Academy’s Genius Swordsman

＜ 103. Baeksuje (3) ＞

#103

Ronan led La Mancha and stood up. To take it as a joke, Nabi Rose’s expression was not serious. She sighed as she looked at the two of them alternately.

“…if it’s you, you’ll be fine. The doppelgangers are gone.”

“yes?”

“I don’t have time to explain. If you are willing to cooperate, please follow me.”

Nabirose turned her back with those words. Ronan and Adeshan followed her, who looked at each other for a moment and blinked.

The three walked along a hallway with minimal lighting. Elongated shadows were sobbing along the walls and floors.

It was close to midnight, so there were no students walking around. Adeshan rubbed her arms and murmured.

“Is it night? It’s a little… spooky.”

“Senior has to go to the Dawning Horse Tower. What I saw in the library with all the lights off…”

“Ha, don’t!”

The sound of footsteps echoed with each step. Contrary to expectations, the movement did not take that long. Suddenly, Nabirose stopped in front of a huge double door.

“It’s here.”

“It’s surprisingly close. You were in Gallerion.”

The place where the doppelganger was imprisoned was a small banquet hall in the Gallerion Pavilion. After confirming that there was no one around, Nabi Rose turned away.

“I will finish the search. For more details, please let the officials know.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“And aren’t there many good places besides the arena? or the hills of the four seasons. I don’t understand.”

“Yes?”

“done. Goes.”

Nabirose turned away with words she couldn’t understand. Adeshan’s face glowed like maple leaves.

“Well, something like that…”

“What are you talking about?”

Ronan shrugged and opened the door. A spacious closet appeared. About seven people were walking around the small banquet hall with bamboo statues on them.

All of them seemed to be related to Baeksuje. There were two people who looked like professors, and there were four guards wearing armor. One was a male student in a school uniform, and for some reason his face was familiar.

“yes?”

Hearing the door open, the boy turned his head. It was the moment his and Ronan’s eyes met.

“···Heyik?!”

“what?”

The pale white male student bowed his head. Ronan tilted his head at the unfamiliar behavior. At that moment, a Wear Lion standing in a corner of the banquet hall in pajamas caught my eye.

Turns out, that person was in charge. Ronan stepped closer and stabbed him in the back.

“Baren. I’m here.”

“Ro, Ronan? What’s going on here…?”

“Instructor Nabirose sent me to help. You said the doppelganger was gone?”

Baren’s eyes widened at the unexpected meeting. He let out a deep sigh, wiping his mane once.

“After… yes.”

“What happened?”

Baren’s mourning was as exhausted as immediately after reading Ronan’s club activity report. The mane, which should have been shiny, was crumbly like stale soap. A voice that seemed to be about to commit suicide came out of his open mouth.

“Suddenly, the box containing the doppelganger opened. If this is a nightmare, I hope someone wakes me up…”

“Crate?”

Ronan looked around. Two huge chests were placed in the middle of the small banquet hall with their mouths open. Four very complex-looking locks were lying beneath it.

“You’re good at guarding like that. I can’t even paint at all, just like in Greumsae and Manticore.”

“Heh heh heh, I tried too. It was never a lock that could be unlocked…!”

Baren sobbed, biting his mane with both hands. He explained that he was doing his best to manage the doppelganger so that there were no setbacks.

The chest was locked with a specially made lock, and nine people, including Baren, took their seats in the small banquet hall. His strategy was to stay up all night together to create gaps by emptying seats in the middle or by setting boundaries. Baren, who remembered the situation, sighed again.

“I shouldn’t have gone to the bathroom…. How could this happen…”

However, despite his efforts, the doppelgangers escaped. By the time he went to the bathroom for a while, everything was already over. The two chests were open and the small banquet hall was a mess.

The two doppelgangers escaped, changing their appearances into a frost troll, a charming blonde woman, a giant spider and everyone’s mother. People couldn’t stop the monstrous creature. Although they were prepared for the invasion of outsiders, it was because they could not even imagine that the doppelganger would be released immediately from within.

“How did the lock come off? They even made it special.”

“Well, that’s really questionable. It is a lock that cannot be unlocked without this key. Only I have the key.”

Baren, who was rummaging through his inner pocket, pulled out a bundle of keys and showed it. Four keys, which looked as complex as a lock, were dangling from each other. He began to enumerate the merits of the locks he had made with a worldly gloomy voice.

“Coming here and saying this may sound a little sloppy, but it’s a really good lock. It has a mithril coating that makes it virtually impossible to break, and it has an anti-unlock magic enchantment. But it’s really absurd that it’s been released…”

“Baren. If you don’t plan on selling the lock to me, keep quiet.”

“sorry···.”

Baren, who had been terrified, shook his head. Opening such a great lock was a problem, but the bigger problem was that no one saw the process of unlocking the lock. Ronan spit out a swear word.

‘···Discontinued pay.’

It was unbelievably pathetic. Whatever it was, it would have been better if it had been properly monitored. I felt like I wanted to gather all the people who were on guard duty and beat them up, but I didn’t have time to do that.

Now that Baeksuje is less than half a day left, there is only one thing that matters. Doppelganger capture. Ronan, scratching his head violently, said in an annoyed voice.

“Damn, don’t you have to wake everyone up and go catch them? Tomorrow is the festival.”

“Yeah, that’s difficult. When a doppelganger blends into the crowd, the difficulty of catching goes up ridiculously.”

“Then what?”

“If possible, we try to search with a small number of people. They are strong people who can subdue doppelgangers.”

Suddenly, Baren grabbed Ronan’s hand. His hand, like a pot lid, was trembling.

“If Ronan students help… it will be a great help.”

“I came here to help.”

Ronan nodded happily. He approached Adeshan, leaving behind Baren, who was about to burst into tears at any moment. She was examining the small banquet hall with her eyes wide open.

‘There is no one like me in this kind of work.’

Adeshan’s insight would be of great help in the investigation and pursuit. Ronan was just about to call her. Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

“Hey there… are you okay for a second?”

“Well? You were…”

Ronan turned his head. A skinny boy stood awkwardly. It was the guy I had met a while ago. Ronan suddenly remembered his name and snapped his fingers.

“Lakota?”

“Yes, yes… that’s right.”

“Yeah, I heard a rumor. He said he got lost while picking herbs and was treated as missing. What if the little one has already done so?”

“Ah…ahahaha…it was.”

Lakota scratched her head and smiled. He was a boy who gave the impression that he was clumsy in many ways. Ronan shrugged his eyebrows as he saw his hands and feet crossed.

“Why are you twisting your body like that? Do you want to poop?”

“He… can we talk to each other for a moment?”

“I have no hobbies of going to the bathroom with men.”

“Well, it’s not like that. Wait, it really only takes a moment.”

“I’m going to die because I’m busy. Just pretend it’s nothing.”

Ronan followed Lakota with her steps. I couldn’t figure out why the guy who didn’t usually say hello suddenly did this. Ronan frowned as he saw him go down the stairs.

“Where are you going?”

“Please… please follow me without asking anything. Please.”

The voice was desperate. Ronan sighed and started walking again. After walking without stopping, they eventually reached the bathroom at the end of the downstairs hallway.

“Is it the bathroom after all?”

Ronan chuckled. A soft candle was burning above the urinal. Lakota looked around anxiously. He carefully opened his mouth only after making sure that he didn’t feel any signs.

“If it’s here… it’ll be fine.”

“Well?”

Suddenly, Lakota put her hand in her pocket. Click. It sounded like a button being pressed. At the same time, a translucent wave of mana spread out around his pocket. Paang! A hemispherical barrier that unfolded in an instant covered the two of them. Ronan frowned.

“Damn, what?”

Ronan noticed that no outside noise could be heard. It was also the Silent Magic that he had been using. Lakota sighed in relief.

“Huh… it’s a little better now. It was both silent and cognizant at the same time.”

“How important are you to tell me?”

Ronan chuckled. I called someone out of nowhere and I couldn’t figure out why he was doing this shit. After hesitating, Lakota opened her mouth.

“…the devil’s messenger is nowhere to be seen.”

“What?”

“The first time our eyes met, I was amazed. They looked similar to each other, but they must have been attending Phileon…”

“What are you talking about right now?”

“It must have been a lie that he was a warlock. In fact, I expected it from the middle.”

Are you a warlock out of nowhere? It was an incomprehensible, but somehow dreadful nonsense. Sensing a suspicious atmosphere, Ronan placed his hand on the hilt. After taking a few deep breaths, Lakota continued.

“…I did.”

“Well?”

“Unlocking the locks and releasing the doppelgangers. I did.”

Ronan’s eyes widened. It was as if he had been hit in the head by a fist-sized rock. The brain that could not receive the information was creaking. Having managed to control his emotions, he glared at Lakota.

“What kind of bullshit are you talking about all of a sudden. You released it?”

“yes. But that was the best. The story was moving in the direction of blood because Baren had an unexpected strategy. Organizations need to hurry before they can re-plan.”

“blood? group?”

“Even if you are embarrassed, you should listen to me. I don’t have much time. You can prevent this from happening…”

It was the car Lakota was trying to say something. Ronan rushed like the wind and kicked him in the stomach. wow! Lakota’s body tumbled backwards and crashed into the urinal.

“Ugh! Come on, wait a minute…!”

Lakota raised her arm to stop it, but it was in vain. Ronan grabbed his hair tightly and pulled out the La Mancha at the same time. Lakota, who was moaning in pain, froze. The black blade was against the neck of his neck.

“Hey, hey, hey!”

“If you move, it will move as it is. Don’t make a fuss.”

“Ji, calm down…! please···!”

Blood was running down his skinny neck. But Ronan did not withdraw his sword. Lakota’s voice had changed. The middle and high notes that gave a rather mean impression were resounding in a calming low tone.

“who are you?”

I remember. It was definitely a memorable voice. Lakota squirmed and raised her arms.

“Ji, Ji, I’ll show you now… So this knife…!”

“Do it this way.”

“Yes, yes, I see. Whoa…!”

Suddenly, he grabbed his hand as if scratching the bottom of his left ear and pulled him out. Whoa! The pale skin was torn off like a thorn, revealing a shabby face. Ronan’s eyes widened.

“you···!”

“I, I fold. balus. Don’t you remember?”

A blade fell from Lakota’s neck. The brain, which failed to recognize information, was creaking.

Poacher Valus. The motive of Ronan’s punitive force and one of the leading poaching organizations in the continent, Caribolo. He was the only survivor of the poachers who hatched Sita. Ronan, who had been overcome with emotion, opened his mouth.

“…why are you here?”