I Was Just a Cleaner... Until I Got the Demon Extraction System-Chapter 45: A New Mission with Lindy
The way she asked was strangeโserious enough to make Damian hesitate.
"Should I tell her or not?" he thought. ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ธ๐ซ๐๐ก.๐ฌ๐ธ๐
Lindyโs expression didnโt waver. She really wanted to know.
Torn between trusting her or keeping quiet, Damian decided to tell her.
"I saw," he whispered, stepping closer, "two hooded figures talking outside, near the big tree next to this building. One of them gave the other a wooden box."
That was all he knew. He hadnโt been able to hear a single word theyโd said.
Lindyโs eyes widened. "This isnโt good," she said, moving to a chair and sitting down. "That wooden box you saw... was mine."
Damianโs jaw tightened. "What? Are you sure? Does that mean those figures came into this room and stole it while I was here?"
"No," Lindy said. "The box went missing a few days ago. I thought Iโd just misplaced it. But then, a few more things disappeared recentlyโand thatโs when I realized something was going on."
Someone had been stealing from Lindy. She was determined to find out who.
She started questioning Damian in detailโwhat the figures were wearing, how tall they were, the exact time heโd seen themโevery little detail he could remember.
After telling her everything he knew, Damian asked what exactly had been inside that wooden box.
Thatโs when she dodged the question. "I canโt tell you thatโitโs confidential," she said. "If you see or hear anything strange again, tell me. Alright?"
"I will."
Lindy smiled faintly. "Thank you. Youโre the best assistant I could ask for. Now, how was your day yesterday? Everything went fine without me here?"
"I read some books," Damian replied, taking a few from the shelf and showing them to her. "Theyโre interestingโand pretty complex, too."
"Of course they are. None of these books are meant for new recruits. Youโre lucky to have the chance to read them."
"And where did you go, Teacher Lindy?" Damian asked.
It was unusual for teachers to leave the academy, and his curiosity got the better of him.
"I wanted to keep it a secret... but since you asked," she said, letting the suspense build, "we have a mission to work on together soon. A demonic artifactโand a demon hunt."
"Really?"
Damianโs eyes lit up. He hadnโt expected to leave the academy so soon, yet Lindy had just dropped the kind of news he could barely believe.
The only times he was allowed outside were on weekends, which he usually spent at the cafรฉ for his mediator meetings. That didnโt leave much room for demon huntingโespecially with the Lion Beast still looking for him.
Lindy nodded. "Really. Weโre leaving in two days, and we might be gone through the weekend."
"Where exactly are we going?"
"Somewhat far," Lindy replied. "Weโll have to take a plane."
"Iโm really excited for it," Damian said. "Staying in the academy gets boring sometimes."
Lindy grabbed a stack of documents and tossed them onto the table. With a playful smile, she said, "If youโre bored, letโs translate this scripture together. Grab a few pages."
That wasnโt exactly what Damian had in mind to cure his boredom, but it was still better than running into Randalโwho hated him. Besides, he only needed to pretend he was trying to translate it. He already knew the entire content of that scripture.
They each settled into different spots around the room, and soon silence filled the air. Lindy dove into the work with focused determination, while Damian went through the motions.
The morning crawled byโat least for Damian. For Lindy, the hours might have flown, as she worked hard to decipher and piece together the meaning of the demon scripture.
When noon came, Damian decided to have a little fun. He walked over to her desk with a sheet of paper in hand.
"I translated a phrase," he said.
It wasnโt much, just a few words, but enough to be impressive for only a morningโs workโespecially given the challenge. Almost no humans could read demon language; learning it was notoriously difficult.
"Wow," Lindy said, eyes widening. "A whole phrase already? Thatโs incredible. But Iโll check it myself this afternoon, just to be sure."
Damian didnโt mind. Trust wasnโt built overnight. If he kept showing results, eventually Lindy would stop double-checking and start believing in his abilities.
"That was nothing," Damian said. "You can bet Iโll impress you even more."
"Iโm looking forward to it," Lindy replied. "I chose you as my assistant because I believe in your skillsโso prove me right. Now go, before itโs too late."
Damian waved goodbye to her and left. He had to make sure heโd get to his afternoon classes on time.
On his way back, he greeted the guards, who were now more used to seeing him around. Little by little, they were all becoming good friends with Damian.
Of course, he still had a certain level of suspicion. After all, those two mysterious people talking at night could have been guards. Which meant the two traitors might be guards or officers. That thought made Damian wary of most people at the academy.
"Funny to doubt them when Iโm here as a spy myself," Damian thought, letting out a small chuckle.
Anyway, he headed straight to the lunch hall. A mix of new and veteran recruits were there. Some stared at Damian with less-than-friendly faces.
They were jealous heโd landed a spot as an assistant. After all, very few people ever got that position. The academy usually had no more than five assistants at a timeโso Damian was one of the chosen five.
He went to his usual table, where Mitra and Curt, his good friends, were waiting for him.
As soon as they saw him, both smiled and waved for him to come over.
"Whatโs with the excitement?" Damian asked.
Mitra was the first to explain why she was so excited.
"Well, besides the good grades Iโve been getting in my classes, I also got an extra assignment from my teacher. Next week, weโre going to some ancient ruins," Mitra said.
Damian was surprised. "Oh? Isnโt that the teacher you told me also studies demons?"
"Yes, thatโs her. In a few months, sheโs going to spend some time on a completely isolated continent with barely any people," Mitra said. After a few seconds, she added, "I think I already told you that. Iโm losing my mind."
Then it was Curtโs turn to share his reason for being excited. In his case, it was simply because of his good grades and solid progress with his breathing techniques. He was even starting to learn his first spells, which was great.
They wanted to know more about Damianโs morningโafter all, out of the three, he was the only one working as an assistant to one of the academyโs many teachers.
Damian explained what he could, leaving out his conversation with Lindy about the two mysterious people heโd seen, the ones who had robbed her. That was her personal matter, and he didnโt want to spread it around.
But of course, he mentioned that heโd be going with Lindy to see a demonic artifactโand that he might even hunt a demon with her.
That got his friends excited. Curt, however, seemed a bit down and said, "You two get all the cool extra assignments, and I havenโt gotten any yet."
Damian and Mitra tried to cheer him up, telling him heโd find something soon too. Their words workedโCurt smiled again, happy that his friends were getting opportunities.
In the afternoon, the three of them had a class together, as usual. This time, it was about magical plants and their properties.
With mana on Earth, in addition to the appearance of demons and humans with extraordinary abilities, there were also plants altered by mana.
These plants could be used to create potions and other powerful thingsโthings that could heal, or harm. Many hunters devoted their lives to this field, earning the title of alchemist.
The professor teaching the class was a very old-looking man, so old he seemed like he could drop dead at any moment. But that was only appearanceโhe could speak and move normally, as if he were in his forties.
Mitra, ever curious, whispered in Damianโs ear, "This professor has the title of master alchemist. He looks really old, right? Thatโs because he is! Thanks to the medicinal plants and potions he created, heโs been able to live much longer. According to rumors, heโs around six hundred years old."
"Six hundred years?" Damian was shocked to hear that.
Thanks to mana, hunters lived longerโsome of the stronger ones much longer. On average, a decent hunter might live around 250 to 300 years.
But six hundred years old, still teaching, and looking that lively? That was impressive. Damian knew that if this professor wanted to, he could alter his appearance to look youngerโhe just didnโt want to.
The professor looked at the students and said, "stay quiet now, or Iโll kick you out and get your grades down."
All the recruits shut up, including Damian and Mitra.
