Player-Hunting Inquisitors

Chapter 16

The place Ella headed to was an unused warehouse in the academy.

Riel secretly followed Ella and watched her enter the warehouse.

'Hmm? Why are there traces of a barrier in such a strange warehouse?'

Riel carefully raised her magical power while observing her surroundings.

A faint flow of magical power began at her fingertips and spread throughout her body.

She even silenced her breathing and focused on the barrier. Like delicately sculpting with a fine chisel, she analyzed the structure of the barrier with the slightest tremor of magical power.

'Let's see, the barrier is designed to notify the caster if someone approaches the warehouse.'

Riel hesitated for a moment.

'Is it safe to go inside like this? Could it be a trap? But... if I stop here, I won't find out anything.'

She cautiously assessed the situation and prepared to enter the barrier.

She simultaneously drew upon her divine power and magical power and slowly infused them into the barrier.

Normally, divine power and magical power repel each other.

Until now, no one had been able to handle both powers simultaneously.

Except for one person, Riel Scarlet.

Riel let her divine power flow into the outer edge of the barrier, creating just enough of an opening to avoid triggering the notification, and then filled the gap with her own magical power, slowly eroding the magical formula.

Her skill in handling magic was unparalleled.

The previously invisible barrier reacted to the divine power, revealing its form, and her magical power gradually corroded the barrier, creating an opening large enough for one person to pass through.

'Alright. Now, let's see who's inside.'

The hole in the barrier closed seamlessly as soon as Riel passed through.

She held her breath and pressed her ear close to the warehouse door.

"That's why! It's too early! Not even half of the commoners are on our side yet, so how can we...!"

"Once we start taking action, even the fearful ones will join our cause."

"That's just wishful thinking! If we fail, the commoners will never be able to hold their heads high again!"

The warehouse was old, so the conversation inside was clearly audible to Riel.

'Hmm..., so this is a gathering of people trying to form a group for the commoners.'

Only two voices reached Riel's ears. But there were three others whose breathing could be heard.

'Five people in total? That's fewer than I expected. With just these numbers, it will be difficult to sway the academy's public opinion.'

As Riel pondered, the argument inside the warehouse became more heated.

"I think it's impossible. The time limit is too tight! Even if they fund us, we can't possibly make it in just a month."

Words that piqued Riel's interest reached her ears.

'Funding? From which group? Or is it the possessed?'

"Enough. You all leave. Ella and I are enough for this."

When the argument became too intense, a man who seemed to be leading them stopped the meeting.

Riel, who had been eavesdropping outside the warehouse, had to move away.

'Hmm..., that's enough for today. I should at least check the faces of the people leaving.'

A man leaving the warehouse seemed to sense something unusual and raised a question.

"What? Did someone come by?"

'Huh? I shouldn't have left any traces.'

Riel quickly checked the spot where she had been, but no traces remained.

If she hadn't made a mistake, then someone must have found her trace using a method unknown to her.

Riel held her breath and focused on their conversation.

'Could it be intuition? Or a Player's skill?'

"Hmm..., never mind. It's not unusual for us to be followed, probably by some noble's lackey."

"No, before I came in..., never mind. I must have imagined it."

'Phew.'

Riel let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

She took note of the man who had found her trace.

'That guy. I don't know him. Is he from the Swordsmanship Department?'

Memorizing his appearance, Riel quietly followed them back to the campus.

After finishing her tailing, Riel quickly made her way to Yuria's room.

"Yuria, can I ask for Natasha's help?"

"Of course. Did something happen?"

Riel sighed and sprawled onto Yuria's bed as if it were her own.

"Well.... Even though I didn't make a mistake, they noticed me."

"Is that even possible?"

Riel closed her eyes and slowly recalled the earlier situation.

"Hmm.... It could be a unique magic..., but I know all the registered faces...."

"What did that person look like?"

Riel described the appearance she remembered to Yuria, who thought for a moment before giving an immediate answer.

"He's probably one of the commoner second-years. His name is Levan. He's just an ordinary student with no particular traits."

"It could have just been a casual remark. You know, sometimes people say things to lighten a heavy mood."

"I don't think that's very likely. I'll inform Kian about this too."

"Thanks!"

**

I heard the information Riel passed on from Yuria and Natasha, who came to the church.

"This is quite troublesome. Not only within the academy but also interference from outside."

"From what I've found, they have an anonymous sponsor providing them with scholarships."

The academy's sponsorship system guarantees complete anonymity if the sponsor wishes.

It was originally created to purely support students, but not everyone uses it with pure intentions.

The enemies are cunning enough to exploit the sponsorship system to deliver operational funds.

Moreover, it's difficult to distinguish whether they are possessed or simply people fighting for the dignity of commoners.

'Now that the presence of external forces has been confirmed, we can't afford to respond passively anymore. Instead, we need to shake things up first. That will give us a chance to uncover their identities.'

"Natasha."

"Yes?"

Instead, we need to take bold action from our side.

Rather than us searching for them, we need to make them come to us.

"Help Riel search the dormitories of the people she identified."

"Understood."

"Yuria, I need you to act more assertively to prevent discrimination."

"That's easy. Leave it to me."

"In the meantime, I'll meet with the church members."

Preparing the second trap for the Player, I headed to the academy's church.

**

"What I am asking you to do is something only you can accomplish."

I gathered the priests and nuns in the church's prayer room.

"The academy is currently facing an unprecedented crisis in its long history."

This was to create a situation that could reveal the identity of a Player if any were among them.

If no suspects emerged, I could continue to rely on their help for judgment in the future.

"Our Katia has said that all living beings deserve freedom. But what is the reality now?"

I made grand gestures and used an exaggerated tone.

To make myself appear imposing in their eyes.

"Can we truly say that the academy, busy tearing each other down, follows Katia's teachings?! I don't think so!"

I met the gaze of each person whose eyes showed they were moved by my words.

A devout believer of our cult could never meet my gaze directly.

I lightly spread divine power to guide them according to my intentions.

"We must! Take the lead in eradicating discrimination in the academy. Standing by idly is a disgrace to our god!"

The divine power I emitted was mixed with a blessing. Anyone unable to accept this blessing would be someone to suspect.

"That's right!"

"Freedom for all!"

Everyone accepted my blessing without exception.

I moved them with confidence for the sake of my plan.

"We will no longer wait inside the church! We will go outside the church and spread Katia's teachings far and wide! Our actions will restore the academy to its rightful state!"

"Understood!"

The atmosphere had sufficiently heated up, and all the believers were ready to follow me.

"Then, let us all head to the academy!"

The first step of the trap was sewn up in an instant.

'Wait, Player.'

The believers, inspired by my words, scattered in small groups.

'Will you truly be able to stay still?'

The believers acted quickly.

They requested external support to expand their numbers, and everyone moved around the academy on foot.

If even the slightest hint of discrimination occurred, the believers rushed in and preached to them.

Normally, this method of proselytizing would go against the cult's principles.

However, the existence of the Saint gave them a good justification.

'How dare you displease the Saint?'

'We, too, have the right to evangelize. The students must also be embraced in his arms!'

Whenever even a small argument broke out within the academy, the believers immediately dragged them to the church and relentlessly preached to them, filling the academy with the believers' booming voices in no time.

The chairman welcomed and accepted this situation with joy.

An extreme measure that even the professors dared not attempt.

However, the results were extremely favorable.

"Thank you. Normally, this is an issue our faculty should resolve...."

"Not at all. We are always ready to spread the teachings. We are simply grateful for the opportunity you have given us."

With the chairman's approval, discrimination based on status disappeared from the academy in an instant.

There was no one in the academy bold enough to risk opposing the cult.

The sudden change in circumstances left the players in confusion.

They were flustered by the cult's unexpected actions and could not figure out how to respond.

'We can't just sit still like this. We need to come up with a plan....'

They anxiously observed the situation and began devising countermeasures.