Ch.210Chapter 210 – Finding Evidence

After parting with Justin, I headed straight to the Tower of Documents where Regina would be.

The Tower of Documents was still filled with Academy staff working amidst piles of paperwork.

Carefully making my way past them so as not to disturb their work, I approached the elevator and pressed the button to go to the Chancellor’s office where Regina would be.

“Oh my? What brings you here? Coming suddenly without saying anything.”

Regina seemed startled when I burst through the Chancellor’s office door.

“I’m sorry. But the situation is urgent, so I had no choice.”

“Hmm… an urgent situation? Well, if it’s you, Pathos, I should make time to listen even if I don’t have any. Sit down.”

That’s a relief.

Regina let it slide despite my extremely rude behavior.

If someone else had acted like me, they would have been severely scolded, but thanks to my roommate privileges, I was able to safely avoid Regina’s lecture.

As I sat on the sofa, Regina had already come to sit beside me, taking out teacups and pouring tea.

“So… what did you come to talk about so suddenly?”

“I need help searching Professor Karen Blechet’s laboratory.”

“Professor Karen Blechet’s lab? Something’s happened, hasn’t it?”

As soon as Professor Karen Blechet’s name left my mouth, Regina immediately realized there was some issue between her and me.

“To be precise, it would be more accurate to say it’s related to my friend.”

“Hmm… is that so?”

Regina’s interest seemed to wane slightly upon hearing it was about my friend, not me.

“Your friend… there aren’t many, but if it’s someone who’s recently had problems, it would be Mina Endras. She’s the only one…”

“That’s right. It’s her.”

I explained to Regina in detail what situation Mina was in and what kind of person Karen Blechet was.

After hearing my full explanation, Regina sighed.

“Haah. I was suspicious of Professor Karen Blechet, but to think she committed such a serious offense while I wasn’t paying attention…”

Then Regina looked at me.

“I’m truly sorry. If I had been more attentive, I would have driven Karen Blechet away long ago.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

“No, if I hadn’t drunk the Rejuvenation Elixir, this wouldn’t have happened. Are you certain there are records of what she’s been doing in Professor Karen Blechet’s lab?”

“I’m certain.”

According to the epilogue of Mina’s awakening story, Karen Blechet was expelled from the Academy after documents written in her own hand detailing her plans to drive out commoner students were discovered, and she was disowned by her family.

Her later years were apparently quite miserable, as she was confined to a nameless monastery where she had to spend the rest of her life.

“Alright. Then I’ll help you.”

“Thank you, Regina.”

Thanks to Regina’s active assistance, I was able to investigate Professor Karen Blechet’s laboratory with ease.

However, since we couldn’t be discovered by students, Regina and I headed to Professor Blechet’s laboratory at night when no one was around.

“This is Professor Karen Blechet’s laboratory.”

“It looks ordinary.”

Professor Karen Blechet’s laboratory was extremely ordinary.

Bookshelves filled with specialized books and a desk covered with various documents.

And a table and sofa for receiving guests.

It was no different from the office of the professor I had occasionally visited during my university days.

“Most professors keep their things in magical safes. It’s probably somewhere around here.”

Regina took the lead and began searching Professor Blechet’s laboratory.

“I wonder if there might be alarm magic set on the magical safe?”

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. This laboratory is currently under the influence of student management magic, so no magical communication of any kind can leave this place.”

Oh, I see.

Come to think of it, all facilities within the Academy were under the influence of Regina’s student management magic, right?

“Then I’ll look for the safe too.”

Karen Blechet isn’t an extremely intelligent person.

She’s just slightly smarter than the average person.

So… where might she hide her documents?

‘The awakening story didn’t specify the exact location of the documents.’

It would be nice if the location of the documents had been clearly stated, but since it wasn’t, the documents are likely in her laboratory or her quarters.

“If the documents aren’t in the laboratory, there’s a possibility they might be in her quarters.”

“Is that so? Then will you search the laboratory? I’ll search Professor Blechet’s quarters.”

“I’d be grateful for that.”

Regina placed an artifact that could unlock magical locks in my hand and headed to Professor Blechet’s quarters instead of me.

She would currently be staying at an external research facility, so she wouldn’t be coming to the Academy.

That means now, while she’s away from the Academy, is the perfect opportunity.

I thoroughly searched Professor Blechet’s laboratory.

From between the bookshelves to the carpet on the floor.

After checking every nook and cranny for any gaps, I found what appeared to be a safe.

“Is this the safe?”

When I used the artifact Regina gave me to unlock magical locks, light emanated from the handle part of the safe, indicating it had been magically locked.

Since it was an old-style safe, the hinge part that opens and closes the door protruded outward, so I hit the hinge with a hammer to break it and then opened the safe.

“Whew, this is really heavy.”

I heard that safes increase their weight by filling the space between iron shells with something like concrete, and because of that, the safe door was extremely heavy.

To find the document containing her plans, I began examining the contents of the safe one by one.

“Most of the documents are letters from her family.”

I had no choice but to read the letters from her family.

Most of the letters’ contents instructed her to quit being an Academy professor, find a good man to marry, and benefit her family.

“Well… seeing this, it seems there are terrible parents in this world too.”

Seeing her still being harassed by the head of her family even as an adult, it seemed that nobles in this world had their own hardships.

“Hmm? A notebook?”

I found a heavy bundle of papers among the letters.

Judging by the worn cover, it appeared to be a notebook or diary, so I picked it up and examined what was written inside.

[Today again I keep running into those damn commoners. Impudent fools. They don’t even realize they live so comfortably thanks to us nobles, yet they keep trying to match up to nobles. Someday I’ll teach those bastards a lesson.]

[This semester too, many ability users have enrolled. Most are commoners, but some nobles exist as well. Even if they’re commoners, becoming ability users means God must have chosen them for something special. In that respect, I truly detest commoners who try to match up to nobles when they have nothing special about them.]

[Commoners are stupid. If I give them a large amount of assignments, they struggle through them and eventually give up. Then if I gently nudge them, they leave the Academy on their own. Such fools. They should have never entered my laboratory in the first place.]

[They say the Chancellor has returned to normal. Tsk. If it had been just a little longer, I could have driven all those inadequate ones out of the Academy. But it doesn’t matter. I can still torment the commoners subtly enough not to be noticed.]

[I’m planning to drive out another commoner soon. That fox-like girl who has bewitched Elena Sandrios. I will definitely drive you out.]

Here, I found a memo where Karen decided to drive Mina out.

The fox who bewitched Elena is certainly Mina, given the circumstances.

[Count Pathos Severio is a man with great abilities. If I were to visit him, could I become stronger with his abilities? If only I could become stronger than I am now…]

“Good grief.”

I don’t know what she’s thinking of doing by coming to me.

I flipped through the notebook to find other content.

[It seems security checks have increased significantly due to the recent war with the demon cult. I should keep my notebook and materials in the safe for the time being. Let me record this before I forget. Old materials in the quarters’ safe, new materials in the laboratory’s safe. This plan must never be leaked. I need to keep recording this to constantly remind myself and never forget.]

“So… there are two safes with clues.”

Just as I was about to get up to investigate the materials more thoroughly.

—Creak.

“What’s that?”

The spot I stepped on made a creaking sound, different from other places.

Could there be a safe in here?

Just in case, I used the artifact to unlock magical locks on the floor.

The floor material changed, revealing a small wooden door with a recessed handle.

“Bingo.”

If what the notebook said was true, inside would be Professor Karen Blechet’s plans to suspend Mina.

With a pounding heart, I opened the door and checked the contents inside, and a smile formed on my lips.

[Progress and Future Plans for Driving Out Commoner Students]

Now, let’s see what it contains.