Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 215: Order Synod (2)

Nicolai didn’t brand me as suspicious outright—rather, he manipulated the situation to lead others to that conclusion.

Proving himself to be more than just an agitator by title, his words flowed naturally but were laced with cunning.

‘He claims it’s a reasonable doubt, but underlying it all is a deep-rooted sense of inferiority aimed at me.’

There was an unspoken provocation in his tone.

It wasn’t aimed at me as a person, but rather directed at the First Order known as John Doe.

Ever since I first arrived here, he had subtly kept me in his sights for exactly that reason.

‘Still, his point isn’t entirely unfounded.’

While I may appear to be a high-ranking member of the Black Dawn Society, I’m not truly one of them.

Everything I’ve done thus far as a teacher is the kind of thing I should never have done.

For a spy to build fame and make a name for himself—how utterly absurd.

It’s behavior that doesn’t fit and can never be tolerated.

So, for Nicolai to point that out—it was, in a way, natural.

He had probably harbored some dissatisfaction with John Doe for quite a while, and now he was using this moment as the perfect excuse.

What Nicolai wants is simple: to tarnish John Doe’s image and prove his own superiority.

It’s an entirely personal—and utterly petty—reason.

Which is precisely why I struck back hard.

As if not worth listening to in the first place, I told him to stop wagging his tongue meaninglessly.

‘The Zero Order won’t intervene anyway—they’ll just watch.’

The other First Orders were the same.

Some watched the conflict between Nicolai and me with amusement; others appeared utterly indifferent.

None of them had any intention—or felt any need—to interfere.

And so, naturally, the situation led to a one-on-one confrontation between Nicolai and me.

The moment Nicolai attacked me, the arena was formed.

Nicolai let out a faint laugh.

“John Doe. Your words and actions are getting rather intense. Or is there something you’re hiding?”

“I just didn’t feel like dignifying a worthless accusation with a response.”

“Hah. So you’re saying you’ve done nothing wrong? Then why the unbelievable conduct? You claiming to have some noble purpose or something?”

“That’s right.”

When I answered shamelessly, Nicolai let out a bitter scoff.

“You’ve gotten even bolder since I last saw you, John Doe.”

“Bold? If that’s what you think, then it must mean your ability to gather intel has deteriorated just as much.”

Nicolai took great pride in how much he knew.

Even from the moment he arrived, he couldn’t help but drop hints to the other executives about what he knew—itching to show off.

His words and actions carried an air of smug superiority, and that only confirmed it.

The same was true now, as he opened his mouth to attack me.

He claimed I’d been acting suspiciously, based entirely on information he’d gathered.

‘Look how much I know. Everything I know is true.’ That’s the kind of belief that shaped his attitude.

He was convinced that when it came to his area of expertise, he couldn’t be outdone by anyone.

That confidence was his strength—but it also exposed his biggest weakness.

So I stabbed right into his pride.

“What good is knowing a lot if your thinking is shallow?”

“...Are you trying to start a fight?”

“Is that how it sounded? No, never mind. I hadn’t planned on saying it outright, but judging from your reaction, Nicolai, I’d say you’ve been harboring quite the inferiority complex.”

What Nicolai pointed out may have been reasonable.

But I laughed in his face, showing blatant mockery—asking if that was really worth criticizing.

A rational point met with irrational rebuttal.

Sure, I might be opening myself up to backlash, but even that can be overcome with enough brute-force conviction.

Better to be brazen—shameless.

The more you act like you’re hiding something, the more people get confused.

In fact—

The other executives, who should’ve been growing more suspicious of me due to my irrational behavior, were now looking at Nicolai instead.

Annoyed, Nicolai snapped.

“Stop twisting words. You still haven’t answered my question.”

As things started to turn against him, he tried to steer the discussion back to a legitimate argument.

It was the most reasonable move he could make.

But what he didn’t understand was this: sometimes the right answer gets trampled.

I gave a derisive snort.

“Didn’t I say it already? I don’t find your question worth answering.”

“So now you’re deliberately dodging? That’s weird. The way you’re talking—it’s like you’re derailing the conversation on purpose.”

Sharp one.

He must’ve realized I was doing this intentionally.

‘Well, no way a Black Dawn executive would miss something like that.’

Of course, I wasn’t acting on impulse.

My real goal came next.

“Nicolai. The reason I find no value in responding to you... is because the premise of your argument is flawed from the beginning.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about...”

“You think you know everything, that you’re standing above everyone else. But in truth, you’re nowhere near that level.”

“...Are you disregarding my intel now?”

I wasn’t exactly disregarding it.

Or maybe I was.

Sure, he knew a lot—and that was admirable. But that didn’t mean he knew everything.

“In that case, let me ask you. Do ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) you know who destroyed the experimental branch in Rederbelk authorized by Victor Dreadpool?”

“How the hell would I know who did it if they hid their identity?”

“And yet, you’ve been pretending like you knew everything this whole time?”

“Hah. So what, John Doe—you’re saying you know who did it?”

“That’s right.”

When I responded without hesitation, Nicolai sucked in a breath.

The other executives had similar reactions.

“...Try not to bluff so hard. There’s nothing more pathetic than pretending to know what you don’t.”

“And why do you assume I’m pretending?”

“Isn’t it obvious—”

“You don’t know, so naturally I must not know either. Is that really what you believe?”

“......”

“Nicolai. That’s exactly why you’ll never make it.”

“...What did you just say?”

The atmosphere shifted naturally back under my control.

This was always going to be a fight between Nicolai and me alone.

And knowing that the Zero Order would never step in, I was free to push things however I liked. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

“It’d be best to break your habit of acting like you know everything just because you understand a few surface-level truths.”

“Hah. If you’re that confident, then go ahead. Share this truth you supposedly know.”

“What, that? I don’t mind saying it.”

I began slowly—deliberately—speaking the truth.

“I’m the one who destroyed the Rederbelk laboratory.”

...!

Silent shock rippled across the round table.

Only the Zero Order gave a small shake of the shoulders, as if finding this all rather amusing.

But Nicolai, the one who had been arguing with me, was a sight to behold.

His face was hidden, but he couldn’t mask the disbelief in his voice.

“What... what did you just say...?”

“The laboratory in Rederbelk. I said I was the one who destroyed it.”

“John Doe! What in the world are you saying?!”

Victor, who had remained silent until now, shouted in horror.

Of course he’d be shocked.

He never imagined one of his fellow executives would have been the one to wipe out his precious laboratory.

Especially considering how John Doe had even lent his name to the Rederbelk project.

“John Doe! I trusted you completely!”

“Shut up, Victor. Why are you blaming me for your own failures?”

“W-What?”

“You’re the one whose poor oversight let those werewolves escape. And then you had the nerve to come running to me asking for help catching them.”

I growled out the words, and Victor immediately shut his mouth.

“I tried to play along with you and offer help, but what did I get in return? Due to your mismanagement, the test subject escaped—and that put me, who had lent his name to the experiment, at risk of exposure. When the werewolf broke into Seorn and its traces ended up right under the Headmaster’s nose, what do you think I felt?”

“Ah, th-that was...”

“So I erased it. With my own hands. Do you have anything to say about that?”

“B-but I wasn’t solely in charge of that facility...”

“Sure. If we’re being technical, the blame likely falls on the black mages who were stationed there—or those freaks from the Shamsus School. But who was it that chose to collaborate with those kinds of people in the first place? Wasn’t that entirely your decision, Victor?”

I stared at Victor with intensity.

And I didn’t bother hiding the personal disgust in my eyes.

“If it were up to me, I’d rip you apart for ruining my plan. But I’ve chosen to let it slide—out of generosity, as a fellow executive. But your underlings? They’re a different story. That’s why.”

“Wh-What do you mean, ‘that’s why’? You didn’t... you’re not saying you destroyed the Rederbelk lab because of that, are you...?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I ended it myself. Useless scum only weigh things down. Better to annihilate everything cleanly, evidence and all.”

The other executives fell silent at those words.

No one asked why.

No one accused me of betrayal.

Of course not. To begin with, the version of John Doe in their minds was exactly this kind of person.

A man who killed his subordinates without a second thought if they displeased him.

A man who only listened to the orders of the Zero Order and didn’t fraternize with the other executives.

So when someone like John Doe had not only been obstructed in his special mission from the Zero Order but was also put at risk of exposure and death?

For him to slaughter everyone involved—it seemed reckless, yet perfectly in character.

His vicious nature, for once, was coming in handy.

“Useless people serve no purpose. No matter how many of them you have, they’re just dead weight. Better to kill them. Am I wrong?”

“...John Doe. Are you joking right now? No matter the justification, your actions went too far.”

Nicolai stepped forward in protest.

I responded with a snort.

“Why? Shouldn’t you be thankful? Thanks to me, the werewolf lab vanished into the shadows without being discovered.”

“You call that something to be proud of?! Even if they were low-ranked, they were still part of our Black Dawn Society!”

“If I hadn’t destroyed that lab, the Nightcrawler Knights would have uncovered everything. Don’t pretend you didn’t know that, Nicolai.”

“......”

The moment I mentioned the Nightcrawler Knights, Nicolai shut his mouth.

Judging by that reaction, he clearly knew just how dangerous the Security Bureau’s Nightcrawler Knights were.

Let’s press a little more.

“Or... wait. Don’t tell me. You didn’t know?”

“...Don’t be ridiculous. I know that the Nightcrawlers—especially their commander, Terrina Lionhowl—were dispatched to Rederbelk.”

“Then let me ask you this. If I hadn’t disposed of the lab, do you truly believe that ‘lion’ you just mentioned wouldn’t have discovered it?”

“......”

Nicolai could have said, “Well, it’s possible she might not have.”

But someone as well-informed as Nicolai couldn’t afford to say that.

A runaway subject and a secret lab?

There’s no way someone of her rank wouldn’t notice.

And if he did claim it was just paranoia? That it was unlikely?

Then I’d use it as an opportunity to attack him for not even being able to grasp the enemy’s capabilities.

After all, that woman had managed to extend her investigation all the way to me—even after I’d meticulously covered my tracks.

Anyone who knew of her wouldn’t dare underestimate her.

Nicolai knew that. That’s why he couldn’t argue back.

“I eliminated the Rederbelk lab to fulfill my mission—and, more importantly, for the sake of the Black Dawn Society’s greater cause. A small sacrifice for the greater good.”

I said this in a biting tone, clearly mocking Nicolai as I stared him down.

“To think you were rambling about how an unknown assailant might have attacked the branch. How laughable.”

“......”

“You know nothing about what I’ve done, yet you go on and on about how I overstep as a teacher in disguise, how noisy I am, how suspicious I look.”

Each word I spoke made Nicolai’s black flames quiver—his humiliation and fury visibly boiling together.

“Nicolai. The only reason I didn’t respond to your accusations earlier was because it was too pathetic to watch you parade around, believing your flimsy intel to be the truth.”

“...!”

“Oh, and you said something earlier, didn’t you? That there’s nothing more disgusting than pretending to know what you don’t. I couldn’t agree more, Nicolai. Truly—well said.”

Nicolai’s suspicions had been valid on the surface. Reasonable, even sharp.

But they weren’t born of reason. They stemmed from personal resentment toward John Doe.

Still, even if your intentions are impure, the truth is the truth—as long as you reach it.

But Nicolai lost in the end because he lacked certainty in that truth.

He couldn’t see beneath the surface of the incident.

And that’s where his information failed him.

Granted, I did just openly admit to destroying the Rederbelk lab—something the Black Dawn Society might consider borderline treason.

But since I’d already gone off the rails, I might as well slap on a brass face and push through shamelessly.

“No. It’s not over yet.”

Nicolai, who had been silent, now clenched his teeth and spoke.

“John Doe. If what you said is true, then you can’t possibly escape responsibility for destroying the Rederbelk branch—”

“Enough.”

The one who interrupted the conversation was Lesley.

“...Lesley. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Nicolai. Don’t you think this has gone on long enough?”

“And who are you to decide that?”

“You picked this fight and didn’t even manage to break even. That’s on you. The conversation’s already over—unless you’re still planning to keep going?”

Lesley pretended to mediate but was clearly criticizing Nicolai.

They’d never gotten along, so it’s no surprise Lesley would seize the chance now that Nicolai had misstepped.

For Nicolai, it must have been maddening. But what could he do? It was all his own doing.

If he didn’t want to be humiliated, he shouldn’t have lost.

“Well, I agree with Lesley,” Bentmin chimed in. “I really hate wasting more time on verbal brawls.”

With Bentmin siding against him too, Nicolai had no choice but to back down.

He shot me a glare so fierce, I thought if looks could kill, I’d be scattered in five directions by now.

I chuckled and said to him:

“Nicolai. Try a little harder next time.”

“...!”

Nicolai let out a voiceless scream.