The next day, early in the morning, in the school's general freezer…

Corvus enters, and one of the professors who helped handle both the wraith and the archmage follows him in. The room is filled with various corked jars full of liquids, powders, or organic matter that appears like it was freshly pulled out of a living being. Everything is gently frosted over, from the shelves and racks to even the floor itself, though not enough to cause a slipping hazard. The professor holds the door open behind himself and looks outside.

Seven mages in blue robes walk in, one after another. Their ages vary greatly, ranging from an almost childish-faced young man to a stately and grim-looking one, roughly as old as the headmaster, and there is even a young woman with a sharp gaze in the group, who enters last. Their robes are uniform and feature a prominent, bright-blue silhouette of an eye at their center, much lighter than the blue of their robes. Their shoulders are covered by a short mantle to keep the rain away, though they are not using the attached hood at the time. All in all, the entire group appears very professional, no-nonsense, and perhaps even a little intimidating.

「Where is he?」

The oldest man at the front of the group asks, turning his head left and right.

「Over here, esteemed colleagues…」

Corvus gestures them to follow further inward into the room. The professor lets go of the door when the woman slips past it, and gently shoves it to half-close. The group follows the headmaster towards the back, where apparently three bodies are covered by a cloth sheet, with two of them also lying on one. Corvus walks ahead along with the professor.

「Professor, if you may…」

The headmaster says, looking at the Academy professor while pointing his hand at one of the sheets with boots sticking out from underneath it. He moves to grip the edge of the cloth, and violently pulls it away. Some ice crackles and falls to the ground off the stiff sheet, and the cloth itself slowly crumbles and becomes flexible again. The group of Federation mages approach closer, spreading out a little so they all can get a look, but only the oldest of them approach right up to the dead man's feet. They look at his gray-bearded, blood-coated face, and the large hole in his chest before turning their eyes to the headmaster.

「Diebin.」

The oldest battlemage utters out, a cloud of vapor forming in front of his face as he does so.

「Mhm. Diebin.」「Diebin.」「No mistaking it.」

The mages look at each other, nodding their heads as they concur. The woman, the youngest man and one other mage remain behind them.

「As I expected. Thank you for confirming, esteemed colleagues…」

Corvus lightly bows his head, and gestures for the professor to cover the body again.

「And the other bodies?」

The older man behind the rest asks, tilting his head as he looks at the other sheets.

「Ah… These are…」

Growing a little uneasy, Corvus looks over his shoulder at the dead men. The workers slain by the vampire, Diebin, and two more sheets.

「…These are the vampire's victims. We are temporarily keeping them here until we can arrange transport to return their remains to their families…」

The headmaster points his hand at the three covered corpses furthest inward.

「…This is Professor Arkeis, who was murdered when Diebin arrived. We have a funeral planned later today…」

His hand briefly moves to point at the shape between two sheets, briefly turning his sullen face to the battlemages.

「…And this… Well…」

Corvus joins his hands in front of himself after briefly looking at the second sheet beside the frontmost three.

「…This is a skeleton we have discovered alongside with the professor's body. It belongs to a student who was murdered shortly after the Academy was completed. His resentment formed the wraith.」

He adds, shrugging his shoulders as he finishes explaining. The battlemages all look at each other.

「That would mean it's nearly two centuries old. Is this just a theory, or do you have solid evidence? The Federation may be interested in knowing more.」

The oldest man at the front of them asks, narrowing his eyes at Corvus.

「Apologies, esteemed colleagues, but I do not… I only ask you to trust my word. I have a good reason to believe this is the case, but I am unable to articulate why.」

He replies bowing his head, and visibly shivers. A cloud of vapor escapes the headmaster's lips.

「Brr… May we leave and talk outside? I don't like the cold too much…」

Corvus asks, pointing his hand in the direction of the door. The mages look at each other again, then turn to leave.

The professor is the last to leave. He pushes the door shut, slips a key into the lock, turns it with a loud clack, then takes a few steps away.

「Headmaster, if that's all…」

「Yes, yes, go on. Thank you…」

Corvus nods his head in response to the professor suggesting with his body language that he wants to leave. He and the mages follow the professor out of the room-temperature storage into the hallway. The Academy professor locks the door to the storage as well, then departs with a polite nod of his head. Holding his hands behind his back, the headmaster slowly begins making his way back in the general direction of the dormitories with leisurely steps while they follow.

「Archmage Diebin… What spell was he slain with?」

The sole woman of the group asks, looking with an intense gaze at Corvus through the gaps in the men before her.

「Hm? Ah…」

He glances at her over his shoulder with his bushy brows raised, then turns his head forward with a troubled and quiet sigh.

「…Well… You see… It was not a spell at all. It was physical damage.」

Corvus reluctantly replies without turning his face to the blue-robed mages. Their brows collectively furrow, and they glance at each other with incredulous looks on their faces.

「Physical damage? Headmaster, are you implying it was close combat using an enchantment spell?」

The oldest mage asks, tilting his dark-gray head.

「Nnnhhh… Something akin to that.」

Corvus replies after a discomforted sighful groan, turning his tight-lipped smile over his shoulder to the man.

「There remains the question of the grimoire and Cycelia Redwing. We want to see her-」

「Absolutely not.」

The headmaster turns on his heel and stops, facing the mages as he replies in a stern tone to the middle-aged man. The Federation battlemages are taken aback a little, except the woman, and the youngest man who does not appear to care much. His head is swiveling, and his eyes dart around with a small smile on his youthful face, as if a curious child that is greatly intrigued by the surroundings and is trying to take it all in, but Corvus knows that is not the case.

The young man's eyes dart to the corners and junctions, spending most of the time observing places in the hallway that no one else is paying attention. Headmaster Corvus has seen this behavior many times before, and his long experience allows him to recognize it with ease. Situational awareness. To an untrained eye, the young mage is simply curious about a new place, but that could not be farther from the truth. His his arms are at his sides, his fingers are gently spread apart, and he never spends too much time looking at a singular area.

Corvus knows the Federation did not send amateurs, and despite his childlike appearance, the young man is no exception. He is far too young to have seen any major wars or fought a large amount of duels, but he carries all the marks of a mage who has. He appears to be perfectly content taking a supporting role of the formation, keeping his watchful yet calm eye on their flanks and seemingly ready to respond to a sudden threat.

The headmaster's head recoils back a little when the young mage suddenly locks his eyes with him, lightly widening his smile before nonchalantly returning back to swiveling his head around.

「Headmaster, she not only knowingly hired a Federation criminal, she illegally forced the Draconis guild to illegitimately restore his membership… And now we've found out about the grimoire.」

The oldest battlemage of the group says, staring at Corvus with a markedly displeased face.

「It reeks of sabotage, headmaster. This very well may be an elaborate plot to undermine the Federation's influence, legitimacy or reputation… Or perhaps all of those.」

The middle-aged mage beside him adds with a matching expression. The woman crosses her arms, her sharp gaze and stance is almost strikingly reminiscent of Aria's when she's upset.

「No, no… I assure you, esteemed colleagues, it's not like that… I am certain you've heard of the political instability in the kingdom, Diebin must have gotten his hands on the grimoire then.」

Corvus replies, holding his hands up, palms facing them in an effort to pacify them a little.

「Isn't that worse, headmaster? She's demonstrably incapable of keeping it safe in that case… It's too dangerous to leave in the wild.」

The woman says, tilting her head with a frigid expression on her face. The oldest battlemage glances at her over his shoulder.

「That's right… It's our duty to reclaim it. By force, if necessary-」

「Enough.」

With his palm directed towards him, the headmaster interrupts the old man. The two glare at each other for a few brief moment of uneasy silence before Corvus rejoins his hands behind his back.

「I will not permit you to take any actions against my students. If you have a bone to pick with her majesty, then this matter should be brought up at her court…」

He says, speaking in a very stern and serious tone, and returning their sharp glances right back at them.

「…These claims of sabotage are not only ridiculous, they are outright slanderous. I will not permit you to tarnish my student's good name. Did I not inform you that she personally saved a student?」

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Corvus asks, looking at each of them. They exchange quick glances, then return their eyes to him.

「…We were not informed, but that has no bearing on the matter. Diebin's plan revolved around the grimoire, she's almost entirely to blame. She should prove her goodwill by returning it.」

The eldest mage replies and brushes his dark-gray beard.

「Al-most… Makes a large difference, grand magus. I see the Federation neglected to fully brief you. If not for Straf, I would not be having this conversation with you now. We all would have been dead…」

The headmaster says, growing audibly more irate, outright glaring at the battlemages now.

「…I will not permit you to as much as see the queen. That is final. You may outrank me, but you do not hold any authority over me or the Academy. Your task is to keep the students safe, not harass them.」

Corvus adds, and an awkward silence begins. The young man swivels his smiling face to him.

「…May we see Straf Katastrof Vindict, then?」

He asks, and returns to maintaining constant situational awareness.

「That's right… He's not a student, is he? It's fine then, isn't it?」

The woman chimes in, glancing briefly at the young battlemage beside her before turning her sharp gaze back to Corvus. He turns his old face aside, grimacing heavily in deep thought.

「…On a condition.」

He replies, turning his tight-lipped grimace and soft gaze to them.

「You are not in a position to bargain with us-」

The oldest mage of the group replies in a stern, raised voice.

「Don't make this difficult. Let's just see him.」

The middle-aged man beside him grabs onto his mantle-covered shoulder, leaning in closer to him while the both of them look at Corvus with wary eyes.

「…That may be the case, grand magus. I am ready to accept any punishment that may come from the Federation, but I hold and maintain that you will not see her. You have no authority to say otherwise.」

The headmaster calmly replies as his eyes jump between them both.

「…What is it then? The condition.」

「Simple. Promise that even if you do come across her, you will not interact with her whatsoever. Of course, let us be reasonable and not keep you from returning a passing greeting… But that's all.」

Corvus replies to the old man in front of him, and the Federation battlemages look at each other for a few moments.

「…Fine. Where is he?」

The old man replies, nodding his head and stroking his dark-gray beard.

「I have a rough idea where he might be… But it may take us a little while to find him. Come with me.」

Corvus declares, then waves the team of battlemages to follow him as he turns on his heel and continues onward down the hallway…

…

Less than thirty minutes later, in one of the classrooms…

The entire room is silent, with the silence being broken only by nearly inaudibly soft scraping of quills against paper. Aria is half-sitting on the teacher's desk with her arms crossed, glaring at the students with a watchful gaze for any signs of cheating while they take the exam. Her wary eyes frequently return to Straf, who sits near Cycelia with his arms crossed as well. He's looking at her exam paper with a bored gaze, and his mouth is lightly scrunched to the side.

The door to the classroom suddenly swings open, and Corvus walks a few steps in. Alarmed, Aria jumps up and hastily jogs up to him on her tiptoes.

「Corvus! They're taking an exam!…」

She says in a raised yet hushed voice, visibly discomforted. Her eyes catch a glimpse of the battlemages outside.

「I know, Aria. Just a moment…」

He replies, and briefly searches for Straf in the classroom. It doesn't take long, as he only has to find a chestnut head and a tall man beside it. The entire classroom's attention is on Corvus.

「…Straf, could I have a moment, please?」

The headmaster says, gesturing Straf to come closer with a wave of his hand.

「Eh?」

Cycelia lifts her gaze up from her exam paper to look at Straf with a confused face, furrowing her brows. He sighs, rolling his eyes.

「Urk!…」

Corvus lets out a stifled grunt of shock when Straf gets up from his seat, but not before casually taking the quill out of Cycelia's dainty hand and scribbling something on the paper in front of her, then returning the quill right where it was between her fingers. A little unnerved, Corvus glances at Aria to check if she has noticed, though he knows that it's likely impossible. Only he can see Straf's movements, after all, and only after the fact at that. As if nothing happened, he leisurely descends down the stairs towards Corvus with his hands in his pockets.

《She deserves more than a passing grade for working so hard.》

Straf thinks to himself as he shrugs with a little nonchalant grimace on his face.

「…Yeah?」

He asks, approaching the headmaster. He then notices the people standing outside the classroom.

「Come.」

Corvus waves his hand for him to follow, and walks out. Straf shrugs again, and comes with. Just before the door closes, Damian notices the telltale blue robes of Federation battlemages, furrowing his brows.

「What's this? Pallbearers for the good mood? A hearse for humor? You smell like an alphabet soup.」

Straf scoffs at the group of battlemages, smirking at them.

「Straf, these are the battlemages I was telling you about yesterday. They want to talk with you.」

The headmaster explains, pointing his hand at them as he steps aside.

「Oh? So you are from an alphabet agency, huh? Me too.」

Straf lets out an amused huff, turning his eyes away from Corvus to the blue-robed old mage in front of him.

「…Are you Straf Katastrof Vindict?」

The grim old man asks, stroking his dark-gray beard.

「Ahhhhh, man… The poorly hidden secret is out, huh?…」

Straf remarks after a long, exasperated sigh.

「…Thanks for nothing, old man.」

He adds, turning his sarcastic smirk to Corvus. He hopelessly shrugs his shoulders and feebly spreads his hands in response.

「We have several questions we'd like to ask you…」

The middle-aged man says, staring at Straf.

「…What happened to the Redwing grimoire?」

The old battlemage beside him asks.

「I wiped my ass with it. if you're quick, the rats in the sewers might still have the pages in their stomachs…」

Straf replies with a snide grin on his face, then snaps his fingers.

「…That's a timed quest for just for you.」

He adds, pointing his finger at them. Corvus visibly winces, cringing with his teeth clenched. The woman's sharp gaze meets his, and he can only meekly smile back at her through his tight-lipped grimace.

「I suggest you stop taking us lightly.」

The old man replies with a stern tone and a grim face.

「We are not in a jesting mood.」

The middle-aged man beside him adds with a matching expression. Straf throws his whole arms up, glancing aside with an amused expression.

「Yeah! I fucking know! Are you ever, you gloomy fucks?…」

He replies, chuckling with a huge grin. Straf then notices a woman behind them all, glaring at him with her arms crossed.

「…Oh hello.」

He says with his hands in his pockets, peeking at her past the old men with a smug smirk on his face…