Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 251: The Truth of That Day (1)

Having ridden atop Hans in his transformed wolf form, Ludger dismounted in front of the entrance to the abandoned mine.

Parked near the entrance was the same steam-powered automobile that had passed by a short while ago.

There was also a truck.

“They definitely came here. Hans, take this.”

Ludger handed Hans a neutralizing agent, which Hans immediately injected into his forearm.

As he returned to his human form and put his coat back on, he grumbled.

“Tch. What am I, a pet dog?”

“Most people don’t ride dogs. You’re receiving quite the special treatment.”

“How incredibly touching. I could cry.”

The two made their way slowly into the abandoned mine.

The tunnel was pitch black, but it posed no difficulty for either of them.

Hans, still carrying residual instincts from his transformation, could see through the darkness as if it were broad daylight. Ludger, by concentrating his mana into his eyes, pierced through the gloom with ease.

As they delved deeper into the mine shaft—

A distant light appeared and gradually revealed a wide chamber.

“The lights are on in an abandoned mine.”

Ludger examined the footprints stamped into the ground.

There had been at least five people who disembarked from the car earlier, but there were far more footprints than that.

“Twenty... no, over thirty.”

“What now, sir?”

“From here on, we split up. Hans, look around and check if there’s any other key location.”

“And you?”

“I’ll follow the main passage.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“Precisely why I should go.”

Hans had no reply.

Come to think of it, if a fight broke out in here, the one most likely to survive would be Ludger.

“...Be careful.”

“I will.”

Ludger began following the trail of footprints.

It was hard to say how far he walked, guided only by the occasional flickering light.

Eventually, he arrived at a space as large as a warehouse.

In the middle of a space filled with wooden crates and steel instruments, dozens of people had gathered.

All of them wore dark navy uniforms—they were Yards.

Among them was the very officer Ludger had pursued earlier.

The police officers stood in a circle, talking among themselves, seemingly in good spirits.

From Ludger’s perspective, they looked like they were laughing.

And indeed, they were. Smiling and chuckling.

Ludger narrowed his eyes, enhancing his vision.

“....”

Then he saw it.

The center of the circle the officers had formed.

A child, collapsed and bleeding.

One of the officers was holding a baton, blood still dripping from it.

The child lay on the floor, drenched in blood.

The figure looked familiar.

“...Huh? Who’s that?”

“Who is he?”

Only then did the officers notice Ludger.

But even after being discovered, Ludger didn’t take his eyes off the child.

“Arte...”

From Ludger’s lips slipped the name of the fallen child.

The name of his private student—who had gone missing just hours earlier.

* * *

After Shelly disappeared, Arte had been too anxious to concentrate on anything.

The innkeeper, gruff on the outside but soft-hearted inside, had told her to take the day off—but Arte had refused.

“I still have my duties to do.”

Her forced smile left the innkeeper with no choice but to nod.

Just in case, he kept a close eye on her.

If she showed even the slightest sign of abnormality, he intended to scold her into resting, no matter what.

He too felt sorry for what had happened to Shelly.

He had planned to stop by the police station during his market run, thinking maybe Arte would feel less burdened that way.

But perhaps he had worried for nothing?

Arte behaved no differently than usual.

She seems fine. I guess I overthought it.

Relieved, the innkeeper looked away from her—but that was when he should have been suspicious.

The moment he relaxed and turned his attention elsewhere, Arte seized the opportunity and slipped out in secret.

I have to find Shelly. If no one else will, then I will.

Arte thought to herself.

Where could she find her missing sister?

The disappearances kept happening. That means the culprits might still be nearby, still trying to snatch children.

There was no guarantee it would happen tonight.

But Arte had no one else to rely on.

If I were the culprit, where would I abduct children? A place hidden from public eyes... where no one would notice someone vanishing.

The slums.

A location flashed through Arte’s mind.

She headed there at once.

The slums at night, where not even a proper light shone, were pitch black—but Arte, having visited often, didn’t get lost.

She arrived near a den of beggars, where children often gathered.

If the kidnappers are after kids, this is the most likely place.

Arte hid herself behind some discarded junk nearby.

And then—

From afar, a group of people holding lanterns appeared.

Those people...

They were still far, but already looked suspicious.

There was no reason for people to be wandering the slums at night with lanterns.

Arte held her breath and watched them carefully.

The lantern bearers scanned the area lightly and then entered the beggar’s den.

Soon, scuffling sounds echoed—and moments later, they came out carrying unconscious children stuffed into sacks.

Arte’s eyes widened.

They’re real kidnappers!

She hesitated.

Should she follow them now, or report this to the police?

But while she was debating, the kidnappers—each shouldering a sack with an unconscious child—were already leaving the slums at a brisk pace.

Clenching her jaw, Arte gave chase.

She couldn’t stand by—not with the image of Shelly’s vanishing haunting her mind.

Shelly. Wait for me. I’ll come save you.

Arte moved cautiously to avoid detection.

The kidnappers loaded the children into the truck and got in.

Before the truck departed, Arte sprinted over and clung to the rear.

The vehicle lurched forward, nearly throwing her off—but she gritted her teeth and held on.

The truck left the city and headed outward.

Toward a quieter, more deserted place.

When it finally stopped in front of a mine—

Arte jumped off and dove into nearby bushes.

“Hey, take it slow.”

“Ugh, the stench. Did we really have to bring these little beggar brats?”

“What choice did we have? Only kids like these can vanish without anyone noticing.”

The kidnappers chatted as they carried the sacks one by one.

Arte hesitated.

Should she follow them into the mine—or head back and call for help?

Don’t rush. Even if I go in, what can I do? I’d be more help if I brought someone back.

She didn’t know what the mine was like inside.

Unlike the slums, where she knew every alley, the mine was the kidnappers’ territory.

There was no guarantee she wouldn’t be discovered.

Arte understood that clearly.

I have to call the police.

She knew the location now. All she had to do was return to the city.

As she was thinking that, a black steam-powered car approached from the distance.

Arte crouched low in the bushes again, holding her breath.

Five people stepped out of the vehicle—and as Arte saw them, her eyes lit up.

Police!

Men in dark navy uniforms with batons at their waists.

They were definitely the city’s police.

Arte sprang from the bushes.

“Who’s there?!”

One officer aimed his gaze toward her.

“M-Mister Policemen! Over here! There are kidnappers here!”

“A kid?”

“Some shady people, just now—they were using that truck to kidnap children...”

“What the hell were the ones inside doing? How’d one get out?”

She heard one of the officers mutter.

At that moment—

Arte stopped in her tracks, just as she had been about to run to them.

She didn’t understand why the officer said that.

But her instincts were sharp. She turned and tried to flee.

“Tsk. That won’t do now, will it?”

Just then, the mustached officer stepped forward and grabbed the nape of Arte’s neck.

She tried to resist, but the officer was merciless.

Thwack!

He struck her head with the baton in his hand.

Arte’s body went limp.

The officers exchanged glances, then dragged her into the mine.

Arte hadn’t completely lost consciousness from the blow to her head.

With blurry vision, she stared into the mine’s depths—at the officers laughing and chatting.

Eventually, they reached a wide chamber. One officer threw Arte into the center of the room.

“Ugh...”

“Well, I’ll be damned. Never thought a little brat like you would track us down.”

Arte slowly raised her upper body.

She looked at the officer who had struck ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ her earlier and asked,

“W-Why...?”

“Hah. Look at this one. Took a hit to the head and still talking?”

“My sister... Give my sister... back...”

When Arte said that, the officer clicked his tongue and gestured to the others with his chin.

As if waiting for the signal, the other officers stepped forward and began to beat her.

“Hey, don’t kill her completely. We still need her for the experiment.”

After the beating, Arte lay covered in blood, staring up at the officer who had given the order.

Bruised and bloodied, her lips split and dripping red—yet the fire in her eyes hadn’t gone out.

“You bastards... You’re criminals who kidnap children. Give me back my sister... my sister...!”

“...You little shit.”

Snarling, the officer gripped his baton and swung it again at Arte.

Thwack! Wham! Slam!

“You worthless orphan brat! How dare you glare at me!”

Crack.

The baton slammed into Arte’s temple, and her body crumpled like a severed puppet.

“Haah... haah...”

“W-Wait. Did we kill her?”

“So what if we did? They’re just orphans. Who cares if a few of them die?”

“True that.”

“Damn it. She got blood on my uniform.”

The officers hesitated.

They had to decide what to do with the bloody, broken child.

But most leaned toward just leaving her there.

She had lost so much blood already. She’d be dead soon regardless.

Then—

All the officers simultaneously turned to look in one direction.

They didn’t know why.

Just that some instinct told them: If you don’t look now, it’ll be too late.

“...Huh? Who’s that?”

“Who the hell is that?”

The officers spotted a man.

A black Inverness coat. Immaculate white gloves. A black cane in one hand, a gentleman’s hat on his head.

His refined appearance and sharp features gave off an air of authority—like someone of noble rank.

“...Arte.”

The uninvited man murmured the name of the collapsed child as he looked at her.

And at that moment, the officers realized it.

—This man is not one of us.

“No idea how you found your way here, but unlucky you.”

“......”

Ludger didn’t respond.

He simply began walking, slowly, toward the bloodied Arte.

“W-What the hell?”

The officers, startled by his silence and approach, instinctively stepped aside.

They should’ve blocked him. But something primal screamed that doing so would be a mistake.

Ludger knelt beside Arte and examined her condition.

Even as his pristine white gloves were soaked with blood, he didn’t care.

“Pro...fessor...?”

“Arte.”

She gazed at him with eyes that barely stayed open.

“You... came...”

“Don’t speak.”

“I was... reckless...”

“I told you not to speak.”

“I’m... sorry...”

A single tear trickled down Arte’s cheek.

“I was stupid... disobedient... I’m sorry... I wanted to become... a great scholar...”

“Arte. I...”

Just as Ludger began to speak, Arte summoned the last of her strength.

“Professor Moriarty... please... take care of my sister...”

The next moment, her head fell to the side.

“Arte.”

He shook her gently—but Arte didn’t wake.

Her breathing had stopped. Blood continued to pour. Her body grew cold.

All of it meant only one thing.

Ludger slowly laid her body down on the ground.

He silently looked down at Arte’s face—her eyes closed as if she were just sleeping.

And in her lifeless form, Ludger saw his past self.

The boy who had once waited for death, powerless to do anything.

Back then, someone had reached out a hand to save him.

But now—no such hand had come for this child.

Ludger rose slowly to his feet.

“Well now... So it was you. Professor James Moriarty.”

One of the officers recognized him, twirling his mustache with a sneer.

“You’ve been making quite the name for yourself at academic conferences lately. What brings someone like you all the way out here?”

“......”

“Ah, you’re so clever, maybe you figured everything out. A shame, though. After tonight, the world won’t be seeing you again.”

Ludger turned and looked at him.

In that instant, the mustached officer flinched.

The man’s expressionless eyes.

The overwhelming pressure radiating from his body.

Everything about him screamed that something was terribly wrong.

“Here and now,” Ludger said softly, “I make this declaration.”

“W-What the hell?! Get him! All at once!”

Sensing danger, the officers charged at Ludger.

Even so, he stood firmly on both feet and spoke in a quiet voice:

“Anyone involved in this incident—no matter who they are—I will tear them up by the root.”

The shadow at Ludger’s feet writhed.

From its rippling depths, sharp thorns burst forth—piercing every officer who had rushed him.

Not only them—

The black thorns extended across the entire chamber, impaling everyone who had merely been watching.

Black thorns and crimson blood.

Shadows writhing in the flickering light.

Screams and death filled the mine.

And at the center of it all stood the man who would, from this day forth, be called the scourge of criminals.

“Not a single one will be spared.”