Patrol Captain Duncan stood tall before the Headmaster’s office desk. Although his face showed the exhaustion of several days of interrogation, his gaze remained sharp.
He reported in a low voice, “Headmaster, some of the captured black-robed men have confessed after repeated interrogations. According to their statements, they come from… Black Utopia.”
“Black Utopia…” Rofilia repeated the name softly. Her fingertips paused slightly on the smooth tabletop, and a trace of solemnity flashed through her purple eyes.
This name was not unfamiliar to her. During her travels across the continent, she had seen it more than once in secret files and intelligence reports.
It was a massive organization with a vast sphere of influence, mysterious movements, and unknown objectives.
Based on the fragmented information she possessed, this organization was obsessed with conducting various forbidden human experiments, collecting ancient demon tools with special powers, and studying or even restoring long-lost ancient magic.
But what their ultimate goal was remained a mystery to this day.
She had not expected the organization’s tentacles to have silently penetrated Oselenka, operating right under her nose.
Last time, their goal was to seize that ancient demon tool sent away in disguise.
So now, what would be the next goal for these rats lurking in the shadows? And in which corner of the academy were they hiding?
Rofilia suppressed the turmoil in her heart and continued to ask, “Regarding the black-robed man leading them, has his identity been tortured out of them?”
Duncan shook his head, a trace of helplessness appearing on his face. “We only know that the person is called the ‘Seventh Seat’ within the organization and is one of their cadres.”
“But even their direct subordinates know very little about the true identities of these cadres; the level of secrecy is extremely high.”
“What about a contact point? They must have a place to gather or transmit information,” Rofilia continued to inquire.
Duncan shook his head again. “According to the confessions, the cadre contacts the lower levels through a special ring-shaped magic tool.”
“That kind of magic tool seems only able to receive commands one way; it cannot be used to contact the cadre actively, nor can it track the source. In other words… we still know almost nothing about that Seventh Seat.”
Rofilia lowered her eyes slightly, her long eyelashes casting a small shadow over her eyelids.
The trail seemed to have gone cold here.
‘Is it really broken? No, not yet. I was prepared for this.’
Rofilia pulled open a drawer in the desk, took out a stack of papers that was not too thick, and handed it to Duncan.
“Look at this.”
Duncan took it with both hands, frowning slightly as his gaze quickly scanned the contents. It listed several names along with brief notes and information.
“This is…?”
“A suspect list,” Rofilia explained calmly, her voice returning to its usual coldness.
“Based on the previous incident with the Bloodkin Girl, Mia, we know that the Seventh Seat is proficient in both elemental magic and summoning magic, and their strength is roughly at a sixth-rank level.
Of course, it is possible they are hiding their strength within the academy — for example, their publicly declared strength might be below sixth-rank, while their actual power exceeds that.
Therefore, we can temporarily narrow our search area to all teachers within the elemental faction and the summoning department.”
Rofilia stood up and walked to the window. Looking out at the deep night, she continued, “The night we set the trap and pretended to escort the demon tool, I was personally overseeing the front on the surface, but in reality, I secretly dispatched another team to monitor the villas of all the teachers on the list from both factions.”
A flash of surprise crossed Duncan’s eyes. He had no idea the Headmaster had arranged such a move.
Rofilia turned around, a faint, confident smile playing on her lips. “The monitoring results showed that several people on this list were not in their villas during the time the Seventh Seat appeared and fought you. The timing matches perfectly.”
Duncan suddenly understood, feeling amazed by Headmaster Rofilia’s foresight and meticulous planning. He looked down again to carefully check the names on the list:
Summoning department: The newcomer, Teacher Shalina; the more experienced Professor Sorini.
Elemental faction: The newcomer, Teacher Clyde; two or three experienced elemental professors; and… Teacher Sefina.
When Duncan’s gaze swept over the name “Sefina,” his thick brows furrowed again, and a clear look of doubt appeared on his face.
“What is it?” Rofilia keenly captured the change in his expression.
“You also think this newcomer, Teacher Sefina, is a bit strange, don’t you?”
She remembered the faint sense of discord she had felt during her few encounters with Sefina, as well as her overly perfect composure.
However, Duncan shook his head at this moment, his tone carrying a certainty based on combat intuition.
“No, Headmaster. On the contrary, I believe there is a high probability that Teacher Sefina is not the Seventh Seat.”
“Oh?” Rofilia raised her eyebrows in surprise, signaling him to continue.
Duncan explained with a serious face, “I have faced that Seventh seat head-on twice. Although I couldn’t see their specific features — they were hidden by a black robe and a mask — there is one thing I am certain of — “
He paused and said in a tone that brooked no doubt, “Their height is definitely more than 1.5 meters.”
Rofilia: “…”
A subtle silence fell over the office.
Rofilia looked at Duncan’s deadpan expression, which was based on the most direct physical evidence, and was momentarily speechless.
This… was indeed a very… simple and hard-to-refute inference.
She was stunned for a full two seconds before helplessly raising a hand to rub her temples. “Captain Duncan, your observation… is very detailed.”
She weighed her words before slowly speaking.
“However, we cannot completely rule out her suspicion. When I traveled across the western continent, I saw some extremely mysterious magic tools or magic that could create visual errors or even change and disguise a person’s physical characteristics to a certain extent.”
“Therefore, Teacher Sefina’s height cannot yet serve as decisive evidence to clear her of suspicion.”
Duncan nodded, accepting the Headmaster’s explanation, but in his heart, his suspicion of the petite elemental teacher had already decreased by more than half.
He preferred to trust the body size of the opponent he had perceived with his own physical senses on the battlefield.
“Headmaster, since the suspect list is already here, what should we do next? Conduct a secret investigation immediately?” Duncan asked.
The corners of Rofilia’s mouth curled up slightly. That smile carried a hint of coldness and confidence, and her purple eyes shimmered with a light that seemed to see through everything.
“A direct investigation would easily alert them. But since they are hiding among us… we only need to create a situation that makes them reveal themselves.”
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