### Chapter: 189
There’s a spy planted by the Black Witch in this hall.
Kraush fell silent the moment he heard those words.
Instead, his sixth sense began to react more fiercely than ever.
Kraush looked at Taria.
It was a silent question of how she knew that.
【 I’m pretty sensitive to smells, especially ever since becoming a spy for Crimson Garden in relation to World Erosion. 】
Though she wore an outwardly carefree smile, she answered Kraush’s unspoken question.
Sister, huh?
That was quite a familiar term for someone who had been turned into a spy.
【 I only started feeling it suddenly about two days ago. 】
She lightly tapped her nose with her finger.
‘Two days ago.’
That was when Kraush had been at Green Pine Hall.
‘They must’ve taken advantage of my absence.’
The Black Witch still didn’t have all the information about Kraush.
Thus, it was clear that she had seized the opportunity to sneak in while he was away.
‘Regardless, it’s better to find and resolve this.’
He needed to avoid any information from leaking to Ixion.
Currently, Ixion couldn’t afford to move recklessly considering Crimson Garden and Ebelasque’s influence.
Any misstep could result in bloodshed, which would ultimately harm them all.
‘So, they’re trying to gather information without drawing attention.’
For Ixion, who needed Ignis, Kraush was someone he could never overlook.
And this was something Kraush had intended all along.
“Oh, looks like it’s almost full now.”
While Kraush was lost in thought, Taria casually slid a chair beside him and sat down.
【 I’ll take care of this. No need to worry. I’ve already informed Crimson Garden beforehand. 】
Now it made sense why she hadn’t hesitated to guide Crimson Garden toward the women’s club.
She likely wanted to create an opportunity for casual contact with Taria.
Thinking of how they must be giggling now truly felt like something Crimson Garden would do.
In the meantime, as Taria had mentioned, people had begun to take their seats in the hall.
The women’s club was, after all, a social gathering.
Perhaps that’s why an array of dishes and snacks had magically appeared in front of Kraush, Charlotte, and Taria.
“Now, about the desserts we’ve prepared…”
Someone excitedly started explaining about the desserts, but Kraush wasn’t particularly interested.
Instead, he ignored the gazes directed his way, quickly scanning the women around him.
‘I’m getting a good sense of things here.’
Kraush quickly gauged who was aligned with whom by observing the seating arrangement.
It turned out that the central forces hadn’t shifted much over time.
The power structure of the women’s club comprised five factions.
First, there was Charlotte Balheim, a force in herself.
She was in a league of her own, so no comparison even came to mind.
Then came the second faction led by Taria Bales, the head student of the Magic Department.
‘The third faction is Elyring Ornora from the Jeblam Kingdom, ranked second in literature among the first-year students.’
She was sitting elegantly, taking sips of tea, her intellectual demeanor profoundly evident.
Yet beneath that composed exterior, her eyes were restlessly scanning the room.
With her unique ability of perfect recall, she housed a plethora of information in her mind.
She had built her own influence in Rahern Academy based on that knowledge.
Though she seemed like a regular woman, she was as formidable as the eccentric and clever Sigrid Ephania.
‘Then there’s Mirei Baekis, the top student of theology from the Freeman Holy Kingdom.’
Another lady sat there, maintaining perfect posture as she delicately munched on pastries.
Despite how soft and crumbly the snack was, not a single crumb fell from her mouth.
At just 16, she was already a cardinal of Freeman, but after the arrival of Saint Aria Stigma, she gladly vacated that position.
Cardinal Mirei Baekis she was.
Naturally, all of them belonged to Rahern Academy’s head student council.
In other words, they were central figures within the academy itself.
Among them, the most significant power belonged to none other than the Empire’s Third Princess, Sigrid Ephania.
True to her position, she actively gathered loyal followers in the women’s club.
As a result, she formed the largest faction, yet she harbored a clear disadvantage.
‘Perhaps she can manage those beneath her, but she lacks the power to sway any competitors.’
Sigrid had bad relations with other women.
Her intense monopolistic tendencies didn’t help her earn allies, especially among the very women she sought to win over.
Thus, Sigrid often found herself at odds with her female peers.
If others acknowledged her position and prowess, she’d generously extend her help, but if they dared challenge her, she’d bare her teeth.
It thus made sense why Sigrid struggled to garner support from the female members of the Sky Generation.
Ironically, Kraush’s own group, which he had gathered, had a strong female presence.
‘…Seems I shouldn’t be throwing stones at Arthur right now.’
Getting tangled among all this, Kraush felt a slight headache with the growing female-centric power dynamics wrapping around him.
Of course, in stopping the world’s destruction, who cares about gender?
Yet, knowing how he appeared to others made him question if he was on the right path.
‘But even so…’
As long as he couldn’t bring Sigrid down, there was no way to draw the male members swayed by her power into his fold.
Eventually, a confrontation was bound to arise.
[ Why not arrange a blind date? ]
In that instant, Kraush heard Crimson Garden chiming in from up by the window, preening its feathers.
[ Ah, right. The kids around you are all infatuated with you, so if you did that, it’d turn into a knife fight. Tsk, tsk, it’s all your fault. Who dared to toy with peppers? Since it’s come to this, why not invite all of them as brides equally? ]
Feeling a headache coming on, Kraush decided to block out Crimson Garden’s chatter.
‘Sigrid’s failure to build her faction likely also ties back to Charlotte.’
Had Sigrid achieved top rank among the Unnamed Academy’s first-year students, easily building power within the women’s club wouldn’t have been a stretch.
The prestige of being the top student counted for a lot.
But Charlotte had unceremoniously snatched that ranking from under Sigrid’s nose.
From Sigrid’s perspective, that must’ve been an unexpected twist.
‘At this point, Charlotte’s brilliance is undoubtedly reaching its peak.’
Thus, it was inevitable for Sigrid’s faction to become weakened.
This was a legitimate reason for Sigrid to grit her teeth every time she saw Charlotte.
“Who would have thought Lady Charlotte would participate in the women’s club?”
At that moment, Elyring Ornora, literary runner-up from the first year, spoke up.
She observed Charlotte with keen interest, as did everyone else.
“I always thought Lady Charlotte wouldn’t dream of attending gatherings like this.”
Elyring’s sentiment was acknowledged by all present.
Charlotte, feeling the attention, crossed her arms without a hint of discomfort.
“I heard a lot about my little brother here.”
The instant she began to speak, the room collectively held its breath.
That was because a faint glimmer of malice danced in Charlotte’s eyes.
“I came to see if anyone was bad-mouthing my brother.”
“…You seem to care a lot for your little brother,” Elyring remarked with surprise.
To this, Charlotte merely smirked, glancing at Kraush beside her.
“I guess it’s because he’s my only little brother.”
Was she joking or being serious?
Kraush sighed internally, finding it hard to decipher her tone.
“So, who might this person be?”
Elyring suddenly shifted her attention to Kraush.
Truthfully, her curiosity was piqued not by anything else but by the sudden appearance of Kraush by Charlotte’s side.
With her unique memory skills, she had memorized most faces and names upon entering the academy.
Naturally, she was well aware of the important figures and their backgrounds.
But, surprise, surprise!
The figure now beside Charlotte was definitely a stranger to Elyring.
For someone like her, that indicated that Charlotte had intentionally concealed this person’s identity.
Especially since Charlotte had outright declared that this was her boyfriend.
Elyring’s green-eyed gaze sparkled with intrigue.
‘Who are you, I wonder?’
Yet, in her clever mind, she couldn’t fathom that Charlotte would bring a male figure into a gathering only for women.
Not even Charlotte would likely engage in something like that in a space dominated by women.
Thus, Kraush inevitably became more of a mystery.
“Are you trying to draw attention?”
As Charlotte issued a warning, Elyring stepped back with a slight grimace.
She, too, was no match for Charlotte’s formidable presence.
No one dared to provoke Charlotte and risk a backlash.
All present were acutely aware of that fact.
“Alright, alright. Let’s just enjoy the tea party as usual.”
Thus, the women’s club, a known ground for exchanging information, commenced with Charlotte, the unexpected presence.
At first, they were all a bit stiff, perhaps due to the infamous Charlotte’s presence, but as she simply watched and did nothing, the atmosphere gradually eased up.
Thanks to that, Kraush was comfortably soaking in intel and observing power dynamics.
“Did you hear about this?”
The women present were keen on information.
Perhaps that’s why for them, information equated to their status and power.
Thus, having an unknown piece of information was a way to showcase their strength.
“Wait, what…”
“Wow!”
The moment someone shared a piece of information, gasps filled the room.
And the one who divulged the info looked quite pleased with themselves.
Drunk on the thrill of wielding power, they seemed to be basking in that sense of superiority.
The women’s club continued along those lines.
‘So, there seems to be a lack of worthwhile information.’
While that thought crossed his mind, Kraush’s eyes were scanning the room eagerly.
He was curious to know who the Black Witch’s spy was, as Taria had mentioned.
‘They probably won’t piece together my true identity.’
Kraush had become quite adept at wielding the powers of World Erosion.
Unless one was an actual World Erosion entity, no ordinary spy could penetrate his facade.
Thus began Kraush’s hunt for the Black Witch’s minion.
“Everyone’s talking about irrelevant matters.”
Suddenly, someone piped up.
On that, all eyes turned towards her with expression indicating their surprise.
It was a classic ‘you had to be there’ moment.
After all, she was widely known as a crazy woman from the Special Class.
The infamous maker of magic tools, Rona Imblize.
Born into the Imblize family, known for their ancestral magic tool crafting, Rona was the wackiest of the bunch and hailed as a genius.
It was no surprise that she practically demolished the magic training grounds several times while testing her creations.
Recent incidents included magic tools she crafted causing serious injuries to not just her classmates but even to professors attempting to intervene.
She had created a ludicrous tool that could turn her own body into a weapon.
And she had irresponsibly handed it to an average student.
Her reckless creation led to a rampage, resulting in not just student injuries but also sending the professor who tried to intervene to the hospital for an extended stay.
Although Rona formally apologized, her reputation plummeted.
Even if she were to offer her gadgets to students now, no one would dare touch them.
“If you hear my info, I doubt you’ll react like this,” she declared, confidently donning a triumphant smile.
“Want me to share one?”
She raised her finger playfully.
At her sudden confidence, attention quickly shifted towards her.
After a few seconds of anticipation, she finally spoke.
“There’s someone at Rahern Academy who has made a pact with the World Erosion entity.”
And the entire women’s club went rigid.
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