Chapter 51

C51: James Moriarty (1)

As I was walking alone in the dark hallway of the stadium, a man suddenly appeared from the corner as if waiting.

"...Mr. Rudger."

"Is it Sedina?"

Sedina Rosen had been waiting for Rudger, and the moment she saw him, her face brightened. She looked around her for a moment, making sure there weren't any witnesses, and then she opened her mouth.

"Congratulations on winning the bet."

"Yes."

"Are you alright? Could it be that this incident drew too much attention from within the academy? The other members are also concerned."

That was the part that Sedina was concerned about since Rudger is hiding in Theon with a false identity. However, his recent move attracted too much Theon's attention.

If this happens, no matter what he does, a gaze will follow, and it will cause a significant disruption to the ranks.

Rudger shook his head at that concern.

"I was prepared for this to happen."

"You were prepared......."

"Sedina, do you know about the president of Theon?"

Sedina immediately nodded her head when Rudger mentioned the president.

"Yeah, her name is Elisa Willow. At a young age she is a famous wizard who reached the 6th rank. She is now also the president of Theon and a very vigilant person."

"Yes. She is suspicious of me now."

"Mr. Rudger......Are you saying?"

"The president noticed that our people have been hiding in Theon and even teachers are suspected."

"Then......."

"I need to shake off that doubt now otherwise it would be impossible for me to contact other members, but it is inevitable."

"You did this to lessen her doubts......."

"It was something I had to do. If you build my credibility in Theon with this event the president's doubts of me will lessen."

"So it was like that!"

Sedina believed Rudger's every word.

In fact, it was not entirely a lie. The reason Rudger showed off his prominence was because he had the intention to impress the president. However, as Sedina said, there was the concern that Rudger might be receiving too much attention.

'Yes! After all, there's no way Mr. Rudger would have done that!'

She trusted Rudger and she wanted to believe in him since he was the first person who listened to her. Suspecting such a person felt like committing a sin that could not be washed away.

"Sedina, do your best as a student for now."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Among the members, you are the only one who has easy contact with me. I am a teacher and you are a student. No one would doubt it just because we met and talked. I can't meet other members easily."

"Yeah."

"Show yourself as a good student. The more you do that, the less suspicious they will be."

"I see!"

"This is our job, to adapt to our status through our position."

"We, just the two of us......mission."

Sedina's eyes widened when Rudger wrote the word 'we'. Seeing that, Rudger thought he was lucky.

'If I have explained it this far, it will be enough for her.'

Although he was engrossed in being a Theon's instructor and worked hard, Rudger never overlooked the existence of the Black Dawn for even a moment.

First of all, nominally, he is an executive with the title of First Order of the Black Dawn. The problem is that Rudger still doesn't know what he infiltrated to do as an executive. All he learned by analyzing the cipher text was to infiltrate and erase any suspicions Theon might have on him.

'Is there a plan in motion or will I receive new orders based on the situation in the future?'

Rudger didn't know that and he couldn't even ask Sedina. How would she know executive level information?

'In the end, I'll have to figure it out on my own.'

It was most likely that the order was given directly by the Zero Order, or that other First Orders shared the work.

The only way to figure that out is to find another First Order that is hiding somewhere in Theon. However, in a situation where the First Order could not be found, Rudger had to act while clearing the Black Dawn's suspicions as much as possible. So he intentionally moved more zealously as a teacher.

'It is true that the president doubts me, and it is also true that it takes time to clear the president's doubts. If I use this as an excuse, at least I will be able to calm the growing dissatisfaction of the secret society.'

And using this as an excuse, it was possible to further extend the given deadline. In fact, even though he had only explained this, Sedina immediately seemed to be convinced.

'No. She only praised the First Order, so I can't use it as a fair example.'

If Sedina came forward and explained to the others, it would be much more comfortable for Rudger. In fact, Sedina was already full of thoughts about what Rudger said.

'As expected of Mr. Rudger! We were worried that something was going to happen, but he had an idea!'

Because of her social status Sedina has been bullied within the organization as well, but recently she's been acting like she's almost Rudger's subordinate, so other members have stopped touching her. Thanks to that Sedina looks up to Rudger even more.

'You're even worried about people like me, so you're giving me such precious advice! That's amazing!'

As Rudger had said so far, she decided that she would obey his orders, even if she had to die.

"Explain it well to the others."

"Yeah! Just leave it to me!"

"Oh, and......."

"Yeah! Do you have anything else to say?"

"......No, I'm done. Next time we meet I hope to see a more dignified you than before."

At Rudger's last compliment, Sedina felt a tingling, electric shock run through her body.

"Even if it means dying, I will do it!"

"Don't die."

"Yeah! Even if I die, I will not die!"

"......Yes. Leave."

After finishing with Sedina, who became more and more burdensome every time he saw her, Rudger left.

* * *

After returning to his private quarters, he went into his room and briefly summarized the things he had to do in the future.

'First, through this open competition, I was able to reduce the doubts of the president's faction on a large scale. I don't know how the president herself will take it, but she will have a hard time dealing with me because of her position.'

Right now, the president's faction seems to be more dominant, but the aristocratic faction led by Hugo couldn't be underestimated either.

First of all, the one with the greatest power among students Freuden's factions, where nobles gather and Hugo along with the other aristocratic teachers joined hands with him.

Right now, the power of the president seems strong, but if they properly oppose the will of the president, it will be difficult for the president to make decisions.

'I attracted a lot of attention but I'm a Black Dawn executive so I can't act hastily. People from the secret society won't even try to touch me.'

In other words, I was granted immunity from the Black Dawn for a period of time. So let's put the Black Dawn thing aside for now.

Thanks to this duel I have become completely hostile to Hugo's faction but I don't really care about this. I'm going to quit after 2 years anyway. Just because they hate me the noble teachers won't cause any major problems.

It's a bit unpleasant but compared to all the human groups I've been through in my life, this is a small problem. Above all, through the duel today, I saw a kind of possibility.

'Aidan. I've felt it before, but he's definitely a good guy. He has a decent sense of humor, he has a moderately good side, and he's hard-working.'

It is simply surprising that he learned the [Moving-Magus] in three days. Is it talent or effort that is close to obsessiveness? Considering that it is not possible to fully master the [Moving-Magus] just by using your head well, it may have been the innate ability to use the body.

When he split Jevan's surprise attack with anti-magic he clearly looked like a person who trained with the sword for a long time. Considering that, Aidan was highly likely to stand out in actual combat.

I was able to infer it sufficiently because I had met a wizard who was presumed to be Aidan's teacher. The posture that Aidan showed only once was very similar to the swordsmanship that he used. He lived alone all his life and I thought he was going to die alone but he put one of his pupils in the field.

'If it's Aidan, the possessor of anti-magic, he'll rise to a considerable position in Theon at the very least.'

I finished a simple calculation in my head.

I'll use Theon and some special students to fight against the secret society, Black Dawn. Since I'm with a foot on both sides, what I need the most is to relieve the pressure on me and Black Dawn is the most annoying.

If I reduce the power of those who exist in the academy I'll have more time to plan for the future.

'The probability that I will live will increase a lot.'

Aidan, Leo, and Tracy abilities are worth investing in. If I only look at the talents I have, maybe even among first-year students, I can count them on my hands and if I add Rene who has good judgment my chances will increase.

'Not bad.'

Of course, this may not be enough. So, it seems that I need to find more people, in case of unexpected situations.

If I make them collide, Theon will become chaotic and my chances to live will increase.

'This is the only way. I need to develop my own strength.'

In my current situation I'm an individual under pressure from both organizations. Simply weakening both groups cannot be a fundamental solution to this situation.

'I also have to create my own organization.'

In fact, I prefer to move alone. However, since I needed to stay in the Empire for a long time, I could no longer remain alone.

In addition to Hans, I need to call in the guys I've had a relationship with before and create a new organization. That organization will become my strength, and that strength makes me able to resist the forces that oppress me.

Just when I was thinking of him, the crystal ball I had left in my room started to twinkle.

"Hans, what's going on?"

[As brother ordered, I checked everything around.]

Is it because of that?

"Considering your skills, you must have obtained as much information as you needed. Still, it takes strength to contact me separately."

"That's right. From now on, it's a time when 'weakness' is needed. You know your brother too."

"I didn't even want it in the first place."

"Anyway, the only thing left now is your help."

"It is."

I got up, put on my black long coat for going out, and put a gentleman's hat on my head.

"When are you coming? I think it should be done by the weekend at the latest."

"Right now."

"Yes?"

Perhaps he didn't know that I was going to go right away, and an exclamation filled with bewilderment could be heard from beyond the crystal ball.

"Isn't it better to deal with it quickly?"

".....Are you okay? You must be busy."

"It will be over soon anyway."

"How are you sure about that?"

"Because I will make it that way."