episode_0039

The head of the Imperial Information Bureau appeared at the academy early in the morning.

Only a very few academy officials faced the head of the information bureau. Among the professors, only a small number of prestigious individuals were able to attend the meeting with the information bureau.

Professor Smith, who oversees the journalism department, was one of them.

As Smith had recently taken over the oversight position, it was his first time meeting high-ranking officials from the information bureau. Throughout the meeting, he appeared disheveled, and upon seeing Louis even doze off, Smith suspected that he must not be the head of the information bureau. Or at least, he shouldn’t be.

However, reality defied Smith’s expectations.

“Director… sir.”

The secretary next to Louis quietly called out, waking him up from his daze. The title “director” almost caused Smith to lose control of his expression.

“Hm? Oh… then, where did we leave off?”

“We were discussing Master Mayner who is currently at the academy.”

“Oh, right. That’s true.”

The impeccably dressed secretary of the information bureau, who showed no sign of being flustered, refocused Louis on the meeting as if she were already familiar with him. She was a haughty beauty with an icy-cold demeanor. In contrast, Louis had carelessly put on his uniform, unbuttoning his jacket and shirt while sitting.

“Ahem… Are you very tired due to official duties, Director Louis?”

The elders of the academy asked, coughing dryly, seemingly uncomfortable with his appearance.

“No, last night, a lovely lady I met sent me off.”

“… ”

There was no seriousness to be found in Louis. Despite the fact that the head of the Imperial Information Bureau should have come personally due to the importance of the matter, the principal party was surprisingly nonchalant. Smith furrowed his brow, but the secretary by Louis’ side calmly flipped through the documents as if this were all too familiar.

“Well, it’s about time for the director to get married. Who’s the lucky partner? Even without a title, noble ladies with a long lineage will line up for you.”

“Oh, well…”

Director Kim spent the night reading inappropriate books in his study.

“…,”

Instead of Louis, a secretary with a cold and firm voice replied. The absurdity of its contents left all the dignified academy officials speechless. Trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere of the meeting through talk of marriage, staying up all night reading inappropriate books was excessive.

“Inappropriate books?! A timeless masterpiece containing profound insights into love between men and women..!”

He tried to package the book he had read all night, but looking at the dark circles under his eyes, his credibility was not felt. The dignified academy officials were either parched or sipping coffee nervously.

“Hmm, we are independently investigating about Mr. Mayner, but from what we’ve gathered from the Duke…”

“Oh… Did you hear directly from the Duke?”

“That’s right. It seems he is the son born from the vigorous days of their youthful relationship.”

“The Duke had such a time as well…”

Compared to the senior professors, Duke Mayner was much younger, but they treated him with respect as if he were a duke. Just that alone indicated the status Duke Mayner held within the empire.

“It is said that she, who is known by everyone just by her name, wanted to hide the fact. But now, it can’t be helped.”

“But it’s an opportunity to become the hostess of Duke Mayner, so it must be regrettable for Mrs. Karl Mayner.”

“Well, she is not a knight of the empire.”

!?

The academy officials exchanged glances and nodded. The fact that Duke Mayner had fathered a child out of wedlock was surprising enough, but the fact that his partner was a foreign lady-in-waiting was even more astonishing. Considering the Duke’s position, this situation would be very troublesome for them.

The mother will try to exert influence using her parental rights in any way possible. Being the successor of a marquis is such a valuable position. As an empire, they would be reluctant to see the only son of the marquis being influenced by his mother who resides in a foreign country. Everyone in the conference room could understand why the marquis was trying to hide his son’s power.

A sudden mutation in a literary family, if the root of that power is a famous knight from another country, it would be better to keep it hidden before officially inheriting the marquis’s position.

Once the professors’ doubts were resolved, they silently raised the next question in their minds, even though it wasn’t spoken aloud.

“So who exactly is this knight?”

Each of them recalled suitable knights who could be involved with Marquis Maynard. They must have met during their academy days. The heads of the senior professors were filled with numerous students. Some of them belonged to the powerful figures on the continent.

Professor Smith also thought of someone without saying a word. The fearsome woman who had taken his arm. The woman behind the mask. The assassin who protected the royal family.

Since all the royal bodyguards wore masks, their true identities were unknown. However, he knew that one of them was a woman. Even if she wore a mask, she couldn’t hide her wavy blonde hair. Come to think of it, it was similar to Marquis Maynard’s hair color.

“Surely it can’t be her.”

It felt as if the arm wearing the prosthetic was trembling again. Since she had disappeared with the fall of the royal family, her whereabouts were unknown. But the epithet of a strong knight inevitably made him think of her.

“It seems Marquis Maynard will make a statement separately through a news outlet regarding his son. He might even consider changing his major.”

“Oh… Marquis Maynard’s successor in the knight department? I heard he can handle the Holy Sword. Professor Smith will have to guide him well.”

As the senior professors looked at Smith, Louis also shifted his gaze. It seemed like Louis was only saying “long time no see.” Smith still didn’t want to be associated with him. It was still hard to believe that such a frivolous fellow was sitting in the position of the head of the Information Bureau.

“Already in charge of the Knight Department, you’ve risen, Smith.”

“You’re not doing too bad yourself.”

“Haha, are both of you reminiscing about your academy days? It feels like just yesterday when you two were running around the campus… how time flies.”

Seeing Louis bring up personal matters in a public setting, Smith couldn’t believe it and played along. The senior professors, seeing their interaction, began to reminisce about the past, and the serious atmosphere of the meeting gradually eased.

*

With the initial heavy atmosphere lifted, the meeting proceeded quickly. Even the serious matters, such as the murder within the academy and the summoning of demons, were resolved. The conclusion was a request for wholehearted cooperation from the academy for the Information Bureau’s investigation, as usual.

From the academy’s perspective, this wasn’t much of a burden. It was better for the Information Bureau to handle it swiftly. After all, it was likely to end as a simple case. Due to the long-lasting peace, even the academy officials seemed to consider it more of an incidental event rather than a part of a grand conspiracy.

However.

“A wielder of the Hwang Clan’s power has appeared?”

“….”

As the meeting was about to conclude, Smith spoke with a solemn expression. The expressions of the academy officials darkened. It was a matter they didn’t want to deal with. They had just wanted to let it slide. The idea of the Hwang Clan’s power was so unrealistic.

“But isn’t it just the opinion of a minor student?”

“That’s right…! The students on the scene were just saying he was an exceptional magician… and he was wearing the Green Emperor’s helmet. Have you all forgotten about witnessing the black mist?”

“….”

They were trying to deny reality.

“It’s not just an opinion. It’s the opinion of someone who wields the Holy Sword. Furthermore, he was wearing the Green Emperor’s helmet. And have you all forgotten about witnessing the black mist?”

“….”

Everyone fell silent at Smith’s words. No matter how much they denied it, the clues were clear. There was no other way to explain it but “The nobles have returned.”

“Unknown.”

“…?”

“It’s a temporary name within our intelligence agency. We’ve decided to call the mysterious sorcerer who stole the Green Emperor’s helmet ‘Unknown.’”

Louis, chin in hand, spoke. His eyes seemed to have lost their fatigue. His carefree demeanor vanished, replaced by a serious one. Smith was slightly surprised. This wasn’t the same Louis he knew from their academy days.

“The one whom no one knows. Even though they ruled the empire for nearly a thousand years, they were an unknown entity, not associated with the nobles.”

“Are you saying that, at the intelligence level, you acknowledge the appearance of the nobles?”

“It’s highly possible… for now.”

As Louis said, the imperial palace was a mysterious world.

A closed group entrenched in the palace. Even the guardian knights concealed their identities with masks. Only the leaders of the cabinet could recognize the nobles. Considering Louis’s age, he probably hadn’t encountered the nobles directly.

On the strange day when the once abundant nobles disappeared, the day of the silent revolution that led to the fall of the imperial family, very few knew the details. Smith, who had risen to become a professor at the academy, only knew a tiny fraction of the grand scheme.

The silent revolution remained unknown to the world. It was only known that most either disappeared or died suddenly from a mysterious illness. Rumors spread about their deaths being a curse from a demon king a thousand years ago, or a reaction to the power of the Green Emperor passed down through generations.

“We will thoroughly investigate ‘Unknown’ within the intelligence agency. Please, everyone, fulfill your duties at the academy.”

“We will do so.”

“Yes, we entrust this to you. Perhaps… the long era of peace is ending, and the academy may need to return to its original role.”

“!?”

The mention of Louis cast a shadow on the faces of the attendees. The original role of the Academy was to raise heroes to protect humanity. In other words, it meant that there could be impending chaos threatening humanity.

“Well, for now, it’s just a joke. Let’s say it’s an occupational hazard for those who receive bribes from the Information Bureau.”

“The jokes from the Information Bureau are quite eerie, hehehe.”

The professors tried hard to laugh and lighten the mood. But Smith didn’t take Louis’s words lightly at all.

And so, the meeting between the Academy and the Information Bureau came to an end.

As Smith left the conference room, he felt like he had been given a huge task.

The time was approaching for him to fulfill his duty as an Academy professor.

*

Academy Commercial District, Imperial Information Bureau Safe House.

Secretary Rachel returned to the safe house with the director she served.

Academy officials thought they would have come from the palace to the Academy, but in fact, they were already at the Academy. They declined any farewell as they urgently returned, unable to reveal the fact that there was an Information Bureau safe house somewhere in the Academy.

It looked like an ordinary residential house, but underground, there was a vast space combining magic engineering and various technologies, mainly used as a training ground. Only Louis entered this place. No, this safe house itself was a place where only a few people within the Information Bureau could enter.

Secretary Rachel, who directly serves the director and deputy director, was one of the privileged few who could come and go here. Whether entering this safe house was truly a privilege, I don’t know.

“You’re here, well done.”

A calm and gentle voice was heard.

A gentleman neatly dressed welcomed the two as they sat at the desk on the second floor used as an office. The original purpose of the desk was for the director to conduct official business.

“Of course! You did well. I thought I was going to die from frustration.”

However, the author known as Director Kookjang nonchalantly threw off his jacket and dived onto the sofa without even glancing at the desk. In his hand was a salacious book that he had been secretly reading all night. He lay down and continued to read the salacious book. It was a familiar sight.

“How was the meeting?” Mr. Shin asked, rolling a square pen across the desk. His eyes behind the monocle rapidly absorbed the information from the documents.

“…,”

“I conveyed Deputy Director Boo’s message as it was written. There were no unexpected reactions or peculiarities.”

Unable to answer due to being engrossed in reading, Rachel spoke on behalf of the silent Louis. It was a familiar occurrence. She neatly hung up the jacket Louis had thrown off.

“Smith must have been there too. Long time no see, right?”

“He still has no taste. People are too serious. No fun.”

“Come to think of it, you two used to growl at each other during your academy days.”

“Growl? He just used to glare at me.”

“Well, memories tend to distort.”

It was a common sight for Rachel, who often answered quickly, not only in response to the headache-inducing official matters. Similarly, it was a familiar sight for Rachel.

“I’ve organized the meeting minutes. Please take a look.”

“Thank you, Rachel.”

Rachel approached the deputy director sitting at the table and handed over the documents she had prepared throughout the meeting. Both of them maintained immaculate appearances, meticulously managed without a speck of dust. It was different from the director.

Christopher Maynard, Duke.

When Rachel first took on a senior position in the Information Bureau, she was surprised by two facts.

First, the fact that Duke Maynard, practically the head of the administration, also served as the deputy director of the Information Bureau.

Second, the fact that the author known as Director seemed to do no work at all, while the deputy director seemed to handle all the tasks alone.

At first, I was worried that the duke had too much power and whether the future of the empire would be okay. But now I am convinced that without the duke, the empire will not function. And the director still seemed to be not working as usual.

“Ah, I came back without even eating, and I’m hungry. Give me food, Chris.”

“…Unfortunately, there seems to be no food here.”

“But we can’t just wander outside, can we?”

“That’s right.”

They couldn’t stroll down Academy Street with the duke. It was awkward if they ran into a professor who had attended the meeting. The fact that Duke Mayner belonged to the Information Bureau was a secret.

“I guess I’ll have to ask Aesong to get us some sandwiches.”

“Come to think of it, where is Karl?”

Rachel remembered Karl Mayner, who had stayed in the safe house all night. He was a dark figure in the Information Bureau, but because he had become the son of a superior, she was unsure how to treat him. But it was still comfortable for her to call him “Karl.”

“Karl is in the underground training ground. He’s been up since dawn, training hard.”

“What?! Aesong is training?”

As soon as he entered, Louis, who had been lying on the sofa and couldn’t take his eyes off the illicit book, got up and shouted. It seemed that the news of Karl training was more interesting to Louis than the illicit book.

“What’s gotten into this kid all of a sudden?”

It was a calm but somewhat changed… no, very different morning in the Information Bureau.