I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 655: Saint Catherine (1)

"You weakling."

Aileen harshly criticized Ivelon despite his sincere words.

"Show at least the minimum courage and spirit as a member of the royal family. Little brother."

"This is just my nature, what can I do? Even if I try to force it, I can't."

"Well, you still did well. Surely they wouldn't have thought you'd be pulling this kind of trick."

Aileen chuckled and folded her arms.

Ivelon looked at her curiously and asked.

"Sister. Somehow you seem to be in a good mood."

"Do I look happy? Even though there's nothing I can do right now?"

"Yes, well. I'll apologize if I'm wrong."

"No. You saw correctly. I'm in a very good mood right now."

Ivelon asked with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

"Why is that?"

"Because that man was wrong."

"By that man, you mean..."

"Right. The man who warned me to be careful because you were hiding something."

"Well, I was hiding something, so it wasn't exactly wrong."

"That man seemed to see through everything, but he didn't know you were a double agent. That's enough."

Aileen found it unbearably delightful that Rudger had been wrong about something.

She had thought he was someone who would be perfect.

A man who aroused both desire and simultaneously jealousy and competitiveness.

But that man was also a human who made mistakes.

A human just like herself.

Could this fact be any more joyful?

"And another reason I'm in a good mood is that I've experienced this level of crisis plenty of times before. No, thinking of the crisis back then, this doesn't even count as one."

"Sister..."

"Of course, back then that man was there, and now he's not."

Aileen sent a gaze full of aspiration toward Ivelon.

"But now I have you, don't I?"

"...But I can't disobey Salesin's orders. If I act suspiciously, Salesin would also turn me into a puppet."

"That would be even better. I'd be grateful if you keep sticking with Salesin and drawing his attention."

"Do you think that's possible in the face of the power of brainwashing?"

"Why do you think that's their exclusive property?"

Aileen pointed with her chin at the scripture Ivelon had placed on the table.

"We have it too, don't we?"

Although it might be considerably weaker compared to the power Salesin uses.

That was a key that could sufficiently overcome this situation.

"It's modest compared to what they possess."

"That's right. Theirs is a cannon, but what we have is just a dagger at best."

Ivelon couldn't help but be surprised at the look in Aileen's eyes.

Her gaze belonged to someone who hadn't given up at all.

"That's enough. Even with just one dagger, we can cut the throat."

Theon was in confusion.

It had been just recently that Rudger Chelici returned to Theon after going missing.

And now that same Rudger Chelici had been arrested and taken away by the imperial security bureau while leaving behind one shocking fact.

His true identity was Heathcliff van Bretus.

Who was Heathcliff van Bretus?

The illegitimate child of the former Holy Emperor Benedict van Bretus.

And they said he was the king of heretics who opposed the Lumensis Order.

"What's going on here? Professor Rudger was the son of the Holy Emperor?"

"It's a lie, right?"

"Idiot. If the security bureau arrested him, how could it be a lie? We've been deceived all this time! Even the newspapers are talking about it! The king of heretics, they say!"

"Isn't everything that happened in Theon because of this person? Like when the demon appeared!"

"Hey! Professor Rudger fought hard to save us that day! How can you say that?"

"You never know. Maybe he just pretended to do that to deceive us."

A teacher who had many complaints about Rudger, and a student who had fallen into panic, unable to accept the current situation, blamed Rudger.

Of course, not everyone was only blaming Rudger.

"Was that person really Rudger Chelici in the first place?"

"What do you mean?"

"Our teacher was missing for a while. So during that time, a fake might have come pretending to be Professor Rudger."

That is, the real Rudger Chelici was being held captive somewhere, and Heathcliff had entered Theon pretending to be him and then got caught, was the claim.

It was quite convincing.

It didn't make sense that Rudger had been deceiving them all this time, considering his conduct after he had been appointed.

Could a person who was the king of heretics and who controls demons be so passionate about teaching, distributing valuable materials to students?

It didn't add up.

"Honestly, if he were a heretic, he would have half-heartedly taught or secretly sacrificed students."

"Right. Look at the source code he distributed. Plus, his classes had a lot of other useful content."

"What if all that was deliberately done to win our favor?"

"Hey. People don't usually give away everything they have just to win favor. Why would he go that far at Theon in the first place?"

Of course, there was someone who contributed to spreading these rumors.

It was Elisa Willow, the president of Theon.

"Haa. I never thought one person could make the world so noisy."

President Elisa looked down at the panic-stricken Theon with a regretful gaze.

"It's fine."

The one who set down his teacup with a thud was Vierano Dentis.

Next to Vierano was Sedina Roschen, who couldn't settle down.

Besides these two, several other guests were gathered in the president's office.

"Putting out the urgent fire is the priority now."

"Um, but is the rumor really true?"

It was Selina who asked in a cautious voice.

From her being in this place to Rudger Chelici’s identity, too many incomprehensible events had happened all at once.

"Hmph. Whether the rumor is true or not isn't important."

The one who snorted at those words was Chris Benimore.

"What's important is why the president gathered us. And I'm also curious why the student who was that person's assistant is here."

Sedina, receiving Chris's gaze, felt smaller, as if she had done something wrong.

The one who defended Sedina was Vierano.

"Professor Chris Benimore. Be careful with your words."

"What do you mean?"

"The one here now is not student Sedina Roschen. She is Sedina Plante, an important person who can uniquely communicate with the World Tree of our Elf Kingdom."

When Vierano revealed Sedina's identity, astonishment swept through the room.

"W-wait a minute! What does that mean...?"

Merilda, who was next to Selina, asked in surprise.

Though Sedina had often shown diligent behavior as Rudger's assistant, no one in this room knew she was such an important elf.

"She is here as an envoy of the Elf Kingdom. And I too am here not as a teacher of Theon but as an elder of the Elf Kingdom, please understand."

"President. Is that true?"

"Well, it was specified in the contract, so it's not wrong. I don't have the authority to force Elder Vierano."

Elisa said with a smile in her eyes.

"What's important is not that. An official document has come down."

"By official document..."

"It says that Heathcliff van Bretus, the continent's villain, has overthrown the Bretus Holy Empire and taken over its capital's fortress. And the Holy Emperor has declared a holy war."

"But why would we receive an official document... Don't tell me?"

Chris voiced a possibility he didn't want to think about.

"Is Theon being asked to participate?"

"That's right."

"That doesn't make sense!"

Merilda reacted vehemently.

"It doesn't make sense to demand such a thing from Theon in the first place! Theon is a place of learning solely for educating magicians, a holy war?"

"Professor Merilda, please calm down a bit."

It was Wilford, who assisted Elisa, who calmed down the fuming Merilda.

The atmosphere entered a temporary lull.

Elisa continued.

"That's right. Our Theon, though within the empire, has autonomy that doesn't follow the empire's will. We could easily ignore it even if they arbitrarily start a war and demand our participation. But the problem is that this is a holy war."

"Holy war..."

"From the situation in the capital to the recent demon incident. I hear Isla Machina is also almost half-destroyed now. It's a very confusing situation. People's fears are at their peak. A holy war declared at such a moment carries a strong compulsion that overrides any justification."

"Is that possible? Isn't this their own business?"

"Honestly, I think it's strange too. Even so, to declare a holy war like this arbitrarily. This is just something the Holy Empire should handle on its own, right?"

The problem came next.

"The countries of the world are actively responding to the holy war."

"What does that...?"

"As if everyone was in on it together, they declared their participation in the holy war as if they had been waiting. Similar things are happening even in small and medium-sized countries that would normally bide their time and read the room in such situations."

Except for the Elf Kingdom, the Beast Tribes, the Dwarf Villages, and excluding the Southern Fatima Dynasty.

The entire continent's nations had united as one.

With such unreasonable situations happening one after another, even common sense seemed about to be destroyed.

"Given this atmosphere, even Theon cannot openly refuse this excessive demand."

"But..."

Selina started to say something in a trembling voice but then closed her mouth because she knew that President Elisa was the most confused right now.

"Once the holy war had been declared, it was no use trying to buy time by asking for time to think. So I had to make a choice."

"You're going to fight?"

"I set conditions. The students stay out of it. Only a select few people I choose will step forward."

"Did they accept that?"

At Chris Benimore's question, Elisa snorted.

"And if they don't?"

Elisa's golden pupils gleamed ominously.

"Who would dare to object when I say I'll step forward?"

An arrogant statement.

But at the same time, considering Elisa's abilities, it was something she could say.

"So that's why you called us."

"I've already finished talking with the other teachers. All the fourth-year faculty will step forward. But on the condition that we act individually. We'll participate in the holy war, but I have no intention of moving as they wish."

At that moment, someone roughly knocked on the door from outside.

At the thudding sound, Elisa's pupils narrowed.

"I told them not to disturb us during the meeting."

Elisa thought. Usually in these situations, it splits into two cases.

First. Either the servant is unusually tactless.

Or second.

An important matter has occurred that must be reported immediately, even in the current situation.

"Come in."

Elisa considered it the latter.

The door opened, and a servant drenched in sweat spoke urgently.

"P-president. It's a big problem."

"What's the big problem?"

"O-outside. Outside a person has come."

At the servant's following words, everyone gathered in the president's office opened their eyes wide.

"The Saint has arrived!"

Rene lay on the dormitory bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

'What should I do?'

Several days had passed since Rudger was captured by the Order.

All the news that came afterward was nothing but ominous.

'Holy war...'

The word "war" resonated very strongly with Rene.

'Why? I've never experienced war, but I can feel how terribly it should never happen.'

Her eyes stung with pain.

It hurt so much that for a moment, tears unconsciously welled up.

For a moment, a blurry scene flashed by.

'What was that just now?'

It was too fast to see properly, but she glimpsed a devastated city against the backdrop of a dark night.

And something massive floating in the sky under the moonlight.

'I feel queasy.'

Rene took a deep breath lying on the bed.

From the events in the capital to Dreamland and Isla Machina.

She had gone through so many things, and even in the face of deadly crises, Rene had always tried hard to maintain calmness.

But the anxiety she was feeling now was on a different dimension from those.

Is this what they call the calm before the storm?

The queasiness creeping in within this quietness seemed like a warning of how terrible the things to come would be.

'I need air...'

Rene got up from the bed and left the dormitory.

Her steps led her to the secret garden where Freuden had cultivated flower beds.

Seeing the quiet garden where no one was present, Rene leaned against a tree, sat down, and closed her eyes.

It was noisy outside but not because of the holy war. 

Has someone come to visit?

Rene thought it had nothing to do with her and decided to wait until this anxiety subsided.

Rustle.

In the silence, the sound of someone stepping on grass tickled Rene's ears.

As far as Rene knew, only three people would come to this secret garden: Erendir, Freuden, and Henry.

But the footsteps seemed very light for a man, so Rene turned to look, thinking it might be Erendir.

The first thing visible was golden hair and snow-white skin that shone dazzlingly in the sunlight.

The light was so strong that the face was blurry and not clearly visible, so Rene strained her eyes.

-Throb!

Pain returned to her eyes which had slightly subsided.

But strangely, this time she didn't frown or shed tears.

"Oh?"

It wasn't Erendir.

She had been confused for a moment because of the golden hair, but seeing up close, it was a completely different person.

More adult-like and mature, and also emanating a somewhat sacred aura.

Rene felt this aura strangely familiar.

Just as Rene looked at the woman, the woman also looked at Rene.

Rene thought the woman's eyes were as beautiful as if they contained the sky.

"Who are you?"

When Rene asked innocently, the woman answered in a calm voice.

"Catherine."