Chapter 56: Information Exchange

After dealing with Adam's body - hiding it under the bushes and flowers until he revived - I returned to the class.

It hadn't started because my conversation with Adam was just a few minutes long, including my attempt to find out whether I could heal his condition.

As usual, Eliza saved a spot for me in the usual seats. She smiled when she saw me entering the class and sitting beside her.

"What were you talking about earlier, Arthur? It's not like I was curious or worried. I only felt like that guy would create another trouble for you."

Eliza sounded worried, especially when she didn't see Adam coming in with me even though we were together. She looked around before settling her gaze on me.

"Don't worry. That guy did nothing to me, and I gained some information from him. It's a piece of rather important information." I replied with a smile.

After looking at me intensely for a few seconds to judge what I said, she finally nodded and smiled. "Alright... I will believe you."

Emilia arrived in the class afterward and began the class. She glanced at me - her face blushed slightly - and gestured to me to meet her later with her eyes. I replied by raising my hand inconspicuously.

When the roll call arrived, she noticed that one student was missing, "Where is student Adam?" Emilia asked, looking around the lecture hall. "Is there anyone who knows about it?"

Many eyes landed on mine. I guessed they watched Adam walking with me earlier. Even Eliza looked at me curiously.

"I think he's feeling unwell, teacher," I responded with a clear voice. "I asked him to visit the church to look for a priest so he can be cured."

Noticing something was wrong with my sentence, Emilia narrowed her eyes slightly, but still nodded her head in confirmation.

"Very well. Student Adam is sick." She scribbled on the note she held and then continued the class.

***

After the first class ended, I sat through the second class about monster ecology, where a middle-aged professor explained how monsters behaved, and skipped the third to go where Emilia was.

That was an interesting class, but unfortunately, the third class was about etiquette and was boring.

The teacher that came after the professor was like a strict and straight noble with her hair tied in a bun and wore triangle-shaped glasses.

Her atmosphere only said that she would shout and be a bitch when someone with a lower rank than her made a simple mistake.

Anyway, Emilia was with Rania in the Counseling Room. I guessed she wanted to talk to me about the information from the spies. Perfect timing. I needed their help with my plan too.

Their positions as the teachers of the Royal Academy were really convenient. The fact I had one teacher I dominated and the other willing to help me because of our connection was really a blessing.

After walking for a minute or so, I arrived in front of the Counseling Room and knocked on the door.

"I am here, teacher Emilia."

Because the room was soundproof, she probably couldn't hear my voice. But the vibration from knocking on the door must've rang inside. As a result, they knew that I had arrived, and Emilia opened the door from inside while smiling.

"You're here, student Arthur." She said, smiling widely. "I thought you would come faster."

"The second class was interesting, so I stayed a bit more," I replied while entering the room. It was then closed slowly, and I faced Rania. "It's nice to see you again, instructor Rania."

"Yes." She nodded. There was a bag below her eyes, a sign that she was tired and hadn't had enough rest. "Let's just talk about why we asked you to come, student Arthur. It's about the result of the knight's interrogation of the two spies you caught yesterday."

"I thought so." I nodded at her and sat on the small chair in front of her desk.

Emilia sat beside me, and we looked at each other from three different angles.

"Let's hear it." I continued, and Rania nodded.

The short-haired instructor then explained to me what the knight had found out. It was a bit... different from what I got.

For starters, the knights were able to interrogate them about the assassins and their goal. Because the spies were still influenced a bit by [Truth Potion], they told the knights about what they knew without lying.

Of course, the knights still didn't believe them, so they continued asking for an hour or so until they went unconscious. The knights rested after that and continued the interrogation when they regained their consciousness.

How barbaric. But that was maybe the best method considering threatening them by death was impossible. It was only effective for Sandra because she knew that her dream of getting 3 meals a day would be impossible if she died.

Assassins that messed up were probably punished. Maybe locked in a cell or something, and so I effectively saved that Dark Elf from that fate. I was really kind, no?

Anyway, everything was similar to what I got. The assassin's goal was to kidnap me and create chaos in Academy City, and then the nobles showed up to my rescue to get all the glory.

That was why the King made a move this morning to appease and change the subject so the church's attention would focus on him and not the noble. What a sly man.

And then there was the matter of Sandra. The spies thought she had revived alongside the others, but she wasn't. So the mastermind branded her as a traitor and would find her using the revived assassins. They even moved the leader of the information-searching team, Sandra's leader.

When Rania explained that, I cut her off.

"That means they have a revival chamber somewhere in the Virtue Kingdom, no? And it's close to Academy City too."

Rania nodded deeply when I pointed that out. She and Emilia apparently reached that conclusion when they exchanged information this morning.

So I gained the gist of it and nodded slightly.

"Alright. Thank you, instructor Rania." I smiled at her. "That information helped a lot."

"No problem. Also... that assassin is still in your captive, isn't she?" Rania asked in a low voice as she leaned toward me, a bit hesitant as she glanced at Emilia.

Maybe she thought it would be bad if Emilia heard what she said about me keeping the assassin captive.

"What will you do to her?" She continued. I could feel her warm breath tickling my ear and noticed her cheek turn slightly red from imagining something I couldn't guess.

What could it be? Whatever it was, it must be something related to her masochistic tendency.

Looking at her like this made me want to tease her. Emilia looked at us strangely but didn't really think much as she averted her gaze. Maybe she realized my grin and decided not to disturb my fun. What a good woman.

"What do you think I did to her?" I asked with a playful tone.

Rania backed away and looked at me with a strange gaze, a mixture of embarrassment and expectation. It looked a bit lewd. Her tendency had made her unable to think calmly and control her actions.

Was this why she retired? Then she made the correct decision. If she didn't retire, something bad would've happened to her, considering that the knight order was mostly composed of men.

"I interrogated her just like the other two." I immediately said before she lost control. Her face blushed red like a tomato, and I giggled in response. That was cute.

"I still have some use for her." I continued with a wide grin.

Indeed, Sandra would really be useful right now. And I might be able to gain her loyalty after this.

"The mastermind would regret targeting me. I would make them rethink why they made such a decision in the first case in their grave."

For that, I would need a little bit of preparation. Also...

"Let's kidnap someone."

As I said that, Emilia and Rania, who had calmed down from her panic, looked at me with dumbfounded gazes.