I Become a Secret Police Officer of The Imperial Academy

Chapter 3

I stepped into the cramped bathroom, tossed my clothes carelessly into the corner, and began washing my body.

Sometimes, when prisoners get too filthy, they bring them here to clean up. The stench — that sickening mix of blood and filth — was overwhelming.

At this point, though, I’d grown too used to it to frown or wrinkle my nose.

When I first enrolled in the academy, the task my parents gave me had been incredibly simple.

They told me to attend the academy and casually jot down the names of students who spoke suspiciously.

They said I wouldn’t have to do anything beyond that.

But now, here I am, having “coercive conversations” with people I once considered friends.

I splashed water on the grimy, film-covered mirror and stared at my reflection.

When I’m unsure of who I am or what I’m supposed to do, I remind myself.

I think about how my sister died.

Steam clouded the mirror, and with it, my eyes grew hazy as well.

I shook my head slightly, gathered my snowy white hair, and wrung the water out of it.

Then, I pulled a neatly folded towel off the shelf and roughly dried my hair and body.

My personal shelf was filled with clean clothes.

I pulled out a crisply folded uniform and put it on, walking out of the dreary “conversation room.”

Although this space was technically inside the academy, it was tucked beneath an abandoned building no one visited, so there was no risk of being caught.

There were even three separate exits.

In normal circumstances, we’d just drag them to the basement of our mansion. But given the current state of things, every single conversation room across the country, including ours, was already filled with detainees.

In the end, they had to refurbish an old basement beneath the academy and put it back into use.

Not bad, though.

It was efficient since I could still get work done after classes started.

For the half-dazed “friends,” all I had to do was drag them to this building, knock them out, and haul them downstairs. Clean and simple.

It must have been around 6 o’clock.

After waiting a few minutes, a boy with a towel draped around his neck walked out, spotted me, and waved.

“Ellen, were you waiting for me?”

“Not really. We didn’t have any plans, and I just decided to come on my own, so you don’t need to think much of it.”

“By the way, Ethel still didn’t show up today. Same with the others.

I wonder if they’re all sick or something.”

Even though he probably knew the answer, he tossed it out there because there was nothing else to talk about.

I had just seen Ethel myself, so I couldn’t really relate to his concern.

I nearly let my expression slip, but I covered it up by pretending to wipe my eyes with my right hand.

“It’s probably more normal for us to be attending like this than them. Both of Ethel’s parents died, after all.”

They probably fled somewhere, given that no one’s found their bodies.

Or maybe they burned to ashes somewhere along the way.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, then shut it again.

Was it because I mentioned how my parents burned alive?

“……Sorry.”

“Anyway, I’m sure they’ll be back in a few days.”

To avoid suspicion, two days was about the limit.

“There’s no class, no teachers, and barely any students, so why are you even coming to school?

Didn’t they say classes wouldn’t resume for another month?”

“There’s no better place for training than here. What about you?”

“Boredom. You’re the only person I can meet these days, Theo.”

“…That makes me feel oddly pressured.”

“Good to hear.”

I thought I was so insignificant that I wouldn’t be able to weigh on anyone’s mind, even a speck.

Or maybe, since I was the only person around, he was just throwing me a line to make small talk.

The front entrance, where countless students once came and went, was still half-collapsed and awaiting repairs.

I walked slowly next to Theo, sticking close to him like a shadow as we passed through the wreckage.

After all, if I’m going to be next to someone who drags incidents around like a magnet, I might as well listen to what’s been going on lately.

This area used to be a bustling commercial district where students often hung out.

They say it’s being restored, but the atmosphere is still bone-chillingly eerie.

I scanned the surroundings as we passed by the scorched path.

Furious, restless people — people with nothing to do but wander — were yelling and making a commotion.

“Kill them!”

“Burn them alive! Burn them alive!”

“Give me back my son!”

“Kyahhh!”

A girl, around my age, was being swarmed by a mob of people, beaten without mercy.

The only differences between us were that she was prettier, and she had horns growing from her head.

Her clothes were in tatters, but they looked like they had once been expensive silk.

She wasn’t a demon, though.

Most likely, she was the daughter of some succubus who’d struck it rich.

Watching the scene unfold, Theo’s face twisted in despair. He glanced at me, grabbed my wrist, and started tugging me toward them.

“Ellen, we have to stop them!”

“Can’t we slow down a bit before doing that?”

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

It didn’t look like the crowd had any lustful intentions toward the girl.

Their eyes weren’t filled with desire — just pure hatred.

Men and women alike yanked at her hair, slapped her cheeks, and pummeled her with their fists.

Someone came back with a long rope and tossed it over the gaslight pole, forming a noose.

They were getting ready to hang her.

“Do you really think charging in there alone is going to change anything, Senior?”

Theo sprinted toward them, his body moving with frantic urgency.

I quietly whispered as I jogged alongside him.

“Lucky if you don’t end up hanging right beside her. Or are you planning to kill everyone there, huh?”

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do?!”

What are you supposed to do, you ask?

Well, I wonder.

That girl is probably a heroine.

I mean, she’s pretty.

Her clothes and underwear are tattered, but from the looks of it, she’s probably a virgin.

Blue light shimmered at the tips of her fingers as she gripped the noose.

She clearly knows how to use magic, but she’s letting herself be hit.

Even so, that must hurt a bit.

It won’t kill her, though.

Maybe she’s planning to play dead, wait for the crowd to disperse, and then escape.

“Demons are pretty tough, you know. They’re not as fragile as humans. Do we really need to save her?”

“…Even so! How can we just leave a kid like that?!”

“Then say it, Senior. Ask me to help. I can handle it in no time. Oh, but I’m adding it to your debt.”

“Debt or not, I don’t care, just help her.”

Then maybe I can ask him to forgive me for what I did to Ethel later.

But he won’t, will he?

“…Whatever it takes.”

I approached the mob.

They were enraged, pointing fingers and throwing things at the girl.

I pushed my way forward until someone who seemed to be leading the crowd blocked my path.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to help that demon?”

Instead of replying, I pulled a gun from my coat.

Then I aimed it at the girl.

The bullet hit the rope squarely, and the girl collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

I glanced at her briefly, then pointed the barrel at the man blocking my way.

At that moment, the excitement and rage in his eyes dimmed, and he regained a sense of reality. His body flinched slightly.

He doesn’t seem worth killing. It doesn’t look like he gathered this mob on purpose, so there’s no reason to drag him to the conversation room either.

“Just keep your mouth shut and let this slide. You’re not supposed to be gathering people and causing chaos, hanging up half-demons as if they’re real demons.”

“Even if she’s half, she’s still a demon…”

“Hey, old man. Nothing good will come from catching the attention of people in high places. That little girl over there? She’s probably the daughter of a succubus under some noble. If you kill her, do you think you’ll be able to handle the fallout?”

“…That’s…”

“Then I just saved your life.

I won’t charge you for it, so let it go and move on.”

What a stupid mess.

Angry people always turn stupid.

The onlookers, now regaining their senses, began to scatter.

The fiery rage that had been brimming moments ago quietly dissolved into a subtle fear.

I approached the girl lying on the ground.

I reached out and touched the horns on her head.

They were soft and squishy. And since she didn’t have a tail, she was clearly part human.

Once the people dispersed and went about their business, the girl cautiously spoke.

“…You’re one of us, aren’t you? A disguised kin.”

Despite the private punishment she had just suffered, she brushed herself off nonchalantly and stood up.

“Why do you think that?”

“Because no ordinary human would ever save me. Unless you were a man.”

“A man asked me to save you, actually. But I doubt it was because of your unimpressive body.”

At those words, the girl scowled, her face twisting into an expression of pure annoyance.

“You didn’t have to help me, you know. My body’s strong, just like my mom’s.”

“Oh, how impressive. Truly fitting for a filthy, disgusting demon.”

“…Who are you, exactly?”

That’s such a typical thing to ask.

She probably wants to hear about my birthplace, my childhood, how my parents met their end, how I watched my sibling die right before my eyes, and what my life was like before I woke up to this world.

Sounds like something straight out of a novel.

Ah, my head’s starting to feel muddled.

Is it because I’m looking at a beast who dares to talk like a person?

“There’s no need for you to know. If you want to hear sob stories, go chat with the handsome guy behind me.”

Honestly, I wanted to throw stones at this girl too.

She wouldn’t die even if I did.

But since the protagonist was watching, I simply shoved her aside and walked over to Theo.

Since he’s far better-looking than I ever was, she’d probably lower her guard and start chatting and laughing with him.

If I stayed nearby, I might accidentally ruin the moment, so I decided to leave.

“What are you doing? Go console her if you want to keep her as a pet.”

“…That’s too harsh.”

It’s not like I’m wrong.