“……Kill him?”
At Lucien’s single remark, the atmosphere grew as still as if cold water had been poured over it.
“Yeah. You said he’s the root of the problem.”
Hilde took a sip of tea and spoke.
“To be precise, the high-ranking disciple behind Evan is the root. Even if we kill Evan, he’ll just find another Evan.”
“A high-ranking disciple……”
How were we supposed to deal with a monster like Chris?
No matter how much I thought about it, there was no answer to the problem.
“Lucien. Can’t you talk to Elder Lafitier Filo?”
“I don’t know. Even if I say something, I don’t think Grandpa would care.”
“…….”
Silence fell once again.
How could there not be a single adult to help us?
“Otherwise, just as Evan uses outside forces, we should bring in an outside force as well.”
At Hilde’s words, a certain person briefly flashed through Anakin’s mind.
Harca…… might still find it too difficult to face Renatus.
[Whenever you need my help, feel free to send a letter, Anakin. I can do anything for you.]
“…….”
Anakin recalled the man who smiled as brightly as the sun. She shook her head violently at the memory of the back garden.
Am I crazy to think of the Crown Prince? Please, let’s get it together.
Hilde glanced at Anakin, who was scolding herself.
“How about leaving it to the Imperial Security Forces?”
At Mantis’s idea, Hilde shook her head and immediately countered.
“Now that the prestige of the School has risen, even the Imperial Family won’t find it easy to search the School’s headquarters. Besides, if rumors spread that a criminal group like Renatus is colluding with Pasadian, Pasadian’s reputation will fall to the ground.”
“That’s true.”
“Then what do we do? There’s no way.”
“For now, we have no choice but to watch until major evidence of a crime comes out. Since nothing has been confirmed yet, it’s awkward to ask the Elder for help.”
She felt that if they brought undeniable evidence, he might offer at least a little help.
“Then how about asking Teacher Chris for help?”
Anakin’s eyes widened at Mantis’s hard-won idea.
“Teacher Chris might actually help.”
At those words, even the cold Hilde agreed.
“He certainly has more humanity than the other teachers. But it’s best not to have too high expectations. It might be a principle not to interfere in matters between apprentice disciples.”
“Still, at least we have an option now.”
Catch certain evidence and go to Chris.
If that didn’t work, the last resort was for Lucien to speak directly to Elder Lafitier Filo.
However, Anakin felt a bit doubtful.
Would the man suspected of abusing Lucien as a child really help them?
Anakin turned her gaze toward the window with an unreadable expression.
“What about one of the 46th class getting taken away tomorrow?”
“We’ll have to follow them for now. It will be hard to save them, though.”
In reality, if they used teleportation, following them would be impossible.
One could infer a specific area to some extent through distance calculation and mana flow, but as for someone capable of teleportation……
Anakin turned her gaze to the left as a memory suddenly crossed her mind.
“Hilde. Can you do it?”
She was asking if Hilde could follow them using teleportation.
Hilde thought for a moment and then replied.
“I’ll try. If the distance is too far, it’s impossible.”
“Good.”
When Anakin smiled brightly at her competence, Hilde lowered her eyelashes and continued.
“It’s dangerous. It could be like walking into a tiger’s den.”
“R-right. Can we really stop them? It’s not even our turn yet.”
“We can’t just stay here and wait until then. We have to try something.”
“Won’t we just become targets if we step forward for no reason?”
“…….”
That might certainly be the case.
“Not getting caught is the priority. Safety is the top priority, after all.”
Anakin decided that they couldn’t just sit here trembling and waiting for their turn.
Of course, seeing an apprentice disciple become a sacrifice for human offering was hard to watch, but Anakin had a goal more desperate than anyone else’s.
To become strong enough to protect herself.
She intended to remove anyone who stood in the way of that goal.
The Anakin from the original story and herself were different.
She craved power over beauty and wanted to achieve fame over love.
She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life meaninglessly trapped in the Imperial Palace, looking only at the Crown Prince.
Just like her past self, who was forcibly awakened early and confined to a room.
Anakin stared into the air with sunken eyes and swallowed her tea.
“You two certainly have the air of nobles.”
Mantis spoke as if it were fascinating, looking at Hilde and Anakin, whose noble tea manners were ingrained in them.
Then Lute spoke up.
“If you put it that way, isn’t that person over there also a noble?”
Lucien, who inherited the superior bloodline of Lafitier Filo, was also a noble.
However, Lute tilted his head in wonder at Lucien’s behavior, which showed not a trace of noble elegance.
Even now, wasn’t he rolling a candy around in his mouth while resting his feet on the table?
“Lucien…… he can’t be helped.”
Anakin, who knew his story, said as she took another sip of tea.
She couldn’t bring herself to say out loud that he had been imprisoned and experimented on by Lafitier Filo as a child.
Was his free-spirited nature because of the sorrow of living Roqued in a lab?
Looking at his personality, it was also difficult to distinguish whether his words were true or not.
“The talk is over, right? Then let’s disperse.”
Lute stood up first. Following him, Anakin also rose and spoke.
“I’ll be going now too.”
Now she had to prepare for tomorrow’s plan.
She also had to keep practicing the Ether cultivation method.
As Lute and Anakin left the room, Mantis, who was left standing blankly, rolled his eyes and looked between the two remaining.
Hilde and Lucien left to find their own tasks without even minding each other.
Even though they were in the same space, it was as if they were in different areas.
Mantis stood there in silence and then closed the door lonely.
The plan was executed the very next day.
Lute, Hilde, Anakin, Mantis, and Lucien—the five of them—were gathered in an empty classroom waiting for someone.
When the front door opened, everyone’s gaze shifted there.
Renya walked in with a complexion even paler than yesterday.
“You, you’re really going to help, right?”
It was clear how much she had cried, as there were distinct red marks around her eyes.
“Komult came to me last night and said…… he just couldn’t bring himself to sacrifice one of our peers…… and asked what he should do…… A boy who hardly ever cries was shedding tears for the first time as he spoke, hic……”
“……So what happened?”
“In the end, he said he’ll step forward himself. He said he’d beg just once, saying he’d fulfill any other request if they’d just let this one slide.”
“…….”
The children’s faces also turned pale.
This was because Heron, whom they had seen last time, did not look like a man who would ever show mercy.
“If they were going to show mercy, they wouldn’t have told him to bring someone in the first place.”
At Hilde’s cold words, tears fell from Renya’s cheeks.
“Ah……”
The tears of a girl driven to the edge were desperate.
“Please, someone help……”
“Calm down for now.”
Mantis spoke while comforting her.
“We’ll try to track them and get Komult out.”
At those words, Renya looked up at the children.
The 47th class, though still young, was called the greatest talent among all the classes in Pasadian’s history.
If it were them…… a faint hope blossomed that maybe it would be possible.
“I beg of you. Please save Komult. He just went to meet Heron.”
“Understood.”
Lute, who had been watching quietly, spoke up.
“Is it the place we followed them to last time?”
To Lute’s question, Hilde replied.
“The probability is high.”
Before long, all the children carefully headed toward the alley behind Nox Hall.
This place, where disciples rarely set foot, was perfect for secret activities.
Sure enough, Komult was waiting for someone with a nervous face.
Finally, someone appeared there.
Behind Heron, who was wearing a robe as seen last time…… stood a mysterious man wearing a mask.
“Why are you alone?”
As soon as he saw Komult standing alone, Heron spoke in a sharp tone.
“I-I-I’m sorr—”
Slap.
A palm as large as cast iron struck Komult’s cheek hard.
“I asked why you are alone.”
At the cold voice, Komult spoke while trembling.
“I……”
“Wait.”
At that moment, the masked man who had been watching from behind raised his hand as if to tell him to stop.
As he stepped forward, Heron took a step back behind him.
The children instinctively realized it then.
That man was Evan, the king of the apprentice disciples.
