Nior looked down at the pit, frozen. Judging by the state of the soil, it seemed to have been recently dug up, and the blood spilled in the pit had not yet dried. There had been someone here just a moment ago.

 

Had the person inside the pit miraculously regained consciousness and dug their way out from within? Or had someone dug the ground to rescue them?

 

“……”

 

Very faintly, there were footprints left behind.

 

Eastward, footsteps led toward the student residential area. Today, there was no rain, and the wind remained calm. The traces left behind by someone hastily vacating the spot were vividly drawn. If Niore had the inclination, they could pursue.

 

There were plenty of reasons not to go.

 

It wasn’t about knowing someone involved, nor was it a certainty. It was highly probable to be risky and unnecessary. It wasn’t something that needed to be done or was required. It was a heap of reasons.

 

There was only one reason to go. It seemed like someone was in danger.

 

It was nosiness. Niore already knew what kind of outcome awaited meddling in just any affair. The writer, Restman, had met his downfall after excessive kindness towards others.

 

So, let’s refrain from meddling in the eerie events happening at night and leave it to someone else. Niore repeated that to themselves, trying to dispel thoughts and any lingering regrets.

 

Thunk.

 

Niore took a step forward, letting out a sound that hovered between laughter and a grunt. The direction their toes pointed was following someone else’s footsteps.

 

“⋯⋯Ahahahahaha.”

 

Well, where would the blood go anyway? That’s just how life is.

 

Born into a family poorer than the city merchants, having never tasted a single medicine, Niore hadn’t achieved “Abundance.”

 

Though diligently learning the family’s secret techniques, they had yet to attain “Harmony.”

 

However, they differed in “Discernment.” Niore was confident in their ability to read the flow, as good as anyone else. Whenever they blinked, numerous traces that were invisible to others became vividly clear.

 

The target was approximately 175cm tall, weighing around 70kg, and right-handed.

 

A suspicious figure in the imagination traced footsteps and fled. Driven by their own sense of justice, Niore began the pursuit.

 

————-

 

Clad in a black hood, Bennett dashed through the alleyways of the student residential area, then abruptly halted. Prostrating onto the ground, he pressed his ear against the surface.

 

Faint footsteps. Approaching. The direction was precisely aimed at Bennett.

 

“⋯⋯Tracking?”

 

Was it the intuition he felt while escaping? Despite thinking he’d successfully erased any traces, it seemed he had been caught. Bennett’s skill in escape, honed through years of being a dark magician, was top-notch. With amateur skills, it would be impossible to uncover any traces.

 

So, the one following me is a skilled tracker.

 

Who could it be?

 

Is it the sorcerer who’s put someone on my tail for surveillance, or is it the sorcerer himself, hiding the demon sword? Perhaps it’s another dark sorcerer. But in any case, evading the pursuit was the right move. Expectations were always pessimistic.

 

Channeling magic throughout his body, Venet pounded the ground and shot forward like the wind. His first priority was to widen the distance and conceal his whereabouts.

 

To make tracking difficult, he leaped over the sparsely populated street walls, stepped on branches, used the “Slow Fall” spell to briefly soar through the sky, and moved to confuse any trace. It was a skillful escape.

 

However, his pursuer was a step ahead.

 

The pursuer was undoubtedly slow. Even when accelerating explosively, they couldn’t keep up with Venet’s speed. But after a short while, the inevitable sound of approaching footsteps could be heard.

 

They are definitely faster. Despite that, if they manage to catch up, it means they have thoroughly analyzed Venet’s movements and pursued him.

 

“Tsk… Are you even watching from above in the sky!”

 

Even when he looked up at the narrow sky blocked by alleyways, there was no familiar sight of his familiar. If there had been any suspicious bats flying in the sky, he would have shot them down long ago.

 

Venet’s movements, fleeing to avoid pursuit, momentarily stopped. If he noticed and looked, there was only one way to escape. In front of Venet’s eyes was the building of the Goddess Church.

 

He quickly scanned the nearby map in his mind. And he reached a conclusion. If he bypassed the building of the Goddess Church, he would be caught.

 

Was it a coincidence, or was it the pursuer’s plan?

 

It seemed certain that the pursuer belonged to the faction hiding the demon sword, that is, the faction of the tower’s sorcerer. Otherwise, there would be no reason for such a secretive and persistent pursuit.

 

Even if he was led into the building of the Goddess Church, he couldn’t think of them as affiliated with the Church. If that were the case, they wouldn’t have pursued alone but would have mobilized the holy knights and rushed in.

 

Let’s exclude the uncertainties and only think based on what’s certain. The opponent buried the demon sword. They intended to use the demon sword for personal purposes.

 

That alone was enough to trigger the wrath of the Goddess Church. Whether or not they were a dark sorcerer, anything that harms people was highly condemned in their doctrine.

 

So, the pursuer would be wary of the Goddess Church. Furthermore, a notorious maiden resided in the building of the Goddess Church. Rumors of her being unruly and lawless were widespread, so she wouldn’t forgive a group causing a disturbance late at night.

 

This… could be used as a neutral ground.

 

If the pursuer had any sense, they wouldn’t initiate a fight inside the building of the Goddess Church. If they could avoid a battle, a conversation wouldn’t be a bad idea.

 

The man fleeing was unbelievably fast, to the point of being terrifying. If he missed a single trace along the way, he would be lost forever.

 

It seemed he had noticed that Niole was tracking him. Niole wanted to catch up with him, ask about what had happened in that pit, and if it was the same dreadful event she had imagined.

 

She would advise him to reflect and pay the price for his wrongdoing. Repent before the goddess, receive the appropriate punishment, and if he refused, she was prepared to fight with all her might.

 

“…?!”

 

Why would a suspicious person head towards the church building?

 

Was he running to confess after hearing her telepathy? Niole knew it wasn’t likely. If the world were that kind, her family wouldn’t be in such dire straits.

 

Whether a mistake or intentional, it was an opportunity from Niole’s perspective. She heard that the saint was in the building. If a commotion occurred, not only the saint but also the officials of the goddess’s sect would rush out, and then they could stop the suspicious person.

 

She followed the traces. Crossing the beautifully arranged garden, stepping on the external drainage pipe, she grabbed the balcony railing with her hands. Swiftly, she pulled herself down onto the balcony.

 

A person wearing a flipped hood—judging by the exposed Adam’s apple, it was a man—was waiting. He asked cautiously.

 

“…What’s your purpose?”

 

Niole wanted to ask about what happened to her last night, the unearthed pit, and his connection to it. However, darn it.

 

“……!”

 

There was no whiteboard. Niole clutched her throat and staggered.

 

————-

 

The pursuer was a seemingly innocent female student. She wasn’t armed, and her eyes lacked the vigor one would expect. Seeing her expressionless face, it seemed she was a freshman.

 

Considering the possibility of a simple misunderstanding, Bennet asked about her purpose.

 

“…What’s your purpose?”

 

“……!”

 

“Is it silence…”

 

Are you trying to escape or just trying to figure out the situation? Bennett raised his guard and spoke a few more words.

 

“I don’t know what you’re up to, but you’re bold. Just possessing and concealing a Dark Artifact alone is enough for heresy interrogation. You must have been aware of that risk.”

 

“⋯⋯⋯⋯?”

 

“If you don’t want to speak, I’ll take a guess.”

 

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

 

Bennett carefully pieced together the puzzle floating in his mind. The faction that had the Second Prince as their backing, hiding the Dark Artifact in such a conspicuous place… It all made sense if it was intentional for them to be discovered.

 

He had come up with the perfect answer.

 

“Using the Dark Artifact as a pretext to catch a grip, framing it as dark magic, and planning to suppress the opposition faction within the Academy—the supporters of the Third Prince?”

 

“⋯⋯⋯⋯?!!”

 

The pursuer’s expression crumbled. It was the expression of someone who had been caught red-handed, as if they had been struck on the back of the head with a hammer. Bennett was certain.

 

The truth behind the Dark Artifact’s concealment was a ruthless struggle for the throne.

 

It was an excellent opportunity. If the Academy were to be disrupted by political infighting, it would be a sea of opportunities for the dark sorcerers. The wicked scheme of the Tower Magician must proceed. Bennett drew the Dark Artifact from his waist and placed it on the ground.

 

“I only stole it because I thought it was valuable. I’ll return it. I’m not foolish enough to meddle in the affairs of the high and mighty. I won’t interfere, so stop the pursuit.”

 

“⋯⋯⋯⋯!!!”

 

The pursuer, deeply shocked and flustered, took a step forward and reached out their arm. Bennett grabbed the laundry rack placed on the balcony and hurled it towards the pursuer. The clothes scattered, obscuring their vision.

 

Bennett leaped off the balcony and sprinted away.

 

————-

 

Niorre instinctively swatted away the laundry rack flying towards her, then picked up the fluttering panties that obstructed her vision. She then stopped moving. It was an acute brain freeze caused by information overload.

 

What on earth did I just hear?

 

Niorre was dumbfounded. Firstly, fortunately, the thing buried in the pit was not a person but the Dark Artifact. The suspicious person digging up the ground was not a murderer but a thief. It was a minor misunderstanding.

 

This incident wasn’t just a case of one person being murdered and left for dead.

 

It was an event where several people would burn to death in the future.

 

Niore’s expression was tinged with concern and worry. He felt a slight urge to cry. No matter how much he had pushed his luck, getting involved in the ruthless competition between the Second Prince and the Third Prince seemed a bit too much. The matter of the fallen noble’s life could easily evaporate lightly.

 

Still, even so, framing with the Dark Sword…

 

Upon hearing the news of the subjugation of the Dark Guild by the Second Prince, he had thought that now, for the sake of the citizens of the empire, they would investigate even the dark places. Now, it seemed more like they were not pursuing righteousness but rather cultivating something like an assassination squad.

 

“…Huhuh.”

 

Calm down.

 

They said that even if you were captured by goblins in the Goblin Barrens, if you regained your senses, you could survive. Maybe, without any major incident, he could pass through. Once he returned, he would have to consult with Selvia…

 

“Is anyone out there?”

 

“……..!”

 

A woman’s voice came from behind the thick curtain covering the balcony door. Niore took a glance at the fallen Dark Sword on the ground, looked up at the sky, and then simply ran away. The Dark Sword would be taken care of by the goddess’s followers.

 

He ran away in a hurry. After running for a while, he leaned against the wall of the women’s dormitory, catching his breath. And then, only then did he realize.

 

“…”

 

His right hand was still tightly holding onto the panties. When he had caught it while taking down the laundry, in the midst of fleeing, he had forgotten to let it go.

 

Upon unfolding it, it turned out to be a provocative lingerie that is tied on the side with a string.

 

He had become an academy panty thief!!

 

From Noble mtl dot com

 

————-

 

What’s all this commotion in the middle of the night?

 

Tara, the saint who woke up from a light sleep at the clattering noise from the balcony, furrowed her brows as she opened the balcony door.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

The saint blinked her eyes.

 

Even though she rubbed her eyes, thinking she hadn’t fully woken up, it was still a complete mess.

 

Deciding to wash up, she went down to the first floor, drew a basin of water from the well, washed her face with cold water, squeezed her wet bangs to dry them, and, on a whim, made herself a cup of tea.

 

Then she returned to the balcony.

 

The laundry rack had collapsed, and the clothes, freshly washed, were sprawled on the floor. There was a single longsword lying neatly. Since there was a sealing magic on the sword, she decided to release it.

 

– You are my new master…

 

“『Seal of the Radiant Three Rings Artifact』”

 

It was a cursed sword.

 

Examining the scene, she noticed that one piece of underwear was missing.

 

In summary, someone had sneaked into the temple of the goddess at night, overturned the saint’s laundry, took her panties, and left a cursed sword as a gift.

 

“…What on earth?”

 

She was perplexed, not even angry.