On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 81
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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 081
That’s Called a Deal
After defeating the Ruinbark.
The Sword School First Years who returned to the campsite were excited.
“Aren’t we really going to get the highest score?”
“Exactly! We defeated all the monsters and even the Ruinbark!”
“Strictly speaking, Teacher defeated the Ruinbark. Won’t that count toward our score?”
Actually, the score didn’t really matter.
The fact that they had successfully completed the practical training.
That was the key point.
Especially, the talk about the battle Ziel fought against the Ruinbark never ceased.
“I didn’t know Teacher was really that strong.”
“His movements were one thing, but wow, he just deflected attacks with his sword…”
“What did he really used to do?”
“Did everyone hear? They say he’s someone dispatched from the Imperial Palace?”
“Really?”
“That’s why His Highness the Prince came personally to the Exchange Tournament.”
Rumors growing one after another.
“Could he be a hidden prince?”
“Really?”
“You know, there are rumors like that. Before the 1st Prince…”
There were even rumors that he was a hidden prince of the Imperial Family!
“Then why did he come to the Academy?”
“Maybe to avoid conflict?”
“He definitely has that Imperial quality in his face. So refined.”
“Did you see his eyes? Every time I look at them, I feel like I’m being drawn in.”
“Amazing. You too? Me too!”
Especially the female students seemed ready to talk all day whenever Ziel’s appearance came up.
Meanwhile, the male students engaged in serious debates about the overwhelming martial prowess Ziel had displayed.
“So you’re saying Teacher Ziel is above Professor Elcanto? The Professor is a former Grand Knight.”
“Didn’t you see the Professor’s belly? You think he could face Teacher Ziel with that belly?”
“Hey, but he’s still a former Grand Knight. Even if Teacher Ziel used a Mana Sword, that’s not a requirement for being a Grand Knight, right? I heard some of the upperclassmen can use it too.”
“No, his movements were different, his movements. Yurio said so, right? You need at least 5 Grand Knights to face a Ruinbark.”
“Maybe Teacher just had a lot of information?”
“Whether he had information or not, he’s just unconditionally good at fighting! Are you a Teacher anti-fan?”
The typical superiority debates that occur among male students!
So a debate was raging about whether Ziel was stronger than a Grand Knight.
“He’s definitely stronger than a Grand Knight. Ask anyone, who can beat a Ruinbark?”
“Wasn’t there some luck involved? Honestly, from a common sense perspective… being this strong doesn’t make sense.”
Of course, the opinion that Ziel was weaker than a Grand Knight was in the minority.
There are always people like that.
The type who oppose mainstream opinions first before anything else!
But before long, all such opinions were completely dismissed and this conclusion was reached.
“Teacher is definitely stronger than a Grand Knight. That’s the conclusion. Bring any Grand Knight and make them fight a Ruinbark. Is there anyone who would win? Agreed?”
The person who drove the final nail with the conclusion was none other than Delev.
“There’s no room for doubt! He even gave us a lecture while fighting it, could anyone else do that!”
His passionate speech was almost at the level of worship.
“Hey, hey. Was Delev always like this?”
“Maybe getting beaten by Teacher at the beginning of the semester did something to his head.”
“But the facts are facts.”
“By the way, he seems reeeally impressed. This is the first time I’ve seen Delev like this.”
As they said, this was the first time everyone had seen Delev get this excited and passionate.
It really was.
‘That scene was really…’
The sight of Teacher Ziel dodging all of the Ruinbark’s attacks and counterattacking!
Delev was deeply impressed by that composure and power.
That martial prowess that any man would have to acknowledge!
Delev was even getting excited as if he wouldn’t tolerate any other opinions.
“Anyway! Teacher Ziel is incredibly strong. Even a Grand Knight could never win! Everyone agrees?”
That’s when it happened.
“What are you agreeing on?”
A voice came from behind.
When they turned their heads, Ziel was standing there.
“T-Teacher? When did you…”
“I just arrived. Your voices were quite loud.”
“We’re sorryyy…”
“You never know when monsters might come again. Don’t raise your voices too much.”
“Yes, yesss.”
Ziel asked again.
“But what are you acknowledging?”
“Ah, well….”
The students finally came to their senses.
Come to think of it, it was a somewhat awkward topic to mention in front of the person involved.
However, Delev asked without hesitation.
“Teacher, I have a question.”
“What is it, student Delev Kundel.”
“You’re stronger than a Grand Knight, aren’t you, Teacher?”
Ziel answered without hesitation.
“I’m strong.”
“I knew it!”
“And I’m stronger than Imperial Knights.”
“…Excuse me?”
Instead of answering the question, Ziel gave the students another warning.
“Keep your voices down, and if possible, speak in small voices. And Group 1 will be on patrol soon, so get ready. That’s all.”
Ziel walked away just like that.
Ziel hadn’t just come and gone for nothing.
He had left behind another topic of debate.
“Isn’t, isn’t that just bluffing? Stronger than Imperial Knights?”
“Come on, still, Imperial Knights are….”
“Delev, what do you think?”
Delev was also momentarily stunned before barely managing to answer.
“…Since he’s our teacher, who knows.”
“You’re completely smitten. Just go confess to the teacher.”
“Imperial Knights, seriously. Hey, are Imperial Knights something you can beat in a card game?”
“Even the teacher is bluffing.”
This debate probably wouldn’t last very long.
But just one person.
Only Delev believed it inwardly.
‘He might really be stronger than Imperial Knights.’
Firm belief!
Those movements he had shown in the fight against the Ruinbark!
Delev’s eyes had clearly seen it.
No, that’s what he believed.
Meanwhile.
‘The night is deepening.’
Ziel, who had returned after leaving behind the debate, stirred the campfire in front of his tent while constantly keeping watch of the surroundings.
The main practical training schedule was over.
But the training itself wasn’t finished.
Monsters would still be lurking around the area, and there was no telling what new monsters might appear.
‘I already confirmed the scores are good, so there’s no need to worry about grades.’
The scores he had secretly glimpsed from behind Agent 8 were very good.
Probably the students would receive good grades from this training unless something unexpected happened.
He could also tell that Agent 8, whom he had put to sleep earlier, had returned.
He probably still had no idea how he had fallen asleep.
‘Now that the training is over… next comes the end of the semester.’
His first semester at this Academy was also gradually coming to an end.
During his days as an assassin, his concept of time had been different from now.
He had only calculated time in ways necessary for mission execution, never relating to time like this.
But gradually his concepts, ideas, and thoughts were changing.
To an extent that even surprised himself.
‘Am I getting used to it, or am I changing?’
Ziel was lost in thought for a moment before suddenly recalling the next schedule.
‘Then soon it will be what the students call ‘vacation.”
Vacation.
Two months of free time that followed after the semester ended.
From what he had heard, many students temporarily returned to their hometowns.
It would be a time when the Academy became completely empty.
‘Hometown.’
Ziel recalled the city where he had begged before entering the assassination group.
Of course, that place wasn’t his hometown.
That’s what Ziel thought.
‘During vacation, I should look into the things I was curious about.’
Ziel thought of two things.
First.
Traces of the destroyed assassination group, ‘Black Sky.’
Since it was destroyed, it was no longer his concern, but the leakage of documents or items that ‘Black Sky’ had possessed was a different matter.
The hand mirror he had discovered at the shop where he went to buy equipment was exactly that.
‘It would be better to recover all items that could be connected to me.’
Ziel recalled the time when the organization was being destroyed.
‘Ziel, had the brainwashing been broken?’
‘So that’s why in the previous mission… you let the target live.’
‘Who helped you?’
He didn’t answer.
The dagger only flashed once.
Ziel frowned at the memory from that time.
‘It’s in the past.’
Ziel also recalled the loot collected from the Ruinbark’s corpse.
The loot from the corpses of Tepics, Swordbirds, and Peckworms that the first years had initially faced had little demand, but Ruinbark was different.
Especially the shells that were completely stripped off without leaving any behind.
‘If I utilize those, I could make useful armor for the students.’
I should look for a place to commission during the vacation.
Anyway, second.
The Siren Family.
‘They’re quiet now, but I don’t know how they’ll act again.’
An existence that directly threatens the students.
A family strongly connected to the puppet manipulation incident that occurred during the first match of the Exchange Tournament.
Ziel already knew about it.
So he planned to investigate during the vacation.
‘They could threaten my students again.’
A simple yet teacher-like reason.
“Ah.”
And there was one more thing.
‘Student Celia Rihart said there’s a delicious restaurant in District 7.’
I should try some delicious food too.
But wait.
‘Do I get paid during vacation?’
Ziel fell into deep contemplation for a moment.
“It would be troublesome if I don’t get paid…”
I did receive an incentive though…
Ziel realized the importance of money after taking Delev to ‘Lancaster’s Star’.
‘There’s plenty of time left. The more money, the better.’
But the more delicious food, the better too.
Which one takes priority?
A serious dilemma!
‘Is life meaningful without delicious food?’
But life without money seemed equally meaningless, or rather, boring.
The first philosophical concern that came to mind after being freed from brainwashing!
‘Would Professor Elcanto know the answer if I asked?’
It was then, as he concentrated so hard that he furrowed his brow.
Someone was coming this way.
‘It’s student Celia Rihart.’
But her steps were a bit faster than usual.
Sure enough.
“Teacher!”
“Something happened, student Celia Rihart.”
“How did you know?”
“The sound of your running stride was different.”
Only then did Ziel turn his gaze toward Celia.
“Is it about Arcane School?”
Celia was startled.
“H-how did you know that too?”
“I could smell it.”
Scent.
‘He knew from the scent?’
This was beyond Celia’s understanding!
If he wanted to, Ziel could remember the scent of everyone he had encountered even once.
In fact, recognizing that the approaching person was Celia was also thanks to the perfume scent carried on the wind.
And the scent faintly remaining on Celia now was precisely someone’s distinctive body odor, and…
‘The scent of blood.’
Even the smell of blood.
“Let’s go now.”
“Y-yes.”
Celia was dumbfounded.
All she had done was call for the teacher.
Yet he acted as if he knew everything!
‘A personal guard knight… would that be possible?’
She was already stunned after seeing him defeat the Ruinbark.
The thought crossed her mind whether she could offer him a position as her personal guard knight.
The personal guard knight Celia wanted was someone with decent skills and good looks to have around!
But even if he was skilled, his abilities were far too exceptional.
‘Still, if someone like this became my personal guard knight!’
“Student Celia Rihart, what are you thinking about?”
“Huh?”
When she looked up, Teacher Ziel was already walking ahead.
She had been walking too slowly, lost in thought.
“Oh, yes. Let’s go.”
A moment later.
Ziel found the source of the scent he had been tracking.
Emeric Kent.
He was the professor in charge of the Arcane School first years.
“T-Teacher Ziel.”
Emeric jumped to his feet as soon as he saw Ziel.
His face, glimpsed in the flickering campfire light, looked extremely exhausted.
On top of that, his clothes were torn in several places with pieces of bandages visible underneath.
‘I can smell magical beasts on him too.’
Now he understood why the magical beasts had launched additional attacks.
The Arcane School first years had failed to properly subjugate them, so they eventually came toward the Sword School first years.
Those were probably wounds inflicted by magical beasts, which explained the mixed scent of blood and beast musk.
“Professor Emeric Kent. What brings you here? This is the Sword School 1st Year Campsite.”
“W-Well…”
Emeric looked around nervously in case someone else might come, then hung his head low.
“…”
“If you won’t speak, I’ll be going back.”
“T-That…”
“Have you lost your ability to speak?”
An innocent verbal assault!
Of course, from Ziel’s perspective, it was pure curiosity.
‘A-Ability to speak?’
“One can temporarily lose the ability to speak due to shock from encountering magical beasts or severe physical trauma.”
“T-T-That’s not it…”
Emeric stammered even more, bewildered by the absurdity.
“Shall I help you?”
“What?”
“I asked if you want me to help you.”
Emeric was stunned, but that actually helped him finally open his mouth.
“…P-Please help us, Teacher Ziel.”
“Yes. It will hurt a bit.”
Emeric was horrified.
Ziel had pulled out a long needle from his coat!
“Aaah!”
Emeric backed away in shock.
“It will hurt a bit. To treat speech deterioration, I need to pierce the nerve center at the back of the neck…”
“T-That’s not it! Our situation is too difficult! That’s what I was asking for help with!”
Emeric squeezed his eyes shut.
Ziel’s long needle went back into his coat.
‘Damn it, I ended up saying it.’
Words he couldn’t bring himself to say!
Until yesterday, he had been planning to sabotage the Sword School first years under Professor Titus’s orders.
By tampering with their supplies.
Or by targeting Ziel!
But he was completely unable to do any of that now.
The supplies that the dolls were supposed to transport still hadn’t arrived.
The students who had been tormented since yesterday night had eventually retreated to the campsite without even properly conducting their practical training.
They tried to go back, but discovered an enormously huge magical beast and had no choice but to turn around.
It was a situation that even Emeric, a 5th Tier Mage, couldn’t handle.
“The students are… shivering from cold and starving right now. I know it’s shameless, but I’m begging you like this.”
Food supplies.
Tents.
Blankets.
And even water.
Everything was in short supply.
It had only been two days, but the students were on the verge of exhaustion!
“Moreover, we discovered an incredibly massive monster on the path we need to take back…”
“If you mean that monster, we dealt with it.”
“Pardon?”
“We dealt with it. My students and I took it down. I severed its head myself.”
“…”
I was dumbfounded, wondering what kind of nonsense this was.
‘This teacher took down Ruinbark?’
“It won’t be there on your way back. Though there might be other monsters.”
“I… see.”
Was this true or a lie?
‘Isn’t he bluffing?’
But even if a path back had been cleared, the immediate problem was right now.
“Well, to speak again about what I mentioned, we’re currently short on food and water, and we lack proper firewood to make a campfire…”
“Are you asking us to share?”
“That’s… correct.”
“No.”
A single word.
It was a refusal.
I had expected it, but actually facing it left me somewhat stunned.
“I… see.”
Emeric was disappointed, being human after all.
Because this came from his heart as a supervising professor caring for his students.
Having to request help from the Sword School side, which he had looked down upon and scorned, was humiliating in itself, but now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
Give up?
The moment he declared abandonment of the practical training, he didn’t know what kind of treatment awaited him back home.
‘Do we have to spend the night like this?’
Should they risk the penalty and cut down trees to burn?
But they no longer had tools to cut trees, nor the strength to move the cut wood.
“T-Teacher.”
Celia was also somewhat flustered.
Because he had refused so immediately.
But Ziel’s words weren’t finished.
“Not for free.”
“Pardon?”
“We have surplus supplies, but we cannot give them to you for nothing.”
In the forest night, Ziel’s calm voice posed a very difficult question.
“Professor Emeric Kent, what can you offer us?”
“What… can I offer…”
“Exchanging appropriate values with each other is called a trade, Professor.”
Arcane School seemed to be frequently cornered lately.
By one person.
Because of Ziel Steelheart.
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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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