Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 17: Suspicion (2)

‘I can’t recall anything about him right now.’

No matter how much I tried to think about Aidan, nothing immediately came to mind, so I decided to let it go for now.

I committed the rest of the students’ profiles to memory.

A total of 54 first-year students. Twenty-six second-years.

So roughly a 2:1 ratio between first and second years. I had assumed there were more first-years based on the name tag colors, but the numbers were more than I expected.

‘There are quite a few in the first year I should keep an eye on. A newcomer backed by the Mage Tower and the Alchemy School... and even that one they called the genius of the Mage Tower?’

At Seorn, a student with average grades might still be hailed as a prodigy out in the world.

And weren’t all prodigies said to be at least a little off?

With all those types crammed into this place, it was bound to be far removed from ordinary logic.

After reviewing the full student roster, I placed the documents down on the desk and pressed my fingers into my aching forehead.

‘Exhausting. This is exhausting in so many ways.’

I mentally revisited my earlier meeting and conversation with the Headmistress.

The way she subtly tried to probe me suggested one thing—she hadn’t fully placed her trust in me yet.

And ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) then there was the matter of gaining Seorn’s trust as a whole.

It wasn’t full-on suspicion, but it was certainly halfway there.

How I acted moving forward would likely determine how their perception of me shifted.

‘Doesn’t matter.’

Since I had already committed to the role, I had no intention of doing anything suspicious.

The Headmistress was a <Lexurer>, a 6th-Circle mage—one of the highest ranks out of the eight known magic tiers.

I’d heard rumors she was aiming for the 7th Circle.

Even a hundred 4th-Circle mages wouldn’t stand a chance against her.

‘The Headmistress aside... the bigger concern is definitely the secret society.’

They were staying quiet now, since it was the start of the semester, but once time passed and an opportunity arose, they’d move without hesitation.

The question was—what exactly were they trying to achieve by infiltrating Seorn Academy?

They even went so far as to eliminate certain people just to plant their agents here. But for what?

Were they aiming to overthrow Seorn outright? Or was there something hidden within Seorn itself?

‘Maybe it’s a form of rebellion against the Empire.’

I pulled out the newspaper tucked between the documents and spread it open.

An article printed in blackletter script was still covering the magitech locomotive terrorist attack from earlier.

[Magitech Locomotive Terrorist Attack Revealed to Be the Work of the Revolutionary Army.]

It seemed almost confirmed that the Revolutionary Army was behind the train incident.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

The Revolutionary Army. Or Liberation Army.

A so-called civilian resistance movement, waving slogans of bringing down imperialism and abolishing the unfair class system...

‘Let’s be honest—they’re nothing more or less than terrorists.’

In Earth’s historical context, the politics of this era would’ve resembled a blend of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary government.

But in this world where magic existed, monarchs and nobles still held tremendous power.

Even so, the sheer number of movements that had sprung up over the past fifty years in this world suggested it was trending similarly to Earth’s trajectory.

Magic, stagnant and stale, versus science, which had been rapidly rising.

And the fusion of the two—magitech.

The fact that such a drastic shift had happened in less than a century was shocking.

That was also likely what gave rise to the Revolutionary Army.

‘But the secret society likely has nothing to do with the actual Revolutionary Army.’

Bluntly put, the death of the real First Order, Ludger Cherish, proved that much.

If they were part of the same organization, why would he have been caught in the middle of the train bombing?

The way he reacted that day made it clear—he never expected the train to be attacked.

Which meant that even the secret society hadn’t anticipated the terrorist act.

‘It’s best to consider the secret society and the Revolutionary Army as separate entities.’

And from that, I could deduce one more thing.

The First Order who bore the identity of Ludger Cherish wasn’t someone suited for combat.

‘He did have skill in magic. His judgment wasn’t bad. He’d probably undergone intense training.’

But was he powerful enough to be called an executive of the secret society? Not at all.

What really bothered me was the reaction of the subordinate I’d met from the secret society.

‘That guy saw my face and still accepted me as the First Order. There’s no way they don’t know what Ludger looked like on the train.’

Why?

Because he accepted the fact that my appearance had changed without question.

‘If he assumed a change in appearance was normal, that tells me something about the real Ludger Cherish.’

In other words, the original First Order specialized in disguise and infiltration.

That was, in a way, fortunate for me.

At least I wouldn’t be suspected by other members based on my outward appearance.

So I could relax a little.

‘At the very least, the secret society won’t question the fact that I’m operating as a teacher. I can spin it as a move to erase Seorn’s suspicion.’

Any annoying tasks could be delegated to underlings, and I, as someone holding the position of First Order, only needed to focus on solidifying my standing.

For now, I probably didn’t need to worry too much.

The real problems would begin when the secret society started surfacing again.

The fact that they planted someone of executive rank within the faculty meant they were clearly plotting to overthrow Seorn in some form.

‘Complicated.’

Seorn wasn’t something that would collapse easily, but it wasn’t an impenetrable fortress either.

Even the mightiest empire is bound to fall someday.

History has proven that.

And especially in turbulent times like these, the likelihood of such events becomes frighteningly realistic.

Even the smallest chance that the secret society might succeed in toppling Seorn couldn’t be ignored.

‘If it came to that... maybe it’d be better to abandon Seorn and side with the secret society.’

No. That wouldn’t work.

It might be necessary to survive, but it wouldn’t last long.

Right now, I was safe only because I’d just taken on the identity of Ludger Cherish and was acting as a newly appointed teacher.

But the other First Orders who’d worked alongside the real Ludger—would they really fail to notice the subtle changes?

‘They’ll figure it out, without a doubt.’

And once they realize I’m a traitor... who knows what they’ll do to me. If the secret society won and overtook Seorn, that would be the absolute worst outcome.

It would be far safer to hold onto this teaching post and subtly interfere with their plans.

But if I openly sided with Seorn, the organization would immediately notice my betrayal.

‘I’ll need to walk the tightest of tightropes.’

Until I knew what their goal was, I couldn’t make any solid plans.

I picked up my pen and wrote down a few notes on a blank sheet of paper outlining what to do next.

—Remain vigilant of the First Order within the secret society. Identify who it is as soon as possible. Avoid contact after identification.

—Maintain position as a teacher. Do not let your guard down during classes.

—Continue acting under the teacher identity to avoid suspicion from the Academy.

That about summed it up.

I wasn’t worried about someone reading it.

I wrote it in Korean, so no one in this world would be able to decipher it even if they were reborn ten times over.

‘Hmm. I guess all I can really do right now is give it my all as a teacher.’

Tap tap.

I drummed my fingers against the solid wooden desk.

Well, if someone from the secret society tried to pressure me about not taking action, I could always say it was part of a plan to erase Seorn’s suspicions.

I immediately reached for a new sheet of paper and picked up my pen.

There was someone I was supposed to meet elsewhere, but I had to inform them I wouldn’t be able to make it.

‘So many things to do.’

I should’ve taken care of this on the first day, but there was so much going on that I completely forgot.

Not that I was in any rush—he wouldn’t complain.

Just in case someone intercepted the letter, I made sure to avoid anything too direct and worded things vaguely.

Like the letter Ludger Cherish once carried, I used a code.

At the end, I added the line inviting them to come to Rederbelk—and one more phrase I’d almost forgotten.

[Bring my luggage on your way here.]

* * *

The reply came the very next day.

The letter suggested meeting the following weekend in Rederbelk’s industrial district.

I had hoped we could meet sooner, but it sounded like they had their own busy schedule, so I decided to be understanding.

Whoosh.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Upon confirming the letter, I immediately burned it—just in case.

Then, without delay, I left the faculty office and headed back to my lodging in light attire.

“Excuse me...!”

That was when someone rushed toward me and called out.

Judging by the attire, it was a Seorn servant, but their clothes were noticeably neater than the average staff’s—probably a messenger.

“Are you Instructor Ludger Cherish?”

“Yes, that’s me. What’s this about?”

At my reply, the messenger flinched and looked momentarily frightened.

Just as I was thinking even the servants were starting to avoid me, the messenger seemed to compose himself and handed me a document.

“What is this?”

“It’s a patrol duty roster.”

“Patrol duty?”

Wasn’t that usually handled by servants or security? Why would a teacher be doing it?

As I stared at him with that unspoken question in my eyes, the messenger began to sweat and hurriedly explained.

“Th-the Headmistress issued new orders. Since this is the period when new students have just arrived and tend to be at their most careless, it’s meant to prevent any trouble from happening.”

“And I’m the one doing it?”

“The Headmistress said teachers would be the most effective. Also, the employment contract clearly states that teachers must help prevent internal incidents within Seorn.”

Now that he mentioned it, that clause did exist.

But I had assumed it was more of a discretionary thing—something you handled as you saw fit.

I hadn’t expected them to enforce it so aggressively.

“Hmm.”

Perhaps he took my grunt the wrong way.

The servant, sweating profusely, hurried to add more explanation.

“Y-you don’t need to stay up all night! Just check from after classes until the dormitory curfew!”

“And today is my turn?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

Without another word, I took the duty roster from the messenger.

Sure enough, today’s date had the name Ludger Cherish written beside it.

Considering how many instructors Seorn had, it seemed each teacher only had to patrol once a week.

It’d be annoying to get stuck with weekend duty, though.

“W-well then, I’ll be going now.”

Having delivered his message, the messenger fled as if I might devour him.

I ignored him and looked over the names listed on the duty sheet.

‘Seorn’s campus is massive... Looks like each instructor is assigned a specific sector to patrol.’

There were three others on duty today besides me. One of them was Selina, the new Spirit Arts instructor who had arrived with me.

Well, our zones were different, so we probably wouldn’t run into each other. But if we did, I supposed I should at least say hello.

‘More importantly, if this wasn’t standard procedure before but something newly enacted under the Headmistress’s orders... could it be that she suspects a spy among the faculty?’

This could be her way of rooting out any suspicious activity or covert contact.

If I were a real spy, I wouldn’t be foolish enough to move carelessly now, but that didn’t mean her decision was pointless.

The fact that she personally issued this order served as a psychological deterrent. It was a warning.

From her standpoint, if they caught someone—great. If not, she still managed to unsettle them. It was a risk-free move.

‘And her justification—that teachers should prevent any trouble from excitable new students—is sound. No room to object.’

These weren’t just ordinary kids—they were magical prodigies. Of course, the scale of the trouble they might cause would be far beyond normal.

If there was potential for problems, they had to be stopped.

And as a newly appointed instructor, it wasn’t like I had the authority to question the Headmistress’s orders.

Even in an academy, hierarchy was a thing. If she says jump, I jump.

For the record, my assigned patrol area was the <Magic Training Grounds>.

“...Fantastic.”

The training grounds were popular among students who wanted to show off their magic skills. If anything was going to go wrong, it’d go wrong there.

Surely they didn’t assign me there on purpose, did they?

I hoped not. With that wish in mind, I headed toward the training grounds.

* * *

The Magic Training Grounds weren’t far from the main building.

A short 10-minute walk along a well-paved path was all it took.

Through the neatly trimmed trees of the surrounding garden, I could already see the large facility ahead.

Its overall design resembled a massive greenhouse—towering and vast.

‘Ridiculously huge.’

Even sports stadiums back on Earth would struggle to compete with the sheer size of this thing. And there were three of them.

They were referred to as Training Grounds 1, 2, and 3. Among them, the largest—Training Ground 3—served as the main stage for Seorn Academy’s seasonal event, the “Magic Festival.”

I decided to check Training Ground 3 first since it was the closest. No problems there, so I moved on.

There were only a few people lingering in Training Ground 2, and most seemed to be finishing up and heading back to the dorms.

Only Training Ground 1 remained.

That’s when it happened.

“You dare, you lowly commoner!”

A scream so shrill it practically tore the air into octaves erupted from within the training hall, followed by a violent surge of magical energy.

The uneasy feeling I had turned into reality.

I bolted for the interior of the training ground.

Racing through the corridor, I arrived at the balcony overlooking the arena—

—just in time to see one female student preparing to fire a spell at another girl.

The magic being cast—[Blazing Thunder], a 2nd-Circle neuro-electric spell.

Even though it was only 2nd-Circle, if the target was defenseless, it could cause serious injury.

‘I have to make it in time.’

I immediately activated my spell.

The student’s spell formation was nearly complete, but since I had access to the source code, I could cast anything up to 3rd-Circle faster than anyone.

The spell I chose was [Radiant Stone], a 1st-Circle projection spell formed of mana.

I launched it like a thrown object, aiming directly for the core of the spell circle right before it completed—and shattered it.

“Who did that?!”

The student, whose spell had been interrupted, glared in fury in my direction, clearly viewing it as sabotage.