Kail waking up from his injuries was immediately reported to the headmaster. The fact that the headmaster’s eyes and ears were spread throughout the entire Academy wasn’t just a rumor; it was reality.
Kail glanced at the Saintess as he saw the headmaster approach him.
“Saintess, I have something to discuss with the principal. Could you excuse us for a moment?”
“Under God’s gaze, there is no place beneath the heavens that remains unseen. My presence here shouldn’t be an issue, right?”
“Just… please leave.”
Though Kail carefully used formal speech, fearing another troublesome situation if he spoke casually in front of the headmaster, the Saintess found amusement in this and began teasing him.
Finally, only after the word “Noona” slipped out of Kail’s mouth did the Saintess leave the sickroom with a satisfied expression.
Watching her leave, the headmaster muttered a single phrase.
“It seems the two of you are quite close.”
“…Did you miss what just happened? Is this what being ‘close’ looks like?”
“Master Kail, I’ve never seen you use honorifics before.”
Considering how Kail often spoke casually to almost everyone, using honorifics ironically proved just how close they were.
Realizing his mistake, Kail buried his face in his hands. But spilled water can’t be taken back. He shot a glare at the headmaster through slightly raised eyes.
“So? What’s the matter?”
“The interrogation of the captured prisoner has ended.”
“Already? That was quick.”
“We had her on our side.”
“Ariah?”
The absurd ability to brainwash and control anyone who heard her singing. Of course, simply singing didn’t activate it—there were several conditions—but Ariah was a prima donna who could easily bypass those restrictions.
“If information about them comes to light, the Empire will likely deploy their Knight Order. They don’t follow the Evil God, so the Church won’t move, but…”
“You can’t ask the Saintess for help?”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“I can already tell.”
Hearing Kail’s words, the headmaster sighed deeply, stroking his beard while looking at him with resignation.
“Haha, well… Any other reports? Anything peculiar you noticed while fighting the enemy?”
“Peculiar points, huh?”
He immediately thought of the Holy Weapons that had injured him, but Kail deliberately withheld their information.
The forgotten cultists following the Dragon were merely temporarily empowered by drugs. In the end, they were enemies the Empire’s knights could defeat.
But they were different. They reached the Master level through their own strength and were terrorists dissatisfied with the world.
To catch them required not countless ants, but superhumans capable of facing them.
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, only a superhuman like me can catch them…”
Only someone like me…
***
While Kail was out on missions or lying in the infirmary groaning, the Academy approached its final exams.
The end of the second semester arrived, and the cadets checked their scoreboards, realizing their current standings.
“Tch, being number one without that guy around means nothing…”
Of course, not everyone was satisfied with their grades. Some cadets, despite ranking first, voiced their dissatisfaction.
Such was Hundred, who entered the Academy at the Expert level. After being beaten consecutively by Kail and Arthur, he quickly abandoned the notion of being the strongest.
Even after learning that Kail was a Master, Hundred remained dissatisfied. The fact that Kail, his age, was already a Master while he was still an Expert left him disgruntled.
“Aha, guess I’ll go settle things.”
“Huh? Even if I confront them, they’ll just ignore me, right? Are you joking?”
“Then stay quiet and behave. Do you think Kail would enjoy this situation?”
Arthur, who had scolded Hundred, glared at him. In the past, fists would have flown immediately, but perhaps Arthur had grown, or maybe he realized fighting was futile since he’d lose anyway.
After clicking his tongue, Hundred promptly left. Sighing, Arthur cautiously turned his head while staring at the exam results.
“Arthur.”
“Ah… Yuri.”
“I’m planning to visit someone in the infirmary. Want to come along?”
“Huh? Oh, sure!”
No one asked who they were visiting. After all, there was only one patient they’d visit at this moment.
Silently, the two headed toward Kail’s mansion. Having treated his visible wounds, Kail had moved from the treatment room to recuperate at the mansion.
As they arrived, Arthur flinched upon sensing the sharp Aura emanating from the mansion even before entering.
“What are you waiting for? Let’s go in.”
“Uh, r-right now?”
“Is there a problem…?”
Seeing Yuri tilt her head curiously, Arthur remembered she was a typical Sorcerer.
Could she really not sense the Aura radiating from inside?
“Should I call this impressive…?”
Alternatively, Arthur considered that Kail might be controlling it so others couldn’t sense the Aura, and his keen senses caught it. Carefully, he stepped inside.
Upon entering the garden, he realized his assumption was completely wrong.
“Huuu…”
Dozens of Aura Blades circled around meditating Kail. Though, calling them Aura Blades felt inaccurate—they were too crude.
But just because swords lacked hilts didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous. Their crudeness made them even more threatening to amateurs, much like how rusted jungle machetes inspired more fear than pristine blades wielded by masters.
“—You’re here?”
Kail, who had been moving the Aura Blades with his eyes closed, slowly opened them to greet the two visitors. Realizing he had been training, Yuri hesitantly spoke.
“Sorry, did we interrupt?”
“No, you came just in time. Yuri, can you cast your strongest spell? The most powerful one you know—”
“—‘Eternal Glacier.’”
Before Kail finished speaking, Yuri extended her hand, casting her strongest double-cast spell at him.
The ice pillar froze the air as it shot forward, shattering upon contact with Kail’s body.
Not stopping there, Kail reached out, grabbed the source of the magic, and tore it apart. He looked at Yuri and chuckled dryly.
“I did ask you to attack, but… isn’t going all out without hesitation a bit much?”
“I thought you’d block it.”
“That’s obvious, but…”
“I trusted you.”
“…Well, when you put it like that, I’ve got nothing to say.”
With a wry smile, Kail exhaled and retracted his Aura. The floating Aura Blades and the protective Aura surrounding him vanished, allowing him to greet the two openly.
Realizing what Kail had been doing, Arthur, also a Knight Department student, stared in shock.
“Right now, right now… Am I thinking correctly?”
“What?”
“While it’s normal to project Aura Blades outside the body… to generate them completely detached from your body like this…”
It felt like everything he knew had collapsed. Arthur stared at Kail in disbelief. Shrugging nonchalantly, Kail responded.
“I can do this kind of thing too.”
“This kind of thing, you mean—Ugh!?”
The next moment, Arthur sensed something tickling inside him. He quickly realized what it was.
Kail had manifested his Aura inside Arthur’s body. Blocked by Arthur’s own Aura, it couldn’t materialize, but Arthur easily imagined what would happen if it succeeded.
“An almost perfect assassination… undetected by anyone…”
If Kail wished, he could kill anyone—be it a kingdom’s king, an empire’s emperor, even a Grand Sorcerer or an Aura Master—without them ever knowing why.
Grand Sorcerers and Aura Masters were human too. If an Aura Blade fragment pierced their heart or brain, survival would be impossible.
But…
“…Kail, um, uh.”
“Hmm? What?”
“This, uh, I mean…”
The Aura Blade couldn’t penetrate Arthur’s Aura-protected body.
However, Arthur’s sensitive Aura detection picked up the sensation of something foreign wriggling inside him.
The feeling of something not his wriggling inside him—and Kail seemed careful not to touch sensitive areas like his lower abdomen or chest, focusing instead on his midsection.
Unaware of where the most sensitive organs lay…
“…Can you stop?”
Seeing Arthur’s flushed face, Kail finally realized something was wrong and ceased his Aura manipulation.
Once the Aura flow stopped, Arthur let out a heated sigh.
Watching this, Kail felt his heart inexplicably race.
