Chapter 84

"It's a little past one in the afternoon... Can you spare me some time?"

"A little past one...?"

I repeated without thinking.

That time was the same as what Laura had mentioned earlier—

Brain continued speaking.

"There's something that's been bothering me about last night. Albert, it would be a great help if you could be there. The place is—"

The place Brain mentioned was one of the unused classrooms.

Being relied on isn't a bad thing—I don't have any bad feelings toward Brain. However, I already have prior commitments.

"I'm sorry. I have to decline. I have a promise with Laura at that time."

"I see. Then there's nothing I can do."

"…Would it be okay if we could change the time?"

"It's not bad, but… I already have plans to meet someone else…"

Brain nodded and said,

"Don't worry about it, forget it."

With that, he left me.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Rugarde and Faltime were walking through the streets of the capital.

In front of them, a man was walking. He was a man in his thirties, wearing a robe and carrying a handbag in his right hand.

The kingdom festival was approaching—

The density of people was inevitably high.

Still, Rugarde's gaze was fixed solely on the back of the man walking ahead.

They had been following the man since he came out of a building.

The man kept walking—

Walking—walking—walking—walking—

"…What… where is this…?"

The man looked around in disbelief.

It was a deserted alley—there was no one around, at least not besides the man and Rugarde and Faltime.

The man had gotten lost.

Faltime had used a spell to make this happen. The man had unconsciously taken a different path, one he never usually took.

"Good work."

Faltime chuckled softly.

Rugarde approached the man from behind, muffling his footsteps. Then, he struck the man's neck with a knife-hand.

The man groaned and lost consciousness.

"I'm sorry."

Rugarde said, catching the man's body.

Faltime approached.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just break his neck and kill him?"

"…It doesn't matter. By the time he wakes up, we'll be long gone."

"How kind of you. Well, do as you please?"

Faltime began rummaging through the man's bag.

"Here it is."

What Faltime pulled out was a card.

It was an ID card issued by the man's organization. The man's name was written in his own handwriting.

Faltime cast a spell. She traced the man's name on the card with her fingertips. Immediately, the name was rewritten.

To "Sarbus."

"How does it look? Mr. Sarbus?"

Faltime handed the rewritten card to Rugarde.

Rugarde glanced at it and replied.

"Perfect."

The false name and handwriting Rugarde had decided on the previous night were now transcribed onto the card.

There was no sense of discrepancy.

With this, there was no worry about being caught if he showed it to the reception at the academy.

This man was one of the vendors who regularly entered the academy. Using his ID card to infiltrate the academy was Rugarde's plan.

The academy had an alarm system that would sound if someone tried to climb over the walls. This method was the best way to enter quietly.

Rugarde had already received a message from the 'student' stating that the 'transaction of goods had been successful.'

In other words, the Dark Emblem was now in their hands—

All that was left was for Rugarde to go to the academy and retrieve it.

Faltime spoke up.

"I'll set up the teleportation array at the hideout and wait for you. Come back as soon as you're done, without any detours."

"I'll return as quickly as possible."

"…Be careful."

"Of course."

Rugarde replied briefly.

The 'student' had successfully obtained the Dark Emblem.

It was unfolding as planned, but the shadow of the court magicians lurking behind couldn't be ignored.

Had they already broken through Carail's trap?

Or were they still in Carail's trap?

However, Rugarde didn't think it mattered.

Rugarde would move forward. He would push the situation forward as quickly as possible, to a place beyond Carail's reach.

Rugarde put on the robe he had stripped from the man. He had to wear it because it had the logo of the man's organization.

"Faltime, see you later."

"Right. Good luck—though maybe I shouldn't say that?"

Faltime smiled and Rugarde headed to the academy.

At the main gate of the academy, guards were standing. It was a natural precaution given the large number of noble children inside. Rugarde could easily get past them, but that would defeat the purpose of the disguise.

Rugarde headed to the vendor entrance on the side. There was a small building where the entry procedures were conducted.

Rugarde placed the card he had taken from the man on the counter.

"I'm Sarbus from Ririn Magic Tools."

The man in charge of entry took the card and scanned it with a device.

Beep.

A short sound.

The man in charge didn't say anything. It was unclear what he was checking, but since the base was a real ID card, there was no way it would be flagged.

Rugarde calmly wrote "Sarbus" on the entry form provided.

The man in charge compared the name on the ID card with the name on the form.

"Alright, no problem. Please go in."

The man handed the ID card back to Rugarde.

"Thank you."

As Rugarde was about to head into the academy—

"…Huh?"

The man in charge spoke up.

Rugarde didn't panic. He didn't flinch. He asked calmly, as if nothing had happened.

"…Is there something else?"

"No, you're different from the usual person…?"

"Ah… I'm not feeling well today."

"I see. …Well, you might be the unlucky one today."

The man in charge gave a sympathetic smile.

Rugarde asked,

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know much, but there was some commotion last night… The whole school is on edge. If someone says something unpleasant, just brush it off."

"Thank you for the warning."

Rugarde said briefly and entered the academy.

It was a familiar scene.

Nothing had changed since he graduated eight years ago.

In other words—

There might be people who recognized Rugarde.

Rugarde pulled his hood deeper over his head. He was still wearing the disguise ring Faltime had given him, but he wanted to be extra cautious.

(…Come to think of it, Fulin was a teacher at the academy…)

Rugarde remembered his short, curly-haired friend.

—We did it! I got a job at the academy!

Fulin had reported this with a happy face.

Rugarde, who had been serving as a knight of the kingdom, had sincerely congratulated Fulin.

—Congratulations, Fulin!

Bright and warm—

But it was a distant past.

(…Thinking about meaningless things…)

Rugarde shook his head to clear the past from his mind.

He was now the leader of the Dark, Rugarde. Nothing else mattered. His previous memories and recollections had no value.

Rugarde walked through the academy according to the map provided by the 'student.'

To the handover location—

It was a lush, overgrown area in a corner of the academy.

Rugarde muttered the words the student had instructed.

Immediately, a small magic array appeared behind the knee-high bushes. It had been hidden by a concealment spell.

In the center of the array was—

The Dark Emblem.

The item the 'student' had stolen during the commotion last night and hidden here.

Rugarde took out the gem.

It was given to him by Faltime. She had said when she handed it over,

"You can use this to check if any detection magic is active. It would be foolish to bring it back to the hideout if it's broadcasting a signal saying, 'This is the hideout.'"

However, she had also said,

"Well, it's impossible to cast a spell on the Dark Relic. You don't have to worry about it. Just to be safe, I guess."

Rugarde brought the gem close to the Dark Emblem.

The gem showed no reaction.

It seemed there was no problem. At least, there were no magical traps on the Dark Emblem itself.

Rugarde picked up the Dark Emblem and tucked it into his robe.

(…The 'student' isn't here…)

The student was supposed to be waiting at the handover location, but it was probably during class time—judging that it would be too risky to leave.

(…Well, it's fine…)

The priority now was to secure the Dark Emblem.

Rugarde walked toward the main gate.