◈ Episode 23 The Hunter in the Clockwork City (2)
‘Write. uh huh Seriously, I could have been accused of being a suspicious person and almost got caught.’
Hans, carrying Ludger’s suit case, walked slowly down the dark alley, avoiding the eyes of the police who suddenly came to the scene.
It was today that he had arrived here, but Hans had already put the map of Ledervelk in his head, so he didn’t get lost.
‘Rather than that, I’m going to catch a werewolf. When are you going to come back?’
While he was thinking that, something dropped in the air in front of Hans.
It was a huge wolf’s head that rolled down to his feet.
Hee!
Hans shook his shoulders and pursed his lips, desperately holding back the scream that was about to leak out.
“Are you surprised?”
Rudger slowly walked out of the darkness of the opposite alley.
Shoes and leather pants. A white shirt and a brown leather vest were worn over it. In addition to the dark long coat worn outside, even the hat worn on the head.
A look that exudes a sense of intimidation that would have made you slump in your seat if you hadn’t known it.
Hans shouted with trembling lips.
“Damn it! older brother! When you show up, say something and show up! You almost dropped your bag!”
“I wish I hadn’t.”
“Oh Mr. Rather, is this the werewolf? Well, I’m not ignoring my older brother’s skills, but I think I managed to catch this terrifying guy in that situation.”
After checking the head of the dead werewolf with his tongue out, Hans trembled and passed the black suitcase to Rudger.
Receiving it, Rudger turned his back and took the lead.
Hans also followed after Ludger.
“Can I leave that hair as it is?”
“okay. do not need anymore.”
“No, then why did you bring it?”
“I want you to be surprised.”
“… … Do you still have in mind what I was trying to do to you in the alley earlier?”
When Rudger was silent, Hans sighed and raised his hands.
“Okay. i lost I lost, so let’s not do that again.”
“I see you doing it.”
After leaving the alley like that, the two of them came out to a street where there were people who could see some passers-by.
“So what was the identity of that werewolf just then? Are you really a cryptid?”
“no. It was an artificially created test subject.”
“A test subject? I’ll turn As long as I’m in this city, I’ll have to pamper myself. It means that the people who made it are here.”
“I have something to tell you about that.”
“What to say? I’m suddenly very anxious right now, is it okay not to listen?”
“… … .”
“Ah, okay! Say something.”
“I need to move forward a bit what I originally planned.”
“The original plan? no way… … .”
“I think it’s better here than in the capital.”
Rudger tossed two of his pockets at Hans.
Hans took it and checked the contents, one full of gold coins and the other a neutralizer for his beastization.
“older brother. This… … ?”
“Shouldn’t we also settle down soon?”
“Is that this Leather Velk? In this place, where you met Seorn, and where the secret society, the Black Dawn, might be located? Even in a big city, there are gangs in the back alleys?”
“okay.”
“I’ll turn.”
“You have plenty of money, so try hard.”
“What about your brother?”
“First of all, I am an academy teacher, so I can’t make hasty moves. The president is still suspicious of me.”
“So you want me to do this all by myself?”
Rudger shook his head.
“I am not saying to do everything. It is to gather important information first. Who are the gangs in this city, where is the mafia, how the back alley world works. And how can I get a seat there? Just find out and tell me.”
then i will go
Hans, who understood what Ludger said behind his back, gulped down his saliva, then smiled and nodded.
“cancer. That is my specialty again.”
* * *
Returning to the academy dormitory, I unpacked all my belongings into the dorm.
I’ve left Hans alone with information gathering for now, but he’ll be fine.
It looks unreliable, but the ability to gather information is unmatched by others.
It’s not that I didn’t take it often.
‘I’ll have to develop my own power in preparation for an unexpected situation.’
I couldn’t move right away, so I decided to just prepare.
Unless the chancellor is still suspicious of me, and we’re not sure exactly what the secret society, the Black Dawn, is up to.
Moving hastily is rather poisonous.
After briefly organizing my luggage, I sat down on the soft sofa and reviewed the events of the day.
‘That werewolf. It was a test subject intentionally created by someone other than a pure cryptid.’
The presence of werewolves is not surprising.
Monsters also existed in this world, and now they have been driven beyond the shadow barrier, which can be said to be outside the continent, but traces of them still remain.
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Cryptid is a prime example of this.
Those who are a sub-species of monsters are now more like urban legends or ghost stories that appeared due to abnormal occurrences of magical power rather than being called monsters.
The werewolf I caught this time is also a type of cryptid, but to be precise, this is just a fake.
‘Since ancient times, experiments and magic to create werewolves have been known to exist.’
There is a cursed potion made by adding various herbs to water with wolf footprints and mixing wolf fur.
A transformation potion that even an ordinary human can transform into a beast if they drink it.
Of course, this is black magic.
Black magic is banned at the national level, so anyone caught is punished by death regardless of the reason.
It hardly wanders in the afterlife.
‘But to openly create such a werewolf? Seeing that it even has a mark as a test subject, I don’t think it’s at the level where a fair amount of power touched it.’
If you look at the leash, did you capture a wild wolf and mix it with human factors?
The sign of the restraints, and other traces of various experiments engraved on the werewolf’s corpse.
It was clearly the result of science.
The potion that corrupts humans and transforms them into beasts is now the exclusive property of black magicians who have almost disappeared.
That science intervened in it.
‘That someone deliberately urged it.’
If so, who is it?
Ordinary space is not enough to make such a test subject secret.
It requires a fairly large laboratory, and even out of public view.
Space, stealth, and whether or not to experiment.
Considering all of that, it makes sense that a big hand with a huge financial line is involved in this project.
aristocrats, or millionaires.
‘There seems to be someone rich enough to be suspicious inside the empire.’
I shook my head.
I don’t know who has any doubts, and once we’ve killed the werewolf and collected his serum, we won’t have to worry about this any more.
It’s a long-awaited weekend, but I don’t want to get involved in trouble anymore, and tomorrow is Sunday, so let’s get some rest.
‘Rather than that, I have to prepare for the next class again.’
There are so many things to deal with in many ways that my head hurts.
* * *
Monday morning marks the beginning of a new week after a peaceful Sunday.
After breakfast with simple toast and coffee, I went to work in my private office in the main building.
Class is tomorrow, but first of all, since she is a new teacher, she has to show herself to work.
Because that’s social life.
After sitting at the desk in the office, I opened today’s newspaper that I had brought from the dorm.
It was a simple task to check what happened to Laedervelk and Ceorn.
however.
‘… … What is this?’
Just this morning, on the front page of the warm identity, there was a headline embedded in it.
[An unidentified killer who appeared in Laedervelk. Still riding!]
-Last Sunday, 5 additional deaths were reported in Ledervelk. This brings the total death toll to over 10. The identity of the culprit is yet to be ascertained, but eyewitnesses say it is a hideous beast with black fur. The police announced that he was just a maniac killer and would be arrested soon, but citizens are still trembling with anxiety.
‘What is this?’
I read and re-read the article on the front page of the newspaper.
No matter how you look at it, this was the case of the werewolf I killed last Saturday.
However, the newspaper said the death came out on Sunday.
That’s a whopping 5 people.
‘At that time, I definitely killed him. Does that mean there wasn’t just one new victim?’
It was the moment when I felt that things were going strangely.
Beep! Beep!
The translucent crystal ball placed on the work table began to flicker with a strange sound.
i know what this is
‘The president is calling.’
To be precise, it is a kind of signal artifact to gather teachers.
It sounded like there was something to discuss.
‘I must go.’
I got up and put on the coat I had put on the hanger.
Suddenly, I remembered what Miss Selina said during dinner last Friday.
Did you say there are testimonies from students that they witnessed werewolves inside the academy as well?
‘Victims of Laedervelk, even eyewitness accounts within the academy.’
Even if you exclude the one I hunted, there might be at least two more werewolves.
maybe even more
I put away such anxious thoughts and headed to the conference room where the teachers were gathering.
buzz buzz.
The conference hall, located on the upper floor of the main building, was full of teachers.
Each of them has certain skills in the field they teach.
As I entered, people’s eyes were drawn to me.
Most of the eyes were filled with curiosity, but I know that it was not about me, but about the source code I invented.
‘Miss Rudger! Here it is!’
In that corner, I saw the familiar pink hair swaying.
I noticed Miss Selina waving in this direction and headed that way.
‘Is that person Ludgar Celish?’
‘I heard that he invented some pretty amazing magic, is that true?’
‘They say he’s from a fallen aristocracy, but he’s good at setting the mood.’
Among some of the teachers, there were quite a few people who looked at me hostilely as I was from a fallen aristocracy.
Their hostility and jealous gaze was quite stinging, but I just ignored it lightly.
As I sat down in the empty seat next to Miss Selina, she greeted me.
“Did you have a good weekend?”
“I had a good rest. Selina-sensei, did you rest well?”
“yes. I also feel like I’ve had a good rest after a long time. Did you hear the news?”
“Are you saying we’re here this time?”
“Last night, two first-year students were attacked by an assailant and were seriously injured.”
After listening to Selina’s explanation, the situation was like this.
last night.
It is said that two first year students who went out of the academy and returned to the dormitory were attacked inside Seorn.
It was not life-threatening, but it was a serious injury, and it was a great shock that this happened even inside Ceoorn.
And one of the students who just woke up this morning said.
It is said that a terrible beast attacked him.
“The rumors of werewolves that have been circulating since last week must have been true. It is said that there are also victims in the nearby city of Ledervelk.”
“okay.”
It is difficult to dismiss it as simply seeing an empty thing, and it is said that the wounds on the victim’s body look as if they were scratched by a beast.
That’s probably why we gathered all the teachers this time.
First of all, it was a contract that the teachers of Seorn had to work with all their might in case of emergency.
That would mean that it would be difficult to calm the situation with only internal guards and employees.
‘If the opponent is a werewolf, it would be much better to send elite teachers rather than pouring useless manpower into it.’
Being a teacher in Seorn doesn’t just teach students normally.
At the point of teaching the students of Seorn, which has a high reputation, the skills of the teachers are guaranteed to some extent.
“The president is coming.”
When a woman in her mid-fifties with wrinkles on her face spoke, the teachers who were talking among themselves all quieted down.
I was looking to see who it was, but Selina explained it next to me.
“This is Miss Marie Ross. She’s been at the three right for over 20 years. Her field of teaching is pharmacy.”
“okay.”
More than 20 years in this seorn? That is to say that it has great abilities.
As she steps in and sorts out the situation, all the other teachers are silent.
“The president is coming.”
Soon the door opened and the principal entered.
She was beautiful at all times. Along with the enchanting golden eyes, the white and light pink two-tone hair naturally catches people’s attention.
“Good morning everyone. The reason I called you so urgently today is because I have something to announce to you all.”
The president went straight to the main point without wasting time.
All the teachers gathered in the conference room perked up their ears.
“Recently, they say that an assailant appeared inside Seorn. In fact, last night, two freshmen who entered this year were attacked and seriously injured.”
“Who is the culprit?”
“It has not been revealed yet. However, according to eyewitnesses, it was said that it was the work of werewolves, or cryptids.”
When the rumored werewolf was mentioned, there was a stir among the teachers.
“It can’t be. President. Aren’t you mistaken? This Ceorn is a cryptid.”
It was a greedy middle-aged man in his mid-fifties who stood up so blatantly.
His greasy, dull blond hair was neatly parted in a two-to-eight ratio and he grew a mustache, a face full of grumpy contemplation.
It feels like seeing a kkondae chief that every school has at least one.
However, when he appeared, the atmosphere in the meeting room strangely changed.
“Anything you want to say? Mr. Hugo Brutegue?”
“This is Seorn. It is protected by the Exilion Empire. To say that Seorn was a werewolf, I wonder if the students made some kind of misunderstanding by believing only in ghost stories.”
“Miss Hugo. You don’t know what, didn’t I just say there were two victims?”
“I know. Even the victims were both children of noble families. That’s why I don’t think it’s more of a werewolf.”
Hugo Burtegg took a quick glance at the audience.
“I think the culprit this time is a student of the same Seorn. It is also a commoner.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Otherwise, out of so many students, only the sons of nobles could not have been hurt. There was a werewolf attack in Seorn? Rather than saying that, it is much more credible that some students deliberately pretended to be werewolves and staged the incident.”
The words certainly had plausible persuasiveness, but I couldn’t help but feel a visceral displeasure at Hugo’s words.
okay. That is not purely questioning the situation.
It’s just trying to catch the president’s words and blame certain students for this incident.
Glancing at the atmosphere, I nodded inwardly.
‘ah. I get it roughly.’
As long as Seorn is also an organization, it is inevitable that factions exist within it.
The students are divided into commoners and aristocrats, so it would be shocking to say that they are teachers.
The reality is that there is a subtle current flowing between teachers from commoners and teachers from aristocrats.
Chris Vennimore, the new teacher who came in with me this time, also refused to eat, talking about fallen aristocrats.
‘I thought the Black Dawn would be at a disadvantage, but it doesn’t seem to be the case again.’
Wouldn’t he have known if Hugo was messing around like that by himself? The problem is that there are quite a few people who subtly sympathize with his opinion.
Teachers from some kind of aristocracy are united and a faction is formed.
And that faction didn’t seem to get along very well with the president’s faction.
It’s a situation of infighting when it’s not enough even if we join forces.
As I wondered if this was the case with Ceorn, a small insect crawled up the wall and landed on my shoulder.
The moment I wanted something to bounce it off with my hand, I had no choice but to stop.
It wasn’t a bug. It was a small, thin piece of paper in the shape of an insect.
Fortunately, others haven’t noticed yet.
I held it casually and checked the contents without being noticed by others.
It was fortunate that most teachers’ attention was focused on the war of nerves between the president and Hugo.
“… … .”
After confirming the contents, I pressed my finger on my throbbing forehead.
“Three test subjects escaped. Immediate capture required. If not, remove it.」
I know at once who sent this message and who is behind the creation of this werewolf.
But the most important thing was the last sentence.
“If the material for the test subject is stolen, there is a risk that this person’s identity will be revealed.”
Oh my god
Why are you giving me such an ordeal?
