Chapter 187

A hooded young boy dashed across the rooftops like a gale.

His movements of leaping between rooftops were surprisingly agile.

Even as Die pulled up the power of Amon to follow, the distance between them grew larger.

“Damn it!”

‘I can’t use more power in front of people.’

Amon worship was not heretical, but it still wasn’t looked upon favorably.

There had been a huge uproar when Konel, Die’s idol, was shot by a silver arrow during a speech.

‘Still, I can’t let the one running in front of me get away…’

The hooded boy tried to leap over a street.

“Look at that kid!”

“Oh my… what’s going on?”

“Does it seem like someone is chasing them?”

People looked at Die, and Die instinctively concealed himself between the buildings.

“Damn it!”

The stigma of being born in the slums still lingered in the boy’s heart, making him fear the gazes of others.

While Die hesitated, the hooded boy kicked off the edge of the rooftop and leaped.

Several faint-hearted ladies fainted, and people screamed as they tried to catch the boy.

However, the boy did not fall to the ground and turn into a pile of red meat.

With a thud, the boy jumped across a road more than 8 meters wide, flailing his limbs in mid-air as he grasped the edge of the opposite building.

With a clatter, debris fell, and pedestrians below screamed once more.

At that moment, Christian dashed out, kicking off the ground.

“Get out of the way!”

He was tall, wielding a longsword, and only nobles, guards, constables, knights, or students from the academy’s swordsmanship department could unsheathe a longsword within the capital.

And being a student from the academy’s swordsmanship department meant he was a fighter that even common thugs wouldn’t dare to face.

He had undoubtedly taken part in countless brawls throughout his time at the academy.

As pedestrians screamed and parted left and right, Christian stepped onto the wall, taking a big leap as he aimed to cut the ankles of the hooded boy, or rather, the infiltrator.

At the moment Christian jumped, the hooded boy let go of his grasp on the building’s edge.

“!”

Christian’s sword sliced through the air, and the boy fell into the crowd.

Die rushed out, drawing his dagger.

“Hey! Are you okay?”

“I’m up.”

“Let’s get to a hospital or a temple.”

“Who are you guys! Why are you drawing swords…?”

Die almost yelled that he was an infiltrator but hesitated.

Provoking an infiltrator in a crowded street could bring about an unimaginable disaster.

In the meantime, the hooded boy slipped through the hands of the crowd.

“Damn.”

He threw himself into the throng and vanished as if he had never existed.

“What was just that?”

“Uh, where did he go?”

Die exchanged glances with Christian and whispered.

People were sending them questioning and wary looks.

Die pulled Christian into an alley.

First, they needed to regroup with Onelli.

* * *

The five gathered in the back alley, and Onelli lowered her head.

“The chase… has been lost. It shouldn’t be possible. Unless he literally vanished, it’s impossible…”

Christian replied hesitantly.

“It might actually be that he has vanished as described. He just suddenly disappeared while running. I don’t know if it was transparency or spirit form, or the power of a rare magic tool, or his ability, but he will definitely reappear.”

Hoze panted, speaking.

“I told the constables too. I said an infiltrator appeared, and, just in case, I mentioned seeing a crazy mage. They all said they would take action. So for now…”

The merchant glanced at the young men with solemn expressions, cleared his throat, and said.

“Still, having lived for 15 more years, I can tell you that when things are stalled mid-progress, the right answer is to revert to before it was stalled.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Why don’t we go back to that old mage? I’m not sure, but could he not provide a new tracking magic or higher-level magic?”

Hoze sighed softly.

“I won’t report this. Confession… Ah, why am I being put through this trial…”

Onelli nodded appreciatively and stood up.

“Then let’s go back….”

Die felt an ominous premonition and soon realized it was true.

“Mage?”

The house of the mage he had persuaded two hours ago was now in flames, reduced to ashes.

“It can’t be.”

“It was definitely here, right?”

Christian and Hoze looked around in confusion.

The adjacent building had no signs of charring, but all that remained in the mage’s house were charcoal and ashes.

Onelli trembled and hugged her shoulders.

She fidgeted, looking at her handkerchief.

“No, no, no. Could it be that, following this, Aini has come? It can’t be. I’m sure I severed it properly…”

Hoze lightly tugged at Onelli’s clothing.

“Sister. I don’t know what this is about, but I can hardly feel any traces of the old thing. It’s magic, but… this energy is quite unfamiliar to me…”

Onelli slowly lifted her head, and Die stepped behind her to approach the merchant.

He looked as if he had found something.

* * *

“Die-kun. Do you know what this is?”

Die brushed away the ashes and speculated the original form of the metal piece.

“Isn’t it a cauldron?”

Among the ashes lay a large, three-legged cauldron that was half-melted and crumpled.

The merchant tapped the cauldron and said.

“That’s right. It is a cauldron. But it’s not an ordinary one.”

“Hmm?”

“This is a cauldron for making potions. It has to withstand all sorts of reagents and poisons, so it is made of a very sturdy magical alloy. As far as I know, a cauldron of this kind cannot be melted by magic below the 5th circle.”

Seeing the cauldron mangled like wax, Die gasped softly.

Nearby, Onelli nodded as if confirming the merchant’s words.

Before long, Christian and Hoze also approached and listened attentively.

“In other words, flames of at least the 5th circle must have occurred here, and such mages are not common in the capital. Considering that no energy from the old thing was felt, the infiltrator is unlikely to be the culprit. Then, who could burn this place down in an hour? And with such precision that the neighboring buildings didn’t even get scorched, yet strong enough to melt this cauldron?”

Die naturally mumbled a name.

“…Valencius.”

If that terrifying bandit, who survived after eating the heart of a dragon and gained supreme body and power, could likely cause such flames.

Hoze murmured, his voice tinged with guilt.

“So that rumor was true. They say Duke Valencius is covering up the incident for fear that great lords would leave without swearing fealty upon evidence of the infiltrator.”

Christian clenched his teeth, filled with righteous indignation.

“We must stop this. By any means.”

Die asked the valiant man.

While indignation was always welcomed, the boy from the slums wanted to distinguish between righteousness and the naivety of being unaware of the world.

“If that rumor is true… what can we do?”

Christian spoke confidently.

“There is someone who will help us. Very intelligent and brave. That person has connections with court nobles and councilors. Then we can mobilize the newspapers, and once we reach there, even Duke Valencius cannot prevent the people from knowing about this matter.”

Die felt pleased and smiled inwardly.

Hoze and Onelli also regained their spirits.

If the actual power broker from the academy stepped in, it could indeed happen.

Hoze walked towards the Street of Learning and asked.

“Sounds like an impressive person. What’s their name?”

Christian replied.

“Jin. Our esteemed student council president. Not long ago, they received investments from court nobles to establish large-scale studio buildings. That person would certainly be able to reveal the truth in this street.”

Die turned back.

“Where did the merchant go?”

* * *

Die and Hoze waited outside while Jin and Onelli entered the student council room.

“Welcome. Christian. How has your vacation been?”

With gray hair like waves and blue eyes, standing tall with a well-built body that nearly strained the shoulders of his uniform.

The charming student council president, Jin, offered a chilled cup of tea to receive them.

Onelli blushed at the fact that she was seeing the president of the rumors in person, and Christian politely showed his respect and replied.

“Thanks to you taking care of each student, it has been good.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Christian. What brings you to find me during vacation? Perhaps to join the student council? You are always welcome.”

“Actually… we need the student council to take action on something.”

Christian lowered his voice.

Recognizing that it was serious, Jin’s blue eyes shone brightly.

“Please tell me in detail.”

“The recent explosion incidents are not the work of a mad mage but rather the infiltrator, and Duke Valencius is hiding this fact for fear that great nobles coming to pledge loyalty might leave under such excuses.”

Christian spoke unreservedly, following the who, what, when, where, why, and how.

“…President. A house was burned down in broad daylight, and two people have disappeared. Given the circumstances, they likely could not have escaped death. My friend is still lying ill. Thanks to the priest, he escaped death, but there’s no saying when other academy students might come and lynch him.”

Though the last part carried emotion and speculation, it only served to emphasize his indignation.

“If that is true… this is a very serious matter.”

Jin replied, furrowing his brows.

Christian concluded his words cautiously but firmly.

“Only you, President, can inform us and the people of this capital about the truth. Please, move the Street of Learning to uncover the schemes of the rogue Duke Valencius and assist in eliminating the dangerous infiltrators.”

Jin remained silent for a moment.

It was a long silence that even surprised Christian, who expected him to nod cheerfully.

At that moment, Onelli saw Jin’s gaze flicker yellow for an instant.

“President?”

“Oh. Let me gather my thoughts.”

He smiled gently, taking out a bottle of unmarked potion from his pocket and drank it.

“I got hit by a pretty strong curse while trying to stop a brawl before vacation. It was too expensive to get purified by a priest, so I’ve just been using this potion.”

Christian spoke worryingly.

“Your health directly impacts the entire Street of Learning. You should have it purified as soon as possible…”

Jin shook his head.

“No, no. A benefactor bought this for me, so I didn’t spend a dime.”

“Oh.”

He raised a finger and continued cheerfully.

“But among the things that person told me, there was this: that sometimes it’s better for people not to know things. You know, while we’re having fun, somewhere a magical realm is opening, turning a territory into a wasteland, and in the north, our peers are all becoming seasoned warriors… Imagine if we kept hearing about that. Then we wouldn’t be able to enjoy our academy life.”

“President?”

“That can’t happen. I am the student council president of this academy, the representative of the Student Union of the Street of Learning.”

Christian suddenly felt a sensation as if his fingertips were stiffening.

He tried to stand up but found his legs wouldn’t cooperate.

“Surely…!”

Onelli collapsed feebly onto the desk.

Jin hurriedly reached out, supporting her so she wouldn’t bump her head.

He seemed just as gentlemanly and cheerful as usual.

Jin, half-standing, looked down at Christian and said.

“Christian. There’s no connection between killing the infiltrator and informing people. Rather, they would interfere with each other.”

His blue eyes shone vividly.

Christian felt an overwhelming chill and spoke.

“That benefactor…”

“I’m sorry. Christian. You should sleep for a while. I couldn’t afford to let you die.”