Player-Hunting Inquisitors

Chapter 14

Yuria's room was a harmonious blend of luxury and elegance. Luxurious velvet curtains covered the windows, and furniture with intricate patterns filled the room.

From the ceiling, a grand chandelier emitted a soft light.

A room so beautiful that it could rival those used by the daughters of dukes.

However, what was truly beautiful in that room were the two women drinking tea.

"Is this the information you got from Darec's hometown?"

"Yes. Our family's investigators personally obtained this information."

The amount of documents held in Riel's hand was absurdly small.

'Lost his parents and lived doing menial work. Occasionally disappeared into the forest. At some point, showed talent in magic and left for the academy.'

Among the scant details, the only clue that he was a Player was the mention of disappearing into the forest.

"The forest, huh? Where is that forest?"

"It's the forest near the village. They say it's a safe place where even children can wander around."

If it were a child, it wouldn't be strange to build a hideout in the forest.

Moreover, if he were an orphan, he might have built a home of his own.

"It's suspicious. Even if he changed at some point, no one would have noticed."

"That's true. But that's not enough."

Hmm....

Riel racked her brain and let out a groan.

A few strands of red hair stuck to her hand.

"This won't do. Unless I meet and talk to him directly, it's hard to gather information."

Riel suddenly stood up abruptly from her seat.

"Can you meet him without arousing suspicion?"

"Huh? It's fine. Darec asked me to help persuade the professor on his behalf."

Darec was demoted from the Advanced Class to the lowest class as punishment for causing an incident.

Dissatisfied with this, he continuously visited the professor to beg for forgiveness but had yet to be reinstated.

So, he sought help from Riel, who was acting as an assistant.

"That's why I'm going to meet him. Initially, I thought it was his own fault and didn't want to help, but I have no choice if I want to gather information."

"If that's the reason..., I understand."

"Then, I'll be off!"

Riel quickly dashed out again, and Yuria let out a pleasant sigh as always.

**

After leaving Yuria's room, Riel wandered around the campus looking for Darec.

"Darec? Why are you looking for that commoner?"

"Ah, I see! As expected of Miss Riel! I think I saw him talking with some commoners near the clubroom."

Listening to the testimonies of the young ladies, Riel narrowed down her search range and finally found him.

Darec was so engrossed in a conversation with his friends that he didn't notice Riel approaching.

"Exactly! If I were a noble, would I have been expelled for such an incident?! It's because I'm a commoner and an orphan that they kicked me out."

"Calm down. That professor is extremely strict despite his appearance. You just had bad luck."

Darec was angry, and his friends were trying to calm him down.

"But Darec has a point. The prince in the Advanced Swordsmanship Class gets criticized throughout the lessons but isn't expelled."

"Well..., maybe his skills aren't bad enough to warrant expulsion?"

"Anyway! I'm going to visit the professor again."

For now, Riel hid herself and listened to their conversation.

After hearing enough of their conversation, Riel had a question.

'Why does he blame his status for his own mistake?'

Setting aside the question in her mind, she approached them with a smile and spoke.

"Darec, you were looking for me?"

Darec seemed surprised to see Riel.

"You're a commoner like me, can't you help me a little?"

"Whether you're a commoner or a noble, it's natural to face punishment for causing an incident. Someone almost got hurt because of you."

"But! It's something that can happen while practicing magic!"

"No, it can't. I don't know where you learned magic, but prioritizing safety is a fundamental teaching at the academy."

Riel deliberately pressed Darec with a cold tone to gauge his reaction.

If Darec's actions were influenced by a Quest, Riel thought he would show an unnatural response.

"Fine. That incident was my fault. But isn't demotion too harsh for something that happened on the first day without proper guidance?"

"I agree with that part."

"See? You're friendly with the nobles, so..., what?"

"I said I agree with that part. So, I'll go with you to the professor."

Darec looked at Riel as if he never expected her to say such a thing.

"Permanent demotion is indeed too harsh a punishment, as you said. So..., I can ask the professor to reinstate you conditionally."

"Uh..., thank you for helping me?"

"Just let me know the time you have an appointment with the professor. I'll go with you then."

Darec seemed flustered but obediently told her the appointment time.

"Thank you. For helping me."

"It's nothing."

With that, Riel ended the conversation and headed to the church.

**

"I talked to him, but I still can't tell if anything feels off! He definitely has an inferiority complex about his status, but considering his past, it's not that strange."

Riel, who had suddenly come to the church, reported her observations of the Player suspect.

"Uh..., judging by what you said, it's hard to define whether he's a Player or not."

"Right?!"

From the beginning, Darec wasn't ranked very high as a suspect.

His ranking only rose due to the incident he caused during the magical training session.

"For now, I'll keep talking to him..., but his friends seem suspicious. They subtly steer the issue toward problems caused by status discrimination."

"Really? Then that's serious."

"Yes. As Yuria speculated before, it seems there might really be an intent to incite conflict between nobles and commoners."

Yuria speculated that the Goddess was trying to influence both nobles and commoners, citing Cornell's connections to both groups.

'Was the sense of discord I felt during the last class because of this?'

We were so focused on judging the Player that we didn't know what was happening in other groups.

I heard later that disputes broke out in groups where nobles and commoners were mixed.

The commoners were eager to participate in the assignments, but the nobles weren't.

The resentment built up during the day reached its peak at the campsite.

"You guys sleep in that tent over there. This tent was sponsored by our family. You lowly folks don't deserve to use it."

"What?! Lowly folks? You idiots, if it weren't for us, you would have been disqualified long ago!"

"That's the duty of commoners. To serve nobles like us."

The commoners' frustration exploded over the nobles who arbitrarily took the tent and halfheartedly participated in the assignments.

Although the issue was overshadowed by Cornell's incident, it seemed the events in that group were spreading throughout the school.

"For now, I understand. Tell Yuria to pay attention to prevent conflicts between nobles and commoners."

"Okay. She'll probably come to the church after her magic class ends, won't she?"

Riel and I waited for Yuria at the church.

But even after a long time passed since the class ended, Yuria didn't show up.

"Professor! There's a patient!"

Instead, a person who looked like a graduate student brought urgent news.

The student was panting as if they might collapse at any moment, their face drenched in sweat.

Seeing their state, I could tell how fast they had run.

"A group fight broke out among the students, and several were injured. One of them is unconscious...."

I immediately followed the student to the campus.

When I arrived at the scene of the fight, what I saw was chaos.

The students were screaming as if they wanted to devour each other, and the professor caught in the middle seemed unable to stop them.

Traces of magic were everywhere, and shattered glass from broken windows was scattered across the hallway.

"Hey, calm down."

"Let go! That guy dared to insult my family!"

The student, presumed to be a noble, had blood on his hands and was panting heavily, while his friends were holding him back, trying to calm him down.

"Calm down too. If you keep fighting, you'll only hurt yourself."

"Let go! Because of that guy, Elliot ended up like this!"

On the opposing side, a student with a large wound on his face was lying down, and similarly, another student was being restrained by others.

I first calmed the students down.

"Both of you. Calm down."

As I lightly released Divine Power, the two began to catch their breath and confront the consequences of their actions.

"No..., what have I done."

"Huh? What? How did it end up like this?"

Seeing them calm down, I approached the injured student and began treatment.

"Ugh..., Professor?"

"Are you alright?"

"My head..., it hurts...."

Judging by the situation, it seemed he had been struck hard in the face, fallen to the ground, and hit his head.

Fights among students often occurred, but it was rare for incidents to escalate to such violence.

'The situation is progressing too quickly..., as if someone had intervened. The reactions of the students who started the fight are also strange.'

I slowly looked around, my expression hardening.

The conflict between social ranks had not yet surfaced openly.

Recently, it had been a controversial topic at the academy, but its importance had diminished due to Cornell's incident.

Perhaps because of this, it felt as if someone was trying to escalate the situation deliberately.

Turning what seemed to be a simple dispute among students into a fight between nobles and commoners.

"You should be fine now. Can you walk?"

"Yes..., thank you. Do you happen to have a mirror? I want to check my face...."

A student nearby handed over a mirror.

"Here you go!"

The injured student got up and examined the scars left on his face.

Seeing that no scars remained, the student slowly stood up.

"Now then, everyone here. Are you all prepared to face disciplinary action?"

I took charge of cleaning up the scene of the fight.

First, I dispersed the gathered students.

Then, I moved both instigators and their companions together.

After handing them over to the disciplinary committee, I headed to the director's office to report the incident.

"It's a case of violence, Director."

"What?!"

The director, who had just started preparing to leave work, immediately froze.

The relaxed expression on her face completely disappeared, replaced by a serious one as she looked at me.

She seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation right away.