Chapter 151

Chapter 151. The Case of the Disappearing Candidates (5)

A space where darkness has settled.

In a room filled with the musty smell of old mold, a man sat.

He gazed at the luminous blue liquid in a glass bottle, chewing his lips.

“Just one more… If I can gather just one more…”

A sinister glint in his eyes shone in the darkness.

A voice filled with madness and obsession echoed through the old room.

The man pulled out a worn photo album from his pocket.

Inside the album was a photo of a red-haired young man with a bright smile.

“Our dream… We can make it come true.”

The man, holding the album, closed his eyes tightly, his hand trembling.

But only for a moment.

His gaze turned to the magic stone on the table.

Unlike ordinary magic stones, this one pulsed with a gloomy black light.

Conflict flickered in the man’s eyes as he looked at the stone.

As he stood frozen, staring at the stone…

Ssshh… Ssshh…

A sound of something crawling on the ground, and a pure white snake slithered up the chair he was sitting on.

From the snake’s flickering tongue, a woman’s voice emerged.

“Surely you’re not hesitating now, are you?”

A sweet whisper reached his ears.

The man clenched his teeth and spoke.

“I told you not to come into the research room.”

“My, how scary.”

The white snake let out a soft laugh and leisurely coiled around the man’s neck.

“Don’t forget, don’t hesitate, don’t be afraid.”

The snake’s whispers continued.

“You have a goal you must achieve, don’t you?”

“……”

The man tightly closed his mouth and shut his eyes.

Yes.

He had a goal he had to achieve, no matter the cost.

‘With our own hands… We will save the world.’

Putting the worn photo album back into his pocket, the man slowly stood up.

* * *

“…Is this really okay?”

Sophia looked at Rios, who had fainted and lost consciousness, and let out a hollow laugh.

I shrugged my shoulders as I looked at Senior Sophia.

“After all, it’s not like we can get cooperation through words, right?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Senior Sophia held her forehead as if she had a headache.

She let out a deep sigh and nodded.

“Haah, fine. Then the tracking magic device is set, right?”

“Yes. Now we just have to wait for the fish to bite.”

Leaving the unconscious Rios behind, I returned to the annex cafe with Berald and Senior Sophia.

As we gathered around the table and activated the tracking magic, a glowing map of Reynaldo Hero School appeared, with a yellow dot blinking on it.

“With this, we can check Senior Rios’s condition and location.”

“……”

Senior Sophia narrowed her eyes as she looked at the tracking magic I had cast.

She turned to me and asked.

“Where did you learn such magic?”

“Huh?”

“This tracking magic, and the Magic Power Blockade earlier… These aren’t spells that a Warrior Department candidate should be able to use, right?”

Senior Sophia looked at me with suspicion, as if she hadn’t expected my magic skills to be this advanced.

I swallowed a bitter smile at her question.

‘Who taught me, indeed.’

Looking at Senior Sophia, who was tilting her head, I quietly opened my mouth.

“I learned from the greatest mage on the continent.”

“The greatest mage on the continent?”

“Yes.”

“Ha.”

Senior Sophia let out a hollow laugh and sharply opened her eyes.

“That’s ridiculous. Do you think Professor Jade is the greatest mage on the continent?”

“Huh?”

“Of course, I acknowledge Professor Jade’s skills. He is, after all, the descendant of the ‘Great Sage.’ But don’t you think the title of ‘Greatest Mage on the Continent’ is a bit much for a professor who couldn’t even protect one of his students?”

“……”

It seems she’s seriously misunderstood.

Well.

From her perspective, not knowing that I’m a regressor, it’s natural that Professor Jade would come to mind.

“I misspoke. I’m sorry.”

“Haah… No. I’m sorry for getting annoyed.”

Senior Sophia placed her hand on her chest as if to calm her emotions and let out a short sigh.

Berald, who had been quietly watching, stroked his chin and spoke.

“Hmm. Did something bad happen between Senior Sophia and Professor Jade?”

“……”

Sophia’s expression stiffened.

She averted her gaze and coldly replied.

“No, nothing happened.”

“Really? You seemed quite agitated when Professor Jade was mentioned earlier.”

“…It’s none of your business.”

“Haha. Judging by your expression, something must have happened.”

Berald laughed lightly, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.

But it seemed to have the opposite effect.

“You’re being quite presumptuous, aren’t you?”

Sophia glared at Berald with a cold gaze.

“What business is it of yours what happened between me and Professor Jade? Huh? Who do you think you are, sticking your nose in?”

“Hmm. If that’s how you feel, I apologize.”

“Don’t meddle in other people’s affairs.”

Sophia turned her head away coldly.

Berald quietly opened his mouth.

“Still, I’d like to hear what happened.”

“You…!”

“I’ve been through something similar before.”

Berald smiled faintly and looked up at the sky outside the window.

“I once lived suppressing my sorrow and anger. I thought that was the wise way to live.”

“……”

“But looking back, it wasn’t.”

Berald gave a bitter smile and glanced at me.

“No matter how painful or agonizing, sharing it with someone else made me feel much better.”

“…What do you know?”

“I don’t. I don’t know what Senior Sophia has been through or what emotions you’re holding back. I’m not that smart, so I probably wouldn’t understand even if you told me.”

But.

Even so.

“If I can be of any help, I want to be there for Senior Sophia.”

Berald smiled at Sophia.

“We’re not ‘others.’ We’re in the same party, aren’t we?”

“……”

Sophia’s pupils trembled slightly.

She looked flustered and quickly turned her head away from Berald’s gaze.

“Ha, you’re quite cheeky for a junior.”

“Haha. Sorry.”

“…Hmph.”

Sophia let out a small snort and clenched her fist.

“…I had an older brother.”

Sophia quietly opened her mouth.

“Since I was little, he was unnecessarily brave, noisy, and meddlesome, just like you.”

Sophia smiled bitterly as she looked at Berald.

“My brother, who enrolled in the Magic Department, suddenly said he wanted to research Holy Marks and went to Professor Jade. And then…”

A dark cloud passed over Sophia’s expression.

“Could it be… The candidate who got caught in Professor Jade’s magic research accident two years ago…”

“That’s right. It was my brother.”

“……”

Berald tightly closed his mouth and bowed his head.

He wanted to offer some words of comfort, but nothing came to mind.

After a long silence, all he could say was an apology.

“…I’m sorry for asking something so unnecessary.”

“No, weren’t you just saying that it’s good to share your feelings?”

Sophia asked with a bitter laugh.

“I, I didn’t think it was something this serious!”

“Pfft.”

Berald, sweating profusely, replied, and Sophia let out a light laugh.

“…You’re right.”

Sophia smiled faintly, looking somewhat relieved.

Just as the cold atmosphere was returning to normal…

Beep beep beep!

The yellow dot on the tracking magic floating in the air started blinking rapidly.

“What’s going on?”

“Senior Rios is being taken somewhere quickly.”

I urgently stood up, watching the yellow dot move away at high speed.

The location was the mountain behind the school.

A place I had been to before, searching for the Seven-Star Herb infused with magic power on Professor Jade’s errand.

“Let’s go!”

Senior Sophia, Berald, and I quickly ran towards the mountain behind the school.

* * *

The mountain behind the school.

Three people were running at high speed through the dense underbrush.

Well, to be precise, two people were running quickly, while the remaining one was lagging behind, breathing heavily.

“Haah, haah!”

“Get on my back!”

“What? Kyah!”

Berald hoisted the lagging Sophia onto his back and ran roughly.

“W-won’t you let me down?!”

“It’s hard to run if you move!”

“Ugh…”

Sophia bit her lip and quietly leaned against Berald’s back.

After running for a while longer…

They saw Rios lying unconscious on the ground and a masked man.

“Brother Rios!”

Berald was the first to run towards Rios.

“Haap!”

While running, he created a Magic Power Orb and threw it at the masked man.

The man extended his hand forward, and a blue barrier formed, blocking the orb.

Then.

Whoosh!

The Magic Power Orb, which had been flying straight, suddenly changed direction and curved.

A curveball as if drawn.

“……!”

The man hurriedly turned the blue barrier to block the orb.

Kwaaaang!

An intense explosion, unlike anything expected from a Magic Power Orb, echoed.

But.

“…Huh.”

The blue barrier remained unscathed.

Feeling that his opponent was no ordinary person, Berald clenched his teeth and adjusted his stance.

“Stay back.”

Sophia stepped forward and pointed her staff at the masked man.

Whooosh!

Red magic power surged at the tip of the staff.

“Explosion Spear!”

A long spear-shaped mass of magic power rushed towards the man.

“…….”

The man, who had been calmly watching the terrifying red spear, formed a hand seal.

A method of manifesting magic that, while discreet, is less efficient than chanting spells aloud.

Crackle crackle crackle!

Blue light emanated from the man’s hands.

The intertwined lights formed fractal patterns, beautifully decorating the air.

The red magic spear, which had been rushing towards the man with terrifying force, shattered into pieces.

“Ugh…!”

Sophia swallowed a groan and stepped back.

“…….”

“…….”

A brief silence fell as the masked man and Sophia exchanged glances.

The man, who had been looking back and forth between the unconscious Rios and our party with conflicted eyes, gritted his teeth and turned to flee.

Just as the man was about to run away…

“Haah.”

I let out a deep sigh and blocked the man’s path.

With heavy eyes, I stared at the masked man and quietly spoke.

“What are you doing here, Professor Jade?”

“……”

The man’s shoulders twitched.