Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 25: Black Dawn Society (2)

‘What the—what are they even talking about?’

Ludger was engaged in what looked like a deep and serious conversation with a female student.

At least, that’s how it appeared to Flora.

No matter how much she strained her ears, the distance made it impossible to hear their voices.

If that were the only odd thing, Flora might have brushed it off—thinking Ludger was simply offering some career counseling or talking about class-related matters.

But she saw it with her own eyes.

The strange magical aura surrounding Ludger and the girl.

‘What is that? A spell? Judging by the color... soundproofing?’

Flora Lumos had a secret she had never told anyone.

The reason she maintained the title of genius at Seorn.

Why she could instantly see the flaws in unfamiliar spells or magic she’d never even studied.

It was because she possessed a unique constitution—Synesthesia of Mana.

She could sense the color and scent of mana.

Most people could only perceive magic visually.

After all, among the five senses, vision is the only one that can observe another’s spell formations.

But Flora could go beyond that. She could feel the color of a spell, and even experience its scent.

To her, a well-formed spell was like a painting—or the fragrant aroma of a well-cooked dish.

As someone raised in nobility, her sensitivity to such nuances made her incredibly sharp at identifying discrepancies in spells.

If a color clashed jarringly with the rest, or a faint stench tainted the otherwise mild fragrance—she would catch it.

That’s how Flora always spotted “flawed” magic.

Naturally, when it came to “correct” magic, her perception was also vastly different from others.

Just like the magical formation now enveloping Ludger.

True to the teacher who had never once yielded to her provocations, the spell surrounding Ludger was flawless—without a single error or deviation.

She couldn’t detect its scent from this distance, but even through the terrace’s glass, its color radiated clearly.

‘To be casting magic while talking... just what are they discussing?’

She felt a surge of curiosity.

If it had been an ordinary professor, she wouldn’t have cared.

But this was Ludger Cherish. She couldn’t suppress her intrigue.

‘Maybe I could just pass by... casually... pretend it’s a coincidence...’

She thought about it—but then shook her head.

That would be far too obvious.

It would look like she was interested in him.

‘Absolutely not!’

Ludger was a wall she had to overcome.

How humiliated she’d felt on that first day, in front of everyone.

Granted, she couldn’t argue with the loss.

It had been a fair duel.

To badmouth the opponent after losing in a formal duel would violate her pride.

Especially when Ludger’s Source Code magic was so overwhelming.

She had never even heard of such a magic before.

So she would surpass him—through magic alone. Just like she always had.

‘Still... it was fascinating.’

When Ludger had cast that Source Code magic, Flora had experienced a sensation she never had before.

An indescribable visual pleasure. A sweet, intoxicating scent.

Ludger’s spell had appeared to her as a magnificent tapestry of interwoven silver and gray metals—dense, intricate, and beautifully structured.

Until then, Flora had begun to feel numb—bored even—by magic.

Her unique senses and her talents had made her overly confident, to the point of growing indifferent.

But Ludger's magic reignited something inside her.

She wanted to see more—if such a thing existed.

But... she still had her public image to maintain.

So she couldn’t act rashly.

‘Maybe if I just casually—’

Just as she was about to make a move—

“Flora? What are you doing here?”

“Kyaa?!”

Startled by the sudden voice behind her, Flora stiffened like a cat caught off guard.

She spun around—only to see her best friend, Sheryl, staring at her curiously.

“Sh-Sheryl?! What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? You were the one who said we should study together at the reading room, remember?”

“O-oh, right. I did, didn’t I?”

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

“...You sure you’re okay?”

Sheryl’s tone was gentle, but her eyes were filled with concern.

It was no secret that Flora had been publicly humiliated on the first day of Ludger’s manifestation class.

Several students who already disliked her had even taken the opportunity to mock her.

Sheryl had been worried about her ever since.

“Hmm? It’s nothing, really~.”

“What were you looking at over there? You seemed like you were watching something.”

“No, no! Nothing like that! Come on, let’s go study!”

“...Hmm.”

Flora quickly pushed Sheryl toward the library.

But even as she walked, her eyes kept drifting back—toward the second floor of that distant café.

* * *

After extracting all the information I could from Sedina Roschen, I left her with a few parting words and returned to my private office.

I hung my coat on the rack and sank into the soft couch, resting my chin on my hand.

Let’s sort this out.

There’s this group called the Shamsus School—a coalition of black mages and mad scientists who had been exiled from their institutions.

They’re the ones who created the werewolf specimens.

Technically a separate organization from the Black Dawn Society, but for now, they’re working in alliance—or at least temporarily aligned.

The person from the Black Dawn who formed this alliance was Victor Dreadpool, a high-ranking First Order member.

From what Sedina told me, he’s likely in charge of research and development within the Society.

The problem started with the Shamsus School.

Three werewolf specimens they had been experimenting on escaped.

I don’t know the exact location of their lab, but given the chaos in Rederbelk, it’s likely nearby.

If they had been captured early on, it might’ve been manageable—but now the city is swamped with rumors.

People have died. It’s far too late to sweep this under the rug.

And one of those werewolves infiltrated Seorn and sent two students to the infirmary.

Fortunately, there were no deaths at the academy—but the situation has become far more serious.

Ideally, this should °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° be the Shamsus School’s mess to clean up.

But the problem is, the Black Dawn Society supported their research to some degree.

And worse, Ludger Cherish—the identity I currently wear—is linked to all of this.

If some other member of the Society were exposed, I’d welcome it.

But I’m involved. That changes everything.

To survive, I need to capture the remaining werewolves before anyone else does.

The priority now is the one that infiltrated Seorn.

Security patrols have been tightened recently.

Even if the werewolf’s existence is still under debate, the presence of a mysterious intruder is confirmed—so the instructors will be on alert, patrolling at night.

Which means if I eliminate it, no one will question me.

I thought I gave up this hunting life long ago...

Five years ago, I had ended the Blood Hunt and effectively retired.

The reason? I’d become too famous.

I used the alias Abraham van Helsing, obviously to conceal my true identity.

But after hunting the Beast of Jévaudan, I became too well-known.

People started seeking me out.

So I retired that identity and created a new one.

How many identities have I gone through now?

The last one before this was Gerald—a wealthy, middle-aged gentleman.

That role ended, and now I live as Ludger Cherish.

It’s a false life, a constructed one—but I’ve never found it frustrating.

Maybe it’s because I died once and was reborn into this world.

My view of life and death changed somewhere along the way.

Still, that doesn’t mean I want to die again.

Having experienced it once makes it all the more terrifying.

I want to live—a long, quiet life.

But to do that, there are things I must take care of.

My visit to the Empire’s capital was supposed to be part of that plan.

But then that damned train terror incident threw everything off course.

For now, I need to focus on capturing the werewolves.

I have to act before someone else does.

I sat there thinking, strategizing how to catch the next target.

* * *

Among Seorn’s students, the rumor of the werewolf had become the hottest topic.

Even those who had dismissed it as nonsense were now starting to believe—especially after two students were seriously injured.

And as always, rumors among students only grow more exaggerated.

Naturally, the instructors had to do their best to rein in the students’ curiosity and reckless energy.

“Focus on your studies! Stop believing that nonsense! This will be on your next test—miss it and you’ll regret it!”

“This is patrol week. Return to your dorms as soon as the sun sets. Anyone caught wandering around gets demerits.”

“If you end up crying over penalty points, don’t come complaining later!”

Some of the more timid students resolved to head straight to their dorms after class.

But not all students were so compliant.

The more prideful they were, the more they wanted to defy the warnings.

“Hey. Werewolves, huh? Honestly... aren’t you curious?”

“No kidding.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“This is our chance. Let’s be the ones to catch it.”

“What? Didn’t you hear they’re handing out demerits if we get caught?”

“Come on. Think about it. They’re just saying that because they’re worried about us. But if we catch the werewolf, the school’s totally going to reward us.”

“And what if we get caught by the professors before we find anything?”

“Then we just don’t get caught!”

What really fanned the flames was the article in the paper—an official notice that the city of Rederbelk was offering a reward for anyone who captured the werewolf.

And especially for first-years—who hadn’t yet tasted the bitter reality that they weren’t as special as they thought—catching a werewolf and becoming a hero sounded like a dream come true.

They wanted praise. They wanted attention. And they really wanted to impress the opposite sex.

“Aidan, what do you think?”

Leo asked the question as he glanced at the overly excited students already fantasizing about what they'd do with the reward money.

Aidan, who had just finished writing down a formula from the magic board, blinked at the sound of his name.

“Huh?”

“Seriously? You weren’t listening?”

“Did you ask something?”

“What do you think about the werewolf situation?”

“Oh, that?” Aidan let out an awkward laugh.

“Well... the professors said we should be careful, so we probably should. They did say we’d get demerits if we got caught.”

“Tch. Knew you’d say that.”

“What about you, Leo?”

“I’m not the type to go looking for trouble either. I mean, people already got hurt. This is the kind of thing the professors should handle, not us.”

As they chatted, a girl approached them.

With her striking red hair tied up into large twin tails and sharp, fox-like eyes, she was a clear beauty—and she carried herself like she knew it.

She slapped her palm on Aidan’s desk with a thunk.

Leo rolled his eyes. Oh great, her again.

But Aidan just smiled brightly at the girl glaring down at him.

“Morning, Taishy. Nice to see you.”

“Nice to see me?”

Taishy Friad twitched her eyebrow at his greeting.

Leo sighed audibly.

“Come on. You lost that duel already. Isn’t it time to let it go?”

“Lost? That was a draw. I still haven’t had a proper match with Aidan. And this is between me and him, so if you don’t mind, stay out of it.”

“Oof.”

Leo shook his head.

It hadn’t been long since Taishy Friad started approaching Aidan like this.

It all started during the practical duel class.

Back then, Aidan was still clueless. He’d been paired up against Taishy, and that’s where it all began.

Taishy had the upper hand—or at least, she should have.

The problem was the strange, unfamiliar magic Aidan had used.

“This time, let’s go all out. No holding back.”

“Uh... w-well...”

Their duel had ended in a rather ambiguous draw, but Taishy had never accepted it.

She was from the once-prominent, now nearly ruined, House Friad—a viscount family.

To revive her fallen house, Taishy had poured everything into her studies and magical training.

She came into Seorn determined to be the best among the first-years—and her entrance exam scores placed her comfortably within the top five.

But then she’d gone up against some no-name commoner with a lazy attitude and couldn’t even beat him properly.

Her pride had been wounded.

And the magic Aidan had been about to cast—that unfamiliar spell—she never got to see it, because the professor had ended the duel just before.

“Anyway, let’s have a rematch. After class. This evening.”

“Sorry, Taishy. I don’t think I can today.”

“Then tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow’s not great either...”

“Why not?!”

“Why do you think? There’s a werewolf out there. We can’t be outside at night. We’ll get caught by the professors.”

“Hmmph.”

Taishy folded her arms, a smug smirk playing at her lips.

“That’s just an excuse to run away from me, isn’t it? I know the truth—you’re scared.”

A blatant provocation.

She clearly expected Aidan to shoot back with a “What? No way!”

But Aidan’s response was... different.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s go with that.”

He didn’t want to fight with a friend—though Taishy would insist they were absolutely not friends—and so he decided to yield.

He didn’t realize that his mature reaction would only further dent her pride.

With her brows furrowed, Taishy leaned in and shouted in his face—

“A challenge, Aidan!”

“Huh? What kind of challenge?”

“If we can’t duel, then we’ll settle it another way.”

“I mean, I don’t really—”

“Werewolves.”

At that word, Aidan and Leo exchanged uneasy glances, then turned their eyes back to Taishy.

They already had a bad feeling about where this was going.

“Whoever catches the werewolf first wins. What do you say? You’re not gonna run away like a coward, right?”

“I—wait...”

“Yeah. We’ll do it.”

“Leo?!”

Aidan looked horrified.

He had been about to turn her down—it was dangerous, after all—but Leo cut him off without hesitation.

“Sounds good! Loser grants the winner one wish!”

“You better not back out later!”

With that, Taishy responded to Leo’s challenge with a triumphant grin and stormed off.

“Leo, why did you agree to that insane challenge?!”

“You dummy. If you’d said no, she would’ve kept bugging us all day. This way, we just play along. See? She’s gone now. Peace at last.”

“But... lying is bad. And we weren’t actually going to hunt a werewolf in the first place...”

“Oh my god. That’s not the point. The professors will take care of the werewolf. We just sit tight and pretend we’re doing the challenge. There’s no way to actually prove anything.”

“Yeah, but... Taishy seemed serious. What if she really tries to find the werewolf before the teachers do?”

“Come on. She’s not that reckless.”

“Yeah, maybe... but it is Taishy. I could totally see her doing it.”

“...Don’t tell me.”

Both Aidan and Leo turned toward the back of the classroom at the same time.

“......”

“......”

There’s no way she’d actually go off on her own to do something so dangerous.

Right?

But...

Could they really say that with confidence?

“...You don’t think...”

“She would.”

Over the past few days, they’d seen enough of Taishy to know—if she said she’d do something, she’d do it.

Even if it was dangerous. Even if it was insane.

That was Taishy Friad.

Without another word, the two rushed to the window.

There, far in the distance, they saw a familiar figure with flaming red twin tails marching away in a huff.

Not toward the girls’ dorm.

But in the opposite direction.

Toward the dangerous forest the professors had warned everyone never to enter.

“...We’re screwed.”

“...We have to stop her.”