I Become a Secret Police Officer of The Imperial Academy

Chapter 1

Shall I start with a slightly provocative sentence?

My family is dead. Ah, and as a bonus, so are my friends, colleagues, and even the subordinates I cherished.

I know exactly how they died, but I have no idea why they had to die.

Maybe they displeased someone, or maybe they were just unlucky. Something like that, I suppose.

Hearing that someone has died always feels strikingly intense, doesn’t it?

Since I had been living as passively as water-diluted water or alcohol-diluted alcohol, it gave me a reason to take more active measures.

Honestly, if it were just my parents who died, I might not have cared so much.

“Ahaha.”

But my beloved younger sister died too.

Right in front of my eyes.

It’s not that important of a story, though.

I’m not one to waste time complaining about something that’s already happened.

But unfortunately, life isn’t something you can live doing only the things you like.

I finally got up.

“Ellen..?”

A girl who had just woken up asked me a question.

She asked where we were.

And who were the masked men standing next to me?

She looked scared, a comical expression of fear on her face.

“Kyaaah!”

At my signal, the men hoisted up the girl, who had been lying down, and hung her upside down.

She was wearing a skirt, so her striped underwear was on full display.

“Ellen, what the heck..? Put me down! What do you think you’re doing?!”

I didn’t answer her question about what I was doing.

After all, the one who needed to know wasn’t her, but me.

I decided to start with a simple question.

“What’s your name?”

“…You already know that, don’t you?”

“What’s your name?”

“Ethel. Ethel Rosenberg.”

“Ethel-Ethel doesn’t sound like a name. So, what’s your real name?”

At those words, the girl gritted her teeth, her anger palpable.

Not exactly a model attitude.

“…It’s Ethel Rosenberg.”

“Your age?”

“…17.”

“Your age?”

“I said I’m 17!”

The girl, who called herself Ethel Rosenberg, seemed unhappy about being dangled upside down.

“Ellen, quit fooling around and let me down! Everyone can see my underwear like this!”

It had already been five minutes, so I’d have to let her down in about 15 minutes to prevent the blood from rushing to her head.

“Ethel, how long have we known each other?”

She took a moment to think before answering.

“…It’s been three years since you enrolled, and we’ve been together since then, right?”

“Then, considering the time we’ve spent together, I’ll be gentle, so please answer sincerely and respectfully.”

“You’re talking about respect after dragging me into this dark basement and hanging me upside down? Just cut it out. It’s not funny.”

I felt a little wronged.

I was already being gentle and respectful.

Not that she’d notice in this soundproof basement.

“You’re not 17. You’re 16.”

Does she not even know her own age?

Maybe her parents lied to her.

Anyway, she tried to channel her magic to cut the rope binding her, but it was futile.

About five minutes of silence passed.

Her head was probably starting to feel light as the blood pooled.

Predictably, she was the first to speak.

“Forget my age or whatever. What the hell is this?! Why did you bring me to a place like this and hang me upside down?!”

She shouted, her voice echoing in the small room so loudly that it felt like my ears might burst.

Tears streamed down her face as she glared at me with an expression full of rage.

Does she still think we’re friends?

Friendship can only exist between equals.

Before we even get to the idea of equality, though…

There’s a chance this girl isn’t even human.

But at least the shouting didn’t last long.

With a swing of the club I was holding, I struck her in the solar plexus, and the noise naturally died down.

Ah, I didn’t kill her, if you’re wondering.

She’s just coughing and pretending to be in more pain than she is.

“Lie her down and tie up her arms and legs. Or just pin her down with brute force.”

The two masked men nodded and untied her from her suspended position, laying her on the ground and tying her up.

Fortunately, the floor was lined with soft cushions, so she wouldn’t smash her head and die.

“Now, where did I put the towels… which drawer was it in again?”

I heard the sound of her grinding her teeth.

Was she upset because she got hit? Or because she was caught and tied up here?

It might not be either.

I opened the second drawer of the black cabinet in the room and took out a clean, white towel.

It was folded so neatly that I felt a little bad about using it.

“Ethel, a lot of people died, didn’t they? Only 12 people died at the academy, but still.”

I placed the towel next to the bound girl, then filled a four-liter water jug with water.

Only cold water came out of the faucet, and my hands felt numb from the chill.

“A massive incident like this happened, but there’s still so much we don’t know.”

I unfolded the neatly folded towel and folded it again into a rectangular shape.

If it’s too long, it’s inconvenient to use.

“From what we know so far, about ten thousand people died in the capital. What a horrific tragedy.”

The number of deaths across the country would be far greater.

I placed the rectangular towel over Ethel’s face.

Realizing what I was about to do, she began shaking her head violently.

It wasn’t a problem. Her arms and legs were already bound, and she couldn’t use her magic either.

Before pouring the water, I leaned in close to her ear and whispered softly.

“People are looking for answers, Ethel. And so am I.”

“What are you talking about?!”

“Are you too stupid to understand? Fine, I’ll make it simple for you. How did your parents meet the demons, why did they help them, and where did they run off to?”

“I-I don’t know! Even if you ask me about my parents all of a sudden, how could I possibly kn—”

Her words were cut off by the sound of choking and spluttering.

Maybe she really didn’t know. But even if she didn’t, there was always someone else who did.

Since the floor was soft, I pinned her neck down with my knee, pressed her forehead with my left hand, and slowly began to pour water from the jug with my right.

I thought there’d be some gasping, splashing, or a gurgling sound, but instead, it was more like a bizarre, alien noise — a kind of glooorp-glooorp sound.

Once all the water had been poured, I removed the towel. Ethel spewed out water from her nose and mouth, coughing and sobbing.

Her wailing echoed throughout the room, making my head hurt. I brought the damp towel close to her face, and she shivered before quieting down.

“H-how… How could you do this to me…?”

To prevent any water from filling her lungs, I propped her up, helping her spit out whatever water was still in her mouth.

I watched her closely to ensure her pupils weren’t dilated and her eyes weren’t out of focus. Fortunately, she still seemed lucid.

Good. That meant I could keep this going for a while longer.

“E-Ellen… W-We’re friends, right? You said we’re friends… Can’t we just… just talk it out…?”

“Friends. Hm. Are we still friends?”

“I-I don’t know…”

“If you want to be set free, then give me an answer. The location where your parents were hiding and helping the demons, and the reason behind it. Tell me where they fled to.”

Excessive pain can break a person, so it’s important to be careful.

After all, I’m not here to kill anyone. I just want answers.

I signaled one of the masked men to refill the jug with water. Then, I placed the cold, filled jug next to Ethel’s head on the right.

“Since you keep saying you don’t know, I’ll offer you a helpful reminder that might jog your memory.”

I crouched down beside her and spoke softly.

“Back in the day — I mean, a long time ago — there was a saying where I came from.”

I kept my gaze fixed on her without blinking.

“Don’t you want to hear it?”

“I don’t care, but whatever. What is it?”

“Water knows all the answers.”

I placed the towel back over her face.

It was strange how, even with her mouth covered, she managed to speak so clearly. Must be some sort of ventriloquism.

She probably didn’t think I’d pour the water again.

For a moment, I had unintentionally let my guard down, smiling at her words about friendship.

“Ellen, Ellen, Ellen! No! Please, please don’t! Don’t do this! I’m begging y—”

“Shh, shh. Stay still. If you move even a little, I’ll pour it all at once, got it?”

A few days ago, the demons had launched an attack across the empire.

It wasn’t like they formed an army and marched in, no. Instead, they hid in the sewers and alleyways of the cities, ambushing anyone — men, women, children, it didn’t matter.

Even slaves working on farms ran away, and circus performers, once bound to their routines, were suddenly set free.

They’d all been oppressed for so long. It was only natural that, when unleashed, they would vent their rage on everything in sight.

Unfortunately, my parents, who had been watching a play at the theater, were burned alive in the chaos.

They were my second set of parents, but we had no ill relationship.

Sure, I’d been scolded a lot when I was younger and spanked a few times, which made things awkward between us.

But I figured it was just part of being raised and educated. Even so, some memories still sent shivers down my spine.

That, however, wasn’t enough to serve as my motivation for what I was doing now.

“Ethel, say something. Anything. You’re the one who bragged about your parents to everyone, about how important they were, about what they were doing. You talked about it like it was some kind of achievement.”

“I don’t know anything about demons! I really don’t! Please, just stop this, please…!”

Her desperate plea was cut off by a glooorp-glooorp sound as I pressed the towel firmly over her face and poured the water again.

Whoever first came up with the idea of using a towel and water like this was definitely a genius.

I didn’t even have to exert much effort or look directly at her pained expression. No need to use brute force.

“I’m trying to help you, you know. But if you keep this up, how am I supposed to save you?”

I poured a little more water and tilted my head.

“You know, His Majesty had to pull a lot of strings to get me out of being thrown onto the guillotine. It wouldn’t look good if I didn’t produce results, would it?”

“…Stop it…”

“Don’t you have any ideas? Not even a hint?”

“I… I don’t know, I swear… Hicc… I didn’t even graduate from the academy, so what kind of important job would they give me…?”

“Then you have no idea where they might have fled to?”

Ethel nodded, tears streaming down her face.

If this dragged on for another week, maybe the “hero” would come searching for the “heroine.”

I figured I’d lock her up for four more days, then release her.

“Friends, huh? How useless.”

Her expression crumbled at those words.

Her eyes filled with shock and disbelief, as if her world had come crashing down.