On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 389

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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 389
The Great Blood Battle in the Labyrinth (1)
They were too alike. Far too alike.
Ziel stared long and hard at the ice sculpture carved in his near-perfect image.
The face, the breadth of the shoulders and upper body, the length of the legs and hands, even down to the fingertips — everything mirrored him precisely.
It was the kind of likeness that would make one believe she’d simply poured water into a mold cast directly from Ziel himself, then frozen it solid.
With the lighting arranged just so, shadows fell across it in a way that heightened the artistry to another level entirely.
Ziel remained gazing at his own sculpture.
Watching him, Professor Isabella found her mind drifting back to something.
‘So even Teacher Ziel lapses into deep thought.’
The portrait of Ziel she’d heard from the second years was of someone who never stopped moving, never rested for a moment.
Yet here he stood, staring at the sculpture for an eternity.
More than ten minutes had already passed!
Then twenty.
Now thirty minutes.
Ziel was still standing there.
‘Is this what art appreciation looks like?’
By the time Isabella’s body had begun to twist restlessly and her fingers had fidgeted past the thousand-count mark, something shifted.
“Magnificent.”
Ziel broke the silence with that single word.
“Student Karen Aswan, did you really make this yourself?”
“You don’t believe me?”
“No, that’s not it.”
For the first time in a while, Ziel was expressing genuine admiration.
“You’ve done well. You observed every minute detail of me.”
“I knew it! I knew you’d notice! The truth is, I’ve been staring at you like crazy!”
“I was aware. But since you never came asking questions, I left it alone.”
Days on end, the way she’d stared and observed.
That was precisely what had earned Ziel’s admiration.
‘To capture such detail from that distance — her talent for observation is genuine.’
Which meant only one thing.
‘Under different circumstances, she might have become an assassin.’
Black Sky hunts talent without regard to origin.
Those talents are taken, their memories and selves controlled, then raised as assassins.
Of course, many children die in that process.
In any case — an assassin’s talent.
Talent was something you could never fully understand, no matter how much you studied it.
“Your powers of observation are exceptional, Student Karen Aswan.”
“Lord Mortis said the same thing to me! He said I’m brimming with talent as an artist.”
Were assassin and artist truly separated by nothing more than a sheet of paper?
Ziel nodded.
“Yes, you have talent.”
“But I’m not going to be an artist. I mean, as a hobby maybe, but I like Swordsmanship more.”
“That’s right. It’s your choice. Walk the path you wish to walk.”
It was exactly what Karen had wanted to hear.
“Thank you, Teacher. And… I’m sorry. I made you my model without asking.”
“It’s nothing. I make you all suffer through training without asking permission either.”
“…Huh?”
And in the moment Ziel turned his head—
“Oh, oh my!”
“It’s Ziel Steelheart!”
“Teacher Ziel!”
The spectators who had been admiring the sculpture suddenly gasped and erupted in excitement.
Now seeing him face-on, they realized who was actually standing beside the sculpture.
“I can’t even tell which one is the sculpture!”
“To think I’m seeing the Empire’s hero in person!”
Ziel felt an odd sensation creep over him — the prickling of revulsion, as if his skin were shrinking.
He couldn’t say why.
It was then that Karen demonstrated her quick thinking.
“Hello everyone, I’m Karen from Sword School’s second year class, and I created this sculpture!”
It was not a showcase built for Ziel.
“I began creating this work with the intention of sculpting the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed, and this is what resulted from that vision.”
“Magnificent!”
“The artist explaining their own work!”
For the spectators, it was nothing short of a rare privilege.
Especially the nobles with an eye for art—they nodded vigorously, their delight unmistakable.
Meeting the creator or artist behind a truly exceptional work of art was no trivial occurrence.
“Please, simply enjoy it as it is. Do be careful not to touch it—the ice may melt!”
The artist seized the moment to promote their creation.
“And I must offer endless gratitude to Teacher Ziel Steelheart, who graciously served as the model for this piece.”
Applause erupted from all sides.
Ziel felt it then.
‘This student has genuine talent as an artist.’
For some reason, it pleased him.
Was it the sight of his student flourishing?
Or was it discovering a promising new path worth considering for the future?
Perhaps it was both.
One thing was certain.
‘This project succeeded.’
This Northern Space venture had clearly succeeded.
That single sculpture alone was worth the visit.
“It’s handsome.”
“Pardon?”
“My sculpture, I mean.”
“Ah.”
Professor Isabella nodded blankly, accepting the assessment.
Had anyone else said it, there might have been something odd about it—but coming from Ziel, it made perfect sense.
“Professor Isabella Altiodor.”
“Yes, Teacher Ziel.”
“I’ve concentrated so hard my stomach has begun to protest. I need to eat something else.”
……
Truly, this teacher never rested.
* * *
After viewing the ice sculpture exhibition, Ziel moved with Professor Isabella to the next booth.
They were heading toward the Labyrinth Exploration experience.
But all things considered, food first.
Ziel spotted a booth selling an unusual dish.
“What is this?”
“A common dish from a country called Ortan, beyond the Western Region. Translated into their language, it means ‘Rotisserie Skewer.'”
A massive chunk of meat turned slowly on a vertical spit, rotating steadily.
With a long knife, the vendor shaved thin slices from the surface, gathering them together, then mixed them with various vegetables and spices before tucking the whole affair into bread.
Ziel’s mouth watered involuntarily at the sight.
“I’ll have one.”
“Five Sel per portion.”
Ziel hesitated at the price.
‘More expensive than chicken skewers.’
But he glanced at Professor Isabella once, then nodded.
“I’ll take it.”
“Of course you will.”
Once again, Professor Isabella witnessed a remarkable sight.
‘He devoured that entire thing in an instant……’
The Rotisserie Skewer was as long as three adult fists laid end to end, and it was generously stuffed with ingredients. Ziel consumed it in moments.
She’d seen this happen since yesterday’s eve festival, yet she still couldn’t quite adjust to it.
What astounded her even more was that after finishing it right there on the spot, he immediately offered the vendor his thoughts.
“I think this particular spice would suit the dish better. And if you increased the meat portion slightly, it would improve the texture. Keep the vegetable quantity as it is.”
“Ah, I recall a gentleman who fashions himself a gourmet gave me similar advice. Having heard the same suggestion twice, I’ll certainly give it a try!”
So he had knowledge of fine cuisine as well.
In any case, this teacher possessed quite an array of skills.
‘Did the Steelheart Family teach him all manner of things?’
She’d heard that the Steelheart Family had recently been restored to prominence, and its patriarch was none other than the teacher who now stood before her, eagerly consuming food.
“That was delicious.”
“In all my years, I’ve never had a guest eat ten skewers in a row without moving from their spot.”
“Is that so.”
Ziel finally rose from his seat, responding to the proprietor’s praise with characteristic indifference.
“Are you feeling full?”
“I could eat more. But excessive fullness dulls one’s movement, so I’ll stop here.”
…….
When she glanced over, his stomach didn’t appear to protrude in the slightest.
Could he possibly be burning it all off inside?
‘I envy him.’
Ever since her days attending social gatherings, this had been Professor Isabella’s lifelong torment.
Everything she ate turned straight to fat!
“Teacher Ziel, what’s your secret?”
“Secret to eating a lot, you mean?”
“……It’s similar but different. You eat like that all the time, so why don’t you gain weight?”
“Why do you gain weight?”
In all her years of living, she’d never been asked such a bewildering question.
“Why…… do you gain weight?”
“I’m asking why you gain weight.”
“Well, because you eat a lot!”
“Then eat only as much as won’t make you gain weight.”
“But that’s not…… how it works.”
“I eat only as much as won’t make me gain weight.”
“Ah.”
Isabella understood then, as did the many others who had ever conversed with Ziel.
This was simply an incomprehensible realm.
“……Let’s go. Next venue.”
“Yes. Now that I’ve filled my stomach, I’ll move on. The food variety this Festa is better than last time.”
How much more would he eat?
After seeing the quantity he’d consumed, Isabella found herself beginning to fret—ever so slightly—about her salary for next month, and the month after that, and the one after that.
In any case, they arrived at the site where the Labyrinth Exploration event was being held.
The Labyrinth event itself wasn’t particularly special, but this time was different.
“Withdrawal confirmed at Point B24. Deploy rescue immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
Namely, it was far more difficult than anyone had imagined.
So much so that participants were dropping out in rapid succession.
“Ahahaha! The entrance fees pile up, and the challengers keep increasing!”
There stood Quantus Hopel, roaring with unbridled laughter.
And clustered around him—his students.
Ever since their exploits on Osu Island, Quantus had begun gathering followers once again.
“How much more difficult could they have made this…… Surely even on the first day, it shouldn’t be this bad?”
Watching the students emerge after failing, their expressions were all uniformly speechless.
You didn’t even need to ask—you could see at a glance how brutal it was.
“Oh, Teacher Ziel! You’ve arrived!”
“Quantus Hopel. How’s it going?”
“Perfectly! Thanks to my subordinates performing flawlessly here, no one has managed to escape the Labyrinth yet!”
“Good work.”
A labyrinth must be difficult—that was the natural order of things.
Though he’d rather not recall it, during his days as an assassin he’d navigated a labyrinth incomparably more treacherous than this one to steal classified documents.
“And the trump card we’ve prepared is working perfectly.”
“A trump card?”
“Yes!”
Just then, a group of students came bolting out of the Labyrinth, trembling violently before collapsing to the ground.
“M-m-monster! There’s a monster inside! It chased us!”
“It’s huge! Even rocks bounce off it!”
At their frantic cries, Ziel caught a familiar scent on the air.
‘I see.’
There was one familiar person wandering about inside that labyrinth.
“Is Assistant Lecturer Kelvin inside?”
“Huh? How did you know? We asked him to keep it secret from you, Teacher Ziel!”
“I caught the scent.”
To Ziel’s eye, it seemed a reasonable plan.
Kelvin wouldn’t fall even if the students made their desperate stand against him.
His sheer bulk was enough to inspire terror.
“And we’ve given him makeup too.”
“Makeup?”
“Yes! We’ve wrapped him in armor from head to toe and fitted him with a horned helmet! Like a knight of darkness straight out of a fairy tale!”
The Empire had a fairy tale about a knight who emerges from the depths of darkness and abducts children.
A young prince defeats the knight in that tale and rescues the kidnapped children.
Ziel had read it not long ago and knew it well.
So a clever idea occurred to him.
“Professor Isabella Altidore.”
“Yes, Teacher Ziel.”
“Would you play the role of the prince?”
“……What?”
It was an excellent opportunity for Isabella to grow.
Of course, had there been only this chance, Ziel wouldn’t have given it much thought.
But there was Kelvin, Gilbert’s subordinate, who had recently reached Master-level and seemed oddly sullen.
Kelvin, too, needed an opportunity to grow.
‘Their skill levels are close enough. This should make for a splendid confrontation.’
“Quantus Hopel. Guide Professor Isabella Altidore into the Labyrinth.”
And so Isabella found herself led into the Labyrinth with no idea what was happening.
Naturally, Kelvin too was about to face a formidable opponent he never saw coming.

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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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