Chapter 196 : Chapter 196
Chapter 196. Professor of Defensive Magic (1)
The Esven Marquisate’s carriage entered Marcellent.
NEIGH!
SNORT!
The carriage pulled by the Bicorns attracted the gazes of passersby.
“Look over there, it’s the Esven Marquisate’s carriage!”
“I heard it’s hard to see even once in a lifetime!”
“To see that crest from the morning. Shall I buy a lottery ticket?”
At the voices heard through the window, Armandy’s expression became subtle.
It seemed that to some mages, the crest of the Esven Marquisate was considered a symbol of luck.
‘Lottery my foot.’
Armandy recalled the people of the Esven Marquisate while looking at the blank eyes of Venus sitting opposite him.
An expression where one couldn’t tell what they were thinking.
A suspicious mansion that was strangely dark.
The terrible memory of the previous night was still vivid.
‘That place is crazy.’
Armandy’s hand swept over his face, which had become haggard overnight.
Although he was a seasoned veteran in the Ability Management Bureau, this kind of infiltration was a first.
Last night, while wandering around the mansion, he ended up being caught by a carnivorous plant in the garden.
He had been uneasy looking at the carnivorous plants from the moment he entered the Esven Marquisate.
Just what on earth was the reason for planting such bizarre plants in the garden?
To Armandy’s eyes, it couldn't be more grotesque.
Just how well did they catch bugs to warrant that.
‘To think I would be that bug.’
Armandy was completely exhausted from running away all night from the carnivorous plant that mistook him for a huge bug and lunged at him.
Later, it reached the point where he couldn't distinguish whether it was a plant or a magical beast.
Although he could have shaken it off if he used attack magic, he couldn't advertise that there was an intruder here.
If he made a single mistake, he could have been eaten by the carnivorous plant.
Thinking of the Marquisate people who wore black clothes like mourning clothes, he felt a chill for no reason.
‘Just how many did they send…….’
However, he couldn't write a report saying there was a great problem with the Esven Marquisate just because there were carnivorous plants.
The pride of an elite agent didn't allow reporting with personal feelings, exaggerating beyond the facts.
Eventually, what Armandy could write in the report was merely ‘They like dragons to a strange extent, and bizarre magic is laid out all over the house.’
Before long, the carriage stopped, and the three arrived at the Academy.
Radel, Armandy, and Venus got off the carriage.
Venus looked at Radel and offered a greeting.
“……It was fun.”
“It was fun for me too.”
Fun, what was fun about it.
I don't have any fun memories at the Marquisate!
Armandy shuddered inwardly, recalling the extremely suspicious mansion and the terrible dinner.
However, Radel and Venus seemed sincere.
“Next time, I will invite you to my territory.”
“Okay.”
The two promised until the next meeting in a harmonious atmosphere.
Venus, who was about to turn around and head to the dormitory, looked at Radel with an unfathomable expression and asked.
“……How was what you saw at the end?”
Radel wasn't someone who wouldn't notice what he was talking about.
The Esven Marquisate knew in advance that Armandy came from the Ability Management Bureau.
He had anticipated that they would deliberately show their secret to Radel.
Radel answered nonchalantly.
“It was magnificent.”
Then Venus smiled faintly.
“I knew you would say that.”
What is it.
What is that conversation just between the two of them?
‘Do strange people have something that connects them?’
Armandy, who was watching from the side, slightly distanced himself from the two.
He just didn't want to be seen as the same kind of person for no reason.
Still, perhaps he was secretly curious, as Armandy asked Radel after parting with Venus.
“What did you see?”
“Nothing. More than that, how was the infiltration? You came back in the morning talking about heretics or something.”
At Radel’s words, Armandy recalled the memory of last night and trembled his body as if it was terrible.
“Heretics? Surprisingly, they were fine even after emptying several bottles of holy water. To think they aren't heretics despite being that suspicious, I am dumbfounded too.”
Listening to Armandy’s pitiful infiltration story, Radel thought to himself.
The Esven Marquisate being heretics.
If they dreamed of returning to the era when dragons lived, maybe, but they weren't heretics.
Because the real heretic was someone else.
* * *
“There is someone suspected of being a heretic.”
Radel said to Gusto in the dormitory lounge.
Surely, consulting an expert was certain for this kind of problem, and if one spoke of a heresy expert around Radel, it was undoubtedly Gusto, the apprentice holy knight.
As expected, Gusto’s eyes shone.
“I see. Shall we raid tonight?”
Radel was a little flustered by Gusto’s words to raid right away without asking anything.
Did we raid too often recently?
For a moment, the memory of raiding Armandy and Pirenzo with Gusto flashed through Radel’s mind.
‘I might have mistaken someone for a heretic wrongly.’
However, looking at Gusto’s reaction, it seemed he didn't even consider such a possibility at all.
“You aren't asking how I came to suspect him?”
“If the Prince suspects him, his conduct must be wrong.”
“Um, I see…….”
Radel was surprised by Gusto’s answer once again.
Indeed, perhaps because he was an apprentice holy knight, Gusto always showed firm trust in Radel.
Especially since his affinity exceeded 60, it seemed the trust had become stronger.
“I don't intend to raid yet. I plan to confirm first if he is really a heretic. Since I might have misunderstood.”
“That is a good idea. If we check in advance as the Prince says, things will likely go more smoothly.”
Gusto, who spoke as if he would raid immediately just now, changed to a cautious attitude right away.
It was the effect brought by a single word from Radel.
“There must be a mark of heresy somewhere on his body. If we sprinkle holy water or inject Divine Power, we can know for sure.”
“Right. If he contracted with a devil, there would be a mark.”
Radel thought he should first figure out which devil the purple key sealed.
Because if he knew the devil’s name, he could know where the mark was.
The purple key was something Gusto stole from a heretic who appeared in the territory during vacation.
The person Radel suspected to be the original owner of that purple key was none other than Kier Iern, a close aide of the 4th Princess.
A person who uses Imperial Swordsmanship from a Knight Commander family.
However, unlike his family pursuing the path of the sword, a person who became a follower of the 4th Princess Estina, not the 3rd Princess Shartea.
Kier’s sword which was similar to the heretic’s sword experienced in the territory.
Furthermore, after hearing Armandy’s story, he was convinced that Kier Iern was the heretic he met back then.
Of course, it was still just a suspicion though…….
At that time, someone intervened, perhaps having listened from some point.
“Should I help?”
It was Tunia.
She had been hiding her presence and quietly revealed her existence.
Although she quit being an assassin, it seemed her skill of erasing her presence had improved further.
To the extent that neither Radel nor Gusto noticed.
“Amazing, Tunia. I didn't know you were next to us at all.”
As Radel admired, Gusto also nodded.
“It seems your skill has improved in the meantime.”
“It became like that while training the new recruits.”
Tunia added as if tired.
“They keep chasing me around asking me to look at them.”
She said hiding her presence increased because the new recruits of the Dice Shop followed her around saying they wanted to learn the proper attitude of an employee from the acting president.
Anyway, it was a good thing for Radel.
To check the mark, a talent who could hide their presence and approach was absolutely necessary.
……If necessary, she could knock him out too.
Gusto also welcomed Tunia’s joining.
It was the moment the masked trio who raided Pirenzo reunited.
“What? You were talking about something fun without me again!”
Inette, who entered the lounge, discovered the three people and approached huffing and puffing.
Her eyes were sharp, wondering if they were plotting something fun leaving her out.
The three people who saw her quickly exchanged glances.
If Inette found out, she would definitely not be able to hold back from showing it.
Like that, a silent signal went back and forth among them not to inform Inette.
Only Inette, whose insides became stuffy, stamped her feet.
“What! What is it! Why won't you tell me!”
* * *
Radel unfolded the new timetable received from Professor Lilian.
The lecture to take this time was Defensive Magic.
“Defensive Magic…….”
Since it was a lecture recommended by Professor Lilian, a Combat Magic major, it was certain to be helpful in combat.
Didn't he suffer due to insufficient magic skills even on the 20th floor.
The reason Senior Tarun told him to draw a sword instead of magic must be because he grasped that his skill with the sword was much better than his magic skill.
But even that sword skill was at a level inferior to Kier.
If Kier was really a heretic, there were still many lacking parts to face him.
“Right, I can't win with just the sword.”
To become stronger than Kier, who had held a sword since childhood, a new weapon was needed.
Just in time, he could learn as much new magic as he wanted at the Academy.
The advantage of the Academy was being able to take various magic lectures even excluding the major.
Since Radel could still only use basic magic, he looked forward to learning new magic.
Although Inette made a fuss asking what more lectures he was taking when just the major was hard.
“The more I learn, the more beneficial it is.”
Radel nodded and examined the professor’s name written on the timetable.
Alberto Juid.
It was a name he was seeing for the first time.
However, the one who welcomed Radel, who arrived at the Defensive Magic classroom, was not Professor Alberto.
It was none other than Professor Bronson Sendert of Mana Training.
Professor Bronson had an indifferent expression even while entering the classroom.
To Radel, who had diligently taken Mana Training for one semester, his appearance was a fresh shock.
He was in charge of other lectures too?
That Professor Bronson who seemed to embody annoyance as a human?
Did he read Radel’s thoughts?
Professor Bronson opened his mouth, exuding an air of annoyance.
“Professor Alberto Juid had a situation arise…….”
At the slowly started words, the students’ gazes focused.
“……Although I am not keen on it, I decided to take charge of Defensive Magic for one semester instead.”
And he shut his mouth.
Since Professor Bronson didn't speak anymore, the students also had dumbfounded expressions.
Students flustered by his insincere attitude whispered.
“Why Professor Bronson of all people.”
“He is famous for being eccentric. No standards, and I don't know what he teaches either.”
Listening to the seniors chatting, Radel worried if Defensive Magic would also face the risk of cancellation like Mana Training at this rate.
Is it still the course registration correction period?
While Radel was contemplating which friends to bring this time.
Professor Bronson opened his mouth with a face that didn't care a bit about the students’ whispering.
“You must have heard the saying that offense is the best defense. However, that is not what I will teach here.”
And added this.
“From now on, I will teach you that defense is the best offense.”