Chapter 513

Episode 513. A… cademy? (5)

Three days after the strange verbal dispute between Rine and Penia ended, Alon Palatio formally began—

—Miss Arsena, could you move away a bit?

—Miss Colina, I repeat: I am still the fiancée.

Alon began formal—

—Mmm… but isn’t it planned for you to stop being so soon?

—That remains to be seen, don’t you think?

Alon…

He looked at Rine and Penia at his flanks. Both kept smiles on their lips, but their eyes were not laughing at all; they exchanged words with a strangely frigid aura. Alon, feeling that if he left them alone they would end up pulling each other’s hair at any moment, put on an expression of discomfort and subtly averted his gaze.

Turning his head, he met the students’ gazes. Although several days had passed, the pupils’ scrutiny did not waver. If anything had changed, it was the intention behind those eyes.

The female students seemed to find this love triangle extremely interesting, rather than looking at Alon with contempt. The male students, on the other hand, maintained expressions of absolute disbelief, as if wondering, “How the hell did this guy do it?”. In the end, the boys’ expressions hadn’t changed much from a few days ago.

‘To think this is an act…’.

Alon recalled the conclusion they reached last time while watching the two women glare at each other. They had decided that maintaining this ambiguous relationship for a while would be best, as both Rine and Penia had to accompany him during the two months of their stay at the academy. That is, neither could remain hidden while the other came to light.

That’s why they concluded that constantly appealing to this conflict of interest was the most viable path. That was supposed to be the plan, but…

—Hum, so you think that? It doesn’t matter. Everything is decided. In the end, only you will get hurt.

—I appreciate your concern for things that will never happen.

The atmosphere was so violent that Alon seriously doubted if they were actually acting. For a moment, Alon didn’t feel like Alon Palatio, but like Alon Taylor, his fictional identity. He shifted his gaze toward the courtyard during lunch.

Outside, he saw a handsome young man with jet-black hair walking: Deus. He had three female students clinging to him.

‘It seems he has adapted well’.

In reality, it was inevitable for Deus to adapt well. After all, he had the right face.

‘Appearance works anywhere… although it seems he has failed his mission to go unnoticed’.

Alon let out a mental sigh at Deus’s beauty which, despite holding the title of a noble from a humble northern family, drew all eyes. After observing Deus, Alon spotted a man with a ponytail on a distant bench: Evan.

Evan was alone, with an expression that screamed, “Ah, life is meaningless.” He even looked at Deus with a face of resentment. Of the whole group, Evan was the one best fulfilling the initial promise to “go unnoticed.”

Alon wore a complex expression. It didn’t seem like Evan was keeping that promise of his own free will.

A few more days passed. Alon’s group, who had naturally drawn closer by taking advantage of their common origin as nobles from the northern periphery, managed to fully reunite exactly one week after entry.

—Alon-nim.

—Tell me.

—I wish to resume my post as an escort knight.

—… Do you think that’s possible now?

—But it’s just that…!

Evan responded immediately as soon as they activated the communication artifact.

—This academy is not what I imagined!

—In what sense…?

—Nobody talks to me!

At Evan’s genuine lament, Penia, who was listening in silence, intervened with a frigid gaze.

—That is your own Karma, don’t you think?

—What did I do!?

—You said nonsense during the personal introduction. If someone drops bad jokes like “what happens if a sweet potato joins the army? It becomes a roasted (military) potato,” who is going to want to talk to you?

—Ah…

Alon looked at Evan, sighing involuntarily. He thought that, no matter how young he looked on the outside, the veteran soul could not be hidden.

—Was it really that weird? —Evan asked.

—Yes.

—Wasn’t it funny?

—… Are you asking seriously?

Penia let out a “wow…” and Rine averted her gaze. Seeing Evan get depressed, Alon picked up the thread of the conversation.

—… Rine, Penia.

—Yes?

—Mmm?

—… We are already inside, could you let go of me?

—Ah.

—Yes.

Alon freed his hands, which had been “sealed” by Penia and Rine respectively. Both let go of him with some shyness.

‘… I feel like the physical contact has increased a bit’.

Alon felt that, even if it was to fake the engagement, the frequency with which they clung to him had grown considerably. He let out a short sigh.

—First, as I communicated to you via code, it is a fact that there are traces of the Religion of War inside the academy.

—Then our objective is…

—Simple. Maintain our facade in the academy while we locate the ritual site and deal with them when it begins.

The plan was simple: find the ritual site and perform an armed intervention right at the start.

—… Wouldn’t it be better to finish them off before they start the ritual? —Evan asked.

Alon shook his head.

—I wish I could, but that wouldn’t be a definitive solution.

Even if they eliminated the apostles now, they would only be postponing the problem.

‘The apostles can only perform the ritual once’.

According to what he heard from The Wanderer, the apostles only had one chance. That meant that if they didn’t perform the ritual here, they would try it somewhere else.

‘I must let them start the ritual and then eliminate them’.

With that thought, Alon continued:

—Anyway, the crucial information is the location and the date. Has anyone discovered anything?

—… Nothing for me yet —Deus said.

—Me neither —Rine added.

—Same on my end —Penia concluded.

—… I see.

Alon nodded as if expecting it. He himself had scoured the academy from top to bottom during the last week, except for class hours. But the only thing he found was the initial trace of the Divine Blood on the first day.

—Mmm…

While Alon meditated, Evan, who had been quiet after his depression, spoke:

—Alon-nim. I have something.

—… Really?

—Yes. Although it might just be a rumor among students, it is said that a female student and a professor who is about to arrive are related to the Religion of War. The student’s name is Leila.

Alon stroked his chin.

—The professor is a separate issue… will you be able to get close to that student?

—Me?

—Well, you are in the same class, there shouldn’t be a problem…

—Understood.

—I will also try to get close just in case —Penia added—. I am also in her class.

Alon nodded at the proposals.

—Good, it’s not good for us to be gathered for a long time. For today, we withdraw. Everyone keep looking for the ritual site. You two try to establish a relationship with that suspicious student.

—Yes.

After the general nod, Alon headed to his dormitory.

‘Why would they want to perform the ritual in the academy?’

Sitting in his chair, he raised the doubt but shrugged his shoulders. He wouldn’t get the answer just by thinking, and he would probably discover it by stopping the ritual.

‘I hope Evan and Penia get some information’.

Alon closed his eyes with that thought.

Contanias was going through a period of stability. He felt quite good. If someone asked if he hadn’t been well since the Consecration Matrix was installed, the answer would be yes, but now his mood was even better. The problem with Alon that tormented him had been resolved. No matter how much he had progressed with his skills, the conflict with the Guardian Dragon caused by Alon caused him great stress.

However, after Alon’s visit, that friction had disappeared. Furthermore, knowing that Alon was not an ordinary human, he stopped feeling inferior. Alon’s simple visit had restored his inner peace.

In that state of tranquility, Contanias was in his office in front of a young woman. An unscheduled visit. A girl who appeared out of nowhere while he was working.

—Hello? —Yutia Bloodia greeted, smiling.

Contanias could not return the smile. On the contrary. He froze. At another time he would have been surprised, but he would have been able to speak. The reason for his current reaction was…

His “Eye.” The eye he had obtained and developed allowed him to “see” Yutia Bloodia.

Contanias’s hand, which a moment ago held the pen calmly, began to tremble violently. His eyes wavered as if they were seeing something forbidden. His heart froze, paralyzed by the impact. In that instant:

—Cough!

Contanias was miraculously able to breathe again. “That” which he saw in Yutia Bloodia disappeared as if it had never been there.

—Wow, I’m sorry. I knew you could see me, but I lacked consideration —Yutia Bloodia said with total naturalness.

Contanias, still trembling, managed to formulate a question:

—Mmm… what brings you here…?

At his words, Yutia Bloodia replied smiling:

—Ah, I’ve come to ask you a favor.

—… A favor?

—Yes. I need an identity.

Yutia Bloodia widened her smile and declared:

—An identity that is very close to that of Alon Taylor.