I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 441: Kidnapping (2)

Alex turned his resentment-filled and humiliated gaze toward the floor as he recalled what had just happened.

The elves of Shadewarden tried everything to shake off Alex and Vierano, but it wasn't that easy.

They had greatly underestimated Alex and Vierano's abilities, it was a gap born from their innate arrogance in believing themselves superior, that's why Alex had almost caught up with them.

If it weren't for the Lumensis Order's interference.

"Stop!"

Those who suddenly appeared and blocked the path where the elf had passed wore white coats with snow-white hoods and white armor worn over their shoulders, forearms, and shins.

They were the holy knights of the Lumensis Order, emanating an atmosphere that felt both pious and suffocating just by looking at them.

Alex frowned.

"Hey. Who are you people?"

"We received reports of a terrorist situation that occurred on the street earlier. So cooperate quietly."

"What? What does that have to do with us?"

"You two running through the alleyways in broad daylight. Clearly suspicious."

Alex was at a loss for words at that statement.

What the hell are these bastards talking about?

Looking to the side, Vierano also had an expression of disbelief.

"What are you trying to do here? The terrorists are escaping over there!"

"Are you sure? Are you certain that's not a lie to deceive us?"

"What? Am I sure? Of course I am. We've been chasing them this whole time."

"That's strange. We've been patrolling this area, but we haven't seen any suspicious people! Except for you two!"

"......"

Alex, who was about to argue, closed his mouth.

He sensed something odd about how adamantly the other party was acting.

"...Damn it. So that's what this is."

Alex realized that the Lumensis holy knights had appeared to interfere with them from the start.

Unless they were fools, there's no way they hadn't seen the fleeing elves, especially if they had been waiting here.

They saw them but deliberately ignored and pretended not to notice.

'The Lumensis Order helping the elves?'

While their actions made no sense, Alex figured they were the type to move not just on faith but also for profit, so he let it slide.

At this point, they would need to take a detour to pursue them.

Just as Alex was thinking this, the holy knight solemnly warned:

"Stop. You are currently suspected as likely terrorist suspects. Cooperate quietly. If you don't, we will use force."

"Ha."

Alex let out a hollow laugh.

Not content with just blocking the path, they want to somehow detain them and buy time?

He didn't know what deal they had made with those Shadewarden elves.

"This feels really damn dirty."

A terrifying killing intent flowed from Alex's body.

He was already extremely irritated by the meddling of those he disliked, and now they dare suspect him of being a terrorist?

And telling him to cooperate quietly as if demanding he hand over something entrusted to them?

Alex let out a cold sneer.

Seeing this, the holy knights' expressions hardened as they each placed their hands on their weapons.

"Do you dare show hostility against the holy Lumensis Church?"

"Why not?"

"God will not forgive you."

"Before considering that, you should first worry about whether my sword will forgive you."

Alex said this while infusing his sword with aura.

"Stop!"

That's when Vierano stepped forward.

"Let's end it here."

"Who are you?"

"I am Vierano Dentis, a teacher at Theon."

Vierano said this while taking out his identification.

It was an ID with an official seal approved by the city of Leathervelk.

Ordinary people didn't need to carry IDs, but Vierano had to have one because he was an elf.

It was to avoid being treated as an illegal immigrant species without an ID.

"We are currently pursuing those involved in this incident. Would you please step aside?"

"How can we trust that? Just let this uneducated, vicious swordsman go?"

"...This person is a mercenary I hired separately. He's momentarily angry about the interference with our request, so please put aside your anger."

Vierano said this while giving Alex a meaningful look.

Alex clicked his tongue and sheathed his sword at the sight.

The holy knights hesitated at this.

If they insisted on detaining the two here, Vierano's status would be involved.

Even though he was an elf, Vierano was a teacher at Theon and possessed an ID officially issued by the city.

If they tried to oppress him arbitrarily with the Order's authority, it would cause friction with the Leathervelk City Council.

The holy knights knew this as well, so they couldn't act strongly against Vierano.

"...We will search this area. So you two should withdraw."

The holy knight announced this while blocking the path.

Their determination to not step aside no matter what was evident.

At this sight, Alex clenched his fist tightly.

By now, while they were having this dispute, the elf trackers would have fled and hidden somewhere out of people's sight.

"What will you do now?"

"...I'll have to report this first."

"Report?"

"There's someone who told me to protect that girl."

"I'll come with you. I can't say I have no responsibility in this matter."

"Do as you wish."

* * *

Rudger's expression remained unchanged as he heard the full account of what happened but Alex could tell.

'Ah. The leader is angry.'

He could feel it more clearly because there was no outward display of emotion.

When Rudger was truly angry, his eyes grew even colder.

That's when Vierano, who had been reading the atmosphere from his seat, carefully opened his mouth.

"Um, Teacher Rudger."

"...Teacher Vierano."

Rudger faced Vierano.

Neither had expected to meet like this in this place.

"Teacher Rudger, did you...know all along? About Sedina's position?"

"I haven't known for very long. I thought if we kept it hidden appropriately, nothing particular would happen, but things have turned out like this."

"...It's all my oversight."

Vierano bowed his head slightly toward Rudger and Alex, conveying his apologies.

"Why is that Teacher Vierano's fault?"

"I knew about Sedina's bloodline, and how she would be treated. I knew but didn't say anything. If I had warned even a little earlier, things wouldn't have escalated this far."

"Please raise your head. It's not your fault, Teacher Vierano. Even if you had told us beforehand, the Lumensis Order's involvement was completely unexpected."

Above all, if we're talking about who's really at fault here, it's obviously Shadewarden who kidnapped Sedina.

"Moreover, apologizing won't change the situation. Or are you perhaps just trying to ease your conscience?"

"...That's true as well."

Vierano raised his head.

Rudger was right.

They shouldn't be wasting time meaninglessly like this now.

"First, we need to hear the story. Why did they kidnap my teaching assistant, and what do they plan to do with her?"

"That's..."

Just as Vierano was about to speak, the door opened and someone entered.

"L-Leader! I just returned from the capital! More importantly, there's urgent news! The Shadewarden trackers have joined hands with the Lumensis Order and made plans to find and kidnap the la-last blood relative of the Plante family! We need to stop them!"

The one who opened the door and entered was Bellaruna.

Having urgently sought out Rudger, she blurted out everything she had to say while catching her breath.

Just as she was about to feel satisfied at finally delivering the news, she saw the expressions of the people inside and tilted her head slightly to the side.

Somehow, it seems she came at a bad time?

Bellaruna's gaze turned toward Vierano then her eyes grew wide.

"E-Elder Vierano Dentis!"

"...I didn't expect to meet another of our kind in a place like this."

"W-Why is he here...?"

Bellaruna turned to look at Rudger with eyes begging for an explanation but Rudger shook his head.

"It seems we need to sort out the situation first."

* * *

Bellaruna carefully explained the information she had learned in the capital.

Hearing this, Rudger and Alex realized how things had turned out and fell into serious thought.

In contrast, Vierano was shocked and fell into dismay.

"Wait a moment. The dead World Tree is in the capital's underground? And you really hacked into the kingdom's information by accessing the World Tree's network? How in the world..."

Vierano is not only an elf but also the head of a family.

Therefore, he knew many things. Not just breadth of knowledge, but also considerable depth.

Even to Vierano, Bellaruna's feat was something his mind could hardly accept.

"He-hehe. W-well, somehow it just happened..."

"That's not a compliment."

Rudger coldly snapped at Bellaruna who was sheepishly scratching the back of her head.

Bellaruna shrunk her shoulders at his words.

Anyone could see that she couldn't move an inch in front of Rudger.

"Teacher Rudger. Who exactly are you..."

"Teacher Vierano. That's not what's important in the current situation. What matters is what they're aiming for."

"...That's right. As you know, those who kidnapped Sedina are from the Shadewarden family, which follows extreme pure-blood ideology. And behind them is the Lifrey family."

"They say the blood relative of the Plante family is the final key, but what exactly is this key?"

"The key...can be considered the core code that can access the heart of the World Tree."

"The core code, you say."

Vierano continued his explanation.

"The World Tree is a massive tree that has lived for a very long time. Its age is hard to even estimate, and despite its size, it doesn't drain the surrounding land's energy but rather makes it more fertile. It can truly be called a miracle of nature. Such a World Tree contains very ancient knowledge and years of history within it."

"When you say it contains..."

"Yes. This means the current World Tree isn't a complete being. In a way, it could be seen as being in a state of sleep. In the past, elves lived alongside a fully functioning World Tree. It was an era much more prosperous than now."

But that era changed with the fall of the Plante family who managed the World Tree at the time and the rise of the new Lifrey family.

"The Lifrey family took that position, but the World Tree became considerably weaker compared to before. Of course, this weakness is relative - our homeland forest is still abundant without lacking anything. But the long-lived elves still remember the glorious era when the World Tree was complete."

"The Lifrey family is trying to recreate that glorious era."

"They might be aiming for even more than that. Beyond simply recreating past abundance, they want elves to rule this entire continent. Such ideology has especially grown since the Race War."

Vierano shook his head as if having a headache.

"They show hostility toward other races and have fallen into the chosen people's ideology that elves alone are the most superior and great race. They always chant the same thing: Make the great elves even greater."

"......"

At those words, Rudger was momentarily speechless.

It was a slogan somehow familiar in his memory.

In a way, it had to be familiar.

After all, such ideology was termed fascism even in history.

‘Fascist elves.’

This was turning out to be a much bigger headache than expected.

"To achieve that, they need to awaken the sleeping World Tree. Beyond its past majesty, to what could be called its most golden age."

"Is that why they kidnapped Sedina?"

"Yes. When the Plante family was ousted, it was said the World Tree's core code disappeared. The Lifrey family hid this fact, but other elders vaguely sensed it. However, they thought there were no more survivors of the Plante family."

That was certainly true but now, after many years, the only survivor has appeared.

Though her bloodline is diluted with half human blood, she still carries the Plante lineage.

The core code to awaken the sleeping World Tree is engraved deep within Sedina's genes.

"I knew this but kept silent. If this news reached the kingdom's ears, the situation would spiral out of control. But indeed, the great flow of fate couldn't be stopped by just me alone."

"...Teacher Vierano, you learned of this news belatedly and came out to protect Sedina, I see."

Rudger narrowed his eyes as he gazed at Vierano.

"Who told you this information?"

"Would you believe me if I said I found out on my own?"

Vierano showed a bitter smile characteristic of an old person that didn't match his youthful appearance.

"Actually, I wanted to tell Teacher Rudger something about that."

"What is it?"

"There's somewhere I'd like you to come with me. Because there's someone we need to meet."

"Who would that be?"

"Walter Roschen."

Rudger immediately recognized that name.

In fact, the only one in this place who wouldn't know that name would be Bellaruna, who was unfamiliar with outside affairs.

Of course, because Walter Roschen was:

"The head of the Roschen family."

And Sedina's father.