<Main Quest (3) "Incoming Sinister Aura" Completed!>
<The Title "Academy Dark Knight" has been Granted>
“Phew.”
This time, it was really, really close.
Though we didn’t “bathe the festival in bl**d” as the quest suggested, it was almost a complete disaster.
Preventing the incident beforehand would’ve been ideal, but that was a failure.
Still, we somehow managed to see the festival closing ceremony through safely.
It would’ve been tough without Yuria’s help.
Thanks to Yuria’s efforts backstage, the festival was able to “conclude successfully” – or, well, the events after the second day were practically nonexistent anyway.
“Hey, did you hear?”
“What?”
“About the Undead Wyvern that was taken down at the festival.”
At the mention of our dear Yongyong, I couldn’t help but perk up my ears.
Since that day, various rumors have been spreading throughout the Academy.
Professor Cassius St. Claire took down the Undead Wyvern all by himself.
Behind Yuria Prisis’ ice wall, countless Undeads were frozen in place.
A third party, not an Academy professor, intervened to protect the Academy, and so on.
“There’s talk of the Black Shadow Guild?”
“Huh? The Black Shadow Guild?”
“Why not? You remember those guys who once stole a Dragon Heart from the O’Neil Kingdom?”
“Oh, right. I remember. Didn’t a warrant go out for their leader?”
“Yeah, that’s them. Supposedly, they took on the Undead Wyvern.”
“Huh?”
“One of the kids on the second floor of the party venue said someone in black with a mask suddenly appeared, and the Undead Wyvern followed them. Apparently, the description fits the Black Shadows perfectly.”
“Pfft, how could the Black Shadow Guild get inside the Academy?”
“Hey, these are the guys who broke into the O’Neil Treasury. Do you really think they wouldn’t be able to get in?”
“True… I guess.”
Just listening to this conversation gave me a prickly feeling.
It seemed like mere rumors, but the problem was that the Black Shadow Guild’s name had come up.
“I thought they said the Vice Chancellor is somehow connected to the Black Shadow Guild…”
“That’s not true.”
“…Eh?”
“Uh…”
Without realizing, I had butted in as I was listening.
Startled, both students immediately turned their attention to me.
Oops.
“That’s… probably not true, right? Haha. If the two of them were really involved, the Black Shadows wouldn’t have had to fight the Undead, right?”
“…”
“Ahaha.”
“Wait, who are you?”
“R-right, good point… but who exactly are you?”
Tadash-
I awkwardly laughed and quickly left the scene.
Already stressed enough, now the Black Shadow Guild name was circulating among the students.
Will I be able to stay under the radar long enough to finish my studies here?
I hurriedly fled and headed toward the lecture building.
It was the first time I’d been in the lecture building since the Landgar incident.
The Academy had been on temporary hiatus since then, so it was my first time seeing Elaine and the others in days.
“Phew.”
It’s nice to see the students again after so long, but my mind wasn’t entirely at ease.
After discovering that the recent incidents across the continent revolve around Black Magic, our Black Shadow Guild officially began investigating it.
Yuria was personally interrogating Landgar, while Erika had headed to the Western Continent.
As much as I’d like to join the action and run somewhere, I can’t leave the Academy.
I can’t abandon the Academy – it would be a quest failure.
That means game over and reset.
“Ryu, Ryu.”
“Hm?”
I was deep in thought, walking slowly, when someone called me from the side.
A girl with blue hair and large glasses.
Emily.
Now that I think about it, her hair color is an exact replica of Yuria’s.
“Ahhh, Emily!”
“Uh-huh. Feels like it’s been ages since I’ve seen you! Heehee.”
Since I found out Emily is Yuria’s niece, she seems a little different to me now.
Somehow, I feel like I need to care for her more, and there’s a sense of inner camaraderie.
“Is your aunt doing well?”
“Yuria? No, Yuria-sama.”
“Uh-huh.”
Emily looked at me with a curious expression.
Emily already knows my real identity, though not everything, but enough to know that I work with Yuria.
I didn’t tell her directly – Yuria did.
Since Cynthia and Professor Amillion already know, it didn’t seem too much of an issue.
Besides, Emily doesn’t know everything.
In exchange, I now know Emily’s real identity.
She isn’t Emily Frants; she’s from the Prisis family.
One of the six great houses, the Prisis family.
“She’s doing well, but she’s very busy with work lately. I hardly see her.”
“Ah, I see…”
“Why?”
“Ah, it’s not important. I was just worried because I haven’t been able to reach her lately…”
Emily muttered disappointedly.
I didn’t hear the whole story, but one thing was clear:
Emily and Yuria shared a special bond.
“Ah, she’s probably busy, but she’ll contact you once she’s free.”
“Will she ever…?”
“Yeah, if she runs away again, I’ll bring her back for you.”
“…Heehee.”
Emily laughed loudly at my half-joke.
It was actually rare to hear Emily laugh so openly.
“Hey, you two!”
“Cynthia, hey!”
Next up was Cynthia.
She seemed to already be at the lecture building.
She stretched outside the building and waved to us.
Cynthia noticed the vibes between me and Emily, paused as if she wanted to say something, then closed her mouth.
It was instinctive; I knew what she wanted to ask.
She probably wanted to ask about that day but held back because Emily was there.
“You can go ahead and ask. Emily knows too.”
“…W-what? Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
Emily, looking slightly embarrassed, adjusted her glasses and nodded faintly.
Cynthia muttered in surprise before continuing.
“Well then, tell me. What exactly happened that day? The rumors were going crazy about the Black Shadow Guild and Undeads.”
“The Undeads? Those are real!”
“W-wait, really?”
Emily chimed in before Cynthia could finish.
Emily’s tone was filled with pride, as if she were bragging.
“Yeah. Auntie took care of all the Undeads.”
“Your aunt? Who’s that?”
“Yuria Prisis!”
“…”
Cynthia tilted her head in confusion, much like the first time I learned of their familial bond.
But soon, Cynthia seemed to understand and gasped in surprise.
“Eeeek? Aunt?!?”
“Yeah. Actually, I’m from the Prisis family. Sorry for keeping it hidden.”
“…Wha-at?”
Cynthia looked like she couldn’t believe it.
I was surprised too at first, but not as much as this.
“Is… is that really true? You’re Prisis?”
“Yeah, but I’ll continue living as Emily Frants.”
“Aaah…”
Cynthia’s expressions rapidly shifted.
Surprise, awkwardness, curiosity, then finally acceptance.
“Anyway, what’s true is that the Undeads did appear. It’s also true that Auntie froze them and used an ice wall to hide the scene.”
“Whoa, really?! Another Undead incident?”
That shifted Cynthia’s attention from Emily’s identity back to the Undead incident.
“Those rumors were true, huh? Everyone else didn’t believe them, but I believed it instantly because it also happened at the Championship.”
“Exactly. That’s why I felt it was credible too.”
Cynthia nodded sagely, resting her two fingers on her chin.
Then she started muttering to herself.
“So the Undeads from the Championship and this event are connected? If that’s the case, this marks the second time someone’s interfered with an internal Academy event. Though, if the Vice Chancellor was involved, then it kind of makes sense…”
Cynthia kept rambling on, while Emily nodded enthusiastically, clearly pleased.
“Since Landgar was caught, does that mean the matter is resolved?”
‘If only it were that simple…’
“Maybe. Who knows.”
“…Hey Ryu.”
“Hm?”
“Who caught Landgar? You?”
“Hm, someone did.”
“Wasn’t it you? Was it Yuria-sama, then?”
“Yuria-sama only dealt with the Undeads…”
Cynthia and Emily’s eyes both turned to me, full of curiosity.
What should I say?
Being straightforward might not be the best.
Landgar was too big a catch to say I did it myself.
If they find out I can go toe-to-toe with the Academy’s Vice Chancellor, the students might grow even more distant from me.
“Of course not me. How could I defeat the Academy’s Vice Chancellor? Heck, it’s uncertain even Yuria-sama could’ve won.”
“Is that so?”
“And Yuria-sama works with a lot of people.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. When you meet them, ask them yourself.”
I brushed it off vaguely, leaving the messy questions to Yuria.
At that moment, another familiar figure arrived, tag-team style.
“Ah, you’re all here.”
“Elaine…!”
“Elaine, hi.”
The last to arrive was Elaine, who, for some reason, wouldn’t raise her head.
Dressed in her usual Knight attire, not the fancy dress from a few days ago.
Heheh, seeing her made me remember that night, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Why, why are you laughing?!?”
“Ah, Elaine. Remember our class talking time thing from that day?”
“No! That day was…”
Elaine finally raised her head, flustered, her face bright red.
She’s secretly adorable, you know.
“Alright, let’s all head in.”
With Elaine here, who had no idea about the other incidents, the conversation shifted quickly.
There was no more time for discussing the day’s events.
‘I wonder if I should tell Elaine?’
It crossed my mind that maybe I should tell her a bit about what’s going on.
After all, Cynthia and Emily know, and Elaine doesn’t.
“Rgh, rgh…”
Meanwhile, Elaine was either annoyed or embarrassed, mumbling unhappily.
Let me think about it later.
