First, I put Damian in the dorm room and then went upstairs.
The room I was assigned to was 807, on the top floor of this building.
'Is this it?'
I confirmed the number on the door and entered the room.
Creak—
The dormitory rooms at Jenion Academy are standard double rooms.
This was true even for the children of noble families. My roommate hadn't arrived yet, as the clean room was empty.
I first took a look around the room.
'As expected, the Academy is good.'
There were two beds.
There were desks and bookshelves for studying, and two dressers and wardrobes for storing various items.
Although they showed some signs of use, they were in fairly good condition.
When I turned my gaze to the bed, a large box with my name, "Aster," caught my eye.
'This is... '
The items inside the box were more diverse than I expected.
The first thing I noticed was a small box inside, which contained stationery like pens and notebooks.
Underneath were an extra set of school uniforms and two sets of training clothes that could be used as pajamas.
The box also contained various other items, mostly related to daily life.
While it might seem monotonous that all students use the same items, I could guess the intention behind it.
'Even in small items, one's status can be revealed.'
A faithful adherence to the teachings of the first president.
However, the effect of this...
Students receive these items from the Academy at the beginning of the semester, but as time goes on, they will likely bring their own personal items.
The Academy can't prevent that.
I carefully organized the items in the box, one by one.
I hung the school uniforms and training clothes on hangers and put the stationery and other small items into a pocket dimension.
Just as I finished organizing everything,
Creak—
The door opened, and someone entered the room.
It was my roommate.
But, it was a familiar face.
Not someone I knew from my previous life, but someone I had seen relatively recently...
I soon remembered. One of the two people who went up on the stage during the opening ceremony.
Of course, it wasn't Dahlia.
'Was it... Pola?'
That was definitely her name.
The top student in the martial arts department.
'Hmm, how good is she?'
Students who received admission from noble families enter without an entrance exam, but regular students must take the exam.
So, Pola must be the best among the martial arts students who took the entrance exam.
In other words, she has no rivals except for the students from noble families.
I looked at Pola with interest, and a thought crossed my mind.
'But, this kid... '
Her gaze was insolent, with a strangely unpleasant light.
Her behavior was the same.
"Let's try to be as quiet as possible."
"..."
"I don't care what you do. You can stay up late if you want. But I'd prefer no interference with each other. Of course, this includes conversation after this time."
She wanted to treat each other as if we didn't exist.
Normally, I have a twisted nature, and when I hear such words, I want to test them.
If she says she doesn't care what I do and that I can keep the lights on late, I might want to sing and wake her up after midnight.
Was this thought reflected in my eyes?
"Why aren't you answering?"
Pola's eyes sharpened.
I didn't answer.
After a while, I looked at her with various thoughts and then—
Jump.
"!"
I sprang up from my seat, and she immediately reacted.
She took a stance as if ready to counterattack at any moment, and I was inwardly impressed.
'Hmm, not bad.'
Her reaction wasn't bad.
If someone else saw it, they might think Pola's reaction was overly sensitive.
Just standing up and reaching for the sword hilt? Unless it was a severe case of hypervigilance, it was an action that shouldn't be shown in the Academy.
However, I had given off a threatening aura.
'I would have been disappointed if she hadn't reacted.'
Was that all?
'She seems to have some practical experience.'
A narrow corridor. Not a good environment for a swordsman.
Generally, drawing a sword requires a certain amount of space, but in a situation where that space isn't available...
Most inexperienced swordsmen wouldn't think that far.
But, from the subtle twist of her sword hilt, it was clear that the trajectory of her draw wouldn't hit the wall.
'Improvisation? No, more like ingrained habit.'
From the speed of her reaction, there was no time to think or hesitate.
"What are you trying to do?"
Pola looked at me with a tense face.
I smiled at her.
"I'm just going out."
Just then, a voice came from outside the door.
"Friend! Come out quickly!"
It was Damian.
At the sound of his voice, Pola subtly moved to the side but didn't take her hand off the sword hilt.
As I passed her, I patted her shoulder.
"Do what you want. But..."
"..."
"Don't complain if I sing after midnight, okay? Got it?"
Of course, there was no answer.
* * *
When I stepped outside, Damian was waiting, excited.
"Who's your roommate?"
He must have seen Pola through the closing door and asked me.
"Pola."
"Pola? I don't know who that is."
Of course, he wouldn't.
He was sleeping during the opening ceremony in the auditorium.
I was curious why he was asking about someone he didn't know at the Academy, but I was already used to Damian's way of speaking.
"But why?"
"Oh! Right."
In response to my question, Damian took out a pamphlet from his pocket.
The first-year course guide for the Academy.
"Let's tour the Academy!"
"Tour?"
Damian nodded.
"Lansi said..."
Lansi was the name of the stern servant.
"He said there's a lot to see in the Academy. He said we have to see it on the first day. But, he said we have to go together with a friend."
"..."
I understood the purpose of the stern and clueless servant.
'Jenion Academy is vast.'
Although it belongs to the city of Hagen, its area rivals that of a small town.
The campus is divided into basic, intermediate, and advanced sections, and the basic section, which has the most students, is further divided by grade.
The size of the first-year section alone is enormous.
'So, he wants us to familiarize ourselves with the geography to avoid getting lost.'
While basic classes are held in classrooms, some classes require moving to outdoor practice areas.
If you don't know anything and the day of the class arrives, you might get lost.
However, sending Damian alone would be a bit worrying...
'So, he involved me.'
It wasn't a bad thing.
While going down the dormitory stairs, I turned my gaze to the window on the landing.
Outside the window, the vast dormitory grounds were visible, with students who had just attended the opening ceremony and busy caretakers moving around.
Among them, some particularly noticeable presences.
No, not noticeable.
Swoosh—
My mana senses, as refined as in my previous life, were extremely sensitive.
Although I hadn't reached the level of my previous life, I wasn't disappointed with my mana senses.
The problem was that I couldn't maintain them constantly like in my previous life.
But that was something to think about later...
Anyway, I detected some very foreign presences.
Familiar to me.
'Deculan...'
The presence of a troubleshooter.
* * *
First, Damian and I went to the admissions office and obtained a map of the Academy.
"We almost missed it. We might not have gotten the map."
He was right.
Students, like Damian and me, were walking around the campus with a course guide in one hand and a map in the other.
If we had been a little late, all the maps might have been taken.
"The Academy is a competitive place. If you don't act quickly, you'll fall behind."
Of course, that wasn't entirely true.
While it was a competitive place, it wasn't for that reason.
However, I didn't bother to correct Damian's misconception. We would be in the basic section for three years, and there was no way to drop out during that time.
Whether it was a misconception or a misunderstanding, it would be good for my mental health if he moved quickly.
'Although, I don't know if it will last for three years...'
If there was enough to gain, it might last longer, but that was something to think about later.
Actually, the main reason I came to the Academy was for the Laphiter Library, the best in the eastern region.
So, I dragged Damian around the Academy, checking the buildings and familiarizing myself with the geography using the course guide and the map.
Of course, Damian was just sightseeing without a care...
"There, a lake! Wow! We don't have anything like that at my house."
This was probably why the stern and clueless servant involved me.
But who am I? A person with a twisted nature, I repay what I owe.
"Then, ask to have one made."
"Huh?"
"Just dig the ground and pour water."
"Hmm."
Damian thought for a moment.
Then, he lifted his head and his eyes sparkled, saying something that would be a disaster for the servants and mages.
"I'll do it! I'll ask for one that's even bigger and grander!"
"Good."
"What should we name it?"
I thought for a moment and added.
"Blood, Sweat, and Tears."
"Great!"
While you might think it's strange to name a lake that, my thoughts were different.
Because the lake on the grounds would be filled with the blood and sweat of countless servants and the tears of mages.
My petty revenge continued.
"There, a statue! It's cool!"
"Ask to have one made."
"What should we name it?"
"Blood, Sweat, and Tears 2."
"Great!"
In the near future, Blando would have a statue the size of a house.
"Let's make it a dragon. The scales are beautiful."
"Great!"
The stonemasons might spit blood while carving each scale, but I didn't care since I wasn't the one doing it.
While we were walking around the campus, my mana senses were sharply scanning the surroundings.
It was tiring to consciously expand my senses, but it was worth it.
'The number is roughly... '
So far, I had detected seven troubleshooters. Even including those I hadn't detected, there wouldn't be more than ten.
The important thing was that their distribution formed a meaningful pattern. If I marked their positions on the map, the center would be—
The Second Magic Hall.
The building where first-year magic classes were held and where Professor Falun's laboratory was located.
From this, I reached a conclusion.
'I had a hunch...'
As expected.
'Professor Falun is the target.'
Well, it was only natural.
What kind of people were the Deculan?
When they monitored a target, they also monitored the surroundings.
The scope varied depending on the importance of the mission, and in extreme cases, they would include people the target met decades ago in their surveillance.
'They're still in the suspicion stage.'
The Deculan must suspect that Hengji has an assistant.
However, based on the density of surveillance, they haven't identified who the assistant is and are monitoring all potential candidates.
Just as I was thinking this,
"That statue is cool too."
Damian was looking at the statue of the first president, the sage, in front of the Second Magic Hall, with sparkling eyes.
I looked at Damian and reiterated.
"Dragon statues are the best."
"Why?"
"Because the scales are beautiful."
I couldn't give up on Blood, Sweat, and Tears 2.
"Let's go somewhere else."
"Okay!"
As we turned around, a subtle presence followed us.
I smiled to myself.
I was worried they wouldn't follow, but they did.
Now, this guy would tell me what the hidden troubleshooters were doing and how much they knew about Professor Falun.