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District 5, Capital City Gendarmerie Headquarters.

I went to the headquarters to hear the interrogation results of the arrested instigators from Market Street.

Although they belonged to the same Imperial Army, I didn’t have the authority to give them orders or request information due to our different affiliations. However, they respected my rank as part of the Imperial Army. They willingly provided me with information since I was the one who captured the instigators.

Of course, part of that was because we hadn’t obtained any significant information from the interrogation results.

“Have they all died?”

“Yes. During the interrogation, they all died from sudden seizure symptoms. I’ll hand over the case documents to you, so please refer to that for the details.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

“What can I say? We’re all part of the Imperial Army. By the way, you can read the case documents here, but you can’t take them out. You have to read them here. Now, please excuse me.”

The gendarme, who provided me with a staff lounge to read the case documents calmly, gave a short salute before leaving.

Left alone, I quietly examined the case documents.

“……”

The Scarred Man’s name was Hans. Initially, he had committed a crime and was part of a penal battalion, but due to his extraordinary combat abilities, he accumulated merits and was assigned to the 5th Legion, where he suffered extreme psychological damage after his unit was completely wiped out and later went through voluntary discharge.

Setting aside the man’s past, I focused on the contents of the interrogation.

He initially refused to give any testimony. However, after the gendarmerie conducted a somewhat rough interrogation, he confessed everything without resistance.

After the war, he had been struggling with alcoholism when an organization that called itself the Future of the Empire contacted him secretly. They suddenly ordered him to create a commotion in District 8 and capture an Elf. And….

‘Tell me what you know about the other members of the organization.’

‘The Future of the Empire is a loose organization, so most members do not know each other’s faces.’

‘Isn’t there even one person you know? Even in a loose organization, there must be at least one member you had contact with.’

‘Wait, come to think of it, I know one person’s face. A blonde woman… Guh! Glergh!’

Hans stopped speaking right there and suddenly foamed at the mouth and collapsed. After Hans’s death, the other four men also had seizures in turn and ultimately died as well.

Initially, I thought it was excessive interrogation that caused the seizures, but later investigations revealed traces of magic.

A blonde woman.

How many blonde women could possibly be in the Capital City? I suspect at least tens of thousands. There was a reason the gendarmerie deemed this information of little value.

I set the documents down and left the lounge. On my way out, I ran into the gendarme who had previously escorted me.

“Did you confirm the documents well?”

“Thanks to you. How will the investigation proceed from here?”

“Well, since all the instigators are dead, there’s no information left to investigate… Usually, such complicated cases are passed to the intelligence department, so there’s nothing more the gendarmerie can do.”

“I see.”

I learned that although the investigation wouldn’t conclude immediately, the gendarmerie wouldn’t take any further actions.

Once this matter was handed over to the intelligence department, it would quickly reveal they had targeted Titania. Then the case would inevitably escalate, and Titania’s treatment would likely proceed regardless of her wishes.

But that’s okay. I know where I need to go.

My steps leaving the Capital City Gendarmerie Headquarters were resolute.

*

Titania being there was not scheduled. It was something hastily decided by Marian’s suggestion, and only a limited number of people in the Opal Black Class knew about it.

So how did the “Future of the Empire” find out that Titania would be going to District 8 that day and incite chaos?

Did someone among Marian and Osnia pass on the information? It didn’t seem likely.

No clumsy act could deceive my senses. If either of them had shown even a slight hesitation regarding Titania, I would have surely noticed. Yet both displayed genuine concern for her as friends.

Then, it must have been the work of an outsider? Was someone continuously watching Titania?

No. Philion Imperial Academy, being the largest educational institution on the continent, isn’t a place anyone can just enter.

Even when I first entered the academy, despite holding military identification and deployment orders, I had to go through quite a complicated check. Other outsiders would go through similar or even more rigorous procedures.

Even if someone forcibly tried to intrude, there is a dome-shaped barrier installed throughout the academy to defend against intruders and block magic, making transformation spells or flying in impossible.

Even if one somehow breached the academy’s barrier, to approach the Opal Black Dormitory, they would have to deceive the tram’s recognition pass or make their way through Hemeim Forest. It’s hard to believe a mere terrorist organization could achieve that.

If someone had been keeping tabs on Titania, I would have noticed it myself long before anyone else could.

That leaves only one conclusion. Information leaked from within the academy.

Thinking briefly about where it might have leaked from became clear. There are internal personnel who could monitor all students leaving the academy without raising suspicion.

The main gate of Philion Academy.

It’s the guards stationed right there.

Every student must explain their purpose for leaving the academy. The guards would have known where we were headed at that time.

As soon as I exited the Capital City Gendarmerie, I immediately returned to Philion Academy.

When I first exited the main gate with the students, it was morning. Now, as the sun begins to set, the guards who were present in the morning have, of course, all been replaced.

Holding up my instructor’s badge, I asked the guard for the names of those who were working when I first exited the academy.

The guard, looking puzzled, seemed unable to refuse a faculty member’s request and told me all their names, and naturally, the number of guards working at that time comfortably exceeded ten.

“Do all guards have access to the access logs?”

“No. Internal records are very sensitive, and only the captain of the guards can check them. I believe only administrative staff among the faculty can see them.”

Then the suspects would be limited only to those who were on guard duty at the time.

I asked if any of them had recently shown any tendencies of discrimination against immigrants or were economically struggling.

The guards seemed to ponder over my question.

“Discrimination against immigrants? Is that about the fuss in the Capital City recently?”

“I don’t think any of us would fall into that category. After all, there are many immigrants and mixed-race students among the student body. Sometimes students give us small gifts to cheer us up.”

“If there were someone like that, the captain would have surely dealt with them. But… hmm…”

I saw one of the guards looking hesitant, his expression slowly becoming cautious. He looked as if he was unsure whether he should speak about this.

I stared at that guard directly and asked.

“What is it?”

“Well… I think Leonard mentioned recently that he was having a hard time due to a lack of money, but I’m not entirely sure…”

He looked nervous, fearing his careless words might cast suspicion on his colleague. He glanced over at the others as if to seek their opinions before continuing.

The guards exchanged memories about Leonard, recalling what they knew.

“Leonard? Now that you mention it, didn’t he suddenly say his mother fell seriously ill and he urgently needed money?”

“I think he had a long face all day and hid in the tavern after work…”

“What? That happened? Why didn’t I know?”

“But I heard it got resolved quickly? A few days later, he came back in a good mood saying everything went well.”

An instinctive alert rang in my mind at their words.

“Where is that person now?”

*

Faculty Accommodation of the Academy.

Given the massive scale of Philion Academy, it naturally had a separate living area for the faculty.

I took the tram to the staff living area and headed specifically to the dormitory where the guards stayed.

Leonard’s room was on the second floor of the dormitory.

I didn’t waste any time and went straight to the second floor, knocking on his door. The door opened slightly, revealing the face of a man.

“…Who are you?”

Leonard looked like an ordinary Imperial man at first glance. However, when he opened the door and recognized my face, I noticed his pupils widen suddenly and him gasping.

He was startled to see me.

Thus, my suspicion became increasingly certain.

“Is this Leonard Bain?”

“Yes, yes… but who are you…”

“I’m Ion Graham, the instructor of the Opal Black Class. I would like to check your room, so please open the door.”

Leonard’s expression paled drastically. He quickly tried to close the door, but I swiftly grabbed the door as it was closing. No matter how hard he tried, the door wouldn’t budge.

“Why are you doing this? Let go of the door!”

“Why are you so hesitant if I just want to check the room?”

“This is my room! No matter what, is this how it works for an instructor? If you really want to check, why don’t you bring a gendarme with you!”

Before I could say anything, Leonard, already panicking, blurted out that I should bring a gendarme with me.

As he shouted, other employees looked over, wondering what the commotion was all about.

Whatever was in that room, if I let Leonard close the door, he would undoubtedly dispose of it immediately.

I couldn’t allow that to happen.

“No. I’m here not just as an instructor but as a Captain of the Imperial Army’s Special Operations Unit. And the Special Operations Unit has the authority to dispose of the Empire’s traitors in emergency situations, and you currently stand accused of severe terrorist charges.”

“Wha—what…? What does that mean…?”

“So…”

I applied more force to my hand holding the door.

The door flew open, almost tearing off its hinges, revealing the interior of the room clearly.

“Step aside.”

Leonard stared blankly at the torn door.

 

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