Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 246: Director of Planning, School of Magic (2)

“Leo, is something wrong?”

Noticing Leo’s more sullen expression than usual, Aidan cautiously asked the question.

Leo simply stared at him in response.

“Wh-What? Do I have something on my face?”

As the fool started patting his cheeks with a laugh, Leo couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.

“You’re usually so oblivious, but you only catch on fast in moments like this.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Really—it’s nothing.”

Leo had no choice but to deflect like that.

‘There’s no way I can tell him I’m involved with the Liberation Army.’

Seeking advice?

Asking for help?

Those options weren’t available to him.

So whatever decision had to be made—it had to be made alone.

‘What am I supposed to do...’

To be honest, Leo didn’t like the Liberation Army.

He was affiliated with them, yes, but if he were being truthful—he hated them.

They forced other commoners to join them and branded anyone who refused as collaborators with the nobility.

They weren’t fighting for any noble cause. The organization was driven by nothing but hatred and anger.

In fact, the Liberation Army was officially designated a terrorist group for bombing attacks across the world.

They, of course, claimed it was all fabricated propaganda from the ruling noble class.

But Leo knew that wasn’t entirely false.

‘Still... that doesn’t mean I can oppose them outright.’

Leo’s involvement with the Liberation Army stemmed from the fact that his family was being held hostage.

If not for that, he never would have joined.

So then, should he step forward and try to keep the other students safe?

As he considered it, Leo shook his head.

‘Honestly, I don’t care what happens to them.’

He hated the Liberation Army.

But he hated arrogant nobles just as much.

Spoiled brats who acted superior simply because they were born to the right parents.

And yet, they looked down on others with zero respect, just because of their social class.

‘If I had to choose, I wouldn’t care if people like that all died fighting the Liberation Army.’

Leo turned to glance at Aidan.

And then at Teishy and Iona.

‘But... not them.’

They were friends who stuck around even when he acted prickly or pessimistic.

Friends who, if he were being honest, felt far too good for someone {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} like him—an outsider who never quite fit in.

The thought of those friends getting caught up in what the Liberation Army was planning...

Leo couldn’t bear it.

‘They haven’t done anything wrong.’

In the end, Leo had no choice but to make a decision.

‘I have to confront him.’

As he firmed his resolve—

“......”

—Iona stared at Leo with a silent, expressionless gaze.

* * *

While the students were still buzzing with excitement over the upcoming field study...

For some of the faculty, it was full-on red alert.

“Damn it all!”

Hugo Burteg slammed his fist onto his desk.

His assistant flinched, visibly shaken by his rage.

‘That damn bastard really became the Director of Planning!’

It wasn’t just failing to block it that irritated him—it was also the Headmaster’s smug smile at the end.

A smile that a victor wears when mocking the defeated.

The long-standing power balance within Seorn had been shattered by this one move.

‘That bastard’s definitely going to start acting against the noble faction.’

Ludger had now fully aligned himself with the Headmaster’s camp.

The meeting itself had been orchestrated by her, and even the Arcane Chamber presentation had her fingerprints all over it.

Fuming, Hugo ran a thick hand through his hair.

‘Still, it’s fine. Even if he’s in a high position, there’s no way he’ll be able to fulfill the Director’s duties right away.’

The position carried a heavy workload, and it had been vacant for so long that no proper handover would be possible.

‘With all that in mind, it’ll take at least a few months before he can do anything meaningful. We can use that time to regroup and strike back.’

Plenty of chances would arise before Ludger got organized enough to retaliate.

‘Like hell that guy’s going to handle this job well. Once he starts fumbling, we can call for a committee to evaluate his performance and force him out for incompetence. Until then...’

“P-Professor Hugo!”

Hugo, who was about to instruct his subordinates to lay low, frowned as someone suddenly burst into the room.

“What is it, barging in like that?”

“I-It’s just...”

“Spit it out already. I’m not in the mood for suspense.”

“Ludger Cherish. He’s already started moving.”

“What?”

Hugo thought he must’ve misheard.

“That guy already made a move?”

“Yes, sir. He’s currently going around to various research departments checking whether budgets are being used properly...”

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Why the hell are you only telling me now?!”

As Hugo roared, the assistant who had run there to inform him felt wrongfully accused.

‘I told him as soon as I found out...’

But he lacked the courage to say it aloud.

“W-What should we do? It seems like he’s sharpening his blade and coming right at us.”

“What do you mean, what do we do?! You think we’re just going to sit and take it?!”

‘Seriously? And what exactly do you think you can do about it?’

The one holding the sword was Ludger.

Now was the time to lie low and stay quiet, not charge in headfirst.

Of course, Hugo knew that.

But there was no way he could swallow this burning rage.

‘If I back down now, he’ll become even more arrogant and bite at me directly!’

Nothing was more dangerous for a leader than being seen as weak.

The moment those beneath him doubted his authority, the stronghold he’d built would crumble like sand.

‘I can’t let that happen.’

Still, Hugo didn’t think all was lost.

His faction still held considerable influence within Seorn. No matter how competent Ludger was, he wouldn’t be able to tear them down easily.

If Ludger intended to try, then Hugo would issue a warning—one strong enough to make him think twice.

Just showing that they weren’t easy prey would be enough.

“Let’s go!”

“H-Huh? Yes, sir!”

Hugo pushed out of his seat and stormed out of the office.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ludger was reviewing documents in his personal office.

Although he had been granted a new office upon becoming Director, for now, he preferred to work from his usual space.

‘Even at a glance, there are problems everywhere.’

The documents he was reading were compiled from his rounds through various research departments earlier that day.

Even now, Sedina was still struggling to haul the rest of the paperwork into the room.

Ludger skimmed the reports through his frameless glasses.

‘The internal audits are a mess. The budget numbers don’t even match. Since no one ever came to audit, they just helped themselves to it all.’

And that wasn’t all.

Several departments had been formed with little more than random justification to receive funding.

Staffing was a mess. Regulation reviews had either been ignored or skipped entirely.

‘Even if the position had been vacant, this is absurd.’

Now he understood why Headmaster Elisa had insisted so strongly on filling the role.

‘Sure, these are minor issues—individually.’

But when minor issues were scattered all over the place?

Then it was no longer a minor problem.

This wasn’t a case of a single leak—there were holes everywhere.

No wonder the Headmaster had found it unbearable to just look the other way.

‘I can’t just sit on this and pretend I didn’t see anything.’

He had intended to keep a low profile and just manage the post.

But now that he had seen just how pervasive the problems were, he wasn’t shameless enough to stay idle.

‘No. If anything, this is a good thing.’

Even if right now it’s only petty theft-level misconduct, there’s no guarantee it will stay that way.

It would be far better to uproot the problem entirely—before it can grow.

‘If I show this much initiative, the Headmaster will be pleased as well.’

This audit wasn’t just for show—it was a statement of intent.

Ludger planned to identify and discipline the worst offenders from the long list of questionable records.

‘I selected the ones who were particularly malicious.’

As he stared at the list of familiar names—

BANG!

“Professor Ludger Cherish!”

The door burst open and Hugo Burteg stormed into the room, face fuming.

Three other noble-aligned instructors followed closely behind him.

“W-Wait a moment, you can’t enter without the professor’s permission—!”

“Out of the way!”

Hugo shoved past Sedina, who had been standing in his path.

The stack of documents she was holding went flying as she stumbled back.

“N-No!”

As Sedina cried out, the scattered papers suddenly floated in midair—then gently glided toward Ludger’s desk and stacked themselves in neat order.

Magic.

More specifically, wind magic.

‘He used wind magic to stack paper?’

It was a display of mana control so precise, it was almost unbelievable.

How many mages in the world could control wind magic at such a delicate level?

Hugo found himself just as stunned.

Whatever fury he had brought with him vanished as he stood speechless before the demonstration.

“...So,”

Ludger, who had calmly and flawlessly restacked the documents, looked up and fixed his sharp gaze on the intruders.

“Would you care to explain why you barged into my office without the owner’s permission?”

Under that pressure—unspoken but intense—Hugo involuntarily swallowed.

Realizing he’d already lost the initiative, he clenched his jaw in frustration.

“I... came to speak with you, Professor.”

“If you had something to say, you could’ve sent someone instead.”

“This was something I had to say personally.”

“Personally? Including the entourage?”

Ludger shifted his gaze to Sedina.

Catching his signal, Sedina quietly withdrew and left for the assistant office.

Ludger then removed his frameless glasses and took out a handkerchief to carefully clean the lenses.

“Seems like you’re unfamiliar with basic manners.”

“...What?”

Hugo was momentarily confused.

Then his face flushed red.

“You dare...!”

“Dare.”

Ludger’s firm voice cut Hugo off mid-sentence.

“Dare what? Go on, say what you were going to say.”

“......”

“I’m well aware that you, Professor Hugo Burteg, and the others behind you have worked at Seorn far longer than I have.”

Tap.

Having finished cleaning them, Ludger folded his glasses and placed them on the desk.

One of the noble instructors behind Hugo—Professor Medion Moren—spoke up with clear irritation.

“Then you should at least treat us with due respect...”

“Due respect? I believe I am doing exactly that right now.”

“...What?”

“If I weren’t treating you with the courtesy owed to a senior in this profession, the words I chose would have been far less polite.”

His reply was almost provocative in tone.

The instructors’ faces twisted in anger.

“You think you can look down on us now just because you landed a fancy title? If not for that position, you wouldn’t even dare talk back like this!”

“I earned this position by merit. And as for you, I believe you’re Professor Medion Moren, in charge of the second-year manifestation branch, correct?”

When Ludger named him directly, Medion glared back as if to say, “So what?”

Without a word, Ludger pulled out a single document from the stack on his desk.

A gentle breeze lifted it and carried it through the air—straight to Medion’s hands.

Medion accepted it reflexively, but when he glanced at its contents, his eyes went wide.

“You ordered a quantity of rare alloy with high magic conductivity for your classes, but the listed amount doesn’t match the funds recorded.”

“T-That’s...”

“Also, I see you’re an advisor to a student club—one made up entirely of noble students.”

“...Is that a problem?”

“Under normal circumstances, that club should’ve been disbanded due to its lack of results. Yet, strangely enough, it’s been operating without issue. Receiving annual funding, no less. It seems the audit missed a few things.”

Cold sweat trickled down Medion’s back.

The other instructors shivered at the sight—but also felt a fleeting sense of relief that they weren’t in the hot seat.

“Are the rest of you feeling relieved simply because I haven’t called your name yet?”

Ludger had no intention of extending that courtesy.

As he pointed it out, several of them twitched—caught in their moment of false relief.

“Did you think this pile of documents was just for show? Some empty display of diligence?”

“Th-That is...”

“There are plenty of minor issues here—not even worth labeling as corruption. But just because something is small doesn’t mean it should be ignored.”

The teachers who had come to protest now felt an eerie chill crawl down their spines.

Hugo felt it too. Things were not going in their favor.

“Now see here, Professor Ludger...”

“Professor Ludger? Please watch your tone, Professor Hugo Burteg.”

“...What?”

“I am speaking to you now as the Director of Planning.”

Having said that, Ludger calmly rose to his feet.

“And how fortunate—every single one of you who came barging in is coincidentally listed on my personal watchlist.”

It wasn’t as though Ludger had created the list just to target them.

He had simply compiled the worst offenders.

But as the saying goes, “a thief's feet go numb”—and remarkably, those who had come to confront him had all appeared on the list.

“Do look forward to it.”

Ludger’s voice dropped low, heavy with warning.

“Because I don’t know how to go easy.”