So, where should we start?
First of all, I decided to refrain from any activities within the school as much as possible.
After getting shut down when I went to ask for permission directly from the Principal, I had to avoid drawing attention to myself. Since I personally spoke to him, both the Principal and Vice Principal were definitely aware that I was up to something.
Moreover, what did the Principal say yesterday? He claimed that wherever I went, incidents were bound to happen. The Principal, who already knew that I was causing trouble here and there, might be keeping a close watch on me, anticipating that I would stir up trouble in the school he oversees.
No, it’s not just a possibility; it’s a certainty. Asking for permission was practically a declaration of war.
The only saving grace was that neither the Principal nor the Vice Principal seemed to suspect Seo-A. When I said I was going to the battlefield, Seo-A was the only teacher who stood up to oppose me, and the Principal even said he held back from hitting Seo-A considering that, well, he seems to have a good impression of her.
Still, I couldn’t just move forward without any investigation, but if there were any suspicions, I would probably clear them soon enough.
And of course, the best way to avoid suspicion was to catch the culprit.
“…So, your brilliant plan is to stake out outside the school?”
Rina pressed her fingers against her nose, squinting with a disapproving look as if she thought it was a ‘ridiculous operation.’
“Is there a problem?”
“No, there’s a mountain of problems. First, look. If the culprit is holed up inside the school, we won’t gain anything by staking out outside. Even if the culprit goes in and out, they can just choose a different time than when we’re staked out. We have classes from morning to evening. There’s plenty of time for the culprit to sneak in and out without us noticing, right?”
“That’s definitely a fair point.”
Rina nodded vigorously in agreement, but when I kept my expression unchanged, she shut her mouth.
After a brief silence, she spoke up again.
“…You’re planning something beyond what you’re saying, aren’t you?”
“Of course. Did you think I was that foolish?”
“Yeah.”
Ignoring Rina’s straightforward reply, I continued.
“I’ve stationed the Knights around the Academy since yesterday.”
Yes. I had a squad of Knights who only took orders from me. They weren’t particularly large in number, but they were enough to check the flow of people coming in and out of the Academy, at least.
Anyway, at present, there were no suspects or evidence. In other words, I had no grounds for an arrest. Even if I could narrow down a suspect, there wouldn’t be any evidence, and they could just say, ‘The teacher misheard’ or ‘It was a lie,’ and I wouldn’t have a way to prove them wrong.
So, I planned to start by monitoring suspicious individuals.
“…Looks like you’re really enjoying your power now.”
“…You don’t have to be envious. You’ll probably be similar soon enough.”
Rina looked taken aback at my words, but I smoothly ignored her reaction and continued.
“So, we’ll check all the people who regularly visit the Academy. Ideally, we’ll note what time they were there and which entrances they used. We’ll filter out the students and teachers, along with the staff working for the Academy, and then narrow down the other individuals working in this building.”
“Can’t you just ask for the staff list?”
“I did, but they said without evidence, it’s impossible.”
“…”
Rina had a look on her face that indicated she had plenty to say, but she chose not to speak.
“If you’re concerned about legal issues, there’s no problem. The Knights are currently on leave. They’re just relaxing comfortably in their village while enjoying the sights of passersby.”
Linea, who had been listening from the side, added clarification for Rina.
That’s right. This ‘observation method’ was an idea that came from Linea, who had been trained in the Inquisition’s approach.
Among the organizations under the Church, no one had the authority to detain civilians outside the Church. The Inquisition had similar authority, but obviously much more limited than what the police could accomplish. If the Inquisition captured someone, it was highly likely that they were affiliated with the Church.
Typically, they would send summons to individuals reported as heretics, advising them to come forth. If they continued to ignore this, they would request a banishment from the Central Church.
However, the only time they would have the authority to detain civilians outside the Church was when someone harmed a clergy member or a nun. Even then, if they weren’t deemed a ‘heretic,’ most of that was handled by other Knights from the Central Church.
Recently, workloads had increased, and because of an incident in the Elven District earlier this year, the Inquisition was fully operational, rapidly expanding. But still, when compared to the power of government agencies, they were considerably weak.
Hence, the action taken by the Inquisition to verify if someone was a heretic or not, who often ignored their recommendations, was to stake out.
“…What will you do if someone causes an issue later?”
“…We won’t take photos or leave records. I believe it’s unlikely we’ll be discovered.”
“No, that’s not the problem… Do you know what ‘surveillance’ means?”
“Ex…”
Is she talking about that kind of surveillance on civilians?
“Ex? What does that even mean? What you’re doing right now is exactly that.”
“…The people doing the investigation won’t even know who they are, and we won’t have photos or records!”
“Not keeping records is just to avoid leaving evidence, you Saintess.”
Letting out a deep sigh, Rina splashed her face with cold water.
“And you two should stop this too. The reason you stuck to her in the first place was for surveillance, right? You might think it’s fine now, but it’s because you all take it for granted. Don’t try to deny it now. I could tell just by looking at you, since I used to do it too.”
“…”
At Rina’s words, both Linea and Aurora averted their eyes. I knew it too, but it was embarrassing for anyone to point it out so clearly.
“…Well then, I suppose we should dismiss this.”
“What? Yes. At least unless you want to be compared to demons or other monsters.”
Seeing Rina nod her head, I felt a surge of emotions.
No, it was a completely different feeling than the usual irritations I felt when talking to Rina. It was like that child who always caused trouble finally realized something and was explaining it to me in detail.
Yes, this feeling could be described as ‘touching!’
“Rina!”
As I said this, I grabbed Rina’s hand, and she looked shocked.
“W-What? What’s wrong?”
“You’ve finally realized the feelings of a person, haven’t you?”
As I smiled brightly, Rina’s face turned pale.
“No! It’s not that! I just didn’t want to do what I did before, okay? And this is just basic legal common sense, right? A human should at least know the rules of the human world! Let go. And stop making that face.”
Though I released her hand as she requested, I didn’t wipe the smile off my face.
“But then, does Hiks have another idea?”
“What?”
When Aurora asked in a serious tone, Rina frowned.
“Didn’t you mention that if you had another method?”
As Aurora tilted her head, Rina scratched her head with her finger.
“Uh, well…”
*
“Guess it makes sense to investigate this first.”
Following Rina’s words, we sent back the Knights who had been staked out and entered the Academy again. Rina suggested that we check the documents I received from Seo-A.
“The Principal didn’t allow us to investigate within the school.”
When I brought this up, Rina shrugged her shoulders.
“Isn’t it likely to cause less of a stir to get caught ignoring the Principal than to get caught surveilling civilians?”
…Well, with that said, I didn’t have a counterargument.
I became a bit of a shell as Rina chuckled softly and began sniffing the documents.
“…Looks like it’s not the work of a demon.”
Muttering this, Rina flipped through the documents, trying to find some trace of something, I quietly called out to her.
“Rina.”
“Yeah? What?”
“Those are copies.”
“…”
Rina froze for a moment before quietly closing the documents. She slowly laid the papers back on the desk.
“Then say something at the start!”
She shook my shoulder wildly.
No, really, who would think she would sniff something before even talking?
Could it be that Rina is not a succubus but a polymorphed hellhound?
Even while she shook my shoulder, I leisurely entertained that thought.
*
“Well, since I’ve checked the content, there’s no need for further verification. I’ve already called all the universities here at least once. The documents themselves are just from the education department, so there shouldn’t be any major issues.”
As we walked down the corridor, I explained like that, but Rina still seemed upset that I hadn’t told her it was a copy.
“And if it were demons or witches’ work, wouldn’t it stink without needing to look at the documents?”
“…Even if the person inside isn’t a demon, the one who sent the documents might be. You said that yourself last time. Even though we cleared out the infiltrated demons, we can’t be sure we got them all.”
That was something I had said. There was a previous instance of demons infiltrating the area, and it came to mind now.
“However, wouldn’t it be stranger if a demon works so brazenly? I would think they’d want to hide deeper to avoid being noticed…”
“Maybe they’d use that very thought against us.”
Yeah, but who was I to argue with a present demon? Rina was one of those demons that had been hiding among humans too.
…By the way, I wonder if any of the demons caught back then surrendered to the Church? I hadn’t looked into it since then to know if any would be cooperative. I would have liked to think there would be at least one, but considering how little information I have, it’s probably safe to assume there isn’t one.
“So, let’s hope they can find a proper trace from the document.”
While saying that, Rina pointed towards Ramihi, who was leading the way. He left a strong impression on first sight, but surprisingly for an elf, he had a very flexible mindset.
After all, if he couldn’t adapt while living in the human world, that would be problematic. But still, unlike other elves, Ramihi didn’t show intense feelings unless there was a human he outright despised right in front of him. I suppose most of the credit for that goes to meeting Jian, but… well, I couldn’t confirm that for sure since I hadn’t asked him directly.
However, even with that flexible mindset, he still had that special elf attitude that could be described as stubborn or proud.
Right now, he was confidently walking ahead to the Teacher’s Office after I asked him. Despite the fact that I was the main character of this whole documentation affair. Of course, I didn’t mind at all. I welcomed anyone willing to take on the tank role.
“Oh, but I’ll be the one to enter first.”
Of course, if I just stormed in whenever, no matter how great a tank they were, they wouldn’t be doing their job. Defensive tactics might need to change based on the opponent’s attack method.
Moreover, Ramihi’s position was actually closer to a damage dealer than a tank.
Fortunately, when I ran ahead and said this, he moved aside without any resistance, allowing me to open the door.
Taking a small breath to steady my slightly elevated heartbeat, I opened the door to the Teacher’s Office.
And directly bumped into something solid.
Thank goodness Ramihi was behind me to catch me, or else I might have ended up flat on the floor.
“Oh?”
While the back was incredibly solid, when I bumped into it after rushing in, I could feel it somewhat. The owner of that back turned around.
It goes without saying that it was the Principal. In this school, the only person whose back could evoke the image of a literal wall was undoubtedly the Principal.
“Well, well, what a surprise to see you here again. I certainly didn’t expect this.”
Saying this in a deep, clear voice, the Principal smiled slyly. If this weren’t a story I wrote, and I was the child of this man, I would definitely think of him as the final boss. Fortunately, the settings I laid out did indicate that the ultimate boss was different.
“Are you perhaps here looking for this?”
Look at that—an outright villainous line.
Well, that line seemed to fit the Vice Principal better than the Principal.
In the Principal’s large, rough hand was the document. To me, it looked like a stack of papers, but in his grip, it appeared more like a large notebook. How big must this guy be?
“Surely you’re not trying to find some clues here, are you?”
Despite having hair white enough to appear almost gray, the Principal smiled widely, revealing his neat white teeth. He really did resemble a carnivore. I wouldn’t be surprised if we, standing before him, looked like herbivores.
“We are—”
“Wait a second!”
Ramihi, standing behind me, was about to reply, so I quickly turned around to shout.
“…?”
As Ramihi floated question marks above his head, I hurriedly turned back.
“Uh, no! I was just curious about what was written in that document! I wanted to read more details about the early graduation too!”
“Huh? Didn’t you come to the Principal’s office and talk about this document last time? I thought you’d have already read it.”
That’s true! I already mentioned it!
I held back the urge to bury my head in my hands and responded.
“W-Well, you can’t expect me to remember everything just because I read a thick stack of papers once!”
“Hmm.”
The Principal pondered with his thumb and index finger thoughtfully, then waved the document in his hand. He looked at me and grinned, offering the document.
“Well, if the person mentioned in the documents wants to see it, I should show it to you. I already checked it all out.”
“…”
Should I accept it? I seriously pondered. Surely he wouldn’t say anything unless I tried something first, right?
When I cautiously took the document, the Principal laughed heartily, giving my shoulder a couple of friendly pats. My body swayed slightly. If I hadn’t been blessed by a demon, it would’ve hurt a lot. There was no malice in the Principal’s actions, at least.
“Well then, good luck with what you’re doing.”
The Principal said this to me and the children who followed, continuing to chuckle as he headed down the hallway.
“Haa…”
I let out a deep sigh. That man must’ve been swinging a demon in each hand in his prime. It wouldn’t be unbelievable if he claimed to have taken down one demon with every punch.
“Are you okay?”
Seo-A, who had been watching the situation closely next to the Principal, asked with a somewhat worried expression. Her gaze was on my shoulder.
“Ah, yes! I’m fine!”
When I spun my shoulders in response, Seo-A smiled faintly.
“Quite an incredible person, isn’t he?”
Seo-A had previously given a somewhat negative review of the Vice Principal, but it seemed her impression of the Principal was entirely different. Of course, if I were a teacher, I’d feel the same. The Principal was undoubtedly a hero with great skills in the past.
“By the way, didn’t I give you a copy of this before?”
“Ah, yes. But I wanted to see the traces in this document.”
“Hmm.”
Seo-A looked at us with a slightly mischievous glint in her eyes. It was as if she were saying, ‘I know what you’re up to,’ but she didn’t seem determined to stop us; her expression was playful.
Come to think of it, she had just been with the Principal moments before. She might have figured out that he hadn’t given us permission to inspect.
“Well, fine. But don’t take it with you. You can only look at it here. The original must remain here.”
“Thank you!”
Pretending not to notice anything, I smiled back at Seo-A with the same expression.
