### Chapter 505 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Third Trial ‘Miskatonic University’ (7)
—
– Kim Ari
“Ah, Miss Ari! I’m Carl, the firstborn of the Sanders family—”
“Whoa, whoa! Carl, can’t you see Ari’s flustered? Step aside, will you?”
“…”
The young man, blushing and on the verge of confession, took a step back at Emily’s gesture.
You know how it is with guys like this—when a fellow bro like Mooksung tries to push them away, they often puff themselves up with bravado.
But in front of the stunningly beautiful Emily, he didn’t even dare to breathe heavily and retreated.
“How’s that?”
“…”
“Aren’t you thankful? For scaring off the annoying guys?”
“… Thanks.”
Emily had glommed onto me since the first lecture on the first day of the second trial, acting like we were the best of friends.
According to Mooksung, she did the same thing during the first trial.
Back then, I guess I saw her as just another pretty girl.
But that’s not the case now.
Based on the information Mooksung learned before rewinding time, this ‘girl’ is not really a girl.
Her real name isn’t Emily but Sophia, and she’s related by blood to Headmaster Lucas.
Also, she might just be a disciple of the ‘Hotel Party’!
“…”
After hearing Mooksung’s guess, I spent the night pondering.
What if I was a survivor from the previous party?
When leaving behind disciples for future allies, what’s the most crucial thing?
First off, shouldn’t the disciple be able to recognize ‘us’?
That way, they can help us out!
Making sure they recognize us is easier than you think.
We could simply tell them our names or give a detailed description of our appearances.
I could even hint at the rough era Mooksung and I were likely to appear in.
I didn’t know the exact date was 1897, but thanks to the dinner party, I was aware it was pre-World War I America.
“Ari, why are you staring at my face so quietly?”
“Just because.”
From the looks of it, Sophia already recognizes me.
That’s why she’s been hovering around me since day one.
I want to have a proper chat with Emily—or rather, Sophia—
—Squeak!
Suddenly, the banquet hall door swung open, and people carrying violin cases began to stream in.
These are the soldiers from the Vatican that Mooksung mentioned.
“… Hmm.”
I didn’t worry much about it.
If they had ambushed us while we were oblivious, that would be one thing, but that’s not the case now.
Mooksung and I didn’t need to move a finger.
— Clap!
All it took was a single clap from an elderly man sipping wine in one corner of the banquet hall.
“Oh no! My body—”
“Yikes! Ugh!”
“Graah!”
The Vatican soldiers, stiff as rocks from an invisible pressure, were groaning in distress.
Students who had been guzzling wine in a daze suddenly widened their eyes in shock, but soon the professors from the Department of Mysticism rushed out.
“Alright! Alright! Students, this is just a simple magic demonstration, so don’t worry! There are fun things prepared outside too!”
With bemused expressions, the students shuffled outside as the professors directed them.
As I was on my way out, Emily grabbed my hand.
“You can stay here. No need to go outside.”
“…”
It was an unexpected response from Emily that caught another professor off guard.
“Uh? Uh? Didn’t the headmaster say all students should go out—”
“My opinion differs.”
“Ah, understood.”
From this brief exchange, I learned two things.
First, the professors knew that Emily wasn’t just an ordinary student.
Second, despite the headmaster being the big cheese, Emily held a position where she could ignore his orders.
Being the headmaster’s blood relative puts her nearly on equal footing, after all.
Was that why she sent the rest of the students outside?
Now, Emily didn’t have to worry about hiding her status anymore.
“Phew~! Thank goodness. Don’t you think so, Ari?”
“…”
“There was quite a debate among the professors. Many thought we should cancel the opening party and deal with the assassins first.”
“…”
“The headmaster thought otherwise. If we acted like we noticed anything by shutting down the party or hunting down soldiers….”
“The soldiers would hide?”
“Exactly. So, the headmaster just shifted the party venue to a place he could control, and it worked.”
Well, at least it seems like we’ve managed to prevent the first bad ending that could lead to a terrorist attack at the party or the headmaster going rogue.
“Ari, thanks. Your ‘prophecy’ was a huge help.”
“…”
As Emily and I were having this leisurely chat, interrogations about the soldiers were ongoing.
Soon, the headmaster’s voice rang out.
“Sophia, come here.”
Emily—no, Sophia held my hand tightly.
“Let’s go.”
When we arrived at the interrogation site with Sophia, the professors were slightly surprised.
The atmosphere was one of confusion over why a student was brought along, but neither Sophia nor the headmaster seemed bothered by it, so no one pointed it out.
“Sophia, something worrisome came out of those guys’ mouths.”
“What did they say?”
“They consider themselves only the vanguard.”
“Ah? Then where’s the main force?”
“They don’t know that either. It seems they weren’t informed from the beginning, judging by their inability to produce anything useful even when squeezed for info.”
“…”
“However, a troubling rumor circulated.”
“A troubling rumor?”
“They say that Fortuna has awakened in the darkness of Spain.”
The moment the word ‘Fortuna’ was mentioned, the atmosphere around us shifted dramatically.
The professors turned pale, and a few started praying to ‘Horus’.
Even the imposing headmaster couldn’t hide his nervous expression.
Most intriguing was Sophia’s response.
“…”
A deep-seated hatred that was hard to put into words washed over her, coupled with a fear that made her hands tremble.
Hatred boiling over, swirling with a fear so intense it could freeze that very hatred.
In that moment, I decided to act somewhat “calculatively.”
Just like someone who’s loved me since the day I was born.
I reached out and gently grasped Sophia’s hand.
She looked surprised for a moment but didn’t pull away.
“Lucas, is that certain?”
“I don’t know. They only relayed rumors from Spain.”
“Hmm… We need to prepare.”
“Prepare, huh? That monster becomes incomprehensibly more horrific each time it awakens.”
“Lucas.”
“When it came crashing in 180 years ago, my master could no longer hold it back and fell. One hundred and ten years ago, we had to abandon our stronghold in the Old World. What do you think will happen this time?”
“Lucas, stay patient—”
“Sophia, I’m speaking more rationally than ever. What I’m saying is we need a bargaining chip to blackmail the Vatican.”
“… Let’s tackle that topic later. There’s something else we need to discuss right now.”
I scrambled to make sense of the information pouring in.
Fortuna appears to be a super-powered monster controlled by the Vatican?
It awakens every 50 to 100 years, growing increasingly powerful over time.
180 years ago—around 1710—the ‘master,’ presumed to be someone from the hotel party, couldn’t even withstand Fortuna’s arrival.
Then 110 years ago—around 1780—they had to flee from the Old World’s stronghold to the New World.
In short, they were already incapable of handling it 180 years ago, and by 110 years ago, all they could do was run.
And now, 110 years later, they say Fortuna has awakened again.
It’s no wonder everyone in this room looks like they just heard, “We’re all dead now!”
The headmaster turned his gaze toward me at Sophia’s “there’s something else we need to discuss” remark.
“Right, right. Nearly forgot. You’re Ari, correct?”
“Yes.”
“I have one principle: repay kindness with kindness, and vengeance with vengeance.”
Repay kindness with kindness?
Is this a hint about a reward?
“Thanks to your ‘prophecy,’ many students were saved, so there should be a fitting reward.”
Suddenly, the problem that had been giving me and Mooksung headaches since the day before popped into my mind.
“The artifact storage!”
“Hmm? The artifact storage?”
The headmaster looked puzzled, and a professor next to him jumped in.
“Ah, it’s a warehouse where old items are stored. We call it the artifact storage nowadays.”
“Really?”
“It’s managed by Margaret.”
“Hmm. So, you’re saying you want to get your hands on some decent magical tools from the storage?”
“Yes.”
The headmaster scratched his chin, looking somewhat bemused.
“To be honest, that’s just a place to store vaguely useful items, not a treasure trove. You probably won’t find any grand items there.”
What the headmaster said was easy to understand.
If it were a true ‘treasure trove,’ students and even professors wouldn’t have easy access.
Given that it’s openly stored at the school, it has some value, but from the headmaster’s perspective, it’s not ‘actually treasure.’
However, hearing this explanation, I was more convinced than ever.
The ‘tools’ we were after were just odd-looking items to others, not anything special from the hotel party!
“It’s fine.”
“Since it’s your choice, I won’t stop you. Brian, take her—”
“I’ll go with her.”
“…Okay. Sophia, give her something suitable.”
“Will do.”
And just like that, the business with the opening party came to a close.
*
Late at night.
Stepping outside into the cold night air with Sophia, Mooksung came rushing up.
“Ari, did it all go well—”
“…”
“…”
A moment of silence fell between me, Mooksung, and Sophia.
Sophia was looking at Mooksung, possibly wondering what our relationship was.
Suddenly, Sophia’s eyes went wide, and her mouth fell open slightly.
“Wait, wait! Are you, you too?”
“…”
Sophia suddenly dashed toward Mooksung and started examining his face closely with both hands.
“Eek! E-Emily, this is very rude—”
“Mooksung, just stay still. She’s in the checking phase.”
“Checking?”
I began to piece together the bizarre situation.
The ally who arranged for Sophia probably left behind a portrait so she could recognize us.
But did they leave no name?
Or did time erase it?
In any case, Sophia noticed me right away since I resembled the portrait, but Mooksung had no clue!
After all, they probably left behind an image of him as an old man, never imagining he would suddenly look 20!
He didn’t recognize her during the first trial when he was in his 20s.
But now that he’s nearing 50 in the second trial, he’s starting to think, “Could it be?”
I approached Sophia, who had found both of us with her mouth half-open.
“Emily—no, Sophia.”
Emily’s blue eyes sparkled momentarily like glass.
“It feels like we have a lot to discuss. Don’t you think?”
“… You’re right.”
That night, I talked with Sophia until dawn.
It was an old story.
A very, very old tale from hundreds of years ago.
The tale of a girl born a witch, who lost her mother to a black knight and met her master.
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