Chapter 128: Undercurrents

The three-day holiday of the magic festival quietly passed like a mist scattered by the wind.

Oselenka Academy once again welcomed its bustling students and teachers, as studies and classes regained their place as the main theme of daily life at the academy.

Everything returned to its former order, the holiday events feeling like an interlude quickly flipped past. However, this excessive calm felt like an invisible cloud, weighing heavily on Sefina’s heart.

Several days passed. She taught her classes, graded assignments, and guided her assistants as usual.

Meanwhile, she used every spare moment to inconspicuously observe and investigate all the teachers in the elemental faction and the summoning department.

However, the results only made her more uneasy, because these teachers — not a single one of them was missing.

Whether it was Shalina and Clyde, who were from the same period as her, or the veteran professors with deep seniority, everyone appeared at their posts on time, their behavior showing nothing unusual.

This was too unusual. The red quill gripped between Sefina’s fingers paused over a student’s assignment, her burgundy eyes looking out the window at the bright but somewhat piercing sunlight.

Given Headmaster Rofilia’s swift and unscrupulous style, after testing her with that “triple deception,” she should have used similar or even harsher methods to “rattle” the other suspects on the list.

With that headmaster’s methods and mental pressure, it would be difficult for anyone to avoid showing a flaw under such continuous psychological attacks, unless the seventh seat’s mental fortitude had truly reached an inhuman level.

If someone were to slip up, Rofilia’s personality meant she would certainly have them seized for interrogation.

Even if she kept it secret to avoid alerting the enemy, there would still be some rumors within the academy — for example, official excuses like a certain teacher “suddenly falling ill and needing a long leave” or “temporarily leaving the school for an urgent family mission.”

Yet, there was nothing. These few days had been as calm as stagnant water, without a single extra ripple surfacing.

Sefina gently set down her quill, her fingertips absentmindedly tapping the smooth desk. This abnormal calm pointed toward two possibilities.

Either Rofilia’s investigation had encountered some unknown obstacle, or she had changed her strategy. Or…

Or it was her other earlier hypothesis — the one that seemed less likely but far more troublesome — that was probably true.

A cold sense of unease quietly crept up Sefina’s spine.

***

On the other side of the academy, inside the headmaster’s office in the core area.

Rofilia sat behind her large office desk with several unimportant documents spread out before her, but her deep purple eyes were not focused on the pages.

Her fingertips lightly tapped the desk, making soft clicking sounds that revealed Rofilia’s inner turmoil.

A few days ago, she had personally “invited” and tested the shortlisted suspects one-on-one with high efficiency.

Sefina, Shalina, Clyde, and several veteran teachers from the elemental faction and the summoning department…

She recalled everyone’s reactions: shock, bewilderment, and the panic of being eager to prove one’s innocence… All sorts of expressions seemed so “natural” and “reasonable” under her powerful insight.

Under her carefully designed triple pressure, not a single person had shown any obvious flaw, nor had anyone just given up and fought back.

This was very wrong.

Rofilia stood up, her high heels clicking on the polished floor as she began to pace slowly in the spacious office.

Her brow furrowed slightly. Given her experience and the pressure she applied, it would be impossible for anyone to be so seamless unless they had known her entire plan in advance and had undergone repeated rehearsals and mental preparation.

But the testing plan had been a spur-of-the-moment idea, known only within an extremely small core circle.

Moreover, the action had been swift, launched almost overnight after the list was finalized. The possibility of a leak was extremely low.

Then, the only thing left was the worst-case scenario — the seventh seat was not among this group of teacher suspects she had identified at all.

This thought made Rofilia pause. She walked to the window and looked down at the campus activities continuing as usual.

If the seventh seat wasn’t a teacher of the elemental faction or summoning department… could he be from another department?

The potion department? The alchemy department? Or perhaps the more obscure prophecy faction or enchantment faction?

But according to Duncan’s report from their encounter, the opponent had demonstrated high levels of attainment in elemental magic and proficiency in summoning magic.

For a teacher employed in another department to have cultivated both elements and summoning to such a profound level while perfectly hiding their strength… that would be simply too erudite.

Rofilia subconsciously picked up the now-lukewarm coffee on the table and took a sip. The bitter liquid slid down her throat, but it failed to dispel the heaviness in her heart.

If she expanded the scope of the investigation to include all teachers in the academy on the suspect list, it would undoubtedly be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Not only would the workload be immense, but it would also easily cause widespread panic and speculation, potentially alerting the enemy even more.

There had to be something she had overlooked — someone who could move freely within Oselenka, access information, possess superb elemental and summoning magic abilities, and yet perfectly avoid her screening based on the identity of a “teacher.”

Suddenly, Rofilia’s hand holding the coffee cup froze in mid-air, her purple pupils shrinking abruptly. A massive group she had subconsciously excluded from the primary suspects — students!

*Clack!* She fumbled the coffee cup back onto the tray, producing a crisp clatter. The dark liquid sloshed and splashed a few drops onto the polished desk.

That was it! Why couldn’t the seventh seat be disguised as a student?!

***

Morning light streamed through the window frames of Oselenka Academy’s dormitory district, casting mottled shadows across the empty hallway.

The first-year student dormitory was currently silent, forming a sharp contrast to the bustle of the teaching building area.

At this time, the first-year schedule was almost entirely filled for the morning, and the students had long since headed to their respective classrooms.

Inside the guardroom at the entrance of the dormitory building, the young female dorm manager was propping up her arm, her head nodding as she dozed off.

She had been on duty last night, and drowsiness was heavy upon her now. In her daze, she caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of a petite figure wearing a standard school uniform, walking slowly toward the dormitory building entrance.

“Huh?” A hint of doubt flashed through the dorm manager’s muddled brain.

“At this hour… is there still a student who hasn’t gone to class?” She tried to open her eyes wide to see clearly, but her heavy eyelids kept drooping.

“I guess they’re feeling unwell and took leave… *Yawn* —”

The dorm manager ultimately failed to resist the sleepiness.

She let out a wide yawn and sank back into a groggy state, muttering to herself, ‘Anyway, they’re wearing the school uniform… forget it, I’ll just sleep a bit more…’

However, she had no idea that this “student” who had successfully slipped into the dormitory was actually the elemental magic teacher — Sefina.