The seventh day of my wise Prison Cell life.
I finally realized one fact.
'It's boring......'
I'm incredibly bored.
The first day or two was comfortable.
Treatment in the Morning, Lecture in the Afternoon, Research in the evening.
It was very comfortable to have my Schedule clear up after a long Time of continuing such a life.
Thanks to that, it was also a Time to relieve the fatigue that had unknowingly built up.
The spirit of the Korean People flowing in my Soul must not have gone anywhere, because my body itched from not being able to work.
'The Treatment Method for Demon Disease has also been confirmed, so I have a lot of things to do.'
There was no problem with my Alibi as Director Schun.
Because with Simeon's help, it was Handled as taking annual leave and resting.
The problem was that the things I had to do kept coming to mind to the point I couldn't stay still.
To what extent, you ask? It was to the point I even lost sleep because the things I had to do kept appearing in my dreams.
There was also another Anxiety here.
'They said they would release me, so why is there no News. Besides, a Search and Seizure?'
According to the Emperor's Message relayed by Perisia, I was definitely supposed to be released soon.
I had believed those Words and was comfortably enjoying my vacation.
But even after a week passed, I couldn't escape this condition behind Iron Bars.
On top of this, I had just heard some very unpleasant News through the Head Butler who came to visit yesterday.
That News was none other than the Safe in my Villa undergoing a Search and Seizure.
'If it's the Board of Inspection, they would be more than capable of opening that Safe.'
At the Anxiety that kept washing over me, I sprawled out on the bed while Rubbing face with hands.
Inside the Safe was a Research Notebook recording the Medications Director Schun had made so far, and the Medications he would make in the future.
That Notebook was none other than a Notebook to show my descendants.
Just like Da Vinci's Notebook.
The problem was that looking at the contents of that Notebook, one could only be certain that I was Director Schun.
'Besides, my Three Divine Instruments Recipe is right next to it too.'
It was a situation where an Important Safe in many ways had been robbed.
In that nervousness, I was about to unknowingly bring my Fingernail to my lips.
Click, clack.
A familiar silhouette stopped in the Corridor beyond the Iron Bars.
It was Perisia with a cast on one arm.
It was the process of treating her broken arm.
It is possible to immediately treat it using Heal.
However, because among Curses, there are Curses that strike with a Time delay, she was maintaining her broken arm state.
"Ms. Perisia."
I approached the Iron Bars and called her.
Good timing.
"I heard my Villa underwent a Search and Seizure."
"......Is that so."
"To tell you the Truth, I'm a bit anxious. Aren't there sensitive materials mixed in among those Documents?"
"Your Worry is valid."
Perisia nodding her head.
"However, you do not need to Worry. This Inspection is a matter overseen by the Board of Inspection. As Lord Yulian's Protective surveillance is also under the jurisdiction of the Board of Inspection, it seems there will be no instance of Lord Yulian's Secret leaking to the outside."
Hearing her say that put me at ease.
Come to think of it, that's true.
The fact that I was the Same Person as Director Schun was a Secret the Board of Inspection was hiding for me.
Since that Board of Inspection conducted the Search and Seizure, they would have properly sorted it out on their own.
'I was fretting alone for nothing.'
I relaxed the tension in my stiff Shoulders.
"Thank you, Ms. Perisia. Thanks to you, I feel a bit relieved."
"......Don't mention it."
Perisia gave a short bow, stepped back towards the wall, and quietly kept her place.
I also leaned my back against the bed with a comfortable mind.
However, that Peace did not last very long.
Click, clack, click, clack!
A few minutes later.
Urgent footsteps echoed from the other side of the Corridor.
Judging by the sound of the footsteps, it wasn't just one or two people.
At least more than three people were swarming toward this direction.
Since the only inmates on this floor were me and Freya, I could easily guess that they were my guests.
Before long, a group of people stood in Formation in front of the Iron Bars.
The one standing at the front was a middle-aged man.
A man with beads of sweat forming on his greasy Forehead, wearing a somewhat terrified Face.
As he continuously wiped his Forehead with a Handkerchief, he personally unlocked the Iron Bars' Lock with trembling hands.
Squeak. The Iron Bars door opened.
"L-Lord S-Saint, no, Professor! To have kept you in such a shabby place, I truly have no Face!"
"?"
What was that gentleman trying to call me just now?
While I was wondering, the man entered while bowing his waist so low it was practically folded in half.
The Prison Guard standing next to him carefully introduced him.
"This is the newly appointed Director of the Security Bureau."
Director of the Security Bureau.
It seemed he was the person who newly filled the position of the predecessor who was Handled as a Disappearance after the Graduation Exam Incident.
However, what could be the reason for someone as high as the Director of the Security Bureau to specifically visit a place like this.
Before I even had the Time to guess the reason, the Director of the Security Bureau urgently poured out Words.
"I, I truly firmly believed from the beginning that the Professor would be innocent! Ahem. Of course. How could the Professor commit such a heinous act. There must definitely be some deep meaning to it, I had thought so from the very start."
The Director of the Security Bureau spouting flattery without even pausing for breath to defend me.
It was too desperate to be called flattery, to the point I wasn't sure if it was flattery or not.
"A-Actually, if things went normally, the Professor should have already been released Several days ago. But this is, well, it takes some Time for Contact to go back and forth between the Capital's Board of Inspection and our Academy Territory...... Besides, the release process is quite complicated, you see. There's Identity verification, Document review, Council approval......"
He listed the Administration procedures while counting them off on his fingers one by one.
Only then did I see the Dark circles hanging under his eyes.
It seemed he had stayed up day and night Handling all that Administration.
"Since the matter is what it is, the intertwined Administration is a bit complicated...... Ahaha. It's not an excuse, I just wanted to say I'm sorry it took this long due to my Fault for being inadequate."
Then, he suddenly pounded his chest.
"Y-You don't know how frustrated I was at the Time! I strongly argued in the Council that we should skip all these procedures and immediately escort the Professor out! But those gentlemen kept dragging out the Time, saying 'procedure, procedure' in unison......"
I roughly understood his Intention.
To summarize, he tried to accommodate me as much as possible.
However, it took a whole week because of Administrative matters.
He even tried to skip that Administration.
So if by any chance I intended to hold someone accountable, I should hold the guys who made the Administration complicated accountable...... It was roughly that meaning.
I understood the Intention.
The problem was his Stance.
'Is it something to be this scared about?'
Of course, Professor Yulian is a figure The Military also has their eyes on.
Being a close aide to the Imperial Prince, and also a core member of the Black Magic Countermeasure Team that The Military is anticipating.
However, it wasn't someone the Director of the Security Bureau would bow his waist to this extent for.
Because for someone on the level of the Academy Territory's Director of the Security Bureau, they could just make it as if it never happened by exchanging a Dinner and a slight show of sincerity, citing there was a roughly Unfortunate incident.
So I had no choice but to bewilderingly watch that desperate feast of evasion.
Then, the next moment.
Only after seeing the necklace he took out from his arms could I understand the reason why he was doing this.
"U-Uhm...... Professor. This is a highly apologetic and presumptuous Request, but......"
The Director of the Security Bureau carefully took something out from his arms and supported it with both hands.
It was a Brass Holy Symbol necklace.
He held that Holy Symbol out to me and desperately whispered.
"Could you place your hand on the Holy Symbol and say that you will forgive me?"
"......"
The act of placing a hand on someone's Holy Symbol and repeating words of forgiveness.
That was the ritual a High-ranking Priest took when pardoning a Sinner's Crime.
It was normally a ritual taken when a Priest of Bishop level or higher performed a baptism or a special Pardon,
but to ask that of me......
'Could it be.'
As if supporting that Anxiety, the Director of the Security Bureau spoke desperately.
"I truly, have not harbored an Impiety in my heart towards the Professor for even a single moment. I Vow to God. So......"
His hands holding up the Holy Symbol were trembling pitifully.
Then, he slightly looked back.
In the place his gaze headed, there were several men standing quietly at the back of the group.
They were Heresy Inquisitors wearing pure white Ceremonial dress engraved with silver holy crests.
The Director of the Security Bureau glanced at those Heresy Inquisitors and whispered in an almost tearful Voice.
"Even if not me, at least my family...... please......"
"......"
At such a desperate plea, I couldn't bring myself to interrogate him on where he heard that and silently placed my hand on the Holy Symbol.
At that, the other Prison Guards who followed the Director of the Security Bureau also silently took out their Holy Symbols one by one.
The Inquisitors watching those sights with bloody Facial expressions.
Only then did I feel like I knew what kind of misunderstanding they were having.
'I wasn't the one who made the Former Director of the Security Bureau and his family disappear......'
That Director of the Security Bureau and his family were just quietly Handled because they were Shapeshifters......
Unable to even explain it because it was a Secret, I quietly placed my hand on the Prison Guards' Holy Symbols one by one.
While doing so, I quietly protested with my eyes toward Perisia, who was hiding as if blending in with the wall at the back of the group.
'......Ms. Perisia. You said the Secret wouldn't leak outside the Board of Inspection.'
The Director of the Security Bureau is clearly not affiliated with the Board of Inspection.
Such a person clearly knows that I am a Saint.
That means only one thing.
It had spread all over town to the point where anyone who would know already knows.Perhaps at this rate it wouldn't be long before it was even published in the Newspaper.
Perisia, having read my gaze, met my eyes for a moment.
Then.
Slide.
Very naturally, she averted her gaze out the window.
Before long, a single line of dry Telepathy flew into my head.
─ [This officer is in charge of VIP Bodyguard duty. I had no knowledge regarding the jurisdictional duties of the Board of Inspection and the Security Bureau. I also have not heard anything regarding the underlying Intentions of His Majesty.]
Aha.
So, telling me to be at ease was a bluff.
As expected.
'Because she's a public servant, her distinctions are thorough even down to this.'
That day, my Double life met its complete end.
*
My dual Identity was revealed in an unintended way.
Looking back, the reason I separated the identities of Director Schun and Yulian was because I lacked the power to handle Drawing Aggro that would be attracted to that Social status.
But now, there was no longer a need for that.
My Bodyguards, Perisia and Gregor, are of the 4th Rank.
They narrowly meet the Condition of a Bodyguard suitable for revealing my identity, just as Teacher mentioned.
On top of this, the Asset I currently possess is at a level comparable to a Ducal Family.
Even if my own power is lacking, it means I can use money to operate an Army managed by a Ducal Family as a Private Soldiers Organization. (Of course, the Imperial Court would scold me if I did that.)
Because of this, regarding my identity being Disclosure, I didn't feel any Threat to my Personal Safety.
I only felt a sense of regret.
'I wanted to make the Disclosure at a press conference.'
Isn't there a scene like that in superhero movies.
A scene where one tackles it head-on at a press conference instead of making a Denial about the suspicions.
I wanted to do that too.
Instead of an Avoidance of the suspicions, I wanted to make a Declaration straight to their faces, "I am Doctor Schnabel."
But unfortunately, the world never flowed according to my plans.
"Hooo...... This humble one never dreamed that Lord Saint was Professor Yulian."
As soon as I was released from the Detention Center, a shirtless, muscular Holy Knight welcomed me and said this.
Only after seeing that sight was I certain.
That this wasn't a confidential Secret, but had just been rumored all over town.
"Hmm. A Guideline has come down from the religious order. From this Time forward, this humble one will act as a Bodyguard for both Lord Saint and the Professor, and I also plan to Handle my room and board at the Mansion."
Gregor flicking his bouncy mustache once.
"I know the Professor likes Cooking, but my meal is not necessary. I am currently in the middle of dietary Management, so I will Handle that part on my own."
Along with that, Gregor struck a Side chest pose with a shout of, "Hup!"
At the moment I wondered why he was doing that, he glared at the Elf Bodyguard Perisia and said.
"Unlike someone who failed to protect Lord Saint from a wicked Black Sorcerer."
His gaze was nailed onto Perisia.
"Had this humble one been there, I would have exorcised that wicked Black Sorcerer bastard without difficulty, and protected Lord Saint without a single scratch."
Flex!
His bicep bounced once as if to show off his sturdiness.
Perisia calmly looked at such Gregor and replied.
"I will not make a Denial."
Unexpectedly, Perisia calmly accepted those Words.
"In terms of Matchup Compatibility, it is a fact that Lord Gregor is at an advantage over me in dealing with a Black Sorcerer. It is self-evident reasoning that a Holy Knight wielding Divine Power is strong against Black magic."
Perisia showing an Acknowledgement of her shortcomings with an Expressionless Face.
At that clean admission, Gregor shrugged his Shoulders and stroked his mustache.
"Hoh. So you know."
"However."
At that moment, Perisia cut off her Words.
"This officer is a Bodyguard intended for an Attack not only from a Black Sorcerer, but also Demonkin, Superhumans, and even Demonic Beasts."
She shifted her gaze toward Gregor with a still dry Tone of voice.
"I shall ask Lord Gregor. It seems you have ample Preparation against a Black Sorcerer, but─ how much Preparation do you have against an Attack from Demonic Beasts, Demonkin, and furthermore, Superhumans?"
"Keugh......!"
Gregor's mustache flinched.
......I didn't make a Pointing out as to why that spot of all places flinched.
"O-Of course, up to a Demonkin! This Gregor can cope as much as needed! A mere Demonkin can just be hit with a Purification by Holy Flame and that's it......!"
His Voice was booming.
But for some reason, the end of that booming Voice faded strangely.
"......A-Anything above that. Well, depending on the situation...... Ahem."
Even in the hand stroking his mustache, the same Vigor as before was not present.
It seemed that against opponents on the level of Demonic Beasts or Superhumans, even Gregor had absolutely no confidence.
It was inevitable.
Against a Black Sorcerer using an unholy Symbol, an Old Testament Style Holy Knight, who is Divinity itself, is no different from a Designated Enforcer.
However, against someone pushing in with pure physical force, Divine Power has relatively lacking Firepower.
They won't be defeated in an instant, but roughly speaking, it ends after being unilaterally beaten up.
At least for Demonkin, their root is Black magic, so a good match is possible, but against Demonic Beasts, other Nobles, or Superhumans, they tend to be completely powerless.
Of course, Matchup Compatibility isn't absolute.
One could press them down with Rank or overcome it with combat sense.
But in combat, Matchup Compatibility is a factor that cannot be ignored.
For this reason, a Holy Knight tends to be reluctant to fight general Superhumans of the same Rank as themselves.
"Mmm...... At that Time...... I'd ask the Lady to lend her strength......"
Gregor twiddled his fingers, his previous Imposing manner and Vigor nowhere to be found.
Perisia did not give any answer.
However, with her Expressionless Face as it was, she tilted her Jaw up ever so slightly.
Placing her uncast hand on her waist, and slightly squaring her Shoulders.
Her Facial expression was clearly dry as usual without a difference, but,
from somewhere on that motionless face, an indescribable sense of victory was slowly leaking out.
"......!"
Gregor tried to retort something with a resentful face, but it seemed he couldn't think of the right Words.
Ultimately, he just bounced his innocent bicep up once more with a Flex.
I watched that sight with interest.
'Oh, so Perisia knows how to make that kind of Facial expression too.'
Wait, no.
Her Facial expression is the same, so should I call it a gesture?
Anyway.
After fully appreciating Perisia's gloating like that, we got into the car.
Now that Identity distinction has become meaningless.
I just openly got into Director Schun's Limousine and headed to the Mansion.
'I guess I no longer need the annoying procedure of alternating one by one like before.'
If there is anything to take comfort in, it's that Going to work and Leaving Work have become much more comfortable.
Ah, and there's no longer a need to explain the reason Director Schun took annual leave for a week.
This is really lucky.
It really is the Misunderstanding Genre!
'......Yeah right.'
That's enough of my Rationalization-driven Gushing for the sake of Reality Denial.
That was while I was on my way back to my sweet home after being released.
Freya, who was sitting quietly next to me, carefully opened her mouth.
"Older Brother."
"Yeah?"
"By the way, what are you going to do about the second semester registration?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's going to get quite noisy......"
At the Time, I couldn't understand what Words she was saying.
But a week later.
As Summer Vacation was coming to an end and the Course Registration period arrived before the start of the second semester, I was able to realize the meaning of those Words.
— "Why are you only favoring the Hero Department Students, and the Department of Healing Arts can't take that Class!"
— "Selling scalped tickets for the Black Magic Defense Arts Lecture!"
— "Notebook! At least show me the Notebooks of the kids who made a Success of their Course Registration!"
The day of Course Registration.
The way Going to work at the Infirmary.
Only after seeing the line starting from the reception desk blocking the road did I realize it.
'Ah, so that's what she meant.'
The reason Freya was Worried.
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