Chapter 37

“Good job.”

The ship that arrived at the island belonged to the Golden Turtle Company. Hyde, who was in command of the vessel, was the one who greeted Fernan.

“Looks like things went well.”

“Yes. We captured the spy.”

“Was he corrupted?”

“Yes.”

“A corrupted infiltrator in the company? That could have ended really badly.”

“What about the other students?”

They had slain the sea serpent, but they couldn’t stop the broken ship from sinking.

The vessel quickly plunged to the bottom of the sea, and the students were swept away in different directions by the waves.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Fernan, Luina, and Bella went after Aint.

“Fortunately, everyone was rescued safely.”

But Fernan had already prepared for what would happen that day. Seven ships positioned beyond the visual range of the yacht.

Like a surrounding net, the vessels encircled the yacht and began search operations, rescuing all the missing.

Though in truth, it was Hyde who organized everything.

“Good work.”

“It was nothing.”

And he didn’t say it out of courtesy.

The members of the Yacht Club were all children of influential families or recognized talents throughout the Empire.

If even one of them had been injured, it would have been a huge problem—even if it was due to a natural disaster.

Humans always look for someone to blame when things go wrong.

The ship carrying Fernan and his group met with the other vessels that had rescued the students.

“Fernan.”

“You alright, Ludger?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, I’m alive. Since when did you have those ships ready?”

“Always.”

“Always?”

“I always keep escort ships nearby, just in case. This time it was the right decision.”

Ludger accepted it without further comment, as if he believed it.

“I never would’ve imagined. That a group of monsters would attack the ship like that…”

“Neither would I. I’ve never heard of something like that happening since the founding of the academy.”

That in itself served as irrefutable proof—that the demons were starting to act.

“…We’ll need to find out the cause. By the way, I’ll pay for the ship that sank.”

“You will?”

Fernan barely managed to maintain his expression at those unexpected words.

“Yes. After all, I was the one who suggested turning this club into the Yacht Club. The ship was a loan, right?”

“I remember I was the one who first mentioned the Yacht Club.”

“But I made the final decision.”

It was true. Although both were from elector-prince families, in the end everyone gave weight to Ludger’s words, as he was part of the imperial line.

“…Well, if you’re going to pay, I won’t stop you.”

It was a loss he could offset with future profits, but if he could avoid the loss altogether, even better.

‘He’s definitely not a bad guy at heart.’

The clash with Aint was simply inevitable. Two suns cannot coexist in the same sky.

Even if his intentions weren’t entirely pure, from Fernan’s point of view, the one who pays calls the shots.

“…I want to get back to the dorms as soon as possible. I’m sick of the sea.”

Ludger muttered, tightening the coat around him.

***

The next day, what had happened with the Yacht Club quickly spread throughout the academy.

Some members, including Fernan, were summoned by the supervising professor.

“Long time no see, Fernan.”

Every club required a professor’s approval to be founded.

The professor who gave that approval became responsible for the club and oversaw its members.

“Yes, professor.”

Dominique Colsner, professor of the “Illusions and Fantasies” course in the Department of Magic, was the supervising professor of the Yacht Club.

“Normally I prefer to stay out of things, but this time I couldn’t.”

“I understand.”

A club composed of youths from highly renowned noble families.

Normally, the professor in charge was just a figurehead, but in an incident of this magnitude, he couldn’t stay idle.

“I’m interviewing some students to get a full picture of what happened. Fortunately, everything ended well, but I need a clear understanding.”

“Yes.”

Professor Dominique adjusted his monocle. Through the lens, his gray pupils reflected constant melancholy.

“It was completely unexpected. Those monsters…”

“Sea worms and sea serpents in large numbers. It had never happened before. Good thing there were no casualties. Were backup ships a common practice?”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Though this time he had deployed seven ships, he usually kept at least one escort vessel just in case, without others knowing.

“Good. Did anything else strange or unusual happen?”

“No.”

“I’m glad. Oh, by the way, I heard you recently accepted Luina Bercheff and Aint Armian as new members.”

“Luina was invited by me, but I don’t know much about Aint.”

“I see. You may go.”

After the brief interview, Fernan went straight to the company.

Hyde greeted him with a smile.

“Finished already?”

“Were you able to track how those bastards infiltrated the company?”

“Here it is.”

“Interesting… No one suspected them.”

And yet, everyone treated them like co-workers. Even though they were strangers, even though they shouldn’t have been there.

“Magic?”

“It’s presumed to be mental-type magic.”

“Mental magic is a specialty of demons, right?”

It was also said that manipulating souls was another skill of demons according to the records.

That made another doubt resurface.

‘That spirit that tried to possess me—could that have been the work of demons?’

It would be stupid to do something so counterproductive for them. But if it wasn’t demons, what kind of mage could use a spell that forced a spiritual possession?

Since there was no concrete lead, he decided to set it aside for now.

Fernan focused on current affairs.

“What about the prisoner?”

“He didn’t respond even under confession magic, so we locked him in the company’s underground cell.”

“Make him talk, even if you have to torture him.”

“Understood.”

“And send this to my father.”

Fernan sealed the reports he had already prepared and placed them in an envelope with his emblem.

“What time did you sleep last night?”

“Time and information are money. The sooner this gets reported, the more money we earn.”

“I’ll send it as top priority.”

“As it should be.”

“One last question, if I may…”

“What is it?”

“The priority for naval business within the academy… was it related to this?”

Fernan shook his head.

“Don’t be ridiculous. How could I have known something like this would happen?”

“Right, of course.”

Hyde accepted it, though his expression showed some doubt. Seeing the future made no sense, and if one assumed this was all part of Fernan’s plan…

That would mean he was one of the corrupted.

And Hyde knew better than anyone that his master couldn’t be one of them.

“Then I’ll take my leave. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me.”

“Alright.”

Hyde left. Fernan, already accustomed to the routine, pulled out design plans and began writing.

He didn’t know when he’d next receive a vision of the future, but for now that the danger had passed, it was time to fully dedicate himself to golem design.

***

“…This is driving me crazy.”

Bella Hoenne chewed on her sweet parfait.

“I feel like I’ve stepped into a swamp I can’t get out of. It’s really disturbing.”

“Bella, you look really happy right now.”

“It’s the sugar. It’s the sugar.”

But it wasn’t a lie that she felt disturbed.

To be honest, when Luina asked her for help, she hesitated a lot. But once she saw a corrupted person with her own eyes, the feeling was completely different.

“And you? Doesn’t it affect you at all?”

“It’s not my first time.”

“Right, you mentioned that before. But still… how can you stay so calm even if it isn’t your first time?”

Are they corrupted? Bella swallowed the last part, aware of the gazes around them.

“And why doesn’t Fernan report this directly to the academy? Shouldn’t they take action?”

“He said he’s still not sure who’s an enemy and who’s an ally.”

“That makes sense…”

She herself had been infected with corrupted magic without doing anything out of the ordinary in her daily life.

It wasn’t possible unless there were corrupted people infiltrated in the academy.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“For now, I trust Fernan.”

Just from what he’d shown them so far, he gave reasons to be trusted. He had handled Verian’s case well, and now this too.

“And since when have you been working with Fernan? Since you became partners?”

“Yes.”

“I thought something was off, but now everything makes sense.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Well, to be honest, even though you gave me an explanation, I wasn’t completely convinced.”

That Luina, who couldn’t even get along with the Pellenbergs, became Fernan’s partner.

She said it was for grades with no personal feelings involved, and while it was true she had been hiding her real level, it was still hard to fully believe.

She only accepted the story because it came from Luina, but the doubts had never fully gone away.

“But if it’s about fighting the corrupted, that changes everything. I know how you are.”

A model knight with a strong sense of justice.

If they had joined forces to face the corrupted, it made perfect sense.

“…That’s not it.”

It wasn’t. But Luina didn’t have the heart to shatter her friend’s illusion by telling the truth: that she had accepted because of money.

“…Yeah. That’s it.”

“I knew it! The idiots saying you’d been bought should know the truth.”

“…Y-Yeah, you’re right.”

In the end, Luina could only offer a kind lie.

***

For Aint Armian, everything felt like a dream.

“Out of nowhere, a group of sea monsters attacked the ship, a corrupted one tried to kill me, I decided to cooperate with senior Fernan…”

It all happened like an overwhelming wave. All he had done was go with the flow.

— But in the end, it was for the best.

That was true.

Thanks to Fernan, Aint had managed to escape a life-threatening situation, obtained the First Emperor’s will, and could now speak openly about the demons.

“Also, senior Luina…”

— Tsk, that’s not important right now.

But putting that aside, Luina Bercheff’s abilities were much greater than he had imagined.

If she became a reliable ally, she would be a great support.

“But… is that true? That several people have already been tainted by the corrupted?”

— Likely. In fact, that Bella girl showed clear signs of having been infected by corrupted magic and recovering from it.

And that was the most obvious proof.

— It has to be stopped. At all costs.

In the past, there had also been people contaminated by corrupted magic.

They showed no anomalies, but once they came into contact with a catalyst, they went completely mad.

“Catalyst?”

— It’s a kind of spell used by demons. When activated, it causes the infected to lose control and attack indiscriminately.

— At first, we couldn’t even react. After all, they were just humans being used by the demons.

“So if something like that happens, there’s no way to stop it?”

— Only the first time. After that, it became easier. The previous emperor handled everything.

— And you can do it too, Aint.

The Armian family’s swordsmanship was the natural opposite of demonic power. It even had the ability to purify corrupted magic from others’ bodies.

“Then shouldn’t I go out now and start purifying corrupted magic throughout the city…?”

— Did you forget what that rich idiot said? You can’t act recklessly if you don’t know who the corrupted are.

That’s why Fernan had asked him to stay quiet for the time being.

— For now, it’d be better if you went to meet the person that rich guy introduced you to. What you can do alone is very limited.

— If you can’t act immediately, then prepare for what’s to come.

“Got it.”

Before parting ways with Fernan, Aint had been introduced to someone.

“As a sign of trust, I’ll introduce you to a reliable partner. It’ll be good for you to have an ally from your same year when facing the corrupted.”

And it wasn’t just anyone, but someone quite skilled. Aint got ready and headed to the Ravidus building.

Using the emblem Fernan had given him, he requested an audience and waited. Soon, someone appeared.

“…Aint Armian?”

The face of his next companion, Verian Kalburdern, twisted immediately.

“…What are you doing here? And where’s senior Fernan?”

Honestly, when he heard it for the first time, he couldn’t believe it. He knew how much Verian hated him.

But Fernan had been blunt.

“Don’t worry. In the end, that guy will have no choice but to become your ally.”

“Don’t know how to convince him? I’ll teach you the magic word that’ll make him follow you.”

“Verian.”

Aint spoke his name in a low voice.

“I was the one who called you. Not senior Fernan.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? How did you get that emblem…?”

“You.”

Aint stepped closer until he was just a step away from Verian and whispered in his ear.

“They say you were corrupted, right?”

“…What?”

Verian’s face turned completely pale.