Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 250: Each One’s Choice (3)

Arte looked as though the sky itself had collapsed upon her when her younger sister, Shelly, went missing.

With both of her parents gone, Shelly had been the only remaining family member to Arte—a kind and obedient little sister.

But now, Shelly hadn’t come home.

Even when she asked the innkeeper, the only response she received was that they hadn’t seen Shelly.

“Professor... What... what should I do? If even Shelly disappears, I...!”

“Calm down, Arte.”

Ludger soothed Arte, who clung to his collar with tear-filled eyes.

Though Arte was usually passionate about learning and carried herself with a mature demeanor, she was still, in the end, just a child.

At the news that her only family had vanished, Arte had fallen into complete panic.

The brilliance she normally showed couldn’t shine in the face of such a sudden situation.

“We still don’t know exactly what happened, do we?”

“T-That’s true, but...”

“Think rationally. Shelly is a strong child. I’m sure she’s okay.”

“But lately, there’ve been stories... about children disappearing...”

“You mean the recent missing persons incidents. Don’t worry. I’ll check into it myself.”

“You, Professor?”

“Yes. I’ll find out soon enough.”

After calming Arte, Ludger returned to his room and immediately penned a letter, sending it by the fastest courier service.

“These recent serial disappearances...”

Even the Yards—the Delica Kingdom’s police—were acting strangely apathetic toward the incident.

Because the victims were all low-class citizens, they hadn’t grasped the severity of the situation.

“Or perhaps... there’s something more.”

Ludger recalled Shelly.

Unlike the bold and outgoing Arte, she was a timid and quiet child.

Though she had been frightened when she first met Ludger, she’d later smiled and greeted him warmly.

Unlike her brother who often overslept after studying late into the night, Shelly would wake up early, help clean the shop, and serve Ludger a warm bowl of soup with a bright smile.

She didn’t have grand dreams of becoming a renowned scholar.

But she possessed a rare purity—an unshakable warmth and simplicity that couldn’t be outdone by anyone.

If someone had abducted her for some reason...

“They’ll have to pay for it.”

No matter the cost.

* * *

The next day, after sending the letter—

Ludger sat on a bench at the Delica Kingdom’s train station, waiting for someone.

“Sir.”

At that moment, Hans appeared beside him, wearing a gentleman’s suit and a fedora.

That man...?

Casey noticed Hans. His face looked familiar.

She’d seen him once—briefly—back during the festival when she first spoke ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) to Ludger, and once more in passing on Royal Street.

“Hans.”

“You called me so suddenly, I rushed right over. What’s going on?”

“Something interesting is unfolding inside the Delica Kingdom.”

“Interesting?”

“Have you heard anything?”

Hans’s expression stiffened at those words.

He looked around at the passersby, then leaned toward Ludger and spoke quietly.

“This isn’t a good place to talk. Let’s move somewhere private.”

“Agreed.”

Ludger led Hans to his private office at Ordo University.

Hans whistled as he glanced around the office, which was granted only to professors.

“Whew. Impressive. So this is where you’re working now?”

“They offered it, so I didn’t see the need to refuse. Here, I’m known as Professor James Moriarty, so be mindful not to mix up my name.”

“Got it. Now then, let me continue.”

Hans cleared his throat and began to quietly share what he knew.

“There are rumors that something strange is happening inside the Delica Kingdom.”

“Strange, how exactly?”

“They’re importing iron in unusually large quantities. Factory operations have surged, visibly so. The military’s movements are also odd.”

“...Are they planning a war?”

“That, I don’t know. But it’s definitely something on a national scale.”

“Anything else?”

“There’s been a rising number of missing persons cases across the entire kingdom. At first, it was mostly outsiders. But now... not just them.”

Missing persons.

Ludger’s eyes lit up at the phrase.

“Explain that part in detail.”

“There’s not much to explain. That’s all I’ve heard so far.”

“Then we’ll have to verify it from here.”

“...Judging from your reaction, I guess this isn’t just a baseless rumor.”

Both men stood up simultaneously.

By instinct, they knew this incident was anything but ordinary.

“Hans. How long will it take?”

“Hmm.”

Hans thought for a moment, then held up three fingers.

“Three days. I’ll need at least that long.”

* * *

While Hans was gathering intel, Ludger didn’t neglect his duties as James Moriarty.

He continued writing his thesis as usual.

But in truth, he was preoccupied with other thoughts.

Hans said this case isn’t just suspicious—it’s riddled with anomalies.

People had gone missing, yet the police weren’t properly investigating.

At first, he thought it was because the missing were mostly poor people—slum dwellers, laborers, orphans.

But digging deeper revealed that wasn’t the full story.

It’s more like they’re deliberately avoiding it.

Combined with the strange movements on a national level...

It was clear someone of considerable social standing was involved.

So the question is—who?

High-ranking nobles, military generals, members of the Senate...

A rapid stream of names and positions within the Delica Kingdom flew through Ludger’s mind.

“What are you thinking so hard about? You didn’t even notice me come in.”

A voice suddenly interrupted. Ludger looked up from his thesis toward the wide-open office door.

“As I’ve said before, you really ought to develop the habit of knocking when you enter a room.”

“Sorry about that. The door’s just so huge.”

“And you’re the one who dramatically flung it open.”

“Well, you didn’t even hear the dramatic entrance. Must’ve been deep in thought. Or was it not the thesis that had your attention?”

Casey Selmore dragged a chair over and sat down naturally across from Ludger.

Her face brimmed with mischief—excited about what kind of conversation they’d have today.

“What gossip are you here to share this time?”

“Gossip? If anyone heard that, they’d think I’m disturbing the honorable professor’s important work.”

“An astute observation. Impressive.”

“Detective instinct. So, what were you thinking about?”

Ludger didn’t flinch under her probing gaze and answered calmly.

“Lately, there have been some disturbing events. I was concerned students might get caught up in them.”

“Disturbing events. You mean... disappearances?”

“......”

Ludger’s gaze sharpened at her words.

“Looks like I hit the mark.”

“...Yes. Lately, people have been vanishing. It’s a frightening matter.”

“Right? But the Yards aren’t doing much to investigate. I’m not even sure they intend to.”

“You seem to know quite a bit.”

“Because I’m tracking it.”

“You’re tracking it?”

Casey picked up a pen from Ludger’s desk and spun it between her fingers.

“I’m a detective. If something suspicious happens, naturally I try to solve it, right?”

“But sometimes you end up stirring things up more than necessary.”

“At first, yes. But not so much now. After solving enough cases, people seem more eager to praise than scold me.”

Ludger recalled how Casey’s cases always made the front page of national newspapers.

Mystery tales featuring a genius detective easily captured public fascination.

He’d even seen a few students around Ordo who were beginning to idolize her.

“Any progress in the investigation?”

“That’s confidential. Oh, are you curious? Hmmm~. If you ask nicely, maybe I’ll tell~.”

“Not particularly. I’m sure you’ll manage just fine.”

Ludger backed off, and Casey pouted in disappointment.

The Casey of the present—watching this exchange—gawked.

Was I really that cheeky back then?

If her assistant Betty were here, she’d probably say she still was.

But Casey was being sincere.

Something about her three-years-younger self just felt more immature. That smug expression made her want to flick her forehead.

“Detective Casey Selmore?”

Just then, a new visitor entered through the open door.

A police officer from the Delica Kingdom, dressed in a dark navy uniform. Someone Casey recognized immediately.

“Oh dear. Looks like I’m being called to work. I’ll be going now.”

“Indeed.”

As he saw Casey off, Ludger didn’t forget to study the face of the officer who had come looking for her.

* * *

Three days had passed since Ludger wrote the letter and Hans arrived in the Delica Kingdom.

Now Ludger, riding in a carriage driven by a chauffeur, had reached the vicinity of the inn.

“I’ll get off here. You should head back and rest.”

“Yes, Professor. Rest well.”

After seeing the chauffeur off, Ludger headed toward the inn where Arte was waiting.

Over the past three days, Arte had tried to remain composed, but her anxiety over her missing sister had become increasingly obvious.

It had only worsened with time, so today Ludger hoped to bring her some hopeful news.

Hans should arrive soon.

With that thought, Ludger entered the inn—but was met with unexpected news from the innkeeper.

“Arte hasn’t returned?”

“S-She was definitely here for dinner service earlier...”

Ludger pulled his pocket watch from his coat and checked the time.

Dinner service meant between 6 and 7 PM.

Now, it was 9 PM.

Even at minimum, Arte had been missing for two hours.

“Did you notify the police?”

“Not yet... but I was just about to go out and start searching...”

“No need. It’s probably nothing. Stay here and wait for her.”

“P-Professor, where are you going?”

Ludger took his cane in one hand and draped his Inverness coat over his shoulders.

Then he picked up the hat he had taken off earlier and placed it back on his head.

“The weather’s pleasant. I thought I’d go for a night stroll.”

The weight in Ludger’s voice left the innkeeper unable to say anything more.

As he stepped outside onto the main road, Hans emerged from the shadows to greet him.

“Sir.”

Ludger didn’t turn toward Hans.

Nor did he slow his measured pace. Hans naturally walked beside him.

The quiet street was bathed in the flickering light of gas lamps.

Even that light was slowly fading under the thickening night mist.

“It’s been three days, as promised. What did you find?”

“This whole missing persons incident... It’s much bigger than we imagined.”

“What did you discover?”

“First off, this isn’t just some ordinary crime.”

Not an ordinary crime.

Ludger recalled his first day’s conversation with Hans.

“You said the kingdom is making some kind of move.”

“Yes.”

“And this string of disappearances... they’re tied to that movement, aren’t they?”

“That as well.”

At that moment, a steam-powered automobile passed them by, emitting a thick plume of white steam even heavier than the fog.

Inside the vehicle—

Though the clothes were different, one face stood out to Ludger.

“Hans.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Are the police involved in these disappearances?”

“...How did you know that?”

Ludger stopped walking.

He turned his gaze toward the direction where the steam car had vanished.

“I saw it. Just now.”

The man in the car had visited Ludger’s office earlier that day—he was the officer who had come looking for Casey.

He hadn’t seemed suspicious.

But something about his face had bothered Ludger from the beginning.

Not logic or deduction—just instinct.

And ironically, that instinct had been dead on this time.

“Where are they taking the kidnapped victims?”

“To the mining area a short distance from here.”

“Is that so? It'll take some time to get there. We’ll need transport.”

“Transport?”

Hans looked around.

Nothing that could be ridden was nearby.

Then Hans noticed Ludger staring fixedly at him—and slumped his shoulders.

“...Sigh. Just my luck.”

Hans pulled out a beast’s fang he had prepared and stabbed it into his own wrist.