Ch.92Chapter 92. Of All Things (1)

“Haaah.”

“Hahaha.”

“Do you find this amusing?”

“Well, looking at the results, we did catch all those guys hiding in the Academy, didn’t we?”

“…But the situation has gotten way too big!”

“…”

As always, I had no real comeback to Addy’s words.

Honestly, I didn’t expect things to blow up this much either.

Taking care of Landgar’s remaining men who recognized Greenie wasn’t particularly difficult.

The challenge was finding those hiding bastards, but once found, game over.

The guy at their hideout wasn’t anything special either.

Just slightly stronger than the others.

Still, I’ll give him credit for not going down with just one punch.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

Eliminating Landgar’s remnants, completing the subquest, gaining stats, and preventing a leave of absence were all great accomplishments.

But I let my guard down too much.

“…I never expected a student would have such an expensive artifact.”

“Haaaah.”

Addy let out an even deeper sigh at my pathetic excuse.

One female student who had followed us during the chase.

I thought I could just leave her be, but I was completely wrong.

Who would have thought that student would possess an artifact equivalent to a camera in this world?

It was an incredibly expensive artifact with multiple high-level magic spells layered into it.

Thanks to that, my forest takedown of those guys was all captured.

Worse yet, when I turned my head at the end, my Black Shadow Corps uniform and mask were clearly visible.

Perhaps because the evidence was too good.

The content published in the Academy weekly immediately caught public attention.

The news spread throughout the Crescen Empire, then quickly across the entire country.

It’s a bit awkward to say this myself, but it was understandable.

News about the Black Shadow Corps, especially about me as the leader, was extremely rare.

Plus, this was practically the first time my masked face had been captured head-on in footage.

Until now, I’d been extremely careful to prevent such situations.

That’s why this news was red-hot even amid continental turmoil.

It was the perfect topic since it was also connected to black magic, another recent hot issue.

“I was a bit careless, wasn’t I?”

“Haaaaaaah. They’re already preparing search operations throughout the Empire. You need to be careful.”

“Come on. They’d never think I’m actually a student here.”

“…”

Addy pressed her forehead and hung her head low.

I hadn’t expected things to turn out this way, but it might actually be for the best.

The Empire would never suspect that the Black Shadow Corps leader is among the Academy students.

After the Empire’s thorough search ends, things might actually get easier for me.

“Sigh. I don’t know anymore. Do whatever you want.”

“Hey, that sounds a bit harsh?”

“There are already rumors that the black magic causing worldwide commotion might be connected to the Black Shadow Corps.”

“Huh? It’s actually the opposite!”

“That hardly matters. Either way, you were seen with an organization involved with the undead.”

“But I was actually helping them…?”

“The initial article may have portrayed it that way, and public opinion currently leans that way, but public opinion can change in an instant. You know that.”

“Hmm.”

Addy’s words were absolutely right.

We’d been through similar situations quite a few times before.

Though this time, it feels particularly unfair.

‘Well, I’ll figure something out?’

“You should lay low for a while. I’ve already informed Lady Yuria.”

“Yeah, alright. I’ll be careful.”

“…”

Addy’s eyes were full of distrust.

Such little faith in her leader.

“Really. I’ve cleanly eliminated the remaining guys at the Academy, so I won’t need to take action for a while.”

“I truly hope so.”

I could hear the sincerity in Addy’s voice.

I knew very well how much Addy struggled whenever incidents like this occurred.

For instance, during the O’Neil Kingdom incident, we had to completely relocate our headquarters.

Fortunately, this incident isn’t quite that serious.

“Besides, I’ll be leaving the Empire soon anyway.”

“…Has the date been decided?”

“Yes. Next week.”

“That’s sooner than expected.”

“That’s what I’m saying. The Academy seems pretty chaotic these days.”

“Sigh, that’s problematic in its own way. Of all times…”

“No, it’s actually fine! Who would…”

“…”

I stopped mid-sentence at Addy’s sharp gaze.

The schedule that Professor Amillion had mentioned recently, replacing the northern continent field trip.

In Addy’s words, “of all places,” the field trip location had changed to somewhere even more dangerous for me than the north.

The O’Neil Kingdom.

The kingdom that possessed the Dragon Heart, which managed heating, cooling, and various security systems in our office.

The O’Neil Kingdom still maintained the highest level of vigilance against the Black Shadow Corps.

As a result, our intelligence about events in the O’Neil Kingdom was quite limited.

They were so thorough with their security that even our regular members couldn’t operate properly within the O’Neil Kingdom.

“Well. I’ll escape if necessary, so don’t worry too much.”

Addy seemed somewhat reassured by my sincere words and softened her sharp gaze.

Of course, that didn’t mean her mood had completely improved.

“I’m heading back now?”

“…Yes.”

Hearing Addy’s brief response, I opened a spatial portal.

I had come to the office during the Academy’s lunch break, so I needed to return quickly.

**

“Have you all seen this?”

“Yes, I have.”

“I’ve seen it too.”

Elaine and Emily nodded in response to Cynthia’s question.

The video playing on Cynthia’s communication device was currently the hottest video within the Academy.

Footage of someone in black clothes taking down men in white robes in the forest.

It was also becoming famous throughout the entire continent.

A video rumored to show the Black Shadow Corps leader protecting the Crescen Academy from the undead.

Cynthia, Elaine, and Emily focused on the video in silence, as if by agreement.

Even though they had already watched the video separately several times, once more.

‘Those clothes, I’m almost certain.’

Cynthia was the first to look away from the video, secretly observing the other two.

The clothes worn by the person in the video.

They had seemed familiar from the first viewing, and she finally remembered where she’d seen them.

Those clothes.

She had seen them up close before.

On the day of Cain Hover’s incident, in Ryu’s dormitory room.

They were definitely the same design as the clothes hanging on one wall of Ryu’s room.

Cynthia observed Emily particularly carefully.

Emily was the only one here who knew Ryu’s identity.

Moreover, Emily was Yuria Phrysis’s niece and a member of the Phrysis family.

She thought Emily might know more about Ryu’s identity than she did.

While Cynthia’s gaze was directed at Emily, Emily was also deep in thought.

‘Those are definitely the same clothes my aunt wore.’

Emily clearly remembered her aunt changing into black clothes during the recent festival.

At the time, she had no idea what those clothes were, but with this video spreading, Emily now knew.

The Black Shadow Corps uniform.

Her aunt had definitely been wearing the Black Shadow Corps uniform, just like the person in the video.

‘Could it be…?’

Numerous possibilities flashed through Emily’s mind.

Among them, one stood out as most likely.

That Aunt Yuria belonged to the Black Shadow Corps.

‘That would explain why the Black Shadow Corps leader appeared within the Academy…’

With that thought, Emily secretly glanced at Cynthia.

Wondering if Cynthia, who might have known something before her, knew anything more.

“These clothes.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

Ilaine’s voice pulled Cynthia and Emily from their thoughts.

With a suspicious tone, Ilaine continued without taking her eyes off the video.

“Is it true that these are the Black Shadow Corps uniforms?”

“That must be true, right? Everyone says so.”

“Yes, it was featured not just in the Academy weekly but in Imperial news too.”

“Hmmmm.”

“Why?”

Ilaine hummed thoughtfully at Cynthia and Emily’s responses.

Cynthia asked curiously about Ilaine’s reaction.

“Well, you see.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve seen these clothes before.”

“Really??”

Cynthia and Emily’s attention simultaneously shifted to Ilaine.

Of course, both Cynthia and Emily had seen the clothes too.

“Where did you see them?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but during the incident at the festival.”

Ilaine slightly furrowed her brow as if trying to recall the memory.

When the undead wyvern broke through the building wall, Ilaine clearly saw someone in black clothes charging toward it.

And though she wasn’t certain, Ilaine thought that person was Ryu.

“I think Mr. Ryu was wearing these clothes.”

“…”

A moment of silence followed Ilaine’s words.

Both Cynthia and Emily hesitated, unsure how to respond.

Any awkward response would only deepen Ilaine’s suspicions.

“M-me? Absolutely not!”

“Ah…”

During the brief silence, a familiar voice came from behind.

It was Ryu, who had said he was going for a short walk.

Ryu spoke with an obviously nervous, trembling voice, trying to sound casual.

Seeing him, Cynthia and Emily simultaneously thought:

‘So those really were Black Shadow Corps uniforms I saw in his dorm that time.’

‘Like my aunt, Ryu is also part of the Black Shadow Corps.’

“Oh, is that so?”

However, Ilaine seemed to think differently.

When Ryu denied it, she nodded without a trace of doubt.

Watching Ilaine, Cynthia and Emily barely managed to suppress their sighs.