Chapter 52: Fake Stigmata (15)

As soon as I leaped to the first floor, what awaited me was Yelena with her arms crossed. After glancing at us with her silver eyes, Yelena muttered indifferently.

“You’re a bit late?”

“Ahaha, sorry. Something happened.”

I said that and took out the glass bottle containing the magic circle. Yelena took the glass bottle from me and examined the magic circle inside the glass bottle with curious eyes.

“By the way, if you leave the magic circle like this, won’t the Dark Cult guys notice?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. From the moment it was separated from the fake Stigmata, the mana supply would have been completely cut off. Even if the magic circle is intact, it can’t operate without mana.”

“I see.”

Yelena nodded and handed the glass bottle back to me. I put the glass bottle in the inner pocket of my cloak, took off my hood, and looked back at Yelena and Regina.

“Anyway, let’s move quickly. The Dark Cult assassin has already come. If the intrusion alarm goes off, we’ll be in trouble.”

“The Dark Cult has already moved.”

“Yes. I just met a Dark Cult assassin on the first basement floor. He’s probably broken through the security system on the first basement floor by now, so the alarm will go off soon.”

Fortunately, we succeeded in stealing the magic circle without being caught by the guards, but it wasn’t time to relax.

When the alarm starts to sound, the funeral home will be locked down, and in the worst case, they can even search our belongings. If the magic circle is discovered in the meantime, the situation will become quite complicated.

Elin-sensei will come anyway, so we won’t be arrested, but the fact that we have the spatial transfer magic circle will be known to a third party.

I want to avoid that situation as much as possible. In a situation where I don’t know who the spy is, I want to reduce information leaks as much as possible.

“Then let’s go back quickly. Regina, can you walk?”

“Ah. Yes, of course…!”

Yelena looked closely at Regina, who seemed a little strange, and then moved her steps, thinking it was probably nothing.

Regina seemed to have not yet fully recovered from what happened on the first basement floor. I held Regina’s hand tightly and whispered.

“Don’t worry. I, I’m here.”

“Ugh…really, don’t do that again…?”

“Yes. I promise.”

We hooked our pinky fingers and made a promise, and only then did Regina’s expression improve a little. Vowing once more to be really careful from now on, we followed Yelena.

The next day. The academy was turned upside down.

Because the morgue of the academy funeral home, which boasted quite thorough security, was invaded by the Dark Cult guys.

Marcus’s body was damaged, and three guards died. And nearly ten guards were hospitalized with serious injuries.

However, that was not the only reason the academy was turned upside down.

10 years ago. After the Great Purge of the Dark Cult, the activities of the Dark Cult decreased sharply.

Of course, they continued to carry out schemes under the water, but they had never killed people and terrorized facilities like this.

This terror was a kind of declaration. We have grown enough to penetrate even the important facilities of the academy, a declaration that we will make you feel the nightmare of 10 years ago again.

Therefore, it was natural for parents who were worried about their children’s safety to flood in with complaints.

The next morning after the security of the morgue was breached. That was also why Elin-sensei was making a tired expression in front of me.

“Huu… I was careless because there was almost no movement from the Dark Cult guys. I didn’t expect them to attack the academy directly.”

“Don’t blame yourself too much. It was unavoidable. Because all the people you can trust right now have been turned to find the fake Stigmata holders.”

“That doesn’t make it an excuse.”

Elin-sensei muttered that and took out a file from under the desk. The file, which contained only a few pages, had dozens of magic spells, such as recognition inhibition and comprehension reduction.

“Right now, there are too few people I can trust and work with. It seems that the absence of the principal is too great. So, I will find more trustworthy people before the start date of the midterm exam.”

“Will it be okay? You’re already overworking yourself.”

The teacher’s duties were not one or two. Because she was one of the teachers that the principal trusted the most, she was in charge of most of the work.

“And this, is it okay to tell me, an outsider?”

“Do you really think you’re an outsider after coming this far? You seem to know something about this incident.”

“Ugh, was it too obvious?”

“Yes. You should practice hiding your expressions a little more. If it’s the same classmates, it might not be, but people like me are very good at reading expressions.”

A person who is a Sword Master has tremendous concentration. It means that they can sufficiently read the subtle changes in the facial expressions of a young girl like me.

If the story progresses, those monsters are the ones I have to deal with. It can’t be like this.

Thinking that, I brought up the main point.

“Still, I brought the most important evidence.”

I took out a small glass bottle from my uniform pocket. A crack appears on Elin-sensei’s calm expression.

She looked at the magic circle in the glass bottle without saying a word, and then carefully opened her mouth.

“That is?”

“It’s a spatial transfer magic circle. I tore off the magic circle hidden under the fake Stigmata. It was hidden very cleverly.”

The magic circle was supplied with only enough mana to barely maintain its shape. A faint, sticky mana peculiar to the Dark Cult was felt.

Tension filled the brief silence.

Elin-sensei’s kind eyes changed. From the always good teacher who cares for her students, to the expression of a teacher in charge of the safety of the academy.

“You, where did you get that.”

A cool voice brushed my ears terrifyingly.

Elin-sensei slowly raised her mana and approached me. The pressure that weighed down the space felt heavy.

Nevertheless, I didn’t lose the smile on my face. Because this was what I expected.

It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

By the same principle, it’s easier to act first and explain later than to get permission to check the fake Stigmata again in 1 day without any evidence.

“Yesterday, I sneaked into the morgue just before the assassin guy came in. I got some help from someone I know to dismantle the fake Stigmata.”

“How did you get into the morgue…ah, you just used your ability.”

“Yes. Because the spatial transfer interference magic circle can’t stop the spatial transfer using Stigmata.”

Elin-sensei’s suspicious gaze swept over me. How did she succeed in dismantling the fake Stigmata, which even they failed to do because of the risk of explosion, and who is the person who helped her.

Elin-sensei’s gaze turned cold with suspicion.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t back down. In order to prepare for what will happen in the academy in the future, I needed to have a position similar to the teacher.

“The fake Stigmata disappears about a day after the owner dies. The problem is that I can only give you circumstantial evidence. So I acted first. Because I thought I would be rejected if I tried to get permission.”

Elin-sensei’s sharp gaze turned to my eyes. Nevertheless, there was nothing the teacher could know. Because everything I said was true.

It is true that the fake Stigmata disappears after a day. I can’t give physical evidence because it’s a fact I found out in the game, but I can give circumstantial evidence. I would have been rejected if I tried to get permission.

The teacher, who was silent for a moment, slowly opened her mouth.

“…Sian.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know that you feel quite suspicious right now?”

“Yes.”

I nodded my head lightly.

A person who casually throws out things that even the academy’s leadership and information organization couldn’t find out is bound to be suspicious.

That was the effect I was aiming for. Because I wanted to let her know that my information power was not inferior to theirs.

Red mana formed on Elin-sensei’s hand. The usual kindness was not felt in her calm voice.

“Tell me the source of that information and the identity of the helper you took. I don’t want to hurt my precious student.”

“Um, I think that would be a little difficult.”

I deliberately answered in a calm tone and held out my right hand. Green mana full of vitality gathers on my right hand.

[Activate Special Magic ‘Token of the World Tree’]

What the green particles gathered to create was a large leaf made of mana. A unique leaf that makes you feel the vitality of the great forest just by being around it.

If you have this token, which is said to be given only to the benefactor of the elves, you can receive unconditional help from the elves spread throughout Elvenheim and human society.

Therefore, various conditions are required to receive this World Tree Token. The help received from that person, and that person’s personality and character, etc.

“….”

“That’s…”

“I happened to have a connection with Elvenheim. Thanks to that, I got some help from them about the fake Stigmata.”

“Then, your helper too?”

“Yes. It’s a person you can trust. Because Elvenheim said that it’s a person who won’t get involved with the Dark Cult.”

Only then did Elin-sensei withdraw her killing intent. Because the teacher also knew that this World Tree Token was an item that could not be forged.

The magic system of the elves, who live for thousands of years, is far superior to that of humans.

I stood quietly for a while to let the teacher convince herself, and then added, erasing the [Token of the World Tree].

“Can’t you think of it as a woman’s secret?”

“…Is that the right way to use that saying?”

“Maybe?”

I lightly joked and relieved the heavy atmosphere, and handed the glass bottle to the teacher.

“Then, can I go now?”

“Yes. I think I have some things to investigate separately, so be careful going in.”

I came out of the office with relaxed steps. And, my legs gave out and I collapsed on the spot.