“Lohenstein…?” Professor Einz’s eyes widened as she stared at Felix. She dropped the second knife she pulled out of her boot. Then her gaze swung to Mathias. “…Weren’t you just a first-year mage student? Sixteen-year-olds can’t even begin to control elementals. Your classes shouldn’t have even mentioned them yet.”
Mathias straightened his ill-fitting blazer; it threatened to burst apart from the strain of his movements. “Sorry, but, as much as it’s to my great displeasure, I had to falsify my age by a lot. Besides, weren’t you the one who said that smart mage students can teach themselves through advanced textbooks at their own pace?”
Seeing that Professor Einz had lost the will to keep fighting, Professor Rueger seized her, grabbing the duct tape on his desk to bind her.
Falsified his age? Huh? Is it just me, or did I just hear some ridiculously long name just a second ago? Mia was trying to sort through the tangled information in her mind when she was surprised by the sight of platinum hair appearing in the office doorway. Henrik finally showed up.
“Ah, sorry. Looks like it’s all over,” he apologized with a composed face.
Hadn’t he tried to pull himself onto the window frame before Mia had? But he ended up circling back around the building to enter through the main office door. In other words—
“Don’t tell me…y-you couldn’t climb up?”
Just how little strength does he have?
He aloofly nodded. “Do I look like someone who’s fit? I never do pull-ups, and you put me on the spot, expecting me to be like those two there, who’ve been trained since infancy to swing a sword. We have different training, you know.”
That’s not the problem. Even I could climb through the window… Mia was amazed by how proudly he’d dismissed that particular fact.
Henrik strode into the room and faced Professor Einz, as if to emphasize it was time for his skills to come into play. “Professor Einz, you are with the military, aren’t you? You can’t talk your way out of this one.”
Bound, Professor Einz jerked her chin in the direction of the ripped Grand Plan. “Should I presume that was a trap?” She grimaced.
“Professor Rueger lent us a hand too,” Henrik affirmed.
“How did you figure it out? I thought I had you all wrapped around my finger.”
“We did not want to doubt you, Professor. We truly wished you were a passionate educator like Professor Rueger here.” Henrik pinned her with an icy glare. “Why don’t we compare answers, hm? Einz?” Henrik dropped all formality as he scrutinized her.
“No one can deny your methods were effective. You won us over with your sweets and honeyed words. But you made a critical mistake earlier—without any hesitation whatsoever, you accepted into your own hands a Grand Plan that had been signed by Felix, someone who you knew may have very well been infected with Demon Claw. The school has been in an uproar about it, so you can’t feign ignorance.
“It would’ve been natural for you to fear the potential of infection from contact with his team like the rest of the Academy, because we were with him. The only explanation for why you wouldn’t be afraid is that you knew Demon Claw isn’t contagious. And the only people who know that—who are positive about it—are those responsible for spreading the lies in the first place. You signed your own confession by your actions.” Henrik logically dismantled her; Professor Einz grudgingly bit her lip.
“Why did you do it, Professor Einz?” Mia asked mournfully. She had been so kind to them.
“…If this Grand Plan gets out there…the Mage Brigade will fall apart. The military will lose all power. Then the remnants of Radius, who’ve been lying in wait for an opportunity to rebel, will make their move. The internal rifts will tear us apart from the inside out and culminate in this kingdom’s downfall. The Era of the Mage, Magira-Aera, is an absolutely necessary technology for Isea Kingdom!” Professor Einz explained desperately.
“You’re calling your new technology Magira-Aera, ‘the Era of the Mage,’ huh?” Henrik cynically repeated the information Professor Einz accidentally spilled. She’d lost her cool as the target of their judging eyes.
She quickly tried to hide her weakness by furthering her emotional appeal, “That’s why we’ve been nipping it in the bud like this for generations. Students are simple to direct toward what’s easier for them. I’ve always lured them away from the topic by creating an obstruction, and then showing them an easy way out of it—until you children came along… Don’t think you’re off the hook because you caught me. There are many more where I came from. People who are willing to offer themselves up to protect our great Kingdom! You know, the patients with Demon Claw should actually rejoice over the honor of fulfilling their duty to this country! I am a patriot!”
“You’re implying sacrificing the few for the many is excusable?” Felix pressed her with a disgusted scowl.
“…We are steadily regulating the amount of magic siphoned to decrease the number of fatalities. So the number of sacrifices should significantly decrease.”
“What you actually mean is that you are regulating the injected magic,” Mia corrected. “To stop Angel Tears from claiming any more precious mages, yes? You think you can fool us?”
Professor Einz held her tongue.
“You disappoint me,” Professor Rueger concluded regretfully and summoned for a pair of Auto Guards lying in wait outside. They thudded into the room and restrained her with handcuffs. Her back stood perfectly straight as she marched out the door, led by their firm grip on the chain attached to her cuffs. It was as if she were saying she wasn’t in the wrong. Professor Rueger followed them out to ensure there were no further incidents.