I Became an Outcast in the Academy

7. Proof (1)

“I heard that some of the cadets will be called up because of demons. And it looks like we are also included in that target.”

A cafeteria exclusively for cadets located within Lutra.

There, I eat with Cartesia and chat about various things.

The reason why we were talking like this during meal time, leaving all other time behind, was because we have been very busy lately.

Recently, Cartesia has been busy disappearing after class, wondering where she is and what she is doing, and I, too, have been actively participating in all classes to restore my reputation that has fallen to the ground due to her younger sisters’ tricks.

Despite these ceaseless efforts, my reputation, which had sunk deep into the depths of the underground, did not seem to recover easily, and in the end, there was still no one I could call a ‘friend’ other than Cartesia.

Actually, I don’t know why, but it wasn’t that there weren’t a lot of women who wanted to be friends with me.

‘But she’s a bit creepy for some reason.’

It’s not that I don’t like people, it’s just that I’ve been trying to avoid meeting them as much as possible because I feel like it’s burdensome to hook up with them and close the distance when I least expect it.

She is not a Luthra cadet anyway, so I don’t have any chance of meeting her in class, so if I try to avoid her, she can avoid me as much as I want.

Anyway, the bottom line is that I was friendless, so even if it was information that everyone in Lutra knew, it never reached my ears.

Unless Cartesia tells me about the rumor.

In that sense, the ‘demon race’ that Cartesia was talking about was the first time I had ever heard of it.

“Demons? “And within Lutra?”

As I blinked and asked, Cartesia twirled the fork she was holding with a perplexed expression on her face.

“Recently, we have been keeping quiet so as not to reveal it to the public, but there have been several disappearances within Lutra. “That’s why we’re making all this fuss.”

“… A missing person case?”

I ended up making an absurd expression at Cartesia’s words.

A disappearance case? That something like that happened within Lutra and not anywhere else?

‘That’s ridiculous.’

Basically, Lutre is the cradle of the empire and an educational institution at the same time, and the vast majority of the people who make up it are cadets of noble birth.

As such, knights and wizards dispatched from the imperial family are always on standby in Luthra, and since there is a strict barrier in place, it is nearly impossible to secretly infiltrate this place from outside.

Crucially, the chairman of Luthra is an absolute figure who boasts the greatest military power even when compared to the entire continent.

Deceiving the attention of the chairman and countless powerful people and kidnapping someone here was literally an act of suicide.

“Yes, generally it is. However, the culprit was also very clever and managed to leave no trace. However, it is also quite ridiculous for the chairman to personally intervene in something of this magnitude.”

Cartesia shrugged her shoulders and said that.

“Anyway, they couldn’t find the culprit, so they just assumed it was the work of demons. If you say it was a demon that did it, then you don’t have to go around looking for the culprit, right?”

“… Hmm.”

“But you don’t have to worry. If a criminal dares to approach you without your knowledge… “I’m going to kill him right away.”

Cartesia speaks like that with a cold smile.

“Then, since I think we’ve finished eating, shall we go somewhere? “It’s been a while since I have time to be alone with you, and I want to see your face and see who you dare to tell to come and go.”

****

When Cartesia and I arrived at the usual meeting place, a significant number of people had already gathered there.

Prince Ricardo, there’s no way you don’t know about this, so even if you’re here, I can also see my younger sisters, like Elina Lobelia, standing on the other side.

And given the circumstances, it seems we must have been the last ones to arrive here, but no one actually spoke to us when they called us.

The atmosphere seemed quite strange, so I decided to talk to the guy who seemed the most easy-going person in the place.

“… Why did you call us? “Could it be you who called us?”

“No way. “I also didn’t want to come to your place if possible.”

Seeing Ricardo slightly frowning and responding like that, it seemed like he had also been called here without knowing anything.

‘No matter how much I think about it, I’m a little suspicious… ‘

I turned my eyes and glanced in the direction where my sisters were, and the faces of Leticia and Lobelia, with somewhat relaxed expressions, caught my eye.

‘It’s similar. ‘Come back then.’

Not long before the duel with Ellie, the expression on my face at that time when she gave me the sword as a gift and the expression on my face now feel very similar.

That gaze as if he had placed the situation itself on the palm of his hand and was quietly watching me dance on top of it.

Even though I couldn’t put it into words, I knew very well that this kind of indescribable sensation was something that should never be ignored.

‘I have to be careful.’

As I was watching the situation around me with my alertness raised to the maximum, a man with a friendly face slowly walked towards the center of where we were gathered.

“Everyone must be busy, so I’m sorry for calling you here. Oh, let me introduce myself. My name is Rual Ornstein, and I am the student council president of Luthra.”

“… Ornstein?”

I frowned while listening to the student council president’s words.

Ornstein, Ornstein… It was a last name I had heard of somewhere, but where on earth had I heard it before? ?

“Everyone here knows what’s going on… The reason why you guys were called is because the board of directors ordered the cadets to investigate an incident that everyone knows about. So, I gathered here those who I thought were strong among the cadets.”

“Senior, do you mean that you will share the investigative authority with everyone here?”

“As many times as necessary.”

In response to Cartesia’s question, the student council president smiled and nodded.

“But before we begin the investigation in earnest, I want to take the time to infer the identity or purpose of the criminal. With so many people gathered here, I thought there might be at least one clue that could be of some sort… ”

However, despite the student council president’s subtle encouragement, not a single person came forward and expressed their opinion.

That was only natural. If you go out and say something wrong in a place like this, you will really end up not getting your money’s worth.

But that was then.

“Umm… “This is not my personal opinion, but I am speaking from an objective perspective as a wizard. In my opinion, this disappearance incident was not committed due to personal enmity.”

It was Leticia.

“There was no personal relationship or anything in common between the missing people. In other words, wouldn’t it mean that from the criminal’s perspective, it would have been good if he could just kidnap someone without making any noise?”

“Umm… In other words, they just kidnapped people spontaneously rather than something planned?”

“There is no reason to kidnap people within Lutra if it is just to commit murder. I think the killer may have some personal purpose. For example, he is an offering to be used in some ritual or magic… “

It was quite a reasonable inference. Because I was thinking that too.

“Hmm, then what are the specific rituals or magic that can be used to sacrifice a person?”

“The number of such rituals and magic is truly endless… The most representative example would be something that forcibly amplifies one’s power. Because if you forcibly remove magical energy or energy from a person’s body and absorb it into your body, you can become stronger very easily just by doing that.”

“… “So then, it is very likely that the culprit is someone whose strength has suddenly increased recently?”

“Maybe. Even if it didn’t necessarily absorb vital energy, I think it must have become stronger than before in some way if it clearly sacrificed a person.”

Like a series of well-organized plays, everything flows smoothly from the inference to the conclusion.

I have a bad feeling about something. Even more so than before.

“Tongue, bro! No, Chairman! I know one person like that! “A person who seemed like a piece of trash not long ago, but recently his strength seems to have increased dramatically!”

At that time, a cadet next to Ricardo raised his hand and made a fuss loudly.

And unfortunately, that guy was one of the cadets I knew well.

“… Berdel Ornstein?”

In the past, when my younger sisters were spreading bullsh*t rumors about me and my reputation was in ruins, I was one of those bastards who went around spreading good rumors while looking happier than anyone else in the world.

At least I kept my mouth shut after trampling Ricardo in the duel that day, so I didn’t even pay attention to that idiot, but I never imagined that that bastard would appear like this at this moment.

‘Wait a minute, now that I think about it, wasn’t the student council president’s last name Ornstein…? ?’

The whole situation is clearly going strangely.

I tried to hit the player before that idiot started talking nonsense, but unfortunately, he was one step faster than me.

“Xian, Xian! That guy was an incompetent piece of trash not long ago, but his skills have suddenly improved tremendously! “A person’s abilities have grown so much in less than a month. I think he must have used some kind of hex!”

When Verdel shouted those words, all eyes gathered here focused on me.

But rather than blaming Berdel, I quietly looked at the person who had brought the situation to this point.

Binggrae.

And Leticia did not look away from my gaze, but rather smiled.

Looking at Leticia’s face like that, I bit her lip.

‘It’s a trap.’

It’s a very nasty, clever trap prepared just for me.