Traitor (2)
As Malia had suspected, Frondier had intuited that there was a traitor among the teachers.
If someone informed them, the perpetrator might discover it.
This would put them in even greater danger.
Hence, they hadn't informed the teachers.
'Was Frondier always this wise?'
If so, it's reassuring, son.
Knock-knock-
Just then, there was a knock on the meeting room door.
All the teachers looked at the door.
Who else is coming here now?
“Excuse me~ May I come in for a moment~?”
A languid, gentle voice.
Alex expressed discomfort.
“Who is it that enters?”
“Oh, I am, Philly Terst~”
Philly, who?
The professors were all momentarily stunned.
The first to realize was Malia.
“Op, open the door! Quickly!”
The other teachers then came to their senses.
A teacher near the door quickly walked over and opened it.
“Wow~ This is quite the welcome, how embarrassing~”
Philly, who had entered, bowed her head.
Her fair skin and lively eyes, the warm atmosphere filled the meeting room.
“Ms. Ph, Philly. How did you come to this place alone……!”
“It was too boring, so I sneaked out.”
Sneaked out.
The faces of those around him turned sour.
“Don’t worry too much. Taking care of myself is a small matter.”
That statement wasn't just bravado.
Philly had sufficient skills of her own, and there was always a knight order to protect her.
But still, there's such a thing as common sense.
“Ms. Philly, it’s problematic. The dean is not here, and if you were found out having come out like this.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay~ I came here with a proper purpose.”
That’s not the point.
While the teachers wiped their sweat, Philly looked around the room.
And upon spotting Malia, she smiled brightly.
“Wow, Malia! You were here after all.”
“……Ms. Philly, have you been well.”
“What’s with that tone.”
Philly laughed, hahaha.
Malia was smiling too, but it was incredibly awkward.
“Got it, we can’t talk comfortably here. Let’s chat later.”
Then Philly cleared her throat with a cough.
And looked around as she spoke.
"Everyone knows my daughter was in danger recently, right?"
The atmosphere remained as warm and the voice as soft as moments before.
Yet, the content was far from ordinary, filling the conference room with sudden tension.
"Of course. That's actually why we're gathered here today..."
"Uh-huh, I'm well aware. The teachers at Constel are excellent, after all. I trust them."
Philly defended the teachers in such a manner.
Somehow, however, the teachers' hearts began to feel even more uneasy.
"So, here's the thing."
Philly's eyes narrowed.
Those red eyes gleamed.
"I'd like to meet Renzo."
"Empress...!"
"He's here, isn't he? In the dungeons of Constel."
Renzo had been confined in Constel after his capture.
Ironically, this place where students trained was far safer than any makeshift prison.
"But, it's dangerous!"
Alex tried to warn Philly.
Philly smiled.
"But you all don't even know who to trust now, do you?"
"!"
Someone within Constel was a traitor.
Philly had realized this as well.
"Then, wouldn't it be best if I spoke up?"
Philly clasped her hands together.
With an exceptionally serene expression.
"I'm quite curious about the motive behind attempting to kidnap my daughter."
* * *
I had momentarily forgotten because of Renzo.
But I was in the middle of taking a practical exam.
After waking up and regaining my senses, I started worrying about the results of the exam.
Surely, the exam wouldn't be invalidated just because Renzo had intruded.
There were no actual casualties, after all.
Most students probably didn't even know there had been an intrusion.
It would be utterly ridiculous if we were told our hard work capturing monsters was for naught because of the intrusion.
But then again, the problem now was me.
Because of Renzo, I hadn't been able to catch any monsters since he appeared.
So, I asked Aten.
"We are tied for 16th place."
"16th place?"
It's an odd ranking.
Not incredibly high, but considering we couldn't get materials halfway through, it's not a low ranking either.
"Here you go."
"Ah, thanks."
Aten had peeled an apple for me.
...It's delicious.
"Ah, so how did we end up in 16th place? Did we get some sort of bonus for stopping Renzo?"
"No, even if we had gotten such a score, it wouldn't have made much of a difference in the rankings."
"Huh?"
Aten slightly tilted his head.
Her white eyes flickered as if she was recalling something.
"That, someone named Aster Evans."
"Huh?"
"He wiped out the boss monster and all the monsters in the vicinity."
"......"
"So, at that point, the top ranks were solidified, and we were the highest among those below, so to speak. From 15th place onwards, there was a considerable gap ahead of us."
"......I see."
Since the game is always played as Aster, I don't know how the real Aster would move during the actual game.
Normally, once a player secures the 1st place, they stop hunting monsters.
Because doing too much on their own could lower the affinity with those around them.
But the real Aster doesn’t care about such things.
This time, it saved us because of that.
"So, then."
"Yes?"
"When am I getting discharged?"
Aten and I are currently in the hospital room together.
I’m starting to grow fond of this hospital.
"Mr. Frondier, you were on the verge of death. Hospitalization is natural."
"You saved me, after all."
"Even so."
