Chapter 48: Fake Stigmata (11)

Well.

I was in a state where I couldn’t leave the academy grounds. Because I was being investigated for yesterday’s fake Stigmata runaway incident.

Even though it was a runaway incident where Marcus couldn’t properly control the fake Stigmata, in the end, I was the one who killed him.

Moreover, because there was an order from the higher-ups to not disclose the fake Stigmata to the students yet, I couldn’t even say that the reason I killed him was because of the fake Stigmata runaway.

Therefore, my actions were still registered as ‘self-defense’.

“So, Sian called us here…?”

“Yes. For now, I’m also under investigation, so I can’t move freely. But I was originally supposed to be taken into custody, but thanks to Elin-sensei’s consideration, I was spared from going to jail.”

“…Just, isn’t it okay to just reveal the fake Stigmata? Why are you trying to hide that fact?”

“I don’t want to provoke the fake Stigmata holders.”

A fake Stigmata holder went berserk and died. The fake Stigmata is a walking time bomb, and if something goes wrong, even precious people can be swept away.

If this fact spreads, the fake Stigmata holders will naturally panic.

How many people can stay calm when they have a time bomb attached to their body?

The only one who can remove the fake Stigmata is the academy, but the academy had no intention of removing the Stigmata of the fake Stigmata holders.

The academy wants to keep the variables within the control range, even for the safety of the students.

“In that case…”

“Yes. The panicked fake Stigmata holders might go berserk, and anxiety will spread among the students. Trust in the academy will also hit rock bottom.”

The risks were too great compared to what would be gained by revealing the fake Stigmata. So, Elin-sensei asked me to keep quiet about the fake Stigmata for a while, promising to protect me from going to jail as much as possible.

So, normally, I can’t go to the funeral home where Marcus’s body is. Because I couldn’t leave the academy.

“Anyway, it’s become like that, so I need your help. Yelena.”

“My help?”

“Yes. Honestly, it’s hard to ask this as a friend… but if you help me, I can enter the funeral home morgue.”

Even though Yelena says she’s not very interested in her power, to others, Yelena is the eldest daughter of the Northern Grand Duchy and the next Northern Knights Commander.

No matter how much the academy emphasizes equality within the academy, the difference in status cannot be completely ignored.

There is a huge difference in status between the soldiers guarding the funeral home morgue and the eldest daughter of the Frost family. Too big a difference for an ordinary soldier to carelessly defy.

How many people would dare to object when the eldest daughter of the Northern Grand Duchy says she will guarantee their identity?

“Well, that’s not difficult.”

“Thank you.”

As long as Yelena helps, there’s no reason to be blocked.

The only people higher than the Northern Grand Duchess’s eldest daughter within the academy are the academy teachers and key positions. And there’s no way those people would be in the funeral home morgue at this hour.

It’s also difficult for an ordinary soldier to go and ask, daring to disturb Yelena’s mood and even waking up the sleeping teacher just to ask.

“Theeen… are we leaving, now…?”

“Yes. It’s exactly 7:10 now, can you be ready by 7:20?”

“Of course.”

“Th, then I’ll go to the dormitory for a moment…”

The two said that and returned to their respective rooms.

The grounds of Arcana Academy are huge, and because of that, the girls’ dormitory is also very large… but they’ll probably be back soon.

Both Yelena and Regina are girls who are in the top ranks in the swordsmanship department and the magic department, so they use the same floor as me.

“Then, should I get ready too?”

I checked that the two had left and rummaged through the closet.

Even though I’m not interested in dressing up, I don’t just have a few uniforms and underwear.

[Arcana Academy] is basically a dating sim game, so there are quite a few events that take place inside the academy. Of course, I have at least a change of clothes.

“Here…was it?”

In one corner of the closet, there was a black outfit that was easy to move around in and a loose cloak.

The cloak with a hood could cover my face at any time, and the slightly oversized cloak was made to hide a sword well.

I won’t use force directly, but I need to use my [Blink] Stigmata to enter the morgue. And 3-person Blink consumes a lot of mana. I’m going to bring my sword to prevent mana waste.

Anyway, I have to wear a uniform to go outside the school gate, so I’ll just take the sword and cloak… I don’t need to bring survival tools since I’m not going to a dungeon.

I slung the sword behind my back and put the cloak over my uniform.

When I put on the hood and looked in the mirror, there was a girl with the appearance commonly associated with assassins.

[Assassin’s Stealth Clothes][3☆]

[Special Ability: Recognition Inhibition]

[The probability of enemies noticing the wearer’s identity is greatly reduced]

[The wearer’s presence is slightly reduced]

Yelena and Regina returned five minutes later.

“Everyone, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Yes…!”

Yelena came out wearing only one sword that she always carries, and Regina brought a pouch containing magic stones and a cloak with a hood.

My and Regina’s role is to infiltrate the morgue directly. Yelena’s role was to look around the morgue and let me know if someone approached.

“Marcus’s time of death is around 7:50. If we run quickly from now, we can arrive in time, right?”

Yelena and Regina answered by nodding their heads lightly. I smiled lightly at the two’s confident answers and moved my steps.

“Then, let’s go.”

Passing through the academy gate was not that difficult.

“If an unexpected situation arises, I will stop it. I guarantee it on the name of the Frost family.”

“If you say so… Well, I understand. But please return before curfew.”

“Of course. I promise to be back before ten o’clock.”

There was no ordinary person who could object when the Grand Duchess of a Grand Duchy put her family name on the line. The guard immediately opened the gate.

Looking at the guard who obeyed her words, Yelena muttered quietly.

“…As expected, power is convenient. Can I have something like this?”

“You and the Frost family have carried so much. Can’t they do that much for you guys who protect the Northern Absolute Defense Line?”

As we chatted like that, we were already in front of the funeral home. A gloomy building, unlike the lively atmosphere of the autonomous district.

Perhaps because it was the very beginning of the semester when there were almost no casualties. The funeral home was quite deserted. However, the security was tighter than usual.

“Why are there…so many, guards…?”

“It seems like they’re here to protect Marcus’s body. It seems like the academy also wants to secure the fake Stigmata.”

“Then, how do we get in…?”

“Us? We just go in confidently.”

Regina seems to be forgetting something for a moment. We are students of the academy. Unless there are special circumstances, we can move around freely anywhere.

Besides, this time, I’m someone related to Marcus’s death, so it’s not like I don’t have a reason to enter.

If I say that I think it’s rude not to visit even once since I killed him, I can enter without being suspected.

“Hello, I’m Sian, a first-year A-class student in the swordsmanship department of the academy.”

As I said that and held out my student ID, the guard guarding the front of the funeral home finally recognized me. The guard, withdrawing the spearhead aimed at me, asked.

“Ah, maybe you…”

“Yes. Even though it wasn’t intentional, I killed him in the end, so I came to apologize.”

Nevertheless, there was a hesitant look on the guard’s face. Because I was still officially unable to leave the academy.

Yelena helped me there.

“If something happens, I will handle it. I will make sure that there are no problems, on the name of the Frost family.”

“I understand. However, please do not cause any disturbance inside.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t.”

We didn’t plan to enter the funeral home in the first place. Because our goal was to sneak into the morgue.

So, as soon as we entered the funeral home building, Regina and I put on the hoods of our stealth clothes. The presence decreases sharply.

“Yelena, if something happens, buy us some time. We’ll finish it quickly.”

“Leave it to me.”

We left Yelena in the funeral home building and moved quickly towards the morgue. If I remember correctly, the morgue is on the 3rd basement floor of the building.

I, holding Regina’s hand tightly, closed my eyes tightly and activated the Stigmata.