After the date ended, Matthew immediately summoned Theodora.
The Misery Dormitory confessional.
From beyond the bars, Matthew’s gaze examined Theodora’s body.
Unlike usual, she was not trembling.
Had her fear disappeared? No. Her eyes still could not look straight at him.
‘It seems she heard something from that man named Ashen.’
How foolish. In the end, it was nothing more than a meaningless promise from a heretic.
Matthew clicked his tongue softly and looked down at Theodora with cold eyes.
“Hero. I hear you enjoyed a secret rendezvous with that heretic today.”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“Then you must have obtained some useful information, I assume? Surely you didn’t simply go out to play.”
No answer came back.
Only a heavy silence settled between them.
Looking at the doll whose lips were pressed tightly shut, Matthew let out a hollow laugh.
“Hah, well now. You’re completely broken.”
To think a mere doll would choose the option of remaining silent.
It seemed the notion that she was truly human had taken root deep within her.
If they had pressed her hard from the very beginning, this never would have happened.
‘As expected, Brother Ramsey’s methods are far too soft.’
At this rate, he would not be able to handle things properly before Ramsey arrived.
If that happened, Matthew would become a failure who could not complete God’s command.
‘It cannot be helped. I will force it through as is.’
Looking at the doll, which no longer even seemed worth disciplining, Matthew rose from his seat.
“From this moment on, I will speak as your command authority.”
The moment she heard the words command authority, the light vanished from Theodora’s eyes.
Then, like a broken doll, Theodora naturally assumed a posture of obedience.
“We will punish the heretic named Ashen at an appropriate time. The day of the practical midterm should do. The announced exam is a maze exploration, correct? If handled well, we should be able to dispose of that heretic without anyone knowing.”
“The day of the practical midterm. Command recognized.”
“Form a pair with me that day. And we will challenge the maze in the same round as the heretic named Ashen. Preserve your strength in preparation for that moment.”
“Understood.”
“And your games with the heretics end today. Do not seek them out any further.”
With those words, Matthew opened the door of the confessional and went outside.
Not long after he left, light returned to Theodora’s eyes.
“What was I doing?”
Theodora tilted her head, then soon blinked as if she had remembered something.
“Ah, right. I was instructed to pair up with Priest Matthew for the midterm. Maybe I’m nervous. I’m even forgetting such a trivial instruction.”
Theodora shook her head and smiled as though there was nothing to be done.
At that moment, a certain memory flashed through her mind.
‘It feels like I had some kind of promise this evening.’
What had she been planning to do with Mr. Ashen, Ms. Cecilia, and Ms. Lena?
The more she thought about it, the more frustration and emptiness she felt, but those sensations vanished in an instant as though they had been a lie.
“If I can’t remember it, then it must not have been important.”
For today, she would simply be satisfied with having enjoyed a pleasant date.
With that, Theodora opened the door and headed to her dorm room.
Not knowing that she had forgotten every plan she had made with Ashen’s group before the midterm.
**
After that day’s date, we did not meet Theodora even once up to today.
She never came to see us either, and even when we went to meet her, she had somehow been avoiding us for quite some time.
Once, Senior Lena had even occupied Theodora’s room ahead of time and waited there, but that day, Theodora did not return to her room at all.
‘A coincidence… probably not.’
Has the Church already made its move?
‘They’re acting faster than I expected.’
It was far too unnatural to be Ramsey’s doing.
If it were that snake-like bastard, he would only toy with Theodora while giving her chances to meet us. He would not cut off contact like this.
‘It seems the command authority has changed.’
While I was lost in thought, Senior Lena and Cecilia looked at each other with dispirited expressions.
“Should we try looking for her directly after all?”
“That’s not a very good idea.”
I spoke firmly to the two of them, who looked as though they might go find Theodora at any moment.
“If the prohibition activates because of that, things could get even bigger.”
“That’s true, but…”
“I’m worried.”
It pained me to see the two of them so dejected, but there was nothing we could do right now.
‘It’s someone who blocked her contact with us immediately after the date.’
If someone like that was her command authority, they might resort to extreme measures right away.
In that situation, even I could not guarantee what they might do to Theodora.
So in this situation, the best move was to act according to the other side’s intentions.
“I don’t know who the command authority is, but they seem impatient, so they’ll probably do something before long. For example, during the midterm. Let’s aim for that moment and counterattack.”
After hearing my words, the two of them nodded as though they had no choice.
We kept our distance from Theodora and focused on our own studies.
Time passed, and the midterm period approached.
The Academy’s midterm consisted of two parts: written and practical.
The written exam was, as the name suggested, a test to confirm what we had learned so far, while the practical exam was normally a dungeon exploration.
However, because of the accident that occurred during the last dungeon exploration, this practical exam was decided to be conducted in a different way.
The Academy plaza.
Looking at the enormous maze before me, I clicked my tongue in amazement.
“To think they turned a place that was flat ground barely an hour ago into a giant maze. Is this what a superhuman-class archmage can do?”
“Yeah, it really is amazing.”
Beside me, Brandon nodded.
After we had gone together on the last dungeon exploration, I met him again for the first time in a while, and his skills had improved even more rapidly than before.
Right now, he was just one step away from reaching the squire level.
When I asked him why, he scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.
“It bothered me that I was the only one who couldn’t help back then.”
I smiled at Brandon, then looked back at the maze.
This exam consisted of passing through the maze in pairs.
Four teams would be sent in at once. If the four teams encountered one another, the use of force was permitted under the condition that they did not inflict fatal injuries.
Yes, it was truly the perfect condition for something to happen.
I looked at the maze with cold eyes.
The other students would not be able to notice what happened inside.
The only one who could notice was the headmaster.
But the headmaster would not move unless it was something truly serious.
No matter what actions Theodora and the Church’s priest took, they were students for the time being.
In the eyes of that monster of a headmaster, it would only be a dispute between students.
‘Fortunately, Lena and Cecilia passed the exam without any particular issue. In that case, whatever they’re planning will happen when Brandon and I enter.’
Of course, we had prepared for that as well, but there was always the possibility of something unexpected.
“Ashen, is something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I deliberately gave Brandon a reassuring smile, then stepped toward the entrance of the maze.
Soon, it would be our turn to enter.
‘I don’t know what will happen, but I’ll break through it no matter what.’
With worry and resolve in my heart, I stepped into the maze together with Brandon.
**
The inside of the maze was a far more unstable environment than I had expected.
Not only was it hard to breathe, as though we had climbed a high mountain, but the bizarre patterns carved into the walls also made us lose our sense of direction.
That alone made it impossible for an ordinary person to pass through.
Academy students would have a hard time, but they should still be able to break through. However, the illusions of monsters that appeared here and there greatly increased the difficulty.
‘It isn’t that difficult for us, though.’
Together with Brandon, I defeated the group of goblins that attacked us and surveyed our surroundings.
There had been quite a few chances for them to ambush us so far, but there was still no sign that the Church had made a move.
‘It doesn’t seem like they simply haven’t found me.’
Are they waiting for me to show an opening?
No sooner had I thought that than Red Blood immediately sent me a warning signal.
At the same time, intense heat surged up from the ground.
‘This is?!’
My body moved before I could think. I grabbed Brandon and retreated.
Immediately afterward, pure white holy flame erupted from the spot where the two of us had been standing.
It was an attack that ignored the exam rule of “avoiding fatal injuries.”
Feeling the air still burning hot, I frowned.
‘That attack just now wasn’t aimed only at me.’
If things had gone wrong, Brandon would have been caught in the holy flame as well.
Could they possibly have thought it didn’t matter whether Brandon got caught up in it or not?
Or were they planning to use Brandon as a hostage to restrict my movements?
Either way, it was a mindset I could not possibly imagine from a normal priest.
A moment later, two people appeared from the alley on the opposite side.
A priest of the Church of Light, and a androgynous silver-haired beauty with violet eyes.
“Theodora.”
Theodora, who had revealed herself, lowered her head without being able to meet my eyes.
In contrast, the priest of the Church of Light frowned and glared at us.
“Your speed alone is on par with a paladin of the Church. Quite fast.”
“Well, I have no intention of getting hit by such an obvious attack.”
“I see. It was indeed a little too conspicuous. I will keep that in mind the next time I hunt heretics. Ah, before that, my introduction is late. My name is Matthew.”
“Matthew.”
It was not a name in my memory.
But from what he was doing now, it was easy to tell that this guy was more extreme than Ramsey.
“A-Ashen. What’s going on?”
Brandon’s voice trembled, as if he was flustered by the sudden change in the situation.
Even so, the fact that he showed no intention of running away at all probably meant he was declaring his will to fight together if we had to.
‘Should I tell him?’
That thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I immediately withdrew it.
If I told him what this situation was, Brandon might become a target of the Church as well.
“Brandon, I’m asking just in case. Do you have any intention of stepping back?”
“Not unless you run away with me.”
Seeing the strong will in Brandon’s eyes despite his trembling body honestly impressed me, but I could not leave him like that.
“Sorry, Brandon.”
I struck Brandon on the back of the neck by surprise, knocking him unconscious, then laid him down in a secluded corner.
At this distance, he would not be caught up in it even if a fight broke out.
Still, just in case, I used the defensive magic scroll I had received from Cecilia, then looked back at Theodora and Matthew.
“It seems you have dealt with the hindrance.”
“A hindrance, huh. I’m not sure who’s saying that to whom.”
As Matthew said that, he raised the metal plate in his hand.
“Theodora, as your command authority, I command you.”
At his words, Theodora, who had been lowering her head until now, immediately raised it.
Eyes in which no light could be felt at all.
The moment I confirmed that, Matthew immediately continued.
“Execute the heretic over there.”
The moment he finished speaking, pure white holy flame rose from Theodora’s sword.