Chapter 5
“Hey, when did I look at anyone else?”
“Oh? Michael’s coming. Let’s sit down quickly.”
“Hey!”
Ayla’s protest was ignored as Damian moved with a natural, fluid motion. He sat down, and Ayla sat beside him. Ayla looked at Damian with an incredulous expression. She was about to shout at him again, but Michael approached, so Ayla had no choice but to close her mouth. Michael laid out several herbs he had brought on the table.
“These are herbs with quite unique scents. They’re different from ordinary herb smells, so you can distinguish them by their fragrance. Would you like to smell them one by one, Senior Ayla?”
“Huh? Me?”
“You’re the only one who remembers, senior.”
At Michael’s words, Ayla reluctantly picked up an herb. She carefully smelled each one. They all had such distinctive scents that her nose felt like it was going numb, and she wanted to give up, but she couldn’t ignore the gazes focused solely on her. As she smelled them, trying to recall the scent from her memory, she stopped at the fifth herb. The scent, etched like an imprint, came back clearly.
This was it.
“This one.”
Michael’s face looked somewhat strange as he looked at the herb Ayla pointed out. He seemed to stiffen. Michael met Damian’s eyes and spoke in a solemn tone.
“This is… a prohibited medicinal herb.”
A silence fell. Neither Ayla nor Damian said anything. They couldn’t.
“Originally, it was used in very small amounts to make strong painkillers for moderate to severe pain, but it’s currently banned due to its addictive nature. It can only be harvested from ruins, and not just any ruins, but only from royal tombs. Due to the herb’s dangers, it could only be harvested under the supervision of three departments: the Magic Department, the Justice Department, and the Culture and Arts Department. When it was previously allowed for medicinal use, there were legally set amounts. So unless it was an excessive amount…”
After a brief silence, Michael stated definitively.
“It’s impossible for the scent to permeate clothes or the body to the point of being noticeable.”
“…That means either it was used in excess during production.”
Continuing Damian’s words, Ayla said,
“Or someone consumed medicine containing large amounts of this herb.”
“Yes. And continuously at that.”
“Then, is there any herb that can substitute for this?”
To Damian’s question, Michael shook his head.
“Not currently.”
A chilling silence settled in the ingredient storage room. All three people came to the same conclusion. The illegal production of drugs using prohibited herbs, or the habitual consumption of drugs made with this herb.
The taboo had seeped into the deepest part of the empire, the academy—a symbol of learning and power. Of course, while it was illegal in the empire, it was impossible to completely prevent everything that happened secretly in back alleys. But this was a different problem. A large amount of herbs had been harvested from ruins managed by the state, and illegal drugs had been made using prohibited herbs. It meant that someone had infiltrated the ruins, bypassing the management of the Magic Tower. It was related to national security. This wasn’t something that could be resolved simply within the academy.
Ayla turned her head to look at Damian. Damian, staring at the herb, seemed deep in thought. Ayla asked Michael.
“Is cultivation possible, by any chance?”
“There have been attempts at cultivation, but they’ve all failed. You can consider it impossible to cultivate.”
The ruins were those of the once-glorious Mado Empire, the Radia Empire. The ruins, which had begun to reveal themselves several hundred years ago, were all surrounded by magic, so the state managed them through cooperation between the Magic Department and the Cultural and Artistic Department’s ruin excavation team. Of course, due to the need for magic, the main management was done by the Magic Department. Most of the work done by magicians dispatched from the Magic Tower was ruin management.
In particular, the ruins identified as the tomb of the Radia Empire’s king were strictly managed. They were directly overseen by high-ranking officials from the Magic Tower. This was why one high-ranking official was always among the magicians dispatched from the Magic Tower.
And now, an herb that comes from such a king’s tomb, which is currently impossible to even harvest. An herb that was only harvested under the management of three departments and is also impossible to cultivate. This means that there must be someone involved from at least these three departments. Because only these three departments knew about the existence of this herb. Those involved had infiltrated the ruins. If this were to be uncovered…
“Ayla.”
Ayla snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her name. Damian, who had been deep in thought, seemed to have organized his ideas and was now looking at her. His face was devoid of any trace of a smile.
“Do you remember what Gilrota looked like when you saw him?”
“Of course I remember that much.”
“What was he like?”
“What’s this about? Why are you asking?”
“Just tell me first.”
“Well, he was sturdy, I guess. Had a good build.”
“What about his hair color?”
“Isn’t it black?”
“…”
Damian didn’t respond. Ayla looked at him quizzically. Damian slowly spoke, meeting Ayla’s eyes.
“Ayla.”
“Yes?”
“Gilrota’s hair isn’t black, it’s brown.”
“…What?”
“It’s been that way from the start, and though you might not know, he’s never had a good build, even now as a fourth-year student. If anything, he’s always been rather small.”
That couldn’t be right. Surely, the back view of Gilrota she saw in the classroom three days ago was identical to what she had seen in Caelum. Ayla tried to argue her point.
“No, even in the classroom, he definitely had black hair and a sturdy build.”
“That means it wasn’t Gilrota.”
The answer came from Michael. Ayla felt as if she’d been hit on the head with a blunt object. The person she saw in Caelum and in the classroom wasn’t Gilrota. Then who on earth was that person?
“It’s an artifact. And when you bumped into him, the contact allowed you to recognize his existence and see his true form.”
“…Damian.”
She called his name with a sigh, her voice trembling slightly. A hypothesis that she really didn’t want to believe flashed through Ayla’s mind. That unidentifiable person had entered the academy disguised as Gilrota, hiding their true appearance with an artifact. Then where had the real Gilrota gone?
Gilrota hadn’t been seen at the academy for three days. But if you add the time someone else had been impersonating Gilrota, it’s at least five days. This means that Gilrota’s whereabouts have been unknown for five days, maybe even longer.
Missing.
But if someone else had taken Gilrota’s place. Or perhaps…
“…Do you think Gilrota is still alive?”
A heavy silence suffocated them. Damian sank back into thought. Ayla felt her fingertips growing cold. This was something she had never experienced before. It was something she should never have had to experience. Her dream was to become an imperial civil servant. She had gradually been giving up on the top rank, but if she could maintain second place, there would be no obstacle to becoming an imperial civil servant. But now, the situation had changed. If she followed the trail of this incident, she was sure to see a world she had never seen before. An ugly, dirty world.
A world that Ayla, who had lived gently as a lady, had never known.
Perhaps sensing her state, Damian firmly grasped her hand. Ayla looked at Damian. Just having him by her side, just holding his hand, filled her entire body with a sense of relief. Her cold hands were warming up from his heat.
Michael gauged Ayla and Damian’s reactions. He swallowed hard and spoke to them with a tense face.
“We should inform the security force.”
“…No. If we do that, we’ll surely lose the trail without catching anything. Besides, the security force won’t act on a simple disappearance.”
Damian answered while still deep in thought.
“Then what should we do? Surely you’re not suggesting we cover this up, Senior Damian?”
“If we assume Gilrota is no longer alive, they would certainly need to dispose of the body.”
“If they burn it, only ashes would remain.”
Having regained her cold rationality, she was able to voice her thoughts.
“No. They won’t burn it. They need to leave traces. If it’s not just one or two people involved, they need to make an example.”
Damian’s rebuttal to her words was incredibly calm and rational. He showed no emotional fluctuation. For a moment, Ayla found this side of Damian unfamiliar.
“What do you mean by ‘making an example’? Surely it’s not what I’m thinking…”
“It probably is. An example that this could happen to you too. It’s a warning to them.”
“If that’s the case, then if we try to follow the trail…”
Michael couldn’t finish his sentence. He let out a heavy sigh and roughly rubbed his face. He had only helped because they said they needed to identify an herb, but somehow it felt like he had learned things he shouldn’t have known. This was too big for him to handle, being just an academy student. He absolutely didn’t want to get involved. He wanted to finish his academy life quietly.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear anything about this today, seniors. I don’t know anything.”
Michael shook his head as if trying to shake off everything he had heard. Then, after neatly arranging the medicinal ingredients on the table, he left one request for Damian and hurriedly left the storage room.
“Please make sure to lock the door when you leave, Senior Damian. As if there were never any traces from the beginning.”
For Damian, this was easier than closing his eyes.
The storage room was enveloped in silence. Ayla stared quietly at the table. Michael had cleaned up so well that the pristine white table was truly spotless. Ayla’s mind became complicated. They couldn’t just pretend not to know. This could be a case of disappearance or even murder of an academy student, not just anyone. Above all, it could be an incident that would bring the dark underbelly of the empire into the light. None of it could be ignored.
Ayla broke the silence with a question.
“Damian. What are you planning to do?”
At that moment, something flashed, and a yellow butterfly appeared, fluttering its wings in front of Damian. Ayla had seen it before too.
Damian looked at the butterfly with a stern face. His yellow butterfly, a mass of magical power, had been monitoring the department office.
