“Luca. This place…?”

Ottbo wore a grimace.

He had been somewhat looking forward to seeing where they’d go, since Luca said it would be somewhere without people and somewhat safe.

But the place they arrived at was just an unused training ground of the Swordsmanship Department, not a festival site.

“Bella went to explain the situation to Master. If we stay here, no matter what happens, master will help us, so you can rest assured.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true…”

Ottbo looked around, a look of disbelief appearing on his face.

“What are we going to do here?”

“Don’t worry about it. We won’t be training.”

“Phew… that’s a relief.”

Even Luca now knew just how bad his physical condition was, so he didn’t mention training at all.

“So what are we going to do?”

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

“…?”

Ottbo gazed at Luca steadily.

Avoiding his gaze, Luca pouted a little.

“Do you think it’s easy to plan everything in just one day? Just getting us here was me doing my best.”

“… Luca, you really are human after all.”

A rare moment of humanity.

For some reason, Ottbo couldn’t help but laugh.

“I want to train you, but who knows when something might happen, so that’s difficult, too.”

“That’s a relief for me.”

“We’ll have to wait until my informant brings us news. Is there at least anything you want to do?”

Whether it was the Demons or the Bogoss, one of them would have to make a move before they could proceed from here.

A kind of forced relaxation.

Normally, he would have played with his phone, but with Ottbo around that didn’t feel right.

“Then can I ask you something now?”

“What is it?”

“Why is the Third Prince trying to set off a bomb attack at the academy in the first place?”

Ottbo wore a genuinely curious expression.

Luca was about to retort, asking what he meant by that — but suddenly realized.

‘This guy knows nothing about the Demons.’

Not just Ottbo.

Milia and Isella had also come to understand, through the Theodore incident, that the Third Prince was related to demonic power, but not the full details.

It was a tricky moment — where should he start explaining?

Luca looked at Ottbo.

‘Ottbo is someone who’ll stay with me until the end, so I think I can tell him everything… but since I don’t know if the Gress family is truly innocent, I should limit some information.’

It wasn’t that he couldn’t trust Ottbo.

It was just that he couldn’t predict what the Demons might do, so he had to be cautious.

After a moment’s hesitation, Luca spoke.

“To put it simply, there’s a group trying to dominate the continent using demonic power. And that group wants to take control of the Academy to rule over the students first and further increase their influence throughout the Empire.”

“Can… can something like that really happen?”

“Considering Martin Curves came here as a teacher, it’s already partly done.”

At the name Martin Curves, Ottbo looked convinced.

“That person, the teacher, right?”

“Do you remember my rumor? The one about killing an upperclassman.”

“Yeah!”

“That incident also happened because of him. Three students died right before my eyes.”

“!”

Ottbo’s eyes opened wide.

“S-Students actually died at the academy?”

“The Academy made excuses, but they really died. It was gruesome.”

“No way. If that’s true…”

Ottbo didn’t finish his sentence, but it was clear what he meant.

‘If that’s true, the academy should be shut down immediately.’

The fact that a student died on campus was a huge problem.

However, perhaps the Demons didn’t want to get the academy closed either, since the story hadn’t spread.

That helped the incident get somewhat covered up.

“I heard the headmaster did everything possible not to get the academy shut down. That’s not the important thing. The real issue is we still haven’t caught that group.”

“That’s true…”

“The very reason I’m taking these risks is because of that.”

Luca’s gaze sharpened.

“I have things I must do here at the Academy, but because of their interference I’m nearly unable to. So rooting them out completely from the Academy — that’s the immediate goal.”

He had decided this ever since discovering that the headmaster wasn’t Herote, but Eltima Cross.

The influence of the Demons on the Academy was too great.

He could not gain the power he wanted while under their influence.

Therefore, he had to completely uproot the Demons currently at work in the Academy.

That was why Luca was willing to risk so much to chase down the traces of the Demons.

“Wow… You sound like a secret agent or something. That’s so cool…!”

Ottbo’s eyes sparkled.

To a boy that age, this kind of clandestine story was practically the stuff of dreams.

Luca, too, seemed to understand this and gave a small smile.

“It’s dangerous enough to risk your life, but it’s well worth it.”

“Honestly, I’ve been following along without knowing anything so far, but now this is starting to get fun!”

Looking at Ottbo’s excited face, Luca had a strange thought.

‘Has he really been following along all this time without even knowing what’s going on?’

He hadn’t been sleeping properly, was exposed to danger, and yet tagged along without truly knowing the situation. That stabbed at Luca’s heart a bit.

‘Is this what it would feel like to have a younger brother?’

He had never had one, so it was a strange idea, but it was clear that Luca now felt a strong bond with Ottbo.

Bang!

Just then, someone entered the training ground.

“There’s nothing to do in the game zone.”

“I know, right? Nothing’s changed from last year.”

“No one comes here during the festival, so let’s get some girls and have fun. The teachers are busy — they’ll never come.”

Seeing the people coming in, Luca’s face turned indifferent.

“Yeah, well. I figured as much.”

“What? There’s already a couple here?”

“Heh! What luck, running into you in a place like this!”

These were the same guys who had picked a fight with him at the market before Kirius showed up, making them run away.

He’d half-expected them to come to the Swordsmanship Department when Bella mentioned it.

That they acted so predictably was almost laughable.

“What do you mean, a couple? What are you talking about…?”

“Ottbo, they’re just teasing, saying I look like a girl, but it doesn’t matter.”

“…?!”

Only then did Ottbo understand and his face turned bright red.

“W-What?!”

“If you react like that, it becomes a weird genre. Just let it go, Ottbo.”

Luca sighed, then stepped forward.

“Are you here now because you want to settle that unresolved quarrel, which you couldn’t due to the student supervisor?”

“Ha, you must be some big shot, huh? That’s some cocky way to talk!”

“You picked a fight with me without even knowing who I am.”

At their reactions, Luca smirked.

He casually moved his hand to the hilt of his sword.

‘Is Kryphi not coming after all?’

Honestly, it wasn’t the sort of situation Kryphi would show up for.

The opponent wasn’t really a threat, and even if his condition wasn’t good, if he couldn’t handle this, he didn’t deserve to be called a disciple.

‘Tsk. I can’t use lightning energy on students. I’ll have to handle it with just magic power somehow.’

The one relief was that these were regular students, not a teacher like Kirius.

If he used magic power to protect his body, he could manage a fight.

‘Not a bad situation to test my limits.’

Turning crisis into opportunity.

Overcoming situations like this was the only way to someday face the Demons.

Luca took a deep breath and waited for their attack.

Boom! Rumble-rumble-rumble!

Just then, a heavy explosion sounded from somewhere, and the ground shook.

“?”

Even the bullies, who’d looked ready to pounce on Luca, stopped at the reverberation.

Silence fell in the training hall as if someone pressed mute.

“T-That magic power wave just now…?”

Ottbo was the first to speak.

As a drive magic expert, calling it a magic power wave almost certainly meant it was a magic stone bomb.

“Hey… just now, was that…”

“… Let’s go. Quickly.”

“Yeah!”

Even the bullies, without picking another fight with Luca, left the training ground.

Even those idiots who knew nothing could sense that the explosion was not normal.

“Ottbo. Don’t tell me that was a magic stone bomb?”

“Uh… it sure seems like it. I’ve felt that wave a few times during experiments at my family home.”

Ottbo was sweating coldly.

It seemed a real bomb had exploded.

“But it’s not even the announced time yet…”

The planned day was the last day of the festival.

There were still four days to go.

And yet, the bomb had just gone off.

“… We might have to jump straight to Plan C.”

“W-What do you mean?”

At Luca’s grave tone, Ottbo looked flustered.

“First, let’s figure out where exactly the explosion happened. Can you pinpoint the location, Ottbo?”

“Uh… yeah. The magic power wave came from that direction, and the explosion sounded about two seconds later, so…”

While tracking the explosion’s location, Ottbo tilted his head.

“Huh? That’s…”

“What’s wrong?”

At Luca’s question, Ottbo responded with a conflicted look.

“That’s not inside the Academy itself.”

* * *

Hernan Academy covered a massive area.

And not just the ‘inside,’ but also the ‘outside.’

The “inside” was, as usual, for student education and convenience facilities.

The “outside” referred to the wide extra campus including Pia Forest, outdoor training centers, and experimental grounds.

It was in this “outside the academy” that the explosion had occurred.

Specifically, at a simulated battlefield often used by the Swordsmanship and Martial Arts departments.

“My god… What on earth…”

“What happened here?!”

“D-Did someone blow something up by mistake?”

Everyone who saw it let out a sigh.

The model battlefield — set up with various terrains for training — now had a massive crater at the center.

And perhaps due to aftershocks, even areas outside the immediate blast zone had their ground cracked and unusable.

The model battlefield, a prized asset of the Swordsmanship and Martial Arts departments, was literally destroyed.

“Everyone step back! This area is off limits until the Academy initiates an official investigation team!”

“Anyone approaching can be considered a suspect! Please follow the instructions!”

“Hey! No photos!”

Because it was such a huge explosion, crowds of students had gathered to watch.

Staff and a few teachers had rushed to control the scene, but it wasn’t easy.

“Whoa… That must be at least a medium-sized bomb.”

“That’s medium?”

In the original work, the power of magic stone bombs was described several times.

A single small magic stone bomb could obliterate a village; a medium one could destroy a city, and a large one could annihilate an entire district.

He’d thought it was an exaggeration, but seeing this, if a bomb like that went off in a city it’d be devastating.

“But still, it doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t?”

Even when the bombing was first discussed, Ottbo had commented that it didn’t make sense.

Even now, seeing Ottbo’s puzzled expression, Luca frowned.

“No, how did a magic stone bomb get inside the Academy…”

“There you are, Luca.”

“…?”

Someone called out to Luca just then.

Looking over with a puzzled expression, Luca’s eyes went wide.

“Master…!”

Kryphi had appeared, covered in wounds.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

What happened to Kryphi?

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep