NOVPUBThe reason Sedina Roschen had been loitering outside Ludger’s door was because she had something she absolutely had to tell him.
That was why she hadn’t left despite his earlier dismissal. And in a way, it turned out to be fortunate for both of them.
“So, some of your people acted on their own.”
“Ah... y-yes.”
At Ludger’s words, Sedina tried to offer an excuse—but quickly realized it wasn’t necessary. She simply nodded.
It was an undeniable fact: someone had indeed acted without orders.
“What exactly happened?”
“A Second Order member... no, one of them tried to handle the matter on their own.”
“Start from the beginning.”
At the cold, cutting tone of Ludger’s voice, Sedina’s small body trembled.
But it wasn’t out of fear.
It was a shiver of awe.
Her eyes couldn’t tear themselves away from Ludger’s intense gaze.
“It all began when a Third Order member was gathering information. While infiltrating Seorn, he began tracking some of the staff... and discovered that one of them had made contact with the source of the current rumor.”
The wish-granting stone.
To most, it would’ve sounded like nothing more than another outlandish tale one might hear in a magic academy.
But that Third Order had been drawn in—almost like something had compelled him to listen.
“That’s how he learned the truth. That somewhere within Seorn, a powerful Relic was secretly being stored.”
“And he reported it up the chain.”
“Yes, that’s correct. He informed his superior, a Second Order. But...”
“The one who received the report didn’t pass it further up.”
“...Yes.”
If it was something as significant as a Relic, it wouldn’t have been strange for the First Order to be notified.
But this Second Order—driven by some selfish ambition—cut the report off and buried it.
And then moved independently.
“Did he think I wouldn’t find out?”
Ludger’s voice carried a trace of suppressed fury, and Sedina quickly responded.
“I... I’m not sure either...”
“Who is this Second Order?”
“His name is Demires.”
Ludger tilted his chin slightly—an unspoken gesture for her to continue.
“He’s part of the Intelligence Division. He used to handle operations for them. But... his actual ability doesn’t match his ambition.”
“And why do you think this Demires pulled a stunt like this?”
“Well... I can’t say for certain, but I think... maybe he wanted to achieve something big and take a seat in the First Order.”
“The First Order?”
“Yes. Our founder, the Zero Order, created seven First Order positions. He said those seats can change hands at any time.”
At the mention of the First Order, Sedina couldn’t help but brighten slightly.
To her, the First Order weren’t just superior officers—they were objects of admiration. Idols, even.
Just like the man standing in front of her now.
“Though the current First Orders hold their positions firmly, there are many Second Orders constantly eyeing their seats.”
“I see.”
Ludger nodded slowly, even as he inwardly scoffed at the Black Dawn Society’s internal structure.
He had thought they were just a brutal, shadowy group with a reputation for executing traitors.
He hadn’t expected they also had such ruthless internal competition.
‘If someone underperforms or fails... they get replaced.’
That must’ve meant the current First Orders had all taken their seats by usurping others.
But what intrigued him most was the one who created all of this: the Zero Order.
Just who was this person who devised such an insane system?
‘He must believe his position is untouchable.’
There had to be a reason for that confidence.
And that reason could only be one thing: overwhelming personal power.
Whoever the Zero Order was—Ludger needed to be extremely wary of them.
“So what’s the current situation?”
“D-Demires gathered a few Third Orders who supported him and launched the operation. Before the artifact could be moved, they raided the storage site, stole it, and fled. They're currently in hiding.”
“Do we know where?”
“Given the urgency, we’ve only figured out the direction they escaped in. Beyond that, nothing definitive yet...”
“So they haven’t left Seorn.”
“No, they haven’t.”
Ludger stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Sedina had likely rushed to inform him before she could even confirm Demires’ location.
And judging from the timing of the Headmaster’s earlier call, the incident had only occurred very recently.
Still, if the Headmaster had already requested his help, then Demires must’ve at least managed to slip away effectively—for now.
“A game of tag, is it?”
“Sorry?”
“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”
“O-okay...”
Ludger turned his gaze toward the window.
The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in orange and crimson.
Spring hadn’t passed yet, so the days were still short. Night would fall quickly.
That meant tracking the enemy would soon become harder.
The pursuers would be delayed, and the pursued might finally {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} catch their breath.
And in that lull... it would be his time to move.
“Looks like it’s time I get going.”
“Y-you’re going to move personally, Professor?”
“I have to. We need to clean this up before things spiral further out of control.”
“Then what should I do?”
Sedina asked, summoning what courage she could.
If Ludger was going to act, she didn’t want to just sit around and do nothing. That would make her feel even worse.
All she had done so far was deliver information. That hardly counted as “doing her part.”
“Nothing.”
“...Sorry?”
“Just telling me what you did was more than enough, Sedina. You’ve already fulfilled your role.”
“M-me?”
You’ve fulfilled your role.
Sedina hadn’t expected those words. She couldn’t even remember if anyone had ever said something like that to her before.
“Are you... serious?”
“I am.”
Ludger answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“You did well.”
“...!”
That one sentence struck something deep inside her.
For the first time, someone had recognized her.
She had always been treated like garbage—so much so that she’d fled her own family. But even in her escape, she’d found no one to truly welcome her.
She had wondered, time and time again, if this was all she was capable of.
And yet Ludger had acknowledged her.
Her eyes turned red as tears threatened to spill over.
But she forced them back.
She couldn’t let herself look pathetic in front of the one person she respected most.
Fwoosh.
Ludger pulled his black long coat off the hanger and threw it over his shoulders.
“I’ll be going. Watch the place while I’m out.”
“....”
He walked past Sedina, who had bowed her head low to hide the tears.
One might have been hurt by his cold indifference—as though he hadn’t even noticed her emotions.
But Sedina knew better.
She understood that this, in his own way, was kindness.
* * *
Seriously, what was that all about?
I shook my head, picturing Sedina alone in the faculty office.
All I did was say a few encouraging words, and she nearly broke down crying.
I couldn’t really understand it—but still, it told me just how hard her life must’ve been.
She was only pretending to be strong. Beneath it, she was fragile. That shell of confidence was just a front to hide her vulnerability.
The Roschen family, huh.
Even I had heard of them.
“Recent” might not be the right word, but they were a rising power among the notable noble houses.
Still, there was plenty of gossip surrounding them. Officially, nothing had ever been proven, but everyone knew they’d used filthy means to claw their way up.
If I had to compare, they were probably on par with Belvotte Rixon—the man I personally took care of not long ago.
And maybe the current head of House Roschen was even worse.
But that’s none of my concern.
This was Sedina’s personal matter.
Her hatred for her family, her connection to Julia Plumehart—
None of it had anything to do with me.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Though she was currently serving as my assistant, in the end, the relationship between Sedina and me was nothing more than a façade.
There was no need for me to waste energy taking a deep interest in her.
“What matters more is something else.”
The first priority was retrieving the stolen Relic, the <Philosopher’s Stone>.
I’d already been told the direction in which the other Black Dawn members fled—tracking them wouldn’t be difficult.
No matter how large Seorn was or how many places one could hide...
That didn’t mean they could vanish forever.
Once outside the building, I walked slowly down the path and looked up at the sky.
Time passed gradually.
By the time the sun had vanished completely beyond the western horizon...
All light had faded, and a chill began to ride on the evening wind.
As dusk fully settled and the first chirps of field insects began to ring out—
Stop.
I halted my steps.
I glanced around, but there wasn’t anyone paying attention to me.
Well, to be precise, there were people—students heading home in pairs or chatting in the distance—but none of them acknowledged me.
As they shouldn’t.
Because I had already blended perfectly into the environment.
<Ater Nocturnus>
The black shadows wrapped around my body quivered, cloaking me from the surroundings.
My original spell, whose name in Latin meant “Black Nocturne.”
Despite its appearance, it wasn’t a dark-elemental spell.
Nor was it a manifestation-type spell like the ones I taught my students.
Strictly speaking, it was summoning magic.
One of the five branches of formal magic—the <Summon> school.
Within summoning magic, there are four specialized categories:
The [Spirits], drawn from the will of nature.
The [Golems], formed from metal and earth.
The [Necromancy], calling upon and applying the remnants of souls.
And lastly, what I now commanded—[Magibeasts].
All mages manipulate mana. But mana itself remains an undefined, mysterious force.
As a human attempts to harness that mystery, their magic is inevitably shaped by their nature.
Their constitution, their life experiences, their desires, their hidden talents.
Any of these factors can influence the outcome.
All those aspects intertwine to the point that mana itself begins to take on a will—and eventually takes form as a summoned creature.
That is what we call a Magibeast.
With forms and abilities as varied as the people who summon them, magibeasts stand apart from all natural life.
Even mine is not a conventional summon—it takes the form of clothing.
And its function is just as unconventional.
“Let’s go.”
Swish.
The shadows at the hem of my coat flowed like ink spreading in water, slipping across the ground.
Soon, a shadow darker than the night itself spread like a carpet beneath my feet, opening a path.
I followed the trail it laid before me.
“...Hmm?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought something just brushed past us.”
“I didn’t feel anything. Maybe it was a bird?”
None of the people I passed in the darkness recognized me.
They didn’t even register my existence.
It was one of the abilities of <Ater Nocturnus>, my magibeast.
It devours the abstract force known as “presence.”
Not just hiding me—it consumes the very awareness that others might have of me, making it nearly undetectable even by magical search spells.
However, it can't be used for too long.
Because it's feeding on my own presence—if left unchecked, it could eventually devour me entirely.
Crunch.
I pulled a pill from my pocket and tossed it into my mouth.
The thing consumed energy at an unsustainable rate. It couldn’t be maintained for long.
It obeyed my commands—for now—but it didn’t truly listen to me.
It followed only because I kept feeding it. If I ever stopped, it would try to devour me too.
“All the spells I use... every last one of them is broken in some way.”
Since arriving at Seorn and teaching the fundamentals, that truth had only become more painfully clear.
Still, I had no choice but to use what I had.
With that in mind, I continued forward, following the path of shadows.
* * *
“...Huh?”
“Flora? What’s wrong?”
Flora Lumos, having finished her studies for the day, stopped in her tracks while walking with her childhood friend, Cheryl.
Cheryl tilted her head in confusion at Flora’s sudden behavior, but Flora didn’t respond.
Something just brushed past me.
She didn’t see it.
She didn’t feel it on her skin.
Anyone else would’ve mistaken it for a breeze.
But not Flora.
There’s a scent.
A strong fragrance had swept past her and now lingered faintly as it moved away.
It wasn’t an ordinary scent. It was undoubtedly the scent of magic.
But also, one she’d never smelled before.
Normal magic always carried a sweet, sharp fragrance.
But this scent was darker. Deeper. Like the rich aroma of black coffee.
What is that? A magic I can’t see?
And one that had brushed past her, no less.
Flora felt a strange mix of irritation and curiosity.
The scent’s still here.
The residual fragrance lingered like a trail.
I need to follow it.
The moment she reached that conclusion, she acted.
“Flora? Flora!”
Cheryl Wagner called out after her desperately, bewildered by her sudden and strange behavior.
