'Yes, there was Rok.'
Rok is the one overseeing the recent incident of armed intrusion.
They would surely want to cover Rok the most.
As the crowd suggested, they seemed to have had no in-depth conversations with any of the incident's major participants yet.
It was a classic case of sharing the load before splitting the log.
I calmly nodded and said to the crowd surrounding me,
“I understand your eagerness. However, I am just a student with no authority, so please wait a moment while I seek approval.”
“““Ohh~!”””
The crowd cheered.
Journalists and guild officials openly rejoiced, while government officials whispered among themselves.
I approached an instructor who was looking at me from near the classroom building.
“Instructor, I wish to respond to the media requests of the officials who have come from afar, but I need to seek permission from the head of the response team, the senior professor.”
“Theo, I see. As long as you don’t disclose any confidential information, it should be fine to participate in the media coverage.”
The instructor spoke with a hesitant tone.
‘Something about his tone doesn’t inspire confidence.’
I couldn’t trust such an evasive manner of speaking.
And my goal wasn’t that.
My aim was to deal with the crowd along with Rok.
“As I am still inexperienced, there’s a chance I might inadvertently disclose confidential information during the interview. Therefore, if you permit, I would like to participate in the interview alongside the senior professor.”
“…Hmm. Alright, Theo. Just give me a moment, please.”
The instructor pulled out a communication crystal from his pocket.
After connecting with Rok, he placed the crystal to his ear and disappeared behind the building.
Soon, the instructor returned and said,
“Hmm. Should I call this a stroke of luck? He says to bring everyone to the response headquarters.”
Well, that’s generous. I didn’t expect them to open up the response headquarters.
Of course, given Rok’s nature, he would have prepared countermeasures..
He was a man who handled things with certainty.
No hair on his head, but plenty of brains.
This was the best flow of events for me.
Just engage the crowd with Rok for a while, then slip away when the time was right.
Thus, I headed to the response headquarters with a crowd of about a hundred people.
The crowd following Theo and the instructor had nearly doubled in size.
Those taking a break from the seemingly endless media schedule had joined.
After walking for a while,
“You all must be tired from the long journey. My name is Natasha, from the response headquarters team.”
Natasha appeared from a distance and stood in front of Theo, who was leading the group.
“…!”
Seeing Theo, she quickly became lost in thought.
It was to manage her expression.
‘Does he not know what nervousness is?’
She knew he was exceptional, but Theo was still just a 16-year-old first-year student.
Yet, there he was, Theo, not at all intimidated despite being surrounded by hundreds of influential adults from the continent.
Regaining her composure, Natasha spoke up,
“...The exact location of the response headquarters is confidential, so we have special measures for those who wish to conduct interviews there.”
The crowd murmured.
Ignoring their whispers, Natasha continued,
“This is a instruction from the head in charge. Only those who agree to our terms will be allowed to conduct interviews. The special measure is this.”
Natasha took out a magic scroll from her backpack.
She unfolded it to show the crowd,
“This is a multi-magic scroll that temporarily paralyzes physical senses like sight, taste, and hearing. Of course, it has no other effects, and your senses will be immediately restored after leaving the response headquarters. Those wishing to enter, please line up in an orderly fashion.”
No one stepped forward immediately.
Being the first to volunteer was not particularly appealing, considering there was nothing to gain and many watching eyes.
During the brief silence that followed, Oliver, standing at the end of the crowd, spoke up,
“Ah, really. Can hear the sound of eyeballs rolling from here. Would the head lie? That bald Rok might be a bit dull, but he doesn’t play dirty, right?”
Leaving a shaking Hailey behind, Oliver strode forward and stood in front of Natasha.
“Long time no see, Natasha? How long has it been? It’s really great to see you like this.”
“...Pleased to see you, Oliver. I haven’t seen you since you graduated.”
Natasha replied, maintaining her expressionless face.
The two were former members of the same club at the Hero Academy.
Oliver looked at her and smiled slyly,
“Still no change in expression, huh? Always the same, always. Oh right, you’re still collecting hero photos, right? I remember your dorm room plastered with hero stuff.”
“!!”
Surprise flashed across Natasha’s usually impassive face.
Trying to regain her composure, Natasha spoke,
“...Please refrain from irrelevant talk during official duties, Oliver. We need to proceed due to time constraints.”
“Tsk tsk~ Must listen to our noble junior. We’ll catch up on old times later─”
Oliver’s words were cut short.
Natasha had used the magic scroll on him.
His mouth moved, but no sound came out.
Soon, his sight and hearing were paralyzed as well.
“...Next, please.”
Natasha roughly pushed Oliver aside and muttered.
Less than ten people refused the magic scroll treatment.
The hundreds whose physical senses had been paralyzed felt their senses rapidly returning as soon as they entered the response headquarters.
Oliver stretched and commented,
"Wow, this is fascinating. I've never heard of simultaneously curing hundreds of people from debuffs. It can't be a wide-area dispel, can it?"
Wide-area dispel—a powerful 8th circle grand magic that removes all magical effects within a certain area.
It's a spell believed to have been lost in the current era.
As Oliver and the crowd buzzed with curiosity, Rok descended the stairs from the second floor and said,
“Actually, Oliver, you guessed it. The principal managed to partially restore it.”
Oliver grimaced and responded,
"Long time no see, Rok. Still rocking the same hairstyle, I see."
“Still haven’t fixed that cheekiness of yours, Oliver. Hmm, how about we take some time to reminisce and get a little lecture?”
"...Nice to see you, Professor Rok. Are we done here?"
"That’s it."
Rok smirked and stood next to Theo.
"Apologies for the late introduction. I am Rok, the head of the response headquarters. I heard you have questions for Theo and me, so feel free to ask. When asking, please raise your hand and state your affiliation and position first."
The crowd’s eyes widened.
Rok, the senior professor of the continent's premier educational institution, was a well-known figure throughout the continent.
He was also famous for detesting contact with the outside world and refusing most external media coverage.
Veteran reporters whispered among themselves, intrigued.
"Wow, it's really Rok. Never seen him in person before."
"It’s not hard to see his face. He was a commentator at the Hero Academy's practical combat assessment."
"Wow, senior, you're so knowledgeable. Have you ever interviewed him?"
"As if. Even our chief gets turned down when he personally asks for an interview."
Their whispers soon turned to Theo.
Their gazes filled with curiosity and wonder.
...A mere student managed to get Rok to agree to an interview.
What exactly is that guy?
The crowd buzzed with excitement.
Rok placed a hand on Theo's shoulder and said,
"Instead of boring holes into Theo’s face with your stares, why not ask your questions? We don’t have much time to spare, as we're busy with work."
Seeing Rok's friendly gesture, the crowd eagerly started raising their hands to ask questions.
After finishing the interviews and training, I returned to the dormitory, and it was already 10 PM.
'It was quite a fulfilling day.'
I thought about the duel with Neike and Noctar.
[Sword Expert] and [Weapon Expert] influenced my entire technique.
Not only did I begin to see others' techniques in much more detail, but I also became better at mimicking them.
Thanks to this, my mind was continuously blending old and new techniques.
“Phew.”
I quickly finished my shower and started doing full-body stretching to ease my muscle soreness.
It had become an almost unconscious routine.
Just as I was finishing my stretching,
Knock, knock─
I heard a knock at the door.
It was obvious who it was.
"Come in."
─Understood, young master.
Amy entered the room.
"Here is the item you requested."
She handed me a black leather bag, about the size of a child's fist.
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