.
Quickly, but thoroughly, every nook and cranny.
She wielded her precision magic with care to leave no traces, probing for taboo energy.
Then she found it—a spot radiating an alien aura.
Under the desk was a safe that gave off a strange sense of incongruity.
"This is..."
It wasn't definitively taboo energy.
If she had Ian's level of affinity, she could distinguish it precisely, but for her, it was more like a vague hunch based on experience.
One thing was certain: something unnatural was inside that safe.
Professor Juery checked for noises outside the room, then approached the safe.
Of course, it was securely locked.
There were no spells beyond the lock itself.
No defenses to attack intruders. Meaning she could open it and check the contents freely.
'...Should I open it?'
Professor Juery hesitated before the locking mechanism.
Getting it open was one thing, but she had no idea what was inside.
And once she did, Professor Neyk would surely notice later that the safe had been tampered with.
She'd be the prime suspect, and it could lead to a fight.
'...No. This might be my last chance.'
Professor Juery steeled her resolve.
Who knew when she'd get another shot at this safe.
Chayuri might already be in dire straits.
She couldn't hesitate when a cadet was in danger.
Professor Juery examined the lock.
It was an expensive artifact lock. Most mages couldn't crack it easily.
'Doable.'
But Professor Juery's specialty was 'precision.'
Dissecting and manipulating lock mechanisms with pinpoint magic was her expertise.
She began dismantling the lock.
It didn't take long before a sharp click echoed as it sprang open.
With bated breath, Professor Juery opened the safe.
Creeeak...
What emerged was the truth. Or perhaps horror.
Professor Juery's eyes widened in sheer disbelief at what lay inside.
It was something so atrocious that "shocking" didn't even begin to cover it.
A plan more vile than anything she'd imagined.
"How could they...!"
Now that she'd seen it, she couldn't waste even a single hour.
No, she didn't have time to think.
If the president was blocking her and she couldn't stop it alone, she'd need to call in outside forces, no matter what.
Even those who ignored the kids' games would surely react to this.
As she reached into her pocket for one of the magic stones she always carried—
Bang!
A vision of a horrific future flashed through her mind,
and inexplicably, the door she'd locked swung open. Professor Juery froze.
Had a grad student come in? But she'd locked it.
Jump out the window? Yes. Jump.
Whether she got caught or not, she had to get this out and into the open.
At the very least, she needed to warn Ian—
Professor Juery hurled herself from under the desk straight toward the window.
Even casting an acceleration spell, but her enemy was one step faster.
Shing!
A protective barrier sealed the window, preventing her escape.
And then she felt it from behind. The taboo energy.
Her jaw trembling uncontrollably, Professor Juery turned, and there stood Professor Neyk.
"Why...?"
Professor Plma was supposed to be keeping him occupied!
Had he caught on and dealt with Plma too? But Plma's skills wouldn't go down easy...
"Professor Juery. What a pity. You could have lived on blissfully ignorant."
"What did you do to Professor Plma, Neyk?!"
"Professor Plma? Ah, him..."
Professor Neyk flashed a repulsive smile at her furious shout.
And then, someone else entered the room.
Thud. Thud.
"...Plma?"
It was Professor Plma, looking perfectly fine—not as if he'd been in a fight with Neyk at all.
He wore a strange expression that seemed like a sneer and pity all at once.
"You shouldn't trust people so easily, Professor Juery."
"Plma! You betrayed us? After everything you've been through, how could you side with them...!"
"Juery. The real threats are elsewhere."
"What are you...?"
Unable to believe the betrayal from a trusted colleague, Professor Juery pulled herself together.
She couldn't let herself get captured here.
She had to escape somehow and spread the word.
Without another moment's hesitation, Professor Juery forced an escape attempt.
She had to shatter the window spell and jump.
"Where do you think you're going? You really believe you can take on two of us alone? With that 'precision' of yours?"
But there were two of them.
One could block her path while the other attacked.
They were professors on par with her in strength; overpowering both and fleeing was impossible.
"The field trip's next week anyway, so this works out perfectly. Just wait patiently, Professor Juery."
"You bastards—! Plma, you tra—"
Professor Juery's final words never made it out into the world as Plma and Neyk's magic surged toward her.
Blazing pain and ominous darkness engulfed her.
'No... I have to at least warn Cadet Ian... Don't go on the field trip, Ian—'
Whoosh.
The darkness swallowed her completely.
"Feels like that old man whittling a stick... no, like the old man carving a broom."
I was in one corner of the training hall, dismantling the canoe I'd swiped from Roar and whittling it into a broom with [Sharp Wind].
Why was I doing this? Because I literally couldn't move just yet.
Yesterday, Chayuri vanished. No clue if it was a kidnapping or if he really went home with his mom.
Professor Juery told me to stand by for now.
She seemed to be handling something solo and didn't tell me if it was dangerous.
I considered tailing her to help, but decided against it.
The gallery agreed. If something went wrong while following, we'd both be in trouble.
Honestly, it felt like hitting a wall.
The biggest issue was the academy president.
No telling how far that old hag's influence extended within the academy.
Hard to judge which professors I could trust.
I thought about calling in outside help, but I didn't know anyone for that.
Asking Chayuri's family? No way for me to contact them alone.
They hadn't come after me yet.
Considering my run-in with Professor Neyk yesterday, they had to suspect me too.
The gallery's consensus was to wait for Professor Juery to return before making a move.
In the meantime, the gallery was piecing together clues and theorizing.
Like leaving auto-hunt running. With the archmages sleuthing it out, I could take a breather.
"Almost done."
I'd finish the broom by tonight.
Flight-capable wood or metal usually needed special processing.
But this canoe was already fully treated and finished by Roar.
Just break it down and shape it like a broom—easy peasy.
As I whittled away while browsing the gallery, someone burst into the training hall.
A short female cadet I'd never seen before. Second-year, judging by her badge color.
Her hair was this weird faded cherry blossom pink that caught my eye for a second.
But I ignored it and focused back on the broom.
Then that second-year marched straight toward me.
"Ian Isaac! Found you!"
"Me?"
She'd spotted me out of nowhere.
Forbidden mage? Nah, she wouldn't announce herself so boldly.
"Who are you?"
"I am Nayu Ronnight!"
What the hell was with that cringy speech pattern? Friend of Lulu-chan's?
"...And?"
"Where have you hidden Young Master Chayuri?!"
"...Pardon? Chayuri was kidnapped... er, went back home."
Shit, too flustered—slipped and said "kidnapped."
Did she hear? If she's looking for Chayuri, maybe she's not the enemy.
"...What? Kidnapped?!"
She heard.
"No, seriously, who the hell are you?"
"I am Nayu Ronnight, fiancée of Young Master Chayuri!"
"Fiancée, what?!"
"O-Of course, it's not official yet, but a proposal... no, suitorship... no, betrothal... anyway, it's happening soon!"
Ah. Unrequited love.
Makes sense a guy who wants to be a girl wouldn't get engaged to one.
Poor thing doesn't know about Chayuri's gender issues. Can't exactly tell her.
"I don't know where Chayuri is either. I'm busy, so buzz off."
"Young Master Chayuri was talking to you yesterday and then vanished! Where did you kidnap him to?!"
"I didn't kidnap him..."
"I'll take Young Master Chayuri back! It's a duel!"
Fuck, she's not listening. A duel? What the?