The alleyways of Ignolia were more intricate than I had thought. They intertwined and connected with main roads. As I wandered, Isabel suddenly approached me.

    “Now’s the best time to talk.”

    “Maybe I could have a conversation if I find Jeremy, the cat.”

    “Finding Jeremy won’t be easy. If you have questions, ask, whether it’s about the Academy or something else.”

    “I’m curious about getting stronger. I don’t have much mana, so getting stronger is harder for me than others. I’m curious about that method.”

    Isabel opened up as we entered the alleyway.

    “Do you have a reason for wanting to get stronger? I don’t see longing in Astan’s eyes. Wanting to get stronger is every mage’s desire, but lacking a clear purpose will only lead you astray.”

    “Erica mentioned the same thing. Since Erica also talked about it.”

    “A mage’s purpose is important. Leonar wants to revive his fallen family, Erica seeks Arnold’s legacy, Claire… well, I can’t figure out Claire’s purpose. No one has a stronger curiosity than her. Once curiosity arises, no one can stop it. Curiosity is a mage’s driving force. What’s Astan’s reason?”

    “…Nothing special, but in dangerous situations, at least I want to protect myself.”

    Isabel smiled faintly at my response and looked at me. In her gentle black eyes, my saliva naturally swallowed.

    “Don’t deceive yourself. I’ll know the real reason.”

    “Vaguely, it seems like I don’t want to become an extra.”

    “An extra… That might be true. The protagonists of the Academy are already shining, aren’t they? Even being by Astan’s side, someone looks up to me and feels jealous. Sharon probably feels the same way.”

    “I had that thought, at least I don’t want to live as an extra, the protagonist doesn’t even hope for it… but at least I want to rise to the position of a supporting character.”

    “Don’t hide your feelings, Astan doesn’t seem to have talent in that area.”

    She scratched her head at Isabelle’s words.

    “The methods to increase mana are difficult other than meditation, you can’t find the tears of Sgulraka, it’s a good method…”

    “I heard from Erica senior that she went on a trip in her second year and became incredibly strong, can you tell me where she went?”

    After my question, she pondered for a moment and cautiously spoke.

    “Have you ever heard such a story? There’s a story that wizards and swordsmen suddenly become stronger at the brink of death.”

    “… Isn’t that just acting out before dying?”

    “That may be the case, but it’s very rare. The moment when you meet Denatus right before death. When Denatus is about to take my body, wizards unconsciously store mana in their bodies, and the moment that restriction is released is just before death. Usually, when that moment comes, Denatus takes us, but in very rare cases, we overcome death.”

    With those words, she smiled.

    “When you experience that moment, your mana increases significantly, but it’s funny to ask a first-year to experience death suddenly. I’ve been to the land of death, experienced death there, and managed to overcome it.”

    “Overcoming death… It’s a difficult thing.”

    Suddenly, Seresria thought that this might be the method she had hidden. A method to increase mana by risking one’s life… an absurdly contradictory method of returning from death. Is that really the only method? A small sigh escaped her lips.

    “Erica doesn’t have that much mana either, but she uses natural mana around her to cast spells, so it looks like she has a lot of mana. I heard that Erica learned magic, and maximizing that method is also a good way.”

    “I will remember.”

    “If that’s not the way, try to find Leonar. I’ve never seen Leonar fight.”

    “I heard a rumor that he stopped a dragon.”

    Isabel nodded at my response. He’s only in his third year, but stopping a dragon, that must be an incredible talent. Indeed, the senior Leonar seen at the academy was clearly among the strong. It’s not easy for anyone to request a match with him…

    “Leonar’s fighting method is quite terrifying. If you see someone fight like that in real life, anyone would say they’re crazy because it’s a way of fighting that aims directly without thinking about whether the opponent burns to death or you burn to death, like a giant flame titan. It’s frightening. I wouldn’t support fighting against Leonar, but… well, it’s not easy to subdue him either. To subdue him, you have to extinguish all that fire. That’s why he’s weak in practical terms, as there’s no special attack.”

    I nodded. Wrapping oneself in flames means enhancing the body with mana, right? Carefully holding onto such curiosity, I entered another alley with Isabel senior, and she slowly began to speak.

    “It’s endless to search like this. With so many alleys and no guarantee that the spy won’t move.”

    “We need to rethink our approach.”

    “Thinking that the spy will be in an alley might be a wrong assumption. There’s no particular place that comes to mind…”

    “Is using detection magic difficult?”

    “Detection magic isn’t omnipotent. It’s difficult unless you know the exact location of an item or have precise knowledge of the person’s features.”

    For a moment, Isabel senior and I stood still, lost in thought. What should we do? Of course, I didn’t expect to find him on the first day. I thought I’d find him based on my memory, or if not, the guards of Ignolia would find him…

    If possible, I wanted to hold it in my hand. Of course, I had no idea where it might be. If it’s a spy, hiding would be normal.

    “That man said he was from the Banma tribe.”

    “The guards said so.”

    “The person who infiltrated the academy was a doll, and at Ignolia’s tavern, was it the real person?”

    “Senior Erika said if she were a doll, she would have broken when touched by magic.”

    Senior Isabelle nodded briefly, closed her eyes for a moment, and I silently watched over her without saying anything.

    “If it’s not a doll?”

    “Are you saying the man who infiltrated the academy?”

    “If it’s not a doll, it started to make sense. Astan attacked the man with magic, and the magic wrapped around him and turned him into dust. That’s how it was expressed, and Erika’s magic is a form of suppression, so there was no special trauma to the body. If it were a golem, the core would have to be destroyed for such a situation to occur, and if it were a doll, it should have broken when touched by magic.”

    And she rested her chin on her right hand.

    “If it’s not a doll?”

    “It wouldn’t have broken under Senior Erika’s magic, but it doesn’t make sense that he turned to dust when I pierced him with magic.”

    “That’s the inconsistency. What could it be… Ah, I found the answer.”

    “What is it?”

    “A revenant.”

    As Isabelle uttered the answer, one by one, the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together in my mind. The place where I and the spy met was dark, it was a night without light… When I first saw him, it seemed like he was fleeing from somewhere. If not, who was he looking for… And that time period was a time when all the magical lamps in Ignolia were lit, and it was a time filled with light.

    “When a revenant dies, its body collapses to return to its soul.”

    “… Then did that spy put his memories or personality into the revenant?”

    If I delve into more details, there are several possibilities. The most likely one is that the spy Astan encountered was a deceased person, not their actual body. I know there’s a spell of Rich that can imbue the memories of the living into the deceased, so perhaps it’s something like that. If not, maybe the spy roamed by possessing the deceased, much like controlling a familiar.

    Finishing her words, Isabelle smiled.

    “So, we’ve pinpointed where the spy might be.”

    “Where there are many deceased… a graveyard?”

    “Correct, Astan.”

    Isabelle then extended her right hand. As she did, the surroundings darkened.

    “It’s best to close your eyes for a moment; I’ll move us to the graveyard.”

    Heeding her words, I quickly closed my eyes and felt a sensation of shaking throughout my body. Even though it was only the second time, I didn’t think I’d easily get used to this feeling.

    If this is what it feels like every time you teleport, how does Erica senior manage to move around? A slight sense of awe crept in.

    “You can open your eyes now,” said Isabelle senior.

    As I opened my eyes at her words, the cemetery of Ignolia came into view.

    “The probability of them being somewhere here is high, but since we’ve come here… they probably sensed us too.”

    “We need to move quickly.”

    At this, she let out a small laugh.

    “We don’t have to do that. Can’t we just separate this space?”

    “Is that… possible?”

    At that moment, she clenched her right hand. As she did, the surrounding darkness was drawn into her and formed a large magic circle. As I marveled at the rapidly filling magic circle, the inscribed circle created a barrier-like boundary, and Isabelle senior turned to me and said,

    “I’m stronger than what Astan thinks.”

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