‘Suspicious, but not quite yet.’
Landgar sat in his chair, lost in thought.
Thoughts about Ryu, whom he had just encountered.
Ryu, who Landgar had met under the guise of a chance encounter, wasn’t as special as Landgar had expected.
The sight of a human panicking and being overwhelmed by illusions was something Landgar had seen countless times.
The only thing that caught his attention was the fact that Ryu had somehow managed to keep his gaze sharp and occasionally observe him even in the midst of chaos.
‘Guess I don’t need to worry too much about this guy just yet.’
While there were some oddities about Ryu, Landgar had confirmed one thing during their handshake.
Ryu wasn’t strong enough to warrant serious concern. Sure, he might have exceeded the standard level of an average student but not enough to disrupt any of Landgar’s plans.
In short, while he was an irritation, Ryu wasn’t worth the effort to focus on—especially since Landgar already had plenty of other schemes on his plate.
Pooom!
“Huh?”
“Elder.”
“I specifically told you not to visit during the day—it’s dangerous.”
Landgar muttered in a low tone, addressing the unexpected visitor who had just appeared in his office.
It was Nigel, his rogue subordinate, the same guy who had recently caused quite the ruckus.
“Sorry, but this is important.”
“What is it? Spit it out and be gone.”
“We’ve found the offering. I believe we can proceed with the original plan.”
“Hmm?”
“We’ll fill you in on the details later. Also, the tests on the elixir are complete.”
For the first time in a while, Landgar allowed himself a small smile as he received a stream of good news.
After days of nothing but negativity, things were finally looking up.
“Good news, indeed.”
“Yes, sir. I heard the meeting will be held tonight, so I rushed to deliver the information.”
“Fine. You may go.”
“Yes, Elder.”
Pooom!
Nigel bowed deeply before disappearing just as suddenly as he had arrived.
“Hah…hah…”
With the discovery of a new offering, the completion of the elixir, and the assessment of Ryu’s abilities done, Landgar felt a renewed confidence.
Tonight, at the meeting, he would finally silence the Third Elder once and for all. With that thought, Landgar couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.
*
Time passed surprisingly quickly after the unfortunate incident involving Cain Hover.
It had been a week since Cain collapsed, still unconscious despite all efforts.
I had no idea that mana overload could be so dangerous until now—I learned that some victims never recover their senses.
I didn’t particularly care for Cain Hover as a person, but I couldn’t deny that it was a bit sad to see him this way.
The event itself was quietly swept under the rug—apparently, Cain’s family preferred it that way. With that, I had nothing left to say.
The students in my class were initially stunned by the sudden coma of their classmate, but time heals all wounds. Gradually, they began regaining their spirits and life returned to normal.
“Professor?”
“Yes… wait, what?”
“Do you really not see anything?”
“Unfortunately, no. It seems the investigation team wiped out all the evidence deliberately.”
One significant change after the Cain Hover incident was my relationship with Professor Amillion.
Surprisingly, convincing Amillion to join me was easier than anticipated. He had already been suspicious of the academy due to hints from Yuria and his own experiences as a professor. When I made my proposal, Amillion readily agreed.
In short, Professor Amillion was now on my side—not only helping me keep my identity secret, but also actively collaborating with me.
The thing that solidified Amillion’s conviction ironically came from the investigation team’s report.
No traces of the potion I mentioned were found, and the investigators blamed the incident on Cain Hover’s personal mistakes. When I pointed out the suspicious nature of the Vice Chancellor, Amillion nodded in agreement.
Right now, Professor Amillion and I were standing at the scene of the incident—now reopened after a week had passed.
Unfortunately, there was no trace left behind.
“It’s definitely as if nothing ever happened.”
The site of the fire caused by Cain had been restored so immaculately that it was hard to believe that any damage had occurred in the first place.
“How sure are we about the potion… wait, were we even sure?”
“We were sure.”
Professor Amillion struggled somewhat with talking casually—despite my insistence that it was necessary to maintain the student-professor dynamic without arousing suspicion, he still occasionally slipped.
“Sigh. Finding anything useful here seems unlikely.”
“Yes, you’re correct.”
Disappointing as it was, it wasn’t unexpected. I had already identified Vice Chancellor Landgar as a suspect, but gathering tangible evidence was proving tricky.
Yuria’s mana analyzers found no traces of black magic at the scene, causing visible frustration for her.
At least I was already suspicious—or else I might have missed the warning signs altogether.
“Sigh. It looks like we’re back to square one.”
“There’s no sign of Cain regaining consciousness?”
As much as I wished Cain could wake up and confirm the story, his condition showed no improvement.
The scene was devoid of usable evidence, and Cain, the only viable witness, remained unconscious.
My testimony to the investigation team about seeing him drink the potion hadn’t changed the verdict.
So, we were at a dead end.
“Yeah.”
“Ah well. What can we do?”
“…So what’s your plan?”
“What can we do? We wait, I guess.”
“Wait for what?”
Amillion asked with a worried tone.
It was a somewhat tongue-in-cheek statement on my part—though not a total joke. When Amillion stared at me questioningly, I nodded in agreement.
A new incident would likely occur sooner or later.
“Maybe we should let Yuria know and do something about Vice Chancellor Landgar. If we can’t act directly, submitting an anonymous tip to the Imperial Government might help…”
“Yeah, right… trust the government.”
“Still, there has to be something we can do.”
Amillion was surprisingly impatient, constantly thinking out loud about different courses of action.
Maybe he should take a page out of Erica’s book and learn some patience while hunting for the sandglass.
“For now, let’s wait. Acting too hastily might leave us powerless when it truly matters.”
“Sigh…”
Amillion groaned and massaged his temple, clearly frustrated.
Probably more frustrated than necessary.
“Let’s head back. There’s no point in staying if we’re not going to find anything.”
“Alright… let’s go…”
We left the forest empty-handed, with Amillion looking even more disappointed than I was.
“Ugh. Is there nothing we can do?”
“For now, patience is key. Fishing for big catches requires staying still.”
Amillion walked faster without a word, clearly unhappy.
‘Something’s bound to happen. I’m certain.’
Unlike Amillion, I was confident that an incident would occur.
While the timing and manner were unknown, I was sure that a new event would transpire in the academy with Landgar around.
That crafty fox was bound to stir up some trouble…
“Professor! Ryu!”
“Huh?”
Our musings were interrupted by a cheerful voice.
Before us stood Cynthia, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Are you investigating the last incident? Let me help!”
“No, it’s done already.”
“Aw, come on! Maybe I can see something different if I look!”
“It’s alright, Cynthia. The investigation team has already finished their work. We’re here merely to gather testimonies.”
“In that case, I’ll add my own testimony on-site! I was a witness after all.”
Amillion and I struggled to deflect her enthusiasm.
Cynthia was clearly convinced that she could offer something new with her sharp eyes.
“I’m telling you, you won’t find anything new.”
“Why not?”
“Uh…?”
“And how do you know that? I might see something you’ve missed. How can you be so sure?”
I paused suddenly as Cynthia’s tone dropped to a cold, almost dangerous level.
The hint of anger in her voice confused me.
I hadn’t intended to offend her—I thought I was speaking to her in the same casual tone I used with Amillion.
“Uh…”
Her sudden icy reaction threw me off.
I’d never seen this side of Cynthia before, though I’d known her for only a short time.
“Cynthia?”
“…Ah.”
When Amillion called her name, the frostiness disappeared from her expression.
‘What is this about…?’
I had no idea why my comment had hit such a nerve.
“Sorry, it’s just… I want to help.”
And just like that, her previous cheerful demeanor returned.
In my periphery, I noticed something unusual—a translucent infographic had appeared.
It was a system message.
<Side Quest (2-1) "Wrong Direction">
Objective: Correct the mentality of Cynthia Surplus.
Description: Guide Cynthia Surplus back onto the right path.
Reward: 2 Stat Points
Penalty: Permanent estrangement from Cynthia Surplus
‘What on earth…?’
Reading the quest details caused my expression to involuntarily frown.
What did this mean exactly?
