Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Eagle's Symbol (1)
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The disappearance of Dillon and Collette left us with a profound sense of unease.
It was especially unnerving because they vanished right before we were about to publicize the academy's corruption, and their destination had been to secure witness testimony.
“Theo, let’s head out now.”
“Why not rest a bit longer before we go?”
It was already past seven, and the sun had begun to set.
The ceremonial chalice prepared in the chapel had overflowed, meaning they’d drawn over 700ml of blood from me in a short time, but thanks to the mages’ utmost care, there were no major aftereffects.
“With two people missing, we can’t afford to sit around.”
We didn’t realize that Dillon hadn’t just failed to return but had completely vanished until half a day after leaving the chapel.
We’d shared the details with the student council and asked for their help, but they were swamped with this incident, so all we could do was urge them on.
In the end, while I was out cold in the dormitory in a daze, Judith, Shirley, and Theodore had searched for Dillon, but it was all for nothing.
“Did you hear about the twins?”
“They said they haven’t held a single meeting in the club room since we started using it. Which means we were the last ones to see him.”
“This has turned into more of a headache than I expected.”
Theodore silently grabbed his coat and handed me an overcoat as well.
The weather had warmed up considerably, so a winter coat like the one Theodore offered wasn’t really necessary anymore, but after losing so much blood, my body temperature had dropped noticeably.
“Let’s go.”
Theodore seemed like he wanted to stall a little longer, but as the one who had inadvertently caused Dillon’s disappearance, I couldn’t relax.
On top of that, I’d unwillingly (though everything had been unwilling from the start) become one of the key figures in this mess, making it hard to move around except at night.
“Senior—”
As we stepped out of the dormitory, a soft whisper reached us.
It was Shirley, her usual playful smile replaced by a serious expression.
Dressed in a dark frock coat and riding attire like us, she looked far plainer than she did for daily academy life.
“Where’s Judith?”
“She went for witness questioning and said she’ll join us straight from the civilian district.”
“Then let’s hurry and get going.”
I felt prickling stares from somewhere.
Before, they’d only come from my guardian angel, but now I couldn’t pinpoint the source.
Drawing attention to myself by playing executioner had unwittingly become a shackle—I was only realizing it now.
“Shirley, did you bring your spear?”
“Oh. Perfect timing, actually. Let me show you.”
At my words, Shirley reached to her waist and pulled out a silver rod about as thick as her forearm.
*Piiing!*
What had started as a simple rod began to glow with a sound like electricity surging through it.
*Wooong…*
Now both ends bore long blades formed of crackling energy.
“It grew blades?”
“It wastes mana, so I don’t use it in real combat much, but it seems fitting for a situation like this.”
“So these blades are made of mana?”
“Yeah. If you’re curious, go ahead and touch. Just lightly, since it’s sharp.”
Shirley cautiously extended the rod-turned-spear toward me.
I carefully pressed my finger to the blade’s tip.
It felt like touching an electrified object, an odd tingling sensation.
*Crackle!*
With a light squeeze and release from Shirley, the mana blades vanished, leaving only the original silver rod.
Shirley was skilled enough to conjure weapons from thin air at both ends of a plain rod using pure mana alone. If even someone like her was ranked at wooden cross level, just how proficient were the Thorn Crown House cadets in magic?
I naturally shifted my gaze to Theodore, who had been eyeing Shirley’s spear with interest.
“Ah, as for me…”
Before Theodore could explain, Shirley cut in.
“If Theodore has to use magic in the civilian district, that’d be a real disaster. I’d prefer to handle things myself if possible.”
“Is the guy that strong? But can’t you control the intensity? You’ve done it a few times before—”
“I heard Theo finds it harder to cast weak spells than strong ones. Right?”
“That’s generally the case.”
“Huh…”
It was the kind of remark that made me reflect on all our casual interactions so far.
Why did I keep treating Theodore like a kid when I knew that was wrong?
No, but even so, no matter how powerful Theodore was, he shouldn’t go all out against a weakling like me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“That look where you suddenly regret past mistakes, then realize you weren’t really at fault after all.”
“You’re sharp.”
After that, I neatly ignored Theodore’s questions about why and started walking ahead.
Since cadets’ activities were restricted to the Aegis Academy grounds, leaving the premises would ease our movements somewhat.
“Huh? The gate’s locked. How’d you get out before?”
“Dillon left something behind for us, even if I don’t know if it was for today specifically.”
“Dillon…”
Shirley tilted her head at my bitter joke.
Magic always left traces, so it wasn’t always the best choice for covert ops like this.
I pulled out the universal staff key set I’d gotten from Dillon.
*Click.*
“It actually opens. Squad leader Dillon, swiping something like this… He’s bolder than I thought.”
“That guy’s way tougher than he seems.”
I recalled Dillon’s chilling expression as he’d said he’d do anything I asked.
That’s when I learned Dillon was the type who, once pushed, couldn’t be easily reined in.
How was I supposed to process the fact that even he was gone?
Sweat beaded on my palm gripping the key.
“If the lock’s found undone, it’ll raise suspicions, so we need to get back quick.”
“The student council’s probably too overwhelmed to nitpick details like that right now.”
“True enough.”
After checking for any cadets tailing us, we hurried on our way.
The long, dark, narrow path to the civilian district reminded us that, outside the academy, we no longer had cadet protections.
*Crunch, crunch.*
*Flutter…*
The farther we got from the academy grounds, the more natural the surroundings became.
Venturing into this eerily dense conifer forest at night took real courage.
“But that nurse Collette… Do you think she just fled like the other medical staff? I don’t think that’s so bad.”
“I don’t think it’s bad either. It’s just…”
Shirley shuddered, clearly picturing the blood-drawing device in her mind, her face twisting in disgust.
Of course, Collette might have fled the chaos.
If so, searching for her would be helping the enemy, not her.
Still, I didn’t buy that Collette had run.
“She came to me asking to watch over a child who hadn’t even received last rites. If she planned to flee, she wouldn’t have called me then.”
“You’re right. If she meant to run, she wouldn’t have gotten herself tangled up in the incident.”
When we learned of Dillon’s disappearance, we naturally searched for Collette too.
That’s when we discovered her last movements were even more mysterious than his.
“Collette? She was on duty, so I don’t really know when she last came back to the dorm…”
“Collette often stepped out, so we just figured that was it. Her family’s on this island anyway.”
“Did something happen to her?”
The medical staff, already halved and exhausted, had no bandwidth to worry about others.
With a few underclassmen cadets bedridden from flu symptoms needing care, we couldn’t hold them up long.
In the end, all we got was the address of this civilian house from a doctor who was friends with Collette’s family back home.
“Man, the civilian district’s bigger than I thought.”
“There don’t seem to be that many houses. The villages are spread out far apart, so I doubt there’s much interaction between them.”
Hazard Island’s locals numbered around two thousand—a sparse population for its size, thanks to Aegis Academy.
The island’s safe, arable land was limited, and the academy had claimed most of it from the start.
In a way, Aegis Academy had been a burden on the islanders since day one.
Some said it provided jobs… but that sounded like the usual plunderer’s excuse.
‘Did I stir up trouble and put Collette and Dillon in danger for nothing?’
What if something had happened to Collette?
The fact that she’d approached me first as a follower of the executioner wouldn’t excuse it.
As I imagined the two in peril while I’d been caught up playing saint, guilt washed over me.
The worse my imagination ran, the dizzier and more lightheaded I felt.
*This is all on you, isn’t it?*
And in those moments, that voice came to me.
‘Shut up.’
Whether my restraint was still working or this was another guardian angel ploy, I couldn’t tell.
All I knew was that, at some point, the guardian angel’s haunt had narrowed to just ‘me.’
“Senior, that’s Collette’s place if we follow the address.”
Shirley, walking ahead, pointed into the distance.
There sat a modest one-story wooden house nestled between stone walls—an unusual sight.
We proceeded cautiously, stifling our footsteps.
*What could have happened to your follower, I wonder?*
Well, one thing was clear: the guardian angel’s tongue had grown sly and serpentine.
It was a realization like despair.
The current guardian angel had evolved into a more advanced personality than the thing in my dreams.