On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 388

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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First Day of Infiltration, The Organization Was Destroyed — Episode 388
Did you know?
While the Eve Festival was in full swing, there were students who couldn’t enjoy it.
To be precise, they chose not to.
They were the Maze Team, whose production had reached its final stages.
The Masked Ball Team had at least managed to enjoy the Eve Festival a little.
Since their event was scheduled for the last day, they had some breathing room.
But for the Maze Team, which had to begin tomorrow, time was running short.
“Come on, let’s push through! We’re in the final stretch!”
“Ugh, my back is killing me. If this falls through, I swear I’m going to cry.”
“It won’t fail! Trust Quantus!”
Quantus’s passionate maze construction!
It would hardly be an exaggeration to say he’d burned through every moment of the Festa preparation period.
According to test results, even knowing the entire layout, it took a full thirty minutes to escape—a structure of truly massive scale!
The calculation included time for dismantling traps mid-route and manually locating passages that shifted position.
“I guarantee it—no one will make it through by the end. Not even I can escape without a map!”
“That’s… never mind, Quantus.”
Ann sighed, yet gazed at the maze with evident satisfaction.
Finally, the end was in sight.
She’d joined in to rein Quantus in, but it had proven a rewarding project.
Since production began, the students had accomplished this entirely on their own—without outside help!
“Teacher Ziel probably couldn’t do it either.”
“No, Teacher Ziel could clear it in under five minutes.”
“Oh… really?”
Regardless, the maze they’d created would be unveiled to the students tomorrow.
And they’d rake in the entrance fees!
The Ice Sculpture Team shared the same expectations.
“I’ve… burned myself out completely……”
Karen set down her sculpting tools and collapsed.
But no one moved to help her up.
They were all too stunned by the finished result.
“Wow……”
“Oh……”
“That’s absolutely incredible……”
Even Mortis offered his applause.
“This… must be preserved permanently after the exhibition ends……”
Such remarkable talent, worthy of Mortis’s admiration!
Though still rough in places and the carving somewhat crude, the artistry expressed in the sculpture was exceptional.
She had captured all the essential points in her design!
“So that’s what Karen was preparing for in the end……”
“She locked herself away all week doing nothing but this……”
Even her own teammates had no idea what Karen had been creating until today’s final reveal.
She’d set up a partition in one corner of the auditorium to avoid interference, saying the work would be ruined if disturbed.
And when she needed to step away, she’d even “hired” Yurio to keep anyone else from seeing it.
The payment was meals.
“Karen Aswan, you’ve worked hard. This is… a masterpiece, truly a masterpiece.”
“Thank you, Lord Mortis……”
Karen, exhausted, barely managed to sit up before speaking.
“It turned out well, didn’t it?”
“Absolutely. I’d like to purchase this myself.”
“P-purchase? You really don’t need to praise it so highly……”
“No, I’m sincere. I’ve trained countless disciples over the years, but never have I coveted a work of art. Yet this one… is different. Perhaps it’s because ice—a medium that cannot endure—stirs something deeper within my aesthetic sense.”
“Oh……”
Already exhausted, Karen didn’t fully comprehend his elaborate phrasing, but it certainly sounded genuine.
“Moreover, when creating this sculpture, you needed not a shred of my guidance. Karen Aswan, we call this ‘talent.’ In other words, ‘artistry.'”
Mortis posed the question with utmost sincerity.
“Really, have you never considered becoming my disciple? Someone of your caliber could make quite a name for yourself. I guarantee everything—a home, land, tools, all expenses covered.”
Yet Karen declined once more.
“I’m sorry, Lord Mortis. I prefer the sword, and I can’t devote myself fully here with a divided heart.”
“Oh, dear……”
“I suspect that if I devoted myself entirely to swordsmanship, it would become even more consuming. I’m sorry, Lord Mortis.”
“Not at all. Should your heart change, come find me anytime. It’s perfectly fine to immerse yourself whenever you have a spare moment. Whenever suits you.”
Mortis had always been sincere with students who possessed artistry—and art itself.
“The thing is… even after seeing it repeatedly, my admiration doesn’t fade easily.”
And there was good reason for Mortis to be moved so deeply by this work.
“The person depicted… they would surely be pleased, wouldn’t they?”
“Without question. Absolutely. Certainly.”
The reason lay in exactly whom Karen had sculpted.
Karen had chosen to carve the most beautiful person she had ever beheld.
It was not attraction in any rational sense.
Simply that singular person whose mere presence drew forth an involuntary gasp of beauty.
A person beautiful not only in face, but in the swordsmanship witnessed long ago and even in the fingertips that wielded that blade.
“Do you think they might wish to purchase this?”
“It doesn’t seem like their taste…”
“They prefer simplicity, true, but… since it’s a sculpture of themselves, they might actually like it.”
Mortis gazed upon the sculpture once more.
Could any model be as perfect as this one?
* * *
The first day of Festa arrived.
Countless Imperial citizens poured in, joined by people and nobles from regions beyond the Capital who had traveled from across the Empire.
The Academy was utterly saturated!
The Academy administration had been forced to limit daily attendance.
“I came all the way from the Western Region to see this Festa, and I can’t even get in!”
“We ask that you return tomorrow for entry. It would be dangerous to admit any more people at this point.”
Those turned away on the first day voiced their complaints, but there was nothing to be done.
One look at the situation inside made it clear why!
“How are there this many people…?”
“You can barely find a place to stand.”
There had been crowds last year too, but nothing like this.
The reason was singular.
The box office success of the previous Festa!
Word of it had spread across the entire Empire, drawing throngs of people eager to witness it themselves.
The ripple effect had left the Capital absolutely teeming with visitors.
The decent lodgings were all sold out, and it was common enough to see nobles paying handsomely to rent entire private homes from common citizens.
“The First Years’ Sword Dance last year was something else, wasn’t it?”
“Everyone was blown away by it. I mean, they even performed at the Imperial Palace.”
All of this was the result of Ziel drawing in Mortis and turning the Sword School Festa into a resounding success!
Of course, he hadn’t intended it that way.
“Quite a crowd.”
Ziel reflected on this.
‘Perfect conditions for an assassination.’
The environment most favored by assassins, he thought.
In a place this dense with people, witnessing a murder scene was nearly impossible.
If one silenced someone without anyone noticing and sat them on a bench, it could be hours before their death was discovered.
Of course, Ziel was no longer an assassin.
“Welcome, Professor Isabella Altidor.”
“There are so many people…”
“Yes. Last year’s success has had its effect.”
“It certainly was remarkable last year.”
Assassination no longer held his interest.
What Ziel was after today was something entirely different: the jelly vendor’s booth.
“Today is my loss.”
Last night, to be precise.
Professor Isabella’s entire month’s salary had vanished.
He hadn’t expected she would eat so voraciously.
He’d heard rumors of her appetite, certainly, but to consume that much…!
Not that he regretted it.
It was simply remarkable how well she ate.
And so, heading toward the jelly booth, the very first words from Ziel’s lips were the same as yesterday’s.
“From here to there. Give me all of it.”
“Welcome, would you like me to organize them by type?”
“Yes, and please give me ten of each.”
“A big spender! Just a moment, please!”
While they waited, Professor Isabella asked a question.
“By the way, Teacher Ziel, aren’t you going to see the children’s Festa preparations?”
“I’m planning to visit this afternoon. I’m curious myself.”
“Oh, you haven’t seen it yet?”
“If I show up, everyone asks for advice, so I deliberately stayed away. I only watched a little at the beginning, then left everything to the students.”
“You’re really thorough… though I’m sure you must have checked in on them at least a bit.”
“Supporting from behind is enough.”
The jelly arrived while they waited.
It was delicious.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Shall I buy the entire booth for you?”
“Is that even possible?”
“…Ah, no.”
“What a shame.”
Isabella made a mental note to carefully plan her proposals to Ziel going forward.
In any case, a promise was a promise.
She’d agreed to cover Ziel’s snacking expenses for this Festa.
Considering what she’d gained, it was hardly a waste.
Though she never dreamed he’d eat enough to blow through her entire salary.
Just as Ziel was finishing his jelly and moving toward the next booth.
“That’s him, right?”
“Definitely. Looks exactly like him!”
People murmured as they looked at Ziel.
He was indeed famous.
‘Everyone just recognizes him immediately. As expected of a celebrity!’
The Empire’s hero!
After the Imperial Newspaper ran extensive coverage, Ziel’s name had spread throughout the realm.
Of course they’d recognize him.
Some people even asked for autographs.
Remarkably, Ziel’s signature took only 0.5 seconds per page!
And that was even with him writing his name and the date!
‘His hand speed is absolutely insane.’
As Isabella marveled, she caught something odd in the crowd’s comments.
“But doesn’t it really look like him? Almost perfectly identical?”
“The real thing is better though, isn’t it?”
Everyone was looking at Ziel while saying something, all of them seeming to gesture at something specific.
“What are they saying, Teacher Ziel?”
“It seems there’s something that resembles me.”
They found out soon enough.
Ziel and Isabella headed toward the Second Years’ display called the “Northern Space.”
A place where ice sculptures were on exhibition!
Though there was one small problem—the line to enter was extraordinarily long.
“It’s incredibly popular. Even accounting for crowds, this many people is really…”
They’d borrowed one section of the Academy’s enrollment garden to create the space!
Even from far away in line you could see inside, but actually entering and viewing the sculptures in person was something else entirely.
Of course, Ziel and Isabella had no need to wait in that long line.
“Oh, Teacher Ziel! Professor Isabella!”
The one who greeted them warmly was Karen.
“Karen Aswan. On our way here, I overheard people saying there’s something inside that resembles me.”
“Oh! You’ve already heard about it?”
Karen nodded with a confidence that hadn’t been there before, smiling brightly.
“I’ll show you the way. Follow me.”
Inside, beautiful sights unfolded before them.
“Wow.”
Isabella gasped with genuine admiration.
The craftsmanship of the sculptures was extraordinary.
While she wasn’t deeply versed in art, even at first glance the expressive power was evident.
Some were simple objects, but there were quite a few sculptures of considerable complexity—flowers and swords, rough-hewn stones and the like.
“Did all of these students carve these themselves, Karen?”
“Yes, Professor! We all did it ourselves. It was a bit of work maintaining the temperature and moving everything around, but anyway… the real masterpiece is somewhere else!”
As Karen led the way, the crowd around them swelled.
‘Are they forming lines inside too?’
Professor Isabella found it hard to believe.
There had been lines outside, but to think people were queuing inside just to see a single sculpture.
Hard to believe indeed.
“We’re here, Professor.”
Professor Isabella’s hand rose to her mouth without her meaning it to.
“Oh…….”
Art stood before her eyes.
The same height.
The same hands.
The same sword.
The same clothes.
And—
“It’s completely identical…….”
The same face even.
The sculpture that had drawn all those people to line up was none other than a sculpture of Ziel.
“Teacher Ziel, you knew about this……?”
“No. I had no idea.”
Ziel stepped closer.
And he drew the wrong conclusion.
‘When did they take a mold of my face?’
It was simply too alike.
For anyone else it would have been mere metaphor, but Ziel was genuinely suspicious.
‘Ah.’
Only then did Ziel understand.
Why over the past few days, Karen had kept watching him so intently, observing him so closely.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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