Chapter 31: Raid on the Academy, Part 2

Charlotte Linen, the student council president, was in a rare good mood.

Earlier that day, she’d heard rumors of a student being kidnapped and rushed out, only to discover her armband was missing.

An intruder, impersonating her, had somehow tricked the vice-president and gained access to the vault.

And while she was pursuing the intruder, a cult attack occurred, and she lost the intruder’s trail.

However, she’d captured the cult leader, shifting the balance back in the academy’s favor.

While the academy enjoyed extraterritoriality, it was still located within the kingdom.

And according to the agreement, protecting the academy from external threats was the Knights’ responsibility. Yet, they’d failed to detect the cultists’ infiltration.

It was the academy students who ultimately apprehended Rahat.

While one was a princess, another a hero candidate, and the third a Magic Tower transfer student, making them not entirely “academy affiliated,” they weren’t Knights.

Publicly announcing this might slightly tarnish the academy’s reputation, but it would undoubtedly elevate their standing compared to the completely oblivious Knights.

The fact that there were no casualties among the academy students, thanks to the trio’s efforts, further bolstered their position.

This incident would deal a blow to the Knights, who had been trying to extend their authority beyond external security to interfere with the academy’s internal affairs.

This thought alone was enough to erase all of Charlotte’s earlier frustrations.

She truly loved and cared for the academy.

While it felt slightly unethical to use the three students as pawns in this power struggle, they were affiliated with the academy. Elevating the academy’s standing wouldn’t harm them.

And if it did, she would protect them.

Now, all that remained was to hand over the cult leader to the Knights and enjoy their dismayed expressions.

The extensive damage to the academy grounds would require significant repairs, but that was Haru’s, the vice-president’s, responsibility.

Unlike Charlotte, Rahat was in a foul mood.

While he’d met the being he so revered, everything had fallen apart due to the damned divinity users.

He hadn’t underestimated their strength.

He’d even prepared a suicidal spell as a last resort, but their sudden power-up during the battle had caught him off guard.

No, he should have anticipated it. As a follower of the great one, he should have foreseen every possibility and controlled the situation.

This was undeniably his failure.

And the faint connection to the demon realm he’d felt after his hand was severed had completely vanished, further deepening his despair.

“Ah. Communication’s back online.”

President? Where are you?!

He looked up and saw the barrier dissipating. The artifact provided by his contact within the kingdom had likely expired.

His connection to the other cultists was also severed.

His only remaining contacts were the cultists in other branches or his contact within the kingdom.

The former would revel in his downfall, so contacting them would be pointless. His only option was the latter.

While Charlotte was distracted by the communication device, Rahat discreetly activated a small scroll hidden in his pocket.

He felt a pang of shame, relying on an anonymous contact within the kingdom.

But if he got another chance…

If he could personally eliminate those divinity users…

He would regain their favor and rise even higher than before.

This humiliation… it was a necessary sacrifice for a brighter future.

Beep.

The communication spell connected with his contact within the royal palace.

“Snake… the operation has failed. But…”

Footsteps.

“Brother…?”

“Charlotte. It’s been a while.”

A man bearing a striking resemblance to Charlotte appeared before them.

A communication magic circle glowed on his ear. The same magic circle that had vanished when he confronted Charlotte.

Rahat noticed this detail.

So, this was his contact within the kingdom, but… it couldn’t be…

“Charlotte. We’ll take custody of him.”

“N-no… even if you’re my brother, this is an internal academy matter. While we intend to hand him over to the Knights, I will personally—”

“Charlotte. Do you really think I would do anything to harm you, to harm the academy?”

The man took the rope binding Rahat from Charlotte’s hand.

And Rahat saw it. A faint glow emanating from a mark on the man’s hand.

The blue light… a holy stigmata bestowed by the gods…

But within that blue light, a faint red glow flickered, a clear sign—

“Thank you for trusting me, Charlotte.”

“Mother will be pleased.”

The man whispered in Charlotte’s ear and led Rahat away, disappearing into the forest.

Charlotte stood there, frozen, her jaw clenched.

“Again… Charlotte. Again…”

The armband on her arm had never felt so… insignificant.

She ripped it off and threw it on the ground, then turned and walked back into the forest.

To search for any remaining injured students.

“…Damn it…”

Lena was pleased.

While the initial plan to assassinate the hero candidate had failed, their primary objective, disrupting the barrier, had been achieved.

And she’d established a connection with another one of them. A significant accomplishment.

As for the failed assassination, it seemed to have been intentionally thwarted by Kayleen, the one who commanded even a being as powerful as one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

So, it wasn’t a major concern.

And it allowed her to eliminate the pawns she’d used for this operation.

One might question how Lena, a mere Third Princess, could temporarily disrupt the Knights.

Even though the Knights and Moonshadow served the royal family, they weren’t bound by the whims of a single royal.

They even had the authority to disobey orders from anyone except the king in emergency situations.

It should have been impossible for Lena, despite her intelligence.

But it had been possible.

Gah…!

Lena descended the stairs leading to a small prison beneath the royal villa.

Originally intended to hold nobles and royals accused of treason, it had become a forgotten relic, unknown to anyone.

Until Lena discovered it.

Located near her chambers, she’d used it to store her collection of demonology books.

And now… it served a different purpose.

Creak.

Thump.

The door opened, revealing a dark-haired man. The sounds of a man’s groans echoed from within.

“Is it done, Carlos?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

Carlos, the swordsmanship instructor, presented Lena with a still-beating heart, freshly torn from a human chest.

Despite the gruesome sight, Lena calmly stroked the black mark carved into the heart.

“Do these fools still believe… the curse only manifests externally…?”

“Indeed. The so-called holy stigmata are mere superficial marks. The true mark… resides deep within… carved into the very flesh…”

Carlos tapped his chest, adorned with numerous medals, and smiled at Lena.

His clothes and medals were stained crimson with blood and gore.

“Is this… appropriate… for the Knight Commander…?”

“What do you mean?”

Lena placed a hand on the still-beating heart. The mark carved into it glowed, resonating with the mark on her own abdomen.

As the heart’s light faded, Lena felt a tingling sensation in her lower abdomen, a sign of her strengthening connection with them.

“There’s a traitor before you… a traitor to the kingdom… and you haven’t executed him…?”

“Well… you’re right…”

Carlos chuckled, wiping the blood from his chest with a handkerchief.

“But if I were to execute a traitor with my own sword…”

Carlos, the Knight Commander and swordsmanship instructor, smiled at Lena.

“…shouldn’t I… execute myself first?”

A red glow emanated from his right hand.

“Everything…”

“…belongs to them.”

The kingdom… was rotten to the core.