Chapter 285

Chapter 285 – Please Take Care of Me Today Too

To begin, I quietly analyzed the unfolding scenario.

Damian was smiling widely, his arm looped companionably over Obern’s shoulders, while Obern looked completely drained of color.

“……Are you shaking him down?”

It was hard to picture Damian engaging in such behavior, but the sight before me offered no alternative explanation.

Right at that moment, Obern flinched in fright and began waving his arms frantically in denial.

“N-No, it isn’t what it looks like.”

“It’s not?”

“Correct, Senior Damian merely…….”

Merely?

The hesitant way he cut himself off only added to the dubiousness of the situation.

Furthermore, he kept stealing nervous glances at Damian as he spoke.

……Hold on.

I paused to contemplate the best approach to handle this.

Hypothetically, if Damian truly was extorting Obern, whose part should I take?

‘The young heir of the Blandoga Family being blackmailed by the Archduke’s disciple…….’

Looking at their lineages, both held immense social weight.

It was a truly perplexing conundrum, but thankfully, the reality didn’t seem as bleak as my initial assumptions.

“Senior Damian actually came to my rescue.”

“Damian? He rescued you?”

“Well, the story goes like this…….”

As Obern explained it, the events transpired in this manner.

He had left the academy grounds to handle a few errands and crossed paths with some ruffians in the streets.

And after that……

“I saved him!”

“……You did?”

“Yep, they looked like bad news, so I just gave them a fierce look. Then they bolted.”

I fixed my eyes on Damian for a moment.

Damian was beaming with immense pride, puffing his chest out as if he had just accomplished a legendary feat.

A sudden curiosity struck me.

“What took you outside the academy gates in the first place?”

“……Huh?”

“What?”

“Well, you see…….”

His boastful posture instantly collapsed as his eyes darted around guiltily. It didn’t take long before he finally managed an excuse.

“That’s a secret.”

“Oh, a secret, is it?”

“Yes. Everyone keeps a private matter or two from others. Since I respect what my companion keeps private, he ought to respect mine in return.”

……Look at this guy.

I could only blink at Damian, who had suddenly become incredibly silver-tongued.

Observing him closely, it seemed that whenever a topic became disadvantageous to him, he would alternate between being bafflingly dense or strangely brilliant……

Whatever, it didn’t matter.

That wasn’t the pressing issue at hand.

‘Obern crossed paths with ruffians?’

I shifted my attention back to Obern. His complexion remained ghostly white, indicating genuine terror.

No matter how naive Obern might appear, he was a sorcerer who had made it out of the Hamern Great Forest alive, witnessing countless horrors.

Would a sorcerer of his caliber really cower before ordinary street thugs?

Something felt wrong.

Something was amiss……

—

After managing to send Damian away, I conversed with Obern in private.

Granted, convincing Damian to depart was no simple task.

His gaze had lit up with the anticipation of danger, bringing back memories of the Baharmut crisis and sending a shudder down my spine.

Regardless, once we were finally isolated, I gathered the remaining details of the account. In essence:

“You ventured into the urban areas to purchase components for artifacts just to be prepared, and…… crossed paths with black mages?”

“……Correct.”

“How many were there?”

“Four.”

“They didn’t strike you as Golden Demon Mages?”

“Well…… yes. Those four certainly didn’t resemble Golden Demon Mages. We never actually traded blows, so…….”

Very well, let us rationally piece this together.

‘Black mages operating near the school implies that Salvatium hasn’t abandoned its designs on us…….’

For someone like me, who secretly harbored the hope that they had relented after colliding with the defensive ward, this was grim intelligence.

And the complications didn’t end there……

‘……Now that I think about it, Parun is in jeopardy as well.’

Whether the culprit was the First Prince or the Second Prince, in a political climate where they sought any leverage available, Parun was bound to be targeted.

Regardless of how thoroughly prepared Parun kept himself.

And now I had to juggle the threat of Salvatium alongside all of that?

“Tch, the web is tangling up quite badly.”

“……Eh? How is it tangled?”

I glanced at the bewildered Obern.

“Still no communication from Senior Muspellun?”

“……No. Nothing yet.”

“As expected.”

I clicked my tongue in frustration, re-evaluating the current variables.

“Um, Senior. What is our next move?”

“Hold on. Let me deliberate.”

Professor Pelina, Salvatium.

The list of complications requiring resolution was growing too long.

To think the palace investigation, which I assumed would merely pass over me, would cause this much disruption to my peace.

‘……Perhaps leaving the wyvern behind in the Black-White Slums was a mistake.’

A wave of belated remorse hit me, but lingering on regrets was pointless right now.

Alright, then.

“What exactly happened when you encountered those black mages?”

“Well…… it felt as though they were tracking my movements.”

“What led you to conclude they were black mages?”

“They resorted to spellcasting when I found myself trapped in a dead-end street. If Senior Damian hadn’t intervened…… most likely…….”

“Understood, that’s enough.”

Utilizing Obern’s testimony, I deduced the objective of Salvatium.

‘……They intend to compromise the barrier.’

I wasn’t certain about the depth of their espionage, but they clearly identified the individual responsible for establishing the academy’s defenses.

Furthermore, they knew Obern was studying under Senior Muspellun.

Realizing this, I focused my attention on Obern.

“For the time being, let us simply observe Salvatium.”

“Why should we…….”

He seemed confused as to why we wouldn’t strike back immediately given the threat to the school. However, my logic was sound:

“Because of the barrier, their movements are restricted. That is precisely why they attempted to abduct you.”

To put it plainly, the institution remained secure as long as the defensive array was operational.

Therefore, it was wiser to conserve our focus and wait to see how Salvatium executed their next move.

“By the way, what about the core of the barrier?”

“I positioned the barrier core…… within the subterranean levels of the Sage’s Tower.”

The depths of the Sage’s Tower—that was the personal domain of the headmaster.

Yes, that location should remain perfectly protected.

“Do you truly believe…… everything will turn out fine?”

“It will. Rest easy.”

In any case, Salvatium wasn’t an organization you could easily corner at a whim.

Senior Muspellun, the headmaster, and Professor Pelina.

Were they the sole individuals aware of Salvatium’s existence? No, I doubted it.

The leaders of the prominent noble clans and high-ranking palace dignitaries surely possessed knowledge of them.

Yet, the cult hadn’t been wiped out. This came down to two reasons.

‘First, their operational security is absolute…… and second, nobody wants to bear the risk.’

A perilous entity remained hidden beneath society, but its true scope and intent remained a mystery.

As long as no one disturbed it, it refrained from causing immediate devastation.

So why provoke it?

Who stood to gain?

I shared that exact sentiment.

Engaging with an unidentified adversary was an incredibly draining prospect.

Even under these circumstances.

“Oh, what about the device you were constructing?”

“I managed to procure the necessary components at least.”

“Remind me of its purpose again?”

“It functions as a specialized sensor. While the barrier shouldn’t fail, we require an immediate alert system if it ever does.”

“Good, carry on with that project.”

Our strategy regarding Salvatium was finalized.

Observe and bide our time.

Naturally, I didn’t intend to stay passive indefinitely.

Initially……

‘The royal family.’

I must address the most immediate priorities first.

Regardless.

“Thinking about it, the royalty behaves just like an elusive specter themselves…….”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t mind me, it’s nothing.”

I brushed off Obern’s perplexed expression and maintained my train of thought.

For a start, I recognized that the mastermind was either the First Prince or the Second Prince. Perhaps even the pair of them.

The issue lay in the lack of definitive identity, preventing any decisive action on my part.

And……

‘……Even if their identities were exposed, striking directly at the imperial lineage is sheer madness.’

Barring absolute evidence to utterly dismantle them, the only option was to neutralize their primary asset.

Yet, at this moment, I remained blind to who that primary asset even was.

That was the primary missing component of the puzzle.

“I must uncover it. Hmm, how to proceed.”

“Um, Senior? You are talking to yourself again…… embassy……”

“Huh? Ah, don’t worry about it. Let us return inside.”

With those words, I brought our discussion to a close.

There was no sense in loitering when further discussion yielded no progress.

Both the royalty’s machinations and Salvatium demanded patience……

However, the interval of waiting proved far briefer than anticipated.

The following morning.

“S-S-Senior……!”

“……?”

I turned my head in surprise as Obern burst into the room, his countenance completely drained of color.

He had sprinted all the way to the second-year dormitory lounge in such absolute hysteria that the moment his eyes found me, he lunged forward and gasped out:

“Th-the ward…… the ward has been deactivated!”

“The ward……?”

Could this be Salvatium’s doing?

The suspicion flared instantly, but Obern’s subsequent explanation quickly dispelled that theory.

Because……

……It wasn’t the cultists who had unraveled the protective array.

‘……The imperial investigators deactivated it?’

Obern had sprinted to the Sage’s Tower to investigate the magical disturbance and beheld the sight himself: personnel representing the crown moving back and forth.

Supposedly, they had interfered with the central mechanism during their scrutiny of the spire……

Was it merely a coincidence?

That very afternoon.

An elderly gentleman stepped onto the academy grounds.

“……Who might that be?”

“My father mentioned something to me yesterday…… keep this completely quiet, alright? That person is…….”

The student body murmured among themselves as the aged figure received profound reverence from the academy administrators.

His true identity was none other than……

“The incoming headmaster.”

The missing piece of the puzzle I had been searching for.

To put it another way, the primary asset of our adversary.

—

Contemplating this incredibly convenient string of events, I lost myself in reflection.

‘There is no plausible way the crown aligned itself with Salvatium…….’

Impossible.

The defensive ward goes offline, and instantly the incoming headmaster—their key operative—arrives on the scene?

It was an ideal arrangement to breed distrust.

Even if the mastermind behind this was Decullan, such an alliance was hard to credit…… no, entirely unfeasible.

Nonetheless, a revelation sparked within my mind.

“Salvatium and the sovereign family…… scenery……”

Perhaps a method existed to resolve both threats simultaneously?

An ancient proverb came to mind.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

“It appears I must resume the role of a noble Troubleshooter.”

The morning broke clear and radiant.

I dismissed the panicked Obern back to his quarters and gazed upward into the sky. The sun gleamed down warmly.

“Moon, please take care of me today too.”

Naturally, no voice answered back.

But that mattered little.

The sun seemed to offer a bright grin down at me.

‘The code name for this venture…… let’s see.’

Inspired by the classic fable where if three individuals claim ‘An ogre has entered the marketplace,’ even a simple goblin residing there is transformed into an ogre……

[When Three People Gather, Even a Goblin Becomes an Ogre.]

Combating malice with malice.

The opposing forces of malice here were undeniably the royal house and Salvatium.

Consequently, what I required at this juncture was……

‘……A single individual capable of portraying three roles.’

Right at that instant, an idea manifested.

“I detect the fragrance of an exploit.”

“Dammit, you startled me.”

I recoiled slightly as Damian materialized soundlessly beside me. He was observing me with a calculating squint.

“This is unmistakably the aura of a grand exploit. What are your thoughts, my companion?”

“It’s nothing at all…….”

No, you simpleton.

Exploit your rear end.

This wasn’t some grand quest…… indeed, it was merely the righteous process of neutralizing villainy under the banner of righteousness.

Nothing more than that.

The Goblin-Ogre Creation Operation.

……Commence.

‘The challenge now lies in manipulating a single target to act as three separate entities…….’

What was it that the Third Imperial Princess favored again?