ALL NOVEL Chapter 62
“Finance Director, what on earth happened?”
“……I’m even more curious.”
I stepped out of the administration office and entered a room in the building across. There was the Headmistress, waiting patiently.
No matter how low-ranked Millia was, being Rank 3, and even with the various measures taken, I had to completely eliminate any threats to my safety.
That’s why the Headmistress was hiding in the building across, ready to intervene at a moment’s notice.
However, nothing significant had actually occurred. It wasn’t an issue for now.
“How did Millia mention the terror plan first? It’s as if…”
“It’s like she read my mind.”
At that moment, based on the conversation flow, I was only inquiring about the connection between Millia and the Wish Church, showing no signs of wanting to instigate something. That was indeed my ultimate goal, but I didn’t show it.
Yet, Millia precisely mentioned the terror. It was impossible unless she could read my thoughts.
“Headmistress, could it be that Millia is using a spell to read minds? I wouldn’t know…”
“Maybe at Rank 7, but it’s impossible for her to deceive me at Rank 3. Millia didn’t use magic.”
The Headmistress’s assertion was filled with conviction. If a Rank 3 could deceive her, that would be a problem in itself.
But there was doubt lingering on the Headmistress’s face.
“Still, there was something strange.”
“Excuse me?”
“I felt something odd behind Millia’s chair… What can I say, it was a very ominous magic power.”
Ominous magic power?
‘If it’s behind Millia’s chair.’
Could she be referring to that shadow? The place where it seemed Millia suddenly tripped over something in mid-air?
Now that I think about it, that shadow did feel slightly strange.
“Headmistress, you don’t know exactly what it is?”
“If I had scanned the room with Ki purposely, I might have figured it out, but at that time, I had to avoid being noticed by Millia.”
“That makes sense.”
“However, I can assure you of one thing. It was the most terrifying and ominous magic power I’ve ever felt.”
“……You mean the Headmistress?”
“I’ve encountered countless powerful and vast magic powers before. But earlier, it felt… how should I put it? Saturated with pure malice? You don’t usually sense such magic from ordinary monsters.”
Millia, the Wish Church.
The Headmistress was insisting that it was the most ominous magic.
Could it be?
‘Is it the Dark Sword?’
That horrifying and ominous magic. It was a phrase often used when describing the Dark Sword in the Dark Kingdom.
If the Headmistress deemed it ominous, it must indeed be the Dark Sword.
‘But there’s no Dark Sword at the moment?’
The notion that it’s strange to carry it outside the church isn’t even touching the surface. It’s not something a personal possession could be compared to.
It’s simply that ‘there is no Dark Sword right now.’ To be precise, it has not been established yet.
That’s why the walkthrough stated that you would need to progress at least halfway through the second volume to obtain it.
No, wait.
Even if it’s not the Dark Sword itself, what if it’s its remnants? If there’s a high-ranking individual who can access the not fully constructed Dark Sword and use that power frequently?
“……It seems the Wish Church’s infiltrator isn’t just Millia alone.”
“Uh? Are you suggesting that there’s someone else in the room?”
“I can only think that way. And the ominous magic you sensed is probably from that other infiltrator.”
“But if they were able to escape my detection… I can’t believe that…”
Finally, it seemed the Headmistress arrived at the same conclusion as me, her complexion turning pale.
No matter how far apart I was and how much I focused solely on my protection to avoid being caught by Millia, the Headmistress is Rank 8. If someone was hiding well enough, they would have been caught long ago.
An entity that could evade the Headmistress’s notice and possesses the ominous magic presumed to be remnants of the Dark Sword.
“The Archbishop of the Wish Church?”
“Or it could be the leader.”
It was decades ago, but the Archbishop who infiltrated the academy was Rank 7.
If the influence of the Wish Church has expanded, it’s difficult to believe it has diminished. Above all, since they are keeping the Dark Sword as their core relic, it’s likely they could somehow create a Rank 7 operative.
And the leader, who I know nothing about, would probably also be at the level of Rank 7. Rank 8? If the leader was at Rank 8, they would have faced off against the fallen holy country long ago.
The mention of the terror could also highly likely be the doing of that Archbishop or presumed leader, not Millia.
“What if the Archbishop or Bishop was hiding and concealed themselves using the artifact’s power?”
“……As I said earlier, Millia cannot hide anything. But if another infiltrator is at least upper Rank 6, or perhaps Rank 7, that changes everything.”
“It’s more natural to think that way.”
Thinking back, there’s no way that the Wish Church would only have one infiltrator, and considering the sloppy behavior Millia displayed, that thought is even more reinforced.
Was that unknown memory I recalled at the end the work of the Wish Church? Ever since then, it felt like something had changed with Millia.
‘By the way, didn’t they say the church fell apart?’
I think Millia mentioned that when she suddenly went berserk, but reflecting on it now, it feels absurd.
Unless the Dark Sword had vanished. It’s ridiculous to think that a powerful force of Rank 6 or higher, possessing remnants of the Dark Sword, is an infiltrator.
All of it now seems to be a lie to deceive me, and that the previously sloppy behavior was nothing but a performance. Even if that wasn’t the case, Millia seemed genuinely pressured, so perhaps another infiltrator stepped in indirectly.
There’s a chance I could have been ambushed by that guy in that room. The Headmistress was there to protect me, so I wouldn’t have died, but it still sent shivers down my spine.
“By the way, Finance Director, the relic you mentioned earlier is…”
“It’s the Dark Sword.”
“That was the true identity of that ominous magic. If I knew it earlier, I would’ve captured a couple of them to torture instead of killing them all back then.”
“That was decades ago. Don’t worry about it too much.”
In the end, my contact with Millia yielded some results, but it left an unsettling residue behind.
Though I managed to lead the Wish Church as desired, while also being caught off guard by that mysterious memory, which ultimately resulted in my thoughts on the terror being read.
That was likely the work of the infiltrator presumed to be at Archbishop level. If they’re a powerful mage over Rank 6, they would certainly have the capabilities for such.
‘So that unsettling memory was an illusion spell after all.’
That’s the only explanation I could come up with. It felt more comforting to think of it that way.
…Or perhaps I might be intentionally avoiding it. My head was starting to hurt.
“Anyway, I guess I’ll have to meet with Millia again, and this time with another infiltrator.”
“Is there no way to go immediately?”
“I’ve already summoned Millia again, but she has yet to arrive. Besides, since she asked to meet again, there will be contact in some form.”
If the Wish Church realizes the Headmistress is involved, they will vanish immediately. I had to be the only one on the surface leading the charges.
Eventually, the Headmistress would also intervene, but that would be later.
At least before the finals begin, and before the terror occurs, I had to maintain communication with the Wish Church all by myself.
Meanwhile, while the Headmistress was deep in thought, I got up from my seat.
“Well then, I’ll excuse myself first.”
“Finance Director?”
“We can’t just keep worrying like this. We have a lot of work to do.”
Unlike the Wish Church, the Headmistress and I couldn’t just focus on solving this issue. We had numerous paperwork and financial matters to handle concurrently.
Of course, we had to discuss with the Headmistress before Millia and the other infiltrator approached, but for now, I had too much piled up.
The Headmistress sighed and got up with me.
“Then I’ll visit your dormitory after work today.”
“Can you come before midnight?”
“Uh, that seems unlikely?”
“Well, I guess studying is out of the question today. Understood.”
I could manage to cope until then with military-grade awakening drugs and the Headmistress’s Ki, but it seemed like more relentless work was ahead.
Every time this happened, I found myself missing the island’s midterms. That week was a truly sweet respite.
Just as I was about to leave the room, the Headmistress suddenly spoke up.
“Finance Director, are you leaving first? We could go together since I’m heading to the office anyway.”
“Sorry, I have a prior appointment.”
“……An appointment? Is that what you’re referring to?”
“It’s not about skipping out, but rather something I’ve been meaning to do for a while now.”
That lousy junior only responded just before the festival, and during the festival, they were busy with some hair loss-inducing trouble or another.
Now that the festival was over and work had finally eased up, it was the perfect time. If I postponed too long, I’d end up swamped with the issues surrounding the Wish Church and the terror.
So I said, “I’m heading to meet Ruth.”
“Oh.”
Finally. At long last.
I could keep the promise to the protagonist I made over a month ago.
……He’s probably angry, right? I would be too.
‘At least he suggested we meet at my dormitory.’
I should try to prepare something before arriving.
I really didn’t want to face an angry Rank 6 student.
Ruth is a guy too, so if I apologize sincerely, he won’t be too petty about it, right…?
*
“Haah… Haah….”
Running. I run and keep running.
Hiding in the shadows, without letting go of the Dark Sword.
Continuously running, Ruth entered a secluded alley.
And then.
He suddenly collapsed.
“……….”
Ruth covered his ears. Even so, the words and thoughts he had just heard kept raging in his mind.
Adam and Millia. And the terror.
That truth was hurting Ruth deeply.
‘Adam… really?’
The declaration at the end by Millia about executing a terror plan. Despite it being such an inconceivable statement, Adam was surprisingly not startled by it.
Of course, he was startled, but it was a different kind of shock. More like, ‘How did he know?’
……Having spent over three years with Adam in the dormitory, Ruth could sense that. By observing Adam’s gestures, facial expressions, and voice, he could pick up on his true intentions.
That’s why when he first met Adam on the burning hill, he realized Adam’s fall was real.
The possibility that the gigantic evil, the Wish Church, and Adam could be partnered up. The fact that they could carry out a terror attack at the academy together.
Just that possibility made it hard for Ruth to breathe.
The Adam he had known until now felt like it could all be a facade, and that from the very beginning, he had been corrupted and had deceived Ruth, which terrified him.
‘But, but.’
Not yet. It’s not certain yet.
After all, Adam had never brought up the topic of terror before. Even if he had known Adam for a long time, one can’t comprehend a person’s heart completely.
Until he sees concrete evidence, he couldn’t draw any conclusions. Ruth barely pulled himself away from the worst scenario.
However, if Adam truly intends to carry out a terror attack with the Wish Church at the academy, what on earth could be the reason for that?
‘………Adam.’
Is the person I know really you? Was that gentle demeanor and every word you spoke all a lie?
Was it due to the side effects of the Dark Sword? Or perhaps the gradually crumbling mind?
As Ruth quietly crouched in a familiar corner, he suddenly realized.
“……Ah.”
A hint of awareness dawned on him as he slowly stood up.
Involving Millia and Adam, he had momentarily forgotten, but today is.
The day he was supposed to meet Adam.
‘Right, let’s confirm by meeting him instead.’
A promise made over a month ago. A promise he thought Adam had forgotten, which left him in despair.
However, just yesterday, Adam had reached out to him. It came with a curse about the Student Council President, an apology for making him wait, and a message to meet today.
He read it over and over, smelling it multiple times, and felt relieved with each read.
It was evidence that Adam hadn’t abandoned or forgotten Ruth.
That’s something he had to confirm.
‘Let’s go and make it clear.’
The message included a rough guidance on how to get to the dorm. It was unusually a winding path through alleys, claiming that one had to take this specific route to reach the dormitory.
Previously, Adam had lived quite lavishly as a finance director. He didn’t know the reason for this change in dormitory, but it should be a fabulous one as well.
The reason for the dorm’s change and today’s matter.
Resolving to understand both, Ruth moved forward. Once he made a decision, it felt like everything would go smoothly.
‘Right, looking at it, there’s no reason for Adam to carry out a terror attack on the academy, right? He said he was quite close with the Headmistress, so it doesn’t make sense.’
A thought crossed his mind; maybe he had reacted too sensitively. If Adam was being influenced by the Wish Church, he should help him in some way.
Now that he thought about it, regarding the Wish Church.
‘Millia mentioned something about a mine.’
That a decaying church had invested in a mine and seriously failed.
Has this happened before? The only mine that came to mind was the one Ruth had been involved with.
‘The salt mine… Could it be?’
There are countless mines throughout the continent. What were the odds that the Wish Church invested in that salt mine which Ruth happened to be associated with?
But if that were true, then what a stroke of luck. He could inadvertently cause some trouble for the zealots. The thought made him feel better.
With that slight uplift, as he meandered through the alleys.
“Uh?”
He arrived at a very old, shabby, and small gray dormitory that seemed unsuitable for habitation.
“Ah, Ruth student. Have you arrived?”
“……Finance Director?”
“Please come in. It’s a humble place, so I’m embarrassed.”
Adam welcomed Ruth with a bright smile, and it was no empty greeting.
With the stark contrast to Adam’s previous life, Ruth felt his heart sink.