CHAPTER 38: INSTRUCTOR RACHEL [3]

"Zeil Sieghardt."

The red-haired woman frowned as she looked at the documents scattered on the desk.

Although she had a beautiful face, not many people knew about it because it was hidden by the scars across her cheeks and her stocky body.

’There are more than just one or two things in this test that are unclear...’

The woman sighed, put the documents in one place, and stretched out her legs on the desk.

Then, with a cigarette in her mouth, she aroused mana.

A small flame created at the tip of her finger slowly began to smoke.

’He is the heir of the Sieghardt family who fell from the sky... Even though something like that happened in the first test, why did the chairman appoint Rachel as their supervisor? To give her a chance to make up for it? No way. The chairman is not that kind of person. No— is that monstrous woman actually human in the first place?’

No matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn’t understand what the intention was behind such an order.

Knowing that he was an unpredictable person to begin with made her even more frustrated.

’Are all people called transcendents like that?’

Chi—

Cigarette smoke seeped into the woman’s lungs, and the sound of burning leaves filled the office.

"Ha. I guess I’ll survive now."

Knock, knock.

"Can I come in?"

"Come in."

The person who opened the door and came in was a man with a neat appearance. He looked around for a moment and then spoke with an expressionless face.

"There’s a lot of cigarette smoke. It’s almost confusing whether this is a smoking room or an office."

"Leave the nagging to your daughter, Maxim. What’s going on?"

"I have something to report to you."

"Do I really need to listen to it now?"

"Aren’t you the General Inspector? That’s dereliction of duty."

The woman’s eyes, which had just been focusing on blowing donut-shaped smoke, suddenly changed.

"There’s nothing you can’t say to your immediate superior. If you want to get into trouble, I’ll deal with you anytime."

The man replied sharply to the woman who was relaxing while making a crunching sound.

"Suicide is not my thing. I want to live a long, thin life."

The woman asked with a bored expression,

"You’re still a bore. Just say it."

"It is said that most of the groups that participated in the exam have returned."

"Okay. Looks like it ended safely. Wait... mostly?"

"Yes, one group has not returned yet."

"It’s been a week since the exam started, and there are still groups left? Which one?"

"Group 10."

"The 10th group are those who entered on the first day of the exam... By any chance, is Zeil Sieghardt included in that group?"

Maxim answered in his usual mechanical tone, but inside, he was surprised.

This was because, although he had been administering exams with her for quite some time, she had never directly called the test takers by name.

"... That’s right. Student number 444, Zeil Sieghardt. Student number 66, Eden. Student number 400, Charlotte Magee. And student number 10, Frey Caligo— they belong to that group."

The woman got up and spat out the cigarette in her mouth.

Her flowing red hair reminded one of a lion’s mane.

The woman asked carefully, trying to ignore her anxiety.

"Is the supervisor in charge of Group 10 actually Chief Instructor Rachel?"

"That’s right."

"Rachel is... Where is she now?"

"She’s gone."

Thud!

As soon as the man answered, the desk split in half. The woman’s red eyes flashed as she shouted.

"What? Gone? What kind of bullshit is that? What about the assistant instructor? Where is the assistant instructor?"

Bella Trey.

True to her nickname, the Red Lion, her hair fluttered as if it were alive and breathing.

Mana was running wild in response to her intense emotions.

"The assistant instructor... is also not visible. Sorry."

The veins on the woman’s forehead bulged. The air around her suddenly grew heavier.

Maxim, who had maintained an expressionless face until now, turned pale as if he was struggling to breathe.

Her aura went beyond simply emitting mana— it dominated the entire space.

"... What? Are you telling me to just watch something like this now? How have these bastards been handling their work so far!"

Maxim distorted his expression and muttered,

"First of all... What should I do about this aura? If this continues, I’ll really die."

Snap.

With a snap of her fingers, the air that had been oppressing the room immediately returned to its original state.

"Ha... There’s no way you, an obsessive person, would make a mistake like this, so there must be another reason. What is it? Please tell me."

After adjusting his clothes for a moment, Maxim slowly spoke.

"Sorry. To be honest, I only just found out about this. From what I heard from the other examiners, the dean gave exclusive rights to Rachel, the head instructor. For Group 10 only, she was given full authority over everything— from reporting until the end of the exam, as well as evaluating it."

When Bella heard those words, her face twisted like that of a demon.

"The dean...? That rotten old man... How dare he ignore me, the General Supervisor, and exercise his authority like that? Take me to the room where Rachel was. I’ll go myself."

"Yes."

Bang!

Bella Trey burst out of the office door.

Knowing that no words would reach her in this state, Maxim led the way in silence.

Long strides.

Bella Trey, walking down the hallway with the momentum of a bulldozer, stopped in front of the door.

"Are we here?"

"Yes."

Without another word, she punched out.

Maxim sighed as he saw Bella striding into the room where the door had fallen off.

’A red gorilla would suit her better than a red lion.’

The inside of the room was very clean, but there was a strange sense of discomfort. Bella Trey, sensing what it was, spoke with a serious expression.

"... Maxim. Where is the crystal ball?"

"Since it’s not here, it looks like either Chief Instructor Rachel or the assistant instructor has it."

Bella Trey had lived her entire life guided by instinct.

And that instinct had always been beneficial to her—never once toxic.

So she trusted her instincts infinitely.