Episode 148. Special Class at Dawn (2)
I didn’t waste much time searching through my memories of the blacksmith. No one came to mind right away, but there was no rush. The making of the detection tool was something I could do slowly.
From now on, there was something else that had to be set up.
‘I guess I’ll stop by the dorm first… and then go there.’
After leaving Enzo’s secret space, Rubin returned to his room.
In fact, it was the first time I had returned in two weeks. It was the first time since the surprise test of the Jang Education Committee was held at dawn.
Pipipiping.
The door was unlocked, and as soon as he entered, a key bug flew in and landed on Rubin. Outside the window, a mint-eyed pigeon was perched on a tree, cooing and tapping on the branches.
A weekday morning. Since classes were in full swing, the dormitory was empty without any students.
During times like now when there are no cadets, the animals of the Srehim dormitory would leisurely enjoy napping in the shade of the hallway.
With strides.
At that moment, footsteps began to be heard. Through the darkness, I could sense that Chief Srehim was approaching from far down the hallway with a wolf.
Squeak.
“You’re here, Cadet Luden.”
“Hello, principal.”
“The principal said that you would be back today unless there were any other suspicions. I guess nothing happened. How have you been?”
“I had a comfortable stay. I felt a little empty without the warden’s animals.”
“Nursery… Did you check the room? You should take a good look. Your roommate comes and goes often.”
“I thought it was a bit dirty.”
Srehim chuckled, seeming to like the answer.
“You don’t have to go to class today. You can just rest in your dorm room.”
However, Rubin was about to leave the dormitory. He just had to tell the dormitory supervisor where he was going.
“Sir, can I go out for a moment? I have some business to take care of in Professor Kaizen’s lab.”
“Professor Kaizen? Why are you there?”
“I am Professor Kaizen’s teaching assistant. I have some questions about the classes I have taken.”
“Well, if that’s the reason, then I’ll definitely allow it.”
It was a valid reason, but on the other hand, it felt like he had become much more lenient than before. It was almost believable that he was a completely different person than at the beginning of the semester.
‘It’s because of the results of the Jang Education Committee’s selection test.’
Although he was a blood relative, Srehim had a deep affection for Capotini. He seemed to have developed a liking for Rubin because he thought he had brought honor to the school in the Jang Education Committee selection exam.
“Come to think of it, Professor Kaizen seems to have been secretly looking for you. Every time we met at the restaurant, he would ask if you were back and when you would be back. I don’t think he’s the type to do that… … .”
Rubin answered with a polite smile and left the dormitory.
Rubin knows the answer. It was curiosity born of fear that led Gaizen to seek out himself. It was a kind of rebellion, a desire to keep looking as much as he was afraid.
Rubin knew that the fear and suggestive magic potion caused by the ‘Black Leaf’ had deeply ingrained itself in him without his own memory. Now, it would be difficult to even look at Rubin.
furthermore.
‘You must be suspecting me of Perla.’
It must have been one of the hints Rubin had made.
‘I need to provoke him a bit more and get Kaizen to involve Rosenthaler.’
There needed to be a situation where Rosenthaler would attack himself, but he would have to mistake the assassin for someone other than Rubin and attack him.
Only then will we be able to gauge Rosenthaler’s level.
In front of Kaizen’s laboratory.
He felt Kaizen’s presence beyond the door. Rubin opened the door without hesitation.
“Hello, Professor, this is Luden Poinen.”
Kaizen’s eyebrows twitched at the rude sight of opening the door without even knocking.
If it were the original him, he would never have tolerated it and would have been furious, but as soon as he confirmed that the other person was Rubin, he froze.
“… … .”
“I’m curious as to how I can help you as a teaching assistant in your class.”
“… Did the Magic Brigade’s investigation go well?”
“Yes, I was investigated safely and found to be fine. I just got back to school.”
Kaizen looked at Rubin, who was sitting across from him at the desk, with a calm expression. He didn’t want to do it, but he was also hesitant to let him go.
“There were two classes regarding the Magical Elementary School while you were away, but if you just look at the textbook carefully, you’ll be able to follow along.”
“I see. Well, I have something to tell you. It occurred to me while I was being investigated, and I think it’s a good idea.”
“… Do you think that’s okay?”
Rubin stared straight at Kaizen with his eyes sparkling. He watched Kaizen avoid his gaze like a weak animal facing its natural enemy.
“I don’t know if I can make suggestions about class progress as a teaching assistant.”
“… you can do that.”
“The place where I was investigated was a small village outside of Capotini. I could walk around the lake there every day, and I often saw the maggots.”
“Ma-nuclear herb?”
Since it was near Capotini, where huge mana stones were buried, many of the plants had the properties of mana plants.
“There were a lot of simple dandelions, but I think there were some pretty unique dandelions in the forest beyond the lake. I even saw a plant with two stems.”
“… If the original form of the plant is unique, then we can try more diverse methods when using it as a magic herb.”
The root was a magical plant that determined the type of magic, the stem determined the strength of the magic, and the leaves determined the timing of the magic’s manifestation.
Any plant affected by mana stone becomes a magic herb, but the quality of the magic herb varies depending on the original form and nature of the plant.
“So, what’s this good idea?”
“I think it would be good to have a class where we can see various types of magic herbs outside, in addition to the ones we see at school. A kind of outdoor class.”
“Outdoor class… So, you mean the class where we go to find the magic core?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Kaizen stroked his long, gray hair out of habit, without even realizing that he was repeating the motion unconsciously.
In fact, the outdoor class was the first thing that Kaizen planned. He was on a mission to find and eliminate Per. He had originally planned to create such a situation outside the school.
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‘When did I mention this plan in class?’
Of course, he never said anything. It wasn’t during class that Kaizen mentioned this plan, but on the day he surrendered to Rubin’s ‘black leaf’. But now, he had forgotten that such a thing had ever happened.
Rubin continued his explanation with a calm expression.
“It doesn’t have to be anywhere near what I mentioned. I just want to find various magical plants myself. If you have a place in mind, anywhere is fine.”
Unfold the plan you made, and come up with new measures to catch me. I will control everything anyway.
A polite smile appeared on Rubin’s face as he looked at Kaizen. It was as if he already knew what Kaizen’s answer would be.
“… Not a bad idea. Let’s take a look at it.”
“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”
When Rubin got up from his seat, Kaizen also got up. He even opened the door himself, hoping that he would leave quickly. For some reason, it was pitiful to see him constantly wiping away the sweat that was dripping down.
thud.
Rubin left the lab and headed straight to the dormitory.
“… … .”
Now a new round has begun.
Everything was going according to plan.
This time the target is Rosenthaler.
‘Maybe this will be the aftermath that kills Kaizen.’
Although such a situation was expected, the life or death of Kaizen was not a matter of consideration for Rubin.
‘There are about two hours left until class ends today.’
Rubin returned to his room across the dormitory hallway that was still occupied by Rubin alone, and fell down on his bed.
At that moment, a bell rang.
-Rubin, are you back?
A pigeon on the windowsill.
It was Tina.
-You may come in. It’s nap time for the Srehim animals right now.
-I like it here. The wind is nice too.
Tina’s voice in the telegram was full of leisure. After all, now that Rubin was back, Tina’s workload would be greatly reduced.
-I’ll finally feel a little better. I don’t have to feed Enzo every meal.
-Well, it’s going to get harder from tomorrow.
At those words, Tina’s beak turned around. She glared at him fiercely and tapped the glass, but Rubin did not raise his body from his lying position.
-I have to keep an eye on Kaizen for a while.
-Kaizen? Surveillance? Why again!
-Rosenthaler could approach Gaizen, but in a different way than before.
Rosenthaler and Geisen.
I thought back to how the two had met earlier.
‘Rosenthaler didn’t show up at that time. All he could do was hand over the magic stone with the video recording on it.’
That day, Rubin was hiding in Kaizen’s house and saw the orders that the Imperial Command gave to Kaizen while keeping their identities hidden.
‘The character on the screen… A man whose face is not revealed.’
He wasn’t Rosenthaler, and only recently did Rubin figure out who the man on the screen was.
-That guy was Hitan back then?
-There was an identical 4th grade magic stone in the export list confirmed at the base warehouse. The scene recorded was also a 4th grade magic stone.
furthermore.
I was able to confirm this after seeing Hitan in the warden’s office just before overthrowing the ‘Valley Prison’.
-Tina, do you know what happened that day when I was taking the exam?
-Hittan, he’s dead.
During the two weeks I spent in the interrogation room of the Magic Brigade, the base warehouse sent me information about the aftermath of the ‘Valley Prison’.
Since all rumors about the incident were completely suppressed from the beginning, there were few people in the world who were aware of the actual prison break.
Even the few people who knew the truth thought that Director Hitan had simply taken his own life.
Of course, that wasn’t the truth.
-Hittan didn’t commit suicide. It wasn’t the work of an assassin.
If we were to limit ourselves to assassins in the vicinity, the only person capable of killing an Imperial Agent of the caliber of Hitan was the Greaser family.
However, he did not receive the emperor’s order. This means that the imperial edict directly executed Hitan.
Moreover, according to the Greas’s intelligence, Rosenthaler was seen passing through the main gate of the ‘Canyon Prison’ that day.
-Up until now, it was probably Hitan who led the operation against Per. Rosenthaler was just supporting. But now that Hitan has been killed, it is more likely that Rosenthaler will be leading the operation.
Changes in the internal structure of the imperial edict.
-Then what does it mean that Rosenthaler will meet Gaizen?
– Since we lost Enzo, the imperial edict is back to its original state. The only thing we have is the information that Perga is a student at the magic school. Now they will put pressure on Kaizen.
Gaizen, the internal helper within the magic school. Was it Hitan’s idea to use the magic professor? Or was it Rosenthaler’s idea?
Rubin wasn’t sure about that either, but the Rosenthaler he encountered wasn’t the type to prefer complex or ingenious numbers.
If Kaizen is Hitan’s work.
As with Hitan, there was a high probability that Gaizen would also be eliminated by Rosenthaler.
-But, Rubin, there’s one thing I’m worried about.
-What is it?
-Right now, Kaizen, you’re thinking that you might be Peril, right?
Before she knew it, Tina had entered the room. She flapped her dove wings and landed on Rubin’s desk.
-But what if he tells Rosenthaler your name? Rosenthaler will say that you can never be Peril. Then your plan will go awry.
It was a fair point. Rubin’s intention was to get Rosenthaler to mistake him for Per, and start a fight.
But if Tina’s words are true, Rosenthaler would have distrusted Kaizen, but he would not have considered Rubin a traitor and picked a fight with him.
But Rubin was firm.
-It’s okay. Gaizen can never tell Rosenthaler. I’ll make it so.
On that point, I was sure. Tina, who had tilted her head for a moment, nodded as if she had realized it belatedly.
-I see. You, you’ve set a hint, right? So that you can’t say your name.
Rubin nodded. Of course, it was partly because he had used the suggestion potion as Tina had said, but there was another reason for his confidence.
Just because he was a Kaizen, it couldn’t be good for him to be harassed by the Imperial Order. He didn’t even know the identity of the organization that was blackmailing and manipulating him.
Gaizen, who looked into his inner self through the ‘Black Leaf’, was a man full of desire for survival and success. It is unlikely that he would blindly reveal the information he held in his hands.
Rather, Kaizen will use his information strategically, knowing that the moment the Imperial Command confirms Per’s identity, his own utility will also decrease.
– Of course, things might not go as I want. To prepare for that, you need to observe Kaizen. Even if things go wrong, you need to come up with the next strategy.
-Tch, I thought I’d have some free time now.
Far from becoming more relaxed, I ended up becoming more tired, as Rubin said.
-Actually, the surest way is to spy on Rosenthaler. Do you want to do that?
Spying on the real power of the Imperial Order? No matter what anyone said, it was obvious that it would be much safer to spy on the magic professor. Tina shook her head vigorously.
at that time.
“Hey, hey! Look who’s here! I’m going!”
Tina whispered and climbed back onto the windowsill. Rubin also got up from his bed, watching Tina fly over the tree branches outside the window.
