Ring (1)

Märchen Academy did not close for even a single day.

It was unlike last year when there had been frequent shutdowns due to countless incomprehensibly massive incidents. This year, they established a secure and detailed system in preparation for national-level crises.

The students who had been at Märchen Academy last year were quite shocked at this drastic change.

Eltra Sea was temporarily prohibited from being entered.

This was because the academy's faculty and Imperial Knights were investigating the cause of the Abyssal Sea Monster's appearance, even utilizing the resources of the Magic Tower.

There were plenty of discussions among the students about the cause of the demons' appearances and the identity of the Nameless Hero.

In particular…

…There was a claim that the academy would gather the students of the ice element and somehow reveal the hero's identity.

The opposing side made the rebuttal that the Nameless Hero must have a reason to hide their identity and that they must not bother the archwizard who was protecting them.

The students exchanged many different thoughts about the Nameless Hero.

Some praised the Nameless Hero and admired his strength, and some were still suspicious of this mysterious figure who may or may not be their ally. As such, the students' opinions began to divide in several different directions.

The Nameless Hero quickly became the hottest issue within Märchen Academy.

***

Boasted to be the best academy on the entire continent, the authority of the Headmistress matched the academy's fame.

Headmistress Elena Woodline, a beautiful woman with her rose-red hair put up in a bun.

Though she was in her 70s, thanks to her skill [Immortality], she could maintain the appearance of her prime 20s.

Within the space called Märchen Academy, absolutely no one held more authority than her. She was the collective owner of what one might consider everything, whether that be beauty or power…

…On the outside at least.

"H-hello! Sir Magrio! Ahahah! W-what nice weather we're having!"

In reality, she was always struggling under the name of money and power.

Bartos Hall, the focal point of the academy's administration. In the drawing room.

The doors opened, and a woman with a white coat draped over her shoulders entered. It was Elena Woodline, the Headmistress of Märchen Academy.

She brightly greeted Magrio, the Vice-Commander of the Fenrir Knights, the 4th Order of Knights of the Empire.

Her bright voice was habitual. It creaked like a robot from her anxiety. 'Miss Headmistress…' Elena's female secretary quietly muttered to herself.

The middle-aged Vice-Commander, Magrio, lightly lifted his hand to acknowledge Elena. Behind him were three knights standing guard, swords sheathed at their sides.

Elena sat down across from Magrio.

"G'day, Lady Elena."

"Would you like a drink?!"

"Herb tea."

"Alright! Hey! Get us two cups of herbal tea!"

Headmistress Elena frantically ordered her female secretary to retrieve the drinks. She was expressing the fact that she was anxious through her body language and actions.

'Please try to remain civil, Miss Headmistress…'

A quiet sigh left the female secretary's mouth as she massaged her temples and turned to fetch the tea. Just looking at the Headmistress's state gave her a headache.

"Uh, Sir Magrio? May I know the reason for this discussion…?"

"We are both short on time with the Eltra Sea incident and all, so let's cut to the chase."

"O-of course!"

Elena struggled to maintain a leisurely smile but could not stop the cold sweat from running down her forehead.

The air sank. However, she had gotten used to this environment.

Dozens of times, she had persuaded and pleaded for investors to stay for the sake of the academy's finances. She has worn down her knees to the bone to establish Märchen Academy's current defense system.

Someone had once said to smile through the pain. As a person that had always smiled through the shittiest of realities, that was no surprising feat for Elena.

"I wonder what it is that Sir Magrio has come all this way to personally ask me…"

"…Why are you unable to identify the Nameless Hero?"

Elena's head shook faintly.

"As you know, we cannot interfere with the administrative systems of this academy according to the agreement. Also, we can only receive up to Grade 3 confidential files of the academy. So our investigation regarding the identity of the hero is exceedingly limited."

Emperor Carlos Von Kairos Elfieto had given two major orders to the Imperial Knights when they had been dispatched.

Firstly, support Märchen Academy.

Secondly, investigate the reason for the frequent appearances of the demons.

They were warned to maintain a positive relationship with the academy and to not pressure them.

After all, the academy was where students received academic education, and places of education were considered sacred.

In the agreement they had first made with the academy, it was stated that the confidential files shared with the Imperial Knights would be limited to Grade 3.

There was the danger of leakage if more information was shared, which would add more pressure to the academy.

Moreover, it had been confirmed that there was an 'informant' among those involved with the academy's administrations.

The academy had no choice but to be conservative in the information they revealed in case it was leaked or any other incident happened.

"But the hero is currently assumed to be a student of Märchen Academy. Is the academy not proficient in the discernment of its own students?"

After being dispatched, the Imperial Knights witnessed the academy's struggles up close and understood their situation.

However, it was difficult for them to understand how they could not find a single lead regarding the Nameless Hero, even after investing so much time in that endeavor.

"T-that is true… Uhm, Sir Magrio? I understand that you are also curious about the Nameless Hero's identity. O-of course, they must be deeply associated with your objectives."

Just then, the female secretary came back with the herb tea and handed it to Elena and Magrio.

Elena's hand trembled as it held onto the cup. She sipped the tea, unable to sense the searing heat burning her tongue.

Elena then continued with her seared tongue.

"However, investigating the hero is part of our duty. I do not believe that it is a matter you should be—"

"Lady Elena."

"Y-yes…?"

"I have heard about your insight and reputation. You have worked tirelessly to cultivate the talents who will one day lead the Empire. I respect that deeply."

"Ahh, yes, thank you…?"

"Which is why… no matter how much I think about it, I find it hard to believe someone as capable as you is vacantly spending this time. So I apologize if this comes off as rude, but I have to ask…"

Magrio's eyes narrowed as he asked in a sharp voice.

"…Are you unable to identify them, on purpose, perhaps?"

"Ahahahahah!! How funny you are! Of course not!"

Elena laughed aloud with a flustered expression.

Magrio blinked slowly.

"It isn't like I am unaware of your situation. The Nameless Hero is a powerful wizard who is capable of destroying the world. They are not a being we can easily do something to. It is understandable that you wish to stall the search with such a person protecting the academy."

"Wahahah! You'd make a great comedian!"

"Well, according to the contract, we cannot interfere regarding the students."

Magrio stroked his chin. His short, stubble beard stood out.

"Lady Elena. The reason we are here is to find the reason why demons are appearing only in this area. It is the Emperor's order."

"Indeed…"

"As the Empire's greatest academy, shouldn't the guarantee of the student's safety and chance to education be fortified? If we fail, then this academy will never be able to return to its original state. That… is not ideal for the students, the teachers, or the Empire. The Nameless Hero. He may be the lead to resolving this incident, perhaps the cause, or be the key to leading us to the answer."

Being much lighter than a sword, the teacup was held in his hand steadily. Magrio quietly peered down at the still surface of the herb tea.

Until now, several demons considered natural disasters appeared at Märchen Academy.

On the surface, this might make it seem like there was a dire problem with the academy's defense systems that did not make it activate properly, but from what the Imperial Knights had investigated, that hadn't been the problem.

Märchen Academy had a detection system that reached up high into the skies, which utilized the mana of Aria Lilias, the Tower Master of the Hegel Magic Tower, and Headmistress Elena. It was made in the form of a transparent membrane invisible to the naked eye.

Thanks to it, the academy could know immediately whenever there was an intruder.

However, most of the demons that had appeared so far hadn't been detected by Headmistress Elena's detection system.

The Headmistress's detection system was a transcendent level of magic that had been established on its own and could not be controlled by her.

Only a periodic charge of mana was needed to sustain the detection system, and there was no reason for the system to deactivate even when Elena was away.

"This academy is housing a dangerous secret. Think about it. Setting aside the massive demon that emerged from the sea, how will you explain the demon appearances of last year? The only times the defenses were lowered were during vacation and when supplies were imported, and do you think the demons could have infiltrated then? They wouldn't have just walked in with their two feet, and baggage should have been checked thoroughly."

Magrio continued to speak as he stared down at the herb tea.

"Or perhaps this 'informant' had bribed the guards? Impossible. The baggage was checked twice, no, thrice, and we are also aware of how many guards there were. There were even guards using magic tools to enhance their vision and had messengers who delivered information to them. Bribing such a number of people is not only unreasonably costly but also physically difficult."

Every time a sentence left Magrio's mouth, another droplet of cold sweat trickled down Headmistress Elena's face.

"Then did they infiltrate by hiding inside a magic pouch the informant carried in? That is also quite difficult. You cannot, after all, store living beings in items imbued with storage magic. The mana field interferes with the storage magic. The remaining possibility would be that these demons had been here since the beginning… However, it is still a mystery how they managed to remain undetected up to this point. Even if we say these demons are hidden deep within this island where we cannot find them, there is still the question of why they have only started to cause these incidents 'now'."

Without taking a single sip of his herb tea, Magrio set the cup down on the table.

"And the Nameless Hero… They may be able to give us the answers to all these questions."

The Nameless Hero.

Whenever demons arrived, they also appeared right behind them, as if they had been waiting.

As if they knew the future. As if they knew where and when these demons would appear.

As if… They knew the truth about everything.

"I will say this once more, but isn't the Nameless Hero suspected to be a student of Märchen Academy? From our perspective, we cannot remove the suspicion that the academy is purposefully refraining from finding this person."

"T-that is…! Something we cannot rashly decide on, nor can we interrogate the students with brute force…!"

"I believe."

Magrio set his elbows on his legs and rested his chin on his hands as he glared at Elena.

The experience of fighting on countless battlefields of blood was contained in his eyes.

"That the academy, who should maintain the most neutral position on this situation, is favoring the Nameless Hero…"

"That's…"

"Useless fuckin' conversation."

Just as Elena was hesitating to answer, a calm voice could be heard from an unexpected location. Everyone's gazes turned towards the windowsill, where the voice came from.

A dense mana encompassed the parlor.

Then, a frail-looking woman hidden by a wizard's robe stepped on the windowsill and entered the room.

An old-fashioned cone hat was on her head, and her mahogany hair fluttered in the wind.

It was Aria Lilias, Tower Master of the Hegel Magic Tower.

"Lady Aria…?"

Magrio's eyes widened slightly.

"Fucked over my apprentice, then came out to take a walk but heard something shitty."

"Is it your hobby to eavesdrop on people…?!"

After getting down from the windowsill, Aria Lilias ignored Headmistress Elena's criticism and walked casually towards the sofa.

Then, as if it was completely natural to do so, she sat down next to Elena.

"Then…"

Crossing her legs, Aria stared at Magrio with the same expressionless face as before.

"Go ahead and yap your shit one more time. What about the Nameless Hero?"