41 – Knights (4)
—–
From Noble mtl dot com
[Who was the bastard who caused the flood in the Epsilon Hallway last time?]
I threw away all the ice water from the vending machine.
Professor, you’re still so pissed off that the temperature in the classroom has dropped to minus 30 degrees Celsius.
I still have two hours of class left, but if I freeze to death here, it’s your fault, you bastards.
– Wasn’t there only frozen water in that vending machine?
– Hm… This is a kind punishment.
– Are you talking about the extreme magic class? Go quickly and call the Maryland Hall supervisor.
ㄴ The supervisor? The dormitory manager?
ㄴ Yes, there’s only one person at the magic tower who can handle that professor.
ㄴ When I went to the classroom after putting down my book, the atmosphere between the two of them was a little strange… Could it be?
ㄴ I envy, I envy, I envy, I want to be a pure-blooded sorcerer and be all lovey-dovey.
ㄴ Good thought, good thought, good thought, good thought, good thought, bad thought, good thought, good thought, good thought, good thought…
ㄴ Uh-oh, I have one bad thought in mind.
—–
—–
Marine451
[Something strange seems to be happening a lot lately]
Someone took out all the ice water from the vending machine
The door to the basement floor where the graduate students live was left wide open
Last time, the ghost in the cafeteria, who insisted we shouldn’t give it any food, set up a buffet and was eating
Especially two days ago, at 3:30 in the morning, someone broke into room 105 at the Silipe Hall for women and stole the underwear from the drawer under the bed. That’s really wicked.
It was annoying to install security bars on the first floor, so it took more time.
I hope this isn’t all the work of lawless people.
— These outlaws are truly a bunch of useless bastards.
— Just your average troublemakers.
— One of them seems suspiciously detailed…?
— Are you the last one? Lololol.
— If we trace the location notes and connection records, won’t they be caught by the police?
ㄴ Marine451: How would you know? Lolol.
ㄴ They won’t get caught. Instead, the police will personally confirm the crime and handle it as an “accident.”
ㄴ Ugh.
ㄴ Marine451: What? Really?
ㄴ This is even scarier… Take care.
—–
—–
[If we look closely at what these outlaws have been up to this year, there’s one person who comes to mind.]
While it’s true that their annoying mischief is on point, they don’t seem to engage in serious crimes like violent offenses.
It’s like they’re walking a tightrope, teetering on the edge without crossing it, in a wishy-washy manner.
And it’s not just one or two incidents. They’re clearly causing similar events in groups, indicating that there’s a mastermind behind it all.
Considering how all the sidekicks have gone into hiding since “that announcement,” no one will explicitly say who it is, but… hmm…
— Gasp!
— Ugh…!
— It’s pure evil.
– The king of the gallery, it’s you again?
– It’s just fun to see the police suffer.
ㄴ They might be planning to paralyze the police after the intelligence department.
ㄴ I’m a member of the police department, and I’m back at the round table again.
ㄴ Is it another fancy plan like the last bee incident?
ㄴ Oh, I can’t mention it directly because it’s still a suspicion~
—–
“Director Stollen, you need to speak.”
“……”
“Director Stollen?”
“Oh, sorry. I received an important call for a moment.”
Director Stollen closed the location note and stood up from his seat.
He was about to present a report on the recent intruding outlaws to the round table.
Unlike before, this year didn’t suffer significant damage, but the administration of Matap paid close attention to this incident.
It was because there were suspicious aspects regarding their affiliation.
“Most of the outlaws have a history of working in the Chehaf region as adventurers. However, they all remain silent about their reasons for coming to Matap or their motives for their crimes.”
“Are they really all adventurers?”
In response to Information Director Vernon’s question, Stollen adjusted his oval glasses.
He was good at sensing when it came to the topic of preserving his position through the abilities of his subordinates, despite his own incompetence.
“I heard that they are all experts in swordsmanship, unlike typical adventurers….”
“We are currently investigating the higher entities. And, this is the original duty of the Information Department.”
“Cough, the Information Department is currently busy with follow-up measures after the train terrorism incident… Can’t the Security Department handle simple interrogations using magic?”
“We are also currently searching for the main culprits. However, we have obtained some evidence that the Haeju faction was involved in this incident through witnesses.”
“….”
“….”
A faint reaction emanated from somewhere.
According to Stollen’s speculation, it seemed certain that the Information Department had covered up Vincent’s disappearance on the 44th floor.
There must have been something that happened after the investigation.
For example, an unexpected accident during the process of apprehension.
Anyway, now that the Information Department had no capacity to focus on anything else, it was an excellent opportunity from his perspective.
Stollen already knew who they were and why they had come to the Tower.
He was just tactfully responding, unlike the Information Department, which couldn’t secretly handle them with the security forces operating in the Yangji District.
“If I can handle these enemies of the Fourth Prince here, it means that I can directly reach the Royal Family.”
For some reason, the Fourth Prince, Ashfel, seemed to be targeting the Holcroft family, especially the deceased daughter of the noble family.
“If I cut off that arm and leg, I’m sure I can even be invited to the ‘alliance.'”
The clandestine leadership of the Eun’euk Knights, who were still hiding their identities as they ascended the Tower.
As soon as the meeting ended, Stollen sent a scorpion to prevent them from leaving the Tower alive.
It was an archaic communication method used by the sorcerers before the witches infiltrated the Research Division’s masterpiece.
It was the method used by ‘them,’ who were under Ashfel’s command, and it never used location notes.
For some unknown reason, it seemed that she intensely disliked the figure referred to as “Judak” behind the gallery.
I don’t know the thoughts of those cursed sorcerers, but I could understand their wariness to the same extent as Shu Tolen.
Because the last writing I saw in the gallery flashed through my mind.
“Surely not, right?”
The owner of the gallery, who is evaluated to have the skills of a Top Master or equivalent, would not tolerate lawless individuals from a silent lineage.
Even if they were in control of them, where would the reason be to cause a petty disturbance like a vending machine shortage with swordsmen experts?
No matter how much I thought about it, it was a phenomenon that Shu Tolen couldn’t understand.
He immediately left the conference room after emptying his thoughts.
*
“Ugh, ack…! This is enough, curse, no, damn sorcerers…!”
“You’re amazing. Have you already written ‘King of Bees’ on the Undra Family Garden statue?”
“Well, there won’t be anything else to do now, right?”
“Hmm….”
Chased by the police, chased by the pure-blooded sorcerers, with wanted posters everywhere they went, their members were being captured one by one.
In just a few days, the number of members in the Eunik Knights had significantly decreased.
Douglas, who had become a wreck, and his subordinates glared at this side with weary eyes.
The dismal feeling of having to watch their comrades, who had been driven out of the horse-drawn carriage with bars, mixed in with the crowd, was clearly evident.
“In fact, until now, it was just a simple amusement, and I still have the ‘Haeju School Full Course’ that I prepared with great effort….”
“No, I don’t want to!”
“Mama…”
The knights trembled in fear as the atmosphere of it not being over yet permeated.
Some even sat down, shedding tears.
Confirming that the toys had started to break, I briefly checked the gallery.
There was a lively discussion going on about the breadcrumbs of unidentified outlaws.
Although it was unexpected for the security officers to move indifferently, flipping the first floor to this extent would have certainly strengthened the curse.
Among them, there were a few who showed potential as heroes, so they wouldn’t be unlucky enough to die in the fog of the labyrinth.
Since I was also moderately entertained, I decided to send them off with some comfort at this point.
“Since the knights also have a purpose for coming here, we can’t take any more of their time. I will guide you through the trials of the first floor.”
“I heard that the procedure to enter the labyrinth is strict. Can we enter?”
“Well, luckily I am from the Ministry of Life, so I specifically asked my boss for a favor and got a position as an examiner. If you all just wait and watch the situation, you can come to the far left line where I am standing.”
“….”
“Oh? Aren’t you happy?”
Now, I pushed them into the magic elevator, even instilling fear in their eyes.
As expected, the 9th floor, the time when the labyrinth opens, was filled with people.
As soon as the door opened, I parted ways with the knights and received some education from the head of the Ministry of Life before standing at the entrance of the labyrinth.
Magicians holding papers with subject grades and completion certificates for quests in the first floor gathered in a rush.
The task of selecting those who are capable of passing through the labyrinth is entirely up to the discretion of the examiner.
The evaluation of the school that issued the grades and requests, the magical hierarchy, and so on are taken into consideration, but the people standing in front of me had one more hurdle to overcome.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes?”
“Failed, please come back next time.”
After checking the location notes, I filtered out all the scoundrels who were causing trouble in the gallery.
Since these guys would only cause problems even if they were eroded by the mist of the labyrinth, it was a kill two birds with one stone situation.
“What about the documents?”
“hehehe, here.”
“Passed.”
On the other hand, following my instructions, all the members of the Eunik Corps lined up on this side passed without exception.
Confidently, I stamped their blank papers.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Next.”
Like that, mechanically stamping for about an hour, finally only one person remained.
Irene, a senior member of the Eunik Corps.
Seeing that the number of people on the 9th floor was decreasing, I urged her to quickly submit her documents.
But she suddenly asked me something while staring intently at the finger tapping on the table.
“Are you an adventurer by any chance?”
“Huh?”
“I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
“I’ve been in Martop since five years ago.”
Realistically, there was no possibility that she, or any other member, had met me.
Our activity areas and timelines didn’t overlap at all.
But maybe it was because she was the only one who had worked in the association as a receptionist.
Irene kept persistently trying to figure out my identity.
“Hmm, it’s not… but I’m certain it’s from somewhere…”
“No matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to remember through your own efforts.”
“What?”
“That’s the law of the world. No, is it a curse?”
I snatched the documents from her hands and stamped them with a bang!
And without hesitation, I grabbed her wrist and threw her into the labyrinth.
“Let’s see from above.”
“What!? Wait, what did you just say…!?”
After confirming that everyone had gone up, I immediately grabbed my belongings and went up to the 19th floor.
Now it was time for them to prepare for the final trial to meet Mariel.