Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Friday in the Composition Club (2)
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Theodore was dressed in the black robe embroidered with silver thread that served as the Thorn Crown House lab practice uniform, paired with a shirt made from high-grade mage fabric.
“You little punk, what the hell are you doing here… No, never mind. Follow me!”
-Rustle, rustle.
I dragged Theodore back into the dark thicket, avoiding the light spilling from the clubroom.
At the same time, I recalled how he had nodded obediently to my words the day before yesterday and turned away.
This guy had pretended to accept what I said with a calm expression that day, but he hadn’t actually done so at all!
“Why are you here?”
“I got suspicious.”
“Suspicious about what?”
“About Arma Cruise charging recklessly into something that looks like more than she can handle alone.”
“…”
Only after hearing Theodore’s words did I realize my mistake.
Caught in my obsession with not confiding my worries honestly to anyone, I must have been careless enough for him to see through me.
‘Was I that anxious?’
Or maybe the repeated physical threats had cornered me without me realizing it.
“So you came here alone? Knowing something might happen?”
“What might happen? In my eyes, it seems like Arma Cruise is convinced of it.”
“That’s not exactly what I—”
“If not, then it’s fine. No reason I shouldn’t have come here.”
Theodore fiddled with the end of his sleeve as was his habit—more precisely, with the ‘bracelet’ hidden inside.
This boy before me might look like a fragile young master, but in truth, he was a black mage capable of outputting the power of an entire army if certain restrictions were lifted.
In other words, unlike me, he had something to rely on.
‘I see. From Theodore’s perspective, I must look even stranger.’
He had a solid backup, while all I had was a small pistol that could only load two rounds at a time.
And ridiculously, just knowing Theodore was here already made me feel somewhat relieved.
It was like reuniting with a comrade I’d fought alongside for years.
In the end, I decided to confide in Theodore, whom I’d met in the darkness, about what I planned to do today.
.
.
.
“Hmm, so you’re saying Friday is the Composition Club’s ‘worship day’?”
“Yeah.”
“If it’s a real ‘ritual site,’ going there alone would truly be reckless.”
“Yes, yes. Professor.”
Theodore ignored my joke and added,
“In a normal situation, there would be orders to check Arma Cruise’s mental state.”
Checking mental state was a special procedure born from the fact that Aegis Academy had been founded under the pretext of training soldiers to serve the nation.
It was like a test to verify if one could think rationally as a soldier; failing to meet certain standards led to long-term counseling.
“…That serious?”
“For students with magical aptitude, yes. The criteria are a bit different for those who can’t use magic.”
No wonder Theodore had reacted sensitively ever since the summoning circle came up. The Composition Club’s behavior was far from normal.
I started rambling excuses for my actions to Theodore but then sensed movement from the clubroom and flattened myself behind the bushes.
“Ugh, damn it. It’s freezing to death out here. What now? Are we just supposed to huddle here together?”
“Shut up. You wouldn’t have had to spout nonsense to that guy in the first place.”
‘Glasses and Mullet Head.’
They were the two who had greeted me in the Composition Club room on the first day I visited, high on some suspicious drug.
But the vibe of their conversation felt off.
From what I could tell, it was like they were forcing themselves to guard this clubroom.
I signaled Theodore to stay quiet so I could eavesdrop more closely, and he nodded obediently.
“Anyway, we’re holding an official meeting here.”
“Got it, I said.”
It sounded just like they were creating an alibi.
Through their talk, I belatedly realized that the site of the ‘devil worship ritual’ was somewhere else.
‘Idiot. Of course they wouldn’t hold a secretive gathering in a clubroom anyone could walk into.’
Maybe it was better this way. Joining officially and waiting for an invite to the ‘real meeting’ might be the way to go.
Having Theodore here was reassuring, but I couldn’t drag some unrelated guy into my personal business and put him in danger.
As I thought that, Theodore tugged at my clothes.
I whispered in the tiniest voice possible.
“What?”
“We’ve figured out the location. Let’s move.”
“Wha—what?”
Theodore smoothly melted into the darkness, muffling his footsteps as he started walking quickly.
I was pulled along for a few steps before following him on my own and asking,
“How’d you find out?”
“Their shoes.”
“Twenty Questions again? Right answer: there was a note with the meeting spot stuck to the shoes.”
“…Twenty Questions? No, that’s not it. I figured it out from the sand and plant bits stuck to the soles.”
Theodore strode forward without slowing, his night vision clearly sharp.
“Sand and plants? Oh.”
Only then did I remember that Theodore was an elite of the Thorn Crown House class.
Having researched and cultivated all sorts of wild herbs and toxic plants on the island for his black magic studies, he naturally had extensive knowledge of soil too.
“Most plants native to Aegis Academy are halophytes. Among them, white-stem rush is a highly poisonous halophyte that grows in sandy soil.”
“Sandy soil where toxic plants grow. Is there a place like that on this island?”
“The base of Cave Mountain.”
At those words, I froze mid-step.
Cave Mountain? The place I’d gone in and out of dozens, hundreds of times chasing runaway teens?
Had I been dancing on the edge of death every time I went after those runaways?
A chill ran down my spine.
“Don’t worry. No cadet has ever died from pulling up and eating wild poison plants since the academy was founded.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Yes.”
Theodore had this habit of answering even questions that didn’t need one.
As I followed him toward the rocky mountain, I started feeling like it was time to send this guy home.
“Theodore, now—”
“No.”
“…You’re really something. If you were Riche, I wouldn’t let this slide.”
“Riche?”
“My little sister. Stubborn as you.”
Unlike the rest of the family with straight hair, Riche had her long, curly locks meticulously braided, monopolizing the Cruise family’s love as the cherished youngest.
Having skipped grades repeatedly and graduated from the prestigious Victoria College in the capital at a young age, she’d entered the family head competition and was now just twenty.
Maybe it was because our ages and personalities had some overlap.
At some point, I’d started seeing Riche in the stubbornly leading Theodore.
“Fine, do what you want. I warned you.”
“Yes.”
If he listened to warnings, he wouldn’t have followed me this far.
In the end, I accepted Theodore as a comrade.
“Is this it?”
“Yes. I sense presences.”
We’d returned to the rocky mountain—where we’d found the missing Arthur—after nearly a week.
Was this another ominous coincidence?
An eerie feeling crept over me for no reason.
As Theodore and I hid behind a jagged stone wall, two cadets holding torches passed right in front of us by a hair’s breadth.
They were upperclassmen with unfamiliar faces.
“Where are Nielsen and Peter?”
“Guarding the clubhouse.”
“Hmph, why worry about those cowards who stole the initiation test and bailed?”
Freckles, who’d thrown out the first line, was answered by the scowling lantern jaw, who swung the torch wildly in the air.
If that caught the grass on fire, it’d be arson, but the guy had no fear.
‘Hold on. So it wasn’t the Composition Club who sent back the initiation test via cookie?’
I mulled over Lantern Jaw’s words.
The way he phrased it about the test going missing meant my hypothesis—that someone from the Composition Club had tied it to the cookie and sent it—didn’t hold water.
While I pondered their words, Theodore steadily advanced.
I kept pace with him, gradually drawing closer to the rocky mountain.
“Theo.”
“Shh—”
Now the roles were completely reversed.
Theodore, more immersed in the infiltration than I was, was now warning me to stay quiet.
Feeling a strange mix of emotions, I shut my mouth as he directed.
After tailing the torch-bearing duo around the mountain for about five minutes, we reached a spot where the rocky mountain split into a Y-shape, the paths converging in the middle.
‘I never knew this place existed.’
The cave entrance was quite wide, but to someone not approaching closely, it looked like a dead-end nook barely big enough to shelter from rain.
The problem was what was happening inside that secretive cave.
“This is—”
“A bizarre magic circle, animal bones, crystal orb, distilled water… Definitely ritual tools.”
The reason Theodore distinguished clearly between ‘ritual’ and ‘black magic’ was that ‘ritual’ referred to folk beliefs based on curses.
Most black magic theorists defined non-magical acts aimed at magical effects as ‘rituals.’
‘Seriously shady stuff keeps happening.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Crimson light flickered from within the cave; they must have lit candles inside.
‘Holding a super-secret meeting but using candles? Are they idiots?’
Well, minds dulled by drugs wouldn’t be functioning properly.
Imagining the festival these deranged fools were throwing was terrifying.
As we crept silently toward the cave entrance, a shadow in a black robe darted out briefly before vanishing back inside.
I nearly yelped in surprise.
‘They’re in worse shape than I thought…’
We couldn’t loiter openly at the entrance, so after ducking behind a rounded boulder, I craned my neck further to peer inside.
Five or six cadets in black robes had gathered their candles into one flame and were dancing a suspicious dance, the light wavering and casting gloomy shadows with every move.
And they seemed…
High on something.
The ones twisting their bodies in grotesque dances soon lost control and tangled into each other.
-Thud!
The frenzied ones, still robed, began swinging fists indiscriminately at friend and foe alike.
In the mad scene, the one pinned to the ground let out weird grunts of “Urk, urk.”
Moments later, after a thorough beating left him twitching and spewing white foam, the most vicious beater hurled his fallen opponent against the cave wall.
“…”
With everyone robed, beater and beaten alike, it was impossible to tell who was who.
The violence escalated, but no one tried to stop the bizarre fight.
No, far from stopping it, they danced even more wildly upon seeing the glistening liquid (probably blood) staining the robes.
“The most resentful soul cowering in the corpse!”
“Heir of death, agent of darkness, vengeful spirit who met death on this land!”
More frightening than the flashy spells like “heir” and “agent” was how the gathering had somehow acquired a convincingly ominous atmosphere.
Even if it was just amateur imitation, with procedures and violent rituals this fleshed out, it was no longer a game.
That’s why I was scared.
Whether the shadow over this academy was inciting this madness, or if it was mere coincidence, I couldn’t tell.
“Theodore.”
I called to him during a gust that rustled the leaves.
Theodore, observing the cave depths with his usual expression, nodded at my call and slid down a small crevice in the rocks.
“You’re sure there’s no black mage among them?”
“One moment.”
Theodore crouched low like a predator in the shadows and crawled back toward the cave.
I moved to follow immediately, but he gestured for me to stay.
After watching the interior through a rock gap for a bit, he rolled back to me.
“No black mages. The summoning circle is a mess too. They won’t summon anything.”
Then he stared straight at me.
“…What?”
“We can head back now.”
“Back? Where to?”
Nothing was resolved.
I was inwardly curious what conclusion Theodore had reached.
He looked puzzled, like ‘isn’t this it?’, pondered briefly, then said,
“The reason the Composition Club’s devil worship bothers you—isn’t it because of the demons or magical beasts they might summon? You seemed afraid of that specifically.”