All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 46

23. It Will Quiet Down – 2

He didn’t speak for a long time, then spat out the words as if vomiting.

“It’s my fault.”

He could have stopped her.

Unlike Leila, who aspired to be a Kolomb [a highly skilled investigator or analyst] and was equally intelligent, he wasn’t an Eridi [a person with exceptional insight or intuition].

He should have stopped her.

But he couldn’t stop her, who was always confident and optimistic, and eventually, things went wrong.

“Two years ago, during the Hero Festival. We were patrolling when we found some scammers, reported them, and started an investigation.”

“That was you guys….”

“Yeah. Leila and I had solved a few cases before and were arrogant. So, even knowing that a senior instructor was involved, we kept digging.”

That was a mistake.

A few successes made them forget that the world isn’t like a detective novel where the detective always wins.

“What kind of injury did Leila sustain?”

“Her mana circle was destroyed.”

“Ah! Could that have been her?!”

Ian looked at Haryun, who spoke as if he knew something.

“During the Hero Festival survival exam, you mentioned a mage whose mana circle was destroyed by monsters.”

“Yeah. That’s Leila.”

It was fortunate that she even survived, but for mages, losing their mana circle is like losing their life.

In the end, Leila left the academy to recover from the trauma.

“Who found her after she was attacked by monsters?”

“……Hastings.”

“Who did Leila think was the culprit?”

After hesitating for a while, he finally answered, as if forcing the words out.

“Hastings.”

After saying that, he covered his face and groaned.

“She said that after being hit by a magic arrow presumably shot by him, monsters swarmed her.”

“Among the potions that can be made with alchemy, there are some that attract monsters. He used that to disguise the attack as being caused by monsters.”

Ian recalled the information he had heard from Aranse.

“Then why did he save her?”

“I don’t know. To avoid suspicion and gain the trust of those around him, I guess.”

“He’s very confident.”

Ian chuckled at Haryun’s muttering.

That’s not confidence; it’s arrogance.

If he was going to attack her, he should have finished the job. What was he doing?

“Of course, at the time, there was talk that Instructor Hastings might be the culprit who attacked Leila. But who knew it would be true.”

Haryun recalled what happened then.

But because the suspect was a representative of the senior instructors, it was dismissed as mere rumor, and the story quickly faded away.

“What’s the evidence?”

Helrid bit his lip at Graejin’s question.

There was none.

There was some circumstantial evidence and clues that Leila had found, but they had long been destroyed.

“All the investigation data was stolen while she was being treated. I secretly kept a few, but….”

Afterward, Hastings came to him, somehow knowing about it.

And he said in a chilling tone.

“……Do you want to see Leila get hurt even more?”

So he gave him the data he had kept.

That’s how the Hero Festival, which was like a nightmare for both of them, ended, and Leila left the academy shortly after.

“She said she would definitely come back. And… that was already two years ago.”

In the meantime, Helrid tried.

He tried to become as skilled as Leila, an Eridi, before she returned.

Even if he wasn’t a master like her, he wanted to at least learn her evidence-gathering skills.

That’s why he focused on expanding his network and investigating information rather than attending the academy’s classes.

“Should we see Chairman Lakid’s case as part of that practice?”

“……Yeah. Sometimes I wanted to solve problems while reminiscing about her, but I’m neither a Kolomb nor an Eridi. This kind of investigation was all I could do.”

Tears welled up in the eyes of the handsome silver-haired boy.

Graejin grimaced as he bowed his head deeply.

“So, you’re saying there’s no evidence to catch him.”

“Yeah. I’ve talked to my father and Leila’s father, Count Eldan Baradis, but we couldn’t take action against him.”

“You can’t attack a representative of the senior instructors without solid evidence.”

“In addition, Hastings has many close noble connections in each country. And I heard that he has acquaintances among the Pelle family of the Scarlet Kingdom and even the royal family.”

That’s why you can’t touch him carelessly.

You can only be crushed by the enormity of the monster called Hastings.

“So I advise you too.”

Just bury this.

If you act directly, you will all get hurt.

Helrid said very seriously.

“Hmm… okay. I see. It’s going to be difficult to take him down with ordinary methods.”

Hastings has been the representative of the senior instructors at the academy for a long time.

Even if his crimes were known, he would have created many escape routes.

He is also someone who has been entrenched in the academy for a long time.

Let’s admit that he is quite capable.

“You thought well. You have to know how to bend to avoid breaking.”

He said weakly, but Ian’s reaction was different from what he expected.

“My preference is to bring them down as much as possible, make them struggle miserably, and trample on them. But it doesn’t seem like the conditions are right. Well, there are other ways to make them look ugly… let’s just kill him.”

Haryun was impressed by his confidence.

“You’re so you.”

“That’s the easiest and simplest way. And I don’t care about evidence when I catch the guy who messed with me.”

Ian said with a smile, and Graejin shook his head.

“Hastings always goes around with five or more senior instructors.”

“Don’t you know this saying? If you kill them all, it’s an assassination.”

It’s not like this didn’t happen when he was in another world.

In the end, Graejin was impressed by Ian’s overflowing confidence and applauded.

But killing them all is also a problem.

“If Instructor Hastings and the senior instructors who go with him all die, the Hero Festival will be suspended.”

“Ah. That’s troublesome.”

“And he doesn’t come out of the academy very often. It’s hard to ambush him outside.”

What if a senior instructor dies inside the academy?

Then all events will be suspended, and an investigation team will be formed.

If that happens, the confirmation of the Hero’s Sword will be postponed to the next semester, or in the worst case, indefinitely.

Kirke analyzed and suggested a method, but Ian shook his head.

There was no need to bother killing him inside the academy.

“Helrid. Do you know about the instructors involved in this?”

Helrid, who was staring blankly at him, opened his mouth.

Hastings.

Romentl.

Villadi.

They were all senior instructors rumored to be good fighters.

“Anyone else?”

“Isaac. There were students who bought things, so he was in charge of calming their commotion. And this year Isaac died… it seems like there is no replacement for that position yet.”

“Hmm. I see. Haryun. Does Hastings participate as a tracker during the survival exam?”

“No. He never steps out as a tracker. He says it’s beneath him.”

“Then we need to lure him out first.”

The plan begins to unfold quickly.

Helrid asked with a bewildered expression.

“What are you guys trying to do? Are you trying to avenge Leila?”

“Revenge? I don’t even know her face.”

What’s important to Ian is that Hastings messed with him.

If so, it was natural to give him a fair punishment.

“Honestly, I don’t care about the fraud issue.”

“Isn’t that important?”

Helrid agreed when Ian shook his head at Graejin’s question.

“Leila said something similar… that there was something more important than the fraud issue….”

“What’s so important?”

“I don’t know that far.”

Haryun and Graejin looked at Ian.

But he didn’t give a special answer either.

Instead, Ian asked Helrid.

“Are you going to participate?”

“……In what?”

“In catching Hastings.”

“What do I have to do?”

“Nothing much. Spread the word that I’m investigating Leila’s case and this fraud case. You have a wide reach, right? You can do this much, right?”

“Are you trying to provoke him? Are you trying to make Hastings attack you?”

“He can’t attack me inside the academy anyway. There’s a perfect place to attack me.”

Right, the Mial Mountains.

He’s going to make Hastings come out during the survival exam.

“No matter how strong you are… can you beat him?”

What’s so difficult about catching him?

And if he comes to me asking to be killed, it’s even easier.

“It’s almost vacation time.”

Ian opened Helrid’s notebook.

The vacation schedule had records of going to see Leila every time.

“Are you going this year too? Then you should take some good news as a gift.”

Ian tapped him on the shoulder.

“Do it if you want, don’t if you don’t.”

Ian said lightly and took the two out, leaving Helrid alone in the room, clenching his fist tightly.

Hastings.

It was a huge wall and a threat that he couldn’t touch until now.

A student who has just risen to the intermediate level is trying to challenge it.

“……Leila. What should I do……?”

He took off his glasses and slowly stroked his handsome face.

The 고민 [worry/trouble] didn’t last long.

“……Okay.”

Helrid went outside.

“I can’t be a Kolomb or an Eridi, but….”

Still, Helrid can be himself.

With a wide reach and wandering around.

So he can collect and spread information.

As Helrid, he could move.

That’s why he decided to take the risk and move.

And the next day.

A strange rumor began to spread in the academy.

* * *

The long Hero Festival was coming to an end.

And Hastings couldn’t hide his embarrassment at the rumors that had spread in the meantime.

The fraud case in the village and the incident two years ago when an intermediate student named Leila was seriously injured in a survival training exercise.

It began to spread in the academy that it was related to someone among the instructors.

“……What is this!!”

And that the culprit is Instructor Hastings.

It was being reported that Ian was investigating it.

“That’s… I don’t know either.”

The rumor is spreading not only inside the academy but also subtly in the outer villages.

So the rumor is spreading to the nobles who came to see the Hero Festival.

Hastings gritted his teeth as Romentl reported cautiously.

The fraud case is okay.

Even if not every year, there were those who noticed this much and those who protested.

Still, it was okay because it was something that could be covered up enough.

But Leila’s case was different.

She is a member of the Scarlet Kingdom’s count family and a student of the academy.

An instructor attacked a student and caused serious injuries?

This is not something that will end with a dishonorable dismissal.

“……Okay. Everyone, make sure to keep your mouths shut because it will be over tomorrow. I will take action myself.”

“I understand.”

Hastings clenched his fist as Romentl left.

‘Yes. It’s tomorrow.’

Then the door of the instructor’s office opened.

“Wow~ Intermediate Class B is going to win the Hero Festival this time?”

“I know, right? 1st place in monster hunting, 1st place in writing, and 1st place in cooperative combat this time….”

“I’m looking forward to the survival exam tomorrow. Ha. I’m glad I bet on Ian.”

“By the way, many people will be making a fuss to catch that guy. I wonder if he’ll be okay…?”

Hastings clenched his fist as he glanced at the instructors who had gathered in groups of three or five and started talking.

The sound of them speaking positively about Ian is quite annoying.

But it’s okay.

If this Hero Festival ends and it’s around next semester.

Everything will be quiet as it always has been.