<89 - Thief>
April, who had just escaped from the chaotic garden, entered a nearby empty room to finish her report.
She doubted whether the upper management even wanted such reports, but she recalled how her life would have been ruined if she had been caught on-site just moments ago.
Suddenly, anger bubbled up as she felt disdain for the higher-ups of the foundation, who were sipping honey in a safe place while assigning her all the hard work.
‘If they don’t want reports like this, what are they going to do? If they’re so bothered, they can jump into the field and become spies themselves!’
In the morning, she cleaned up after the barking cat beastfolk; at noon, she cleaned up after the chirping bird beastfolk; and in the evening, she cleaned up after the whinnying horse beastfolk at the stables.
Doing all that cleaning while also being a spy meant risking detection on the field and potentially ruining her life.
After narrowly overcoming all that hardship, all she got in return was a bit of gold and the exhausting daily life of a cleaning maid.
‘Money was nice when I first received it, but doing a job I might die doing or be forced to retire from makes it hard to even think about the joy of getting paid.’
Considering the sacrifices of her spy activities, the upper management should bear some errors in the accuracy of the information.
‘Should I head back soon?’
On the way back to the stables.
‘Oh wait. The tail.’
April pulled out the cat tail she had tucked away in her handbag.
She had passed the cleaning maid examination at the academy by aiming for the beastfolk allocation points, so she needed to show her tail in public to be recognized as a ‘cat beastfolk.’
Typically, she would hide the tail under her skirt or pants and pretend to have it in her handbag, but when out in public, she had to wear it properly.
Of course, transformation magic was tricky.
It also took mana to maintain it, which was precious.
So, considering cost-performance, this cat tail flag given by the foundation was the best option for her spy disguise.
“Haah.”
‘Wearing it too long feels weird on my butt.’
While grumbling internally, April dutifully put on the cat tail flag.
“Sweet. I got the best pattern, didn’t I?”
After the summer vacation ended, when the second semester for first-years began, a new chapter boss and new crises would appear at the academy.
Usually, three crises competed against each other, fighting to see who would be the real chapter boss, and one of those candidates was this mandragora.
“Goo…”
The adorable mandragora was sloshing around in a jar filled with nutrient solution, flailing its little roots like hands.
It seemed cute for now, but if it grew, it would spread its roots all over the academy garden and rise as a Giant Max Mandragora, destroying the student council building.
Would it end up being about 230m tall?
Personally, she felt a bit envious.
The root cause was the special nutrient solution No. X-13 developed by the chemistry club.
During the midterm exams of the first semester, seniors rushed to assault the student council club to replenish their lack of reagents or products before assignment deadlines approached.
If, with a certain probability, the chemistry club was raided during the assault event, there would be an event where unnecessary potions were carelessly buried in the ground.
The first plant to root in the special nutrient solution No. X-13 would undergo a sudden rise event.
‘Giant Max Plant Event!’
What if the spore plant reached first?
The spore plant would spread its super-sized seeds in the wind, triggering the [Giant Spore Plant Colony] event throughout the academy.
What if the tree reached first?
It would trigger the [Jack and the Beanstalk] event that shoots up toward the sky.
But if the mandragora reached first?
‘In the worst-case scenario, it would lead to the academy’s total destruction!’
When an unintended disaster occurred, the Giant Max Mandragora would scream at that moment, killing thousands of students.
With a nature-friendly appearance and vines wrapped around her body, Professor Weird could unleash the true power of a dryad and might be able to properly manage the situation.
But what if chaos erupted due to the 600 to 300 to 99 to 1 rule?
– “A mishap has occurred in the club led by a border creature. We cannot trust their abilities, so we’ll leave this task to our imperial professors.”
The imperial professors would rush in claiming to deal with it themselves.
It’s fine if they were to take care of it; there are competent professors in the empire.
However, the powers of the professors from the border region would weaken, the imperial professors would become bossier, discrimination would increase, and students would suffer, strengthening countless conflict flags.
But at least, they wouldn’t die immediately, right?
…But what if chaos broke out again?
What if a worthless imperial professor got involved?
Accidents could occur due to a small mistake, resulting in dozens or hundreds of deaths or even several professors dying.
Governments and secret organizations from various countries, eager to insert new assassins into the academy, would salivate over this tempting scenario.
The atmosphere at the academy might become a bit unusual, with students frequently going missing or dealing with morning sickness, but it would still be okay.
They might not die immediately.
…But if a professor secretly planted by an organization aiming at world destruction took advantage of this opportunity?
That day, the academy would explode.
One could say there was a 0.1% chance they would screw it up.
To summarize:
[Event of Theft Accusation]
– 9.9% chance of selecting chemistry/alchemy club.
The theft event – the special nutrient solution No. X-13 is buried in the ground.
[Special Nutrient Solution No. X-13 Event]
– 60% chance of [Giant Spore Plant Colony].
Follow-up event – rugged commute.
– 30% chance of [Jack and the Beanstalk].
Follow-up event – unwelcome guest on the tree.
– 9.9% chance of [Giant Max Woof].
Follow-up event – oversized guard dog.
– 0.1% chance of [Giant Max Mandragora].
Follow-up event – see below!
[Giant Max Mandragora Event]
– 60% chance that Professor Weird will manage the situation.
Follow-up event – special nature magic training week for all students.
– 30% chance that an imperial professor will manage the situation.
Follow-up event – border discrimination.
– 9.9% chance of an imperial professor causing a major accident.
Follow-up event – joint funeral. Suspicious new professors.
– 0.1% chance that a spy professor will blow up the academy.
Follow-up event – none. Life is ruined!
“Ugh, terrible!”
The origin of the web-like events all began today.
She had eliminated the prototype, special nutrient solution No. X-1, and in case any samples were left that could lead to another production of special nutrient solution No. X-13, she even kidnapped the mandragora.
It had long been confirmed that No. X-1 would not cause rapid growth even if the mandragora consumed it!
“Well, I hope it grows quickly!”
Mandragora screamed when pulled from the ground but would become a valuable elixir.
In contrast, when grown in water, it wouldn’t harm anyone and would grow gently, but it would not have elixir effects.
Instead, the water the mandragora grew in would become the elixir.
“Hehe. You’re better in aquatic conditions than terrestrial ones, right?”
“Goo…”
She had found a plant friend to keep in the dormitory.
*
The mandragora had gone missing.
The plant club president, Oknodie, felt her blood boil as if her veins were blocked at the back of her neck.
Unless it got up and moved on its own two feet, it had undoubtedly been stolen by an intruder.
“President, there are no stolen plants in the greenhouse.”
“It seems that only the plants in your security booth have been stolen, President.”
“How precious could it be that a thief came before dusk?”
“Can’t you just not know?”
Mandragora was a rarity so extraordinary that it would be coveted even among the rare plants cultivated by the plant club.
If the fact that she was growing mandragora got out, club members would certainly charge into the security booth armed with gardening tools.
“Honestly, tell me. You all stole it, didn’t you?”
“No way! How could we steal without even knowing what’s inside?”
Though she found her members untrustworthy, there wasn’t anyone bold enough to go that far.
‘There are two traces.’
One set of footprints watched the entrance.
Another set of footprints infiltrated the scene to commit the crime.
The peculiar thing was that neither set of footprints was recognizable as their size was suspiciously unusual.
“President, the alchemy club feels suspicious.”
“Absolutely. Those guys can’t even deliver their special nutrient solutions on time, always asking for fertilizer creation requests.”
“Oh right. Wasn’t today the day for nutrient solution delivery?”
“They say they delivered it, though?”
“But I looked, and it was missing!”
“…Those bastards probably claimed they delivered it after hearing about the theft without even making it!”
With their grumbling, the club members stormed the alchemy club.
Oknodie stood in despair, looking up at the sky.
‘This doesn’t seem like the work of a common club burglar.’
Oknodie sought out Professor Bronze, who was renowned as the best thief in the world, hoping to find answers.
“Excuse me. Are you there, Professor?”
“Come in.”
Following the calm voice coming from within, she opened the door.
It was early evening, perhaps the professor was considering taking a nap.
The professor was lying on the sofa.
But even in sleep, the stylish beauty on the sofa looked like a painting.
With her white blazer draped over the chair’s back and her shirt and pants set, she lay at an angle.
The chic gesture of lifting the silk hat she wore as a mask with a finger made for a dashing pose, but her bosom’s fullness spilling out over her shirt also caught her eye.
“You’re not one of my students.”
His words seemed to bring her attention back, and Oknodie finally shifted her gaze from her chest to her face.
A professor of his caliber would undoubtedly have read her gaze.
Not offering a reprimand was already a grace.
“I’ve come to consult you.”
“I’ll listen and consider.”
“I’ve just had a super-rare plant I had hidden in the deepest part of the plant club stolen.”
“Security?”
“We used Nodflower, Vine Trap, and mana lock on the Narcissus. The first three were avoided, but there are traces of one being smashed with a rock.”
“…With a rock?”
“It was pretty large. Whoever knew the location of my most cherished plant had the courage to secretly enter the scene and break the locking mechanism with a stone—it has to be an upperclassman burglar.”
“An upperclassman, you say.”
“I believe it must be someone who has repeatedly stolen items. Otherwise, there’s no way they could have escaped during the twenty seconds the members arrived on the scene.”
Professor Bronze gave a meaningful smile.
As he responded in kind, he suddenly fell silent.
No answer came.
Was he uninterested?
The longer the silence dragged on, the more anxious she felt.
“Don’t look into it anymore.”
“Ugh.”
Professor Bronze gave a silent hint that she should leave.
“Thank you. I… I really need to…”
The silence stretched on.
This silence was even more ominous than the previous one.
Seeing the smile forming on the professor’s lips revealed his ulterior motives.
Of course.
A thief wouldn’t kindly hand over the stolen goods to the person who sought them.
“Professor, you’re a rogue, aren’t you?”
Hoping to appeal to his conscience, she blurted out.
The professor brushed her counter swiftly aside.
“Did you see my chest?”
With her face turning bright red, Oknodie shouted, “Excuse me!” as she ran away.
Such an unwelcome inquiry was too much for a lonely male student to handle.
Professor Bronze’s eyes lit up, no longer following Oknodie, but instead conjured the face of a particular child.
“Hmm.”
He considered making Orcatch his apprentice after all.
The opportunity to fulfill that purpose had arrived sooner than expected.
