Chapter 217
"I said I'm sorry."
"..."
After the commotion had ended.
Despite repeatedly offering apologies, Jin Yeseo simply huffed without responding and continued walking.
Her face was still as red as an apple.
I also had my grievances. Who could have guessed that Kwon Yuri would pop out there of all places? It was a reflexive action because I didn't want to create a troublesome situation.
Well, not that it matters now—it's spilled water at this point...
No matter how strong-willed and fiery her personality is, could Jin Yeseo still just be a girl of her age?
I deserved to be called inconsiderate.
"...I'll forgive you."
After a long silence. Jin Yeseo finally stopped in her tracks and muttered those words.
"But I'll keep this as a debt."
"Debt...?"
"Yes."
Her eyes, casting a sharp sideways glance, still held a mixture of reproach and hurt.
Contrary to her pointed gaze, she hesitated, fumbling as she laid out her demands.
"O-one favor token should suffice to even the scales. No matter how close and comfortable we are with each other, experiencing something this embarrassing..."
"...Fine. Do as you wish."
I replied without much thought.
It's much easier on my mind to keep it as a debt rather than find myself in more troublesome situations.
After all, Jin Yeseo isn't the type to use something like this as leverage to make weird threats. At worst, she might ask me to teach her some self-defense techniques or something.
It's something I can definitely endure.
"Hmph."
Jin Yeseo finally turned her head after hearing my response. She was trying hard to keep up her act of being angry, but her expression had long since melted like snow under the spring sunlight.
And so, the commotion came to a close, and we hurriedly walked toward the Western Research Building, where Professor Shin Jae-yu had reportedly been seen.
However, the moment we arrived there.
The faint, wobbly smile lingering on Jin Yeseo's face had already been replaced by bewilderment.
"Huh...?"
What greeted us was the desolate sight of the research building. There wasn't even a single ant, let alone Professor Shin Jae-yu, in sight.
If anything, dust had lightly settled as though the place hadn't been used for days.
-Under Repair. Access is restricted until further notice.
"...That friend earlier. Could it be they actually dislike you? Maybe they lied to mess with you..."
"They're not someone who would ever do that..."
Looking at the notice posted on the wall, I asked, and Jin Yeseo shook her head.
"Did they misunderstand something...? Maybe they met the professor at a different location..."
"Didn't they say themselves that they practically live in the lab? How could they have misunderstood something like that?"
"...I don't know either."
She furrowed her brows as if feeling equally uneasy.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't come up with any sharp solutions. In the end, we had no choice but to turn back, weighed down by an unease that had snowballed even further.
As we were about to return to square one.
A senior we encountered at the stairs in the corner recognized us.
"You two..."
"Hello, senior."
After realizing his face looked familiar, I recalled that he was part of the Student Council, the same senior who had earlier selected students for the Investigation Committee. His expression and gaze seemed unusually dull.
He looked at us and questioned sharply.
"What are you wandering around for? I'm pretty sure the professor told you to stay put and wait."
"Oh, well, Professor Kwon separately asked us for a favor."
"A favor?"
"Yes, to help find Professor Shin Jae-yu... It's an urgent matter..."
Jin Yeseo lied without batting an eye. The way she delivered it so smoothly—it wasn't her first time doing this, was it? Did she actually have a hidden talent for lying?
"Hmm, is that so?"
The senior rested his hand on his chin, briefly lost in thought, before speaking again.
"Then go check out the pond in the Patronage. You know where that is, right? It's the place where an unnamed female student occasionally appears."
Then, he pointed with his finger in the direction.
"I saw the professor there. She was coming from the East Building and feeding fish by the pond."
"What? Really?"
"Yes."
"Thank you, senior! Thanks to you, we'll save some time!"
"...Thank you."
After receiving our thanks, the senior waved dismissively as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Ugh, the Patronage pond is in the exact opposite direction from here. When did she even go there..."
Jin Yeseo grumbled again as we walked in the opposite direction of where the senior had disappeared.
Then, she turned her head and spoke to me.
"But she'll really be at the pond, right? He said he just saw her there..."
Somehow, I didn't get a particularly good feeling about this either.
Was it because of the senior's demeanor, as if he had been waiting for us to show up?
However, setting aside the suspicion that pricked like a spike in my pocket, I nodded for now.
"...Let's hope so."
We'd find out soon enough at the Patronage pond.
***
And once again, Jin Yeseo's hopes were not fulfilled.
"What is this..."
Jin Yeseo murmured in bewilderment as she looked at the empty and deserted pond area.
"Did she already go somewhere else again? But there aren't even any traces left... Did the senior really deceive us for a prank...? No, that didn't seem to be the case..."
Beside the disheartened Jin Yeseo, I sank into thought.
As she said, it didn't feel like a prank.
However...
"..."
A feeling close to a foreboding premonition seeped into my skin. Even the sunny weather and the breeze now felt somewhat ominous.
Unlike Jin Yeseo, who was utterly lost, staring at the empty pond only solidified my certain suspicion.
It felt as if someone in this cradle... was playing with us.
"Sigh, where should we go look next...?"
Jin Yeseo let out a weary sigh and turned around weakly.
"What if that bastard Choi Woojin finds the professor first? I can't stand the thought of him showing off... What are you doing? Aren't you coming?"
Jin Yeseo asked me curiously as she noticed I was frozen in place. I shook my head and stopped her from moving.
"Wait for a moment."
"What? Why all of a sudden?"
Jin Yeseo furrowed her brow, clearly displeased. But in the end, she yielded to my insistence and stood by my side.
"Ugh... What are we even doing... We don't have much time as it is..."
Despite her grumbling, Jin Yeseo stood close to me, almost brushing against me. I figured showing her directly would be faster than explaining everything in detail.
My hair stood on end, and a tingle of tension ran down my spine. Before I knew it, I was automatically considering the worst-case scenario.
If this situation truly involved someone at the safe house with a specific agenda playing with us...
And if that someone was a very dangerous entity as I suspected...
What I was doing now served as a preliminary step to confirm that possibility.
I intended to wait for someone.
To be precise, it was likely to be one of their underlings.
Of course, only if my deduction was correct...
"...How long are we going to be doing this..."
Jin Yeseo, lacking patience, was about to complain again.
From beyond, the sound of footsteps rustling through the low shrubs on the walking path grew closer.
Soon, a male student with a cunning-looking face emerged.
"Oh? You guys are..."
"Guk Jaeryong?"
Recognizing him, Jin Yeseo called out his name.
Guk Jaeryong. A new student from one of the noble mage families, notorious for his problematic skills and personality.
He relentlessly mocked and belittled students who seemed lower-ranked than him while his own grades and skills fell far short of other top students.
Rumor had it he was the only student from the Magi 27 Families admitted this term who ranked below 30th place.
"...What kind of combination is this? Jin Yeseo, didn't you dislike that guy? But what is this..."
The slick-looking male student frowned deeply upon seeing us.
I, too, knew him to some extent. Somehow, I always noticed a subtle hostility burning in his gaze when we crossed paths.
In the past, during Gi Haengjong's time, he seemed to look down on me. Was it some inferiority complex over our reversed positions now?
"Mind your own business. I'm working under Professor Kwon's request."
Jin Yeseo's expression turned grim, and the male student flinched in surprise.
"Tsk, so sensitive as always... But what's going on?"
"Have you, by any chance, seen Professor Shin Jaeyu today?"
"Professor Shin Jaeyu?"
I stepped back slightly and listened intently to their conversation. This was a crucial moment.
It was to determine if he was truly involved in this situation or not.
"Hmm..."
After pretending to think for a moment, Guk Jaeryong finally spoke.
Along with a faint, fleeting sensation that passed through his pupils, similar to what I had seen in the previous two.
"Come to think of it, I think I ran into her somewhere earlier..."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it was at the East Building..."
...It seemed to match?
"What? Why of all places the East Building...! Are you certain?"
Jin Yeseo shouted, clearly unwilling to let Choi Woojin take the credit.
Guk Jaeryong nodded affirmatively, as if to confirm his words.
"I'm sure. I just greeted her at the office a moment ago..."
There was no need to hear more. The Western Research Building, the patronage pond, the East Building—these three places were as far apart as the corners of a triangle.
Yet Professor Shin Jaeyu, who was supposedly at the pond just now, was at the East Building too? Without using magic, traveling between those three places in an instant was impossible.
I finally became completely certain.
"Anyway, if you're looking for Professor Shin, you should head that way... Uh, huh? What's going on?"
Guk Jaeryong frowned as he noticed me approaching him with quick steps.
"W-Wait! What's going on all of a sudden!"
At times like this, he looked just like his usual self. Maybe my judgment was wrong. But my mind was already made up, and I had no hesitation.
I approached the startled Guk Jaeryong and clenched my fist.
Without giving him time to react, I drove it straight into his solar plexus.
"Gah!!"
Or not?
Might as well take any disciplinary action.
***
"Ugh..."
In the fog of regained consciousness, Guk Jaeryong groaned.
It felt as if he had just woken from a long, hazy dream. As he tried to lift himself, he looked down at the restricted sensation in his limbs.
"What, what is this..."
At some point, his arms and legs had been firmly bound. There was also an inexplicable sharp pain in his solar plexus and cheek.
"Guk Jaeryong, you're awake."
"What is this... Aagh!!"
A low, heavy voice came from in front of him. As he turned his head, his vision was filled with a bizarre white mask, and Guk Jaeryong let out a frightened scream in all directions.
"W-What, what is this!!"
The masked figure approached the bound and retreating Guk Jaeryong.
Then, sitting down in front of him, the figure looked down at him coldly and said.
"Shall we have a talk?"