No matter how much he was the protagonist, he couldn't face off against the Demons alone.

Thanks to the war, his martial prowess had grown so formidable that no one could challenge him.

Unfortunately, because of that very war, the entire continent had become so desolate that there was no power left with the resources to support him.

In contrast, the Demons had only grown stronger and wealthier from the war.If it became a battle of attrition, the protagonist, who lacked any backing, had no way of defeating the Demons.

That's where Heaven's Door came in.

In the setting, this was an organization that had been keeping the Demons in check at the call of the gods; even during the war, they had secretly supported the protagonist.

It was said they had waited for the protagonist to awaken and gain the strength to fight the devils.

"It was also thanks to Heaven's Door that the protagonist met Willow."

Heaven's Door, a key force in the latter part of the story.

And from there, Eltima Cross, one of its top-ranking officers.

Apparently, she was now the head of the academy here at Hernan Academy.

"Now the outline is starting to take shape."

The reason for the 'airship accident' that happened in the original story, and the 'letter of warning' that had just come to him.

It seemed that these two were connected by the keywords of 'Demons' and 'headmaster'.

"In that case, I should play along with this farce. The Demons hiding in the academy don't know what I've realized yet."

He had roughly grasped the intentions of the Demons.

What he needed to do now was to find a weakness and step on their tails.

"This is an opportunity. I'll expose the darkness lurking within the academy."

While Luca rejoiced inwardly, Ottbo spoke up cautiously.

"Luca. If we don't follow the airships soon, we'll lose them."

"It's fine."

"Huh... what?"

At Luca's indifferent reply, Ottbo looked flustered.

"There won't be any clues on those airships anyway."

"But..."

"Milia Fille is competent enough to handle it. I'll go ahead."

"Go inside?"

"My body still aches, maybe because I haven't fully recovered. Let's go, Bella."

With those words, Luca headed straight for the infirmary with Bella.

Watching his back, Ottbo made a disgruntled face.

"Uh... take care of yourself."

Not long after Luca left, Milia and Isella returned.

Seeing Ottbo standing there alone, she looked puzzled.

"Where's Luca?"

"He said he felt sore and went back."

"Hm. I guess walking around was still too much? He shouldn't overdo it."

Milia had a bitter expression, but Ottbo's face was a bit complicated.

"He didn't seem sick at all, though..."

It seemed Luca had left for another reason.

"We couldn't really find anything that could be a clue. Because of Professor Herote, we couldn't even find traces of other magic power. There weren't any special marks on the airship hull, either."

"R-really?"

"At this point, we should think the clues are indirect, not direct. Like, where the airship was made or what options it was fitted with."

As she said this, Milia waved the paper she had taken notes on.

"These are the airship's registration numbers. With these, we can look up information about those airships. I'll search for clues another way, so you try finding information with this."

"Hey... Milia. Are you busy right now?"

Just then, Ottbo, lost in thought, suddenly asked an out-of-the-blue question.

Milia tried to guess why he would ask that, but couldn't, so she asked back.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Just a simple question. Did you have something you needed to do besides searching the airship for clues?"

"I always have work to do, though the priorities change. But why?"

Ottbo accepted the papers from her and said,

"Then I think you should leave the airship-related stuff to me and focus on what you need to do."

"What?"

Milia made a reluctant expression.

Normally, Ottbo would just put on a blank look and do whatever she told him, so she didn't know why he was being like this.

"Seriously, what're you trying to say?"

"I just think the business of searching for clues about the airship is best left to me alone."

"You're saying you'll handle all this yourself, even though hundreds or thousands of students might get hurt?"

Milia questioned him, as if finding it absurd. Ottbo nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I think I can handle it."

"...?"

Milia stared at him for a moment, then slowly nodded as well.

"All right."

A few people watching them from not far away quietly disappeared.

* * *

The Hernan Empire was a nation where magic reigned supreme.

Interest and investment in magic was high, and the same applied at Hernan Academy.

The magic department received far more investment than other departments.

Outstanding students there were even given private research rooms.

And this was one such student's personal research room—

A particularly high-ranking one, filled with countless experimental magic stones and priceless tomes of arcane science.

A boy with a mysterious air was reading a book there.

His slightly dark silvery hair and unusually deep purple eyes made him appear all the more enigmatic.

In front of the boy, a rather burly man in academy uniform stood with his head bowed.

"Reporting! Luca Traverse is currently investigating alone, separated from his group. Ottbo Gress is looking for information on the airship under the direction of Milia Fille."

"Hm..."

"In addition, Milia Fille herself doesn't seem that interested in this matter. She's been acting as usual—going to the arcane science department or socializing with other students!"

At the man's report, the boy spoke without looking up from his book.

"Donovan."

"Yes! Young master!"

The man, called Donovan, raised his head slightly.

Small eyes, a long scar at the corner of his eye, and a blunt face.

A rugged face—he looked more like a mercenary or bandit than an academy staff member.

As he waited for his next instructions, the boy called "young master" spoke.

"Did I not tell you to be quiet while I'm reading?"

"!"

At the boy's words, Donovan hastily bowed again.

"M-my apology, young master!"

"You're still too noisy."

"!"

Chilled by the boy's single sentence, Donovan fell silent.Only after reading a few more pages did the boy close his book.

"Hm... That was an interesting bit, but now the taste is gone."

"......"

"Donovan. I finished the book."

At that, Donovan raised his head quickly.

"Yes! Young master!"

Whish! Thud!

"Gaaah!"

The book the boy threw hit Donovan square in the face.

Donovan screamed and rolled on the floor, causing the boy to burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Donovan, you're exaggerating too much, aren't you?"

"Ugh..."

"All right. Get up, Donovan."

At the boy's command, Donovan got up immediately.Blood flowed from his split brow, but neither seemed to care.

"Donovan. Report what you just said again."

"Yes! Luca Traverse is investigating alone, and Milia Fille has left the airship-related work to Ottbo Gress and is acting as usual!"

"She went to the arcane science department again?"

"No! This time, she's in contact with the upperclassmen of a Circle!"

"So diligent."

The boy slouched and rested his chin on his hand.

"Milia Fille probably isn't interested in the bomb, right?"

"That is presumed. By your estimation, young master, Luca Traverse seems to be concerned about the other students being harmed, so he's still investigating the airship!"

"Those muscle-brained types all think alike. If you dangle a noble-sounding goal in front of them, they'll go for it like a dog after a steak. He's not going to be any different."

The boy snickered.Donovan felt a sense of awe at the boy's air of omniscience.

"Still, Milia Fille is lucky. How did she get to have Luca Traverse as her subordinate? Including that moonlight, she's blessed with connections."

"......"

"A power from the sky—that's just too unfair. Must be the blood of Melborne attracting the egg of the skybird, huh?"

The boy seemed to know about Milia's true nature and about Luca's power.

"Anyway, I hope things calm down a bit with this incident. There've been too many plans twisted because of them."

"Young master, why do you leave Luca Traverse alone? If you set your mind to it, you could easily handle someone like that."

Donovan spoke carefully.

As the boy had said, quite a few plans had gone awry thanks to Luca.

And if the boy truly wanted, someone like Luca could be disposed of easily.

Yet the boy only ever ordered Luca to be watched, never sanctioned him directly.

Donovan couldn't understand this.

Seeming to grasp his subordinate's confusion, the boy chuckled.

"Donovan, didn't father say not to kill him? You forgot already?"

"Then why not just kidnap—"

"You want to do what Mr. Martin failed to do—just the two of us? Really?"

At 'Mr. Martin', Donovan hesitated.

His eyes quivered slightly.

"T-that..."

"Haha! Donovan, are you still afraid?"

The boy's mocking tone made Donovan bow his head.

"His eye... It's not a power a human can resist..."

"Exactly. The only force capable of resisting that is the power from the sky. But even that's probably not enough to kill Mr. Martin."

"... Yes. He was indeed strong."

Donovan clenched his fist.

He seemed to have fought with Martin before.

"Most likely, Moonlight protected Luca Traverse. Otherwise, a mere first-year student like him couldn't possibly beat Mr. Martin."

"Indeed..."

"What a shame. If only I'd killed Moonlight using Theodore, Milia would've been ours. To think we lost Luca Traverse beforehand."

The boy shook his head and snickered.

"Really, though, just Luca Traverse alone has ruined so many plans. And now, even Mr. Martin is dead."

"Shouldn't we hurry and recover his demonic eye?"

"We can't sense the demonic eye's power at all. I bet that woman Milia hid it with a Dimension Core—if so, there's no way to find it. If only Luca Traverse would use it, that'd be perfect."

After saying that, the boy fiddled with his ring.

It bore an unusual symbol—a dot within a square.

"No matter, though. For now, let him do whatever he wants. He isn't the most important, anyway."

"Then..."

"We'll ruin the woman's status with this festival as planned."

The boy wore a twisted smile.

"To make this academy entirely our own."

* * *

Just before night fell, in the late evening.

After leaving Ottbo behind, claiming to return to the infirmary, Luca was actually walking through the arcane science department's campus.

Bella, walking by his side, spoke quietly.

"... Young master. It seems the people who were tailing us are gone now."

"Tsk. Persistent fools. They hung around for a while."

Luca clicked his tongue and stretched.

Bella spoke softly, but earnestly.

"But, young master, why did you come here?"

"There's something I absolutely must check—without letting those guys notice."

"Something you have to check...?"

To Bella's question, Luca twisted his lips.

"I need to find out if the enemy of my enemy is really a friend."

His steps led him straight toward the office of the dean of the arcane science department.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=So that's what it was...【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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