The class ended. While the students were busy with the rest of the subjects, I decided to go back out to the city.

It was a mess. I wasn’t taking the demiurges lightly from the beginning. But to think they were bold enough to harm the people of the city.

That too all the way back to last month. That alone was extremely worrying.

Many thoughts rushed through my head as I made my way out to the city gates. Seeing the students had just made it worse.

Last month, if something happened to Iaso. What would have happened? The result of that kind of situation couldn’t not be messy.

It was terrible to even think about.

The whole city would have been upturned. Utter chaos. The Aegean Kingdom would have gone all out against the Empire, and if the Empire found out the demiurges?

I shuddered just thinking about it. The war might just have resumed. A civil war to blame the demiurges. I could even imagine a massive pest control being carried out in the entire world.

The war that had barely ended would just start again—

My feet came to a halt as I was about to step out of the building.

The missing pieces in my line of thinking were coming together.

I slowly turned on my heels and changed the direction of my steps. I had to go and sneak into Gladwin’s office.

***

There were two skills I considered most important during wartime.

One was the ability to have a clear head and the ability to act despite how uncomfortable you were, and the other was the ability to hide and play dead whenever you needed to.

Natural disasters, misfires, mistakes, monsters… the enemy wasn’t the only one after your life. A war was the act of going against nature, and it was natural that nature fought back.

Those skills carried over.

I didn’t know how strong a man Gladwin was, but I was sure that I wouldn’t be caught that easily.

Even if he did find me out, I could always talk to him. For now, this was the best route.

The room on the floor above the principal’s was empty and dark. An office laden with mahogany furniture and walls all around, it was a perfect place for the grandeur of someone with his high rank.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

By all means, as far as the state hierarchy went, Gladwin was ‘officially’ my senior when I was still in the army.

I gazed over the entire office from the door. He had no reason to lock it, Gladwin would, in fact, welcome intruders. What easier way was there to fish out suspicious people?

But, unfortunately, those old things didn’t work on me. My eyes went to the small devices around me, the magical circles that were all around, ready to register if someone tampered with his things.

I reached into my pockets and pulled out a magic stone. It was a gift I had received from the archwizard, the apprentice of the Magic Tower master.

I had met her on the front lines. Being friends with people came in handy during the times you’d least expect. This device was rather simple but extremely effective.

She said I had a penchant for getting into sticky situations, and that was why she made this. A simple stone similar to the one that blocked noise, but this one instead overloaded and temporarily blocked all magical items around me.

It was very helpful since I couldn’t use magic myself.

The device sucked out some of my mana and gleamed a bright, blue glow. With it in effect, I strode into Gladwin’s office as if I were out on a walk and started checking his documents.

The thing I was looking for was nothing important, so it must be kept away so he wouldn’t be bothered by it.

The first place I checked was the cabinets behind his desk.

{Periodic Report on Glorenstein City}

{The city remains under observation. We have moved some manpower to verify people that move inside the city instead of ones moving outside to accommodate for the heightened tourist season.}

{Periodic Report on Black Rose Classroom}

{All the students continue to be docile and understanding. They can see the academy as a place to learn in large thanks to the accommodations made. We will continue to provide a safe environment}

Documents with all kinds of titles and contents. My eyes scanned them and moved to the next.

{Report on Result of Interrogation}

{We were unable to retrieve a confession of any validity of the attacks being planned by the Aegean Kingdom. The point of contact is still suspected to be letters}

Tsk.

{Report on Glorenstein Academy Faculty}

{Faculty has remained the same. All teachers are diligent with their duties. The chimera research in the White Graduate Lab is of continued interest. No oddities.}

{Report on Professor Major Ethan Kalenice}

{Continues to be an exemplary citizen. No point of concern. The Major is facing no troubles.}

{List and Details of Changed Academy Staff—}

There we were.

Details of the staff that had been changed in and out of the academy. I quickly ran a finger through it. The idiot had arranged them in alphabetical order by name.

After a few more pages of flipping, I finally found it.

The name, no, the role that I was looking for since the beginning.

Right on the small grid was the name and the address of the person listed. The one person who could be the key to all my questions.

It was time to head out.

***

Gladwin Hark whistled as he went back to his office.

Hearing that one of the professors of Glorenstein, especially one that taught physical subjects to the Black Rose had injured himself was of slight concern.

Not for his health, no. But for other things. Thankfully, the visit seemed to have proven fruitless.

There were no signs of anything strange with Professor Barnum. He was still healthy, if a little too tired.

Gladwin stopped in front of his office gate.

His eyes stopped on the handle for a short moment.

The civil servant narrowed his gaze and pushed the door open.

The office, dark as ever, hadn’t changed in the slightest. It felt as if the mana in the air was just a little too high.

But the devices he had planted were still functioning well.

He shrugged and went back to his desk. There were many reports to write.

If he was lucky, he might be able to sleep for a whole thirty minutes tonight.

The life of a civil servant was tough.