The Academy’s Undercover Professor – 176



◈ Episode 176 Zero order (1)

“I think it looks a little different than when I left. John Doe.”

A chill running down my spine sharply stabbing my lungs.

It was truly a feeling of tension that I had not felt in a long time.

I slowly opened my mouth and answered.

“yes. “I thought a little change was needed.”

Could it be that they got caught?

If you are Zero Order it wouldn’t be surprising if you knew John Doe’s true appearance.

“Well that doesn’t look bad either. Before that it was so ordinary that it gave the impression that it would be buried anywhere.”

‘I wasn’t caught.’

It was fortunate for me that John Doe’s ability was specialized in disguise.

But maybe this is trying to scare me.

‘Let’s stay calm.’

I closed my eyes and accelerated my thinking.

Is the man behind me really of zero order?

Probably right. The voice of the man seen in Esmeralda’s memories is similar.

This is true just by looking at the exact way he spoke to me in this situation.

The next question that arises is why Zero Order came to Seorn.

‘And without even informing me the First Order.’

I heard during a conversation with Esmeralda that day that the Zero Order would come at some point.

But that’s it now?

‘You could have at least announced your coming but you didn’t.’

There are two situations in which suspicion may arise.

One is that Zero Order came because he had something to personally confirm with Seorn without informing other executives.

However as someone who did not know what the matter was one could not hastily draw a conclusion.

And another one.

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‘They’re suspecting that I’m fake.’

It’s not good.

Under the circumstances of suspicion Zero Order came directly.

If I’m cornered like this the only path given to me is a final struggle.

‘But the situation is so bad.’

There is too little information about zero order.

What power does he have what abilities does he use and how strong is he?

What are your weaknesses what powers are you compatible with and what are your fighting habits?

There isn’t a single piece of data.

Even if the situation is perfect it may be difficult but what if you are in a situation like now where you have lost all your strength?

‘If you try to fight now you might lose.’

The only way is to borrow the power of God.

It’s too risky.

There are too many people nearby. Among them are students.

If you use the power of God everyone gathered here will be caught up in it.

‘But why aren’t you saying anything?’

But Zero Order didn’t care about me.

In that moment of respite I pointed out one possible possibility.

What if Zero Order still completely doubts me?

That suspicion became half-confirmed.

‘Should I turn around and check my face? no. If you suddenly turn around you’re bound to get suspicious.’

Calmly.

You must choose words that do not provoke the other person.

“sorry. “Zero Order.”

I opened my mouth naturally while maintaining my gaze straight ahead.

“Due to the circumstances I couldn’t greet you properly. “Please understand.”

“No problem. There is no need to worry too much since I am the one who came to visit on my own without any contact. John Doe.”

He came to me on his own without any contact.

Does that mean that Zero Order had other business in Seorn?

Enough to keep it a secret from the First Order?

‘no. Nothing has been confirmed yet. I don’t even know if I’m still under suspicion or not.’

Zero Order confirmed Quasimodo’s disappearance.

Were you watching? Even all the magic I used?

no. If you were watching that you wouldn’t have asked me what happened.

Perhaps there is some way to check Quasimodo’s energy and it has been confirmed that it has disappeared.

In that case the situation is correct.

Since they only knew the result without knowing the before and after process they probably wanted to ask me who happened to be in this place.

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If so here we run into a new problem.

‘Should I tell the truth? Or a lie?’

Of course even if it is true it is not 100% pure truth but a partial truth mixed with lies.

Pure lies are easy to get caught but lies mixed with the truth are more believable than anything else.

I took a deep breath and continued speaking.

“First Order. “Esmeralda no Quasimodo has disappeared.”

“Hoo. Did you know?”

“yes. I didn’t know this until now but I found out a little while ago. I never thought it would be the real fire giant. “Zero Order…”

“okay. I knew it. I’m sorry for keeping it a secret from you guys. Because Quasimodo is slightly different from other members of the First Order. “It was not easy to reveal its identity.”

“I understand.”

“Rather than that why did Quasimodo disappear? “He wasn’t the type of guy to be defeated that easily.”

Quasimodo is a fiery cryptid with the power of the highest level of fire.

A monster that uses human souls as fuel and even acquires the characteristics of a spirit so it does not disappear and is continuously resurrected unless its contract holder dies at the same time.

Since such a person disappeared on the day of Seorn’s festival it would be suspicious of the Zero Order.

I came up with an answer on the spot.

“Esmeralda is with you.”

“hmm. Esmeralda?”

Zero Order knows the relationship between Quasimodo and Esmeralda.

It’s impossible not to know because this man was the first to notice and recruit him to the Black Dawn.

“That’s strange. Esmeralda was clearly being forcibly controlled by Quasimodo. “With her strength she wouldn’t have been able to even resist Quasimodo?”

At the same time his eyes fly even stronger and focus on me.

“Unless someone helps me.”

Zero Order’s suspicion towards me deepened.

This is also a situation within the table.

I immediately gave a prepared answer.

“Crolophebius. “That man did it.”

“Crolophebius? “Is that really true?”

Zero Order asked me if this was unexpected.

I continued my explanation so as not to miss this opportunity.

“Not long ago there was an attack by Quasimodo at a banquet hall to celebrate new teachers.”

“okay. “I know that because I heard the report.”

“Crolo Pevius was present at the banquet hall at that time. And the man realized that there was someone trying to kill him through Quasimodo’s identity.”

“I guess so. “There is no way the man who was the next head of the family would not know that the people of the Fabius family have been dying by now.”

“The problem is that Quasimodo failed to kill Crolophebius in the banquet hall that day.”

This is all true.

But here I mixed lies.

“Crolo Phoebe who barely survived was worried. “He thought he might die if he continued like this so he made a plan.”

“Is it like a cornered rat biting a cat?”

“yes. Yes. But Crolophebius did not tell Ceorn about it. I guess they thought it would be difficult to get proper help there. “I thought there might be a traitor inside.”

In fact he probably had similar thoughts.

He thinks there is an assassin among the teachers coming to kill him so how can he trust Seorn?

“So he individually sought help from external forces. “It was a final struggle that no one expected.”

I also added a little bit of exaggeration to keep Zero Order less interesting.

Of course while maintaining a calm tone of voice.

“Any external force would be no match for Quasimodo right?”

“Pevius was once the most famous magical family in the Kingdom of Durman. “The people he summoned were not ordinary people perhaps because he made a deal with them when he came into exile in the Exilion Empire.”

“They weren’t ordinary guys?”

“They looked like well-trained elites. But they were also difficult to identify.”

I only vaguely released the information that ‘they were great guys.’

If I mention an exact organization here and the Zero Order already knows about it my entire alibi will be ruined.

“They are well-trained elites who operate in secret. Moreover if it is related to the Exilion Empire… it is black ops.”

Done.

Zero Order came to its own conclusion.

How can you be so certain of the existence of black ops which is difficult to even know about unless you are a general?

‘Zero order. Was he also reaching out to the military?’

If you think about it there is nothing strange about it.

John Doe before I got the name Ludger Cellisi was active in the military under this name.

Since he actually served as a military officer and not just a fabricated identity there is no way Zero Order would not know.

“In that way Crolophebius fought against Quasimodo and when Quasimodo’s strength weakened Esmeralda was freed from her bondage.”

And the story goes that Esmeralda who was freed from that bondage became friends with Quasimodo so that she would no longer be dragged around like before.

“Then what happened to Crolophebius?”

“Crolophebius died fighting to the last.”

“You fought until the end? “It’s surprising that that man had that much spirit and ability.”

“Humans facing death always show unexpected possibilities. “I watched the situation and tried to intervene but it was too late.”

Quasimodo went on a rampage spraying flames in all directions and I was caught in the fire and suffered burns.

Then by chance there were people around who heard the news so they escaped leaving only Selina inside for now.

“This is the whole story. “I am here now in the name of saving Selina so as not to arouse suspicion.”

“Hmm. Selina. Have Quasimodo and Esmeralda really disappeared from her completely?”

“yes. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

“I see.”

what?

Zero Order’s reaction seemed somewhat sour.

Was there something I left out or didn’t say?

“What about that teacher named Selina?”

“…What do you mean?”

“I know that Esmeralda and Selina are separate beings. But isn’t it possible that a being named Selina remembers what happened between Esmeralda and Quasimodo?”

In other words this is what zero order means.

I’m saying to get rid of it because I don’t know if it could get caught.

I said hastily.

“Once I checked she didn’t seem to know why she was in that warehouse.”

“You don’t know?”

“yes. “I think we’re probably just dismissing it as a dream.”

“John Doe alone is not safe. “If you were to come to your senses in a burning warehouse like that you would definitely feel a sense of discomfort.”

That slight possibility could have been the bane of the Black Dawn.

What Zero Order said is certainly correct.

There are too many things at stake to ignore Selina’s existence.

“Then what will you do?”

I tried to stay calm and asked Zero Order.

It is not right to step forward right away. First of all you have to read the other person’s intentions.

but.

No matter how much I thought about it the only thing that came to mind was Zero Order telling me to kill Selina.

If Zero Order tells me to kill Selina I cannot disobey.

To avoid arousing his suspicions you must kill Teacher Selina.

‘If Zero Order orders me to kill then I…’

I balled my fists.

I’d rather have him here right now…

“What happened? “Leave it alone.”

however.

The answer given by Zero Order was so simple that my concerns were in vain.

“If you tell me to leave it alone….”

“Did you say Selina? She doesn’t need it anymore. “The power has been used up enough anyway so it’s no longer worth worrying about.”

“Is that so?”

“okay. Did you really want to kill me? John Doe I know you’re loyal but sometimes that goes too far. “Now is the time to step down.”

Did the question I asked to double-check come across that way?

We also confirmed the information that John Doe is deeply loyal and radical.

“…no shame.”

“In the current situation touching Seorn’s teacher carries a significant risk. “The only person I can entrust that task to is you and then you can’t avoid suspicion.”

“I don’t mind.”

“There is nothing more foolish than investing time and energy in something meaningless. Even more so if it means pushing a subordinate to the edge of a cliff.”

Does he have a surprising tendency to be considerate of his subordinates?

Moreover since he says it like that it would be fair to say that Teacher Selina’s safety is definitely guaranteed.

‘First of all did you put out an urgent fire?’

But the situation is not over yet.

I held on tightly to my spirit of slackening.

Because Zero Order asked me another question.

“So are you doing well with what you asked?”

What did you tell me to do?

I shook my head. What did you ask me to do?

Of course the first thing that comes to mind is the command to decrypt and confirm the ciphertext.

Infiltrate Seorn and gain their favor.

‘But is that really all there is?’

In fact what if Zero Order had personally entrusted you with another task?

The First Order called John Doe is said to carry out special missions unique to the Zero Order unlike other First Orders.

What if there is another special feature that I don’t know about?

“We are proceeding step by step.”

I had no choice but to give a vague answer.

It wasn’t completely done. But I am doing it.

In that ambiguous sense.

“That’s a good thing. “It wouldn’t have been easy to proceed while avoiding Seorn’s suspicions.”

If you say something like that does that mean you passed?

“It’s almost time. A troublesome person is coming. “I don’t want to face it so I’ll just have to go.”

For me it was rather fortunate.

If there had been more there would have been a hole in the top.

“John Doe. An order synod will be held soon. “There is a vacancy for Esmeralda so the other First Order members should know about it.”

caucus.

If they are executives of an organization do they gather together?

‘I vaguely thought something like that would exist but I never thought I’d hear it in person.’

But on the other hand it was an opportunity for me.

To find out what other First Orders are like.

So how can I go to that executive meeting?

Are you saying that there is a meeting being held so you can come on your own?

‘It’s dangerous to do this. ‘I don’t know where the meeting is held.’

At that time Zero Order who was about to leave spoke.

“You kept what I handed you back then right? “Because it won’t work without it.”

He suddenly asked if I had anything.

Considering the context and context of the conversation.

It was clear that this was the key to the executive meeting.

“Zero Order. “For now I will express my apology here.”

“what?”

“As Zero Order knows on my way to Seorn that day I was caught up in a train attack.”

“Train terror? ah. You mean that? “The liberation army did it… It was something we didn’t expect.”

“yes. And part of the luggage was lost due to the train terror attack. “There is no shame.”

Zero Order stared at me in silence.

The gaze flying to the back of my head stings.

I swallowed quietly.

Honestly this is a risky and unexpected move.

However it was also an inevitable gamble.

“okay. If that’s the case there’s nothing we can do. Take it.”

Zero Order said so and placed a ring next to me.

I just rolled my eyes and checked Zero Order’s hand.

I felt it from his voice but I was convinced when I saw his hands.

Surprisingly Zero Order is a young man.

But surprisingly his hands did not show any signs of training. So is he a wizard? Or something else?

“Then I’ll see you at the meeting.”

Zero Order left those words and disappeared like the wind.

I silently looked at the ring next to me then took it and put it in my arms.

The presence of Zero Order has completely disappeared.

‘I wasn’t caught.’

Only then was I able to breathe a sigh of relief.

I never would have thought that Zero Order would appear in Seorn at this very moment.

Zero order.

He is a man who is never easy to see.

‘They even noticed Quasimodo’s disappearance.’

I was really nervous that I might get caught.

Without saying a word I took out a small red gem from my arms.

Inside the jewel a hot fiery energy was stirring.

‘I thought I’d get caught because I had this.’

Quasimodo’s fiery energy.

It was something I got from that fight.