Melty Sani was a Third Grade student with average height and a slightly lean build. She had black hair and blue eyes, a standard appearance for an Austinean.

  The Saint Freya Academy was a gathering place for the offspring of the affluent and noble. The Sani House did have some wealth, but being the daughter of a viscount wasn’t much to brag about, and Melty’s results in combat classes had only been average thus far. Due to these reasons, she wasn’t able to join the Purplerose Faction despite being a Third Grade Austinean.

  She met Cheryl in a light music club, and the two of them played together at last year’s Academy Foundation Day. From this, it should be safe to say that they were closely acquainted with one another.

  After looking through the report himself, Roel crossed his arms and fell into deep thoughts.

  Paul and Geralt stood by the side with grim looks as they awaited Roel’s next instruction. The scale of this matter had already far exceeded what the two of them expected out of this peculiar department.

  Paul’s initial intention was just to establish an organization to help the students in need, just like how Roel had once helped him. He thought that the worst he would have to deal with were bullies, but he ended up getting involved with something much more sinister.

  The ‘Bloody Envelope Incident’ was a serial murder case with more than ten victims. Something of this scale definitely qualified as a major case in any country on the Sia Continent. What made things worse was that like with most cases involving evil cultists, it was hard to tell whom they could trust.

  The staff members couldn’t be trusted, the coachmen couldn’t be trusted, and even the general student populace couldn’t be trusted either. The only ones they could really count on were the members in the two factions. It was still barely manageable for the Third Grade students who had tempered themselves through missions, but for the newly enrolled First Grade students, this was definitely severely beyond their scope of expertise.

  In the silent meeting room, Paul continuously took deep breaths, but he couldn’t stop his palms from sweating. This was the first time in his life he was being exposed to such a grievous crime.

  Sitting opposite to him, Geralt also had an awful look on his face.

  The two of them were only able to barely retain their composure due to how self-collected Roel was. Noticing the unusual state the duo was in, Roel sighed softly and advised.

  “Remember this, you must never lose your composure in times of trouble. Panic will get you nowhere.”


  “My apologies, big brother Roel. I was just taken aback by how severe the incident is.”


  Roel could understand where Paul was coming from, but this was a hurdle he would have to overcome. Mental fortitude came not from fearlessness but triumphing over one’s fears. Righteousness came not from knowing not of crime but opposing it.

  Paul had the potential to become something great; he just needed time and a bit of support.

  “The raid operation will be a collaboration between both our factions. While our Bluerose Faction is still weak at the moment, we’ll still have to dispatch people over. I’m intending to send the two of you and some of the stronger Origin Level 5 faction members.

  “My only request for you all is to remain safe. I don’t want to have even a single casualty amongst us. There’s no need to compete with the Purplerose Faction for merit. We have done everything thus far with the objective of upholding justice, and nothing matters other than that.

  “The fighting prowess of our squad should surpass that of a typical inquisition squad in the Theocracy. The only thing we are really lacking here is experience. There’s no way to fill up that gap right now, so I can only offer you some advice.”


  Roel looked at Paul and Geralt intently as he issued a clear order.

  “Don’t show mercy. Kill them.”


  “Chief?”


  “Remember this! No matter how much of an advantage you might have over them, never show hesitation in killing off the evil cultists. I don’t need you to capture any of them as hostages here. All I ask of you is to bring everyone out alive. Anything that happens to you will be my responsibility to bear.”


  “Big brother Roel……”


  Paul and Geralt felt deeply touched by those words. They took Roel’s words to heart and nodded earnestly.

  “With that, there’s nothing much I can help you on anymore. I have my own mission to carry out too,” said Roel before quietly picking up the report on the table……

  “Sorry, we haven’t seen Cheryl around. She hasn’t been here since her graduation.”


  “I-is that so? Sorry for disturbing and thanks.”


  In a music instrument store along the commercial street, a young woman politely apologized to the store owner before trudging off with her head lowered in disappointment.

  It was a day off for the students of the Saint Freya Academy, so there were huge crowds gathered at the commercial street early in the morning. Laughter could be heard all around as friends and couples made use of this free day to catch up with one another.

  But there was one person who looked out of place in this merry atmosphere—Melty.

  Just a week ago, Melty met the parents of an old friend who took good care of her in the light music club. When they revealed their suspicions that their daughter, Cheryl, had disappeared on campus, everyone thought that the couple was simply muttering gibberish from the shock of losing all of their offspring. Only Melty sharply noticed that something was amiss.

  She believed the couple’s words not because she had some special superpower but that she grasped critical information that no one knew of—a magic communication device.

  Magic communication devices were sold in pairs, and some of them took the form of adorable plush toys. It was common for female students to send one to each other as a symbol of friendship, and Melty had received one from Cheryl before.

  It was a cute kitty plush toy whose eyes would light up whenever they were in range of one another and purr when a message had been sent or received. Melty clearly remembered the eyes of the kitty plush toy lighting up for a brief period of time on the first day of the new semester, and it matched up with the day on which Cheryl was last seen.

  She had no idea what was going on, but she was certain that Cheryl had indeed been to the academy. It was just that she had no tangible evidence on hand to convince her peers.

  For her friendship with Cheryl, as well as the old couple of the Lawrences who had recently lost all of their children, Melty decided to look into the matter. A week had passed since then, but there was hardly any progress at all.

  No one had met Cheryl, be it her previous teacher or their friends in the light music club. She checked the instrument store, the café they used to frequent, and everywhere she knew Cheryl had been to, but it was to no avail.

  In the course of her investigation, she noticed something peculiar. It had only happened a few times to date, but her intuition told her that someone was eyeing her. As a student who had taken a few divination classes in past semesters, she knew that this wasn’t a good omen.

  Could it be that my actions have brought the academy trouble, so they are keeping an eye on me?

  This was the limit of what an ordinary noblewoman who had never encountered evil cultists or murder cases could think of. But thanks to that, the idea of seeking help popped into her head, and coincidentally, it happened at a time when rumors about a peculiar department operating in the academy started spreading.

  “Have you heard about it? The Bluerose Ringbearer took in that illegitimate son and even founded that Request Club!”


  “Oh my, how utterly ludicrous! It was founded to help students in need? More like an excuse to slack off!”


  “Not everyone has a strong sense of duty like Lord Lilian. It’s only normal for there to be organizations seeking to freeload off the academy.”


  “.……”


  Such remarks were often echoed by the Austinean students around Melty, but she disagreed with their opinions. For one, she was desperately in need of help right now.

  It was probably the accumulation of fear, worry, and frustration that led to her penning down the letter on a whim. For the sake of the missing Cheryl, she was determined to leave no stone unturned. In order to bring attention to the letter, she intentionally dyed the envelope blood-red and neglected to leave her name on it.

  She was worried that the Request Club might use the letter to report her for starting unfounded rumors, which could be a huge problem since the academy had made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with this. On top of that, Paul was in the organization too, and she was worried that being associated with him could lead to her isolation.

  But to her disappointment, there had been utterly no response after she sent out the letter. It didn’t look like the Request Club was making any move at all. In fact, she just heard infuriating news from her fellow Austinean peers.

  “It seems like the Bluerose Faction’s Request Club has gotten into a conflict with the Enforcement Division over the allocation of resources.”


  “I heard of it too. My friends who are in the Purplerose Faction told me that they had a huge argument with one another!”


  “Is there going to be a factional war? Surely not……”


  There were a mixture of responses to the news, be it anger or intrigue.

  As for Melty, she felt like her heart had been plunged into icy-cold water as despair washed over her. It was clear to her at this point that her letter had been completely disregarded.

  Utterly disappointed, she made her way back to her dormitory in the southwestern corner of the Third Residential District. She opened her door with a deep sigh as exhaustion washed over her.

  It was then that she spotted a figure sitting in her living room. A jolt immediately ran through her body. Her first instinct was to scream, only to realize that she was unable to make any noise.

  However, she quickly realized that this wasn’t a bad thing, for she recognized the uninvited guest right after.

  It was a black-haired man dressed in a simple formal suit, standing unmovingly with an ancient staff placed in front of him. Despite his closed eyes, his presence was dignified and powerful. The moment he revealed those golden eyes, it was as if a resting dragon had awakened, bringing about an authoritative yet mysterious air around him.

  His appearance and disposition violently shook Melty’s heart, but what was most important of all was that she recognized his face.

  “Don’t be nervous, Miss Melty.”


  Roel directed a gentle smile toward the flabbergasted woman. He rose to his feet and walked up to her.

  “It’s alright now. I’m here to protect you.”