Chapter 92: Midterm Exams (9)

The first week of the exam period had passed.

History of the Empire, Understanding of Combat, and finally, today’s last exam for the week—Considerations on Magic.

Laysis had done her best on the exams and had managed to get the scores she wanted.

It was slightly disappointing that in Understanding of Combat, she came in third, behind Nerian and Louis’s party.

If she had handled the test a bit more cleverly, she might have been able to aim for second place or higher by a stroke of luck.

Because she had lost second place, maintaining her position as runner-up had become slightly precarious.

From now on, she would need to score above her target in all the remaining exams to be able to compete with Louis on equal footing.

That was why, on Friday afternoon, even though all her schedules for the week had ended, she was sitting alone in the club room studying for next week’s exams.

Since the weekend began tomorrow, she could continue preparing without a time limit.

She reviewed what she had already memorized once more, and then worked through the predicted questions shared by other cadets…

“Ugh, I’m insane, insane!!”

No matter how hard she tried to concentrate, she couldn’t.

Laysis clutched her head and collapsed on her desk, squirming in shame.

The cause was the survival test from the Understanding of Combat practical.

Having barely survived until the end, Laysis had managed to make it to the finish without any point deductions thanks to Carl.

However, that was separate from the fact that she had reached her physical limit and had fallen asleep in his arms.

By the time she woke up after the exam was over, everything had already happened.

‘Who would’ve thought they were all watching…’

Even now, just thinking about it made her face burn.

The cadets who took the exam together stayed on the field unless they were in a critical state, to ensure fairness.

But Instructor Frahan, who supervised the exam, and the seniors who came to assist, had all witnessed, in vivid detail, the skinship between her and Carl.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Unable to contain herself, Laysis clenched her fists and slammed the desk.

If there had been a mouse hole, she would have gladly crawled into it to hide.

Not only had she been carried away in Carl’s arms in front of over a dozen onlookers, but they had also spent time leaning against each other on a hill.

To make matters worse, one senior had even taken pictures of them, preserving the scene.

To protect her dignity as a princess and avoid public disgrace, she had taken possession of all the data and even threatened legal action if any related photos were leaked. Only then did she feel at ease.

If such pictures spread and reached the Kingdom, it would be her who would be in trouble.

…Still, she saved the photos.

They had come out well, after all.

“It’s a relief nothing came of it, really.”

Laysis let out a deep sigh.

At the time, she hadn’t had the leisure to think, so she just let it slide, but helping the opposing team in the exam could have been considered a violation.

It was fortunate that the rankings had already been decided. If Carl hadn’t been part of Louis’s party, it could have turned into a big problem.

Still, Instructor Frahan had laughed it off and even patted Carl on the shoulder, saying, “That’s what a man does.”

Although rumors wouldn’t spread much during the exam period, once it was over, there would surely be all kinds of talk about her and Carl’s relationship.

After all, both of them were in positions that drew attention in many ways.

“……”

Laysis glanced at the seat beside her with a sulky expression.

The real star of the incident, Carl, was absent.

Right after the exam, he had followed Senior Luna somewhere, and she hadn’t heard from him since.

After saying they should study together, was he standing her up?

Still, just in case, she had stayed in the club room, but now that Yuria’s urging was growing more insistent, she thought she should get ready to head to the library.

“Sigh.”

Laysis sprawled on her desk, staring at the Archive.

It felt like she was making a fuss over nothing, yet she couldn’t help being conscious of Carl, and she found his awkward smile at the seniors’ teasing annoying as well.

“…It really is a nice shot.”

Tilting her head, Laysis looked at the picture.

It was almost like a scene from a romance…

Creak.

At that moment, the club room door opened.

Laysis flinched and straightened up, restoring her appearance to that of someone quietly studying within 0.1 seconds.

Then she glanced toward the doorway, half-expecting it to be Carl, but instead, a man with a build two or three times larger appeared.

“Laysis, you’re the only one here?”

It was Dane, the club president.

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

“Do you know where Carl is by any chance?”

“No. After the exam, he disappeared after being called by another senior.”

“He’s a busy man. If you see him, let him know Professor Leblik is calling for him. I haven’t gotten any reply through the Archive’s messages.”

“Yes, understood.”

Dane closed the door and left the club room.

The truth was, he had found it a bit uncomfortable to be alone with Junior Laysis, as things were still awkward between them.

Left alone again, Laysis rested her chin in her hand and stared blankly out the window.

“Where did he suddenly go?”

And that after standing her up when they had agreed to study together.

At that time, Carl was arriving at Flick, managed by Lahan.

Originally, he hadn’t planned to return to NOX until the exam period was over.

With a few days of free time, he had intended to spend them leisurely, studying magic or training his martial arts.

But because of urgent news Luna had brought, he had no choice but to set everything aside and come to the underworld.

“…I have no excuse.”

Six bowed his head before him.

The reason was that Dirsen, who was under surveillance, had vanished without a trace.

Just when Godok had fully settled in and the brainwashing from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art’s Soul-Seizing Technique was progressing perfectly—

It was hard to believe Dirsen had disappeared of his own accord with his will intact.

That meant a third force must have intervened and kidnapped him.

To prevent that, NOX had dispatched surveillance, but it had been for nothing.

“He disappeared from his own office?”

“Yes. He had an external appointment today, and when they went to greet him, he vanished in that brief moment.”

NOX only handled Dirsen’s escort during external appointments.

Other than that, they only stationed watchers outside to receive quick reports in emergencies through an established communication network.

And yet, someone had spirited away Dirsen right under everyone’s noses?

“His confidant, Malcop, is handling the situation. He has shared the news with only the minimum number of people and says he’ll pretend the boss is still around to buy time.”

“And surveillance on their side?”

“I’ve assigned someone to every executive.”

If Dirsen’s faction started making a fuss about finding their boss in this situation, the rumor would spread instantly.

Because Turgar and other organizations had ears everywhere,

Malcop, his confidant, would handle maintaining internal discipline while they dealt with the matter themselves.

Creak.

Carl personally made his way to Dirsen’s office.

Naturally, mindful of prying eyes, he concealed his presence and used the back entrance, then received shared intel from Ninth, who was investigating the scene.

“There’s no trace left at all. No sign of resistance, and no signs of being dragged away.”

Ninth looked into the inner part of the office with a perplexed expression.

Even Ninth, a specialist in such matters, found nothing and didn’t know what to make of it.

“Hm.”

Carl was no different; he found no clues.

Aside from the impression left by the pressed-down chair, as if Dirsen had vanished from the spot, there was no sign of him.

“What’s Turgar’s movement?”

“Nothing yet. If it were their doing, they would’ve taken some sort of action by now…”

“Keep monitoring them.”

If some organization allied with Lahan was behind it, they would move before long.

Underground organizations tended to share the same tendencies.

“……”

Night deepened.

After sending all his subordinates back to NOX, Carl sat alone in Dirsen’s office, gazing out the window.

In Flick, the boundary between day and night was meaningless.

Even now, when it was nearly dawn outside, the streets were still crowded.

‘What’s their objective?’

Carl leaned back in his chair, pondering.

Hours had passed with no contact from Turgar.

Were they hoping he would self-destruct on his own?

No, judging by their behavior, it was more reasonable to assume they knew nothing at all.

That meant a true third-party organization had intervened in their affairs.

‘Looks like I’ll have to just wait.’

Carl pressed his fingers against his brow.

…Come to think of it, he remembered he was supposed to study with Laysis today.

After the exam, Luna’s report had sent him straight here, so he hadn’t been able to explain.

He considered sending a substitute but decided against it.

Unlike usual, he had walked out the front gate himself, so sending a double would feel unnatural.

Moreover, the substitute couldn’t share the Archive, which added too many risks.

Tok. Tok.

Carl’s fingers tapped on the desk.

A reason some unknown force might kidnap Dirsen.

If it wasn’t connected to Turgar, could it be tied to Lahan himself?

‘There are plenty of places that could hold a grudge.’

The one thing he knew for sure was that Dirsen was still alive.

If he died or anything happened to him, a signal would be sent to Godok under their control.

If anything happened to Dirsen’s life—

“I might need to take over the Western Third Commercial District sooner than planned.”

He would either install a proxy or move his own faction to launch an all-out attack on Turgar immediately.

The executives’ anxiety was already peaking.

Just a little push, and they would rise up on their own to strike Turgar.

Strike before being struck—such instincts were ingrained deep in the underworld.

Although he had assigned shadows to watch each executive in case of a traitor, there had been no news yet.

That meant it wasn’t treachery or an inside job either…

“……”

As he sat lost in thought, Carl’s eyes shifted slightly.

Outside the window, on the roof of a distant building, a gaze was fixed on him from someone hiding very carefully.

Clink.

Tightening the knot on his mask, Carl slowly rose from his seat.

Fwoosh.

In the next instant, his figure vanished into a stream of black smoke.

“…!”

The figure watching Carl widened his eyes and instantly bolted.

Without looking back, he raced across Flick’s rooftops at tremendous speed, ducking into a prearranged hideout.

Swish!

He drew the curtain and hid behind a wall.

Maximizing his senses, he scanned for the presence of people passing nearby.

“……”

No pursuit.

Just as he let out a short breath—

Thunk.

A long blade suddenly protruded from his chest.

It had been thrust clean through from behind the wall, leaving him unable to even react.

“……”

Blood trickled from his mouth.

Yet, without uttering even a groan, he tried to move forward to free himself from the blade.

At that moment, Carl emerged from the deep shadows of the room and whispered in the man’s ear.

“An assassin? Or just a killer-for-hire?”

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