Scumbag Fate System-Chapter 109: Strike In The Night

At nine o’clock, Reinhard waited in the shadows near the History Department.

Only a few windows were still lit.

A figure materialized beside him.

It was Victoria phasing through the wall itself using her Spatial Lord abilities.

"He just left his office," she whispered. "Headed toward the faculty quarters. This is our window, we only have maybe twenty minutes."

They phased through the walls and saw the hallway was empty, lit only by dim magical lamps that created more shadow than light. To climb the stairs towards Professor Arnold’s office on the third floor.

If anyone heard or approached, Victoria would use her Spatial Lord to phase them out. But they focus on not using their magic too much since the spike might alert the patrols around the area.

"Are we only looking for communication crystals?" Reinhard whispered as they reached the third floor.

"Encrypted communication crystals." Victoria’s silver eyes swept the hallway. "If not that, then the next best thing would be records that show contact with others and notes or journals about information he shouldn’t know."

Reinhard nodded, but inwardly a passing thought did come to his mind.

What if they were wrong? What if Arnold was innocent and they were about to violate a professor’s privacy for nothing?

Arnold’s office door bore standard locking seals. Victoria disabled them with casual competence that spoke of years dealing with magical security.

The door swung open silently.

Inside, the office looked exactly like what you’d expect from a History professor. Books everywhere, papers stacked on the desk, artifacts on shelves.

Nothing obviously suspicious.

"You start with the desk," Victoria directed quietly. "I’ll check the shelves and storage areas. Look for anything hidden, such as false bottoms in drawers or concealed compartments."

Reinhard moved to the desk while his mind cataloged everything he saw. The papers were standard stuff, such as lecture notes, student essays to grade, and research proposals.

Nothing suspicious about any of it.

He started opening drawers systematically. The top drawer had writing supplies, which was nothing unusual, while the second drawer had papers that were related to his class.

Third drawer—

His fingers found something odd. The bottom of the drawer felt too shallow compared to how deep it appeared from the outside.

False bottom...

Reinhard’s previous life training kicked in automatically. He felt along the edges until he found the release mechanism, a small notch that looked like natural wood grain but pressed inward with the right pressure.

The false bottom popped up, revealing a hidden compartment beneath.

Inside sat three communication crystals, each one etched with encryption runes far more complex than standard academy-issue equipment. Beside them lay a small journal filled with coded entries.

"Victoria," Reinhard called softly.

She was at his side instantly, her expression hardening as she saw what he’d found. "Encrypted master-grade crystals..."

Reinhard picked up the journal carefully. The code was simple enough, which surprised him, but he figured this world was lacking in this department, making it difficult to decipher.

His eyes scanned the pages while his mind automatically translated.

"The payment will be received after the information about the Duke’s daughter is delivered. But it seems they want more, specifically about when she’ll be vulnerable... I don’t understand why they are just collecting information but not doing anything."

"After I sent them the information about the trial, they seemed happy instead of enraged that she didn’t get expelled. Is it because she can control her powers? And now they wished for me to monitor the other students of the Resonance Club... They actually believe one of them might be the reason she can control the Void."

They... Arnold was working for an organization, not acting alone. Reinhard thought, but the information made him sigh.

"This is it," Victoria breathed while reading over his shoulder. "This is proof. He’s been selling information about students for months."

Reinhard flipped to the most recent entry dated just three days ago:

"Carriage route confirmed and buyers positioned for intercept. If this succeeds, then everything will return to how it was before. If it fails... need an exit strategy ready."

Return to how it was? What does that mean and why would selling out Yor help him? What am I missing? Reinhard inwardly felt something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Victoria’s hands clenched into fists. "He knew. He knew they were going to attack Yor’s carriage, and he didn’t warn anyone."

Reinhard nodded with a grimace as he clenched his fist. But he had to control himself or else when they did confront the professor, his fist would smash into Arnold’s face.

"How many students has he endangered?" Victoria’s voice shook with barely controlled fury. "How many pieces of sensitive information has he sold? How long has this been going on?"

"And who was buying? What organization had enough money and motivation to pay a professor for student information?" Reinhard questioned.

Victoria’s eyes narrowed and nodded before sighing. "Plenty of them would want this, but only a few would try to endanger a duke’s daughter’s life."

"We need to take this to the Headmaster," Reinhard said while carefully gathering the crystals and journal. "This is more than enough evidence to—"

Footsteps in the hallway.

Both of them froze.

The footsteps were coming closer and heading directly toward this office.

Victoria grabbed Reinhard’s arm and pulled him toward the wall, her spatial magic activating. They phased through the solid surface and ended up inside the office next door just as they heard Arnold’s office door open.

They stood pressed against the wall, barely breathing, listening to Professor Arnold moving around his office next door. Reinhard could hear drawers opening, papers shuffling, and the distinctive chime of a communication crystal activating.

Then Arnold’s voice, muffled but audible through the wall:

"The situation has changed. The headmaster is becoming suspicious, and I may need to accelerate the timeline... Yes, I understand the risks. But if they catch me before the Yor Noctyne can be secured, all of this was for nothing."

"Tomorrow then," Arnold continued. "During the afternoon training session. She’ll be vulnerable. Your team better not fail this time... No, I’ll be gone by then. I have my exit ready."

The communication crystal chimed again as the connection ended. More movement, and then the office door opened and closed, followed by retreating footsteps down the hallway.

Victoria and Reinhard emerged from the wall, both of them processing what they’d just heard.

"He’s planning to try something again."

"Not anymore, he isn’t," Victoria’s silver eyes flashed with predatory anticipation. "Because we’re going to catch him right now. Before he can warn anyone or destroy more evidence."

They moved quickly back into Arnold’s office.

Victoria pulled out her own communication crystal and sent a rapid message to the Headmaster and Professor Chen.

"I’m calling in backup," she explained. "We need to apprehend him officially. Make sure he can’t claim we planted evidence or violated protocols."

After a couple of minutes.

Professor Chen appeared at the door with a serious expression on her face. "You found proof?"

Victoria showed her the hidden compartment, the encrypted crystals, and the coded journal. Chen’s face darkened with each piece of evidence.

"Where is he now?" Chen asked.

"Headed toward the faculty quarters," Reinhard answered.

Chen nodded grimly. "Then we move now. Victoria, lead the way... Reinhard—" She looked at Reinhard seriously. "Thank you. Your help with this may have saved lives."

Victoria led them toward the faculty wing, where professors had private quarters. Her spatial senses let her track Arnold’s location, noting he was moving all around in it.

"We need to be fast," Victoria said while they approached his door. "If he has time to destroy evidence or alert his employers, this gets much more complicated."

Reinhard nodded, as this was the moment they’d catch the spy who’d endangered his friends. The person who’d tried to help kidnap Yor.

"We move on three," Victoria said while magic gathered around her hands. Chen moved into position on the other side of the door, and she tensed up.

"One," Victoria counted.

"Two."

Reinhard quickly activated his precognition, showing him the next five seconds.

The door burst open.

Arnold spins in surprise.

Chen’s golden chains wrapped around him before he could react.

Victoria phasing in behind him to cut off any escape.

"Three."

The door exploded inward in a burst of magical force. Victoria and Chen turned into blurs, quickly reaching Arnold before he could even unleash his Sigil.

Reinhard entered and caught the words of Arnold that made him pause.

"I’m sorry," Arnold gasped as he was at the center of the room. "I didn’t have a choice—"

Victoria’s spatial magic crushed his hand, forcing him to drop the crystal before he could send any message. Chen’s golden chain wrapped around Arnold and locked him in place.

"Everyone has a choice," Victoria said bluntly. "You chose to endanger innocent students to save yourself. Now you’ll answer for that choice."

"My daughter life was in danger. I had no choice!"

His words made everyone pause.