C80: The Approaching Nightcrawlers (2)
ââ¦â¦Iâll be ready in a minute.â
I closed the door and returned to my room.
I stood still in front of the closet and pondered why this happened. Did they come from the security department? If they were knights, of course it would be the Nightcrawler Knights.
âIs it the ones I saw last night?â
Why did they come here?
They must be busy investigating the incidents that happened in Leathervelk, so why did they come to Theon to find me? Are they sure that I am the culprit?
âIâm worried for nothing.â
If they knew I was the criminal, they wouldnât just come to me as guests, they would have issued a warrant and dragged me by force or sneaked up on me in the middle of the night.
The fact that they came in such a polite way meant that they didnât know I was the criminal yet.
âNevertheless, they came to me.â
I recalled why right away. The death of Bellbot Rickson in Leathervelk was determined to be caused by a werewolf and that werewolf also appeared in Theon.
âI was the one who killed the werewolf.â
Thatâs probably why they came to see the teacher named Rudger Chelici.
They are having a setback in their investigation of the case. I guess they know what happened, but the core of the puzzle is gone and the only clue left is in Theon.
âHowever, it is too early to let my guard down. If I show any signs of suspiciousness, they will immediately suspect me.â
Especially if the visitor this time is a woman I know, Trina Ryanhowl.
Now, in a way, it could have been the biggest crisis of my life because her senses belong to something higher than a human. Even so I cannot refuse to meet them.
When a new teacher suddenly refuses to visit the Nightcrawler Knights he will appear suspicious and if I donât meet them now that will give them an excuse to stick around.
âIâll have to meet them for now.â
After all, they know me as Theonâs new teacher, Rudger Chelici. They donât know about the past me. In this meeting, I just have to lightly respond to the investigation.
With that thought, I adjusted my collar and dressed neatly. I put on a black frock coat and tied my flowing hair with a string. Since it is still morning, the air is a little cool, so I put a muffler around my neck.
After checking my clothes in the mirror, I put on my shoes and immediately opened the front door. And what I see is the pink cotton ball under my eyes.
âAh. Mr. Rudger! Are you ready?â
Hearing the door open, the cotton ball, no Ms. Selina, looked back.
âWere you waiting for me?â
âYes.â
She averted her gaze and smiled awkwardly.
âIf I knew it, I would have come out earlier.â
âOh, no! I was the one who waited on my own, and Mr. Rudger didnât have to rush because of me!â
âThank you for your consideration. Then letâs go.â
âYes!â
Well, itâs just two teachers going to school together, Iâm sure no one will think anything of it. Anyway, I also wanted to ask Selina about the whole story.
I walked in step with her and naturally asked the question.
âThe security bureau suddenly came to see me, did you hear the reason?â
âOh, yes. I think itâs because of the investigation into the werewolf situation. Recently, a werewolf appeared in our Theon, and I think itâs because Mr. Rudger solved the case.â
âI see.â
Hmm. Is it because of that? But even if you ask me, you wonât be able to hear the answer you want. You wonât know that, but youâre struggling to catch a rotten rope.
âMore than that, is Mr. Rudger getting ready for the exam? This is my first test.â
âYes, I did it somehow.â
âWow! Thatâs amazing. Iâm worried about how to do the difficulty level and how to submit the questions so that students can do their best to solve them.â
âI agree.â
Obviously, from the point of view of a teacher, it is quite difficult to create a test question. It shouldnât be too easy, but not too difficult either.
Although there are deviations in each problem, it is important to think deeply about them, rather than make the questions unnecessarily difficult.
Questions that required a change of mentality were necessary. Wouldnât the students be satisfied with a problem that would give them a sense of accomplishment?
âHowever, itâs not as easy as it sounds.â
Every man has his own way of accepting things and it was not possible to give everyone proper satisfaction, it was quite a headache for the examiner.
Well, the first exam should be made easier anyway.
The important thing is to make sure the students have a solid foundation. It would be appropriate to give tests that require advanced courses only after the 3rd examination round. At least I think so.
Theon main building was up ahead so it was time to say goodbye to Ms. Selina.
âIâll go and greet the guests now. Keep up the good work.â
âYes! Good luck, Mr. Rudger!â
As she was about to leave, waving her hand to me, she called me as if she remembered something.
âOh, by the way, Mr. Rudger!â
âYeah. Anything else you want to say?â
Teacher Selina opened her mouth with a slightly meaningful smile at my question.
âThey are quite scary, so be careful.â
Then she turned her back and walked away with fast steps.
Be careful? I was already fully aware of that. They are scary? Did you meet them in person?
âBut why would Selina tell me that?â
Is it a deliberate warning? Or is she just giving me advice because she thinks Iâm nervous?
I donât know why, but that wasnât the point right now. I lifted my head and turned my gaze to where my office was.
I went into the main building and headed towards my office. It was quiet inside and I didnât meet anyone on the way because itâs the middle of the class.
When I arrived at the teacherâs office, I took a deep breath and opened the door.
The door opens and what I see is my office and my personal space as it was before I left. The only difference is that someone was looking through the books in the study.
I stared at the guest silently.
âAh, youâre Rudger Chelici.â
It wasnât who I thought it was. Instead a man with a stern look, hair neatly pulled back and no-rimmed glasses on his face was standing in front of me.
He wore a black uniform and gold epaulet. Itâs clear from his attire that heâs a member of the Security Agency.
âWasnât it Trina Ryanhowl?â
Maybe I was wrong that day so I sighed in relief and accepted his greeting.
âNice to see you. Iâm Theonâs teacher, Rudger Chelici.â
âMy name is Lloyd, an agent from the Security Agency.â
Lloyd, there is no last name, but I canât conclude that heâs a commoner because the agents of the Security Agency do not properly reveal their identities.
He didnât even say he was a knight, he just said he was an agent. Is he deliberately hiding it, or did he feel that there was no need to brag?
I rolled my eyes slightly and looked at his outfit. It is a neat outfit with no wrinkles. His head is also free of clutter and his posture is straight as if a ruler was raised.
I guessed it from the outward appearance, but it is clear that heâs a pretty neat seeker.
âIs his hand bare, without gloves on?â
His stout physique and clunky hands exposed over his uniform clearly proved that he was a knight.
âI made you wait a long time.â
âNo. Rather, we apologize for not contacting you in advance.â
âSit down. Do you like coffee or tea?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âSorry, I donât eat during office hours.â
âI see.â
I sat facing Lloyd, with the guest table in the middle. He was staring at me with intense eyes, as if he was trying to pierce me. I was worried about the appearance of a lion, but only a wildcat came.
âSo why did you come to see me?â
I got straight to the point.
âI heard that a werewolf appeared in Leathervelk this time.â
âYes, but itâs been a while.â
âAnd I heard that you were the one who got rid of that werewolf, Mr. Rudger.â
âYouâre right. I took care of it.â
âAwesome.â
âI was just doing what I was supposed to do as a teacher.â
The questions and answers were light but there was subtle air current flowing through them.
âSo.â
Lloyd, takes the rhyme for a moment and I thought it had come.
âDidnât you notice anything strange about the werewolf?â
âSomething strange?â
The Security Agency also noticed that the werewolves were strange but I didnât show my feelings on the outside. I just responded with a consistent attitude like the beginning.
âI donât know what you think is strange.â
âIt was strange that a werewolf also appeared in Theon.â
âThe investigation found that the werewolf came from outside through a huge sewer line that connects Theon and Leathervelk.â
I didnât lie. In fact, the werewolf climbed up the big sewer and came into Theon. It was impossible for ordinary people, but it was possible for werewolves.
âHmm. Thatâs right. I heard that Mr. Rudger fought a werewolf head-on.â
âYes, thatâs right. It tried to hurt the students, so I stepped up.â
âHow did you fight?â
It was a strange question. Maybe itâs probably because heâs nervous that he didnât receive the answers he wanted but instead of asking why he asked that, I answered the truth as it was.
âI used elemental magic. Avoiding his attack as much as possible, I burned his fur with flames and pierced him with a spear of ice.â
âI see.â
âBut maybe because I was too strong, he felt threatened and ran away into the woods. So I chased him and I succeeded in eliminating him in the forest.â
âWere there any other problems?â
âThere was none, except that some of the energetic students went out to catch the werewolf.â
âI see.â
Lloyd didnât look very surprised. His reaction was natural as if he already knew.
I see. You already heard the report, so you knew how it happened, but did you ask me again to check it out? Is there any difference between my testimony and the circumstances he confirmed?
Perhaps because he is a member of the Security Bureau, he showed a thoroughness not to miss any details.
âThen let me ask you another question.â
âYes, please.â
Lloyd has asked me several questions since then, but I answered naturally without panicking.
The question-and-answer session that followed was over five minutes later. Lloyd stood up and shook hands with me.
âThank you for taking time out of your busy schedule.â
I shook hands with Lloyd.
âThen Iâll be on my way. It was an honor to meet you Mr. Rudger Chelici.â
âYes, it was an honor for me, too. Mr. Lloyd.â
Lloyd nodded to me and left my office.
The interrogation of the Nightcrawler Knights belonging to the Security Agency ended like this.
* * *
âWhoo.â
Lloyd waited for his boss at the meeting place, recalling the conversation he had just had. When the promised time was 10 minutes away, two familiar figures were seen from beyond.
âLeader, are you here?â
âYes.â
Trina Ryanhowl, the leader, and Enya, the deputy were also visiting Theon. However, unlike Lloyd, who met Rudger Chelici, the two went to check the scene.
âDid you find any clues?â
âI got permission to investigate with the presidentâs help, but I didnât find anything. What have you got?â
âI didnât gain anything.â
âWas anything about Rudger suspicious?â
âFirst of all, to the best of my knowledge, I didnât feel anything strange.â
âHmm.â
Trina didnât get the answer she expected, but she wasnât disappointed.
Just in case, she gave Lloyd one order.
âLloyd. Did I do what I said?â
âYeah. Before we parted ways, I did as you told me.â
Lloyd nodded solemnly at Trinaâs question.
âSo how was it?â
As if this was the most important thing, Trina asked with a sharp gaze.
âDoes his hand, which you shook, belong to a trained man?â