Chapter 284: A Familiar But Hated Name
Chapter 284: A Familiar But Hated Name
At that time, Lilian’s Special Ops Team and Paul and the others were already hiding in the forest near Fulte’s Stop, ready to strike as soon as the call was made.
The students of the Saint Freya Academy had a monthly break that was five days long, and that was proving to be a good thing right now. No matter how the students of the Enforcement Division and Request Club tried to cover their tracks, there was no way they could hide their absence from classes. Fulte’s Stop was simply too far away from the central district.
Of course, a couple of people missing in a classroom that was several hundred students big wouldn’t really catch much attention, but that rule didn’t apply to public figures like Roel and Lilian.
Besides, while Roel thought that it was less likely for there to be evil cultists amongst the students, he couldn’t exclude such a possibility either. He knew that the sly evil cultists would surely get away if they were to catch wind of their plans in advance, so he wasn’t willing to take that risk.
So, the best time to make a move was before the break ended.
Fortunately, Roel remembered that the perpetrator made his move before the break came to an end, while everyone was still busy preparing for their classes on the following day.
And the scene of the crime was no other than the house he was currently in.
In Melty’s dormitory house, Roel calmly went through the results of his investigation report with the black-haired woman sitting before him, not hiding anything from her. He did consider withholding information from her so as to ensure her mental stability, but he dropped the idea after careful consideration.
He needed Melty to know the peril she was facing so that she would maneuver safely and avoid making any reckless movements. All it would take was a moment of carelessness from her to provide the perpetrator an opportunity to end her life.
When Melty learned that Cheryl had been caught by the evil cultists and could possibly be dead by now, she broke down and began weeping uncontrollably.
“P-pardon me, Lord Bluerose. I just can’t…”
Melty tried to wipe away her tears, but she couldn’t stop more from flowing down. Roel looked at her quietly, choosing not to say a word. He knew that she needed to vent her emotions.
The sorrow from a close friend in peril and the fear of being eyed by evil cultists; these burdens were far too great for someone who had barely come of age to face. She was indubitably in a vulnerable position at the moment, but unlike in the game, she had Roel by her side now.
“Miss Melty, I understand the sorrow and fear you’re going through at the moment, but I’d like to tell you that you aren’t alone anymore. What you have done is not meaningless.”
Roel chose not to speak words of comfort but to inform her of the truth in his gentlest voice.
“I might be the only one here with you right now, but I can assure you that there are hundreds from my Request Club and Lilian’s Enforcement Division supporting this operation, working hard to bring down those evil cultists. I know that you might be confused and afraid right now, but please put your trust in us.
“The tragedy that has befallen Cheryl is heart-wrenching, but your kindness and righteousness have alerted us to the enemies hiding amongst us, as well as to the grievous crimes they have committed. We’ll be able to stop future victims from falling prey to them and bring solace to those who have already lost their lives.
“So, you can hold your head up high. You have not let down the name of the Saint Freya Academy. You have done all that you can about it, and that’s already good enough.”
Under Roel’s gentle words, Melty finally began crying loudly. All the feelings that had been accumulating in her chest, be it frustration, exhaustion, worry, or sorrow, finally came bursting out, releasing the heavy load she had been carrying with her over the last few days.
It took a while before she finally calmed down and stopped crying, and Roel finally revealed his purpose behind paying her a visit.
There was no doubt that Roel’s plan to bait the perpetrator was risky, and Melty had the right to decline participation in the plan as well. However, when she heard that this was the only way to nab the perpetrator behind all of those atrocities, she decisively agreed to cooperate with him.
They proceeded on to discuss the details of the plan before the exhausted lady finally headed to her bedroom to take a rest.
Roel reached into his pocket and took out an exquisite little locket.
【Macron’s Hideout
To escape from his enemies, great enchanter Macron created a magic tool he could hide in whenever he needed to. When he closes this magic tool disguised as a locket, no one will be able to find him anymore. It was only lamentable that he used this great magic tool to peep on bathing women in his later years.
Effect: By infusing mana into the magic tool and closing the locket, one’s body will be teleported into a parallel space.
Restrictions: Mana cannot be channeled inside the parallel space, and the user’s movements will be severely restricted.
Price: 200,000 Affection Points】
This was the first item Roel had bought at its original price from the System, as well as the reason why he was confident that he could protect Melty well from the perpetrator.
Macron’s Hideout was a rare space magic tool that created a parallel space several square meters large around the user, allowing him to avoid detection. It was just that the space was incredibly unstable, such that it would break down and shatter if the user were to attempt to cast a spell or move too far away.
These limitations made it difficult to use Macron’s Hideout for assassination. That being said, there was no doubt that it was still a powerful stealth tool.
Roel settled down on the sofa in the living room before closing Macron’s Hideout. As soon as the locket was closed, it emanated a peculiar mana pulsation into the surroundings, and before Roel knew it, his vision was already cloaked in a dull gray tone.
He was still sitting on the sofa in this parallel space created by Macron’s Hideout, but his presence had completely vanished from the real world. Even the depression that was previously on the sofa had vanished without a trace.
Roel nodded in satisfaction with the results before closing his eyes.
…
“Look at what you’ve done, Marceus!”
Two black-robed men were seated face to face over a table filled with documents in a dark room barely lit by dim candlelight . One of them was a middle-aged man named Marceus, and the other one was a masked man with a gruff voice.
The masked man slammed his palm imposingly on the table and glared lividly at Marceus. Marceus lowered his head quietly, staring intently at the sheet of paper at the very top of the document pile. It was a painting of a Third Year female student from the Saint Freya Academy, Melty.
Marceus looked at the painting contemplatively for a moment before replying respectfully.
“I already have my eyes set on her, Lord Envoy. Her movements are all within my control. You need not worry about her.”
“In your control? Heh, that’s why I always say that people like you will never accomplish anything great! Weed ought to be snipped off the moment it starts growing! A week has already passed since she began investigations, so what are you waiting for?!”
“… I’ll deal with her within the next few days,” replied Marceus deeply.
His promise placated the rage of the masked man a little. The masked man looked at Marceus sharply and warned him.
“You better tread carefully. Four hundred years have passed, and the birth of the Great One is right upon us. We can’t allow history to repeat itself. Anyone who catches any attention during this crucial moment will be disposed of without fail. We can’t afford to slip up when that old geezer is still alive and kicking.”
“…”
Marceus fell silent upon hearing the masked man’s words. He implicitly understood that the ‘old geezer’ the masked man was talking about referred to Antonio.
Antonio was the current principal of the Saint Freya Academy, as well as a survivor of that incident four hundred years ago. As someone who had a bit of inside information, Marceus understood what this signified.
There was no doubt that Antonio was aware that something was going on in the shadows, evidenced by how he had chosen to hole himself up in Leinster in recent years. He turned down all of the invitations from other countries and ignored the situation at the eastern border under the pretext of ailing health, as if age was finally catching up with him.
But those lurking in the shadows knew that the old geezer’s eyes were sharper than ever. Under his watchful gaze, even the slightest carelessness could throw a wrench into their plans.
“Don’t even think that you can steer clear of trouble just because your organization isn’t a target. With the imminent awakening of the Great One, we’ll make sure to stifle all possible threats in the cradle. There will be no exceptions.”
Marceus’ cheeks twitched upon hearing the masked man’s words. He was enraged by the explicit threat, but he could only swallow down his indignance and nod with gritted teeth. Despite being an evil cultist himself, he feared these lunatics far more than the church.
The worst that could happen in an encounter with the church was death, but those who crossed these lunatics wouldn’t even be granted the solace of death.
Marceus made up his mind to quickly resolve the trouble with Melty, but he soon thought of a new problem and frowned.
“That woman seemed to have delivered a letter to the new Bluerose Ringbearer while I wasn’t paying attention…”
“What?! She sent a letter to the offspring of the Ascart House?” bellowed the masked man with a voice far sharper than before.
Marceus realized right away that this was far more serious than he had expected.
“Y-yes, the Bluerose Ringbearer is indeed the freshman who has achieved the highest score in history. However, they didn’t pay any heed to the letter at all! In fact, the Bluerose Faction even got into a conflict with the Purplerose Faction recently. No one has the spare attention to care about that dead graduate student right now,” he explained with a forced smile.
In his view, no matter how talented the Bluerose Ringbearer was, his capability and mental maturity were still lacking due to his young age. What he didn’t know was that the masked man was concerned not just about Roel himself but the family he came from—the Ascarts.
This was a name that had remained a thorn in their hearts for the longest time.
The infuriated masked man glared at Marceus and ordered with a frigid tone.
“You cretin! You got the Ascarts involved in this as well? You better resolve this problem as soon as possible, or else you can be certain that there’ll be no future for you and your organization.”