Chapter 222

After returning from their outing, thoughts of Ilshimdan lingered easily in the heads of the Violets.

“What even are those guys from Ilshimdan?”

“So suspicious. They saw through our Recognition Interference Device, right? That’s not an ordinary ability!”

No matter how much they mulled it over, the situation felt off.

For a Non-Awakened Ordinary Person, seeing through a Recognition Interference Device isn’t something easy to do. The same goes for Awakened Ones.

Identifying someone who used recognition-interfering magic usually falls into three categories.

Either someone who had experience frequently witnessing the usage of such magic and had become accustomed to the unique discomfort it brings…

Or an Awakened Mage with profound knowledge about magic that disrupts recognition.

If not, then they’d simply have to possess skills that allow them to disregard magic altogether.

In any of these cases, they were no ordinary people.

“Let’s dig through some knowledge!”

The Violets rummaged through their memories within the Network.

There was no fruitful outcome. There were many villains in the world, but the name Ilshimdan was entirely unfamiliar.

“I don’t know. They don’t seem like one of the three major clans…”

“Maybe a medium-sized clan or a secret society? Or something else altogether?”

“Well, it’s clear they’re a strange group…”

Regardless of what it was, people like that wandering around the academy was a bad omen.

Just to be sure, the next day, they asked their friends.

“Was there someone asking for survey responses? Hmm, I didn’t see anyone… Oh, but I did hear there were some rumors about it.”

“Outside the academy? Nope.”

Two of them stated they hadn’t seen anything.

“Survey? Oh, right! I’ve been getting these weird guys sticking around. They say they’re for the mental stability of young students or something…”

Kalia also mentioned she was caught by those guys.

“I-I saw them too! They kept saying to follow them, and I said no, but they grabbed my bag and wouldn’t let me go! Bad guys!”

It seemed Levi was also troubled by some bizarre survey.

“A bag? For storing ballistae?”

Oh no, how dare they try to touch Levi’s most cherished item.

“Yeah! So when they kept being an annoyance, I told them I’d shoot and clean up trash like you guys! And then they disappeared! How’s that? I did well, right?”

“Good job!”

I praised our friend’s courage.

Should I ask the other male students later?

In any case, there were two people I needed to inform without hesitation.

“Hello, Headmaster!”

I politely knocked and entered the headmaster’s office.

It may seem a bit odd for a first-year to come and go like this, but the Headmaster knows our identity as Violets.

He’s the only person within the academy from whom we can seek cooperation.

“Oh, it’s a Violet. What brings you here?”

Fortunately, the Headmaster welcomed me with a kind smile. I began to explain in detail about the suspicious characters I encountered outside the academy.

“That’s quite concerning. You said they were from Ilshimdan?”

“Yeah, they didn’t look like ordinary con artists. They were suspicious!”

“Hmm… That’s worrisome. Thanks for letting me know. We might need to reinforce security and monitor the internal academy conditions for a while.”

Unlike his usual gentle expression, a faint shadow crossed the Headmaster’s face.

“Actually, reports have been coming in. Recently, there’s been an increase in shady individuals approaching students from the Southern District academy on the streets.”

After finishing, the Headmaster added a few more words suggesting that it could be some form of deceptive entrapment aimed at recruiting Awakened Students.

“Shall we handle this? We could eliminate them neatly within a dungeon or undersea.”

I boldly proposed, but Headmaster Brecht shook his head.

“No, Violet. It’s not the time to act rashly. We need to exercise caution in a situation where we can’t ascertain their intentions.”

“I see.”

“I appreciate your concern, but it’s better not to act for now. I’ll establish some countermeasures in the academy, so don’t worry. If there’s any major incident, I’ll call you then.”

Unfortunately, the Headmaster discouraged the righteous violent actions of the Violets.

We had to set aside our desire to punish injustice.

“Understood…”

“Act carefully for any contingencies. If anything happens, let me know immediately.”

Nodding my head in response to the Headmaster’s advice, I chose to look at it positively, at least in acknowledging and accepting the risks.

As I stood to leave and bid my farewell, another Violet was moving toward the Central District.

To inform the Inspection Bureau about the severity of the situation and share information.

A little while later, the Second Clone was sipping chocolate milk in the Scholarship Officer’s office.

“So, Violet. What information are you going to share?”

I began to recount the events of the day.

The approach of strange individuals referred to as Ilshimdan and the fact that they had seen through the identity of the Violets.

“They recognized you?”

“Yeah! I thought they were just ordinary con artists, but they ignored my Recognition Interference Device!”

“Is that so…”

The Scholarship Officer’s eyes sharpened as he fell deep in thought. His steel-like gaze seemed to pierce through the air.

“Any ideas about the name Ilshimdan?”

“I can’t pinpoint the details. It’s a name I’m hearing for the first time. But… I can guess what might be behind it.”

“What is it?”

I pressed him for more information several times. Seijis averted his gaze, only spouting vague words.

“I’m not certain yet. For now, the Inspection Bureau will respond appropriately, so don’t worry too much. If necessary, I’ll personally get involved.”

“…Got it. But could you please explain a bit? Who on earth is behind this?”

“I’ll first send someone you know toward the academy. That should alleviate major issues. If needed, Adela’s family or Helios’s forces might…”

He pretended not to hear me at first and tried to divert the topic to fire incidents.

“Ugh…”

When I expressed my annoyance blatantly, the Scholarship Officer finally looked at me.

“And what do you know?”

The Scholarship Officer replied.

“Wait, I can’t tell you yet.”

A firm response; it was so obvious he was hiding something.

“Keep it a secret; can’t you tell me?”

“I can’t. There’s nothing certain. I hope you can understand that.”

“It’s a very sensitive matter to discuss here. This is about other people too…”

The Scholarship Officer declined to answer. Is knowing something going to result in disaster?

Just as I was trying to understand, a sudden surge of anger boiled over.

“It feels a bit unfair! We told you the moment we found out; can’t you at least give us a hint?”

“Stop it. I’m not obliged to tell you all my secrets.”

Hearing his cold refusal ignited my irritation.

“How can that be?”

“What?”

“I’m doing everything as instructed! I even get counseling at the academy! You come every day before I do anything. So why aren’t you doing the same?”

“I explained earlier why that’s not possible—”

“Weren’t we on the same side?”

My blunt remark caused our eyes to meet for a moment. I saw his dark pupils tremble slightly.

“…”

A moment of silence hung in the air. The Scholarship Officer’s lips pursed and relaxed repeatedly.

With a sigh, Seijis began to speak again.

“If I caused you to misunderstand, I apologize. It’s not that I don’t trust you, Violet.”

The Scholarship Officer continued in a serious tone.

“However, the secrets I know may put you at risk if you learn them. Even your friends too. In the worst case, everything could come crashing down.”

“Even so—”

“Though it may be an unreasonable request, please understand. When the proper time comes, I’ll tell you everything you’re curious about. Just wait patiently until then.”

Rarely, his expressionless face showed a hint of turmoil. That sight swayed my heart.

“Okay. I won’t ask. But you must explain everything later. Got it?”

In the end, I had no choice but to nod.

“Alright. I promise.”

As I stood up, the Scholarship Officer advised.

“For now, it’s best to live as you usually do, while staying alert. Don’t go looking for them. If what you say is true, they aren’t ordinary folks. And if you notice any suspicious signs…”

While saying so, the Scholarship Officer took something out from the table and handed it to me.

“I’ll take care of it. I’ll be sure to contact you, so don’t worry too much! But what’s this?”

“Open it.”

I opened the box, and the sweet aroma wafted out, making me gasp in awe.

Inside was a set of chocolates!

“Wow…”

“I thought you liked sweet things, so I brought them.”

The Second Clone immediately stuffed the chocolates into her mouth. The sweetness melted away our gloomy spirits.

“Wow… This is nice.”

“Delicious!”

Feeling pleased after receiving an apology, I was in a good mood. It wasn’t solely because of the chocolates.

“Not bad at all!”

After finishing the report, we stepped outside the Inspection Bureau. On our way out, meeting with the mascot friend was a bonus.

“Hi, meow!”

I waved to Millia. The Scholarship Officer’s assistant glared at me, sounding displeased.

“What? I’m not a cat!”

“Alright, fine, fluffy!”

Before he could ask what a fluffy was, I quickly left the scene.

After about a week, nothing particularly major had happened.

“What happened with Ilshimdan?”

“For now, the soliciting near the Southern academies has decreased. They say it’s the work of a criminal organization.”

During a recent interview, Headmaster Brecht mentioned this while showing some articles.

[Emerging multi-level marketing spreading rapidly among students, arrests made last night… substantial amount of damages]

[Gang aiming to entice academy students wiped out en masse]

It seems half of the issues were the tricks of con artists alluring Awakened Students driven mad by money, while the other half consisted of bad folks trying to lead them down the dark path.

“However, we haven’t been able to locate any organization called Ilshimdan. Upon investigation, it appears that there were quite a few students apart from Violet who had encountered them at our academy, but they seem to have vanished at some point, without a trace.”

At this rate, did we miss the mark entirely?

“Still, we mustn’t let our guard down. By the way, are you studying hard?”

“Yes!”

The Violet hurriedly left the Headmaster’s office. There’s a limit to how much you can directly intervene as long as there are no obvious changes.

Recently, two small variables had emerged in the academy activities.

The first was that someone familiar had entered the academy recently.

“Violet, how’s your academy life going?”

“It’s fine!”

For some reason, Sophie El had entered as a part-time lecturer. Apparently, one of the instructors had been hit in the knee by a monster’s arrow and was on leave, so she came in temporarily.

There must’ve been some discussion between the academy’s headmaster and Seijis.

“I see, the one sent from the Inspection Bureau was your sister!”

The second variable was the club activities.

In the second semester of the first year, students’ enthusiasm for welcoming new members was high.

“What club should I join?”

“Explosives Manufacturing Club!”

Imagining which club to join, we giggled.

“Revolution Club!”

“Democracy Society!”