30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue

47 – 10. Stalker vs. Stalker (2)

*

Ivan didn’t pay much attention to Kaidobnic. He knew that this attitude would bring better results.

University is fundamentally an open space. As long as you don’t enter a lecture room, no one stops you from coming and going.

Moreover, students are indifferent to others. Like most people, students pay little attention to the movements of ‘staff.’ To them, the faculty is just a fading presence on the periphery of their vision.

Therefore, Ivan had already grasped the fact that walking around in ordinary attire without attempting to conceal oneself is more helpful for security than trying to hide forcibly.

However, there was a problem here. The moment ‘someone’ started paying attention to him, all the security and maintenance strategies he had built up until now would crumble.

And at this very moment, there was a student who devoted all his attention to Ivan’s every move…

“What is he doing?”

Ivan furrowed his brow at the incessant, irritating gaze following him.

Why is he acting like that?

Pretending to tie his shoelaces, he subtly turned his gaze backward.

Echidna stared at him with blazing eyes.

“Is that… a disguise?”

Holding a tree branch covered with numerous leaves in front of her face, she walked stealthily through the bushes.

Droan people are large. In the case of men, they are robust, and in the case of women, they are giant in a slightly different sense.

Echidna, who inherited the finest lineage of Droan, had destructive body parts despite her animal-like appearance.

Therefore, a tree branch like that was useless for covering her towering height and something even bigger.

Ivan looked at her for a moment as if she were pitiful and then took out a note.

-Echidna. Suspected of academic dishonesty in the process of acquiring credits. Remarkably low cognitive abilities.

Ivan was an honest person, so he had no hesitation in recording the truth. He covered the note and continued walking.

He headed towards the Knight Department of the Faculty of Chivalry. The familiar incantations stimulated his senses.

The Intelligence Command was calling him.

*

Echidna moved cautiously in the tension of lips drying out.

Her concealment was perfect. None of her uncles noticed when she walked stealthily. (Huskals were lenient about their niece’s pranks.)

So, she was confidently stealing glances at Ivan.

He was an odd person.

Sometimes he would suddenly disappear from sight, and before you knew it, he was up a tree, surveying the surroundings.

From the School of Magic to the Knight Department, and surprisingly, even to the Department of Philosophy. Ivan relentlessly moved around, keeping someone under surveillance.

Suddenly, he would furrow his brows, then dash like a ghost, throwing himself through the bushes where cigarette smoke rose.

As he walked towards the department building, he would mysteriously vanish!

-Gardener?

-Never seen him tending to the garden.

-Is there a place worthy of being called a garden within the university?

-I don’t know… What’s he doing? He’s constantly watching someone.

Never stopping. Why? Is it because of someone’s order? Or is it just a hobby?

She was engulfed in confusion, jotting down notes in her notebook.

That diligent stalker never rested, neither ate nor ceased the constant corrections…!

What could have made that man like that?

At this point, curiosity took over fear. Ecdysis was searching for Ivan, sandwich in hand, disgust evident on her face.

He disappeared again. Seemed like he was walking somewhere in the Knight Department building, but as he turned the corner, he vanished like smoke.

“Hmm, where could he have gone?”

She wiped mustard sauce off her mouth and walked briskly.

*

“I don’t know why, but Ecdysis is trying to monitor me.”

But that’s impossible. Even if it’s a bit annoying, he hasn’t become dull enough to be caught by a rookie like her.

Ivan walked through the corridor with an ‘obfuscation’ spell cast.

“Dmitri.”

“How have you been, senior?”

No students were wandering in the corridor of the department building. It was because of the ‘obfuscation’ spell from the Intelligence Suppression Bureau.

In the middle of the corridor, Dmitri, holding a yellow envelope, was looking out the window.

“You appeared right after casting the spell. Senior, it’s always impressive, but really.”

“What’s going on at the university, Dmitri?”

“Well, there’s something to ask and something to report… um, yeah.”

Dmitri took out a document file and handed it over.

“We’ve caught the perpetrator of the bombing incident during the entrance ceremony.”

“Then, isn’t it a matter of solving it?”

“There’s a bit of a problem.”

The Krasilov Intelligence Suppression Bureau is competent. In fact, among all the administrative bodies in Krasilov, the Intelligence Suppression Bureau is the most competent.

Fundamentally, Krasilov, no. In this primitive pre-modern society, corruption was rampant. A public official who doesn’t take bribes is like a unicorn or a dragon. (They do exist, in a sense.)

Even in the midst of that, the Intelligence Suppression Bureau was unusually clean to the point of extremism. It was inevitable since the leader was Princess Elizabeth. Therefore, it was strange for the Intelligence Suppression Bureau’s involvement in tracking terrorists to reach Ivan.

Ivan frowned as he opened the document envelope.

“Droan…?”

“Yes, Droan.”

Droan, the land of warriors. The homeland of Aenar.

Did they really carry out a bomb terror attack on the Krassil Plains in this country?

Ivan, engrossed in thought, flipped through the documents.

“When I examined the magical bomb used at that time, most of the components were found to be from Droan.”

“Droan orchestrating a magical bomb terror attack? Does that even make sense?”

“Logically, of course, it seems impossible.”

“Hmm…”

Droan’s warriors were widely known for reaping the enemy’s skulls with axes at the time of bomb terror attacks.

Therefore, thinking the other way around, they were also the least likely to be suspected when a bomb terror attack occurred.

The ‘common sense’ of the Intelligence Headquarters meant it had to be opposite to the common sense of civilians. If there were individuals beyond suspicion, they were the ones who should be suspected the most.

“So, I delved deeper. Please read from page 11.”

“…It seems Aenar didn’t handle the aftermath well.”

“Yes. Not very kingly, isn’t it? Showing mercy to the enemy.”

After the demon king’s death and until Aenar returned to his homeland, Droan was not a single nation. It was an era of chaos with numerous warlords called ‘Yas’ rampant across the country. With the threat of the demon king gone, they were now running wild like unbridled colts.

During such times, Aenar established a nation with two axes. That’s why he was called ‘The Great King.’

Aenar brought peace to his homeland and a sense of national identity as a single race.

That was the story.

“One of the Yas who submitted to Aenar is one of the culprits. Did this information reach Aenar?”

“The Minister is currently considering it. If Aenar finds out about this…”

“There will be a war cry.”

“Yes, and in a situation where the borders are touched, we will inevitably be affected. And as you know… the whereabouts of Crown Prince Alexander are currently uncertain. The military’s movements are suspicious too.”

After flipping through the documents, Ivan infused magic into the magic circle left on the last page and brushed off his hands.

The confidential documents instantly went up in flames, turning into ashes scattered in the air.

“We know who orchestrated the terror, but the ones who were preparing for it are nowhere to be found. However, their goal is clear…”

“Esydis.”

“Yes, the most beloved daughter of King Aenar. If anything happens to her, the king will erupt into war. The responsibility will fall on Princess Esydis, being the daughter of the Intelligence Headquarters’ General.”

“Then the military will support the Crown Prince.”

For the military to survive, war is necessary. Conversely, in a nation without the threat of war, military reduction is inevitable.

Since the Demon War, only four years have passed. The nation is undergoing reconstruction, and resources within the palace are being allocated to maintain the legion, diverting funds from the reconstruction costs.

Therefore, those currently yearning for war the most are the military leaders.

And, the Crown Prince who wishes to discredit the palace chancellor, Princess Elizabeth.

“Terrorists will undoubtedly target Asidis again. Sir.”

“Convey that to Princess Your Highness.”

Ivan glanced at the empty corridor and turned away.

“I will do what needs to be done.”

“Thank you for your dedication, ‘humble’ Ivan.”

“For what.”

Ivan nodded briefly and left. Watching his retreating figure, Dmitri ran his hand through his hair.

The ‘Concealment Disruption’ magic circle installed at the end of the corridor buzzed, and students began to enter the corridor again.

In the returning corridor, there was no trace of Dmitri.

*

Ivan, being a highly logical person, formulated a plan using simple logic.

1. Someone is targeting Asidis.

2. Somehow, Asidis is attempting to monitor him.

Combining the information that the security target is in danger and the astonishing fact that the security target is tracking himself, a straightforward solution could be derived.

QED) Asidis should be consistently exposed in the field of view to make it easy for him to monitor.

In this grateful situation where the surveillance and security target are following on their own, there was no reason for him to hide his body. Merely exposing himself silently was enough to keep Asidis within his sight.

Simultaneously, lurking around Asidis would inevitably lead to stepping on the tail of the ‘unidentified terrorist.’

As mentioned in a retrospective, well-trained agents never move with only one goal in mind.

Laying more than one trap with one move.

That is the modus operandi of the Extermination Unit.

*

‘What on earth…?!’

Asidis spilled his coffee and stared blankly behind the trees.

“Asi? Why are you like that?”

“Uh, um. Uh, uh. Um… Is Isabella nearby?”

“No? Isabelle said she’s eating separately for lunch because of today’s class… Why?”

“Then… Then… Me…?”

Staring at the gardener behind the rows of trees, Esidisi’s expression seemed on the verge of tears.

“Me as the target…?”

“What? What does that…?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. Just a glass sheep. I’ll leave first. I’m sorry.”

“No, I also have to go for the next class. See you tomorrow!”

“Yes, yes.”

Esidisi staggered away, standing at the entrance of the Department of Orchestral Studies building, casting a trembling glance over her shoulder.

“…!”

Exactly the same distance as before.

‘He’ was still staring at her.

Suddenly, Esidisi felt like crying.

*