Chapter 19
Chapter 19
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Lord First
>Chapter: 19
>Chapter Title: The First Day of School, a Status Window Opened (3)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
*
“Senior, really, we can’t be seen together like this. The orphanage is a good spot. The orphanage. We should meet there. Do you think I became a regular donor to your orphanage for no reason?”
“It’s urgent.”
“Hmph… Knowing your personality, it must be urgent for you to come here like this. But why’d you have to beat up the kids? Seriously. You could have just passed on the message.”
Dmitry grumbled as he led Ivan to a nearby cafe.
The second floor of the cafe near the university was bustling with countless citizens waiting for the entrance ceremony to end.
Of course, that was just how it looked.
The moment Dmitry led Ivan up the stairs to the second floor, the noisy cafe fell silent.
“Ah, everyone, carry on. Act normal.”
With a wave of Dmitry’s hand, the agents filling the cafe returned to their roles as citizens. Only one table in the very center, cleverly hidden from view of both the window and the stairs, remained empty.
“Have a seat. Ha, this was a prime spot, but I guess we can’t use it anymore. Do you have any idea how hard it is to set up a safe house in the middle of Fritsenkaya?”
“My apologies.”
“It’s fine. So, what did you bring?”
Dmitry smiled and opened his hand. Ivan pulled three small explosives from his coat.
In an instant, the expression vanished from Dmitry’s face. The moment Ivan saw his hand slide smoothly into his sleeve, he spoke.
“I removed the fuzes.”
“You should have said that first! Jeez, you scared the life out of me!”
“If you’re going to be so suspicious, you shouldn’t have hired me in the first place.”
“What’s with the hurt feelings? My job requires me to suspect even my own parents.”
Dmitry shrugged and examined the explosives. After turning them over for a while, a deep smile spread across his face.
“Interesting. Inside Saint Yansk University?”
“Yes. An expert.”
“I can tell. Three of them. Judging by the mana, it doesn't seem like they were for demolishing a building or assassinating a VIP. This looks like a diversion, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. There was likely a separate infiltration team.”
“We didn’t miss anyone on our end. It's definitely not the prince's faction. We've got them tagged so tightly.”
Dmitry grinned and clapped his hands.
Soon, an agent disguised as an ordinary middle-aged woman approached.
“Send this to the Magic Division at headquarters.”
“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel.”
“And the item? Is it ready?”
“Yes.”
She took a thick bundle of documents from her shopping basket. Dmitry accepted the papers, gave them a quick scan, and then pushed them toward Ivan.
“What you asked for, Senior. I really broke a sweat getting this ready on such short notice. If His Excellency wasn't so serious about supporting you, phew.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Ah, His Excellency said he wants to see you sometime. Are you free?”
“It will be difficult for the time being.”
Ivan took the documents and stood up.
As he turned to leave with the papers tucked away, a voice called out from behind him.
“Senior.”
“Mm.”
“Your eyes have gone a little wild. You know that?”
“…”
When he looked back, Dmitry was staring up at him with a serious expression.
His sharp eyes, shadowed beneath his hat, were fixed squarely on him.
“Calm down. This isn’t a battlefield.”
“…Mm.”
“Well. It's a bit much for me to say this, seeing as I'm the one who dragged a retired man back to work. But relax your shoulders a bit, look around you. Neither Her Highness the Princess nor I expect you to be perfect, you know.”
Ivan gave a slight nod without a word and turned to leave.
Dmitry chuckled and tilted his head.
“This is why people need to date. Cooped up all the time, not getting any sun… it makes you so gloomy. Right?”
“Lieutenant Colonel Petrovich… So that’s ‘Little’ Ivan. His reputation is well-earned. Incredible.”
“I nearly pissed myself the first time I saw him too. How can a man who's been out of action for four years be like that? Anyway.”
Dmitry tapped the table and continued.
“Put a tail on him. Don’t leave our senior alone.”
“Should we stop him if he crosses the line?”
“What are you talking about? You wanna die? Just report. And watch him from a long, long way off.”
Well, how far over the line could he possibly go?
I don't know why he's so angry, but I guess he's going to personally hunt down the agent who planted the explosives.
At most, he'll just scare a few students. Is there any need to provoke an angry 'Ivan' for no reason?
While Dmitry was thinking this,
Ivan was taking an axe and a healing potion from the director's office.
*
I can't tell anyone.
The story that this world might, in fact, be nothing more than some kind of game, run by an elaborate system.
So. I have to do it myself.
Ivan truly believed this as he spread the report he'd received from Dmitry across the table.
-Staff Roster.
>-List of New Students.
>-Personal Information of the Entire Undergraduate Body.
About 300 new students had enrolled this year. Since Saint Yansk University was a three-year institution, the total number of undergraduates was close to a thousand.
Then there were the staff members, including professors, teaching assistants, security, administrative staff, and the admissions office.
And if you included the poor undergraduates who went on to graduate school and those who had delayed graduation for reasons such as a leave of absence…
Total, 1,733 people.
“And one more thing.”
I had to look into the students’ ‘families’ who had permission to attend the entrance ceremony.
Anyone with a plausible reason to be on the university grounds on the day of the ceremony could be included in the pool of suspects.
In other words, if you considered the dignitaries from various countries and the families of each student… total, 2,429 people.
“I know you're in here.”
Ivan tapped the piles of documents, sorted by category, with a heavy thud, thud.
“I won't assume it will be easy to find you.”
Arrogance is the sharpest dagger that kills an agent.
“But it won't take long. I promise you that.”
Transmigrators in an academy setting can never live a quiet school life.
This is ‘common sense’.
They'll fend off attacks, monopolize fortuitous encounters, and acquire secret techniques from somewhere.
Academy stories basically follow a standard wish-fulfillment template. They have to. Who would enjoy a story about someone just attending school normally and graduating?
Therefore, if this person knows the [original story]...
They will undoubtedly mimic the actions of the original protagonist. All transmigrators live that way.
Even Kim Seon-woo's first thoughts upon transmigrating were 'monopolizing fortuitous encounters' and 'spreading modern culture'.
Thus, all transmigrators are terribly selfish, full of variables, and it would be no surprise if they did something completely unpredictable.
After the fierce war that the NPCs fought was over, they probably wanted to enroll in the 'academy' with a light heart and enjoy a fun game transmigration story.
They wouldn't want to know or understand the countless lives that are just lines of text in the background setting.
It would just be fun for them. Like enjoying a well-made theme park.
I have already come to terms with the fact that this is just me venting, a baseless hatred, perhaps even a form of base jealousy.
-What's that, Santa Claus?
It was just a casual remark, but that one line made it clear how this person treats others.
Not even trying to hide their transmigration, just enjoying themself. That one remark threw Ivan's heart into turmoil.
That one remark, as if they saw others as mere 'objects'.
-Lieutenant Colonel! Did you see that? Wow, I was freaking awesome, right? He was one of the Seven Dragon Generals, but I held him off.
>-Don't talk.
>-Ahaha, I feel like I could do it again if I had to. It's a shame, though. I keep thinking I should've angled my shield a bit more to the right.
>-Cherenovika. Don't open your mouth.
>-If I had, maybe I could have saved Sasha, that idiot. I really regret it, Lieutenant Colonel. I really do.
>-We're almost there. We're almost there. Just a little longer, hold on just a little longer.
>-I'll just get a punch from Sasha when I see him. But at least we won't be lonely. We've done a good job networking in both heaven and hell, right?
>-Please. Be quiet. You'll lose blood faster. Cherenovika. Please.
-You live a long life, Lieutenant Colonel. Come as late as you can. If you come early, I'll commit insubordination.
Their stories are not background setting.
Ivan was having a nightmare amidst the scattered papers.
It was a memory from a long, long time ago.
-Do not mourn those who have gone before.
>-For I, too, stand in the same ranks as they.
Their stories are not background setting.
-We survived in place of the finest men of this age.
>-We all did.
Their history is not some scenario.
>It must not be.
In his nightmare, Ivan slowly muttered. As he heard Kim Seon-woo's voice patting his back.
-Kimchi-jjigae, tteokbokki, nachos with cheese, jeyuk-bokkeum, hoe-deopbap, Sokcho mulhoe, a warm bowl of ramyeon.
>-Hometown, home, Korea, Seoul, rooftop apartment, parents.
>-Subway station, convenience store, night streets, hometown, I have to go back. Steel my heart, don't waver, look straight ahead.
>-It's okay. We're not alone.
Reciting a jumble of things to calm his mind.
Until the night ended.
*
After the semester began, Esidis found herself in quite a predicament.
No one wanted to eat with her. In a school where nobles from all over the world gathered, the title of 'royalty' was not, of course, a reason to be ostracized.
However, seeing the 'royal' bodyguard (middle-aged man, a mountain of muscle, holding an axe) constantly glaring with wide eyes was, it must be said, quite a burden for young students barely in their twenties.
“Uncle, you've completely ruined my life!!”
“Is that my fault? Shouldn't the problem be with the pests trying to hit on my niece?”
“Then why are you blocking the girls too!”
“Because this uncle has already heard those little wenches badmouthing my niece behind her back.”
“Uwaaaaaah… My college life… my life… Dad… I hate you…!”
The strongest music student in history, who became an outcast on her first day of school, ran off sobbing.