“You’re saying you lost your Identity Card?”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
“Damn it! Why are you so useless? Huh? I’m asking you!”
Herya’s mind wasn’t on Fals. This fat, middle-aged man did nothing but fly into rages and beat people every day.
“I know where I lost it, but the Academy is already closed. I can get it back tomorrow!”
“You’d better. That was a gift from the Bishop himself. His methods are far more ruthless than mine. Now get lost!”
“Yes…”
Fortunately, Fals was in a decent mood today.
He had snuck out for a walk to enjoy the treatment of a noble once more.
He would never forget the feeling of being served.
Although he had spent most of his money, he could survive until the next supply drop by simply cutting the rations of his slave, Herya.
“No food today! Get in there, now!”
Fals shoved Herya into her cage, threw her things in after her, and finally slammed the iron door shut.
Herya was studying magic at the Academy, so why didn’t she use it to escape?
This Basement was no ordinary cellar.
With the Bishop’s Barrier in place, anyone who was marked could not use magic.
Not to mention, a Control Collar was fastened around Herya’s neck.
If she tried to resist, the collar would immediately strip her of her physical control, leaving her powerless.
“Tsk, those bastards. They only know how to make me do this dirty work. Spending every day with a slave like this… my Noble Bloodline is being tainted!”
Fals opened another door.
The decor inside was comparable to the current Demon King’s Inner Palace.
Fals had put a great deal of effort into this, tricking people out of quite a bit of funding to make his room this luxurious.
Only in such a place could he feel as though he had regained his past glory.
Brewing a pot of hot coffee, Fals began to enjoy his leisure time.
Herya was right next to him, though her room was nothing more than a cage.
But at least Fals wouldn’t hurt her again for now; she could finally catch her breath.
The books she had brought back from the Academy were scattered on the floor where Fals had thrown them.
Herya picked them up one by one.
The Identity Card that should have been in her bag was gone; it must have been left in the library.
Perhaps if she hadn’t harbored those crooked thoughts of escaping, she wouldn’t have lost it.
Herya had gone to the library to find a way to remove the collar.
There was no library larger than the one at the Magic Academy.
If she couldn’t find a solution there, then there truly was no hope.
‘I haven’t even finished the homework the teacher assigned. I need to get it done quickly.’
Since she was still in the class, she was expected to complete the tasks assigned by the teacher; otherwise, she would be kicked out.
No one had suspected her identity all day, which filled Herya with despair.
She had fantasized that someone would notice something was wrong and catch her.
At least then, she wouldn’t have to die in a miserable place like this.
What kind of methods did Eubulos use to get Herya into the best class in the Academy?
Clearly, he had exploited a loophole in human nature.
Eubulos had investigated the teacher in charge of that class beforehand.
He learned that she was a Great Witch busy with her own research.
Her entire focus was on her work, and she didn’t care about the students in her class.
Consequently, she didn’t take roll; she only counted heads.
Furthermore, the Academy was currently undergoing reforms.
The number of students changed every moment.
Students who had been expelled might return, and new students were passing entrance exams.
This was the most chaotic period for the Academy.
Sephine’s intentions were good, and her plan seemed airtight.
But in execution, unexpected accidents were almost inevitable.
There would always be people with ulterior motives ready to exploit such vulnerabilities.
Stephen had been taken out, but there were still others who had infiltrated the Academy.
All the problems couldn’t be solved in a short time.
There were many informants like Herya.
However, none of them knew the others were also spies, making the secrecy of the network incredibly strong.
‘This is so hard… Do I really need to take this seriously? I might just die in the next second anyway.’
Even so, Herya finished her homework in the end.
A person needed to have some hope.
What if she really could escape?
Besides, if she really was going to die here, then her time studying at the Academy might just be the most precious period of her life.
“Hahahaha!”
Disgusting laughter echoed from the next room, but she didn’t dare complain.
She could hear Fals’s voice, which meant he could hear hers as well.
Herya pulled a Fairy Tale Book from under her bed slats.
This was one of her few forms of entertainment—reading this single book that she had already read thousands of times.
In the story, the imprisoned princess finally escaped her suffering and gained her freedom with the help of a knight.
By the light of the fire, Herya saw her own face reflected in the water.
Because she had to be a spy at the Academy, she finally didn’t have to be covered in grime.
Her face was actually quite pretty. Why hadn’t a knight come to save her?
Then again, if she were ugly, she probably would have been killed from the start instead of being captured as a slave.
‘The person who helped me today… she was so handsome. I think I’ve seen her in class too. Must be nice.’
Herya thought of Alona, who had taken the initiative to help her up.
Alona often did farm work under the sun, so her skin wasn’t particularly fair, but she looked very bright and handsome.
Lying on the hard bed slats, Herya could no longer keep her eyes open.
Gradually, she drifted off to sleep.
The moonlight wasn’t visible from the Basement, yet the moon was exceptionally round tonight.
The Demon King gave up her time to share a bed with Sephine.
After Sephine fell into a deep sleep, she quietly made her way to the Magic Academy.
During the day, people were constantly coming and going, making it impossible to investigate.
Some things could only be handled by the Demon King herself.
A ruler generally wouldn’t risk their own safety to dive into enemy territory, but she was different.
She was the Demon King.
She was a Demon King who had fought for her own throne.
‘Astrid didn’t leave a detailed address, so I have to search every room myself.’
The Old Nobles would surely leave behind some clues.
The Demon King was part of the Demon Race, the race most sensitive to mana.
If she looked carefully, she would surely find something.
Or so the Demon King thought.
But once she arrived, she realized that the mana here was incredibly turbulent.
The students’ strength was truly pathetic, and the air was filled with the lingering scent of their failures.
*Sniff, sniff.*
The Demon King carefully inspected every corner.
She had to find something before Sephine woke up to give her a surprise.
From the shadows, a pair of eyes watched the strangely behaving Demon King.
“Is there something wrong with this person’s head? Why is she crawling around all over the place?” the subordinate sent by Eubulos muttered.