"Thank you for your hard work."
The ship that arrived at the island belonged to the Golden Turtle Merchant Group. It was Hyde himself who had personally led the ship and welcomed Fernan.
"Looks like your business went well."
"It did. I caught the spy."
"Was it a bad one?"
"A very bad one."
"To think a monster like that had infiltrated the merchant group... That could have ended badly."
"What about the other students?"
Although the sea serpent had been killed, they couldn't stop the wrecked ship from sinking.
The ship quickly sank into the sea, and the students were scattered by the waves.
And in that chaos, Fernan, Ruina, and Bella had chased after Aint.
"Fortunately, we managed to recover everyone safely."
But Fernan had already been preparing for this situation for some time.
Seven ships had been prepared in advance at a distance invisible from the yacht.
The ships moved in like a blockade, surrounding the yacht and launching a search operation, rescuing everyone who had fallen overboard.
Strictly speaking, it had all been Hyde's doing.
"Good work."
"Not at all."
It wasn't just lip service.
The yacht club's students were all either heirs of powerful noble families or individuals of enough talent to stand out anywhere in the empire.
If even one of them had been harmed, regardless of whether it was a natural disaster or not, things could have gone very badly.
People always look for someone to blame when something goes wrong.
The ship carrying Fernan and his group soon rendezvoused with the other rescue ships.
"Fernan."
"Rudger, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Thanks to you, I survived. How long had the ships been on standby?"
"Always."
"Always?"
"I always kept escort ships nearby just in case. And I'm glad I did."
Rudger accepted the excuse without further comment.
"It was completely unexpected. Who would've thought monsters would launch a large-scale attack on a ship…?"
"Same here. I've never heard of anything like this happening since the founding of the academy."
That made it all the more convincing. Proof that demons had begun to stir.
"…We'll need to determine the exact cause. By the way, I'll reimburse the cost of the sunken ship."
"You will?"
Fernan barely managed to keep a straight face at the unexpected remark.
"Yeah. I was the one who suggested turning the club into a yacht club. The ship was only rented, wasn't it?"
"I think I was the one who first brought up the yacht club idea."
"But I was the one who made the decision."
That was true. Even among marquess families, everyone ultimately gave more weight to Rudger's words, since he was part of the imperial lineage.
"…Well, I won't refuse if you're offering."
It was a loss that could easily be recouped through future gains, but if he didn't have to take that loss at all, that was even better.
'He really isn't a bad guy by nature.'
A clash with Aint was probably inevitable—like a destined conflict.
There couldn't be two suns in the same sky.
Of course, his intentions might not have been entirely pure, but from Fernan's perspective, the one footing the bill was the superior party.
"…I just want to get back to the dorm. I'm sick of the sea now."
Rudger murmured quietly as he pulled his blanket tighter.
The next day, the incident at the yacht club spread rapidly throughout the academy.
Some members of the yacht club, including Fernan, were summoned by the supervising professor.
"It's been a while, Student Fernan."
To establish any club, a professor's official approval was required.
The professor who granted that approval would become the club's supervising professor and be responsible for overseeing its members.
"Yes, Professor."
Professor Dominique Colsner, who taught the Illusions and Glamour course in the Magic Department, was the supervising professor of the yacht club.
"I've tried to stay uninvolved, but this time, I couldn't."
"I understand."
A club composed of students from prestigious noble families.
Usually, his role as supervising professor was nominal at best, but in the wake of such a major incident, he couldn't just stay idle.
"I'm conducting interviews with some of the students to hear what happened. I'm glad everything was resolved safely, but I still need to get a clear understanding."
"Yes."
Professor Dominique adjusted his monocle. Through the lens, his usual gloomy gray pupils were visible.
"It was a sudden occurrence. Those things…"
"A large-scale sea worm attack and a sea serpent... That's unprecedented. I'm relieved no students died. Was having the ships on standby something you always did?"
"Yes."
It wasn't a lie.
While bringing seven ships like this time was unusual, he usually did have a single escort ship secretly on standby just in case.
"That's good. Was there anything else strange or unusual?"
"There wasn't."
"That's a relief. Ah, come to think of it, I heard you recently accepted Ruina Berchef and Aint Armian as new members."
"I brought Ruina in myself, but I don't know much about Aint."
"Understood. You may go."
After the brief interview, Fernan headed straight for the merchant group's headquarters.
Hyde, who had been waiting, greeted him.
"Are you finished?"
"Did you track how those bastards managed to infiltrate as employees?"
"Here it is."
"How amusing. No one realized they were among us…"
Yet somehow, they had been naturally treated like fellow employees.
Even though they were complete strangers—people who shouldn't have existed.
"Was it magic?"
"It's assumed to be mental-type magic."
"Wasn't mental magic one of the demons' specialties?"
The literature said that manipulating souls was also one of their specialties.
That brought back one particular doubt.
'That soul that tried to possess me… It can't have been the demons' doing, can it?'
They wouldn't do something that would clearly disadvantage them.
But if it wasn't a demon, what kind of sorcerer would even be capable of forcibly casting a possession spell?
With no clues to go on, he had no choice but to postpone the matter again.
Fernan decided to focus on the issue at hand.
"What about the one we took captive?"
"He resisted truth spells, so we locked him in the underground chamber."
"Make him spill everything, even if you have to torture him."
"Yes, sir."
"And send this to my father."
Fernan placed the pre-written reports into an envelope and stamped it with his seal.
"What time did you sleep last night?"
"Time and information are money. The faster it's reported, the more money we make."
"I'll send it express."
"As you should."
"By the way… may I ask just one thing?"
"What is it?"
"About the shipbuilding project priority rights within the academy. Did you foresee this incident?"
Fernan shook his head.
"Don't be ridiculous. How could I have known something like this would happen?"
"Yes… of course."
Hyde still looked slightly unconvinced but let it go.
The idea of seeing the future was absurd—and if not that, the only other possibility was that Fernan had planned the incident himself…
Which would make him one of the corrupted.
But Hyde, more than anyone, knew that the master he had served for so long could not be one of them.
"Then I'll take my leave. Call me if you need anything."
"Alright."
After Hyde left, Fernan took out his blueprints and began scribbling with practiced ease.
He didn't know when the next vision of the future would come, but for now, with the immediate crisis resolved, it was time to focus again on golem design.
"…This is driving me nuts."
Bella Hoenne mumbled as she chewed on a sweet parfait.
"It feels like I've stepped into a swamp I'll never get out of. It's seriously unsettling."
"Bella, you look pretty happy right now."
"It's the sugar. Sugar does that."
But the part about being unsettled wasn't a lie.
Honestly, when Ruina asked for help, she had been skeptical. But seeing a real corrupted one with her own eyes changed everything.
"You're not shaken at all?"
"I've seen it before."
"Right, you have. No, wait—that doesn't make it okay. Just because it's not the first time doesn't mean it's not disturbing!"
A corrupted being, after all.
Bella held her tongue, aware of the ears around them.
"And why isn't Fernan reporting this straight to the academy? Shouldn't something be done?"
"He said it's because he can't be certain who's friend or foe."
"That… actually makes sense."
She had just been living her normal daily life, yet still became infected by demonic energy.
That couldn't happen unless there were corrupted beings already within the academy.
"So, what's the plan?"
"For now, I'm trusting Fernan."
Everything he'd shown so far gave her good reason to. He'd handled the Berian issue properly, and he had taken care of this crisis too.
"So when did you start working with Fernan? Was it when you were paired up?"
"That's right."
"I had a feeling something was off, but this does explain everything."
"…What do you mean?"
"Well, even after your explanation, I couldn't completely believe it."
The idea of Ruina, who couldn't get along with Pellenberg, being paired with Fernan…
You claimed your grades were the only thing that mattered and that you had been hiding your skills, but it was still hard to take it all at face value.
I just went along with it because it was you, but my doubts never fully disappeared.
"But if it's because of the corrupted, that changes everything. I know the kind of person you are."
A shining example of a knight, with a strong sense of justice.
If the two had joined forces to fight the corrupted, then it all made perfect sense.
"…That's not…"
But it wasn't like that.
Even so, Ruina didn't have the courage to shatter her friend's illusion by revealing that it was all because of money.
"…Yeah. That's right."
"I knew it! All those people who were saying you were bribed need to know the truth."
"…Y-Yeah."
In the end, Ruina had no choice but to tell a well-meaning lie.
For Aint Armian, everything felt like a dream.
"A swarm of sea monsters suddenly attacked the ship, a corrupted showed up to kill me, I teamed up with Senior Fernan…"
Everything had happened so fast, like waves crashing over him. All he really did was get swept along by the current.
— But in the end, it was the best possible outcome.
That was true.
Thanks to Fernan, Aint escaped death, gained the favor of the First Emperor, and was able to speak openly about the demons.
"And on top of that, Senior Ruina…"
— Tsk, that's not what's important right now.
Still, Ruina Berchef's ability was objectively beyond imagination.
If she became a reliable ally, she'd be incredibly reassuring.
"But… is it really true? That quite a few people might already be corrupted by the demonic energy?"
— Most likely. That girl Bella definitely showed signs of having been infected and then recovering.
That alone was undeniable proof.
— This must be stopped. No matter what.
There had been people infected by demonic energy in the past too.
They usually appeared normal, but when exposed to a catalyst, they would go berserk.
"A catalyst?"
— It's a demonic ritual. Once triggered, the infected go on a rampage and attack indiscriminately.
— Back then, we couldn't even respond properly. Those people were nothing more than pawns being used.
"Then if something happens again, is there no way to stop it?"
— That was just the first time. After that, it was surprisingly easy. The former emperor took care of it all.
— You can do it too, Aint.
The Armian family's swordsmanship was fundamentally opposed to demonic power. It even had the effect of purifying corrupted energy from others.
"Then I should go around the city and purify corrupted energy right now…"
— Did you forget what that rich brat said? We don't know who's corrupted yet. Acting rashly would only cause problems.
That's why Fernan had told him to remain quiet for now.
— For now, why not visit that guy the rich brat introduced you to? There's only so much you can do on your own.
— Since there's nothing you can do immediately, it's best to prepare for what's coming.
"Yes."
Before parting ways, Fernan had introduced Aint to someone in the same year as him.
"As a token of trust, I'll introduce you to a reliable comrade. It'll help to have someone from your year when you're fighting the corrupted, right?"
Someone with considerable skill, too.
Aint made his way to the Rabidus Hall after getting ready.
Using the token Fernan had given him, he made a request for an audience and waited. Before long, someone arrived.
"…Aint Armian?"
The person who would soon be his comrade, Berian Kalburden, grimaced hard.
"…Why are you here? Where's Senior Fernan?"
To be honest, Aint couldn't believe it when he first heard it either. He knew full well how much Berian disliked him.
But Fernan had declared with confidence:
"Don't worry. That guy will inevitably become your ally."
"How can I be so sure? I'll even teach you the magic spell to make him follow you."
"Berian."
Aint softly called his name.
"I'm the one who called you. Not Senior Fernan."
"What nonsense are you spouting? How could you possibly have that token…?"
"You."
Aint stepped in close and whispered in Berian's ear.
"You were corrupted, weren't you?"
"…What?"
Berian's face went pale.