I Become a Secret Police Officer of The Imperial Academy – Chapter 62

Chapter 62

When I told Julian about the matter with the long-lived species, he flicked my forehead, saying I’d brought him yet another headache.

But in the end, this would reduce the amount of work for people, so really, I was being considerate of Julian.

Instead of realizing my grand plan, he just whined about me giving him more work. So petty. No wonder he always loses whenever we argue.

Of course, I was joking.

Seeing Julian buried under stacks of paperwork, stamping and scribbling all day, was honestly a bit pitiful.

I didn’t understand how disposing of demons increased his workload so much, but if Julian said it did, then it must be true.

Either way, my deal with the long-lived one was going well.

Through our conversation, I discovered that there were even more villages hidden in the underground waterways than I initially thought. And thanks to that, I could redirect some of the workers from the interrogation rooms to other tasks.

Honestly, even if we had wiped out the demons in the slums and those hiding in mansions like Ethel’s, they just kept popping up like cockroaches, and I might not have been able to get rid of them all.

I’d frequented the back alleys often enough, but I never imagined there were this many.

With nothing to do for a while, I took some sleeping pills and slept for two whole days.

I didn’t notice anything while I was asleep, but when I woke up, I felt surprisingly refreshed.

I hadn’t been able to sleep properly because of my insomnia, so the effectiveness of the pills amazed me.

No matter how horrific my nightmares were, my body kept sleeping.

Like a time loop, I watched Alicia die over and over again.

No matter where I ran, whether I held a gun, or even if I realized what was about to happen, I could never stop Alicia from dying.

It was as if someone had predetermined that Alicia must die, and they kept showing me new and creative ways for it to happen.

Good thing it was just a dream!

And then, classes at the academy resumed.

Going back was fine, but a lot of little inconveniences had piled up.

At least they were personal problems—nothing too serious.

I didn’t oversleep, but since all the carriages were in use, I had to walk to the academy, which made me late.

Because of that, I couldn’t even greet Ethel in the morning.

So, I patiently waited until lunchtime and then approached her to say hello.

“Ethel, it’s been a while.”

Like before, I smiled gently, waving both hands wide.

“…Ah, a-ahh….”

The moment our eyes met, she shuddered and quickly walked away.

I stood there, my hand still outstretched, watching her retreating back.

Was I reaching out to stop her? Or was I grasping at the despair of realizing we weren’t even on greeting terms anymore?

Not that it mattered.

Even if I had reached for her, I wouldn’t have been able to hold her back.

How could I, when I at least had some sense of shame?

Even when I threw noble parents into the interrogation rooms and stripped them of everything, I never met them again afterward.

Mostly because they weren’t in a state to be called nobles anymore.

It’s not like I physically hurt them, though.

But if they said it hurt their hearts, well, I wouldn’t have much to say to that.

When would all this work finally be over?

At this pace, the demons in the capital would be wiped out soon.

That alone would be satisfying enough for me to put an end to this story.

It all started with some tragic nonsense about demons killing my family.

But from a distance, what seemed gruesome and grotesque was really no different from a dark comedy.

Life, whether seen up close or from afar, was utterly ridiculous.

There was no such thing as tragedy—only comedy.

That’s why the world was so beautiful!

It’s why I was always smiling.

A pretty little girl exterminating demons yet behaving just like them—it was almost poetic.

And if, by some unlucky accident, I ended up being disposed of along with the demons, that would be the perfect ending to a black comedy.

I wasn’t British in my past life, but I did enjoy their humor.

Maybe I should slap a little mustache under my nose like Charlie Chaplin.

At any rate, I used to feel alienated by magic, potions, and the healing spells of priests. But these days, I was grateful.

Without mages, the buildings wouldn’t be going up so quickly, and handling all these affairs would have been a pain.

Of course, Julian was the one suffering the most.

As for me?

I just went into the interrogation room, trained the beasts, had counseling sessions with the consultants, disposed of demons, and threw them into the incinerator. That was it.

As usual, I took out a book to read.

Though, it was less about reading and more about letting my eyes skim over the words, passing the time.

I didn’t feel like eating.

Even when I did eat, I would just tear up some bread into milk and drink it.

Lately, every time I ate properly, I’d end up throwing up.

Maybe the demons I killed were clinging to me, cursing me.

Of course, someone like me wasn’t meant to have friendly, cheerful conversations with others.

That much was obvious.

Ethel was a normal girl from a normal family, raised with normal love and normal education.

She wasn’t like me—a disposable piece of trash born to do nothing but filth.

I was the one at fault for pretending to be normal and approaching her in the first place.

She must be disgusted.

Probably ashamed she ever laughed alongside a piece of garbage like me.

When the only thing I was good at was causing pain and killing people, could I really even be called a person?

I lowered my head, muttering under my breath.

“Haha. Ha… fuck.”

I was supposed to be laughing, but my lips kept turning down.

Even when I forced a chuckle through my lips, it was the same.

This wouldn’t do.

I stood up.

The teacher glanced at me but said nothing, pretending not to notice.

Well, it wasn’t like he had to care. His job was just to teach.

If he dared mark me absent after this, I’d drag him to the interrogation room and cut off all his fingers.

I entered the bathroom and walked to the sink.

Staring at the mirror, I pulled out the dagger hidden in my coat and drove it into my right arm.

The wrist was a bad spot.

If I hit an artery, the blood would spray everywhere.

It was strange—sometimes, even if I stabbed the right side, the blood would spurt in a full 360-degree arc.

Cleaning up afterward was a pain.

At the mansion, I could just order a subordinate or servant to take care of it, but here, that wasn’t so easy.

If I asked the academy to handle it, my men wouldn’t even need to sneak in. They’d proudly march in with the family crest on their uniforms, mops in hand.

Last time, when I told those idiots to fetch the librarian, did I… let her go?

Well, they probably handled it fine.

Still, just to be sure, I’d check on it later.

I let the blood flow into the sink for a while, stopping just before class ended. Then, I poured a little potion over the wound.

If only I had carried one when I was with Alicia.

Afterward, I went about my week as if nothing had happened, not even greeting Ethel when our paths crossed.

The building was complete, and the long-lived ones were diligently helping us slaughter their own kind.

Their tasks were simple—moving captives into pens before disposal, feeding the incinerators, and stepping in when riots broke out.

Now that I thought about it, they did a lot of work.

And the best part? It meant fewer casualties among my servants and soldiers.

As for me?

I had absolutely nothing to do.

So, there was no reason for me to be alive.

Well, not that I was planning to die.

Still, people say you need something to do to feel like you’re really living.

After class, I settled into a random café.

I swirled my drink absentmindedly, reminiscing about the taste of coffee I used to enjoy.

And yet, here I was, stuck drinking this disgustingly sweet, fruit-flavored garbage.

A perfect setup for feeling sorry for myself.

I didn’t want to drink it, so I just held the cup, staring at the foam on the surface, when someone called my name.

“…Ellen, do you have a moment to talk?”

I turned my head to see Isabel standing there, looking slightly tense.

“It’s been a while!”

“…We saw each other at lunch.”

“Did we? Oh well. So, a conversation, huh? Sounds great! It’s lonely being by myself. Have a seat!”

Isabel took the seat across from me.

Had Ethel said something?

No, that couldn’t be. I told her that if she spoke a word, not just her brother, but her parents, too, would die.

Ethel loved her family too much for that.

Or was she just trusting Theo and coming at me like this?

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“I haven’t seen you and Ethel together lately.

Even when we go eat, you two don’t even look at each other.

I thought maybe you had a fight….”

“Ah, well. I made a really big mistake.

I’m just waiting until Ethel forgives me.

Or, you know, we might just end up never seeing each other again.”

“…What did you do?”

“That’s a secret.”

So just leave. Go stick to Theo and hunt down whatever evil people you want.

Just don’t get in my way.

“…Anyway, I should get going.”

“Already?”

“A badly injured elf—or, well, some kind of demon—was brought in.

We don’t have any potions left, and I’m the only one who can properly use healing magic, so I need to head back to the church.”

Hmm.

“Hey, Isabel. Can I come with you?”

“It’s probably not something you’d want to see….”

“I need to check it for myself.”

Isabel looked at me with clear confusion but nodded.

“If you insist.”

Why so soon?

Was I just destined to get caught?

Like some inevitable game quest?

Hah.

Fuck that.