Chapter 318
「Bishop of the Blood Heaven Cult, Judah.」
Simon almost shouted in triumph right there in the library.
He had finally discovered the source of the vague unease he had felt ever since he first met Professor Walter.
Walter's acquaintances called him by the name "Judah". Even the fountain pen he always carried had the name Judah engraved on it.
Walter was Judah.
And Judah was a bishop of the Blood Heaven Cult. Thinking about it that way, all the pieces fit perfectly together.
'This guy was part of the Blood Heaven Cult!'
The Blood Heaven Cult was a heinous organization that had not only kidnapped countless people from the Holy Federation to experiment on them, but had also instigated the war between the Dark Alliance and the Holy Federation, pushing for a catastrophe and wishing for the mutual destruction of both forces.
And Walter, as a high-ranking executive of this group, appeared to have personally approved these numerous orders. His crimes were immeasurably grave.
'I don't know what business the Blood Heaven Cult has in Keyzen, but!'
His schemes end here.
Simon considered going to find Loraine right this moment, but he calmed his excitement and sat back down at the desk.
Since he was going to report to Neftis anyway, he wanted to present her with undeniable evidence.
'Let's find out what this "Judah" has done under that name.'
Simon brought over the library's directory of names and decided to look up "Judah" wherever it appeared.
'...Huh?'
And the moment he opened the very first book, he felt his hopes collapse.
[Certified 1st Rank, Judah Kallan.]
[Certified 1st Rank, Judah Odoro.]
[Certified 2nd Rank, Judah Andare.]
[Certified 3rd Rank, Judah Haoban.]
[....]
Simon banged his forehead onto the desk with a thud.
'Th-There were this many people named Judah?'
He had never heard it often before, so he thought it was an uncommon name, but even a random book he pulled out had a list full of Judahs.
Rubbing his throbbing forehead, Simon looked again at the signature he had interpreted.
"Bishop of the Blood Heaven Cult, Judah."
If only there were a surname or some other identifying marker after the name, but there wasn't.
With just this signature, and the fact that Walter's fountain pen had the name Judah on it, he couldn't conclusively say Walter was the same Judah from the Blood Heaven Cult. Reporting something this flimsy to Neftis was even more out of the question.
'...Haaah.'
Feeling like everything had been reset back to square one, Simon slumped into his chair with a sigh.
'I really thought I had him.'
Staring blankly at the ceiling for a moment, Simon steadied his resolve and got to his feet.
He might lack concrete evidence, but the vague suspicion he'd been harboring had taken root into something closer to certainty.
'I'll investigate to the end, even if I have to do it alone.'
A plan for his next moves formed in Simon's head. First, he'd return to the dorms and....
"Hey, student!"
The librarian appeared and pointed to the messy desk Simon had left behind.
"You need to clean all this up before you go!"
"A-Ah! Sorry!"
Blushing, Simon hurried back to his seat. First, he needed to get a grip.
* * *
"Handwriting analysis?"
Dick asked back, chewing on a strip of dried jerky. Simon nodded.
"Yeah, if I bring you two signatures, could you find out if they were written by the same person?"
Dick let out a short laugh.
"Hey! What, do you think I'm some miracle fixer who solves everything instantly? Of course I can!"
"...Your premise and your answer don't match."
"There's an old man in Langerstine who does handwriting analysis. He's the best in the field, even handles work for the royal family."
Dick spread his fingers wide as he spoke.
"Five gold, service fee included, and he's yours!"
Simon immediately folded down two of his fingers.
"Best friend discount, make it three gold."
"Oh, come on."
Dick shook his head like it was completely out of the question.
"Then, introduce me to that friend from your hometown, Elizabeth Weffer, and I'll do it for three gold!"
Simon gave a dry laugh.
The "Elizabeth Weffer" Dick was referring to was actually Erzebet in her disguise as a female student in Keyzen.
"Let's just go with five gold."
He wasn't about to make Erzebet suffer through emotional labor just to save two gold.
Besides, she was an Ancient Undead highly sensitive to matters of love. He couldn't even jokingly ask her to go on a date with Dick.
"Ooh, you can haggle a bit, huh?"
Dick folded his arms like he was impressed.
"Alright, fine. How about two gold—"
"Even for zero gold, I wouldn't."
"Ah, why not!"
Dick grabbed Simon's shoulders and shook him.
"Don't be stingy like this! You've got plenty of women! You even exchange letters and go on dates with Serne Eindark!"
"...We're not anything like that."
"And you released a thousand lanterns together with Loraine, the daughter of Neftis! Why won't you introduce me? Don't tell me you actually like Elizabeth Weffer?"
"That's not it...."
Just then, Dick stopped talking mid-sentence and glanced nervously to the side.
From the top bunk, a pair of eyes glowed ominously from within the blankets, glaring straight at him.
"...Shut your mouth. Do you want to die?"
"S-Sorry, Kajan!"
Dick quickly apologized. He still feared Kajan deeply.
Meanwhile, Simon immediately got up to speak.
"Kajan, let's talk for a bit."
"I'm going to sleep."
"I'll buy wine."
At the mention of wine, a spark lit in Kajan's eyes. He glanced out the window.
Tonight, the full moon was shining.
"...One hour later, same place as always."
Leaving only those words, Kajan retreated into his blankets again, and soon after, a faint snoring sound could be heard.
Simon got up to go find wine, and Dick, wearing a jealous expression, muttered.
"Ah— seriously! Why does Kajan treat only you special? I feel like I'm being left out!"
One of Dick's life goals was to become friends with Kajan.
To his grumbling, Simon said in a placating tone.
"I'll try to convince Kajan to have a drink with the two of us tonight."
"Keh, that's my best friend!"
Dick grinned from ear to ear and slung an arm around Simon's neck.
"So when are you going to introduce me to Elizabeth Weffer?"
"That's not happening."
* * *
An hour later.
On the moonlit rooftop sat a man with faded gray hair.
Sitting with both soles of his feet pressed together, his head tilted back to gaze at the full moon, Kajan's figure was picturesque. He looked like a lone wolf.
"You're here."
He spoke, his gaze still fixed on the full moon.
Simon appeared with wine in his arms, smiling lightly, and sat beside him. From subspace, he took out wine he'd bought in Rochest and two glasses.
He uncorked the bottle and poured the wine into the glasses. The stream of purple liquid, flowing along the horizon inside the glass, glimmered with a dazzling pomegranate glow.
"This is the first time you've bought wine."
"Yes, it is."
Kajan swirled the wineglass slowly, then sipped it as though savoring the taste. As Simon watched with a tense expression, a low voice came from Kajan's lips.
"...You're planning to ask me for a favor."
"How did you know?"
"There's no such thing as brand wine without a price. Generosity tops out at cheap convenience store wine."
Simon let out a small laugh, then stretched his legs forward, gazing up at the full moon.
"I was wondering how I could handle something outside Roke Island as a Keyzen student. And then I realized."
Simon turned his gaze to the side.
"My roommate just happens to be a high-ranking member of the Thieves' Guild."
"You're thinking of giving the guild a job."
"Yes. I'd like to ask two favors."
Simon handed over a small note. Kajan took it between his fingers and read.
"An investigation into Count Caron. If I'm right, he's a noble of the Dresden Kingdom, correct?"
"Yep."
Simon quietly recalled the past.
When he had visited the Ballot fish market with senior Benya from his club, he had seen mountains of hearts piled up inside a warehouse.
And none other than Professor Walter had shown up there with his acquaintances. Among their conversation was this:
—Lord Judah, Count Caron has arrived.
—I'll head out now.
Leaving only those words, Walter had exited the warehouse.
It was a part that could have easily been overlooked, but the scene inside that warehouse had been so tense that it was burned clearly into his memory.
Walter had said he was going to meet Count Caron. It was a trivial clue, and the chances of gaining anything from it were slim, but if there was even the slightest possibility of learning something about Walter, Simon was willing to act.
"Alright. I'll put in a request to the guild and put a team together."
Kajan rustled the note into the pocket of his jacket.
"And the other?"
"Right now, with me."
Simon's expression turned serious.
"I'd like you to break into Professor Walter's laboratory."
"...."
On the quiet rooftop, bathed in moonlight, Kajan smiled faintly.
"You still suspect Professor Walter."
"Yes."
"If Walter is in his laboratory, it'll be dangerous. We could both get expelled."
Simon shook his head.
"According to Dick, Professor Walter went to a symposium this afternoon. He's left Roke Island, so it should be fine."
Up until now, not once had Dick's schedule information been wrong.
"...."
Closing his eyes and taking a sip of wine, Kajan spoke softly.
"Get ready."
* * *
The darkness lying thick over Keyzen's campus was eerie. The chirping of insects and the muted hoots of owls lingered in the air.
Perhaps because it was a Necromancer School, the Keyzen campus was overflowing with hundreds, thousands of ghost stories.
Secret passageways, restless spirits asking students for directions, priests wandering the forbidden forest—of course, that last "ghost story" was actually true.
Kajan and Simon hid behind the wall of a building. Ahead, two guards holding lanterns walked by.
After the guards passed, Kajan signaled for him to follow. The two darted quickly through the grass.
Their target was the "Magical Shooting Training Hall" building, where Haematology classes were held—Walter's laboratory was inside.
"Wait here."
Kajan put on a pair of goggles that looked like a magical artifact and scanned the building.
"As I thought."
"What is it?"
"At Keyzen, once it's late at night, they activate the security system for the entire building."
Kajan handed the goggles to Simon.
"If we climb the outer wall and try to get in through the windows, we'll be spotted. We'll go in through the front."
When Simon put on the goggles, he saw that the building's outer walls were indeed covered in a black haze.
With no other choice, the two headed for the main entrance. Expecting the door to be locked, Kajan was about to take out a lockpicking kit when—
"...Looks like someone's still inside."
The building's lights were off, but the door was unlocked.
They entered cautiously. Kajan took the lead, Simon following behind.
'It's dark.'
He had been here many times for Haematology lectures, but coming here at night made it unsettling and bizarre.
"The laboratory is on the fourth floor, right?"
"Yes."
Simon had only been to Walter's laboratory once before. The two began to climb the stairs slowly.
'!'
Light from a lantern flickered from the direction of the second floor. Someone was there.
"Nothing unusual upstairs."
Voices could be heard. It was a middle-aged man's voice.
"Ground floor's clear too."
"Have you been to the basement?"
"Don't be ridiculous, how could I go down there?"
Kajan and Simon held their breath, listening in. The voices belonged to two men who seemed to be security guards.
"That makes two who've already been carried out."
A sigh like a lament followed.
"Something dangerous enough that guards can't even approach, just sitting there in this building's basement—how does that make sense?"
"Exactly what I'm saying."
'Something dangerous?'
What was it?
Simon strained to listen even more closely.
"What can you do? A few worthless underlings getting carried out isn't a big deal."
"Research comes first, after all. That's necromancers for you."
"Let's head out."
The two suddenly began moving toward the stairs.
Simon was startled but kept calm. He grabbed Kajan and reached his hand upward.
'Cloud!'
Turquoise smoke shot out, wrapping around the railing of the third floor. Their bodies were whisked up to the third floor, and moments later, the two guards passed by beneath them, chatting as they descended the stairs to the first floor.
'Phew.'
The guards left the building and locked the door.
The two climbed the stairs and arrived at the fourth floor, where Walter's laboratory was. After overhearing the guards' conversation, the chill in the air felt sharper.
"This is it?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
Walter's laboratory looked exactly as it had the time Walter had called him there before.
Click, click.
The door was, of course, locked, but for Kajan of the Thieves' Guild, this was child's play.
As though pouring Darkness into the gap under the door, he worked for a moment, then—click!—the lock came undone.
"Let's go in."
Kajan gripped the doorknob with a gloved hand.
"Yep."
Simon nodded with a serious look. The door creaked open.