Chapter 518

C518

Alon watched Rine with a vacant stare. Her attitude was no different than usual. She maintained that soft smile on her lips, and her gaze overflowed with confidence instead of bewilderment as she waited for his answer.

After contemplating Rine for a moment, Alon reached a conclusion.

‘It’s an act.’

Upon reaching that thought, he nodded slightly to himself. Thinking about it, Alon and Rine were currently engaged according to their background. Even if it was a relationship destined to break, they were technically still in that state, so such a gesture wasn’t entirely strange.

However, just as Alon meditated on whether this was going too far all at once and if he should also reciprocate in some way, he shifted his gaze to the side.

—… Eh?

He realized that Rine had disappeared from his side. Or rather, seeing her out of the corner of his eye and turning his head, he found her standing there with the same frozen smile. It was then that Alon noticed her ears.

That area, which until a moment ago only showed a slight blush, was now dyed a red so intense it was clearly visible to the naked eye. As soon as Rine noticed Alon looking at her, she raised both hands to cover her face and…

Puff!

She squatted down, hiding her face. Alon was baffled by the image of Rine, who had taken the initiative only to end up in a groggy state all by herself, but he spoke to her cautiously:

—… Rine?

—… Yes.

Rine replied with an extremely hushed voice.

—… Do you feel unwell?

—No… It’s just that I have something to think about…

“A person who thinks while squatting with their face covered…” Alon reflected briefly. While he wondered what to do:

—Alon!

—… Penia.

He greeted Penia, calling her by her false name as she ran toward them from a distance. Alon received her with a smile, but noticing she had a strangely terrifying look and discovered Rine:

—Go on ahead, I left something in the dormitory!

With those words, Rine turned around while still squatting and shot off toward the dorms. She disappeared like the wind. While Alon looked on in astonishment:

—Well, shall we go, Alon?

Penia naturally took Alon‘s arm, and he replied:

—Ah, yes. Let’s go.

They headed to the academy together.

Immediately after finishing the day’s classes, Alon met with Penia and Rine in an empty classroom on the fifth floor at the summons of Yutia Bloodia. In reality, more than a classroom, it was a deserted space containing only a few desks, chairs, and a chalkboard covering an entire wall.

Alon glanced sideways at Rine. Unlike this morning, she had regained her composure. Although he still didn’t understand why she had collapsed after acting, Alon felt relieved to see her calm.

Creak!

Deus and Evan opened the door and entered.

—I’m here.

—Me too… Wow, she really is here.

Evan was surprised to see Yutia, who entered greeting them calmly alongside Deus. Alon remembered mentioning to him at noon that Yutia had infiltrated. She gave them a small smile and spoke:

—From now on, I think we can meet in this place.

—Have you created a club?

—Yes, it’s called the “Northern Alliance.”

—Northern Alliance?

—Yes, I set it up as a club that only northern nobles can belong to.

—… Are clubs with those kinds of factions allowed? —Alon asked, tilting his head.

—Yes, I obtained permission without much difficulty. It’s temporary, of course.

—Temporary?

—Yes. If I had made it a magic club, they would have given definitive permission immediately, but these types of associations carry the “provisional” label. Though it doesn’t matter to us.

Alon nodded. She was right. After all, the time he and his group would spend at the academy would not exceed the duration of the festival.

‘Less than two months until the festival…’

As Alon nodded, Yutia Bloodia continued:

—Well, let’s organize the situation in broad strokes.

She re-explained what she had told Alon, Penia, and Rine yesterday.

—… So, the incident will break out during the festival. We must discover where the ritual will take place before 그 date and stop the Apostles when it begins, right? —Evan summarized.

—Exactly.

At Yutia Bloodia‘s affirmation, Penia added:

—Hmm… there’s a month left, so we’ll have to search the academy from top to bottom like we’re looking for fleas.

—That’s right. But we can’t all walk together; it’s best to disperse.

—I agree. We would draw too much attention if an entire group of friends moved in a block every day —Deus concurred.

—Hmm… then do we divide into pairs? —Evan proposed.

—In pairs?

—Yes. Everyone walking together is weird, but two people strolling won’t raise suspicions. We can rotate partners every day. Besides —Evan added—, although one could go alone, it would be difficult to react if an unexpected danger arose.

—It’s not a bad idea. It won’t look forced —Penia nodded.

—Fine by me.

—I also accept.

—Seems right to me.

Hearing the group’s consensus, Alon concluded:

—… Well, let’s plan the rotation from now on.

After some time organizing shifts:

—I think this will work well.

—True.

They had defined the rotation for the pair patrols.

—Hmm, then is it my turn with Alon-nim? —Penia asked.

Alon nodded.

—That’s right.

—I’ll go with Rine. Since I’m a magic professor, it won’t look strange for us to be together.

—The two of us won’t have problems either, right? —Evan said, looking at Deus.

—True.

After listening to Yutia Bloodia, Evan, and Deus, Evan raised an additional doubt:

—But, what exactly should we look for to know if it’s the ritual site? Since there’s still time, they might have chosen the site but haven’t started physical preparations yet.

Yutia Bloodia replied confidently:

—Don’t worry about that. They have surely started preparations already.

—… They’re ready already?

—Yes. Being a large-scale ritual, there must be traces of some kind. Although we’ll have to observe carefully to identify what type of vestiges they are.

Alon nodded at Yutia‘s words.

—Just as Yutia says. If they weren’t preparing the ritual, there would be no traces to detect.

—Hum… then starting tomorrow we will search in detail.

With Evan‘s words, the meeting concluded. The group formally began the search for the ritual site of the Throne of War.

—Then, I’m counting on you tomorrow.

—… Penia?

—Ah! Yes?

—… What are you thinking about so much?

—Ah, no! It’s nothing, hahaha…

Penia dodged Alon‘s question with a nervous laugh.

—Tomorrow… I’m counting on you…!

—? … Well, alright.

She spoke with a hardened expression, as if she had made a great determination.

“Anyway, that’s why Tina… ah, I have to go now. I have things to do in the dormitory.”

“Ah, yes? I see… go carefully.”

“Yes, see you.”

A man with a timid expression said goodbye to another who spoke energetically. The first was Bizantana Baron, a third-year student in the magic department of the Imperial Academy and the second son of the House of Duke Bizantana. He was an average student with nothing remarkable. His grades were in the medium-low range, and since the succession of the dukedom was already decided for the firstborn, his power and authority were scarce. Furthermore, his personality was withdrawn, so his social circle was minuscule. You could practically count the people he spoke to on the fingers of one hand.

However, precisely because of that, Bizantana Baron attracted the attention of the apostles of war who needed to infiltrate the academy. And now that he was in his third year, Baron was no longer the same as before. His grades were still low, his social circle just as small, and his appearance identical. But he was no longer himself: he was one of the infiltrated apostles of the Throne of War.

—Fuu.

After saying goodbye to his only friend, Baron’s timid expression gradually transformed into one of total indifference. No trace of his shyness remained. He stepped into some discrete bushes and headed toward the commercial area. He had a mission: to watch someone.

Upon reaching the commercial area, he saw a crowd of students, but his objective was someone else.

‘… There she is.’

It was a woman standing in front of the clock tower, the most remote and lonely point of the commercial area. The young lady of the Count Colina family.

‘Colina Penia.’

The reason he, as an apostle, watched her was due to suspicion. It wasn’t an external suspicion; after investigating her family, they found no anomalies. However, her behavior within the academy was strange. She always walked alone after classes, exploring unusual places that other students ignored.

‘… As if she were looking for traces of the Throne of War.’

After noticing her suspicious attitude, he realized that the other nobles arriving from the north with her acted in a similar way.

‘If they really are types sent to interfere with the ritual, as Number 1 said…’

He planned to obtain solid proof to eliminate them. Honestly, he felt like finishing them off just on suspicion, but he couldn’t. If he caused a minor incident that ruined the “Great Plan” and caused the delay or cancellation of the festival… he couldn’t risk ruining everything for a small matter.

He had to avoid causing problems before the Great Plan, so he limited himself to observing Penia, who was nervously adjusting her uniform.

—!

He saw a man approaching from the other side.

‘… It’s Taylor Alon.’

He immediately recognized Penia‘s fiancé, who also behaved suspiciously. Baron smiled, thinking it was the perfect opportunity. If they were infiltrators faking a relationship, they would surely stop acting in a lonely place like that.

‘I’ll be able to confirm it easily.’

He watched Penia with a marked smile, but shortly after… his expression turned to bewilderment.

Certainly… the attitude of both —or at least Penia‘s—… did not seem like an act. It was too real.

He watched Penia and Alon pass in front of the clock tower. He couldn’t use mana to listen to their voices as a precaution, but Penia, although trying to hide it, glanced at Alon with an evident blush. Her left hand toyed nervously, approaching Alon‘s hand and repeatedly retreating. Her face reflected agony, determination, and doubt.

… To anyone who saw her, she was the living image of a girl in love.

—… Have I been mistaken? —Baron muttered.

His conviction was beginning to waver.