episode_0004

Merhen quietly watched Kane’s back as he left the store.

‘Evil spirit… …’

The evil spirit of blood and flesh. Fifty years have passed since Belmagor’s clone was defeated.

There have been people who have joked about the evil spirits, but no one has ever been caught directly involved.

However, there are a few people who are suspected of worshipping evil gods behind the empire.

The eight evildoers, Beth the corpse-eater and Louis the poison-drinker.

There was a rumor going around that this pair was acting as an escort for a demon worshipper.

That’s all for the information.

This is a topic that is still relatively new, so only a very small number of people know about it.

‘Is this a mistake?’

Strangely enough, Kane often suggested solutions to problems within the Empire that even Merhen herself was unaware of.

I don’t know how great of an informant he was, but his help was quite useful.

However, Kane’s help is only one-way.

Because I only reached out to him when he wanted me to.

Although Merhen had been blatant in her suggestion, it may have been something Kane had turned down in a nice way.

It could be that I’m just imagining things and making wild guesses.

‘… … Let’s wait until next time.’

Kane Calderon. He was a special person.

Even though he may seem arrogant in his appearance and actions, if you talk to him, it’s not like that at all.

His nickname from the Academy, ‘Bloodless Sword’, is clearly meant to be a derogatory term for him.

If you just look at his actions, it’s a very fitting nickname.

A man who took first place solely based on actual scores without ever participating in a single mock match.

Curious about how great an achievement it was to achieve top grades without a mock match, Merhen periodically tried to obtain Kane’s report card.

As a result of my efforts, I was able to obtain a transcript from a retired teacher who graduated this year.

The details of Kane’s actual battles that were confirmed in this way were shocking in itself.

‘From the ghost knight Blackmore, the mutant monster Gromark, the fire serpent Flamma, to the frost wolf Prizilla.’

Most of the named people who had settled near Lucaria Academy were killed by Cain.

That too, leaving behind only one detail.

This means that all named monsters were killed with a single sword strike.

‘… … Impossible.’

Even if hunting named enemies is one thing, taking them down in one go is a different story.

How strong must one be to be able to do something like this?

Merhen was the first to suspect her assistant.

Could it be that the head of the Calderon family has moved?

But if that’s the case, there’s no way Merhen wouldn’t notice.

Then who the hell are you?

If you want to get actual points from named hunting at Lucaria Academy, you must hunt alone.

Although there is no one to watch over them, if the presence of the assistant is discovered later, problems arise.

Seeing such an obvious display, it actually seems like it’s Kane’s real skill.

‘Then… is it a unique characteristic?’

Unique characteristics.

Very rarely, there are people who are born with their own unique powers.

Ermion Astranor, a 5-star of the Empire. Could it be that she is similar to someone born with the characteristics of a star?

Merhen thought about it briefly, but then stopped thinking about it.

I don’t have time to worry about such things right now.

Anyway, looking at the Academy’s performance, it seemed like there was some room for belief.

If that’s not your true ability, then there will be problems.

That was the case back then.

“Merhen. Didn’t you say you had something to show me?”

“Oh, wait a minute, Lisiela. Can you take a look at this too?”

Merhen took out a new piece of paper from her bosom and showed it to the remaining three.

“What is this?”

“Here are Kane’s graduation grades.”

[Kane Calderon]

– Theory score: Top

– Practical score: Top

– Total ranking: Top

As Lisiella was reading the report card, her gaze stopped at one part.

Content related to the autopsy of Ghost Knight Blackmore included on the practical assessment page.

[ List of practical assessments ]

Ghost Knight Blackmore

– Autopsy records

Blackmore’s cause of death listed in the autopsy report was a single stab wound.

The other kids also stopped here, quietly raising their faces and waiting for Merhen to speak.

“Isn’t that Cain bastard a little weird?”

“That’s strange. There are no signs of multiple cuts or resistance. I wonder if he was killed in one go?”

“Lisiela. Have you ever seen Kane fight?”

“Nope. He’s a bloodless swordsman.”

Lisiella shook her head.

Everyone here, including her. No, not even the entire Academy, has seen Kane fight.

Since he pathologically avoided combat, they only occasionally encountered each other at the swordsmanship training grounds.

“What do you think?”

“Huh… Isn’t that a unique trait that Cain has? There’s one in our family too… … .”

Eri carefully floated the boat.

Stories related to unique characteristics are very sensitive.

Even if the information had been revealed, it was not a topic that could be easily discussed in front of others.

“If not… …then maybe he’s an assistant.”

“If that’s the case, then I guess I have no choice but to go home, right?”

“Of course. It’s not something that the dregs of the collateral branch or the old guard of the Senate can do.”

“Lisiela… … .”

Merhen was astonished at Lisiella’s hatred of the Senate.

“But if the long Calderon had moved, we would not have not known… … .”

“Well, maybe one of them could help.”

“… … .”

There was a moment of silence after Lisiella’s words.

Ruina Theranos, who had been listening silently, was now staring at her.

A clear display of displeasure.

“Haha! Just kidding. Anyway, I don’t know what tricks he used, but I guess he wants to hide something.”

“… … Or there is one more case.”

“What is it?”

“Documents were falsified at the academy.”

“… Merchen, that’s probably not it.”

“Why?”

“Our family also did the autopsy of Ghost Knight Blackmore.”

“… … What?”

Lisiella recalled her memories from her first year at the Academy.

There was a time when the Academy’s faculty came to visit the Tierniel family.

What I saw then was completely consistent with the autopsy records above.

Lucaria Academy is the best in the Empire. The professors are also people with proven abilities.

Lisiel simply assumed that one of the professors had created a new vision of swordsmanship or magic.

I never would have imagined that the person who took down Blackmore with one stroke would be a student, and that it would be Kane.

“Merhen. Don’t get me wrong. I saw it at the family home, but the professors from the academy didn’t give me a detailed explanation. I just found out it was Cain.”

“Don’t worry. I didn’t think about that.”

Merhen shook her head and smiled slightly.

Eri, who had been observing her expression, slowly opened her mouth.

“Merchen, you won’t even get angry… … ?”

“Me? It’s not really something to be angry about, so why would I be angry?”

“Oh, really? Actually, it came to our family too!”

“Ahh… Really… … ?”

“Yeah! When I was in the first year, people from the Academy came to our house. I followed them around to see what was going on, and they told me! They asked me to look for any invisible wounds or traces of magic, so my mother stayed there all day, but nothing came out. I wondered what was going on at the time, but it’s amazing when I look back! ”

“… … .”

“… Merhen, are you mad because I told you late… … ?”

“Why am I mad because you said it late?”

“Then why… … Ugh… My eyes are scary… … ”

“I won’t give you any advice on that.”

“Merchen ball hurts… … Noah… … ”

“How can our Eri speak so annoyingly?”

“Mi, sorry… … ”

Merhen grabbed Eri’s cheek with her cold eyes and just smiled.

Lisiella, who was looking at the two, turned her gaze to Ruina.

Ruina, who had been quietly staring at the ceiling, felt gazes and looked towards Lisiella.

She just shook her head without saying anything.

This means that he did not participate in the autopsy of Ghost Knight Blackmore.

It seems that the professors of the academy did not visit him for fear of having any personal motives, as he was at odds with the Kane family.

From what Merhen says, it seems like she hasn’t even visited her family.

then…….

“This was more dangerous than I thought.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Merhen, who was punishing Eri’s ball, looked back as if she didn’t understand English.

“Cain has been doing this ever since the year he entered school.”

“Right?”

“Then, wouldn’t the academy professors have suspected Cain too?”

“Um… …An assistant? Or a personal trait?”

“Both. And one more.”

Lisiella slowly glanced over the three who were concentrating on the story.

“You’re… … doubting us?”

“The truth is unknown, but the circumstances are sufficient.”

“Circumstances?”

“You came to our family. I heard Erine went too.”

The professors at the Academy also had the same doubts after confirming the body of Blackmore, the Ghost Knight that Cain had hunted.

From their perspective, the existence of an assistant would have been even more suspicious.

After doing some research and having some idea of the situation, you will probably find another family.

First, we went to the Tierniel family, which was considered relatively neutral as there was no hostility.

However, I did not receive a satisfactory answer.

Because the elders of Tierniel, who were living in the glory of their own success, secretly looked down on the academy faculty.

The second place I visited was the Astranor family.

They would have tried to find traces of magic hidden in the corpse.

Since the Calderon family is a swordsman family, it would be easy to uncover the accomplice just by finding traces of magic.

However, even the House of Astranor would not have found any evidence.

There, the Aildarin family would have started investigating the Academy.

Merhen may not have known the full details, but she must have noticed that the academy’s faculty was moving.

The faculty members felt that something was strange going on there and stopped the investigation.

You might have guessed that the five major families would be intertwined.

Lisiella briefly explained this to Merhen.

“… … What? No, we’re helping Cain because he’s pretty?”

“Coincidences are scary. But Merchen. Did you ever do background checks on your professors when you were a freshman?”

“That’s… ….”

Merhen trailed off.

Looking at that, Lisiela was 100% sure that she had done some background checking.

I think I did that quite often, periodically until I graduated.

Most families that have entered the political world are like that.

This time things weren’t so good.

“It was around this time that Cain created the reading club and brought us together. If I were you… … .”

“You must have thought the 5th generation family was really dirty. Sigh… … .”

Merhen now has her doubts about the way she was treated while attending the academy resolved.

While Cain, the top student, seemed uninterested in school activities, Merchen, the second top student, was different.

Grades are of course important, so I wanted to get top honors if possible, but second place was okay too.

Based on that, you can create connections within the academy and become friendly with the professors.

But so far, I haven’t received a single proper response.

Merhen simply thought that the professors at the academy valued fairness.

“Then what about my efforts to go to Lucaria Academy as a second-place graduate and give lectures, or to sneakily make space for the kids who were entering the academy?”

“It’s all over.”

“Evil!!!”

Merhen screamed loudly, holding her head.

I didn’t want to believe this situation right now.

Somehow… I wish it was a dream… … … … .

It was she who was muttering like that.

“It’s late today, so let’s part ways here for now. If there’s any problem, let’s talk about it.”

“… Okay, then. Sorry, I’ll go in first… … .”

Merhen left the store feeling listless.

His face looked more worried than usual.