Chapter 54: Leah’s Mother is Still... Alive? [3]

Cecilia took a deep breath and then said, "The system wasn’t hacked. The clearance is genuine."

Upon hearing this, Leah’s eyes widened.

Cecilia glanced at her and clarified, "To be precise, the academy’s authorization core judged it to be genuine. This morning, someone completed three layers of verification at the western research entrance of the Seventh Trial Ground. Identity number. Spiritual imprint. Mana fluctuations. All three were accepted."

The academy’s authorization core was not some unbreakable divine artifact, but simultaneously falsifying three forms of advanced authentication without triggering a single alarm was beyond the abilities of an ordinary instructor.

"What about the biometric information?" Victor asked.

"It wasn’t verified," Cecilia replied.

"Why?"

"Because Elena Vane’s clearance belonged to the old researcher authorization system. After her death three years ago, her clearance should theoretically have been completely erased," Cecilia explained. "However, she once participated in a special research project involving an ancient profession. To make it easier for her to enter several highly confidential experimental areas, her clearance was registered in the old research system."

"After her authorization was revoked in the new system, it was never synchronously deleted from the old one."

A loophole!

That was the first thought that came to Victor’s mind, but this loophole had existed for three entire years, and whoever entered the Seventh Trial Ground this morning not only knew about it but also knew exactly how to exploit it.

There was no way this had been improvised.

"Who do you think would have known about something like this?"

A pondering expression appeared on Cecilia’s face as she considered the question. After some time, she seemed to remember something and spoke.

"The arcane engineers who maintained the old system, senior members of the research institute, several vice deans, and..." She paused. "I think the people who participated in Elena’s research project."

"Do you have their names?" Victor’s eyes narrowed sharply. "The ones who participated in the research."

"Unfortunately, no." Cecilia shook her head. "The project roster is incomplete. Someone deleted part of it."

Another deletion... First, it was half of the letter left behind by Elena, and now even the list of people involved in her research project had been partially deleted.

One incident might have been a coincidence, but two connected to the same person were much harder to dismiss.

"Can it be recovered?"

"Not through the academy’s archive system," Cecilia admitted. "But my family may have a backup."

"Why would your family keep records of an academy research project?"

Cecilia wanted to roll her eyes, but considering how tense the moment was, she simply said, "Apart from the fact that my family owns this school, the Astral Spirit Envoy research project once applied for a special imperial research grant."

"I didn’t know that." Leah looked genuinely surprised.

"Your mother never told you?"

"No."

Cecilia looked at her for a moment before continuing. "It wasn’t a small amount either. From seven years ago until four years ago, the project received a total of 1.87 million gold coins in research funding."

For an ordinary research project, that was an exceptionally large amount, and funding on that scale could not have been approved without someone important knowing exactly what Elena had been researching.

Reaching that conclusion, Victor asked, "Who approved it?"

"The Imperial Ancient Profession Research Committee."

"Who was in charge of the committee at the time?"

"There were three people," Cecilia answered. "Two have already retired. As for the last one..." Her gaze shifted toward Victor. "He is still here, serving as a board member of Starlight Royal Academy."

’The board again?’

If Victor remembered correctly, it was still this same board that had moved the assessment forward, and now this as well?

He wasn’t able to ask any further questions, however, because the carriage had already begun moving toward the Seventh Trial Ground.

Compared with the academy’s normal teaching areas, the trial ground was in a noticeably more remote location, with tall trees surrounding the entire area and only the translucent magical barrier covering the sky visible from a distance.

The closer they came, the more obvious Leah’s reaction became. At first, she only frowned, but by the time they were less than a kilometer away, she had unconsciously pressed a hand against her chest.

"It’s stronger."

"Does it hurt?"

"No." Leah shook her head before looking ahead. "But... it feels like something is touching my Astral Core."

It was not an attack. Rather, it felt more like energy oscillating at an identical frequency, attempting to establish a connection with her.

Cecilia quickly looked at her. "Can you determine the direction?"

Leah closed her eyes, then raised her hand a few seconds later and pointed toward the trial ground’s northern region.

That happened to be the exact location of the Mana Core Badge Elias had pointed out last night.

...It appeared that, at least on this matter, that man had not lied.

...

Seventh Magical Beast Trial Ground.

Perimeter Inspection Area.

Twelve academy knights guarded the entrance, two of whom radiated power close to that of a peak first tier professional. When he saw Cecilia, the middle aged instructor responsible for sealing the area immediately came forward.

"Your Highness. The trial ground is currently sealed for inspection. According to regulations..."

"I know the regulations." Cecilia produced an imperial inspection token. "There has been an anomaly involving senior researcher clearance. I need to enter and confirm the situation."

The instructor’s expression visibly changed. "An authorization anomaly?"

"You weren’t notified?"

"No."

He was not pretending. At least judging from his reaction, Victor did not think he had known in advance.

Cecilia frowned. "Who entered this place at five this morning?"

"People from the Magical Beast Research Institute," the instructor answered. "There were eleven of them. They were responsible for inspecting the barrier, magical beast distribution, and examination equipment."

"Who led them?"

"Instructor Herbert."

"Where are they now?"

"They’re still inside."

Standing just behind Cecilia, Victor’s eyes narrowed. Cecilia’s authorization records also listed eleven entries: ten normal identities and one Elena Vane. Yet according to the instructor at the entrance, eleven people had physically entered, which meant they had indeed seen eleven living people.

"Did you personally verify them?" Victor finally spoke up.

The middle aged instructor glanced at him, clearly recognizing the young master of the Alves family. "I verified their identity cards."

"I’m asking about the people."

The instructor froze, a frown appearing on his face. "What do you mean?"

"Eleven identity cards," Victor said calmly. "Were they matched to eleven faces?"

"Of course."

"Do you have a recording?"

"Yes."

Entrances to large trial grounds like this one always retained magical recordings, so the instructor quickly ordered someone to retrieve it. Before long, a blue recording crystal lit up.

Time: 5:05 in the morning.

Location: western entrance.

A group of people in grayish white research robes climbed down from a transport carriage.

There were indeed eleven people, and none of them had obviously concealed their faces. Every one of them looked perfectly normal.

The recording continued as ten people scanned their identity cards one after another. Finally, a thin young man wearing glasses stepped forward, and the authorization crystal lit up.

[Verification successful.]

[Senior Researcher: Elena Vane.]