C31: The person who sees, the person who solves (3)
Chapter 3/3 for last week. Only 1 chapter today.
Aidan, Leo, and Tracy, who were sitting on a bench in a quiet garden, thought that what had just happened was like a dream, and had not returned to reality yet.
It was Tracy who came to her senses first.
âWe really didnât get punished. It still feels like a dream.â
âI know.â
âI canât believe the president stepped forward and supported us.â
âI know.â
Leo, who had always had a sharp conversation with Tracy, completely agreed with her opinion this time around.
The eyes of the two of them eventually turned to Aidan.
âHey Aidan. Aidan?â
âYes? Uh, yes.â
âWhat are you thinking about?â
Unlike the two people who were happy to receive the merit points, Aidan had a serious face all the time.
âAidan, what are you worried about?â
âNo. Should it be a concern? Thatâ¦â¦Itâs kind of strange to come and say something like this now.â
âWhat is it? Donât be stingy and tell me!â
When Tracy slapped him hard, Aidan hesitated, and then he confided his concerns to his friends.
âItâs just something strange.â
âStrange? Whatâs strange?â
âYou may not have seen it, but the werewolf had a strange silver restraint on his neck.â
âWhat?!â
âShhh!â
As Tracyâs voice rose, Leo immediately told her to be quiet.
âQuiet. What would you do if someone heard it?â
The three of them looked around to see if there were any other witnesses, and then put their heads together and spoke in a quiet voice.
âKeep talking. Is that real?â
âYes. Thatâs why I tried to stop Mr. Rudger.â
âAre you saying that werewolf is no ordinary werewolf?â
âI wonder if it really isnât a subject that someone deliberately created.â
If that was true, it couldnât have been more serious. Leo also opened his mouth with a heavy expression as if he was thinking of something.
âI, too, have heard some news recently.â
âWhat?â
âThere are suspicious people hiding in Theon.â
âSuspicious people? What is that, some kind of secret organization? Isnât that just a secret club made by students or a rumor?â
There was nothing special about Theon students having secret meetings.
Leo shook his head at Tracyâs question. If it was just that, he wouldnât even say that he was suspicious.
âIâm not even sure. However, it seems certain that a secret organization that has not been revealed has infiltrated Theon. I realized this while watching the werewolf incident.â
âWait a minute. Then there are dangerous people in Theon.â
âItâs still at the stage of doubt, but I think so. Aidan, do you think so too?â
âYes. To be honest, itâs not a good thing to doubt someone, but he definitely has something to do with it.â¦â¦â
Aidan was about to say something, then shook his head and bit his mouth.
âNo, no.â
âWhat?â
âIs it because of Mr. Rudger?â
Aidan couldnât help but nod his head at Tracyâs piercing remark.
The reason why Aidanâs heart had been heavy for a while was because of the radical behavior that Rudger had shown the day before.
âI donât want to suspect Mr. Rudger,â she said, âbut the teacher I saw last night was somehow suspicious.â
âWas he suspicious?â
âYou guys may not have been able to see it properly because you were behind Mr. Rudger, but I was facing him from the front. Mr. Rudger saw something.â
Aidan didnât miss Rudgerâs reaction but before he could ask, Rudger forcibly removed him and set the werewolf on fire.
Hearing Aidanâs words, Leo bit his chin.
âThat means Mr. Rudger was trying to destroy the evidence?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âWhat? Mr. Rudger? Does that make sense?â
âWhat kind of stupid thing is that?â asked Tracy.
âItâs not certain. However, I keep thinking that Mr. Rudger might know something. The teacher at that time seemed desperate to hide something.â
ââ¦â¦â
ââ¦â¦â
Maybe it was an illusion. Thereâs no way a Theon teacher would do such a dangerous thing. But what if itâs real? What if Rudger Chelici belongs to a secret organization that is too dangerous to even talk about?
What if the werewolves were actually killed to destroy evidence?
âAre you stupid? Anyway, you went too far.â
Tracy rebuked the two, putting her hand on her waist and shaking her head.
âMr. Rudger must have had something in mind and when we met the president earlier, didnât you think something was strange?â
âUh? what?â
âI didnât feel anything.â
âUghâ¦Stupid guys. Do you remember what the president said when he praised us? She gave each of us a little bit of a hint that we did well and what we did.â
âOh, right. I didnât even think of it because I was concerned about other things.â
âThink about it. How would the president, who was not present at the time, have known that?â
âUh, thatâsâ¦â¦â
âOf course, someone told the president everything. Who could tell her what we did?â
Rudger Chelici, was the only one who knew.
âMr. Rudger definitely saw everything we were doing. If he had tried to scold us, he would not have told the president what we did well.â
âAh.â
Hearing Tracy words, it certainly seemed that way.
It is the same with the fact that only the president and Rudger entered the interview room, and when the president said that she would give them merit points, Rudger took a step back and made concessions.
âYou mean it was all Mr. Rudgerâs plan? Why?â
âI donât know that either. Still, Mr. Rudger was considerate of us and only said good things to the president. To be honest, isnât it too far-fetched to be suspicious of Mr. Rudger?â
Aidan and Leo had nothing to say, even if they had ten mouths.
If Rudger was a dubious person, would he have taught them the groundbreaking magic source code from his first class?
A person, who has to hide his identity, rather than trying to reveal himself, is contradictory.
âIs it?â
Aidan scratched his head, but couldnât shake his subtle suspicion about Rudger.
Heâs definitely a respectable teacher, but thereâs no denying that heâs got something odd about him.
âYes. Tracy I think youâre right. It is meaningless to even think about it right now.â
âHuh. Itâs okay to know.â
âIâm hungry. Have you guys eaten?â
âNot yet.â
âTracy?â
âWhy me?â
âIf you havenât eaten, why donât we go to dinner together?â
âWhat?â
At Aidanâs words, Tracy wondered if she had heard wrong.
âMeal? With me? Why?â
Embarrassed for nothing, Tracy twisted her hair with her fingertips and muttered a little with his flushed face.
âWith friendsâ¦â¦â
âAre we already friends?â
ââ¦â¦!â
Seeing Aidan smiling brightly as he looked at her, Tracy dyed her earlobes red as well. Leo, who watched the scene from the side, sighed and shook his head.
It seemed that their Theon life would be eventful in the future.
* * *
âAh! Mr. Rudger!â
On my way back to my dorm, I met Selina who ran towards him looking more like a student than a teacher.
âArenât you really lying about your age?â
âAre you off work?â
âYes.â
âI heard the news. Yesterday, I heard that Mr. Rudger caught a werewolf.â
âYes. I took care of it.â
âWow. Really?â
Selina-sensei looks at him with a burdensome gaze. Still, sheâs also a new teacher, but I think sheâs looking up too much.
âRecently, Iâve only been hearing about Mr. Rudger. How did you catch the werewolf?â
âWait.â
âYes?â
âIâm a little busy today, so weâll talk about it later.â
At my resolute remark, Selina nodded her head slightly with a pale face like a child scolded by an adult.
âOh, Iâm sorry. Youâre busy.â
âNo. Not to that extent. Selina, please rest well.â
âYeah. Mr. Rudger too.â
I said goodbye to Selina and parted with her.
Unlike other teachers, she is a good person who cares about me. However, I couldnât get close to anyone because I was in a difficult position.
Itâs possible to eat together as a group, but thatâs all. And above all, I had one thing to do now.
When I returned to my private residence, there was a parcel at the door. Having packed the parcel, I went inside the house and checked the contents.
It was the material that Hans sent me, about areas where missing people and certain people gather in Leathervelk recently.
After lightly checking the contents, I headed to my personal study. On one wall of the study was a map of the city of Leathervelk, along with pictures pinned everywhere.
I cut out some content from the document and pinned it to one corner of the map, an area full of abandoned factories in Leathervelk that has a laboratory nearby.
After finishing the work up to that point, I immediately took out a portable crystal ball.
[Brother, have you checked all the materials I sent?]
âYes.â
[As brother told me yesterday, I checked the area. In an abandoned factory, about ten strong men rushed to and fro. Iâm pretty sure itâs there.]
âRight.â
[And I checked out what you personally told me to find out. Some workers have recently gone missing on the outskirts of the city.]
âWas there a family of three among them?â
[There was. Itâs the only case where an entire family has disappeared. The police didnât do much research and let it go, but the neighbors should have been very anxious.]
ââ¦â¦I get it.â
I left those words and cut off communication.
After staring intently at the map fixed on the wall for a moment, I walked out of the dormitory wearing a dull brown coat, unlike usual.
* * *
The factory area of ââLeathervelk where even the light of the stars and the moon disappeared due to the thick clouds in the sky.
The chimney of the factory, which stood tall without emitting soot, was itself a tombstone in memory of those who died in the shadow of the city. Considering that there are people who actually died in difficult circumstances, the term tombstone was not particularly wrong.
The slum district, called the abandoned district, had no street lights, which gave a strong feeling of desolation. All he could see was a rat that quickly swept across the floor.
Rudger arrived at the place where even the vagrants gave up begging and escaped.
âAre you here?â
Hans, who had come first and was waiting, greeted Rudger.
Hans looked at Rudgerâs walk and shook his head, sticking out his tongue. Although he looked casual on the outside, Rudger was already heavily armed.
From the chill that was flowing from him, Hans felt that he was thoroughly prepared for the fight to come.
âAre you going alone?â
âWill you help me if I ask for help?â
âNo, I just wondered if you would be able to deal with them alone.â
âAlone is enough. What about the guys inside?â
âThere are about forty. However, these guys know that their feet are on fire and are slowly trying to escape. If I was only three days late, they would have disappeared.â
âWhat are their powers?â
âIt would be nice to see that even a trivial person has at least one gun. Well, my brother, who is a wizard, doesnât like firearms, but there are about three of them wearing reinforced armor.â
âElite power?â
âTwo warlocks.â
âRight.â
Rudger, who was about to head straight to the laboratory, stopped his steps and asked Hans.
âHans, the family I asked about.â
âYes.â
âHow old was the child?â
With his back against the wall, Hans looked up as if to recall something.
âHe was seven years old, such a young kid.â
ââ¦â¦Seven years old.â