As Hector rose with a murderous aura, Walter asked with a gentle smile.Why are you like this?Soft charisma.Walter's smile held no aggression, yet it possessed an undeniable dignity that commanded respect.Hector, who had stumbled to his feet, mumbled something about a Kizen professor. Countless conflicts flickered in his eyes in real-time, but eventually, his gaze returned to normal.I apologize profusely, Professor.Hector backed down.‘…As expected, I knew he’d react this way.’Simon sighed in relief inwardly.Hector was known among students for his reckless and impulsive nature, but he was always polite and dignified towards professors and adults, earning him a good reputation. He was actually quite clever.I’m not a Kizen professor yet.Walter scratched the side of his head, looking embarrassed.The Moore family will take responsibility for the cleanup to ensure no further issues arise. If you punish me upon our return to Kizen, I will accept it willingly.With that, Hector turned his back and trudged away.Simon quietly watched his retreating figure.The crucial difference between Hector and students like Special Admission Student No. 10 Malcolm or Third Prince Andre, who often fell due to their fiery tempers, was that Hector knew when to back down.As if sensing the fight was over, the onlookers quickly dispersed, going their separate ways. Walter and Kamibarez were chattering away.‘?’But a very expensive-looking golden fountain pen lay on the ground.Simon bent down and picked it up.‘How do you read this again?’One word was elegantly engraved on the fountain pen in cursive.‘…Judah? It seems like a person’s name, but whose is it?’Just then.Simon felt the hairs on his entire body stand on end and turned his head.‘!’Walter, who had been so amiable and kind to the students, was suddenly glaring at him with eyes as terrifying as a monstrous beast.Simon, startled, blinked, wondering if he had seen wrong, and Walter immediately returned to his usual gentle smile.Ah, thank you. I must have dropped it earlier.As Walter extended his hand, Simon politely bowed and returned the fountain pen. Walter took the pen and asked in a quiet voice.Did you see it?…What did he mean?The name Judah engraved on the pen? Or that chillingly terrifying gaze from earlier?Simon opened his mouth.This fountain pen, you must have received it as a gift, Professor.Why do you think that?Because it said Judah. I heard it’s customary to engrave one’s own name on such luxury fountain pens.Simon said this and observed Walter’s reaction. But he merely smiled with his eyes.It’s a memento from the deceased. I inherited it.Ah, I see. My apologies.Walter put the fountain pen into his inner suit pocket and extended his hand.Student. What was your name again?Simon shook his hand and replied.I am Simon Pollentia.You are a brilliant student. I look forward to working with you.The two shook hands and smiled at each other. Kamibarez watched them proudly.Professor! Simon is in my group!Yes, he’s the anonymous male student you always talked about, isn’t he?Ah, Professor!Kamibarez blushed. Walter’s gaze turned to Simon.I’ve heard a lot from Master Syllage. I’ve taken over all the research results on your SM-1 blood, so you’ll be able to receive proper Hemomancy education starting next semester.I’m looking forward to it.Simon nodded.More importantly.‘This person. When is he going to let go of my hand?’The handshake was over, and Simon tried to release his hand, but Walter kept holding on.Simon, perhaps a bit rude, exploded his strength at once to break free from his grip. Then he naturally bent his knees, pretending to tie his shoelaces.I apologize. Such clumsy behavior in front of you, Professor…Hmm? Your shoelace was untied. It’s alright. You were fighting so intensely earlier.Just then, Kamibarez glanced at Walter and said.Professor! Simon wasn’t trying to fight, he was just…Don’t worry. I have no intention of disciplining you for something that happened when I wasn’t a professor.Saying that, Walter extended his hand towards Kamibarez this time.More importantly, do you have a place to stay? Come to our lodging. I’d like to discuss the Ursula blood we talked about before.At his words, Kamibarez lightly clutched Simon’s clothes with both hands.Thank you for the invitation, but I’m fine! I decided to stay with my group members.Hmm, I see.Walter lowered his hand, smiling regretfully.Then I’ll see you both at Kizen. This city has been unsettling lately, so please be careful.Yes! See you at Kizen!Please go ahead, Professor.Walter waved to the two of them and turned to walk away. Simon, who had been bowing his head, subtly raised his gaze.That person is the new Hemomancy professor replacing Syllage.‘…Judah. Why do I feel like I’ve seen that name recently?’What’s wrong, Simon?Oh, nothing. Just lost in thought. Mei-rin must be waiting. Let’s go buy the quill.Yes!* * *The two bought quills and packed plenty of food for lunch before returning to the Clock Tower lodging.Mei-rin! Dick! We’re back!Kamibarez, with a shopping basket on her arm, scurried into the living room. But the lodging was empty.Oh, where did they both go?What’s wrong?Simon, who had followed her in, asked as he changed into indoor slippers.Mei-rin and Dick aren’t here.Simon placed the groceries in the kitchen and checked the bathroom, but the two were nowhere to be seen there either.Did they go out for a bit after doing homework?Looks like it.Simon, exhausted from fighting Hector, flopped onto the soft sofa. He finally felt like he could breathe.Please rest! I’ll prepare dinner before they return.No, I’ll help too.Simon got up from the sofa again.…As Simon stood up and looked at the floor, a strange glint appeared in his eyes.Simon frowned slightly, knelt down, and slowly ran his hand over the floor.‘Dirt, and traces of footprints.’There was dirt in this lodging, even though they were supposed to change into indoor slippers. Simon began to meticulously examine the floor.He saw traces of footprints that had been forcibly erased. But it seemed they hadn’t been able to clean everything in a short amount of time.Was there a reason Mei-rin and Dick would need to erase footprints? Moreover, both of them had been wearing indoor slippers after waking up.‘…’Following the erased footprints, they led to the terrace. Simon went out onto the terrace and sharply scanned the surroundings.Only one side of the terrace railing was cleanly wiped of dust, leaving a mark. It was as if something like a rope had been hung there.Simon?Kamibarez, realizing something was wrong, also came out onto the terrace.Your expression is scary. Is something wrong?It seems so.Simon looked at Kamibarez with a hardened face.I think there was an intruder in the lodging.* * *Dim lighting, humid air, and a moldy smell somewhere.Mei-rin let out a deep sigh.…Haa.She was tied up.Her arms were bound behind her to a steel chair, and her legs were also secured with ropes, leaving her completely immobile.Somehow, it felt like déjà vu from Deathland.The suppressed anger began to slowly rise.Ah, this is so annoying!When she yelled, the men around her flinched and looked back. She didn’t care if they watched; she gritted her teeth in frustration.‘I could have won all by myself!’After Simon and Kamibarez went out, Mei-rin was nagging Dick to do his vacation homework. Dick, who was studying outside on the terrace because he felt stifled, suddenly let out a scream.Mei-rin, startled, rushed to the terrace, but it was too late. The burly, muscular men had already invaded the terrace by rope. Dick, despite wearing his Kizen uniform, was rolling on the ground, apparently having taken a direct hit.A skirmish ensued.Mei-rin single-handedly took down eight unidentified men, displaying incredible prowess, but when the intruders stripped Dick of his uniform and held a sword to his neck, she had no other choice.Eventually, she was dragged to this unknown place.‘If it weren’t for that idiot!’Her gaze fell downwards. Dick, similarly tied up and lying on the floor, was wriggling like a worm.He seemed to be delirious and babbling nonsense, apparently affected by some strange poison. He was truly pathetic.You can rest assured. It’s a nerve-disrupting poison, and he will recover without side effects in an hour or two.A slightly awkward common language was heard. Mei-rin, tied to the chair, raised her head, and a man walked towards her from the darkness.It was the same person who had subdued Dick.Who are you people!Mei-rin shouted.How dare you kidnap Kizen students? Did you crawl out of some backwater village? Or did you all get arrows shot into your foreheads?Some of the men twitched their eyebrows, but the man who approached Mei-rin stopped them.He, like the other men around him, had his upper body bare and was painted with strange patterns. But his build was monstrously large, his body patterns were more elaborate, and he wore an entire lion’s head pelt on his head.Mei-rin immediately guessed that this person was the leader.My name is Witchasha Wahamrata. And we are the ‘Hupa’ tribe.Hupa tribe or Lung tribe, whatever! Untie me!I’m afraid I cannot grant that request.Witchasha looked down at her with indifferent eyes.Prepare.At his words, men from the darkness approached with strange objects. Witchasha personally received a red cloth-like object and looked down at Mei-rin.It won’t take long.He held the red cloth and extended his arms towards Mei-rin’s head. Mei-rin squeezed her eyes shut.‘…Please hurry, Simon!’* * *Pant! Pant!Simon and Kamibarez were running through the streets, gasping for breath.They had received a tip from travelers near the Clock Tower.Information about large, hooded men leaving the Clock Tower in a group. Dick and Mei-rin must have been kidnapped by them.What on earth is happening?Kamibarez said, on the verge of tears.Why would they… Dick and Mei-rin…!I have no idea either.There were no clues. There were too many possibilities.‘What did I miss?’Simon decided to calmly organize the information he had gathered since arriving in this city.First, the kidnappers had broken the unspoken rule that was strongly ingrained in the minds of Dark Alliance members: never touch Kizen students.It was highly likely that the crime was committed by outsiders, not residents or gangs of Langerstein. He hated to think it, but in the worst case, the possibility of fanatical Priests hiding in the city could not be ruled out.And another important piece of information.—Be careful of men with strange patterns on their bodies.Kazhan’s voice came to mind.Kazhan wasn’t someone who would just blurt out random things.Why did he say to be careful of men with patterns on their bodies? Could the large men who came out of the Clock Tower be them?When Simon’s thoughts reached that point.Ho, perhaps…!Kamibarez’s lips trembled as she suggested a new possibility.Could it be related to… that in the newspaper…! The murderer who’s been causing a stir in Langerstein lately?…I don’t know.He couldn’t be sure, but that guess felt a bit strange. Simon opened his subspace and pulled out the newspaper he had bought earlier.The scene of the crime was graphic.The wall was shattered, and a person lay dead in the middle of the street, arms outstretched.The crime seemed somewhat impulsive. There was no effort to hide the traces.But the men who kidnapped the two were different. They had gone all the way up to the Clock Tower to kidnap Dick and Mei-rin, and they had even erased their tracks.These two types of incidents didn’t seem to fit together well.‘Ah!’Just then, Simon’s eyes widened as he looked at the photo of the murder scene in the newspaper. Looking closely, he could see chaotic patterns painted on the victim’s stomach.‘No way!’Simon stopped walking.Simon?Just a moment, Kami.Simon rushed into a nearby general store and bought all the Langerstein local newspapers from the past few days. All the newspapers had photos of the unidentified murder scenes on their front pages.‘My prediction was right.’Although there were differences in size and color, all the victims had those strange patterns painted on their bodies. The killer wasn’t a madman who just randomly killed anyone.‘He was only killing those men with patterns on their bodies.’Kazhan had specifically warned him to be careful not of the unsettling murderer, but of the men with patterns on their bodies.This certainly added weight to the possibility that these men had kidnapped Dick and Mei-rin.So, what exactly was the identity of these men?Why were they being killed?More importantly, why did they kidnap the two? What was their purpose in doing this?‘Should I try to find Kazhan first?’But finding Kazhan in this vast and complex city was like finding a needle in a haystack.And Kazhan would also be chasing those men right now, so there was no need to try and find Kazhan first.‘Alright, then what’s the best way to proceed?’Simon’s brain spun rapidly.
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