“So you’re saying I orchestrated the whole thing.”

Alfred Winter.

I opened his status window and spoke.

Just then, my class professor waved his hand and stood up.

“Professor Winter, he is still a victim student. It’s not too late to investigate the scene first.”

“‘Not too late,’ you say…. Professor Ron, you also think there’s a possibility that this student is the culprit.”

“…….”

My class professor, momentarily speechless, shook his head.

“I was just trying to keep all possibilities open. How can a professor make such a leap? And didn’t Student Lucas say he was in his friend’s room?”

“Is that an alibi? Can you be sure it’s a credible statement?”

Professor Winter narrowed his eyes.

There would be no credibility.

The conversation with Narce was purely to prevent the problem from escalating significantly, not a tool to extinguish the spark.

Do you think an incident can be simply resolved with the testimony of one friend? Anyone would know it’s a contingency plan, not a solution.

And this author thinks I wouldn’t know that, no, that I wouldn’t even be able to think of it.

Right.

I have no material evidence left as an alibi. There is only Narce’s testimony.

My class professor yelled, veins bulging in his neck.

“Let’s call that friend over. If Student Lucas’s testimony isn’t wrong, Student Narce will say the same thing!”

“Isn’t it possible that the two students will try to cover for each other? They must have become quite close, having been on the same team in the 3rd selection, after all.”

“…….”

My class professor, silent for a long time as if at a loss for words, pointed a finger at him and glared with wide eyes.

“Professor Winter, you should know that you are being severely rude to the students in my class.”

“Well, I am merely concerned for the safety of the Imperial Second Academy.”

My class professor glared at him with a fearsome face, then warped away.

Less than 5 minutes later, Narce, held onto by the professor, appeared, wearing his school uniform, unlike before. He looked slightly bewildered, but he quickly smiled as usual.

My class professor grabbed his shoulder.

“Student Narce. You must only speak the truth here. Can you swear?”

Narce rolled his eyes, looked at me and Leo, then smiled again and looked at the professor.

“Yes, I swear in the name of Christ. I will not speak falsely.”

“…….”

The professors sitting in their seats exchanged glances. They probably didn’t expect him to go this far. Neither did I.

‘…It feels different coming from a person from a clergy family that even produced a Pope.’

No matter how unaware they were that this guy was a Cardinal, everyone knew what the Farnese family was famous for.

“Alright, good. Student Narce, you were with Student Lucas continuously from 8 PM after training until midnight, correct?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

He was confidently lying in the name of Christ.

Of course, if he had answered conscientiously in this situation, I would have collapsed from a fit of anger.

Professor Winter interrupted.

“Student. You seem to have become quite close with Student Lucas?”

“That has happened recently.”

“Did either you or Student Lucas go to the restroom or leave your place in between? Student Lucas or Student Narce, that is.”

“…….”

The eyes of several professors sitting next to him narrowed.

He was pushing too hard. His attitude was as if he would definitively declare me the culprit if there was even a brief gap.

But, while feeling uncomfortable, they were not stopping him.

It was natural.

Someone within the school who could be in contact with Pleroma.

Who comes to mind first?

The only person showing anger here was my homeroom professor.

“I did go out myself… but, well. I didn’t hear Lucas leaving or returning to his room.”

“I see. Given the short duration, that might be difficult. Then let’s assume there was no incident between 8 PM and 12 AM.”

As if to alleviate the other professors’ concerns, he backed down one step.

“Then what do you think about the time between 6 PM and 8 PM, the time when Student Narce was unable to keep an eye on Student Lucas? What do all the professors present here think?”

“…….”

Narce glanced at me.

I broke the silence and spoke.

“Professor, do you not know when that magic was installed?”

He merely shrugged in reply.

“Then, Professor, do you know where that warp magic leads?”

“As a result of tracking the movement of air, it seems to move to the Primrose Path warp coordinates.”

“…….”

I nodded.

This is enough.

It’s time for me to back down one step as well.

Before that, let me ask one question.

“Professor, do you think Pleroma is involved with Primrose Path?”

No one would know that, would they…?

I stared intently into his eyes.

“The coordinate location could be set anywhere, of course. Especially if it’s a den of crime that has recently become a big issue like Primrose Path, wouldn’t the gain from pretending to be a victim be significant? I’m not saying this about the student, but purely as a hypothesis.”

“…….”

There was no trace of acting on his face.

In other words, he doesn’t know who Primrose Path is involved with.

He is simply being incredibly rude.

“I understand. You must be thinking that I am the only person in our school who can communicate with Pleroma. Since my eye color is unusual and I’ve lived with an unstable core until now, I understand why the professor would think that.”

“Student, you know that a certain murder case occurred within Anhalt, don’t you?”

At those words, my class professor yelled.

“Professor Winter!”

It wasn’t something that happened just once or twice.

I spoke calmly.

“I can state this with certainty. I have neither communicated with Pleroma nor committed any crime within the academy.”

“I understand, but you must realize that you cannot be excluded from the list of suspects. Even if you saved Student Adelbert….”

Crash―!

Several professors jumped in surprise, their shoulders twitching.

I opened my mouth and looked behind me.

This is currently a secret meeting only known to a few Magic Department professors. Who the hell would come barging in like this at this hour?

“…Now.”

A person who looked disoriented, as if they had just woken up, looked around frantically.

The professor who had put surveillance on me since the midterms of the first semester after receiving my brother’s letter was standing at the door.

I’m talking about Professor Traut.

“What is happening right now?”

“Professor Traut, this is a Magic Department meeting. Please leave.”

The Department Head professor said, getting up with a considerably flustered expression.

Traut, completely disregarding such things, looked at the professors with wide eyes and asked.

“Is Student Lucas Rene Askanian being cornered as the culprit? Is that right?”

“Professor Traut.”

“I will not speak of what I see here to anyone, so let me stay. If you let me stay here, I will tell you how the news leaked from within the academy and reached me. Agreed?!”

What is he talking about? He seems out of his mind.

“That is against regulations! This is a meeting to be reported to His Majesty the Emperor, how can you, who haven’t been permitted….”

“Hold on.”

Professor Winter waved his hand.

“I was just about to finish anyway. Even if he belongs to the Knight Faculty, isn’t he a full Professor of ‘Magic’ Swordsmanship? There must be a reason why the professor came all the way here himself, so let’s at least hear why he came.”

“Alright. I came here to say this. On what grounds are you cornering Student Lucas Rene Askanian as the culprit?!”

“…?”

For a moment, my eyes met Leo’s.

Narce also looked at me with bewildered eyes.

Professor Winter, for a different reason, was speechless and stared at him.

“…….”

“I heard everything. That His Highness the Prince, and Duke Elias, were nearly overcome with rampage. And today….”

In this place, which aims for education regardless of status, the professors’ expressions slightly crumpled when official titles were used.

Given that their status was lower than ours, it was not exactly proper conduct in many ways.

“Whatever happened today, are you trying to pin the blame for all of these incidents on the Askanians? Student Lucas Rene Askanian. Have you ever approached Pleroma?”

Before I could answer, Traut firmly grabbed my shoulder.

“No matter how flawed your nature is, whether you drink other people’s blood or not, you have no way to obtain that drug unless you approach Pleroma! Isn’t that right?!”

“…Yes, Professor.”

“Have you been in contact with Pleroma, or not.”

“…….”

At his voice, which was much lower than before, I looked into his eyes without speaking.

His eyes were bloodshot.

“Naturally, no. I have not done anything that would pose a threat to the Imperial Second Academy or any of its subjects.”

Traut let out a large breath and took his hand off my shoulder.

Professor Winter, who had been watching with displeasure, interrupted.

“Student Narce. When Student Adelbert rampaged, you were not the first discoverer. The first discoverer was Student Lucas, correct?”

“Yes. But Lucas did not open the door until I arrived….”

“Student Lucas Rene Askanian and Student Narce were coincidentally involved twice.”

“…….”

“If you are innocent, may I ask for proof?”

Narce’s face hardened.

Even a passing dog would know that wasn’t a request, and it was obvious what method he wanted him to use to prove it.

Narce glanced over at me.

Even Leo opened his mouth, looking as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

“Professor.”

“That’s enough! There’s a reason why we didn’t use that method on ourselves, isn’t there?”

Before Leo could express all his concerns, another professor yelled at him.

Narce spoke calmly.

“Professor. The reason why you did not interrogate all the professors using this method is… Isn’t it because there are many problems associated with the academy officially using the ability of a student who is not yet an adult? Of course, that’s the surface reason.”

Narce continued.

“Are you concerned about me extracting information from your minds, yet it’s acceptable to use the ability on a student?”

“Therefore, it is purely a request.”

“You haven’t heard Lucas’s intention. Isn’t that outside the professor’s purview to request?”

“No, do it.”

Narce looked back at me with surprised eyes.

‘It’s okay.’

It’s a bit annoying that I have to prove I’m not a criminal when I’m the one who was harmed, but it doesn’t matter.

In fact, it’s what I wanted.

Traut, who was still standing there looking somewhat spaced out as if he had a screw loose, looked at me and intimidated me.

“Student Lucas. It must be the truth.”

“He says it’s fine. If he is innocent, it would be better for the student to have it proven quickly and get it over with.”

“……”

A smile was on Narce’s face, but his true intention was unreadable.

‘He’s pissed.’

It’s not easy for someone from a noble family to listen to orders like this and that.

Thinking that, Narce slowly approached me and muttered.

“…It’s not like that.”

“What is it?”

“It’s the first time, so I’ll start small and increase it gradually.”

Narce didn’t answer my question and just said what he wanted to say. He hesitated, then placed his hand on my forehead and opened his mouth.

―Enter through the narrow gate.

Immediately, my vision blurred dramatically.

I felt the illusion of overwhelming drowsiness. No, to be precise, it felt similar to the drug I had been given at Primrose Path. I had to try desperately to control my reaction.

For a moment, surprise appeared in Narce’s eyes.

He cleared his throat and cast the spell again.

―Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it….

―….

Instantly, no sound was heard. All my senses simultaneously cut off, and I had no time to feel the strangeness in that moment.

After that, the next time I opened my eyes was when Narce’s Divine Power touched my core.

Narce was holding my head in his arms, in the same posture he had been in before.

[Professor. Is it sufficient now?]

[…….]

The professor nodded with a displeased face.

[Let’s send him to the hospital. For now, I understand. He used Divine Power, and if he is innocent, I cannot say more.]

The faces of the surrounding professors were pale, unlike before.

One professor frowned and said.

[Professor, after pushing him excessively, you say you understand for now…! Shouldn’t an apology be first!]

[All of you have doubted this student before, haven’t you? You speculate and tear him apart when he is not here, and now…!]

While they were arguing, I slowly opened and closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, I wasn’t in the conference room.

‘…Hmm? What is it?’

What is this bewildering shift in vision?

Outside, the dawn light was coming in through the ceiling of a darkened room. Narce’s face suddenly appeared close to mine.

“You’re awake?”

Only then did I realize where I was.

It was the school infirmary.

“What is it? Why am I in the infirmary?”

“Lucas.”

“How did I answer that you’re here?”

I paid no mind to the fear or strangeness of experiencing mind-manipulation magic for the first time.

It was unlikely, but what if I had said something nonsensical or ambiguous?

“No, your answer was fine. But your breathing suddenly became very rapid~ You scared me.”

Fine?

That’s good then.

I shifted my gaze to the person next to him.

Leo was sitting with his arms crossed, watching me silently.

Narce whispered in my ear.

“Lucas, did something really happen earlier?”

“…….”

When I didn’t answer, Narce laughed freely and whispered.

“If it’s a burden, it’s fine! Still, you got better after getting a sedative and sleeping, right?”

“Yeah. But why is he here?”

“Because he’s the class representative. Is there a problem?”

Leo answered gruffly and then just watched me silently again.

I gave up on communicating and mentally retraced what had happened earlier. As I was silent, Narce opened his mouth.

“Everyone’s hostility is tremendous. I guess everyone became very sensitive because the Hohenzollerns were attacked for the first time. That’s not to say it’s okay to corner people like this, though….”

“It’s fine, I expected it. This is normal.”

The criminal must have deliberately chosen me to hide the real culprit.

The fact that they thought of creating a fake criminal shows they are worth confronting.

At that, Leo said with a cold face.

“It’s not normal, but a calculated correct answer, Lucas.”

“Yeah.”

He’s sharp. He figured it out right away without me saying anything.

More importantly, given what happened earlier, I don’t really want to talk to Leo for long.

Narce spoke up at the perfect timing, laughing.

“Anyway, our class professor said he’s going to report that professor to the Faculty Disciplinary Committee. He figured that because your breathing became rapid right after your mind was cleared, it was due to the stress of being interrogated even though you weren’t the culprit. It seems he plans to submit that as evidence.”

I was going to ask how it would be approved since they are all the same kind of bastards, but it turned out like this. Well, that’s good.

“More importantly, Traut?”

“…….”

“When he was putting me under surveillance, and when he was instructing them to lock the lab door, why did he suddenly take my side?”

It seemed Narce and Leo were equally puzzled by this.

Their expressions also complicated.

However, Leo seemed to have quickly organized his thoughts and spoke.

“Go find out today.”

Before I could ask what he meant, Leo took out two letters from his pocket and handed them to me.

“His Majesty the Emperor is summoning you.”

* * *

The news that a double warp spell had been placed on the Imperial Second Academy dormitory reached the Emperor immediately at 6 AM.

And his choice matched my prediction.

‘To think I’d come here in this appearance….’

To think I would openly set foot here in Nicolaus’s guise.

Outside the carriage, the Imperial coachman yelled loudly.

[We have arrived!]

I raised the carriage window. The familiar sight of the building came into view.

It was the Imperial Second Academy.

Following the Police Bureau, this would be the second time I would conduct a complete investigation of our school’s politicians.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep