Sefina hurried through the dormitory gates, silently breathing a sigh of relief while an indescribable, complex emotion welled up within her.
She had not expected that simply changing into a student uniform would make her disguise so successful.
‘This is definitely because I look young and my temperament fits! It is absolutely, definitely not because of my height!’
Sefina asserted to herself internally, attempting to dispel the subtle embarrassment stemming from her stature.
She had risked infiltrating the student dormitory for a reason that coincided with the conclusion Rofilia would reach one day later—the mysterious seventh seat might not be a teacher, but was very likely hidden among the student body.
And the current time was exactly one day before Rofilia had reached that same realization.
Although this guess seemed bold, upon further reflection, it was not without clues.
The student population was massive, making it seem difficult to investigate, but if she could find the right starting point, the scope could be narrowed down drastically.
Sefina’s starting point was the night Rofilia had used a fake demon tool as bait and the seventh seat had appeared to snatch it.
By the time that operation had ended, it was already well past the academy’s mandated curfew.
According to academy regulations, for safety reasons, all students who did not return to their dorms at night needed to register with the dormitory manager and provide a reason the following day.
A reasonable explanation usually meant no further action would be taken.
This registration was a mere formality, recorded on ordinary paper forms. It was not highly classified and would not easily reach the eyes of the academy’s upper management.
Precisely because it was so unobtrusive, it became Sefina’s opportunity.
Just the previous night, relying on her excellent stealth skills, she had easily “borrowed” the relevant records from the dormitory manager’s office.
She transcribed the names of all students who had been out that night, organizing them into a new list of suspects.
Now, with the list in hand, what she needed was further evidence—something that could directly link these names to the identity of the seventh seat.
By infiltrating the student dormitory and investigating the living environments of these suspects on-site, she might find a trail.
Standing at the entrance of the empty first-floor corridor, Sefina still instinctively paused for two seconds, warily sensing her surroundings.
Only after confirming there were no anomalies did she feel completely at ease.
‘Alright, let’s finish this quickly while I have the chance!’
Sefina set off, walking down the silent corridor.
This was the double-occupancy dormitory area for commoner students. Rows of identical wooden doors were tightly shut, and all was quiet behind them.
Obviously, the occupants were currently in class. Only the sound of her light footsteps echoed through the hallway.
Sefina held an inconspicuous demon tool that resembled a wristwatch—a little gadget Nona had tinkered with.
As she walked, she pointed the demon tool at each dormitory room number while cross-referencing them with the list in her mind.
The needle on the surface of the demon tool only trembled slightly, showing no strong reaction.
‘Not here…’
‘This one isn’t it either…’
She muttered under her breath, her brow furrowing slightly. The investigation was proving to be less than easy.
She quickly finished checking the first floor without any valuable discoveries.
Sefina pushed aside her slight disappointment and turned toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
She had to hurry and investigate as many targets as possible before the students returned from class.
However, just as her foot touched the first step—
*Clatter, clatter, clatter!*
A series of hurried and slightly disorganized footsteps suddenly came from above the stairs!
Sefina’s heart tightened. Just as she was about to sidestep into cover or react, a figure rushed down like a whirlwind, crashing squarely into her!
“Ah!”
Sefina was knocked back, letting out a muffled groan. Fortunately, she braced herself against the nearby wall in time to steady her footing.
“Ouch!”
The person who had collided with her also let out a cry of surprise, clearly not expecting anyone to be at the bottom of the stairs. She immediately began to apologize, her words coming out in a rapid blur.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I was in a rush to get a textbook I forgot, and I didn’t mean to—”
However, when the figure looked up and her eyes met Sefina’s face, her apology stopped abruptly, as if something had caught in her throat.
Her pale blue eyes instantly went wide, filled with an expression of utter disbelief.
“Tea… Teacher Sefina?!”
Sefina also froze the moment she saw who it was, cursing her luck internally.
“Mia?”
‘How could it be such a coincidence?!’ In this vast dormitory building, she just had to run into the student who was both the most familiar and the biggest headache for her!
Sefina felt speechless. If it had been any other student, she might have been able to adapt and fool them, but of all people, it had to be Mia.
‘Sigh, it’s a cursed fate.’ Sefina felt a headache coming on.
The surprise on Mia’s face lasted only a brief moment before being replaced by a burning curiosity.
Like a kitten that had discovered a new toy, she circled halfway around Sefina, looking her up and down. She scrutinized the extremely well-fitting student uniform Teacher Sefina was wearing, her eyes sparkling.
“Teacher Sefina! Why are you here?” Mia lowered her voice, but the excitement in her tone was nearly overflowing.
“And why are you… dressed like this?” Her gaze swept back and forth between Sefina’s school uniform and her delicate face, which was struggling to maintain its composure. Her eyes were full of inquisitive intent.
Sefina was momentarily at a loss for words. Her mind raced, but she couldn’t find a reasonable explanation that would satisfy Mia without raising even more suspicion.
Should she say she was here to experience student life? Or that she was conducting pedagogical research? Both sounded full of holes.
Seeing Teacher Sefina’s rare silence and slightly stiff expression, Mia blinked, a mysterious “I get it” smile appearing on her face.
She leaned in closer, covering her mouth with her hand, and whispered with the excitement of someone who had “discovered a massive secret.”
“Could it be…” She trailed off, observing Sefina’s reaction.
Sefina’s heart stirred. Her purpose for coming here was to investigate the seventh seat of Black Utopia, and Mia was the only student who had come into contact with them.
Mia also knew that Sefina wasn’t just a teacher.
Perhaps Mia had guessed that she was currently conducting an investigation…
Just as Sefina’s thoughts were whirling, Mia’s next words nearly made her choke.
“Could it be that Teacher Sefina is doing some cosplay and came to the dormitory area for a photo shoot?! Is it to prepare for a special magic play? Or is it a personal hobby? Teacher Sefina, you really have a sense of style!”
Sefina was speechless.
Looking at Mia’s “am I not smart, please praise me” expression, she felt a profound sense of powerlessness.
As expected… she had still underestimated this girl’s thought process.
Fine, it was better that she couldn’t guess the truth.
Sefina decided to give up on explaining. She habitually reached out, intending to gently push away this clingy “curiosity seeker” as she usually did, and then find an excuse to make a quick escape.
“Mia, I…” She began, preparing to use “urgent business” as a brush-off.
However, a second before her fingertips could touch Mia’s shoulder—
A familiar and terrifying surge of heat spread without warning from deep within her lower abdomen.
“Ugh!”
Sefina’s body suddenly stiffened. Her movement to push Mia away instantly faltered, turning into a weak tremble.
Her once-steady breathing became abruptly disordered, and an unusual flush uncontrollably crept onto her cheeks.
Sefina’s legs went soft, to the point where they could barely support her weight.
‘Damn it! Why now of all times?! At this place?! And in front of Mia?!’
The magic crest… had flared up at this moment without any warning!
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