Chapter 45: Epilogue (1)

“So… how long am I stuck here?”

“You need to rest for at least another day.”

Aria lay in bed, Lena sitting beside her.

“Aren’t my injuries healed already?”

Glesia’s potion had completely healed her, but…

‘Rest a bit longer.’

Glesia had firmly refused to discharge her.

‘You need more rest, Aria.’

‘We’ll help you with anything you need, so don’t even think about getting up.’

The Hero’s party had also insisted she stay in bed.

So, despite being fully recovered, she remained confined.

“Did something happen with the Saintess?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well… she seems to be in a bad mood lately…”

Ah, that.

The incident with Lucia the previous day had ended with Glesia entering the room.

‘So, the patient is awake?’

‘I’ll… I’ll come back later…’

‘Lucia? Lucia?!’

Lucia had fled the moment Glesia arrived. Alicia, startled by Lucia’s tearful state, had followed, but neither had returned.

“…I don’t know.”

“Oh, okay.”

Lena gave Aria a suspicious look before replying. She seemed about to say something else, but…

“It seems we have a visitor.”

“Huh?”

The door opened as Aria spoke.

“May I speak with you for a moment?”

Glesia entered.

“Did something happen?”

“Yes.”

Glesia’s serious expression told Aria this was important.

“Lena, could you excuse us for a moment?”

“If you please.”

“…Alright.”

Lena left, and Glesia closed the door behind her. She sat in the chair Lena had vacated.

“We’ve identified the assassin who attacked the Academy.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She doesn’t use a name, but her codename is F. She’s an assassin belonging to an underworld organization called White Blood.”

Aria feigned surprise, though she already knew this.

“What about tracking her down?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Several professors, including Professor Lian, managed to infiltrate the underworld organization.”

“Past tense?”

“They infiltrated successfully, but that’s all.”

“Don’t tell me…”

Were they all captured?

Surely the underworld didn’t have the power to wipe out a group of professors…

“No one was killed, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Then…?”

“The problem arose after they entered the organization.”

“What happened?”

Glesia paused before continuing.

“They were dead.”

“What?”

“All the organization members. Every single one of them, dead.”

“…A cover-up?”

Glesia shook her head.

“Cover-ups are usually initiated by the client, not by wiping out the entire organization.”

“Then what was it?”

“One person. One body was missing.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yes.”

The assassin, F.

“Her body was nowhere to be found.”

“But with her disguise skills, couldn’t she have been overlooked?”

Even as she spoke, Aria knew better.

F was a Master-level assassin. Concealing one’s presence in death was impossible. The professors would have sensed her if she were among the dead.

‘So, she made that choice.’

The information Aria had given F as part of their deal. That must have been the cause.

‘Not that it’s my concern.’

“Only one body among them had Master-level skills. And that was the male boss of the organization.”

“So, F betrayed them?”

“It seems so.”

“What about tracking her?”

“We’re trying, but it’s practically impossible.”

Glesia sighed.

“What about the accusations against me?”

Aria’s involvement had been solely to clear her name, not necessarily to catch the culprit.

“There was some resistance from the nobles, but they seem to have accepted it.”

“Aren’t you from one of the Five Great Noble Families yourself?”

“Hmph, those are none of my business.”

Glesia, despite being from one of the Five Great Families, despised the nobility due to past events.

“There were suggestions to interrogate you, suspecting manipulation…”

“What happened?”

“The Headmaster intervened, and they backed down.”

Glesia muttered about their cowardice, but Aria didn’t care.

“When can I be discharged?”

“Perhaps tomorrow, if all goes well.”

“Finally.”

Being bedridden was more tiring than her usual routine of daily combat.

“I want to thank you for what you did, on behalf of the professors.”

“…”

“It can’t be done officially, as this needs to be kept quiet.”

“It’s fine.”

Aria preferred it that way.

“Prepare for the exams after you’re discharged. Rest until then.”

The exams.

Two months remained until the official exams.

“You’ll have to work hard to catch up.”

“There were classes despite the incident?”

“We had to maintain a semblance of normalcy.”

Practical skills comprised seventy percent of the Academy’s grades. Aria could maintain her position in Class A with her practical skills alone, but that would attract unwanted attention. She needed decent written exam scores as well.

Some, like Lian, already suspected her true strength. She didn’t want to draw further attention.

“Rest for now. I won’t give you special treatment during class.”

“…Alright.”

Glesia left. A moment later, the door opened again. Aria kept her eyes closed.

“Thank you for leaving, Lena.”

“I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me.”

A man’s voice, not Lena’s.

“Really? My mistake.”

Aria opened her eyes, turning towards the door. A man stood there.

“You’re the one from the infirmary.”

“Indeed.”

He smiled, responding politely. Aria felt a sense of unease.

“Lena is asleep. I gave her a sleeping draught. It’ll take a while for her to wake up.”

“…”

“I couldn’t introduce myself properly back then, given the circumstances…”

She’d forgotten.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Lucifer.”

Another ‘rat’ lurking in the Academy.

“It’s Aria now.”

“Understood, Aria.”

He corrected himself immediately.

“You came to see me because you have something to say, right?”

“That’s right.”

“It seems I won’t be resting after all.”

“…”

He smiled at her words. Aria simply said,

“Let’s close the door first.”

This conversation would take a while.

The door closed.

Silence filled the hallway.