Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 2: To the Capital of the Empire ()
But why did the man in front of me ask about Machiavelli?
About a false identity I had used until just recently, no less.
Could it be that he knows and is deliberately bringing it up?
<What’s he playing at?>
For a moment, I wondered if he might be a tracker sent by the princess’s faction from the Yuta Kingdom—but it didn’t seem that way.
Aside from that question, Ludger hadn’t made a single suspicious move.
On the contrary, his gaze and demeanor seemed more genuinely curious than anything else.
So... just a coincidence?
<An instructor from Seorn, huh...>
Even when I was staying in a distant foreign land, people would still talk about Seorn Academy. That’s how renowned it is.
For such a young man to be newly appointed as an instructor there—it could only mean that the person before me was exceptionally talented.
I hadn’t noticed at first, but I was starting to feel it bit by bit.
There was something unusual about this man.
Still, rather than raise my guard, I shook my head internally.
<Let’s just assume it’s coincidence for now.>
There’s no need to act suspicious and give myself away.
I casually turned the page of my newspaper and responded to his earlier comment.
“If such a person really existed, he would’ve been in the papers.”
“Haha. Well, there are plenty of things in this world that don’t make it into the headlines.”
“That’s an amusing thought. Are you in the habit of saying things like that to someone you just met?”
“Well, is there any reason not to? Besides, Mr. Gerald, I know we just met today, but I feel like we get along.”
“I appreciate that a respectable instructor from Seorn would think well of an old man like me.”
Maybe it was because the identity I was currently using gave off a pleasant impression, but Ludger didn’t seem inclined to let go of his interest in me.
So much for riding in silence.
Since it had come to this, I decided to humor him with some light conversation.
Having someone to talk to wasn’t the worst thing—it did keep the boredom away.
“Mr. Ludger, once you arrive at Seorn, will you be starting your classes right away?”
“Not immediately. I’ll probably have to wait a little.”
“First-years?”
“No, I’ve been assigned to teach second-years.”
“Oh. Second-years, is it? Don’t new instructors usually get assigned to first-year students? Seems you’re even more impressive than I thought.”
I’d only heard bits and pieces in passing, but Seorn, while a magic academy, carried more of a university-like image—at least from the perspective of Earth.
A massive campus filled with all kinds of buildings, and reportedly thousands of staff members lived and worked within it.
It bordered a major city, but Seorn itself was practically a city of its own. People even called it “the city beside a city.”
The academy held students from first to fifth year.
Usually, the higher the grade, the smarter the students. That meant the upperclassmen were taught by the more experienced instructors, while new teachers were given first-years.
But this new appointment had Ludger teaching second-years right away.
I had thought he might be someone remarkable, but this... this was on another level.
<They wouldn’t have hired him at Seorn for no reason.>
A magic academy that teaches magic.
This world may have undergone an industrial revolution built on iron and steam, but the most obvious difference from Earth was the presence of magic.
<Something I’d only ever read about in fantasy novels.>
Magic was inseparable from this world. It was, quite naturally, something that belonged only to the chosen few.
After all, if you couldn’t manipulate mana, you couldn’t use magic.
But—
Unlike in the past, when only nobles of noble bloodlines could wield magic, there was now a growing meritocratic view that even commoners could learn magic if they had the talent.
And Seorn was the top institution among such academies—where only skill mattered.
<Now I’m starting to feel curious. Just what kind of place is it?>
When someone said “magic academy,” all I could think of—having once lived on Earth—was that one famous work.
Students flying on brooms and casting spells with wooden wands...
Those who watched such movies or read those books as children probably dreamed of attending a magic school like that.
A magic school.
What dream could be more romantic?
In this world, such places actually existed.
Students learning magic and living out their youth.
<Youth... huh.>
Back in my previous life, my father passed away early. I didn’t have the luxury to enjoy things like youth.
I studied like a madman, driven by the weight of having to support my family, and tormented by the obsession to succeed.
And in this second life, things weren’t all that different.
If anything, they were even more intense.
After all, there’s a reason I’m constantly hiding my identity like this.
<Hoping for something like that now would be pure greed.>
It’s been 27 years since I was born into this world and began living again.
I was no longer someone who walked along the burning road of youth.
Magic academies and all that... they were stories from another world.
The same went for this man in front of me—Ludger, someone so deeply connected to all of that.
He stood on the brilliant stage called Seorn, while I moved through the shadows under a false name. We couldn’t be more different.
Still, someone who became an instructor at Seorn at such a young age deserved honest congratulations.
<He did say he was a fallen noble.>
This world still clings to a class-based society. And naturally, nobles sit at the top of that hierarchy.
But there are those who have fallen from those heights.
Those who rebelled against their country, were scorned by those in higher places, or were crushed under the weight of debt.
Whatever the reason, some nobles fell all the way to the bottom.
Fallen nobles.
Among other nobles, they’re treated with even more disdain than commoners.
Given that, Ludger must’ve gone through tremendous effort and struggle to make it all the way to being a teacher at Seorn.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I sensed something strange from outside.
<What is that?>
I glanced out the window, a strange unease creeping up on me.
The air felt off.
More precisely, it felt heavy.
As if something was about to happen.
“Is something wrong?”
Ludger asked, tilting his head at my reaction.
Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.
I didn’t answer. Instead, I heightened all my senses.
...Something’s coming.
“Just now, I think—”
Before Ludger could finish his sentence—
──────!!!
A thunderous explosion rocked the magitech train violently.
The passenger car swayed hard as the entire train jolted off balance on the tracks.
I gripped the armrest tightly to keep from being thrown.
“What on earth...? Did the engine explode?”
Ludger murmured in disbelief, but I simply shook my head.
It didn’t feel like an engine explosion.
A single blown engine wouldn’t cause the whole train to shake like this.
And this was a magitech locomotive—famous for its safety. Its engine wouldn’t just blow up on its own.
Something else was happening. There had to be a reason for this explosion.
───!
My anxious suspicion proved right. The ceiling of the train echoed with heavy thuds—something was moving rapidly above.
At the same time, loud noises erupted from the front of the train.
The sound of shattering glass... and screaming.
It was clear what was going on.
“We’re under attack.”
“Attack? This train?”
“The magitech train is usually filled with wealthy merchants and nobles. Bandits from the northern mountains must be targeting it.”
Most passengers aboard this expensive locomotive were loaded with money. Naturally, there were plenty who aimed to rob them. Attacks on the train weren’t unheard of.
<Still, to pull this stunt on a train bound for the Imperial capital?>
The attackers had to be insane.
Their nerves weren’t just steel—they were swollen and bursting out of their skin.
<And that explosion earlier... it wasn’t ordinary.>
My eyes narrowed as a thought crossed my mind.
<Magic.>
There’s a mage among the attackers.
With a mage backing them, such a bold attack made sense.
If they used magic to hit hard and escape quickly, they could vanish into the treacherous Arret Mountains of the north.
It’d be hell to chase them.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
If they were aiming for that spot specifically, then these guys were no ordinary bandits.
Anyone bold enough to launch an attack on a train carrying nobles—and backed by a mage capable of producing this level of destructive magic—couldn’t possibly be average.
This is a world where magic exists, and naturally, there are those who use magic for foul purposes.
“Mr. Ludger. I think we need to hide or get to safety first.”
At my words, Ludger gave a silent nod.
He picked up his bag. He’s really bothering to take that in a situation like this? Must be something important in it.
Not that I had the luxury to worry about him. I stood up from my seat. Ludger was the first to step forward.
“Just in case, I’ll go first.”
“Sure.”
My current identity is that of a rich, middle-aged commoner.
This man—an academy instructor in his mid-20s—would surely be better in a fight than me.
Ludger pulled a small wooden wand from his right side and raised his guard.
We opened the door to the passenger car and checked the hallway of Car 4.
No one in sight yet. The other passengers seemed to have decided to stay quietly in their compartments for now.
<A bad choice.>
Even if these passenger cars were protected by magic, the assailants weren’t just common thugs. Sitting tight in a situation like this was no different from sticking your neck out and asking to be caught.
The best move in times like this is to get as far away from the attackers as possible.
<Still, the ones who broke into Car 3 haven’t come this way yet...>
I thought they’d immediately split up to loot the passengers, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Maybe they’re aiming for Car 1 instead.
Car 1—the first-class cabin reserved for nobles.
It’s heavily guarded and secured, but that also makes it the biggest jackpot.
<That’s actually better.>
If their focus was on Car 1, then we could simply retreat the other way.
Trains like this magitech locomotive are naturally equipped with emergency systems that send out distress signals in case of an attack.
Reinforcements should # Nоvеlight # be on their way soon.
All I had to do was hold out until then.
Crash!
At that moment, the hallway window shattered as a man burst in.
Snow clung to his shoulders, still not fully shaken off. He must’ve sensed our presence, because he whipped his head toward us and locked eyes.
His pupils were bloodshot with rage.
<What a nasty look. Is he high or something?>
The raw hatred and fury pouring off him didn’t feel like that of a simple bandit. He seemed more like something entirely different.
Was he driven mad from waiting out in the cold?
“Wraaaah!”
But before I could fully process my thoughts, the man spotted us and let out a feral roar.
At the same time, Ludger activated his magic.
Threads of mana gathered at the tip of his wand, forming an inscription in the air.
The runes floated in three dimensions, as if he were drawing with light in midair—and the formation quickly completed into a single spell.
Crack!
A bolt of blue lightning formed and shot out, piercing the intruder square in the chest.
“Gaaaargh!”
The charging man collapsed, falling flat on his face and convulsing on the floor.
I glanced at Ludger and asked, “Did you kill him?”
“No. Just neutralized.”
He answered calmly and began to cautiously approach the fallen man, wand still raised and aimed.
“Wait, Mr. Ludger. That’s dangerous.”
“It’s fine. I just want to ask a few simple questions—find out what their goal is in attacking this train.”
“No, I mean—”
I tried to stop him, but Ludger didn’t even listen.
He nudged the man over with his foot, rolling him onto his back.
“Talk. Why did you attack this train?”
“Kuh... kuhk. Heheh.”
“You’re laughing... in this situation?”
“Everyone... must... die.”
The broken, wheezing voice was laced with chilling madness that sent a shiver through my skin.
Even while convulsing and bleeding from his nose, the bandit kept laughing.
At the same time, the thick outer coat he wore unraveled—revealing what he had hidden underneath.
It was a massive amount of explosives.
“...!”
Ludger’s eyes widened as he began to cast a spell—
But before he could finish, the man—already holding the detonator—pressed it with a smile.
BOOOOM!
A colossal explosion tore through Car 4.
