Emilia simply brewed herself some tea after finishing a light dinner.
She had always made tea for others, so it felt like ages since she had the luxury of brewing tea for herself.
‘Schlus must be thinking about…’
He was probably enjoying dinner.
He had been invited to the family home of Lichtenburg, a pillar of the magic community.
Surely, he would be dining on a feast so lavish that the table would break under its weight, followed by a small party afterward.
Emilia thought, resting her chin on her hand, about how Schlus’s status, once just a commoner’s, was slowly changing.
‘I wonder if he’ll be okay.’
Yet, there was still some worry nagging at her.
Schlus knew Julia von Eisburg.
Rumor had it that Julia, Lichtenburg’s second daughter, was said to resemble her so much that people speculated she might be her reincarnation.
Thus, it was obvious what would happen if Julia and Schlus came into contact.
Lichtenburg wasn’t the kind to overlook that, so naturally, he would isolate Julia from Schlus, preventing any unexpected situations.
Or so she thought.
*Creeeak-*
“Ah, you’re back…”
“…”
That was until Schlus returned, drenched from the rain.
*
*‘Imperial University Investigation Department’*
The most remote building on the Imperial University grounds.
Sergey read the nameplate hanging on the building and swallowed hard as he stepped inside.
– I have something important to say. Could you please come to the investigation department?
It was because of the note he had just received.
Any talk from the investigation department would likely be about the progress of an investigation.
However, Sergey was just a mere professor. The investigation department had no obligation to report to him.
Yet, the fact that they summoned him specifically was…
‘Not usual.’
They needed him, the only 5-star general in the history of the Imperial Army.
It was hard to conceive of any other scenario.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
An employee who recognized him shot up from the entrance, overwhelmed by his large build and stature, slightly shrinking back as they led Sergey inside.
They arrived at an office.
As the door opened, a messy room with papers strewn about appeared before him.
“Professor Sergey von Freust has arrived.”
“Ah, thank you for coming. For security reasons, we had no choice but to ask you to come directly. Please forgive us.”
“I understand. Now please explain what’s going on.”
“…”
With the attention of the investigators gathered, the lead investigator pulled out some materials and handed them to Sergey.
From what he could see, it seemed to be a report on the state of the barrier surrounding the Imperial University, but it was difficult for Sergey to interpret.
“Since the single dorm room well terror incident, we have inspected every inch of the barrier. As a result, there appears to be no damage to the spell. However, if you look here…”
The lead investigator pointed to some pictures in the report.
It showed the back gate of the Imperial University, specifically a section of the barrier some distance from the single dorm room.
“There are very faint traces of mana interference here.”
“Mana interference, you say?”
“It means it was opened and then forcibly closed again.”
“…”
Sergey crossed his arms, pondering deeply.
The lead investigator stated it casually, but it was anything but normal.
To open and close the barrier without triggering an alarm… and without even touching the spell itself?
Only a handful of magicians could pull off such a feat.
“So, who is the suspect the investigation department has identified?”
“Well, it’s hard to say we have identified anyone, but… we suspect it might be Crow, Henderson.”
Hearing a name he had been thinking of, Sergey clicked his tongue.
Henderson, known as Crow, was quite different from other Crows.
To be accepted as a member of Crow and enter their underground network, one had to meet pretty stringent criteria.
You needed to be as skilled and strong as an upper-tier knight to even be considered a Crow.
But Henderson was renowned among those Crows for his exceptional power.
He gained notoriety during the Crown Prince assassination incident.
He assassinated the Crown Prince, who was supposed to inherit the throne, while he was resting in the Imperial Palace, bypassing multiple layers of security.
Despite the room being surrounded by hundreds of guards, Henderson simply flew away through a hole he had made in the overhead barrier.
Since then, Henderson had caused several incidents, revealing that his strength was on par with the Empire’s strongest swords. Moreover, his understanding of magic was nearly equivalent to Professor Ludwig’s level.
“We need to strengthen the barrier.”
“Yes. We will inform Chairwoman Alexia about that separately.”
If it were true that Henderson invaded the Imperial University, and he was indeed targeting the commoner’s head, then a stronger barrier was essential.
One could hardly guarantee that a barrier created by human hands would be impenetrable to Henderson.
But Alexia’s barrier was different. Her barriers, made by a Majin, exuded so much mana that they couldn’t be breached unless the spell was destroyed.
So, while it might be a somewhat brute method, it was safest and most secure to ask Alexia for help.
“But there’s something else we need to consider.”
“What do you mean?”
“Before the barrier is strengthened, there’s a chance that Henderson might invade again, or he may already be inside.”
“…”
“To be honest, I think there’s zero chance of winning, even with every guard at the Imperial University charging in. They destroyed the Imperial Palace, after all. So we’d like to ask you for help, Professor Sergey.”
What the lead investigator was about to say was easily predictable.
“If Henderson shows up, please confront him. Honestly, you and Chairwoman are the only ones at the Imperial University who could handle him. But Chairwoman is… being a Majin makes it problematic for her to act.”
“I see what you’re saying. Don’t tell me you thought I would run away in that kind of crisis.”
“A, no! Of course not!”
*Hah hah hah!* “Just kidding! I’ll do as you ask. If Henderson shows up, I’ll block him at all costs.”
When Sergey was in the Imperial Army, it wasn’t just his exceptional military tactics that led him to rise to a position of authority.
During a time when many nations were being incorporated into the Empire and various races were flocking in, the cohesion of the Imperial Army was a mess.
No matter which unit attempted a rebellion, Sergey was the only one who could single-handedly suppress it.
Thus, currently, it appeared as though he was the only one who could approach confrontations with Henderson at the Imperial University.
“At least for now, it seems that way.”
“So, worry not; no one will be harmed.”
Sergey said with a sly smile.
Henderson had already crossed the line long ago.
He broke the unspoken rule of the Crows, which was to remain silently active in the shadows.
The punishment that befalls a Crow who emerges into the light is all too predictable.
“I’ll make sure to smash that Crow into a pulp.”
*
*Ding…*
In the deep of night.
A man wearing a fedora and a scarf over his face entered the cafe.
“A glass of milk.”
“Hey, you…”
“A glass of milk.”
His voice.
Eric immediately recognized him from the password and grimaced.
Hertlocker.
He was the suspect in the attempted terror incident on the Day of Magic.
Though Schlus hadn’t forgotten his face and there hadn’t been a montage made, if he saw Hertlocker again, the chance of recognition was quite high.
“Get out, you idiot! What would happen if Schlus Hainkel came in and recognized you?”
“I confirmed that Schlus came by earlier today. He most likely won’t come back.”
“…”
Eric slightly frowned and took a milk carton from the shelf and poured it into a cup.
The highly cautious Hertlocker had come here, risking significant danger.
It must be something important.
“Just get to the point and leave.”
“I wasn’t planning on staying, anyway. It seems Crow Henderson is fulfilling a request.”
“That guy is always busy. Why is that relevant?”
Since the assassination incident of the crown prince, Henderson had been thoroughly excluded from Crow society.
Of course, that was only on the surface.
The royal family had even requested investigation cooperation from the Crows, and if they were to refuse, they could face overwhelming repercussions. Thus, the Crows had no choice but to accept.
However, Henderson was still actively operating to this day.
Taking requests from a few clients who were deeply involved in the underground world and were not likely to betray him.
“The problem is, his target is an Imperial University student.”
“An Imperial University student…? Don’t tell me—”
“Yes. I’m sure it’s Schlus Hainkel.”
“Haah…”
Eric squeezed his eyes shut, groaning.
Henderson just so happened to have set his sights on Schlus Hainkel.
Schlus Hainkel was still under observation by the intelligence agency, and they weren’t sure whether he’d be a benefit or a threat.
If Henderson burst in and killed Schlus, it would be a severe disaster.
His death would automatically mean Emilia would have to leave the Imperial University as well.
“Should I try tracking down Henderson?”
“Don’t even think about it.”
Eric waved his hands frantically.
Back during the early war, when the intelligence agency tried to establish itself in the Empire, they had a very unfortunate encounter with Henderson, leading to the complete slaughter of their agents.
Even then, they sent a group of relatively strong members, so they couldn’t say they were weak.
…Except for that outlier, Hertlocker.
“I can catch him. No matter how strong he is, he’ll die if I unleash firepower.”
Hertlocker’s specialty was the rapid deployment and simultaneous casting of magic.
In other words, when facing him, you’d have to deal with dozens of fireballs coming at you from all directions.
Although Henderson was acknowledged for his massive mana and excellent spell casting ability, Eric couldn’t shake off his curiosity about whether Hertlocker could actually handle him.
Yet, he had no desire to find out firsthand.
“Let’s say you could catch him. How would you find him?”
“I haven’t thought that far yet.”
“Dude, are you joking?”
“Please let the intelligence agency take care of that.”
“…”
Seeing Hertlocker say that confidently, Eric chuckled in exasperation.
It seemed there wasn’t cause for concern, based on how he hadn’t even made a plan.
“Drink this and get out, you fool.”
“Please heat it up for me.”
“What?”
“It’s a bit chilly outside, you see. So please heat it up.”
“Just drink it as it is, you idiot!”
Was this guy getting ruder by the day?
