Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 266: The Requiem Called by the Shadow (1)

Casey Selmore’s final choice was to fall from the waterfall together with Ludger.

With a cliff this high, even someone with knight-level physical resilience would almost certainly die from the fall.

The same applied to her opponent—but she herself would not survive unscathed, either.

And yet she had made that choice not because she believed she would survive.

She leapt, knowing full well she would die.

Because even if she died, she believed evil had to be eradicated from this world.

And for that, she was willing to throw away whatever fame others might heap upon her.

That was the choice Casey Selmore made.

Ludger respected that choice—sincerely.

“You did well.”

She was already unconscious and wouldn’t hear it, but he couldn’t stop himself from saying it.

Ludger, his right arm still throbbing with fierce pain, held Casey’s waist tightly, then extended his left arm out into the void.

Pshing! Chrararak!

The wire launcher mounted on his left arm fired and embedded itself into the cliff.

As the wire pulled taut, the bodies of the two, which had been falling endlessly, came to a sudden halt.

* * *

Having safely reached the base of the waterfall, Ludger made camp in a small clearing within the forest and lit a fire.

While he was recovering by the fire, he sensed movement not far away.

“Hans?”

“Boss.”

Hans, having followed the firelight, checked Ludger’s condition.

“You’re alive.”

“Yeah. Somehow managed to stay that way.”

“Boss, I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Seridan was with Hans.

“Boss... what about that detective lady?”

“......”

Instead of answering, Ludger simply shrugged.

It was a silent gesture that told them not to ask further.

Rather than push, Hans quietly offered Ludger the blanket he had brought with him.

“...At least cover yourself with this.”

Hans examined Ludger’s condition.

Though his expression was as composed as ever, there was a clear, undeniable fatigue etched into him.

Not only that, but his body didn’t look to be in great shape either.

It was clear that an intense battle had taken place.

But more concerning than that was the fact that Ludger was alone.

‘Where’s the automaton?’

After escaping with Seridan, the underground lab had collapsed completely.

Looking at Ludger’s state... perhaps the boy...

“Boss. Stay strong.”

“......”

When Hans spoke with unexpected concern, Ludger stared at his face in silence.

It seemed Hans had misunderstood.

He wanted to tell him that the automaton boy ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ with Arte’s soul had been rescued safely—but Ludger was simply too exhausted to correct him at the moment.

He decided to explain later and replied with a simple nod.

“This is a recovery potion I packed in advance.”

“Thank you.”

“Police are approaching from afar. It looks like they’ve caught the scent. I’ll try to divert their attention—Boss, find an opening and slip out.”

“Got it. Be careful yourself.”

“Where should we regroup?”

“My business in this country is finished.”

In other words, they were to escape the Delica Kingdom separately.

Hans nodded grimly and left with Seridan.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh? Hey, wait! What about Boss?”

“He’ll get out on his own. We need to buy time. Come on, move.”

Even though Seridan pouted her lips, she didn’t resist Hans’s hand.

She waved to Ludger, promising they’d see each other again, and left.

Once they were gone and their presence had completely faded, Ludger stood up.

He gently carried Casey Selmore, who he had propped up behind a nearby tree, and laid her down atop a blanket he had spread on the ground.

Then, covering her with the remaining blanket, Ludger sat down again and stared into the crackling fire.

Fweeeeeee!

From the distance came the sound of whistles and the glow of lanterns carried by approaching officers.

Even though Hans had gone to distract them, their numbers must have been too great to completely mislead.

“......”

Ludger turned to look at Casey lying there, her back facing him.

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but it seemed like she had briefly opened her eyes moments ago.

Fweeeeeee!!!

The whistles grew louder and closer.

Ludger rose.

He drank the recovery potion Hans had given him and, after checking his equipment, began to walk away.

Not long after he disappeared—

The police arrived at the place where Casey had collapsed.

“She’s here! We found Detective Casey Selmore!”

“What’s her condition? Get her to the emergency room! Medical team!”

“The rest of you, sweep the area!”

The officers hurriedly searched the surroundings, but found no trace of James Moriarty anywhere.

* * *

When Ludger arrived at the hiding spot where the capsule had been stashed, there was someone waiting for him.

“You’ve returned?”

“You’ve been waiting?”

“Yes. You told me to wait here.”

The automaton replied as if merely executing the instructions given to him.

Ludger stared at him intently.

Blond hair, golden eyes. Clear, pale gaze.

The image of a beautifully crafted artificial boy.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re curious about that?”

“Curious? Yes, perhaps I am. About why you were looking at me.”

Curious, huh.

It reminded Ludger of how Arte would ask questions when she didn’t understand something. He let a faint smile appear on his lips.

“Let’s talk as we walk.”

“Yes.”

Ludger started walking, and the automaton boy followed at his side.

The forest slowly gave way to the rising light of dawn.

As they walked toward the direction of the sun, Ludger opened his mouth.

“First, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“You are a created doll. You understand that, right?”

The boy nodded.

“Yes. I don’t know what purpose I was made for, but I’m aware of that much.”

“But you’re not a doll that simply follows orders.”

“Me? I don’t understand. I exist to follow your commands.”

“First, let me make one thing clear. Don’t call me ‘Master.’”

“Then what should I call you?”

Ludger nearly told him to call him ‘Teacher’—but stopped himself just in time.

“Boss, leader, commander—whatever works. Just not ‘Master.’”

“Is that so? Understood.”

“And this is about what you said earlier. You believe you were made to follow someone’s commands, right?”

“Yes. That’s the purpose I was created for.”

“Purpose is just purpose. What about your own will?”

“My... will...”

The boy tilted his head slightly, as if unsure what that meant.

“Just think of it simply. Do you really want to follow someone’s orders? What are your own thoughts?”

“...I don’t know.”

“That’s enough. The fact that you hesitated means you already have something else inside you.”

The boy nodded, saying that might be true.

“You were born anew. And you’re still just a child who knows nothing.”

“Yes.”

“That’s why you need to learn a lot about the world.”

Arte... she had wanted to learn too.

“To learn—that’s a nice phrase.”

“You like it?”

“I don’t really know what ‘liking’ something feels like... but somehow, I feel happy.”

“...Is that so.”

Perhaps that response was influenced by the soul residing within that body.

“I’m sorry.”

“Pardon? For what?”

“For everything.”

“There’s no need for you to apologize to me.”

“......”

At the word teacher, Ludger’s steps came to a halt.

The boy also stopped to match his pace.

“Ah... did I say something wrong? If it’s about calling you teacher, I can call you something else—”

Ludger was about to say there was no need to change it—but hesitated.

Did he deserve to be called ‘teacher’ again by that child?

No.

“...Alright.”

Ludger resumed walking.

The boy followed beside him.

They left the forest behind.

Far off in the distance, the wide plains spread open, and dawn broke beyond the horizon.

In the night that had just passed, James Moriarty had been defeated, and Casey Selmore had emerged victorious.

And so, the sun that now rose could surely be seen as a blessing to the people of this land.

The boy gazed at the sunlight pushing away the early morning gloom and spoke with wonder.

“Wow... that’s the sun, isn’t it? I only knew about it from knowledge, but seeing it with my own eyes—it’s so beautiful.”

“You’ll be seeing it every day from now on.”

“Every day?”

“Yes. Every day.”

Ludger turned his head to look at the boy.

“Come to think of it, I can’t just keep calling you ‘boy.’”

“My codename is Alpha. You may use that if you wish.”

“Isn’t that a bit too cold?”

“Then... would you name me instead?”

“A name...”

At the word “name,” Ludger thought of Arte.

Was it truly right to casually reuse the name of a girl who had already died?

But then again, burying that name forever in the depths of memory didn’t feel entirely right either.

Even if things had changed, the soul dwelling in this automaton boy’s body was still Arte’s.

“Arfa.”

As if affirming it for himself, Ludger spoke the name aloud.

“From now on, your name will be Arfa.”

“Arfa...?”

“You don’t like it? We can change it to something else if you do.”

The boy—Arfa—shook his head.

“No. I really like it. Somehow... it feels familiar.”

“Does it.”

“So where are we headed now?”

“I’m going to another country. There’s something I must find there.”

“Am I going with you?”

“Unfortunately, you can’t come with me.”

At those words, Arfa’s shoulders drooped in disappointment.

“Instead, I’ll introduce you to someone.”

“Someone?”

“Well, calling him ‘someone’ might be a bit much. He’s... unique, to say the least. But you shouldn’t have any trouble getting along.”

“Now I’m curious.”

“Travel with him. Explore the wide world.”

That man was probably still by the coast somewhere, harpoon in hand, trying to hunt whales.

“Oh, and... your appearance is a bit too conspicuous.”

“This appearance?”

Arfa looked over his body.

Ludger had meant his overall appearance was too eye-catching, but Arfa seemed to take it as a comment about his clothes.

“Your hair is too bright. You’ll look like nobility wherever you go. Your face stands out, too.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I can change that.”

“You can?”

Just as Ludger was frowning in surprise, Arfa’s hair color began to shift.

The once-lustrous golden hair transformed into a deep brown.

Even his facial features altered slightly.

The noble aura from before faded, replaced by a much humbler, common look.

He was still handsome—but in a more discreet way.

“Will this make me stand out less?”

“...So that’s possible.”

“Yes. It seems I can make small adjustments to my default appearance. My voice, too.”

A function built into him, no doubt, for infiltration—designed to blend in with ordinary people.

Ludger didn’t point that out.

“Yes. This is much better.”

In truth, it was such a drastic change that even someone familiar might not recognize him.

Arfa asked with an eager smile,

“Really?”

“Arfa. Try smiling for me.”

At that, Arfa gave him a smile.

Not a forced expression—but a natural one.

“Indeed. You look better when you smile.”

“Then I’ll try to keep smiling as much as I can.”

“You don’t have to if it’s difficult.”

“It’s not difficult at all.”

In that moment, Ludger felt something familiar in their exchange.

A memory from the past—one he thought he’d never recover.

“Arfa.”

“Yes, Leader.”

At the word Leader, Ludger gave a faint laugh and extended his hand to the boy.

“Let’s go.”

Toward a wider world.

He didn’t say the rest, but Arfa seemed to understand. He nodded with a bright smile.

“Yes!”

And so, the two of them walked slowly toward the rising sun.

* * *

When Casey Selmore opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the white ceiling of a hospital room.

As she abruptly sat up, a nurse entered the room and rushed over to her.

“Detective Selmore! You’re awake!”

“Where... am I?”

“You’re in the Delica Kingdom’s National Hospital.”

“...I figured as much. Do you have a newspaper?”

“Yes! I thought you might want one when you woke up.”

The nurse handed her the newspaper, and Casey immediately scanned the front page.

[Great Detective Casey Selmore’s Heroic Feat—The Fall of James Moriarty, Lord of Crime!]

Below that was an article describing their final battle at the bottom of the waterfall.

Casey stared at the article.

She couldn’t make sense of it in her head.

The nurse beside her smiled and spoke.

“Detective, thank you so much.”

At the word thank you, Casey turned to look at her.

Her blue eyes seemed to ask, What on earth are you talking about?

“Well, you’re the one who took down that heinous James Moriarty, aren’t you? Everyone feels so much safer now thanks to you.”

“Took him down? Me?”

“Of course you did!”

What part of that was supposed to be obvious?

Casey wanted to scream that it wasn’t true.

But she suppressed that impulse and thought hard instead.

James Moriarty... vanished? And why am I still alive? I jumped off that waterfall ready to die.

Her head was spinning.

Like shattered pieces of thought scattered all over the place.

But there was one thing she was sure of.

If she had survived... then that man must have survived too.

Yes...

She vaguely remembered seeing him in a dream.

Holding her gently, covering her with a blanket.

Casey crumpled the newspaper in her hands.

“H-Hey! Detective! Please, you just woke up—try to rest!”

Casey rose from her bed and walked to the window.

Then she threw it wide open.

“Look over here!”

“It’s Detective Casey Selmore!”

“Waaaaaaah!!!”

Crowds of onlookers, reporters, and the police trying to hold them back—all gathered outside.

They erupted into cheers at the sight of her.

Casey couldn’t understand it at all.

Why were they cheering?

She had lost the fight against James Moriarty.

And yet, everyone was celebrating her as a hero.

I...

Her clenched fist trembled.

Then her gaze caught a group of children in the crowd—siblings, perhaps.

They were smiling brightly up at her.

The moment she saw that—

She felt the tension in her hand dissolve.

Without a word, Casey slowly raised her hand and waved toward the crowd.

WAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

The city rang with thunderous applause and cheers.

But that sound—no matter how loud—did not stir her heart in the slightest.