Chapter 34

“…Impossible, even Bloodveil and the Shadow Gate are in a state of ruin! What in the world is going on?!”

“I… I don’t know! I have no idea what’s happening… But if all the organizations involved in that plan are destroyed, could it be the work of someone from the royal family…?”

In a room of a certain mansion.

Inside the room with expensive decor, a chubby man dressed in a dark blue luxurious robe is receiving a report from another man, speaking with frustration.

“Damn it, after paying so much to cooperate, not only did the plan fail, but the entire organization is destroyed! How useless can you get?!”

The chubby man, clearly irritated, slammed the vase on the desk to the ground. The loud sound of the vase shattering echoed throughout the room.

The man who was reporting jumped in shock at the noise.

“…Hah, well, whatever. At least no evidence remains linking our family to this incident. The loss was great, but next time we’ll prepare even more thoroughly. Now, you can go.”

“Y-Yes!”

As the chubby man said this, the man who had been reporting left the room.

“Tch, to think that my perfect plan to kill that annoying third princess and destroy that bothersome Marquis Chateaufort family has been ruined…”

The chubby man rings the bell to call a servant to clean up the vase he broke.

“…Damn it, what’s taking so long! I told them to come quickly if they were called!”

After some time, the servants still hadn’t arrived. The chubby man rings the bell again, but still no one comes to the room.

“Everyone’s mocking me! Hey, get someone here now!”

“Yelling won’t help. No one will come.”

“Ugh!?”

A response suddenly comes just as the chubby man is shouting by himself.

“How did you get here!? What are the guards doing—Hmph, you must be that temporary teacher, Geek…?”

“I’ve come uninvited, Professor Manati. Oh, but I should say you’re no longer a teacher since you were just disciplined.”

Before Manati’s eyes, a man appeared. This man had messy hair and a scruffy beard, wearing a white coat, a rare sight in this world.

“I-What are you talking about!? Hey, intruder! Get this insolent person out of here quickly!”

“The guards and servants are all asleep.”

“Impossible!?”

By the time he reached this room, the guards at the mansion gate and the servants inside had all been put to sleep.

Eliza had mentioned that there might be someone among the academy’s staff working as a collaborator, but to think it was this one—who’s responsible for basic magic.

“The third princess, Eliza, and her bodyguard, Sophia’s kidnapping. The purpose was ransom, but the real goal was to kill Eliza and Sophia after receiving the ransom and frame the Marquis Chateaufort family, who are a nuisance to your family, Count Claude. It’s clever to plant false evidence at the crime scenes and make it look like Chateaufort gave the orders.”

“Y-You, how do you know all this!?”

Of course, I’ve been reading the memories directly. I’m not fooled by false testimonies or evidence. There’s no need to guess; by reading the memories of those who gave the orders, it was easy to trace everything.

He left no evidence behind and scattered fake evidence, which could have fooled the investigative methods in this world. He’s clever with this nonsense.

“Unfortunately, I’ve disrupted your plan. I collected the false evidence and left traces pointing to you clearly. The knights will soon realize that Count Claude is the mastermind.”

“Wha!?”

The lower-level operatives probably didn’t know the true purpose and thought it was all for money. I was late to realize the true goal, but after that, I collected the false evidence they prepared and made the few traces left by Count Claude easy to find.

When you read memories, traces are always left behind.

“Wh-What have you done… I’ll kill you! Crimson flames, now let the red—”

Snap

“AAAAHHHHH!”

Manati’s full chant was interrupted as my flame arrow pierced his limbs, forcing him to cancel his spell.

“Your speeches are too long. And just because the opponent is a mage, you think you can cast a complete spell without any support in a real fight? Really, today’s students are still better.”

At this rate, Gale, a new student, would be stronger in actual combat.

He was trying to form a somewhat powerful magic, but his speed was slow, and the fact that he chose a full chant in this situation shows he lacks real combat experience.

“It hurts, it hurts…!”

He’s probably been relying on his magical talent, without any actual combat experience, focused only on petty political maneuvers.

“Only thinking selfishly, and even worse, a teacher who should guide students is trying to kill them. That’s an unforgivable sin. I’ll have you and the Claude family exit the stage.”

Manati, the mastermind behind the third princess’s kidnapping, and the Claude family will face proper consequences, but before that, I’ll make sure he feels even a little bit of the pain Eliza and Sophia suffered.

“Wait, what are you planning to do!? I-I am from the Claude family—AAAAHHHHH!”