Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 208: A Visitor’s Arrival (1)

‘Finally!’

James Moriarty had become a full professor.

The moment she witnessed that historic (or so it felt) event, Casey Selmore’s eyes sparkled.

Her heart pounded with excitement—finally, the true saga of James Moriarty was about to begin.

‘Now I can figure out what this man is really after.’

This time, she wouldn’t miss a single detail.

Just as she made that vow—

Casey suddenly felt her body being pulled, forcefully, by something unseen.

‘Huh?’

A fleeting thought passed through her mind.

Wait—how long had she been inside this memory?

More importantly, how long did this artifact even last?

‘Wait—!’

She cried out in panic, but it was no use.

She hadn’t yet reached the end of the memory embedded in the mana—and just like that, she was forcibly ejected from the stream of memory.

‘But it’s only just beginningggg!!’

Her consciousness sank into darkness for a moment—

—and then Casey Selmore’s eyes shot open as she jolted upright in bed.

She looked around. The sun hadn’t yet risen—it was still the dead of night.

‘Wait. What about the artifact?’

The sheet of paper in her hand had lost its blue glow and was now completely discolored.

The artifact’s duration had ended.

‘That’s it? It ends here?’

Seriously?

She had only just begun to pick up his trail.

“Aaaargh! How annoying!”

Unable to contain her frustration, she shouted aloud—prompting a muffled yell from the living room.

“Casey! Do you even know what time it is?! Keep it down!”

It was Betty.

* * *

‘The Kingdom of Delica.’

Back in his private quarters, Ludger was reflecting on events from three years ago.

Though he had earned the title of “Crime Kingpin” under the name James Moriarty, in truth, most of his actions involved exposing things that were already happening behind closed doors.

‘The Kingdom of Delica had numerous hidden facilities.’

State-sanctioned preparations for war.

And the multitude of inhumane experiments conducted in pursuit of that goal.

The Iron Choir Project had been only one part of it.

There were many other projects, even more secretive, that never came to public light.

One of those was the development of gunpowder unaffected by mana.

He’d believed the factory responsible had been completely destroyed by fire.

But clearly, the real mastermind had survived.

‘The one who developed that gunpowder was Victor Dreadpool. The circumstances make it nearly certain.’

Ludger lifted his head and looked out the window at the night sky.

The bluish moonlight fell gently, casting a strangely comforting glow.

It helped him think clearly.

‘A liquid golem. High-performance automatons. Considering what he’s already created, developing mana-proof explosives wasn’t out of reach.’

And then—likely to test the product—he had contacted the Liberation Army and handed the explosives over.

Everyone would focus on the bombings and terrorist acts of the Liberation Army, never realizing what lurked behind them.

‘I destroyed the hidden branches in Rederbelk and Baltanung, but if I don’t pull this up from the roots, it’ll never disappear.’

His failure to eliminate Victor Dreadpool remained a persistent regret.

But even from a rational perspective, it had been unavoidable.

He hadn’t expected another First Order member to be present.

‘Still, I did gain new intel on a First Order member. The Black Knight—Verom. An archaic way of speaking, a crimson aura...’

That left three unidentified First Orders.

What kind of strength or powers did the others possess?

And what kind of force did the Zero Order, who brought them all together, wield?

Ludger glanced down at the ring Zero Order had given him.

Now that he thought about it, even giving him that ring had been strange.

‘He did it on purpose—to invite me.’

Zero Order resembled the headmaster in some ways.

Even if someone wasn’t who they appeared to be, as long as they were competent, he would extend a hand.

It sounded generous—noble, even—but in truth, it bordered on madness.

‘Well... you’d have to be a little insane to pull off something like that.’

Ludger closed his eyes, wondering how their next encounter would unfold.

In the moonlight spilling through the curtains, under the fractured blue glow—

Ludger drifted off to sleep in the chair by the window.

* * *

The next morning.

Despite having no classes, Ludger arrived at school early—and found Sedina already cleaning the faculty office.

“Ah, good morning, professor.”

Ludger checked his watch.

It wasn’t even breakfast time yet.

“You’re here early, Sedina.”

“Yes. I wanted to make sure I didn’t disrupt your routine, so I came to get a head start.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Ah, not yet. But it’s fine—I packed my own lunch!”

With a proud smile, she showed him her bento.

Inside were heaps of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Typical for a half-elf, perhaps.

“...That’s a lot of greens.”

“Yes! They’re good for your health, and I love them. Oh—have you eaten, professor?”

“No. Not yet.”

He usually ate breakfast separately.

He’d sometimes eat lunch with the other faculty, but even that had become rare since the festival.

“I’ll just grab something light this morning.”

Saying so, Ludger opened a large container kept in the faculty lounge.

Inside was a powder blend made of grains and medicinal herbs.

A processed food known as Magic Meal, commonly eaten by mages.

Sedina asked in a trembling voice.

“Wait... You’re not seriously planning to eat just that, are you?”

“I am. Is that a problem?”

“Of course it is!”

She shouted so suddenly that Ludger involuntarily flinched.

As he wondered whether he’d accidentally triggered some strange switch, Sedina marched up and snatched the Magic Meal from his hand.

“This is that Magic Meal that’s gotten popular with overworked mages lately, right?”

“...Yes. I rely on it often.”

“I know it’s supposed to be convenient and filling—but this is no good! It’s nutritionally unbalanced, and that will ruin your health!”

“W-well... that’s true.”

“This won’t do. I’ll share my bento with you. Please eat it all.”

“Isn’t that your breakfast?”

“It’s fine! I prepared a backup!”

And with that, she actually pulled out another bento box.

Completely dumbfounded by her unexpected level of preparation, Ludger found himself with no reason to refuse.

“Professor! You must eat vegetables. These powdered meals might be easy, but they’ll wreck your body eventually!”

Her voice was full of stern conviction—as if scolding a child for being picky about food.

It had a strange kind of pressure.

To Sedina, seeing her idol skip meals or eat like this was utterly unacceptable.

“This won’t do. From now on, I’ll make your breakfast and dinner every day!”

“...That’s not necessary.”

“No! This is important.”

“I’m just worried it’ll be too much for you.”

“Not at all. I want to do this.”

With such stubbornness, there was no point in resisting.

Ludger gave in with a slight nod.

“Fine.”

“Then here—please eat this.”

She thrust the bento toward him.

It was, indeed, full of leafy greens.

...There were far too many greens.

“No meat?”

“None!”

“...None at all?”

Ludger stared at Sedina with a shocked expression.

Was it really possible for a person to live without eating meat?

Or was it a trait specific to half-elves—to live without meat?

‘That can’t be it, not if you look at Bellaruna Petana.’

Bellaruna was a full-blooded elf, and she was a voracious carnivore.

So it made no sense for Sedina, a half-elf, to not eat meat.

“How do you plan to replenish nutrients without meat?”

“This lunchbox I packed contains all the essential nutrients. This plant here is high in plant-based protein, which is really good for you, and if you look at this fruit, it’s rich in fructose and carbohydrates...”

Her explanation went on and on.

She was so thrilled to be asked that she answered even questions he hadn’t asked.

And as he listened, Ludger gradually realized that the nutritional balance was, surprisingly, quite sound.

‘Okay, sure. I get that all the nutrients are technically there...’

But still, wouldn’t it be better if there were meat?

Ludger wanted ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ to argue that point, but he held his tongue under Sedina’s fierce gaze.

If he said something like that now, she might actually get angry.

Usually, Sedina acted quiet and polite, practically tiptoeing around him—but once a switch flipped, she became completely uncompromising.

And the sheer force of presence she gave off in those moments was enough to make even Ludger feel pressured.

‘I haven’t felt this kind of pressure from anyone since my teacher.’

Zero Order and Principal Elisa Willow—those two had the strength to match their stature, so it made sense.

But that Sedina had a side like this was... unexpected.

“Are you not going to eat?”

As Sedina’s voice took on a sharper edge and her eyes grew tense with worry, Ludger hurriedly responded.

“No. I’ll eat.”

Thus began the meal.

Sedina sat down and carefully observed him as he ate.

At this rate, he wasn’t sure whether the food was going down his throat or his nose.

‘Something’s wrong here. She’s the assistant, and I’m the teacher...’

Why did it feel like their roles had reversed?

As he continued eating, a memory surfaced in Ludger’s mind.

“...Is something wrong? Does it not suit your taste?”

“No, it’s fine. Better than I expected, actually.”

Since it was a compliment, Sedina blushed and smiled bashfully.

“Then why the strange expression...?”

“It just reminded me of the past.”

“Oh... if it’s your past, then...”

“Not the recent past—much further back. When I used to travel with my teacher.”

Ludger’s teacher.

At those words, Sedina’s eyes lit up with curiosity. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

“Your teacher? What kind of person were they?”

“They could only be described as a monster. I couldn’t even begin to compare to their mastery of magic. I didn’t even reach their toes.”

“W-What?!”

Sedina cried out in disbelief.

Ludger’s skill with magic was unmatched at Theorn—there wasn’t a single dissenting voice.

But it wasn’t just modesty for the sake of praising his teacher.

Ludger genuinely believed that, even factoring everything in, he was still far inferior to his master.

“I was incredibly lucky to have even been taken in by them. Anyway, my time with them wasn’t all that different from now.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“They constantly nagged me to eat properly. The only difference between you and them... is that they insisted I eat nothing but meat.”

“Meat...?”

Sedina looked like she had just heard something blasphemous.

“Well, I didn’t mind meat, so I ate it often enough... but my teacher liked it so undercooked that it was practically raw. The stench alone made eating a nightmare sometimes.”

He chuckled as if reminiscing fondly about the past, but—

—to Sedina, that was completely unacceptable.

“Meat?! There are perfectly balanced nutrients in vegetables alone, and yet to tilt one’s diet that extremely toward meat? That’s unforgivable!”

“It was in the past.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t blame you for that. But... I get the feeling I wouldn’t get along very well with your teacher.”

Ludger, oddly enough, found himself agreeing and gave a slow nod.

‘Then again, knowing my teacher’s personality, I’m not so sure.’

They were just too unpredictable.

It was pointless trying to guess their actions.

In fact, the two of them might get along surprisingly well.

‘Anyway, the teacher must be awake by now.’

On the final day of the Magic Festival, Ludger had used one of his last-resort methods—“Teacher’s Blood.”

He had reaped the benefit: gained enough time, secured a result.

But there had been a very good reason he hadn’t wanted to use it.

‘The moment I used that blood, my teacher would sense it—and they’d come looking for me.’

Even knowing it was unavoidable didn’t stop Ludger from shivering at the thought of what would happen next.

‘Knowing how capricious they are, they probably won’t come straight here. They’ll wander around sightseeing first. But eventually... they’ll show up in front of me.’

And that would be a disaster.

After all, who had secretly drawn the blood and run away while they were sleeping?

That would be Ludger himself.

What would happen when they met again?

Just imagining it made cold sweat run down his spine.

‘What if they’re already here...?’

Just as the thought crossed his mind—

Someone knocked on the door.

‘Who is it?’

When he called for them to enter, a servant from Theorn stepped into view.

“What is it?”

“Um... a guest has arrived. Someone who wishes to see you, Professor Ludger.”

“...What?”

Ludger’s heart sank to the floor.