Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 242: Rhapsody on a Rainy Day (1)

“What... what in the world happened here?”

In the forest far beyond the outskirts of the city of Rederbelk—

The Clockwork Knights, upon arriving at the site, were left speechless by the devastation before them.

“Hey, rookie. Didn't they say there was a forest here?”

“Y-yes, that's correct. This place was called the Lamore Forest. It wasn’t large, but it was densely wooded...”

“Then what the hell is this? There’s nothing here.”

Where the knights were looking, no forest remained.

Only torn earth covered in scars, the ground overturned, and massive craters gouged into the landscape.

Not a single tree remained—not even a stray boulder.

“Dear god. Did a war break out or something?”

Such a scene was impossible unless large-scale bombardment had taken place.

But to obliterate an entire forest would require an astronomical amount of explosives—and transporting that alone would demand an enormous workforce.

Even if it was outside the city, a movement of that scale would surely have been reported in advance.

‘The fact that it wasn’t...’

The knight commander stroked his chin and fell into brief thought.

“Commander. Do you think someone was conducting secret experiments out here?”

“Experiments?”

“Yes, something like magic. If not, then...”

As one knight cautiously voiced his theory, another knight scoffed and rebuked him.

“You idiot. Why would anyone conduct an experiment here? And if it were an experiment, they’d do it discreetly in a more remote area—not blow everything to hell.”

“R-right...”

“Exactly. There must’ve been something else going on.”

Listening in silence, the knight commander turned to the rookie.

“Rookie. What exactly did the report say?”

“W-well...”

When the commander asked, the flustered rookie replied nervously.

“They said the sky outside the city turned red, and a moment later there was a deafening sound that shook the entire area.”

“The sky turned red?”

“Yes, sir. That’s what was reported.”

“How strange. How could the sky turn red on such a clear day?”

The report was puzzling enough on its own—but after seeing the destruction, it made even less sense.

Something had clearly happened here—but what, exactly, was impossible to determine.

“Could it be that the beast of Jévaudan that vanished that day... came back?”

One knight floated the idea.

“The beast of Jévaudan?”

“Yes.”

The commander almost snapped at the man for saying nonsense—but closed his mouth instead.

After all, he had seen that monster firsthand when it suddenly appeared at the Kunst Auction.

So maybe... it wasn’t such an impossible idea.

‘If a monster like that rampaged through the area, that’d be one thing...’

But the marks on the ground couldn’t be explained by mere rampaging.

The craters, no matter how one looked at them, were clearly the result of explosions.

It seemed the other knights had similar thoughts—they began voicing their opinions.

“Looks like a magic experiment to me, no matter how you slice it.”

“I still think it’s the return of the cryptid.”

“What if it’s a classified military project?”

As the speculation spiraled, the rookie once again spoke up—cautiously.

“M-maybe...”

Naturally, the older knights turned to him.

“The scale of the destruction is wide, but the patterns look strangely consistent. Couldn’t it have been caused by mages?”

“What? Mages?”

“Yes. Really powerful ones. And I don’t think it was just one—I think two of them were fighting.”

The senior knights exchanged glances, then burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha! Our rookie’s got one hell of an imagination.”

“Can you believe this guy? Who the hell fights a mage duel in secret out here?”

“Right? And two mages strong enough to pull this off? Be serious.”

The rookie’s face turned red with embarrassment.

The Clockwork Knight Commander, who had been quietly listening, rubbed his chin.

‘Mages, huh...’

He had walked the path of the sword all his life, so he wasn’t well-versed in magic.

But once one reached the rank of knight commander, like it or not, one had to gain a certain degree of magical literacy.

At the very least, he knew that to cause this level of devastation, the caster would have to be a high mage—6th-circle or above.

And 6th-circle mages were not common.

‘A duel between two 6th-circle mages, at minimum?’

It was unthinkable.

The rookie’s theory had far too many holes.

The commander sighed and shook his head.

‘I don’t know. I really have no idea.’

He planned to continue the investigation for now, but a thought occurred to him—

No matter how long they searched, they might never find the answer they were looking for.

‘And as if I didn’t already have enough headaches with those meddling bastards making trouble in Rederbelk lately...’

As he thought that, his eyes narrowed at a certain group loitering nearby.

“Those guys again...”

The other knights noticed too.

The previously focused discussion among them dissolved into annoyance as they turned to look.

“What the hell are those damn Lumenis Church paladins doing here...?”

Knights dressed in pure white armor and cloaks.

Unlike modern knights who wore practical uniforms, these men clung to outdated ceremonial garb. They were holy knights—paladins—who had recently resumed their activities.

Rederbelk Diocese Paladins.

Technically, this was Clockwork Knights’ jurisdiction, but the paladins wandered about the scene as if they owned the place.

And no matter what anyone said, it would be pointless.

Those people, armored in their fanatic faith, wouldn’t hear a word of it anyway.

“Commander. What should we do?”

“Leave them be. No point talking to people who won’t listen.”

One doesn’t avoid dung because it’s scary—but because it’s filthy.

The moment he said that, one paladin broke away from the group and approached the Clockwork Knights.

“Blessed greetings, faithful ones.”

“...What is it?”

The man who approached was a middle-aged paladin with a gentle smile.

“May the grace of the Father be upon you.”

“Skip the formalities. Get to the point.”

“We came to share our opinion about the catastrophe that occurred today.”

“Opinion? What opinion is there? It’s obvious someone did this.”

The commander made it clear he didn’t even want to converse, but the paladin wasn’t fazed in the slightest.

“I don’t mean that we should investigate together. I mean—we already have an idea who did this.”

“......”

The commander narrowed his eyes, trying to read whether he was telling the truth.

But the paladin’s smile never faltered, and nothing could be read from his expression.

“...Are you serious?”

“Yes. Can’t you feel the foul energy permeating this place?”

“You’re saying there’s something like that?”

“Yes. As servants of the Holy Lumenis, we can tell for certain. The stench seeping from every corner of this ruined land—this wretched reek of blood—it can only belong to one being.”

“And who would that be?”

“The last vampire remaining in this world.”

The paladin’s face twisted in disgust, as though merely saying the word had tainted him.

“We’ve been tracking her for years. An abomination our Church has long sought to eliminate.”

* * *

“Mmm...”

Selina opened her eyes.

Rising up, she looked around.

“Ugh... where am I?”

She was certain she’d been walking with Ludger earlier in the day—but when she came to, it was already night.

The moment she realized this, Selina sprang up in shock.

“Oh no! Professor Ludger!”

“You called?”

“Eek!”

The voice that suddenly came from behind startled her so much, she shrieked before realizing—

It was Ludger.

Placing a hand over her heart, Selina exhaled deeply.

“Goodness, you scared me!”

“My apologies.”

“More importantly... where is this? Why am I here?”

Selina looked around again.

She had regained consciousness on a bench in a park overlooking the cityscape of Rederbelk.

“You didn’t know? You suddenly collapsed, so I brought you here.”

“Wh-what?!”

Selina panicked at the mention that she had fainted.

“I... I really collapsed?”

“Yes. You must’ve been exhausted.”

“N-no, I wasn’t! I felt totally fine today...”

Selina spoke those words, but she felt tears welling up at her own foolishness.

‘Stupid Selina. What are you even doing? This was such a rare opportunity.’

Even their meal had been completely ruined by an uninvited guest.

She had thought about watching a musical together afterward, but looking at the time, even that was no longer possible.

Despite the mix of emotions swirling inside her, the first thing that escaped Selina’s lips was an apology.

“I’m sorry.”

“And what are you sorry for?”

“I ended up ruining your day off, Professor Ludger... because of me.”

Judging by the time, it seemed Ludger had stayed by her side and looked after her the whole time she was unconscious.

Come to think of it, something similar had happened during the festival too.

‘Is something wrong with my body?’

Selina couldn’t help but feel even gloomier.

At that moment, a dark spirit emerged from her arms.

“Esmeralda?”

The spirit of darkness, perhaps pleased that night had fallen, perched on her shoulder and rubbed its cheek against hers as if to comfort her.

Selina smiled at the gesture.

“You’re comforting me? Thank you.”

Ludger, watching quietly, sat beside her and spoke.

“There’s no need for you to apologize to me, Miss Selina. If anything, I should apologize for not being more considerate.”

Selina felt sorry toward Ludger, but it was Ludger who actually felt more apologetic.

She should have been enjoying a wonderful day off, but instead, because of Grander’s sudden appearance, she had ended up unconscious for half the day.

Technically, Ludger was the one who knocked her out—but if he hadn’t done so, things might have gotten much more complicated.

“You’re very kind, Professor Ludger. You didn’t have to go so far to be considerate.”

Unaware of the full story, Selina could only assume that Ludger was comforting her.

“But it’s so late now. The whole day has already passed.”

The city was filled with lights, but perhaps because of that, Selina felt an even stronger sense of regret.

She had to return to Seorn now to prepare for tomorrow’s classes.

Her delightful holiday had come to an end.

“Even if just a little, I wanted to enjoy it properly.”

Ludger gazed at her profile for a moment, then spoke.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Sorry?”

“Look over there.”

When Ludger looked off to one side, Selina’s gaze naturally followed.

An empty park.

Under the faint glow of streetlights, a small group was slowly approaching.

“Um, Professor Ludger? Those people...?”

“They’re the musical performers you were so eager to see.”

“Performers? Why are they here?”

“This place has long been used as a rehearsal spot for performances. Since the inner city is noisy, they often hold small events in quiet parks like this.”

“What?”

“We’re lucky. Today happens to be one of those days.”

The musical troupe each took their places, and soon, they began to dance and sing in harmony.

“Wow...”

Seeing that, Selina completely forgot her earlier doubts in the face of such a miraculous coincidence.

She thought that if she couldn’t enjoy even this moment because of suspicion, she’d regret it forever.

Sitting beside Ludger on a bench and watching a private performance just for them—

To her, this was more than a gift. It was something beyond her dreams.

Drip. Drop.

Then raindrops began to fall from the sky.

She had suspected as much when the city lights began to blur faintly—and sure enough, rain started to fall.

“Oh no, rain...”

Selina grew anxious, thinking the performance might be interrupted because of the rain.

Just then, Ludger—who had been sitting still—moved.

With a light wave of his hand, the falling rain diverted away, as if hitting an invisible umbrella.

Though rain fell over the entire city, this one spot remained untouched.

Shhhhh.

The raindrops painted shimmering ripples on the ground.

Even under the scorn of the skies, the performance continued unbroken.

Ludger added a little flourish to the scene.

A soft light began to glow, casting a beautiful aura around the performing troupe.

It was as if light had been cut and shaped into paper dolls, dancing along with the people.

With graceful steps.

Bright and radiant.

“Wow...”

A cityscape soaked in gentle rain.

The performers dancing and singing against that backdrop.

Even the fairies of light dancing in the air.

It felt like wandering through a dream—an ethereal, magical sight that left Selina speechless.

Esmeralda, nestled in her arms, also watched the performance quietly.

Ludger watched them with quiet satisfaction.

‘Good. I’m glad she’s happy.’

Since Selina had lost her day off because of him, he would have felt uneasy if he couldn’t give her at least this much in return.

Thankfully, she genuinely enjoyed this small event.

The musical didn’t last more than thirty minutes.

But those thirty minutes—though short—were more precious to Selina than anything in the world.

Clap clap clap clap.

With a radiant smile, Selina applauded, and the performers bowed deeply to her in thanks.

Soon, the troupe departed, and silence returned to the park, leaving only the two of them.

The lights dimmed, and only the quiet glow of the streetlights remained.

Shhhhhhh...

As the rain began to fall harder, Ludger stood up.

“We should head back.”

“Yes. We should. The rain’s getting heavier.”

“Next time, I’d like us to watch a proper musical.”

At that, Selina shook her head.

“No. This was already more than enough. I’m even more satisfied this way.”

“In that case, I’m glad.”

“Thank you, Professor Ludger.”

Selina beamed brightly.

Ludger looked at her and handed her the umbrella he had prepared in advance.

“Here, take this.”

“Huh? What about you, Professor Ludger?”

“I have a spare, so I’ll be fine.”

“But still, you could walk with me—”

“I still have something to take care of, so I’ll stay a bit longer.”

The tone of his reply implied not to ask further, and Selina nodded with an “Ah, I see.”

She felt a twinge of regret but chose to be content and step away.

“Then I’ll go ahead. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes. See you tomorrow.”

“Today was truly wonderful.”

Selina gave Ludger a smiling glance and left with quick, light steps.

After watching Selina disappear into the distance, Ludger lifted the magic barrier.

As the raindrops began to fall, he opened a black umbrella.

Still standing in place, Ludger spoke.

“You’ve watched long enough. Why don’t you come out now?”

At that, the presence that had been lingering nearby approached.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude, you know.”

Ludger slowly turned his head.

There stood a woman in her mid-forties, clad in pure white robes and a white hood.

Despite the falling rain, she had made no ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) move to use an umbrella. She simply smiled at Ludger.

“So then,”

Ludger spoke as he looked at her.

“What business does someone from the Lumenis Church have with me?”