The New Queen of the Academy (3)
Giovanni Uelia. Head of the Uelia Merchant Coalition, one of the five largest merchant coalitions in the empire. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
"This... does this even make sense?"
"It's true, sir."
Giovanni rubbed his eyes hard and looked down at the paper in his hands once more. No matter how many times he read it, he could not bring himself to believe the words written there.
A few days earlier, Giovanni Uelia had received a request from Louise Violet, daughter of the Violet family. Though "request" was hardly the right word—it had been an order. The task was to investigate the whereabouts of Eden Rofas, the student expelled from the academy two years ago and subsequently missing.
At first, he had not considered it a particularly difficult assignment. How hard could it be to dig up information on a single student? The Uelia Merchant Coalition was a colossal organization with branches in every major city across the continent. Thanks to that reach, they could obtain nearly any information they wanted. After all, operating as a merchant coalition meant every rumor on the continent eventually found its way to them. Unlike other coalitions, Uelia had built its power on information from the very beginning. If Uelia could not uncover something, then no one in the world could.
Yet the paper before him stated only this:
[No Information]
Giovanni kicked his chair back and leapt to his feet, roaring.
"This is impossible!"
"We thought the same, sir. We investigated again and again, but... we truly could not obtain any information at all!"
"Goddamn it!"
Giovanni violently crumpled the paper and hurled it to the floor.
"A brat with no family or backing has zero information? How the hell is that possible!"
"I-I don't know either, sir... but we truly did our best..."
"You useless piece of shit... Fuck off, you brainless bastard!"
"...... I'll begin another investigation immediately."
"Don't even think about coming back until you find something! I'll kill you myself!"
Vice-coalition leader Baylor fled the room in haste, dodging the objects Giovanni was flinging about. Coalition leader Giovanni was normally a refined man, but when things went wrong he became hysterical. There was never any benefit in remaining near him when his temper flared.
Once Baylor had gone, Giovanni leaned back in his executive chair and exhaled a long sigh.
'I'm completely fucked.'
Giovanni's mind went white.
What would happen if he brought Louise Violet a report that simply read [No Information]?
"I should write a will first."
He pulled a sheet of paper from the drawer, wrote [Bury me in a sunny place when I die], and set it on the desk. Then he muttered, "Damn it, I can't die here!" and tore the paper to shreds, scattering the pieces into the air.
'Think, Giovanni. Think.'
He had to consider every possibility. Giovanni Uelia had clawed his way to this position through his own wits. If he wished, he could unearth the past and corruption of anyone—from street beggars to high officials. Nowhere in the empire, nowhere on the entire continent, could anyone escape Uelia's eyes. Even the Violet family's and the imperial palace's information rested in their hands. They merely kept it hidden to preserve relations with their sponsors and clients.
There was only one way to slip past the gaze of such a coalition.
"They're... erasing the information."
It was an absurd idea. Not only evading the coalition's hidden informants, but actually erasing the information those informants had already obtained? No human in this world could accomplish such a feat.
Giovanni shook his head. Impossible. Leaking false information to sow confusion or bribing informants to withhold key details—those things were possible. But completely erasing information was not.
'That's... something only a dead person could do.'
If they truly could not obtain any information on Eden Rofas, it was no different from saying the boy had been dead for two years and then returned to life. Had Eden Rofas become some kind of ghost?
"No... wait."
At that moment, Giovanni Uelia's eyes flashed.
A person capable of completely concealing their own information. There was one. An existence whose name, age, gender, and past were all unknown to the world, despite the fact that people knew such a being existed.
"Lopez...!!"
A year ago, a supernova who had appeared like a comet in the underworld and seized a monopoly on the distribution of Philopon. A human who hid their information with terrifying thoroughness. If it were that person, the result made perfect sense.
'No... that can't be right.'
Yet it was a leap of logic. There was no way Eden Rofas could be Lopez.
"......"
Even as he thought it, Giovanni shook his head.
'There's no such thing as absolute in this world.'
Absurd as the notion felt, it was worth investigating. If even a one-percent chance existed, he had to pursue it. That very obsession had been the driving force behind Giovanni's rise.
It was at the moment Giovanni reached for the communication crystal that a voice spoke from behind him.
"Giovanni Uelia."
A chillingly cold voice.
"...Wh-who... Mmph...!!"
At the same time, a hand clamped over Giovanni's mouth. He struggled to tear it away, but the grip was impossibly strong. Giovanni thrashed, yet the hold did not budge.
"If you try to know too much, you'll get hurt."
With a sharp crack, Giovanni's neck bent at an unnatural angle. His pupils gradually clouded over, and his body collapsed like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
From the outside, the days at the academy appeared utterly peaceful. The buildings designed by the empire's finest architects stood grand and imposing. The meticulously crafted landscaping blended naturally with the surroundings. In the training grounds, knight candidates gathered in small groups to practice. In the library, mages pored over texts in pursuit of the world's truths. Every student attended lectures with enthusiasm, and the professors taught with matching zeal. It was a flawless, perfect academy.
Yet beneath that surface, another world existed.
— Ugh... This is fucked.
— Ah, fuck, sex!
In the academy dormitories, storehouses, research labs, and bathrooms—places hidden from prying eyes—all manner of filthy deeds took place. High-ranking noble scions injected syringes into their arms without a second thought, while daughters of fallen noble houses were addicted to drugs, held hostage, and turned into sex slaves. Every time I witnessed such scenes, the same thought crossed my mind.
'Extremes meet.'
A line I had once seen in a movie. Even those who spouted empty words about honor and noblesse oblige were, when you stripped away the surface, no different from the trash of the underworld. No—they were worse.
Of course, trash existed everywhere in the world. But these bastards blended in among ordinary students, pretending to be normal. They wore noble aristocratic masks, as though participating in their own private masquerade.
'Disgusting bastards...'
That was why I had no intention of attending classes. I had not come to the academy to enjoy academy life, after all.
Today, however, was an exception. It was only the second time I had attended class since my verbal clash with Louise Violet on the first day. The reason was simple.
"As previously announced, the mid-term practical evaluation begins today."
The mid-term practical evaluation at Joachim Academy. A literal survival test in the mana-rich forest behind the academy, lasting one week.
Of course, I was not participating to earn good grades. My goal lay elsewhere.
To crown Alicia Floren as the academy's new queen. To gather new followers who would rally behind her. And thereby end Louise Violet's dictatorship—ultimately dragging her down from her throne.
Lost in thought, Professor Ivanov spoke.
"Now then, I will assign the groups. Each group will consist of two members. To ensure fairness, we have matched pairs by skill and grades. If anyone has complaints..."
Just as the professor began projecting the list onto the blackboard, someone abruptly raised a hand and stood up. The action was sudden, but unsurprising.
"I have a complaint."
Because it was something I had arranged.
The students' gazes converged on the speaker, and the classroom fell into sudden silence.
"What are you going to do about my complaint?"
The one who spoke was Alicia Floren.
The lowest-ranked student in the academy. A plaything for noble scions, the traitor who had betrayed Louise Violet—the academy's rebel. The students' reactions were exactly as expected.
"How dare that slut talk back to the professor?"
"If you've got complaints, get the hell out."
"We left her alone for a while and she's lost her mind."
"Silence!"
As the classroom erupted with murmurs and curses, Professor Ivanov slammed his lectern repeatedly. Clearly furious at a mere student's insolent attitude, he furrowed his brows deeply.
"Everyone, be quiet! And Alicia Floren, you..."
But Professor Ivanov never finished his sentence. Because I, seated beside Alicia, fixed him with a glare and slowly shook my head from side to side. It was a warning. A silent command not to touch Alicia Floren, not to find fault with her actions.
Professor Ivanov froze, mouth half-open. Like the seasoned instructor he was, he instantly forced a smile and spoke in a gentle tone.
"W-What complaint might you have? I'll do my best to accommodate it."
"......"
At the same time, the students who had been insulting Alicia were seized by doubt.
'What did she do?'