NOVPUBWith every soul that had been bound finally released, Quasimodo was truly dead.
But as the saying goes—a tiger leaves its skin behind when it dies.
Quasimodo was no different.
He left behind a crimson gem upon his death.
I seized it before anyone else could notice.
Though I hadn’t properly examined it yet, I could already sense what it was.
It was his core—the very source of his power.
A solidified form of spirit energy, similar to the extremely rare spirit stones said to form when elemental spirits condense their power into physical form.
But in Quasimodo’s case, being more a wrathful wraith or cryptid than a spirit, perhaps “wraithstone” would be more appropriate than spirit stone.
I rolled the gem across my fingers, inspecting it slowly.
Inside the red stone, heat swirled in tight spirals.
An ever-burning, endlessly regenerating flame.
It was a familiar sensation—Quasimodo’s flame, without a doubt.
And to me, this was an immensely interesting artifact.
I don’t know how to use it yet, but there’s no harm in keeping it.
It was a miracle the Zero Order hadn’t caught me with it.
Perhaps... he had come looking for this.
Just as I let out a breath of relief, I noticed a familiar figure approaching from afar.
Hair so brilliantly white it was visible even in the dark—and from the inside, a soft pink hue gave it an unusual two-toned shimmer.
I immediately tucked the gem away and composed my expression.
"You’re here, Headmaster."
The headmaster, who usually wore an unreadable smile, had a rare stern look on her face.
"Professor Ludger. What on earth happened?"
Her firm voice was filled with unwavering resolve—she wasn’t leaving without answers.
Anticipating this, I calmly explained everything I had seen and experienced.
Naturally, it was not the same version I gave to the Zero Order.
This, too, was a “truth” laced with lies.
"That’s how it happened."
"I see."
The headmaster covered her mouth with one hand, seemingly deep in thought.
I watched her carefully, ready to answer any further questions.
But then—
My head...
It was as if a vortex was spinning inside my skull, my vision blurring and swirling.
Maybe it was the aftermath of too much fighting—too much tension finally breaking all at once.
My body slowly began to tip sideways.
"Wait—! Professor Ludger!"
The last thing I saw was the headmaster’s shocked face as she called out to me.
It was the first time I had seen her that startled.
* * *
The Seorn Festival of Magical Arts concluded in great success.
There were no major incidents, and the attendees returned to their daily lives, thoroughly satisfied.
The festival’s festive spirit had completely swept away the previous unease.
But people didn’t know.
They didn’t know about the fire that broke out during the grand fireworks finale on the festival’s last night.
Not that they could be blamed.
The dazzling spectacle had stolen everyone’s attention—and behind the scenes, there were those who fought desperately to prevent the flames from spreading.
"Still, it’s a relief it didn’t grow into a larger disaster."
Elisa, sitting in her office, gently pushed the logistics warehouse fire report to the side and let out an elegant yawn.
Because the headmaster herself had stepped in, the warehouse incident had been resolved to a manageable degree.
And yet, what Ludger had told her the day before still lingered in her mind.
“The one who started the fire was Krolro Febius.”
Elisa tapped her forearm with a finger, her arms crossed.
He was an honorary instructor who stayed at Seorn at the former headmaster’s request, wasn’t he?
She had never paid Krolro Febius much attention.
He came from a once-famous magical family in the Kingdom of Durmang, but all of that was ancient history.
The Febius family had fallen into ruin under the weight of its curse.
The only reason he was at Seorn at all was likely because of some personal deal with the former headmaster.
As far as Elisa was concerned, he was as good as invisible.
I didn’t expect him to be the one holding teachers hostage with the Black Dawn.
Elisa replayed Ludger’s words in her mind:
“Krolro Febius formed an alliance with the Black Dawn. The warehouse fire and even the previous attack during the banquet were all orchestrated by him.”
“Is that true? What became of him?”
“I killed him.”
His voice had been chillingly flat—like someone talking about sweeping trash off the street.
“He was commanding the fire cryptid that attacked the banquet. It was practically impossible to subdue him.”
“So you killed him?”
“I had no other choice. I was in danger myself. If I hadn’t acted, even Miss Selina’s safety couldn’t be guaranteed.”
“I’m not blaming you, Professor Ludger. It’s fortunate there were no casualties. I was just... surprised, that’s all.”
What he had told her was deeply shocking.
Apparently, Krolro had joined forces with the Black Dawn to restore his family’s fallen house.
And on the last day of the festival, he had planned another terrorist attack, just like at the banquet.
But thanks to Ludger’s efforts, those plans were foiled.
And the revelation that Krolro Febius had been the true perpetrator behind the Great Fire of Roteng—
An infiltrated outside force, hidden within Seorn.
A fire breaking out in the warehouse on top of that.
Had the response been any slower, the entire festival might’ve ended in disaster.
The Black Dawn...
Upon closer investigation, it was confirmed—the force that had infiltrated Seorn was indeed the Black Dawn.
All those strange movements inside the school these past weeks—they had been orchestrated by them.
So those suspicious figures from before... it was them.
Elisa had heard of the Black Dawn before.
But she had never imagined they’d embed themselves this deeply into Seorn.
Until now, we ignored them because there was no direct contact...
This festival changed everything. From now on, they would have to adjust their posture.
Still, it’s fortunate we caught them before anything happened.
On the final day of the festival, they had captured around twenty Black Dawn operatives.
Half of the credit went to the new first-year students, including Aidan.
The other half belonged to Ludger Cherish.
The only deaths were Krolro Febius and Joanna Lovett.
No casualties on our side—if anything, we were lucky.
But there was one part that didn’t sit right.
Yes, it was good that things had been resolved thanks to Ludger.
But it had all wrapped up too neatly.
We had the culprit. We had the witnesses. No casualties. That’s good... no, that’s excellent.
And that’s precisely why...
Everything felt too perfect.
The remaining Black Dawn agents were all captured.
The two central figures—Krolro and Joanna—were both killed.
Other than that, there were miraculously no injuries or deaths.
Selina and Ludger had been hurt, but nothing life-threatening.
What if...
A thought crept into Elisa’s mind.
What if Krolro Febius wasn’t actually the real culprit?
What if someone else was the true mastermind, and pinned everything on him?
Her suspicions spiraled and grew, one feeding into the next.
Eventually, Elisa shook her head.
What am I thinking...
There’s no way Ludger or Selina could be the perpetrators.
Selina was a spirit summoner, yes, but she only worked with mid-tier spirits of water, wind, and earth.
Being able to summon three was already impressive—how could she have controlled a top-tier fire spirit on top of that?
It was impossible.
Spirit contracts were bound to the soul.
Unless someone has two souls in one body, it can’t happen.
And Ludger?
Even less likely.
The magic he had demonstrated already had major implications for academic study.
Not to mention his unofficially confirmed use of coordinate-based magic.
All of it fell under manifestation-type casting.
For someone like him to summon a top-tier fire spirit?
Why would someone with that level of power even come to Seorn to be a professor?
And on top of that, he suffered burns rescuing Selina from the fire.
If he had been the one controlling the spirit, that injury made no sense.
Rationally, the only possible culprit was Krolro Febius.
Sigh... I really must be tired. All this suspicion... I’ve grown too sensitive because of this job.
Elisa rubbed both cheeks with her hands.
Ugh. This won’t be good for my skin.
She felt a pang of guilt toward Ludger as well.
While she had been absent, he was the one who had saved Seorn from crisis—entirely his doing. It had been the headmaster’s job to step up in moments like that.
“I’ll have to personally thank Professor Ludger later.”
During the duel the other day, it had seemed like his mana was a bit depleted... Perhaps she should prepare some health-restoring tonic or elixir.
Knock knock.
Just as she was thinking that, someone knocked on the door to the headmaster’s office.
Elisa’s relaxed expression immediately vanished.
Her face sharpened behind the usual calm exterior—intellectual and precise.
"Come in."
As soon as she gave permission, the door opened, and a woman stepped inside.
Hair the color of a clear blue sky, vivid enough to look painted—and from within, a faint pink glow near the roots.
The scent of water seemed to spread into the room with her arrival.
Elisa greeted her with a composed smile.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Casey Selmore."
Casey Selmore, the Azure Mage.
She stared directly at Elisa.
Their eyes met—and locked in midair.
* * *
Normally, Seorn’s infirmary was a quiet place.
Today, it was unusually lively.
"Miss Selina! You have to get well soon!"
"We brought some gifts for your recovery!"
"I’ll put the flowers here!"
"Thank you, everyone!"
The day after the festival ended—
Word had spread among students that Selina had been injured during the celebration, and they had come en masse to visit.
"They said you were hurt while managing the fireworks storage! You’re not in pain, are you?"
"Please get better soon!"
"Yes, I will~"
Officially, Selina’s presence in the infirmary was explained as an accident ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) caused by mishandling magical fireworks at the end of the festival.
The incident in the logistics warehouse had been kept strictly under wraps, so all the students genuinely believed she’d been caught in a freak accident.
Perhaps due to her popularity, her hospital room was overflowing with get-well bouquets.
And students continued to stream in, handing her flowers one after another.
"Thank you all so much!"
Despite the sheer number of visitors—which should have been exhausting—Selina smiled brightly and thanked each student personally.
Some of the male students even blushed and stammered, overwhelmed by her radiant smile.
"M-M-M-Miss Selina! Um, so...!"
But the reply didn’t come from Selina.
It came from someone else entirely.
"Who’s making such a ruckus in here?"
At that moment, the curtain on the bed next to hers was pulled sharply aside.
"Gah! P-Professor Ludger?!"
"A recovery room is meant to be a place of rest. Shouting in here... I’ll take that as a direct challenge to my patience. Fair?"
"S-Sorry, sir!!"
With just a frown from Ludger, the gathered students turned pale and scattered out of the room in a hurry.
Watching the scene unfold, Ludger shook his head.
"Miss Selina. You don’t need to indulge every single student’s insistence."
"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble, Professor Ludger."
"The students were the ones being too loud. You’re not to blame, Miss Selina."
"But you got hurt trying to save me, didn’t you? If you trace it back, it’s my fault you’re here in the infirmary."
"I made the choice. And it’s just a minor injury. A few hours of rest and I’ll be fine."
That was why they’d been assigned to the same hospital room—neither would be staying for more than a day.
"A-Ah, I see."
Selina fiddled with her fingers in response to Ludger’s calm tone.
"I-I mean... it’s kind of a shame... I sort of wish we could stay longer... I mean, it’s a rare opportunity..."
"What did you just say?"
"N-Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"
Realizing what she’d just blurted out, Selina flailed and turned crimson.
Ludger eyed her quietly, then asked—
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"Wh-What?!"
"Your face is red."
"T-That’s because... um..."
Selina squeezed her eyes shut.
"I-I swear I wasn’t having indecent thoughts or enjoying the fact that we’re in the same room or anything! R-Really!"
"...Huh? Uh, okay."
Ludger blinked, stunned by her sudden outburst.
Was she really not sick?
Is she... is she wary of me?
Maybe sharing a room with a man was making her uncomfortable after all?
Even if it was just for half a day, perhaps they hadn’t been thoughtful enough.
Meanwhile, Selina was mentally beating herself up.
Ughhh! I’m such an idiot! I didn’t need to say all that so dramatically!
She’d finally gotten a rare moment alone with Ludger, and she couldn’t even hold a proper conversation.
But it’s too much... Just seeing his face makes my heart feel like it’ll explode.
She placed a hand over her chest, still pounding violently.
This feeling... It’s the first time I’ve ever felt like this.
Which is why she had no idea how she should behave from now on—how to face Ludger going forward.
Maybe I should ask Professor Merilda for advice later...
As those thoughts spun through her head, Ludger drew the curtain shut again.
Ah...
Selina sucked on her finger in disappointment.
Meanwhile, lying in bed, Ludger reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring.
The Zero Order gave me this, saying it was for the Order Synod. That must mean it’s embedded with some kind of mechanism.
He turned the ring over in his hand, inspecting it from every angle.
Hmm. What’s this...?
Something strange flickered in his eyes.
