Chapter 148: The Cadet Disappearance Case (2)

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Chapter 148: The Cadet Disappearance Case (2)

At the height of the war against the demon army.

The Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms were gathered in Valhalla City for their last stand.

Boom!

Early in the morning.

Sophia kicked open the door and entered, frowning at the messy state of the room.

"Hey, Berald! Didn't I tell you to lay off the booze?!"

Sophia started kicking the sprawled-out Berald, who was surrounded by empty bottles.

“Ugh… don't… touch me… Ugh!”

“Oh, for the love of… how much did you drink?!”

“Hehe… don’t worry. I’ll be fine after a bit of rest.”

"Do you have any idea what time it is? The demon army is practically at our doorstep, and you’re lying here drunk!"

Sophia glared fiercely at Berald.

Berald looked up at her with a bitter smile.

“...That’s exactly why I drank.”

“What?”

“Who knows when I’ll get another chance to drink like this? Might as well enjoy it while I can, right?”

“You…!”

Sophia gritted her teeth, lips curling in frustration.

“Get up already.”

She roughly pulled the blanket off Berald.

And then—

“Aaah!”

Sophia let out a loud scream.

She hurriedly threw the blanket back over Berald, who was sleeping without even a shred of clothing on.

“You—you idiot! Why are you sleeping naked?!”

“Well… that’s…”

Berald scratched his head with an awkward smile.

Noticing something strange in his expression, Sophia scanned the area around the bed.

She spotted a thin piece of black fabric that had fallen to the floor when she pulled back the blanket.

A lace-trimmed black bra, large in size.

Naturally, Berald wouldn’t have a habit of cross-dressing.

“…Whose is this?”

Sophia picked up the well-worn black bra with a frown.

Berald scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Looks like Lady Amanda forgot it here… she must’ve been a bit disoriented.”

“Amanda? And who’s that?”

Sophia asked, giving him a piercing look.

Berald put on a serious face and answered.

“Oh! Calling Lady Amanda a ‘that’! How disrespectful!”

“Lady or whatever, who is she?”

Sophia’s frown deepened as she crumpled the bra in her hand.

“She’s a hero from the Holy Kingdom I met not long ago.”

“You—you jerk! Did you go after a married woman again?!”

“Going after a married woman?! Someone could get the wrong idea!”

Berald cried out in exasperation.

“Lady Amanda lost her husband in the war about a year ago. I was simply comforting her loneliness!”

“Comforting… her loneliness…”

“Think about it! The sorrow, the despair of a woman who’s lost her husband! I was just easing her pain!”

“Is that so?”

A red aura of magic began to radiate from Sophia’s body.

“For some reason, every single woman you ‘comfort’ just happens to be married. What, are only married women the ones wounded by war? What about women without husbands? Don’t they feel pain too?”

Sophia’s fiery aura heated up the air around her.

As the crimson energy intensified, she snapped her fingers, and a long staff appeared out of thin air.

The legendary staff, Mistilteinn, said to have been crafted from a branch of the Tree of Creation in ancient times.

The end of Mistilteinn pointed at Berald.

“Wait! Calm down, Senior Sophia!”

Berald hastily sat up, clutching the blanket to cover his lower half.

“Even though Senior Sophia is short, flat, with a nasty personality, and has probably never even held hands with a man, we’re comrades! If Senior Sophia were ever in pain, I, Berald, would do anything to help her!”

“Oh, how touching. I’m about to cry.”

Sophia smiled sweetly.

A surge of red energy gathered at the tip of Mistilteinn.

“Die, you pervert.”

‘Boom!

A violent explosion blew apart the barracks.

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‘From what I remember, Senior Sophia and Berald never really got along.’

I frowned, recalling memories of my past life.

Senior Sophia had unleashed explosion spells on Berald enough times that I could remember over thirty occasions where he nearly died at her hands.

So, what is with this strangely warm atmosphere between them?

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Noticing my gaze, Senior Sophia glared at me with fierce eyes.

I forced a smile and shook my head.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t come here because I like you.”

“…Didn’t you say you had something to ask of me?”

“Yes.”

Senior Sophia dragged a chair over to the nearby table and sat down, crossing her legs.

“Have you heard about the cadet disappearance case?”

As it happened, I had just heard about it from Berald.

“Yes, I have.”

“I want your help to catch the culprit.”

“…The culprit?”

“I almost caught him this time but ended up losing him right in front of my eyes.”

“…!”

My eyes widened at Senior Sophia’s shocking revelation.

“You lost him right in front of you?”

“Yes.”

“…Could you tell me exactly what happened?”

Senior Sophia gave a slight nod and began to speak.

"This time, to catch the culprit behind the 'Cadet Disappearance Cases,' we set up detection magic throughout the entire fourth-year lecture hall building. The culprit triggered it, and when we went to apprehend them, they had left an unconscious cadet behind and ran away."

"What about the culprit’s appearance?"

"Their build was male… but they were quite short."

"And their face?"

"They wore a mask, so I couldn’t see it."

"Hmm."

A short man, huh.

It wasn’t enough information to narrow down the suspect.

"Did you see how they knocked out the cadet?"

"Well… I’m not entirely sure, but it seemed like they used magic. There were no visible injuries at all."

"Magic, huh… No traces of drugs or other magical tools?"

"None."

Sophia lowered her head slightly.

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‘A skilled enough magician to knock out a fourth-year cadet instantly…’

I frowned, lost in thought.

‘Even for most professors, that would be a difficult feat.’

The current fourth-year class at the Hero Academy was considered one of the most talented in history.

Although they were only "top tier" by cadet standards and fell short when compared to active heroes, except for the highest-ranking cadets.

‘Even so, to knock someone out without them realizing it isn’t easy.’

Whoever the culprit was, they were undoubtedly talented.

"By the way, why is Senior Sophia pursuing the culprit? And going as far as setting up detection magic throughout the building?"

That would make sense if she were a professor, but not for a mere cadet.

There would be no reason for a cadet to voluntarily chase a criminal.

"That’s…"

For a moment, a shadow passed over Senior Sophia’s face.

"I can’t tell you."

"I see… Understood."

I was curious why she was chasing the culprit, but I didn’t think pressing her for answers now would yield much.

Now, I just had to decide whether or not to help her catch the culprit.

‘Of course I will.’

I had been thinking about how to repair my tangled relationship with Senior Sophia for a while now.

I had been so busy with other things that I kept putting it off.

‘If this can bring me closer to Senior Sophia, there’s no reason to say no.’

Sophia Evergreen.

A woman who would become an extraordinary magician worthy of the title "Archmage" in the future.

And the only one among our "Final Five Heroes" who was said to surpass the "Great Five Heroes."

‘Yuren was said to be inferior to Reynald, Berald was said to be weaker than the Iron Fist, and Iris was said to fall short of Grace.’

And as for me, the one considered the weakest of us all, there was no need to say more.

But Sophia was the only one who had been deemed superior to the "Great Sage" Julius Bastian.

‘Well, public opinion is often wrong, anyway.’

I never thought Yuren was any less skilled than the Sword of the Sun, Reynald, or that Berald fell short of the Iron Fist, Ryujin Seong, or that Iris was inferior to the Light of Life, Grace.

Even when the Demon God emerged, and the world fell.

‘The Demon God who broke free from his seal was far stronger than the records from 500 years ago.’

That was the true reason our party couldn’t defeat the Demon God.

Anyway, what mattered was that Senior Sophia would become an outstanding magician in the future.

‘Not that it would make a difference; I’d help her regardless.’

What did it matter if she became a famous magician?

She was my comrade, almost like family in my previous life.

And that hadn’t changed, even after I returned to the past.

Even if she didn’t remember me.

Because I remembered her.

"Of course, I don’t expect you to help for free. If you help me…"

"I’ll help."

"…You didn’t even hear the reward?"

"I don’t need a reward. I’m interested in the case anyway."

I shrugged, smiling slightly.

"…That’s unexpected."

Sophia widened her eyes as she looked at me.

"I thought you’d at least demand something like my underwear as payment."

"…Just what do you think of me?"

"Heh. Just kidding. But are you really fine with no reward?"

"Yes."

I nodded and continued speaking.

"By the way, I’m curious as well. Why did you ask me for help in catching the culprit?"

"I saw you handling magic at a pretty high level before."

Was she referring to when I used magic to extinguish the dormitory fire?

"A warrior skilled in magic and strong enough to pursue a criminal—there’s no one else like you, right?"

"……."

Indeed, there weren’t many cadets in the warrior department who could handle magic at a high level.

"So, can I take that as a yes?"

"Yes."

"And me! I’ll help too!"

Berald raised his hand enthusiastically, his eyes shining.

I looked over at Senior Sophia, giving her a questioning look.

She nodded without hesitation.

"If you’re good enough to have bested that arrogant Laios, there’s no reason to turn you down."

And so,

A three-person party was formed to catch the culprit behind the cadet disappearances.

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