I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Ludger had traveled around the continent to look for Relics.

The original 'fragments' that he was gathering, to be exact.

—It was to make a Relic.

He had visited many cities, many countries, and many ethnic groups.

As a result, there were times when he had unintentionally encountered Relics that were not related to the fragments.

Even common wizards had never encountered any Relics in their lifetime.

Ludger, on the other hand, had seen several Relics so far.

In terms of Relics, Ludger could be seen as more experienced than anyone else.

“Stay still.”

He recited those words as if commanding the Stone and invoked his mana.

The Omnipotent Stone emitted a violent magic power as if to resist Ludger, but Ludger was not surprised.

Sometimes, that kind of 'volition' existed for a unique Relic.

It was a small mystery created by the peculiar, powerful force of the Relic.

The Omnipotent Stone existed to satisfy the desires of others.

Its reckless purpose of 'listening to one's desire' was sublimated to the will and influenced the surroundings of the Relic by spreading the wavelength of desire to its surroundings.

In some ways, Relics were also cursed items.

So it resisted Ludger, but Ludger sneered at the Relic's volition.

"You can't make my 'real' wish come true anyway, no matter what kinds of methods you use.”

Even in front of the Omnipotent Stone, Ludger did not believe in the Omnipotent Stone itself.

Was it going to grant his wish?

He was sure that the Stone would listen to it, but it would only be within the limits of the Stone's power.

He couldn't say that the Stone would grant his wish.

A wish with limitations was not a wish, after all.

It was nothing more than a mere fake wish fulfillment.

"If you're a fake wish fulfiller, then just do as I say."

The Omnipotent Stone didn’t give up.

Instead of scattering the wavelength of its powerful magic power to its surroundings, it focused more on Ludger.

Green magic power coiled around Ludger's body.

Ludger frowned at the magic power that permeated his mind.

"A useless struggle."

However, he did not push away or block the Stone's magic power.

Instead, he committed a bold act by increasing the mana in his hand that was holding the Stone.

Whooooong!

Then, it was the Omnipotent Stone that was flustered.

‘What on earth did this human do? Instead of raising his defense, I received more magic power?’

The Omnipotent Stone didn't stop invading Ludger's mind while questioning his actions.

The moment it went into Ludger's inner mind while thinking that it was a good occurrence, instead…

Bump!

The magic power that the Omnipotent Stone flowed into his mind was blocked at some point as if it was hitting a barrier.

What the hell blocked its magic power?

The Omnipotent Stone, which aimed to respond to a human’s innermost desires, questioned the situation in which it could no longer enter Ludger's inner mind.

Did Ludger pretend like he let the magic power into his inner mind but actually block it off? Why?

It found out right away that it wasn't the case.

It wasn't Ludger's mana that had blocked the Omnipotent Stone…

It was a disparate force that was completely different from Ludger's mana—it was a strange force that could not even be classified that blocked the Omnipotent Stone.

It was a force that was impossible to understand; the Stone could not even analyze the force.

Mana? No. That kind of disparate energy was different from that.

It was higher than mana. It was as if something else was watching and protecting his mind.

"You'd better stop there."

Ludger warned against the 'volition' of the Omnipotent Stone.

"If you go beyond that, it won't be good for either you or me."

Ludger's warning was not a mere bluff…

It was sincere advice.

The Stone was sure that something worse would happen if it attempted to go beyond that.

If the Omnipotent Stone had feelings, the Stone would have been deeply moved by Ludger's warning.

However, the volition that the Omnipotent Stone possessed only commanded the Stone to do its role as best as it could—there was no emotional factor within the Stone.

The Omnipotent Stone accepted Ludger's advice.

If it attempted to go further, it would be destroyed and never see the light again.

If that happened, it would not be able to perform its role in the future.

Ssshhhh.

“Good job.”

The Omnipotent Stone gave up on its will.

It was similar to stopping after hitting a barrier, but it was the volition of the Stone that made the choice.

Ludger put his strength on the Omnipotent Stone as it was, forcing his own 'wish' into it.

"The fragment of the Relic that I currently have…"

With one of his hands that wasn't holding the Stone, he took a fragment out of his inside pocket.

"Tell me where the other four fragments are."

At that moment, a brilliant green light burst out of the Omnipotent Stone.

The light was clear and would have been strong enough to be seen from quite a distance if emitted in an open area.

However, in an enclosed space that blocked the wavelength of the Stone's magic power, the light only shone inside.

When the light of the Stone was completely gone…

Ludger removed his hand from the Omnipotent Stone.

“Two, huh.”

Two…

That was the number of fragments that the Omnipotent Stone had shown in response to Ludger's 'wish'.

What Ludger wanted was the location of the other four fragments, but the limit that the Stone could show was only two fragments.

And one of the two was the fragment whose location had been roughly discovered by him already.

‘The only benefit I gained from the Stone was, in the end, the location of the other one fragment.’

It was a very ungraceful effect for a Stone who granted people's wishes, but Ludger decided to think positively.

Just by finding another fragment of the elusive Relic, he had saved many years that could have been wasted.

‘Even so, I didn't think that the fragment would be so near.’

The whereabouts of the fragment that he had unintentionally discovered…

It existed in the big city of Leathevelk.

"It's a relief to discover that one fragment."

Whoooong.

The Omnipotent Stone vibrated finely as if protesting against Ludger.

If the Stone had helped him, he should take the Stone outside.

But Ludger lightly dismissed its volition.

“You are a dangerous item. You will continue to destroy the people who are influenced by you. You should stay here forever."

Whoooong!

The Omnipotent Stone tried to protest violently, but Ludger had already covered his body with shadow and whisked himself away into the darkness.

The Omnipotent Stone that was left alone blinked green lights as it was seemingly protesting, but the Stone soon calmed down.

—Because there was no one who could listen to it.

* * *

* * *

As I came back to my room, I sat on the sofa for a while to rest because of the extreme amount mana I had consumed.

As expected, teleporting between spaces wasn't supposed to be done several times.

I felt dizzy and nauseated, and most of all, I had consumed a lot of mana.

In addition to that, I had even used my strength to utilize the Omnipotent Stone.

I was lucky that I didn’t collapse from exhaustion.

[---]

There were noises flowing from my brain.

I frowned at the noises and roughly emptied the pills into my mouth.

The mana from the pills that permeated my body filled the mana I had consumed, but it was insufficient.

That time, the recovery needed more time, especially because of how much mana I had consumed.

“I’m going crazy.”

To avoid those noises, I was always going around while chewing pills in my mouth.

Of course, I benefited from these annoying noises that time.

The Omnipotent Stone penetrated my mind, but thanks to it, I was able to get over it without being seriously damaged.

Still, I couldn't help but be annoyed.

It was fortunate that it was the 'first stage', the recovery would be hard if it became worse than that.

I pressed my finger against my throbbing forehead slightly as if I was doing acupressure therapy.

Perhaps because I had stayed still for about 30 minutes, the noises from my head disappeared at some point.

Was it over?

I stood up with a sigh of relief. Now that I knew the whereabouts of the fragment, I was going to inquire about it.

When I grabbed the communication crystal ball and sent my mana into the ball, the reaction immediately came.

[Did you call me?]

“Yeah.”

Hans responded immediately as if he had been waiting. It was already late and past midnight, but he responded to the call sharply like that.

He must have been waiting for me to contact him.

[Are you done with everything you were attempting to solve?]

“It ended faster than I thought. Thanks to that, I’m able to have some leisure time.”

[That’s a relief.]

“You can push forward the appointment time. A weekend would be better if we could do that."

[I was just thinking that it was the right time. I don't think that's all you wanted to say to me. Is there anything else?]

As expected from Hans.

Maybe it was because he had been working with me for quite a long time, but he was quick to notice that kind of thing.

"I found the location of another fragment piece."

[…Where?]

“It’s in Leathevelk. You should search for it mainly at the auction house."

[Auction house, huh. There's only one auction house in Leathevelk.]

“Yeah.”

There was only one auction house in Leathevelk.

Kunst, the one and only Leathevelk's auction house.

It was one of the auction houses operated by Luke Co., the largest auction company in the Exileon Empire, and among them, the branch in Leathevelk was one of the largest in the continent.

The influence of the Kunst auction house was not limited only to Leathevelk or the Exileon Empire.

The Kunst auction house showed a very high participation rate because rich people from all continents could gather and purchase items there.

Money was bound to attract money.

High-quality antiques, historical objects, and even outstanding artifacts…

Good items attracted rich people.

And those people invested huge amounts of money to show off their wealth.

The auction house was the place where big bucks circulated that even I, who received a huge salary from Sören, couldn't help but be astonished by.

When such an overwhelming winning bid came out, rumors spread again and attracted the attention of people from other countries.

It was a repetitive, vicious cycle of money.

Such a vicious cycle created what was the Kunst auction house.

And if my prediction was correct, the 'fragment' I was looking for would exist at the Kunst auction house.

‘It's not bad timing since a big event will be held in the Kunst auction house soon.’

Hans would be able to easily check the list of the soon-to-be-appearing items at the Kunst auction house.

"Check the list, and find out when they're up for auction."

[I got it without you having to tell me about that, but isn't the Kunst auction house a big place?]

“So what?”

[Then I think the 'usual' method will be a bit hard to implement.]

I realized what Hans was concerned about as I heard his anxious voice.

“I know it as well. For now, I'm going to make a move as a proper guest."

The Kunst auction house maintained a terrifying security system, as it was a place where all kinds of wealthy people gathered.

When the auction was held, they could even hire a number of people who were as skilled as Knights and place them as the guards.

It meant that the scale of the auction was that huge, and Luke Co.'s reputation for conducting such an auction house was also great.

They weren't just mere Knights. Even wizards participated in it, and all the valuable items were even under security magic.

It was too much to stick to the old methods in such a place.

“Don’t worry too much. There's a lot of time left anyway."

[Well, that’s… I get it. Let's check the list of items first. Argh?!]

“Why are you like that?”

Suddenly, Hans screamed, and I wondered if something had happened.

[No. It's nothing big. It's just because a bothersome good-for-nothing is throwing a tantrum.]

“A bothersome good-for-nothing?”

[You called them, didn't you? One of them has come already.]

“Ah. I see.”

They arrived faster than I had expected.

At that moment, a shout of something was heard from beyond the crystal ball.

[Argh! Wait! I’m coming!]

Seeing Hans shouting fiercely like that, I wondered if a certain person had arrived first.

[Anyway. I'll see you around the neighborhood soon.]

“Yes. Work hard.”

I ended my call with Hans.

I had gained everything I could gain from utilizing the Omnipotent Stone, and I had killed the guys who had attempted to steal it.

That ended the case related to the Stone that granted wishes.

‘I have cleared almost all suspicions of the principal toward me with this case, so that alone is enough.’

It was time for me to go back to my daily life as Professor Ludger Chelysie again.

What bothered me for the moment was Flora Lumos, that girl.

‘I don't think I encountered her in the forest by accident.’

She had dropped by exactly where I was.

Or did she run into the place where I was during the night by accident? And in Silent Forest on top of that?

But if it wasn't just a mere coincidence, if she was actually coming for me…

That was all the more ridiculous.

The Ater Nocturnus that I used erased my own presence, so a mere student shouldn't have been able to sense me.

Even the principal hadn’t sensed me.

‘Flora Lumos…’

Or was there something else that was peculiar about her?

‘But the good thing is that, judging from her reaction, she didn't see me using magic.’

Perhaps it was thanks to the high-tiered destruction spell that was used by the principal that attracted attention instead.

But it didn't change the fact that she couldn't erase her suspicions of why I was there.

Although I had been silent all the way through…

‘I should be careful.’

Flora Lumos' behavior also needed to be watched closely.

But I had criticized her severely, so she would be quiet for a while, right?

I fell asleep late at night while thinking about it.

Because I had to wake up early again the next day.

***

In the early morning in front of the professor's office…

I saw a girl pacing around in front of the professor's office door and had no choice but to stop my footsteps.

“Flora Lumos.”

“Oh? A, ah! Pr-Professor Ludger!”

The girl whom I was concerned about because of the encounter the previous day was waiting for me in front of the professor's office.