Chapter 57. The Year Representative Meeting
Late at night.
Armandy, wearing a hood, was waiting for the agent from the Ability Management Bureau at the rendezvous point.
It was for a regular exchange of information.
Unlike Armandy, who had entered as a freshman, the other agents had infiltrated as academy staff or related personnel.
'Honestly, I'm jealous.'
Who would have wanted to become a freshman?
Moreover, Armandy had been reluctant to take on academy-related missions because he didn't want to get involved with the 8th Prince.
On top of that, he still hadn't recovered the notebook he had initially aimed for. It was because his identity had been discovered by Radel.
'Although there is the advantage of being able to watch him up close.'
Honestly, other than that, there were no advantages.
And why were there so many enemies?
Every piece of information he heard was about someone targeting the 8th Prince.
'I can't let the surveillance target die…….'
Armandy pressed his throbbing head with his hands.
It was a method the 8th Prince had told him about; he said it was good to press the temples when your head hurt. Something about an acupressure method he had learned by chance.
Anyway, he was a guy who knew all sorts of strange knowledge.
"Sorry I'm late."
A little while later, the agent he was supposed to meet appeared.
Armandy was displeased.
It was because a long time had passed since the promised time.
Because the academy's security was so tight, it was not easy for even a skilled magician like Armandy to come out to the rendezvous point.
Especially since Armandy had infiltrated as a freshman, it was more dangerous if he got caught.
It was Armandy who always arrived at the promised time, breaking through those difficulties.
He couldn't help but be displeased with the agent who came late.
"Do you think sneaking out of the dormitory is a joke? Why are you so late?"
"I was late because I was joining up with a newly infiltrated agent."
A newly infiltrated agent?
At those words, Armandy looked behind him.
Then, someone quietly appeared from the darkness.
It was a person wearing a mask and wrapped in black clothes from head to toe.
"He's an agent who came into the academy last week."
"Is that so?"
Armandy observed the masked person.
He was somehow a suspicious guy.
Perhaps sensing Armandy's wary atmosphere, the other agent stepped forward first.
"You'll be seeing each other often in the future, so why don't you fellow agents greet each other."
Then the masked person greeted Armandy and introduced himself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. We have been assigned to a mission together at the academy."
Armandy felt something awkward in the masked person's words.
'He's deliberately changing his voice.'
Is there a reason to hide his voice from a fellow agent?
He couldn't shake the suspicion that he was someone he knew.
'Does he not want me to find out his identity?'
A familiar build.
An unsubtle arrogance.
The suspicion of hiding his face even though they belonged to the same Ability Management Bureau.
One person came to Armandy's mind.
The last survivor of the now-defunct assassin's guild, the guy who always looked down on magic and clashed with him at every turn!
Pirenzo Korva.
It had to be him.
"It's a pleasure. I came in as a freshman, what's your cover?"
When Armandy asked, he could feel the masked person hesitate for a moment before answering.
"……I'll just say I'm a staff member."
That bastard Pirenzo…… he came in as a professor.
I'm going through all this hell as a freshman!
Armandy's expression turned menacing.
He had even lost weight from the stress of being with the 8th Prince.
Thinking that unlike him, that guy would be living comfortably as a professor, he ground his teeth.
"……Nice to meet you."
"What was that?"
"I said, nice to meet you."
It was the masked person who felt a certain chill.
'That guy, his atmosphere has changed a lot from before.'
However, his voice modulation was perfect, and he probably didn't know that he had been assigned to the mission, so he didn't think that Armandy would have recognized him.
And he didn't want to reveal his identity yet.
He didn't want to provoke Armandy, who was sure to be sensitive due to the academy infiltration.
The masked person, Pirenzo Korva's, goal was one.
It was to carry out his mission quietly without getting involved with the 8th Prince as much as possible.
To do that, he had to thoroughly hide his identity, even if it meant deceiving his colleagues.
* * *
Radel was crossing the front of the main building after class to go to the year representative meeting.
It was the first time he would meet the seniors since entering the academy.
'The academy is a four-year course, so besides me, there should be three more representatives.'
At the academy, classes were divided by year, so there was almost no chance of running into seniors except for a few liberal arts classes.
'I should ask them what classes would be good to take.'
Radel was in the middle of choosing questions to ask the seniors.
Suddenly, he had a bad feeling.
Along with it, a notification sounded in his ear.
Ding.
[The skill, Superhuman Intuition, is activated.]
[Someone's killing intent is felt.]
[The threat of death approaches!]
'What is it?'
Radel didn't think deeply and just moved his body first.
As soon as he hurriedly moved out of the way, something fell on the spot where he had just been standing.
Crash!
It was a ceramic flowerpot.
If he had been a little late, Radel's head might have been shattered like that.
Radel confirmed that the flowerpot was broken and looked up.
No one was visible on the second floor of the main building.
"This can't be a mistake…… can it?"
He quickly went up to the place where he presumed the flowerpot had been dropped.
But there wasn't a single soul there.
Just then, another notification sounded.
Ding.
[The skill advancement condition has been met.]
[Skill: Superhuman Intuition (F)]
[Do you want to advance the skill? (Y/N)]
The skill advancement condition has been met?
Radel opened his status window and checked the skill.
[Superhuman Intuition (F)]
Superhuman intuition is activated.
Sometimes, danger is sensed in advance without any warning.
Notice an attack filled with killing intent (1/1)
Superhuman Intuition.
It was a skill he had obtained after defeating the hidden boss in the Academy's Backyard Hill Dungeon.
The advancement condition, which had been marked with a question mark when he first obtained it, was now revealed.
"An attack filled with killing intent……."
Looking at the advancement condition, the falling of the flowerpot must have been an intentional attack.
It must have been an attempt to genuinely kill Radel.
Attacking openly inside the academy was a big risk, but it was possible to disguise it as an accident.
He remembered the information he had heard from Armandy the other day. Several organizations had entered the academy and were targeting the royal family.
When he heard that story, hadn't Radel also expected it?
That perhaps the reason Armandy went out of his way to tell him this information was because the probability of him being targeted was higher than the other royals.
But experiencing it in person was definitely a different feeling.
Perhaps it was the work of the secret organization called the 'Black Order'.
He also remembered what Ivan had said at the Ability Management Bureau.
'If you can hold on there, you'll be able to survive no matter what.'
He thought it meant he would get stronger by attending the academy.
It seemed that wasn't all.
"I'm more popular than I thought."
Radel muttered.
He knew that there were factions targeting him even when he was in the Imperial Palace.
The location had just changed from the 8th Prince's Palace to the academy.
If he couldn't overcome this much, it would be the same wherever he went.
It was the same when he awakened as a Hunter in his past life.
He had despaired after finding out he had Status Effect Nullification, but he didn't give up.
Didn't he eventually find the Troll's Heart?
If there was a problem, there was always a solution.
Radel was confident that he would find the solution, even if it took time.
* * *
"Welcome!"
"Welcome to being the year representative!"
When Radel arrived at the year representative office, what greeted him was a lively welcome.
Pop!
The seniors set off a small firecracker with magic and sprinkled paper confetti.
Radel was briefly surprised by the unexpected welcome, then smiled and greeted them.
"Hello. I am Radel Silvert Cretian, the first-year representative this year."
The seniors stopped throwing confetti and looked at each other.
It wasn't the reaction they had expected.
"He's not as surprised as I thought."
"I know, right."
At Radel's calmer-than-expected appearance, the seniors withdrew their magic.
"Actually, some people get really surprised by this."
"It's kind of fun to see that?"
Hearing that, he could guess the personalities of the seniors here.
"Well, it doesn't seem like you're one of them, junior."
Radel looked at the two disappointed people and answered.
"Should I go out and come back in? I'll be properly surprised this time."
"You're not ordinary either."
A senior smiled and held out his hand to Radel.
"Anyway, it's nice to meet you. I'm the third-year representative, Fasion Tetrya."
"I'm the second-year representative, Anesha Holton. Nice to meet you."
After introducing themselves, they began to pour out questions.
"You're the first place in the freshman adaptation period evaluation assignments?"
"The professors said you're so good at alchemy. How long did it take you to make the Detoxification Potion?"
Even though they had just met, the seniors knew a lot about Radel.
It turned out that the professors who had taught Radel often talked about him to the seniors during their classes.
"I'm not that great. I was just lucky to be the fastest."
"Junior, have you ever heard the saying that excessive humility is arrogance?"
The two who heard Radel's words shook their heads as if they were dumbfounded.
"Actually, I wasn't the first place in the evaluation assignments."
"Don't you become the year representative if you get first place?"
"Not necessarily."
Listening to the seniors, it seemed that the year representative was decided by the professors' recommendation at the end of the freshman adaptation period.
"I guess responsibility is important."
"The year representative is also the dormitory representative, you see."
Since the academy used dormitories by year, there was surprisingly a lot of work for the year representative to do.
"This is the first I'm hearing of this."
"We didn't know anything at first either."
They had to manage classmates who sometimes acted unpredictably, run errands for the professors, and were the first to be mobilized when there were events at the academy.
"That's quite a hassle."
"There are some good points too."
"Of course. The professors remember you well?"
Is being remembered by the professors really a good thing…….
The more he heard, the more he doubted whether being a year representative was really a reward.
Radel changed the subject.
"By the way, it seems the fourth-year senior hasn't arrived yet."
He had asked because only the second and third-year seniors were there, but they suddenly looked at each other and exchanged glances.
It looked like a signal to check if it was okay before bringing up a secret story.
"I wondered, but you really don't know."
"What is it?"
"The fourth-year representative, you don't know who it is?"
"No."
As Radel nodded, the seniors whispered among themselves.
"He really doesn't seem to know."
"I thought so, but they really don't seem to be close."
"Senior, you shouldn't talk about someone else's family matters like that."
"Oops, right. My bad."
They were talking so loudly that it was embarrassing.
At this point, Radel could also guess to some extent.
If it was about family matters, what else could it be but the royal family?
It was then.
Pop!
"Kyah!"
A sound of magic being activated from the door of the year representative office was heard, along with someone's scream.
Hearing that sound, the seniors' faces instantly brightened.
It was the moment they had been waiting for.
"We got her!"
"This is fun, let's go quickly!"