Chapter 40: Fake Stigmata (3)

Elin-sensei came rushing over right after that.

How far is it from the academy to the autonomous district? I guess a Sword Master really is different.

Elissa had to inform the guards, and the guards had to inform the teacher, which must have taken a lot of time, yet she arrived almost at the same time as Elissa.

Thud. With a light landing sound, Elin-sensei approached us, taking her hand off her sword hilt and asking.

“Oh my, is the situation already over?”

“Yes. Um, but the details are a bit sensitive to discuss here. Would it be okay to talk about the details back at the academy? It’s related to the story I told you before. It’s an extension of that story.”

“…Yes. That would be better. There are too many people here, you see.”

Fortunately, it seems the teacher roughly understood what I was talking about. She responded appropriately to my words and approached the guards.

“Um, I heard our student was involved in an incident.”

“Ah, I am Arius, the captain of the guard for the 3rd district of the autonomous region. I was apprehending a suspect who set fire to the restaurant building.”

“She didn’t do it. She’s a swordsman, not a mage, and although she has a Stigmata, it’s not a fire attribute. More than anything, she’s not that kind of person.”

The guard captain released me after hearing Elin-sensei’s words. In this autonomous district where the principal acts as the lord, a teacher also held a position similar to a high-ranking official of the territory.

“Still, it seems like our academy student was involved, so we will compensate for this. And if you find anything suspicious during the investigation, don’t tell anyone and come straight to me. It’s confidential.”

“Confidential…? Ah, I understand!”

After saying that and conveying a few things to the guard captain for handling the situation, Elin-sensei asked me, as if she had just remembered.

“Ah, right. By the way, what happened to the student who set the fire?”

“…”

I couldn’t answer Elin-sensei’s question.

Even if I killed someone who deserved to die. It was hard to casually talk about it.

I felt like I would become strange if I proudly boasted about killing someone. Like I would lose myself.

“…I see.”

The teacher, noticing the heavy atmosphere, didn’t continue the conversation on this topic.

By the time we returned to the academy, it was already past eight o’clock. There was still some time left until the curfew, so the academy grounds were relatively deserted. Those who were going out had already left.

“Um, by the way, why were you two there?”

“I wanted to get closer to Elissa. Since we have to fight together during the midterm exam, I wanted us to get to know each other better beforehand.”

During my time as an adventurer. I mostly traveled alone, but sometimes I took on group quests.

I learned then that if you talk a bit with people you’ve just met, it’s easier to fight together. There’s no need to be awkwardly polite while fighting. You can even crack jokes during battle to lighten the mood.

That’s why adventurers are always drinking.

An adventurer’s life is a series of encounters and partings. You often have to fight alongside strangers or those you’ve clashed swords with on the battlefield.

Alcohol is the best magic liquid to break awkward relationships. When you’re drunk, the mental barriers between people disappear, and it becomes easier to approach even someone you’ve just met.

Of course, since Elissa and I are minors, we can’t drink alcohol, so we decided to have dinner together.

“I see.”

“Why do you ask?”

“That Marcus guy, you know? I was suspicious of him, so I was keeping an eye on him. A fake…never mind.”

Elin-sensei, about to continue, stopped and looked at Elissa. Perhaps it wasn’t a story for a regular student like Elissa to hear yet.

Silently staring at Elissa, Elin-sensei paused for a moment before speaking. There was a slight edge to her voice.

“…Elissa.”

“Yes, yes?!”

Perhaps because of that. Elissa’s always neat and composed expression stiffened slightly. A subtle tension flowed between them. Elissa fidgeted with her fingers, uncomfortable with the atmosphere.

“I’m sorry, but I have something to discuss with Sian. Could you go ahead first?”

“…Yes. Good night, Teacher.”

“Yes. Good night, Elissa.”

Elissa lightly bowed and walked towards the girls’ dormitory. Elin-sensei watched her go for a while, and only after she disappeared from view did she call me.

“Sian.”

“Yes…?”

“I have something to tell you. Please come to my office for a moment.”

The offices at Arcana Academy were the work of high-ranking mages.

Reinforced and modified by the magic department teachers who had passed through Arcana Academy over hundreds of years, the barrier of the office was one of the safest places, as secure as the royal audience chamber.

Various defensive magic, soundproofing magic, anti-eavesdropping magic, mana-stopping barriers. Alarm magic. Heat-resistant magic, and so on, were cast on the office, ensuring that no conversation held within would ever leak out.

And Elin-sensei had invited me to such an office. With a very serious expression.

“…”

At this point, even a fool could tell.

Elin-sensei was about to tell me something incredibly important that couldn’t be leaked outside. Something that even Elissa, who had witnessed the situation firsthand, shouldn’t hear.

And… there was only one story a teacher investigating fake Stigmata could tell me, who had been attacked by a fake Stigmata holder. The results of the investigation into the fake Stigmata holders.

“Teacher?”

“Sian, are you alright?”

“Yes. Even if they are a fake Stigmata holder, my Stigmata is the strongest in one-on-one combat. I’ll just consider it gaining some real-world experience.”

“I’m sorry you got involved in this, Sian.”

“Eh, you don’t need to apologize, Teacher…! He was someone who had a grudge against me anyway, and it’s a relief that there were no casualties.”

No matter how superhuman Elin-sensei was, she was still human.

A human couldn’t possibly teach students all day, track dozens of fake Stigmata holders, and identify students suspected of being fake Stigmata holders.

Not unless she had help. The academy’s principal, known as the strongest of the current generation, was at the Northern Absolute Defense Line, and she couldn’t carelessly involve others.

This couldn’t be resolved with just a few trustworthy people. So, I had no intention of blaming Elin-sensei.

“But…”

“And, I’m not that fragile. I’ve been through a lot, living as an adventurer for five years, you know? The time for trembling after killing someone… has long passed.”

Thanks to the experiences I had while living as an adventurer, the glass-hearted, shut-in could stand here as a bold girl in the A-class of the Arcana Academy’s swordsmanship department.

It had been a long time since I was at an age where my mental would be shattered by something like that.

Seeing the sincerity in my eyes, the teacher smiled faintly and gently stroked my hair. My body trembled slightly at the unexpected contact.

“…”

‘…Thank you for saying that, Sian. You really are a mature child.’

“Ahaha… that’s too much praise.”

I’m not used to interacting with others, having lived as a shut-in in my previous life and alone for five years in this one.

Moreover, perhaps because the memories of my previous life still linger, I find women more awkward than men.

So, praise is quite awkward for me. My face unknowingly turned red as embarrassment washed over me.

I tried to avoid this ticklish feeling once, but Elin-sensei murmured, looking at me with an expression that said I was cute.

“And humble, too.”

“Hwek…?!”

With me completely sunk, Elin-sensei continued. She took out a few documents and erased the smile from her expression.

“Anyway. I managed to narrow down the list of fake Stigmata holders earlier. I was originally going to tell you tomorrow, but since this happened, it’s better to tell you now.”

“Is this the information you investigated with your fellow teachers?”

“Yes. After investigating, we were able to narrow down the list of students suspected of being fake Stigmata holders.”

“…I know this is a rude question, but are those fellow teachers trustworthy?”

“Of course. They were personally appointed by the principal, so they are definitely not members of the Dark Cult. You don’t need to worry about that.”

“That’s a relief.”

Replying thus, I silently scanned the documents. Most of them were students I had seen before. They were fake Stigmata holders that I had seen at least once in the first semester events of the game.

They were all children with motives to dabble in fake Stigmata. A girl who couldn’t escape being second in her class due to a Stigmata holder.

A boy whose heart was broken in front of overwhelming talent. A boy who simply wanted to become stronger.

As my hand reached the last page of the stack of documents. Seeing a familiar face there, I couldn’t help but flinch.

“Teacher, these kids…?”

These three were the top candidates for fake Stigmata holders in the first-year swordsmanship department. Charlotte and Alex from the B class of the swordsmanship department. And, yes.

“Your midterm exam group member, Elissa.”