On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Organization Collapsed on My First Day of Infiltration Episode 004

 

 

So it was someone I knew

 

 

All eyes in the Faculty Dining Hall focused on one spot.

A man walking with heavy steps, his belly jiggling with each stride.

It was Professor Elcanto.

 

“What did you do to a student, you mere instructor!”

“I’m not sure what you mean, Professor Elcanto Paredes.”

 

Ziel’s calm demeanor.

 

“You don’t know what I mean? Huh? Don’t you remember what you did to student Delev Kundel in class today? Huh?”

“I did nothing other than Self-Defense Arts education.”

“That… Argh! That’s the problem! Why did you do that to a student! Of all people, a child of the Kundel Family!”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“Of course there’s a problem! Why wouldn’t there be! You slammed a child of the Kundel Family into the ground! Will you take responsibility? Huh? Will you take responsibility!”

 

Ziel asked back with a completely uncomprehending expression.

 

“I was conducting a class. What is there to take responsibility for?”

“Argh!”

 

Professor Elcanto exploded in anger.

The Teaching Assistant urgently tried to stop him from the side.

 

“P-Professor. If the facilities get damaged here, our budget will…”

 

The mention of budget snapped him back to his senses.

Only then did he notice the surrounding gazes.

 

‘Oops.’

 

Professor Elcanto took a deep breath and thrust his face close to Ziel’s.

 

“Teacher Ziel Steelheart. If the Kundel Family cuts off our Sword School’s donations or holds us responsible for this incident! You’d better be prepared!”

 

Professor Elcanto stormed off, fuming.

And Ziel still looked like he didn’t understand what he’d done wrong.

 

“Teacher, it seems like you’re in big trouble?”

“Big trouble?”

“Yes. It seems like word got out about what happened in class?”

“You mean doing things by the book?”

“…By the book?”

“I conducted the class by the book, so I should be praised. This is strange.”

 

Celia was dumbfounded.

This wasn’t being upright… was there some kind of conviction behind this?

 

“That was… by the book?”

“I provided appropriate Practical Experience to make them recognize the necessity, so I consider it by the book.”

“…”

 

If it had been any other teacher saying this, she would have treated them like a crazy person.

But why…

When this teacher said it, did it strangely make her nod in agreement?

 

‘Should I observe a bit more?’

 

Celia quietly tucked away the proposal she was about to make.

Seeing how Professor Elcanto was acting, this teacher probably wouldn’t survive unscathed.

 

‘He’ll accept it more easily if he gets fired.’

 

The bodyguard proposal would be much more appropriate to offer after he got dismissed.

 

“By the way, didn’t you say you had business with me, student Celia Rihart?”

“Ah. Um… I actually forgot.”

“Is your memory lacking?”

“Excuse me?”

“Make sure to eat plenty of salmon and nuts. They’re good for memory. That’s what the books say.”

“…”

“Ah. And.”

 

Ziel added as if he just remembered something.

 

“Demerit points.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s written in the school rules. Entry to the Faculty Dining Hall is prohibited without special reason.”

“Wow…”

 

Celia watched Ziel walk away with a dumbfounded expression, then suddenly curled up the corners of her mouth.

 

“I like how upright he is.”

 

Meanwhile.

 

“What?”

 

Celia witnessed a strange scene.

Ziel, who she thought was leaving, got another bowl of food and came back to sit down.

 

“Haven’t you left yet, student Celia Rihart?”

 

 

The next day.

Professor Elcanto’s Office.

Professor Elcanto enjoying tea with his newspaper.

 

“Hmm. Good.”

 

He had eaten too many snacks last night after getting stressed yesterday.

So today he planned to get by until lunch with just a few cups of tea.

 

[4 Remaining Members of Assassination Group ‘Black Sky’ Arrested… 3 Committed Suicide]

[‘Leader Executed’ Black Sky, Now Only ‘Specter’ Remains!]

[Knight Commander Sir Sores, “Complete Extermination Not Far Off”]

 

“Good grief, can they even catch that Specter bastard?”

 

The biggest issue in the Valdrain Empire recently.

The subjugation of the assassination group Black Sky.

Their leader had been captured and executed within a day, and now they were in the process of hunting down the remaining members.

But just one person.

The assassin who elevated Black Sky’s reputation.

Only ‘Specter’ had not been caught.

Professor Elcanto clicked his tongue while reading the newspaper and took another sip of tea.

 

“Where on earth is he hiding… I don’t even know if they can catch him.”

 

Many things were changing as Valdrain X ascended to the throne.

Strengthening imperial authority.

Stabilizing people’s livelihoods.

And even subjugating assassination groups.

It seemed the current emperor had prepared very thoroughly even before his ascension.

 

“Right, these kinds of bastards should disappear.”

 

How could anyone sleep peacefully when they might have shady dealings or make enemies with someone?

As someone from a noble family, he didn’t particularly like the Imperial Family, but this one thing was fine by him.

 

Knock knock.

 

At the sound of knocking, Professor Elcanto answered without even looking.

 

“Come in.”

“Professor Elcanto, good morning.”

 

It was the Teaching Assistant.

As soon as he arrived, he placed mail in Professor Elcanto’s office, cleaned the dust, and wiped clean the windows that had been replaced during the night.

Somehow he seemed to be crying sadly.

 

“Ah, right. Teaching Assistant.”

“Yes, Professor Elcanto.”

“That what’s-his-name, did that bastard Ziel apologize?”

“Uh… I haven’t heard anything about that.”

 

Jolt.

 

“He still hasn’t apologized?”

 

‘The windows were replaced yesterday though.’

 

“That damn bastard really…”

 

But the Teaching Assistant hadn’t brought this up without having any solution.

 

“Student Deleb also doesn’t seem to have informed his family yet.”

“Huh?”

 

His trembling hands stopped a little.

 

“He still hasn’t told them?”

“No.”

 

He had actually gone to visit yesterday, but had to return after receiving an order to leave from Deleb’s guard knight.

Saying the young master was in absolute rest.

 

“…What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure either…”

 

Professor Elcanto thought for a moment and clapped his hands.

 

“That’s it!”

“Yes?”

“Could it be that bastard… has backing?”

 

The Teaching Assistant sighed deeply inwardly.

 

‘If he has backing, why would he apply to be a liberal arts instructor?’

 

No one wanted the liberal arts instructor position.

Qualifications limited to nobles only.

Low pay and contract worker status.

Despite the honor of being affiliated with Edelwein Academy, they were looked down upon by professors and ignored by students.

 

‘They should treat the liberal arts instructors a bit better…’

 

The professors would never do that.

Because that gap was filled by Teaching Assistants who were no different from slaves.

In other words, thanks to this, the achievement levels of Sword School students kept declining, and there were rumors that their standards dropped year by year.

 

“Right, he definitely has backing! He couldn’t act like that otherwise.”

“Is that so.”

“Teaching Assistant, when you have time, casually ask that guy. Which side he’s from. Who knows? Maybe the family backing him is tremendous?”

 

Steelheart.

A family name he’d never heard of in his life.

Perhaps if he searched through the Empire’s history books, the name might be written somewhere.

 

“Yes, I’ll ask him once.”

“Ah really, that guy, could he really be someone tremendous?”

 

The Teaching Assistant thought.

 

‘That’s exactly why I’m asking why someone like that would be a liberal arts instructor. And at Sword School of all places.’

 

As if he’d have backing.

If he did, he would have gone to Arcane School, not Sword School.

 

 

Ziel peacefully finished preparing for class and closed his dormitory room door.

He didn’t forget to set up several devices for intruder detection either.

His self-awareness had returned, but old habits hadn’t disappeared.

 

“Not bad.”

 

Full of spider webs.

Full of moisture.

Full of mold.

Even full of bugs.

Furniture and walls that were beyond old and rotting away.

Finally, a resident had moved into the Faculty Dormitory that had been abandoned for several years.

 

“That, that really… that gentleman really moved in…”

 

Right next door.

A Security Guard from the luxurious and splendid Student Dormitory clicked his tongue as he watched Ziel walking out of the dormitory.

What insane faculty member of Edelwein Academy would move into that place?

Maybe if it were an academy student with no money, no connections, and nowhere to stay!

 

“My goodness, how on earth did he sleep in there? Didn’t any ghosts appear?”

 

But for Ziel, it was an excellent dormitory.

When going out on missions for stealth operations.

He had once hidden in a pigsty for several days, holding his breath to avoid being noticed.

Not moving for a month in a ceiling crawling with bugs and rats was basic.

That wasn’t all.

Staying in sewage tanks was something that happened too often.

 

‘So this is what having my own space feels like.’

 

He felt very good.

When he was brainwashed and working as an assassin.

The space allowed to Ziel was a cramped room that fit perfectly with just one bed.

Since he had no self-awareness, he had no desires to pursue, and was only provided a space to sleep after finishing training.

Now he had been given a dormitory with space left over even after placing a bed, desk, and even a locker.

However, he still couldn’t easily abandon his habits.

Windows.

Ceiling.

Floor.

And the entrance.

Ziel completed setting traps in all places where infiltration or stealth was possible.

Something he always did in safe houses during mission operations.

There was also the reason that it was still too early to feel at ease.

But there was also the reason that doing this somehow put his mind at ease.

 

Sling.

 

Ziel drew his dagger and placed it under the blanket.

So he could counterattack at any time.

Finally, he adjusted the angle of the mirror to reflect the window.

 

“Is this good enough now?”

 

Saying this, Ziel leaned his back against the wall instead of lying down on the bed.

He had never once slept lying down.

At least not during mission operations.

Ziel fell asleep immediately upon closing his eyes, then opened them 20 minutes later.

Ziel immediately sat at the desk and laid out something.

They were cards.

Ziel brought his bag next to them.

Then he pressed and turned the bag’s lock mechanism at regular intervals to open it.

 

Clack, clack, clack.

 

What came out of the bag and was placed on the desk were vials.

Ziel opened the vials and began dropping their contents little by little onto the cards he had laid out.

 

“This amount should be enough.”

 

Ziel put the vials back in the bag as if he had finally completed his task.

There was no visible change to the cards.

Just ordinary blank cards.

Ziel pondered for a moment and recalled memories of receiving mission orders.

Mission orders handed over with a loud thud of a stamp.

He remembered there was probably some kind of magical something on the stamp, but that didn’t seem necessary.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Ziel thought for a moment, then briefly went outside and found a smooth stone.

And then he took out a very small knife…

 

Scrape, scrape. Tap, tap.

 

He carved the surface to create what looked like a smiling expression.

It was very precise handiwork.

 

Scrape, scrape.

 

Natural dexterity.

Hand movements enhanced by assassin training.

The completion was instantaneous.

Ziel finally smoothed the surface flat, then took out ink from his bag and applied it.

 

“This should do.”

 

Thud.

 

A smiling face stamped onto a blank card.

Not only perfectly symmetrical but also a perfect circle.

With this, the ‘Praise Card’ was complete.

 

‘I wonder if the students will like it.’

 

A drug completed using a formula mainly used by assassins.

He sprayed it on the card to add something special.

This card was actually a special item too.

It was a card-form modification of something Ziel had personally made and used during his assassin days.

It disappeared immediately upon use, leaving no evidence, and was very convenient to use.

The purpose was simple.

Student protection.

The students would naturally learn its purpose as well.

 

“Today’s class is… physical training.”

 

Ziel packed away the cards, checked the class schedule, then recalled the textbook he had studied in advance yesterday.

Physical strength is national strength!

That’s what was written on the very first page of the textbook.

 

‘You can’t do anything without physical strength.’

 

Ziel deeply agreed with that statement.

After all, the very first training assassins received was physical training.

You needed physical strength to maintain mental fortitude during long periods of stealth and to seize momentary assassination opportunities.

Most assassin techniques couldn’t be performed more than a few times without physical strength.

 

“It’ll be a good time for the students.”

 

Ziel left the dormitory and headed toward the Sword School’s Lecture Building.

 

“Elbat Hall.”

 

Elbat Ansen.

A man who was a professor at Sword School during Edelwein Academy’s founding and was called the Guardian Knight of the Valdrain Empire.

He was also the first person to be granted the title of ‘Imperial Knight.’

Though he lived over 200 years ago, whenever people in Valdrain picked ‘great figures,’ he was always counted among the top five.

Thanks to this, although it was the oldest building among the Sword School’s lecture buildings, the interior was very neat.

 

“Not bad.”

 

In his memories from the Assassination Group days, there were only gloomy and dark buildings.

Places where you couldn’t even tell where the exits were, with no windows, making you lose all sense of time.

 

“Who’s that person? Is he a new student?”

“I don’t think I heard about any new students like that…”

 

Ziel’s leisurely walk through Elbat Hall drew quite a lot of attention.

Not only his appearance, but the aura emanating from his appearance and gait, combined with his indifferent expression, created an unknowable sense of gravity.

However, it wasn’t the kind of heavy feeling that forbade approach like some professors had.

 

“Oh, I heard about this. Isn’t that the new liberal arts teacher?”

“Ah! That… didn’t he cause trouble in his first liberal arts class?”

“I heard a new student was being rude?”

“But that new student is from the Kundel Family.”

“Ah.”

“A real liberal arts instructor came to our Sword School?”

 

Ziel was hearing all the conversations directed at him.

He couldn’t help but hear them.

But he didn’t particularly mind.

Instead, he was only concerned about one sharp gaze that had been watching him.

 

‘It’s been about 5 minutes since outside.’

 

At first he thought it was just a glance, but seeing how it kept following him, it seemed more like surveillance.

His assassin instincts stirred.

 

‘I should lure them out.’

 

When being tailed, there were two ways to handle it.

Naturally shake them off.

Or eliminate them.

This was a school.

Naturally shaking them off or eliminating them wasn’t easy right now.

So it seemed he’d need to use a third method.

Ziel reached into his jacket and pulled something out.

After passing through a corridor that turned, he confirmed no one was ahead.

 

Click.

 

Ziel immediately installed whatever he had taken from his jacket on the floor.

After sprinkling glittering powder over it, it disappeared completely, returning to an empty corridor once again.

A moment later.

 

“Huh?”

 

The person who had been tailing Ziel appeared.

 

“W-was this originally blocked off?”

 

With a very flustered expression.

And Ziel.

 

‘Is it trendy for students to tail teachers at this school?’

 

He was looking at a quite familiar face.

From this side, beyond the transparent wall.

 

A trap that only Black Sky Assassins had used.

In other words, it was a device that showed a very elaborate fake scenery.

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