Ch.56Chapter 56. Why So Complicated (2)

“It was… true.”

“Huhu. That’s right. Ryu is working with me.”

Yuria brushed her hair behind her ear as she spoke.

She had suspected something when the Academy contacted her so late at night, and her suspicions were confirmed.

The purpose of the Academy’s contact was about the commander.

‘I’m pretty sure I asked him not to cause trouble and not to get caught.’

Though Yuria maintained her composure outwardly, she couldn’t help feeling upset inside.

She had thought it would be good to have the commander enrolled as a student at the Academy, as he could serve as a valuable informant.

But to think he’d be discovered so quickly, just days after she’d asked for his help.

“I understand. It’s late, so I’ll relay the details to student Ryu… no, to Ryuyeong tomorrow.”

“…He.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I understand.”

“Yes, I apologize for disturbing you so late.”

Professor Amillion’s voice on the communication device cut off.

“Sigh.”

Yuria let out a deep sigh as soon as the communication ended.

She wanted to ask what exactly had happened at the Academy, but she barely managed to hold back.

How did the commander end up revealing his identity and telling everything to an Academy professor?

‘I can understand telling the head of the Sinclair Family, but…’

It didn’t matter much that he told the head of the Sinclair Family, as they were an outside figure to the Academy.

But to tell an Academy professor as well?

It made no sense.

‘I’d like to meet him right away if I could.’

But unable to do so, Yuria pressed her forehead and considered her next move.

She could only hope that the commander had at least completed the task she’d asked of him before his identity was revealed.

**

Now, how to clean up this mess.

As soon as I returned to the dormitory, I checked my Black Shadow Corps uniform first.

I had placed a black mask inside the uniform, and fortunately, there were no signs that anyone had touched it.

It seemed Cynthia hadn’t gone through my clothes.

That was a small relief in an unfortunate situation.

If she had found this mask, Cynthia might have immediately figured out my identity.

“Sigh.”

But what did it matter?

Not having Cynthia discover my Black Shadow Corps uniform was truly just a small relief in an unfortunate situation.

‘What’s going to happen now?’

I did subtly pressure Professor Amillion by dropping the names of Phrysis and Sinclair.

Both families have enormous influence in the Crescen Empire.

Especially among the Six Great Families.

Because of this, Professor Amillion wouldn’t easily challenge something that both families were working on together.

That was partly why I mentioned the Sinclair name to Professor Amillion earlier.

‘Still, the fact remains that I’ve been exposed as not being an ordinary student.’

Of course, this was just a temporary measure.

The fundamental problem was that Professor Amillion had discovered my identity.

She didn’t know my true identity, but she knew I wasn’t an ordinary student.

It was a concerning point for my future Academy life.

I might not even be able to continue at the Academy.

‘Damn it. How did things end up like this?’

Everything had gone well until the competition, with my identity remaining hidden.

‘Why do so many incidents keep happening at this Academy?’

From the appearance of the Undead, to rumors of an internal traitor, to Cain’s sudden outburst.

Truly, incidents keep occurring almost daily.

“At times like this…”

I got up from the bed where I had been sitting with the uniform in my hands.

When there’s a lot to think about and the situation is complicated, there’s always a way.

Woong-

I teleported with the uniform to someone who could advise me on how to handle this situation.

I just hoped they would still be in the office.

“Addy?”

Unfortunately, Addy wasn’t in my office.

I tossed the uniform onto the desk and went outside the office.

It had been a while since I’d opened the door myself to go out.

“Addy? Are you in your room?”

I knocked on the door of Addy’s office, which was right next to mine, calling her name.

Click-

“Oh.”

The door opened immediately after I knocked.

“Addy, I have something to discuss. The situation has become quite complicated…”

“What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?”

“Huh?”

I expected Addy to come out, but the person who emerged from Addy’s office wasn’t Addy.

With flowing silver hair, it was Erika who opened the door.

“Erika?”

“Yes. Long time no see?”

“Why are you coming out of there?”

“Because I don’t have an office? Addy said she wouldn’t be using her office today because she had something to do, so I borrowed it for a day. I have some work to do too.”

“I see.”

“So, what’s the matter?”

“Um…”

I had no intention of consulting Erika about my concerns.

**

“What a mess you’ve made.”

“I know.”

Surprisingly, Erika listened calmly to everything I had to say.

Thanks to Yuria, explaining why I had entered the Academy as a student was quite straightforward.

When I explained that I had infiltrated as a student as part of Yuria’s work, Erika accepted it without any doubt.

“But is it really such a big problem?”

“Of course it is. Logically, I’ve openly infiltrated the Academy in secret, and a professor won’t just let that slide.”

“You said you used the names of Phrysis and Sinclair. And Phrysis is real, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Anyway, you just need to keep that professor quiet, right? She’s the only one who knows.”

“That’s true, but…”

“And if things don’t work out, you can just leave the Academy. Why are you acting so unlike yourself?”

“…”

The more I listened to Erika, the less I had to say.

She was right.

If Professor Amillion didn’t tell anyone else, there wouldn’t really be a problem.

And as Erika said, if it did become a problem, I could just leave the Academy.

‘But that’s the issue. I can’t leave.’

I didn’t have enough grounds to convince Erika on this point.

The anxiety that everything I’d achieved so far might disappear if I was expelled from the Academy.

This anxiety was why I was overthinking things, unlike my usual self.

“Sigh. I can’t leave the Academy, that’s why. It’s hard to explain, but that’s how it is.”

“Then make that professor your ally. Or just eliminate her.”

That was a very Erika-like suggestion.

A simple solution without considering the circumstances too much.

‘Wait a minute?’

But it seemed right.

Whatever the case, looking at the result, Professor Amillion is the only person at the Academy who knows my identity.

Assuming she hasn’t told anyone else overnight.

Then, as Erika said, if I can just keep Professor Amillion quiet, everything should be okay.

“If you can’t do it, should I help? Targeting an Academy professor is a bit risky, but if you need my help…”

“No, no, no. That’s not what I meant. If we’re going to do something, we should start with persuasion.”

“That’s the peaceful approach. You’re not going to bring her into the Black Shadow Corps, are you?”

“Of course not. She doesn’t even know I’m part of the Black Shadow Corps.”

As I spoke, my thoughts began to clear.

Usually, talking with Erika made complex situations even more complicated.

But this time was different.

I was starting to see how to resolve the situation.

‘Professor Amillion seemed to be noticing something strange too.’

Remembering how Professor Amillion had started to say something to me but stopped, I became more confident.

Perhaps, as Erika suggested, things might end more simply than I thought.

“I need to meet Yuria first.”

“Yuria?”

“Yes. Coordinating our story with Yuria is the top priority.”

“Oh. Then I’ll head home?”

“You’re not coming with me?”

“Do I need to?”

“Not necessarily, but… you haven’t seen Yuria in a long time either, right?”

“Ugh. No thanks.”

Erika shook her head and made a disgusted expression.

Although both Erika and Yuria were commanders, the two were opposites in many ways.

Or rather, it seemed like only Erika was uncomfortable with Yuria.

Yuria treated everyone the same way regardless of who she was meeting.

Anyway, it was well-known among the commanders that Erika and Yuria didn’t get along well.

“Then take care. Thanks to you, I’ve sorted things out a bit.”

“Sure. But does this mean you’ve been hanging out with kids these days?”

“…I’m leaving.”

Woong-

“Not working and instead playing with kids…”

I teleported directly to Yuria’s residence without listening to the rest of Erika’s words.

The lights in Yuria’s house, visible right in front of me, were still on.

“Yuria, are you there?”

Seeing that the house was still lit, it didn’t seem like she had gone to bed yet.

Click-

“Sigh, something must have definitely happened for the commander to come here personally at this hour.”

Yuria appeared at the door with a subtle expression.

“Come in first. I wanted to meet you too. At times like this, I really wish we had communication devices.”

“What’s going on? Did something happen?”

“That’s what I want to ask you. I just received a call from Professor Amillion Starpen of Crescen Academy, asking if you’re really a member of our family.”

“Wow. That was fast.”

Professor Amillion acted quickly.

I didn’t expect her to contact Yuria today.

I thought she would contact her tomorrow since it was late, but no.

‘This is actually good.’

The fact that Professor Amillion went out of her way to ask Yuria about my identity meant that she was in a hurry too.

I had a feeling things might work out well.

“So, what happened?”

“I’ll tell you just the essentials.”

I didn’t feel like repeating the story I had just told Erika, but I started speaking anyway.

Yuria sat across from me, waiting for me to begin.

“Today…”

And so I began telling Yuria about what had happened today.

And also about what I planned to do next.