Chapter: 409
The information about the current staff holding knives was just a bare-bones list stored in the administration office.
Compared to what Karia showed me last time, it was laughably flimsy, but it was enough for now.
I mean, I already remembered most of the names on here. Finding a suspicious name among them wouldn’t be a hassle.
This guy is affiliated with the First Queen’s faction.
This one should belong to the Knight Order, but he probably came here under the Second Queen’s influence.
As for this dude, he’s just an NPC meant to be added to the second year, so I don’t need to worry about him. And over here…
As I mentally recalled the names of the NPCs in the game, I crossed out some vague ones while eyeing the list.
There were definitely a few that raised my suspicions—people who absolutely shouldn’t be here at this point, ones I didn’t recognize, or just plain stupid enough that they could end up brainwashed by the Evil God at any moment.
Honestly, I’d love to poke at all of them, but that’s not feasible.
Having already made a ruckus on the street, if I caused another scene within the Academy, the followers of the Void would probably double down on hiding their tracks.
So I definitely needed something solid.
Glancing at Luca’s name reminded me of his ties to the First Queen’s forces, and I shook my head.
Even with all the constraints he’s under, I don’t think he’d pose a threat. But could I really trust him entirely?
This guy is the type that laughs over increasing chaos.
For now, let’s leave him as a last resort. There are just too many things to worry about to rely on him right now.
“Gomeric can be excluded from the list. He’s a lackey of the First Queen and won’t cause any trouble right away.”
Hearing me ponder alongside the list, Arthur chimed in with his thoughts.
“Kopen is the same. During our last encounter at the social group, we had an in-depth conversation about Flame Studies. His answers were so brilliant they wouldn’t come from anyone below a professor.”
Following that, Joy also shared her opinion. After hearing their thoughts, I mulled it over for a moment before deciding to accept their evaluations.
I had nothing concrete to go on, and considering the good judgment of these two, there was bound to be a reason behind their assessments.
As I nodded and moved my pen, Pheby quietly spoke up.
“We can exclude Ettinger as well. When I saw him at church last time, he seemed just fine.”
Thus, as I took my friends’ suggestions into account and eliminated names from the list, only three remained.
If the information I had gotten was correct, that meant there was a follower of the Void among them.
Two were from Dungeon Studies, and the other from Combat Studies.
…Wait a minute. Dungeon Studies?
The moment I noticed the fields of study of the suspects, one thought struck me.
During the opening ceremony of the Soul Academy, there’s an event where golems made by the Academy attack the students.
Normally, that event is supposed to wrap up without any injuries under strict control, but if a follower of the Evil God gets involved, that story changes.
If someone is posing as the Academy professor and intervenes with the golems’ magic, it would surely create chaos.
Although it’s not definite yet, it was worth checking out.
I shot up from my seat and headed toward the Dungeon Studies professor’s office without wasting any time.
“Lady Alrn. Long time no see.”
The Dungeon Studies professor greeted me with a bright smile when I saw her again after a while.
She went on about how my dungeon had elevated the Academy’s reputation while trying to make small talk, but I interrupted her with the names of the two Dungeon Studies professors listed.
“Who are these two no-gooders? What are they up to now?”
“…Oh, those are the new professors this semester.”
The professor tilted her head but responded to my question.
One is helping with the creation of the Academy Dungeon coming up this semester, and the other is maintaining the golems that will appear at the opening ceremony.
“In simpler terms, they got stuck with a miserable task. They’re doing the hard work and getting scolded for it.”
I could sense her pity in her words, but I didn’t let that sink in.
The fact that one of the newly appointed Dungeon Studies professors is handling the golem maintenance means my suspicions have a solid foundation.
“Do you know the location of the golems? …Um, that’s a tricky thing to divulge. Even for you, it’s a confidential matter.”
“Aren’t you just a wannabe professor? Keep at this attitude, and I might just expose how to wreck your shabby Academy dungeon.”
Did I want to see a strategy guide spread around the moment the Academy Dungeon opened? The Dungeon Studies professor froze at my threat.
“Ah. Fine! But you can’t touch the golems! That’s a tradition at the Academy!”
Hearing the professor’s response, I ignored her request and dashed out of the room.
“Did you find any clues?”
My friends surrounded me the instant I stepped into the hallway outside the professor’s office.
Why’d they even follow me? I was planning on moving just with the knife!
Hmm. It’s not bad having friends around. Right now, they’d definitely contribute more than enough in a combat scenario. No matter what happens, their status and reputation would likely stomp down most issues.
As I glanced at my friends, who were all looking for my answer, I paused for a moment before sharing my thoughts.
“Is that even possible?”
Before I could finish my sentence, Arthur raised an eyebrow.
“I think it’s possible to implant magic after sneaking in. However, if the Dungeon Studies professors aren’t idiots, they’ll check for it, won’t they?”
“If they’re followers of the Void, it could definitely happen.”
Before I could respond, Pheby spoke with an unusually stiff voice.
“Their powers specialize in infiltrating. Even the Church folks who have been battling the Evil God for ages might not easily notice them, so why would the Academy professors be any different?”
“That was a foolish question.”
After all the disasters caused by the Evil God’s followers, Pheby’s words carried the weight of her status.
This made Arthur back down, staying quiet, but not Frey.
She clearly didn’t grasp the weight of others’ words and threw out her opinion without a second thought.
“Why would the Evil God’s followers target the Academy? Is Soul Academy really that impressive?”
“…Sorry, but even I don’t really know.”
“Lucy? Do you know?”
“Yeah. I know.”
“What is it?”
“But I won’t tell you. Because you’re such a foolish idiot, you wouldn’t understand anyway.”
“Ugh. So you don’t know either.”
“I don’t! I’m different from you useless fools!”
My friends seemed to think I was joking like usual, but the reality was different.
I truly knew why the followers of the Evil God were targeting this place.
Having witnessed countless saviors and their downfalls in this world, how could I not understand their motives?
But it wasn’t the right time to reveal that.
With that cowardly, cowardly Agra possibly watching me—this was a secret that had to be kept.
After wrapping up our conversation, we swiftly made our way to the location mentioned by the Dungeon Studies professor.
To the basement of the Dungeon Studies building.
The place where the golems made for the Soul Academy dungeon are stored and produced.
It was a spot I remembered perfectly from the numerous times I’d been there while creating dungeons before.
Having memorized the layout perfectly, I navigated without a hitch to the location of the golems used during the opening ceremony.
“Lady Alrn?!”
There was a graduate student guarding the entrance, but upon seeing our faces, they opened the door without a word. Our status was too intimidating for them to resist.
“…Your intuition was spot on, Young Lady.”
[No wonder there’s nothing to be found searching high and low in the streets.]
The moment we stepped inside, Pheby made a cutting remark, and Grandpa grumbled beside her.
The instant both their thoughts aligned, all suspicions vanished.
The golems present in this place had long since fallen into the hands of the followers of the Void.
“Saintess, Third Prince, Lady Partan, Lady Alrn, Lady Kent, and even Professor Karl. Why are all of you graciously visiting this place?”
Among the various students working inside, the professor expressed genuine curiosity at our visit. He seemed utterly clueless about why we were there.
His act was so natural it could fool anyone unaware.
But unfortunately, we weren’t just anyone.
CRACK! I pulled out my mace and smashed the golem beside me, while the professor’s surprised expression made me smirk.
“Can’t stand the sight of that disgusting little guy doing disgusting things♡”
Hearing my provocation, the professor stiffened for a moment before regaining his composure.
“Professor Karl, why are you acting this way all of a sudden?”
“Nice act! Serving trash like that, how pathetic♡”
“…I’m not sure what you mean.”
“How can someone be so brazen? Slice through all your rationalizations to believe in something you don’t even know exists?♡”
“….”
“Congratulations♡ Your death is destined to be utterly pathetic, and that figure you worship won’t even remember you♡ A fitting ending for a sneaky little pest like you, right?♡”
As I continued to chuckle, the door behind us slammed shut!
And at that moment, a nauseating energy began to creep in, wiping the shock off the faces of everyone present.
“So you long for destruction? Then I’ll gladly oblige. If it’s the same kind of demise as those empty-headed wretches, that’s not a bad outcome.”
Starting from the outskirts of the room, I could see the malevolent aura expanding as I halted Pheby, who was about to unleash a Sacred Spell, and raised my mace high.
“Lazy pathetic god. Get to work.”
Though my tone was irreverent to the extreme, the Masochistic Pathetic God eagerly responded to my request.
The divinity contained in my mace radiated out, purifying the Evil God’s presence.
“If you have any last words, say them now♡ If your dying wish is to plead, ‘Please spare me~,’ how embarrassing would that be?♡”
As my laughter filled the air, the eyes of those facing me were filled with hatred, and the golems in the room began to stir to life.
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