Ch.365365 – Jona’s Check

<365 – Jona’s Check>

Oknodie has an eye for recognizing human value.

And she has her own standards.

Existing reputation, Academy divisions.

Public perception, public standards.

Oknodie doesn’t trust others’ judgment.

She evaluates people solely by her own standards.

Those close to her are all talented individuals regardless of whether they’re in upper or lower classes.

At the same time, they are people whose true nature, regardless of reputation, can hardly be declared malicious.

Even if they are butlers of the Foundation, they are undoubtedly by her side because they have surpassed her special criteria.

‘Previously, during an outing for Lady Arcadia, a Foundation subgroup called the Clown Mask Group was crushed by Oknodie and Professor Destroyer.’

Oknodie prioritizes individual value over affiliation.

After witnessing her goodness, Giselle developed a small doubt.

Is it possible that a person named Jona Wiheomhae might have been judged by Oknodie’s sensor as not such a malicious figure?

Just as someone like Ishtar appeared in the heroic profession, which is considered good, perhaps not everyone in an evil organization is necessarily evil.

‘Yes, there might be a slim possibility.’

Let’s learn more about this person called Jona Wiheomhae.

Of course, he’s a professor.

There are limits to information that can be obtained through official channels.

Naturally, she activates the dark line.

She mobilizes the information network of the “real” Dark Association that exists outside the Academy.

━━━

【Official Identity Verification Request Result】

[Source] International Identity Registration Magic Archive

[Subject] Jona Wiheomhae (Male, 32 years old)

[Address] Deutsch Kingdom-Goetel Duchy-Fortress Munich North Gate #22 (proven false)

[Past History]

0-6 years: From Munich Freepass Orphanage

7-13 years: Active as member of Munich Adventurer’s Guild

14 years: World’s first development of 5th tier battle magic <Pinball> using metal manipulation

15 years: Officially registered at Yellow Magic Tower

16 years: Official subjugation of gold-rank target <Elder Golem>

17 years: Special recruitment by Wiheomhae Foundation

※All 7 items above proven false upon investigation

━━━

She isn’t disappointed by the lack of results in the first stage. Rather, if his identity had been revealed so easily, the notoriety of the Wiheomhae Foundation would have been disappointing.

━━━

【Dark Association Official Report】

[Source] Dark Association Intelligence Department

[Subject] Jona Wiheomhae

[Affiliation] Wiheomhae Foundation

[Past History]

0-15 years: Records erased

16-20 years: Confirmed enrollment at Gift Academy

21-23 years: Unknown

24 years: Presumed to have joined the Foundation. During this period, past identity was laundered.

25 years: Involved in Taland Kingdom transport train fire disaster.

26 years: Involved in Piherman military vessel sinking incident.

27 years: Involved in mana stone mine collapse disaster.

28 years: Involved in Troy War’s magical weapon malfunction catastrophe.

29 years: Demoted to butler from youngest executive promotion track due to unspecified disciplinary action

30-32 years: Presumed to have trained 3 Foundation elite scholarship students “Young Lady”.

33 years January: Trained Oknodie, the Foundation’s masterpiece and top scholarship student

33 years September: Appointed as Gift Academy professor

[Karma]

Estimated casualties directly or indirectly entangled with Jona Wiheomhae: 3,825 people

Economic damage to countries worldwide caused by Jona Wiheomhae: 7,582,500,000 gold coins

━━━

However, she hadn’t expected such an astounding investigation result either.

7,582,500,000 gold coins.

Even Giselle, who deals with large sums, was overwhelmed by the enormous estimated damage.

‘Converted to points, that’s 758,250,000,000 points. Is it truly possible for just one person to cause such destruction…?’

Even a suicidal bombing by a desperate madman couldn’t cause this much damage.

Even if one were to perish with explosives capable of destroying a building, most important facilities have defensive magic arrays installed.

Calculating the most valuable building that could be destroyed by a bomb, it would be worth at most 100 gold coins.

Compared to a simple suicide bomber, the danger posed by Jona Wiheomhae is as serious as 758,250,000 terrorists.

‘I remember now. The Troy War’s magical weapon malfunction catastrophe. If it’s that incident, surely…’

Rebels who rose up claiming to restore justice in the Troy Kingdom, which was criticized as a hotbed of human experimentation.

Countries worldwide unofficially supported the rebels, providing mana stones necessary for magical weapons operation through various channels.

Since the Dark Association was responsible for many routes in the illegal transportation network, she still remembers it.

‘Post-incident investigation revealed that disguised mana stones secretly hidden among regular ones caused the weapons to malfunction. A catastrophe where the rebel leadership was annihilated overnight. The person involved with the problematic mana stones was none other than Jona Wiheomhae…’

While Giselle herself doesn’t know the details, she thought the pattern was probably similar in other incidents as well.

This man is dangerous.

Such large-scale incidents couldn’t happen by coincidence without a clear background.

They are all disasters artificially caused by the Wiheomhae Foundation with definite purposes.

Could the “Young Ladies” raised by such a person possibly grow up to be normal humans?

‘I’m even more convinced now. Your mana alchemy method. No matter how valuable it is, it’s a dangerous act that could cause serious abnormalities in a student’s body at any time.’

Giselle made a decision.

To submit this report to the Academy.

There are plenty of ways to use it if she kept it.

But it’s dangerous.

Jona Wiheomhae is not someone who can be easily manipulated for one’s benefit.

The connection to the incidents remains merely suspicious, and the actual crimes are all unclear.

It’s just that with his <Metal Manipulation>, he could cause all these incidents, and there’s circumstantial evidence that he was involved in all of them somehow.

That alone is more than enough reason to expel Jona Wiheomhae from the Academy to protect talented individuals from around the world.

At least, that’s what Giselle believed.

However, the Academy showed no reaction to the anonymous letter.

‘Why? Does the Academy not care if such a terrorist remains as a professor? Even though their reputation would be tarnished if he causes a catastrophe?’

She wants to protest.

But the moment she complains, it would be revealed that she was the informant.

So she used a third party.

One of the many first-year students from the Dark Association.

That was the beginning of a new incident.

“Has anyone seen Dobby?”

“Where did he go?”

“Don’t know. Didn’t see him during lecture either.”

“The guys living in the shared dorm should know.”

“He didn’t come back to sleep in the evening?”

After the anonymous letter, Giselle intended to protest through a proxy.

The proxy she sent disappeared overnight from Gift Academy.

* * *

“Has anyone seen Dobby?”

Neither the Dark Association employees nor Dobby’s usual friends said they had seen him.

‘Did Professor Jona actually do it?’

The possibilities were abundant.

That man had already seen her.

No matter how much he tried to suppress it, there were plenty of opportunities to glimpse the murderous intent he occasionally harbored.

It wouldn’t be strange if he had placed her under surveillance.

When the surveillance target dared to try passing information that shouldn’t be given to the principal, he appeared like a ghost and kidnapped the student.

She could only have ominous thoughts about what might have happened to the kidnapped student for silencing.

‘External personnel will be of no help in investigating what happened inside the Academy.’

A list with names and personal details of numerous students.

Dobby’s personal file from the document folder listed minor grudges related to him.

Of course, investigating simple grudges could be done sufficiently by the general intelligence department within the school.

What she really wanted to know was whether it was a crime committed by Jona Wiheomhae beyond a simple grudge.

To find evidence that would add certainty to her suspicion.

But who could do it?

Estimated casualties: 3,825 people.

Economic damage to countries worldwide: 7,582,500,000 gold coins.

Uncovering the secrets of a dangerous individual worth a bounty of 75,820,000 points.

‘Even a second-year would be ridiculously insufficient…’

The opponent is a Gift Academy graduate.

Moreover, a major terrorist who was formerly the Foundation’s youngest executive.

If Jona is truly the culprit, inadequate skills would only add another victim.

Giselle pondered.

She needed someone skilled.

Someone skilled enough to follow, monitor, and dig up information on Jona without getting caught.

Of course, Oknodie is out of the question.

It would be fortunate if she didn’t run to Jona and tattle.

Untrustworthy individuals are also excluded.

For the same reason, there’s a possibility of information leakage.

Someone tight-lipped.

Someone trustworthy.

One person came to mind.

“Zhang. I need your help.”