Academy Special Security Officer
Academy Special Security Officer
The Security Captain stared blankly at the all-too-familiar black-haired young man who had just opened the door to his office and walked in.
Yes, that was the face.
There was no way it could ever be forgotten.
The commander of the Crimson Dawn Inquisitor Unit.
Lu Niginna.
A demon who painted the world in blood while wearing a cloak named "Justice."
He was a being that could never be forgotten, no matter how hard one tried.
He would likely remain that way until the moment one died and entered the grave.
Back when I was serving as a mid-level knight of the Empire, the Gosendorak, a massive tribe located in the south, stubbornly refused to believe in the Goddess.
They refused any kind of faith, claiming they were merely beings living according to the laws of nature, and that they themselves were nature itself; they wouldn't break their stubbornness.
But naturally, the self-righteous Goddess Church did not tolerate such indulgence.
Not believing in the Goddess itself was treason, an unforgivable felony, and heresy.
That was what the Goddess Church declared.
A large-scale subjugation force was organized in an instant, and the army marched toward the southern highlands of the Sepenteria Empire.
It was the beginning of a horrific war.
At the time, I was the Vice-Commander of a certain knight order belonging to the army dispatched by the Empire to support the Goddess Church's holy war.
Our main mission was to provide rear support for one of the Goddess Church's special units.
The Crimson Dawn Inquisitor Unit.
True to their reputation as a unit handpicked from the elite of the elite, they were monsters who truly didn't know the meaning of the word "defeat."
They advanced with unstoppable momentum, sweeping away the Gosendorak warriors like fallen leaves in an autumn wind.
If one were to name the group that achieved the greatest merit in this war, no one else would be qualified besides this unit.
And the commander leading that insane unit was a being who made one feel a primal fear and terror that transcended surprise, admiration, and awe.
With pitch-black hair and despite looking quite young, he was terrifyingly cold-headed and rational, and he slaughtered the enemies one by one with a sickening calmness.
Only a week had passed like that.
The massive southern tribe, the Gosendorak, was wiped off the map forever.
As soon as the war ended, the cruel cleanup and territory reclamation work began.
However, the Goddess Church ordered a thorough search operation to completely root out any potential remnants.
The Crimson Dawn Inquisitor Unit also joined in that merciless search operation.
Since our mission was to support them, we had to join in that hellish search.
In the midst of that, our knight order discovered remnants hiding in the middle of a deep forest.
There were a massive number of them, hundreds.
We immediately drew our swords and approached them, tightening the encirclement.
But when we got close and confirmed who they were...
They were just survivors, nothing more than powerless old men, women, and terrified children.
They were fragile people who didn't know how to properly swing a sword, lacked the strength to even thrust a spear once, and couldn't even read a magic spell, let alone pull back a bowstring.
Logically, I thought it would be right to keep them alive somehow, whether by sending them to a prisoner-of-war camp or using them as slaves, rather than killing them.
No, in fact, there was absolutely no reason to kill them.
They were just the elderly and weak who had lost even the will to resist and posed no threat.
But...
The commander of the Goddess Church's Crimson Dawn Inquisitor Unit, who appeared on the scene after hearing the report of the remnants' capture late—
That black-haired man did not think so.
Young and youthful, but a man who had carried out an overwhelmingly dazzling massacre in this war.
His words were absolute truth and law on this blood-soaked scene.
And his short remark soon became a horrific reality.
— These are the last resistance forces of the heretics.
— They are merely the last seeds harboring unclean and corrupt hearts.
— Kill every single one of them without exception.
That was what he spat out as he cut down the oldest elder among the survivors in a single stroke.
And as if that indifferent remark were a signal, the Goddess Church's inquisitor unit began to commit a merciless massacre.
Toward the survivors, who were composed of the elderly and weak, just ordinary civilians.
Since that day, I have no longer been afraid of the place called hell.
Because no matter how terrible a hell it might be, it wouldn't be more horrific than the sight of that day.
"You must be the Security Captain."
!
In front of the Security Captain, who had been lost in the terrible memories of the past, the black-haired man had already strode up and was standing there.
"Nice to meet you. I am Chief Inquisitor Lu Niginna. As of today, I have been appointed as the Academy Special Security Officer."
"..."
The man before his eyes had an impression that looked all too ordinary.
"I look forward to working with you."
A handsome appearance, tall stature, and a solid-looking body, but he was just an ordinary young man who looked a bit tired.
It was impossible to believe that this was the cruel and merciless demon who had personally created that hellish nightmare.
So the Security Captain just stared blankly at the young man in front of him, mouth agape like a fool.
Unable to even respond despite receiving a formal greeting.
"..."
"...Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"Y-yes? Ah, no. Fatigue just washed over me for a moment... My apologies. I, I am Gelloxon Roldotoa, the Security Captain in charge of the Academy."
"Oh my, you were tired. Then I shall be on my way. I just came to introduce myself and say a quick hello."
"Ah, yes, yes... T-that would be fine. I will see you out to the main gate..."
"No. That's fine. I have some business to take care of here at the headquarters for a moment."
"B-business, you say..."
"Ah, it's nothing special, I've come to receive the Academy's overall floor plan and detailed maps, as well as the Control Orb to check the security detection devices."
"Ah, haha, if it's that, then you should certainly take them. Then please take care, Chief Inquisitor... No, Special Security Officer-nim."
"Yes, then I'll see you next time."
With those words, the black-haired man stepped out of the office door with a light gait.
As soon as he disappeared, the Security Captain felt the strength drain from his legs and collapsed into his seat.
Over that calm-looking face, the image of the demon smiling while drenched in blood back then kept overlapping.
He even felt a much more mature and stronger physique, and an aura that was difficult to approach, compared to back then.
He couldn't do anything about this primal fear digging deep into his chest.
"Seriously... He drives people crazy."
The Security Captain didn't want to recall that scene from back then anymore.
But...
Strangely, one question arose.
Back then, there was always a woman stuck to that man's side.
They were like twins.
They gave off a very similar vibe and were very strong.
Perhaps the woman even had the upper hand in terms of physical ability.
But I hadn't heard anything about the woman since that war.
Even though the man made a name for himself as the notorious Chief Inquisitor.
... What on earth happened to that woman?
+++*
Security Headquarters Archive.
A female employee, neatly dressed in a blue security uniform, handed over two thick scrolls and spoke professionally.
"One is the overall floor plan, and the other is the detailed map. The detailed map records everything, including the Academy's top-secret spaces, so please be extra careful about loss or theft."
"Of course. And that?"
Where my gaze landed, she brought out a transparent orb the size of a fist, contained in a luxurious wooden box.
"This is the 'Control Orb' that controls all security facilities and communication devices within the Academy and receives real-time notifications. This also, likewise..."
"Means I should be careful about loss and theft, right? I understand."
"...That is correct."
"Then let me check if it works for a moment."
I took the orb out of the wooden box and placed it on my palm.
Then, a soft light radiated from the orb, and a cluster of light appeared in the air, reminiscent of a hologram from my past life.
/Ancient Magic Research Building Underground Waterway: Movement of 32 insects detected.
/Holy Arts Training Hall Right Wall: 3 students from the Practical Holy Arts department are smoking.
/2nd Training Ground North Area: 14 low-level magical energy reactions detected. (Individual training in progress)
/Forbidden Books Archive 3rd Floor Corridor: Unauthorized access attempt blocked.
/Student Dormitory Backyard: 2 outsiders, a man and a woman, are having a secret meeting.
/1st Alchemy Experiment Building: Unexplained, faint toxic gas leak occurring. (Caution required)
/Central Plaza Clock Tower Top: Movement of a black bird detected.
/Spirit Garden Lakeside: Group dance of low-level spirits and magical residue observed.
/Main Building 4th Floor Faculty Conference Room: 8 people inside, maintaining an abnormal high-concentration magical tension state.
/West Wall Outer Road: 1 large biological reaction presumed to be a wild beast detected.
Every phenomenon caught by the detection devices was recorded there, and it was being updated in real-time even at this very moment.
Not just simple text, but accompanied by videos, photos, and precise drawings.
'Oh.'
Honestly, this level of technology was surprising.
It was truly worthy of being called the world's best educational institution.
Almost every nook and cranny of the Academy was being monitored and recorded by mobilizing various detection magic and devices.
Down to the very minor movements happening in real-time.
"About how many records like this come up in a day?"
I suddenly got curious and asked the female employee, and she opened her mouth after thinking for a moment.
"It's not up to a million, but usually, several hundred thousand are recorded every day."
Hundreds of thousands a day.
It was a plausible figure since the Academy grounds were so vast and it caught even the most minute movements.
I couldn't help but be surprised, and at the same time, I couldn't stop a pitiful sense of camaraderie from welling up.
I looked at the female employee with pitying eyes and asked.
"Hundreds of thousands? Does a person check all of that one by one?"
Then she hesitated for a moment and nodded.
"...As a result, you could say we check everything."
Checking everything.
That statement made a corner of my heart ache.
I thought, "There's another one of my kind here, having their labor mercilessly exploited."
"Oh my, then does that mean the personnel in the detection department scan through all those countless records every day?"
"We do do it all, but... that is..."
She couldn't finish her sentence and trailed off.
Now that I looked, her face looked very pale and tired, as if her dark circles had descended to near her mouth.
I felt a deep sadness, as if tears were clouding my vision, and carefully patted her shoulder.
"Sniff. You've been through a lot. You've really been through a lot. How painful it must be to check this massive amount of data one by one. Forget leaving on time, on days when you have to work overtime, it must feel like a festival. Do you even get to leave on time? You probably can't even dream of it, right?"
I know.
I know that terrible pain all too well.
Where work piles up like a mountain, so you can't even dream of leaving, living buried in work all day only to face the next day.
The hellish routine where, even if you barely manage to leave, you have to go back to work without even getting three or four hours of sleep...
"No. That's not the case at all, Special Security Officer-nim. I always leave on time, right on schedule."
"Yes, you've really been through... Huh?"
Huh?
What did I just hear?
"What did you just say?"
"I said I leave on time, right on schedule. Our detection department, excluding special duty personnel, all leave on time."
I couldn't understand it at all.
"A-ah, then who on earth checks those hundreds of thousands of records?"
"Ah, there is a perfectly equipped magi-tech system that filters and checks them on our behalf."
"A, a system?"
"It's a magi-tech calculation system called 'Oracle,' and once this Oracle checks them primarily, most records are automatically classified as 'No issues.' The verification accuracy is over a whopping 99.9%."
"..."
"So, in reality, the number of cases our personnel check directly in a day is less than 10,000."
"...Then you said you leave on time... What time do you usually leave?"
To my hollow question, she checked the watch on her wrist once and answered.
"It is 7 PM. As it happens, now is exactly the time to leave."
"..."
Fuck.
They leave right on time?