Chapter 219
First, let’s settle this before diving into hypotheses.
‘Are they trying to take us out in one go?’
Not a bad move, but it’s reckless for soone aiming to blow up Pentalon too. It’s the kind of thing that’d just heighten our guard.
So, it’s better to see this as a warning.
‘Tone it down, huh?’
They’re pissed?
If they’re pissed, I’m grateful. They’re playing right into my hands with this blunder.
I snapped my fingers.
My heart skipped a beat too late, but I stayed put, unmoved.
In the dim light, I could feel Yulia and Leo looking at with startled eyes.
Realizing the situation, they swung their wands, but no light sparked.
“No Magic Power’s coming out. They must’ve tampered with the air to knock out the magic lights too,” Leo reported curtly, tapping his artifact.
Yulia and I instinctively touched our ears. All we got was a connection tone.
“Comms are cut too… That stalker’s not planning to show up in person,” Yulia muttered in a grim voice.
It was a passing remark, but Leo caught it, looking up. “…What?”
No ti to answer his question.
Yulia’s right.
That bastard’s got no intention of facing .
A small laugh escaped , drawing their gazes.
‘Haha…’
Yeah, I let my guard down.
I underestimated them.
I thought they’d co out if I provoked them, but they’ve got so sense after all.
If they want to play with for the long haul, this kind of retaliation’s rational.
The structure of their ga took shape in my mind.
Narce said soone’s targeting both and Pentalon.
That soone’s the one who locked this door.
Their current goal’s clearly , so this ga’s designed to gradually put in their palm.
The endga’s facing them in a situation where I can’t reach out to the police or my friends, where I can’t escape.
I’m standing at the start of their board.
And Pentalon’s safety’s on the line too. Aiming for two birds with one stone—brilliant idea.
‘Then I’ll play along.’
Let’s see how intricately they’ve set this up.
Revealing my true colors in enemy territory’s my specialty.
Haven’t I always done it that way?
Of course, I’m not letting them have their way until I’m in. Like with Abraham, I’ll burn down their carefully laid board as I move forward.
This looks like a petty tantrum, but I’ll give my all even to this seemingly trivial attack.
Leo’s voice broke through. “Let’s get out. I’ve been through this before. It feels like Magic Power won’t work in this air…”
Leo put force into a snap. A pale blue light flared in the dark, but he staggered, his face paling instantly.
“You can use magic a bit if you push past your core’s limit. Downsides are you can’t use it much, and since you’re breaking your limit, recovery’s mandatory. But one warp might be doable.”
“And then what?” I asked.
“One of us gets out and calls for help.”
“No.”
Leo looked at blankly.
“It’s a good plan, but is it worth damaging your core and health? You’ve read the reports—using magic in a place like this wrecks your body. It takes drugs worth millions of pel to barely recover.”
“You’re one to talk—”
What, ? Sure, I’ve racked up maybe a billion in free Wittelsbach treatnts, but what can I do?
Before he could bring up other identities, I cut in. “There’s a way to get out without harming our vitality and make everyone grasp the situation’s severity.”
“Severity?” Yulia asked.
I nodded. “Think of Narce’s prophecy. The Royal Investigation Bureau’s been on this for days, but who’s treating it as a threat to Pentalon? It’s a suspicious ability user committing suspicious cris, yet admins and investigators see it as just so creepy notes.”
Sure, they took it seriously, but did that seriousness translate to proper action? Not at all.
“If we walk out fine and say, ‘Soone sealed us in a room with Magic Power-suppressing air,’ it won’t cut it. Saying, ‘You can escape by straining your core’ downplays the issue. No matter how objective people try to be, they focus on visible damage.”
“……”
“And if the culprit stops the Magic Power suppression and vents the air to destroy evidence while we’re out?”
“…So?” Leo asked, his face darkening.
What’s he asking? In the dark, I looked at him. “You know there’s a way to alert more people, stimulate their senses, and trap the Magic Power in the air so evidence can’t be destroyed.”
“…No way…” Leo clutched his forehead, as if he’d heard the unthinkable.
Yeah, he gets it. Good thing there’s no one to evacuate this ti.
Yulia looked between us. “What? I’m curious about the plan.”
I rummaged through the spot where I’d checked general supplies earlier.
Magic lights were installed, but since they weren’t universal yet, getting what I needed from the supply room wasn’t hard.
Scrape—! Whoosh—
Fire wasn’t hard to co by.
I struck a match hard against the red phosphorus strip, and it ignited. Like before, striking three or four at once made the fla grow fast.
“Huh…?!” Yulia let out a hollow laugh.
I grabbed five more matches and struck them against another matchbox’s strip. Holding ten burning matches in one hand, the flas licked the wood, heating my hand. I climbed the ladder Leo had set up, bringing the fire to the sprinkler’s solder joint. The sprinkler started to char.
‘Like before.’
One, two, three…
Four.
*Pop— Whoosh—*
Five.
With the sound of sothing unclogging, cold water poured from above, spraying everywhere.
The stench of wet air and sulfur from the matches lingered in my nose.
‘Ah, nice.’
Beep— Wail—
A deafening alarm blared, making my heart pound. Red lights flashed beyond the door. Water kept pouring onto the floor until soone outside shut it off.
I grabbed Leo’s outstretched hand and stepped down.
Swish—
[Fire detected. Citizens, please follow safety personnel to the ergency exits promptly. Fire detected. Citizens, please…]
Stepping onto the flooded floor, I looked at the dark door. “Now they’ll co. The Investigation Bureau will get their act together, and that bastard… their movents’ll be restricted now.”
If tighter security keeps them from getting to ?
That’s more than half my goal achieved.
But if they’re unrestricted despite tighter security?
That’s a great lead for deduction.
Turning soone else’s trap into mine’s always fun. Trapped in my plan, every breath they take will lend weight to one of my hypotheses.
At my relieved, laughing words, Yulia, dazed, burst out laughing. “Hahaha!”
“What?”
“This is just… insane.”
Yulia stood. Amid the alien alarm, white text appeared.
Ding—!
Favorability 1
Yulia was suddenly right in front of .
She whispered, barely audible over the water. “Lucas.”
“Yeah.”
“…You’re the best.”
Heard that before.
Even in the dark, I could feel the joy and thrill in her expression.
She didn’t give favorability during her act but does now?
‘Does she like ideas that’d get you fined…?’
I’d done this before, so it wasn’t new to , but since she didn’t join the potion contest, maybe it felt fresh to her.
First ti I’ve seen soone give favorability for triggering a sprinkler.
Feeling like I should retract my hopes for Yulia, I smiled.
Bang—!
Soone flung the door open.
I squinted at the red light flooding in.
Three people stared at us, wide-eyed.
“This is the place!”
“Soone locked the door from outside! Did you know? Uh, where’s the fire?”
“There isn’t one.”
“What?”
“Soone made it so we couldn’t use magic, so we had no way out.”
A mage snapped his fingers, puzzled. When nothing happened, his face paled. “Huh? I warped fine.”
“You used Magic Power outside the building, so it worked. Not here.”
“True. Should’ve brought an oxygen sprayer…”
“Can’t you contact via artifact?”
“No. Even before the alarm, our artifacts weren’t connecting.”
They looked conflicted, radiating indecision.
Unlike modern tis, sprinklers don’t auto-call the fire departnt. They’d found another issue to report, but with Magic Power and artifacts down, running would be too slow. Magic cris need speed—air-based evidence is easily erased.
No problem. I triggered the sprinkler partly to secure evidence.
I opened one of the many glass bottles on the shelf and scooped up the floor’s water. “The air’s Magic Power should’ve dissolved in the water. Analysis will show Magic Power not from us three. Maybe an illegal potion.”
“…!”
The mage took it, exchanging looks with the others.
Another mage said, “Thank you. Can one of you co with us? Warp to Pentalon headquarters outside. We’ll head to the Police Bureau and Investigation Bureau.”
“Yes.”
Yulia strode forward, then grinned at us, clearly thrilled.
Another mage gestured. “You two, please wait outside. We’ll call for backup soon.”
Before I could reply, Yulia and the mage headed downstairs.
I shook water off my coat and hat, stepping out of the supply room.
The sprinkler was still going.
Leo was staring at the floor, soaked, lost in thought.
* * *
“Leo.”
Lucas called from afar.
His voice didn’t register, blending into the background. Water had risen to my shoe heels. Ripples in the dark blue water, overlaid with red light, kept shifting.
“Leonard.”
Lucas, shaking water off his hat and coat, called again.
I knew we needed to leave, but my feet wouldn’t move. Other thoughts consud .
‘…“That stalker’s not planning to show up in person.”’
Yulia said that.
And when I asked what he was doing earlier, Lucas said he’d explain “by tonight.”
If he’s explaining tonight, why not now or before bed? What’s the difference?
Frustrating, but my experience with him gave a guess.
There was a valid reason he couldn’t explain now.
So, Lucas’s unusual behavior and Yulia’s comnt…
‘……’
I fucked up again, like in first year.
How many tis have I done this in front of Lucas?
He didn’t suddenly get close to Yulia behind my back or form so exclusive bond I can’t touch.
If that were true, Bavaria would be out of options, which is why I’ve always kept an eye on Yulia.
Yulia Tsheringen’s ambitious enough to tackle anything to get what she wants. Even without knowing Nicolaus, she saw Lucas’s boundless potential. She knew he’d be a major national influence.
With her keen eye, she never liked or my parents’ advisors. As a kid, she even tried to recruit Bavaria’s retired chancellor as her political ntor.
Knowing Yulia well, I’ve had to compete to keep the empire’s light and shadow from stealing that talent.
If what I saw today was just her playing the rival to catch the stalker—if that’s all it was…
‘Lucas won’t go to the Grand Duchy of Baden. Not yet.’
The natural desire not to lose Bavaria’s fully supported talent to another nation turned into triumph that I still held the edge over Yulia, and relief that Nicolaus remained in Bavaria.
And, separately…
“……”
My earlier panic was utterly shaful.
If I’d prioritized my friend’s safety over Bavaria’s claim, I’d have understood why they acted that way.
Leo stood silently, letting water drip onto his face.
A victory gained by exposing everything isn’t a real victory.
But, regardless of my regret, this was a wake-up call for my complacency.
Nicolaus hasn’t gone to Baden yet, and with today’s lesson, I’ll ensure he doesn’t, as long as his heart stays true.
But just once.
This ti, I want to hear it from him. Beyond state affairs, if Lucas’s will differs from mine, I won’t tie him to Bavaria.
“……”
After moving my lips silently, I stared at the flickering red warning light in the water and said, “You’re not going to Baden, right?”
* * *
“……”
I looked at Leo, standing far off.
Even over the water, I heard him clearly.
He brought up Baden.
Whether soundproofing magic would work against the culprit is unknown—likely not—but it’s better than nothing.
I cast a soundproofing spell and mulled his words.
‘So that’s what I was missing…’
The puzzle’s coming together.
Yulia’s from the Grand Duchy of Baden; Leo’s from the Kingdom of Bavaria.
They’re neighboring nations, and the gap between them is far less than between Anhalt and Bavaria. While not as powerful as Bavaria, Baden’s got sizable territory and strong military.
Yulia and Leo’s temperants and stats are strikingly similar, though their personalities differ.
So, Leo’s always had to view Yulia politically.
Now I’ve got all the answers.
‘This guy.’
Nicolaus is enough.
I get that as a politician, he can’t just be buddy-buddy with friends, but seeing him agonize over securing human resources already makes think he’s got a tiring life.
Of course, national competitiveness hinges on capital, so his drive to not lose a single resource shows he’s got the makings of a great ruler.
That’s Leo’s deal, but I’ll stay close with Yulia Tsheringen too.
Not because she’s Baden’s future grand duchess, but because she’s upright and kind. She doesn’t shine uniquely like Elias or Leo, but her steady glow makes her hard to dislike.
‘If Leo’s approaching politically, I’ll balance it with a human approach.’
Not my style, but still.
Beyond personal ties, if I answer his political question politically…
I layered faint Divine Power, speaking only to him. —“Yeah, I’m not going.”
“……”
—“Why ask the obvious? If I don’t stay in my country, how’s Anhalt supposed to function?”
Leo’s eyes widened.
“…Oh.”
He finally got it.
I nodded, smiling contentedly.
‘Should I slug him once?’
He clearly assud I’d work for Bavaria as Nicolaus forever.
Bavaria’s support’s been 90% of my survival, so if I stay in this world, I’m willing to work for them lifelong—but Anhalt cos first.
Leo let out a light laugh. “…Nice. Solid resolve.”
His breezy reply, as if nothing happened, made ask dryly, “Where’d that brooding scholar go?”
“Huh? Hahaha…”
Leo laughed like he’d lost it.
Is he back or not?
I dragged him out before he looked more like a drowned rat.
All three of us—Yulia included—needed to rewash our clothes, but Leo was worse. Water dripped with every step.
Unfazed, Leo laughed and said, “I’m still floored.”
“Spill.”
“You made that whole romantic vibe just for this?”
“……”
Romantic vibe? So he felt sothing beyond just acting close…
Yulia and my tearful collaboration yielding this stellar result? Satisfying.
As I debated where to start denying, Leo said quietly, “Sorry.”
“For what?”
“If I’d thought deeper about your situation, I wouldn’t have said anything. You were already stressed, and I probably made it harder for you and Yulia. I know you’re not the type to act without reason, but…”
It wasn’t that hard—I just thought he was being a textbook goody-two-shoes. This apology’s so him. I wasn’t even mad, and he’s thinking this.
I smiled, waiting for him to continue.
In the dark, I saw Leo avert his eyes. He stifled a laugh, then tried to look serious. “…The first thing I saw was you and Yulia about to kiss, so I misunderstood.”
“What?”
“I won’t stop you next ti… or maybe I will, but I’ll assu you’ve got a plan. But…”
“……”
What kind of misunderstanding?
I grabbed my forehead.
My vision darkened. Now I fully get why Leo overreacted.
He’d walk in on a mont like that. Yulia’s hat bumped mine off, her hair brushed my forehead. I think she turned her head toward the window too.
Leo stifled another laugh, cleared his throat, and asked, “Really… *cough*… you didn’t actually, right?”
His barely contained laughter showed he found our act absurd.
My head cooled as I replied, “You thought that? What was going through your mind?”
“Honestly, my first thought?”
“Yeah, honestly.”
“These idiots are fooling around at work? Is this a dorm? School? Shit… how’s the team gonna function?”
“……”
“Of course, my second thought was that I know you two aren’t like that.”
He tried to justify, but my focus was on his first statent.
“These idiots are fooling around at work?”
If I’d seen that at work, I’d have smacked them both and kicked them out. Leo grabbing Yulia’s neck to drag her off wasn’t even that extre.
“Didn’t happen, we had no intention, and no plan for it…”
“What? Then why was Yulia’s face so close to yours…”
“Yeah, it was misleading.”
That’s why he sabotaged us so hard.
If romance starts in the team, it’s awkward until graduation—or forever. In a seven-person team, not seventeen, two getting lovey-dovey?
Even if it goes well, it could disrupt missions. If it crashes, it’s worse. Tears all around.
Beyond politics, as team leader, he couldn’t stand that.
I gave a proper response, not my earlier half-hearted one. “Yulia just followed my request perfectly. I asked her to act close, not create that vibe, but to provoke the stalker, just acting close wouldn’t cut it. I’m grateful.”
“Right. I’ll apologize to Yulia later, so don’t worry about and her ssing up the team vibe.”
No need to apologize, really.
If anything, Yulia and I owe him for not cluing him in.
Like Leo said, it’s not a school—it’s practically a temp job. Spending all day touchy-feely with a friend deserves criticism.
But even if I say he doesn’t need to, he’ll apologize for anything he thinks he did wrong.
‘That’s how he’s kept smooth friendships despite his rigid, by-the-book personality.’
If he needs to express sothing, I won’t stop him.
“But why do you keep calling Yulia ‘Tsheringen’? You used to call her Yulia.”
“…Dunno.”
Leo gave a short answer and flashed a small smile.
Even without him saying, I knew it was due to his rivalry with Baden.
‘Childish…’
Friends playing nice. Whether by surna or whatever, I can tell they’re close.
The first floor got noisy fast. Mages who warped out must’ve brought backup.
Maybe realizing the team’s peace was intact, a much softer Leo gestured. “Let’s go.”
* * *
5 p.m.
Unlike the dark, night-like interior, it was still bright outside.
“They should install gas lamps.”
“No, before that, stop potions from being sprayed in the air. The opening ceremony’s this weekend—when are they laying gas pipes?”
“There’s no way.”
Investigators’ bickering drifted through the window.
The outside was packed—mostly investigators and mages. So civilians peeked from across the street, but the situation’s severity kept them out.
‘Should’ve done this sooner.’
Now they’re on alert because it’s serious.
They assud a special ability user from the start, given untraceable notes appearing in real-ti at a checkpoint with ID checks, yet their investigative skills couldn’t catch them.
Yulia and Leo were called out for questioning.
Left alone indoors, I explained to the Investigation Bureau mages at headquarters, changed into spare clothes Narce brought from the dorms since outsiders can’t enter the Wittelsbach estate I use.
“Why am I always borrowing from you guys?”
I chuckled, buttoning up. Narce laughed, patting my coat collar. “Haha, who cares! It’s just for going back to the dorms.”
Yeah, it’s just for the trip back. Can’t I wear anything if I’m going straight to the dorms without detours?
Narce, reading my thoughts, started chuckling.
After changing, the mage recording my statent closed his notebook. “You can go now. You must be shaken, so…”
“Excuse , can you two co back?” an investigator said, barging in without knocking.
We’d been called out like this five tis already.
Narce and I stood.
To check the barrier’s safety, Narce and I were summoned for Divine Power and Magic Power tests. Among all mages here, Eszett mages have the strongest Magic Power, so we were picked.
Elias, Ulrike, or Yulia could test barriers too, but there was no special reason I went and they didn’t. It’s just grunt work, so they grabbed the first people they saw.
‘Just gotta hit the barrier as hard as possible…’
An investigator beside us said gravely, “As you advised, we reinforced the barrier. It won’t crack even under longitudinal shock.”
“Good. Let’s test it.”
—“Bet it’ll crack again.”
Narce used Divine Power to whisper to .
Definitely using Insight. I stifled a laugh, shaking my head.
A breeze hit my face. The mage, excusing himself through the crowd of investigators and imperial mages, led us to the barrier.
He turned to us. “We’ll place them 10 ters apart, set to disperse as gas if broken…”
“Gah!”
Narce yelped, grabbed my shoulder, and pushed back.
Crack—
An egg smashed into another mage’s back nearby.
“What the hell?!”
Where’d an egg co from? Before I could process, sothing flew past my vision. A pop rang in my ear.
“Ow.”
I touched my temple, wincing.
Sothing slimy dripped onto my shoulder.
The mage and Narce gasped silently. Narce brushed it off and wiped my face.
He pulled my fallen hat up with Magic Power.
“……”
While I stayed silent, nearby mages backed away from and the other egged mage.
“What’s that?”
“Weren’t only imperial folks here?”
“What…!”
An investigator, catching on, blew a whistle, swapped his wand for a staff, and slamd it down. Tapping his fixed comms artifact, he barked to his subordinate, “Seal the entire stadium branch now! Restrict warps and track anyone who’s already warped.”
[What?!]
“The culprit’s here. Screen everyone inside. I’ll divide zones—move fast!”
As he ordered the lockdown, other investigators and friends ran to .
I looked up. The translucent barrier, dyed red for testing, shimred at the edge.
‘Screen everyone, huh.’
What a joke.
They’ll never catch the culprit before I do.
Leo, running over with Yulia, forgot to act distant and asked, “You okay?!”
“……”
Not the ti to answer.
I watched the egg residue on the ground morph into pink notes. The eggs must’ve been enchanted.
I grabbed a handful and read them.
[Sprinkler! I have 200 Anhalt Tis issues with you, but five are so worn their Magic Power’s gone. Seeing in person what I only read in papers? Should’ve recorded it.]
[ant to make you feel the oxygen vanish with every breath, but I was too careless.]
[Random thought—wanna go to the opera?]
[You’re so aware of , it’s thrilling. But there’s a line—making *that* mad’s not cool…]
[I’m gonna watch you for a long ti. Trying to draw out like this? I almost showed up. If I did, I’d be locked up, never seeing your face again. I nearly fell for that dumb move. Know how pissed I am?]
[Top 1% of the top 1% thinks differently, huh? Watched all your exam videos. Great thod!]
‘Talking big when they don’t even know how much they’ve exposed.’
Almost fell for it?
They didn’t almost—they already acted, giving info.
I chuckled, letting the notes slip from my hand.
Leo, startled, then calmly asked, “Why’re you laughing? Not the ti.”
“My hypothesis was right.”
Narce replied flatly.
“What hypothesis? About the culprit’s identity?”
“No, later.”
Narce cut off Leo’s question.
He knew it absolutely couldn’t be said aloud.
I nodded. “Can’t say. Don’t know who’s listening. But…”
Looking at the sky, I continued, “We’ll settle this before Pentalon ends. I’ll explain soon. For now, we should make a code for talking.”
Leo, frustrated, cast a soundproofing spell. “Code? Go rest. You don’t need to explain. I’ll follow your lead, no questions.”
“What? You sure you’re Leo?”
I laughed lightly, staring at the sticky residue on my hand.
Leo, who always nitpicked my plans for being too risky or unrealistic, saying this now feels fresh. Sha I can’t purely admire his change with my head full of the culprit.
All the possibilities and thoughts are making my vision shake.
Anyway…
I was gonna head back to the estate, but now I’ve changed my mind.
“Narce.”
“Yeah, what?”
“Take to school?”
I smiled, holding out my hand.
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