Academy Special Security Officer
Academy Special Security Officer
A pitch-black dawn where not even a faint fragment of moonlight could be seen.
Deep within a gloomy forest adjacent to the Sepenteria Continental General Academy grounds.
Ten figures, wearing black robes pulled low and faces covered with masks, stood in a circle and simultaneously slashed their palms with sharp daggers.
Ten streams of dark red blood poured simultaneously from the scars on their torn palms.
The pillars of blood that hit the cold ground spread out, drawing bizarre patterns, and began to mix stickily with each other.
It was a kind of blood ritual, profane yet sacred to them, ahead of the day of the decisive battle and their great cause.
"We shall write a new history with blood."
"While everyone else is hesitating, wary of the Church, we alone will be the first, faster than anyone else, to sink our sharp fangs deep into the skin of that arrogant, hypocritical, disgusting daughter of the Goddess."
"Brothers, smile in victory. This will be the first signal flare that will eventually cause a red moon to rise over the continent."
"For our father, Nahash."
─ For our father, Nahash.
The eerie shouts shattered the silence of the forest and scattered.
+++*
"Then! Chief Inquisitor Luna. I look forward to working with you."
As The Saint reached out to offer a handshake, Luna smiled brightly and took her hand.
"Hehehe! I look forward to it too, cute Saint-nim."
Of course, the words she spat out were nothing short of profane.
So I said a word.
"Luna, I told you to refrain from that profane way of speaking."
"I clearly told you to shut up, Lu."
Of course, whether she listened to me was another matter.
Luna, my other self formed and fixed by the Halo, has quite an arrogant personality.
Of course, that doesn't mean she lacks manners or anything like that; it just means she treats everyone without hesitation, not really caring about the hierarchy.
So, look at that.
"But Saint-nim, your proportions are amazing! Even though you're short, you don't look small at all. And Lesha, your freckles are really pretty, aren't they?"
"Hehehe, is that so? Thank you, Luna."
"Chief Inquisitor-nim... do you really think so? Actually, I've sometimes wished I didn't have freckles."
"Oh my, oh my, why would you think that~ when you have such charming freckles."
Look at that.
Haven't they already become close?
That is Luna's strength and weakness.
That attitude of treating everyone equally, regardless of whether they are high-ranking or low-ranking.
Of course, in this case, The Saint is such a kind person who doesn't discriminate, so she accepts it well, but when meeting high-ranking people with a sense of authority who aren't like that, there are often cases where she loses out or makes the other person uncomfortable because of it.
So, it can't exactly be called a strength.
Sometimes a polite demeanor is necessary, but Luna doesn't have that.
Anyway, that's not the point.
It's not like I called her out to socialize like that.
I lightly notified Luna.
"Luna, go back in now. It's a waste."
Then Luna frowned deeply and glared at me.
"What? Can't you see we're in the middle of a fun conversation between girls? Don't act on your own..."
Snap!
I flicked my finger lightly, and she was instantly sucked into the White Rune.
"Uh-oh... Chief Inquisitor Luna..."
"Chief Inquisitor-nim..."
I felt sorry for The Saint and Lesha, who were having a fun conversation with her, but it couldn't be helped.
Because I couldn't waste power in vain.
"Anyway, Saint-nim, and Lesha. If an emergency situation occurs, Chief Inquisitor Luna Niginna will emerge from the White Rune like this. An emergency situation means when Saint-nim feels threatened. Luna's martial prowess is certainly at a level that Saint-nim can trust, so I would appreciate it if you could rely on Chief Inquisitor Luna in an emergency."
I said that and bowed my head.
"Then, that is all for my business. You must be tired from traveling to the Academy and participating in the entrance ceremony today, so please rest comfortably."
Then The Saint wiped away her expression of regret, smiled brightly, and nodded.
"Yes, thank you, Chief Inquisitor."
"It is only natural. Lesha, please take good care of Saint-nim."
"Leave it to me. Ch, Chief Inquisitor-nim."
With her arm linked with Lesha, who was bowing while trembling, The Saint said.
"Then, Chief Inquisitor, we'll be going in. See you later."
"I, I shall be going. May you be safe!"
It seemed Lesha was still a bit uncomfortable with me.
Why is that?
I haven't done anything to make her uncomfortable.
Well, who knows.
...
I watched the backs of the two women disappearing for a moment, then took a cigarette from my pocket and lit it.
"Ah... I obviously have to work starting today, right?"
Heretics don't just skip coming because it's an entrance ceremony.
It's the same principle as saying in my past life that the enemy doesn't stop attacking just because it's the weekend.
No matter what day it is, no matter what moment, Heretics could already be among us.
So I can't let my guard down even a little.
"Ha... when will I ever get to rest?"
+++*
A while ago.
'Very suddenly.'
I was appointed as an Academy Special Security Officer and heard an explanation about the authority I could exercise.
First was the right to access information about facilities or Academy security elements at the Academy Security Headquarters.
Because I have to know what this Academy looks like, what secret spaces exist, where it might be vulnerable, and where the enemy might infiltrate to do any security work at all.
Next, I gained the right to use the Academy's detection and alarm devices, as well as information surveillance magic.
This was also because I couldn't detect the vast Academy grounds all by myself.
Of course, the power of Heretics is often so alien and unknown that these things might not be of much help, but still, it's better than nothing.
And finally, I gained special command authority over the security forces at the Security Headquarters.
This special command authority is, the authority to command the security forces at the Security Headquarters when there is a Heretic attack, an assassin intruder, or when crazy revolutionary armies commit terrorist acts at the Academy.
Of course, not in peacetime.
Then the Academy Security Captain would suddenly end up with a superior who rolled in from the Goddess Church Headquarters.
They would probably be very uncomfortable with each other.
So they gave me command authority that only activates in such special situations.
As it is the world's best Academy, the security team's skills must be solid, so if I get command authority in such special terrorist situations, I'll be able to make good use of it.
Anyway.
That is why I am currently on my way to the Security Headquarters located in the center of the vast Academy grounds.
I intended to greet them, get to know them, and get some information about the Academy facilities since we'll be working together for quite a while.
But...
"Why is this place so wide?"
The Academy was much further than I thought.
The Hall of Beginnings and the building where the Dean was located were near the Academy's main gate.
And the place I'm heading to now is, as I said, the Security Headquarters located in the center of the Academy grounds.
I feel like I've been walking for 20 minutes, but the Security Headquarters was still far away.
Of course, I was walking a bit slowly to avoid gaps in detection since I was moving with the Halo on my head and using the detection Rune method, but still.
It was wide and big.
So, two emotions suddenly crossed my mind.
The regret coming from the thought that the life I dreamed of and desired might have been attending such a vast Academy, living a peaceful, fun, and exciting school life.
And another was the dizziness coming from wondering when on earth I would find and beat up the Heretics who have hidden or will hide in this vast place.
Yeah, honestly, if I have to do it, I will, but the intensity of this work, which is already dizzying, made me just want to quit everything and retire.
Of course, I can't.
"Ah, fuck this."
I spat out profanity and kept moving.
Still, since I became a Special Security Officer, it's nice that I can unleash my power here at the Academy.
Earlier, I was really worried about how to detect and kill Heretics without unleashing my power.
Although it is a bit burdensome that the gazes of students, faculty, security guards, outsiders, etc., inside the Academy keep landing on me because I keep running the detection Rune method.
When they look at me with such fearful expressions, I just want to ask.
'Say, "Heretic asshole."'
Like this.
+++*
Academy Security Headquarters.
Security Captain's Office.
The Security Captain, the owner of this room with a belly that looked like it would burst its buttons, clutched his head with a look of despair.
"Is it true that Chief Inquisitor Lu Niginna has been appointed as the Academy Special Security Officer? Is it for real? Is it clear, without a single lie, not just a rumor, but the truth?"
A question that felt like he wanted to escape reality, beyond just desperation.
The security guard, who had already answered this several times, nodded again.
"Yes, it has already come down as an official document from the Dean's office. With the Dean's seal stamped on it..."
"Stop...! Stop...! No, this is a dream...!"
"..."
At the Security Captain's screams and hysteria that had already been going on for about an hour, the security guard couldn't hold it in anymore and asked.
"Security Captain, why on earth are you acting like this? What kind of person is Chief Inquisitor Lu Niginna, anyway? Of course, I've heard the stories too. That she is a powerhouse among the world's strongest and is cruel without a shred of mercy when dealing with Heretics. But we aren't Heretics, are we..."
"Sowallo. Do you really think Heretic Inquisitors only bring the hammer of judgment down on Heretics?"
"Yes? Then..."
"I saw it. How the Heretic Inquisitors treated a large southern tribe that wasn't Heretical, but didn't believe in any gods, including the Three-Eyed Goddess."
"..."
"It was a very cruel and terrible sight. It was a scene of a massacre that one couldn't watch with a sane mind."
"..."
"And do you know who stood at the vanguard of those Heretic Inquisitors?"
The security guard called Sowallo shook his head.
So the Security Captain whispered very quietly, lest anyone hear.
"The captain of the 'Crimson Dawn Inquisitor Unit'. It was Lu Niginna."