Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Sprinkler Counterattack
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First, before jumping to any hypotheses, let's judge this.
‘They’re determined to send us off all at once.’
Not bad, but given the guy’s attitude toward taking out Pentalon too, it’s too hasty. It’s the kind of thing that could just stir up unnecessary suspicion.
So, it’s better to see this as a warning to us.
‘Cut it out, something like that.’
Because they’re pissed?
If they’re pissed, I should be grateful. After all, they’re making this blunder.
I immediately snapped my fingers.
My heart lurched belatedly, and I thought oh no, but I didn’t teleport. I stayed right there.
I could feel Am顺応 Chelinggen and Leo looking at me in confusion.
They caught on to the situation and swung their wands, but no light sparked.
“The mana’s not coming out. They must’ve tampered with the air, knocking out the mana lamps too.”
Leo reported curtly, then tapped his artifact.
Chelinggen and I reflexively brought our hands to our ears. But all we got was a connection tone.
“Connection’s cut too. …That stalker has no intention of showing up in front of us directly.”
Chelinggen muttered in a dry voice.
It was easy to overlook, but Leo didn’t miss it and lifted his head.
“…What?”
It wasn’t the time to answer Leo’s question.
Chelinggen was right.
That guy had no plans to appear before me.
I let out a small chuckle, and their gazes turned to me.
‘Haha….’
Yeah. I got careless.
Did I judge the guy too simplistically?
I thought prodding him would draw him out, but he’s got some sense after all.
If he wants to play with me for a long time, retaliating like this is rational.
The blueprint of the game he’s designed started forming in my mind.
Nark said someone was targeting both me and Pentalon at the same time.
That someone is the person who just locked the door.
His current goal is clearly me, so this game is structured to gradually place me right in his palm.
In the end, the finale of the game he designed has to be when I’m in a situation where I can’t turn to the police or my friends, where I can’t avoid him, and that’s when I face him.
Right now, I’m standing at the entrance of that board.
Pentalon’s safety is at stake in this game too. What a brilliant idea, trying to catch two rabbits at once.
‘Then I should play along.’
Let’s see just how meticulously he’s set up the board.
Revealing my true colors after entering enemy territory is my specialty.
Haven’t I always done that up until now?
Of course, I have no intention of letting him have his way until we get there. Just like with Abraham, I’ll advance while burning down the board the enemy so carefully prepared.
This might look like simple petty revenge out of annoyance right now, but I’ll give my all even to these seemingly trivial attacks.
Leo’s voice came.
“Let’s get out first. We’ve been through this before. Mana doesn’t work in this air, but…”
Leo snapped his fingers with force. A pale sky-blue light burst in the darkness, and he staggered. His face paled immediately.
“If you push past the limit and draw out mana, you can use a bit of magic. The downsides are you can’t use it much, and you have to exceed the limit, so recovery is essential. But for one warp, it should be possible.”
“Warp and then what.”
“Let one person out to get help.”
“No.”
Leo looked at me blankly at my words.
“Of course it’s a good idea. But is there any need to strain your core and damage your health? You’d know from the report, but using magic in a place like this wrecks your whole body. You have to pour hundreds of thousands of pels into medicine just to barely get back to normal.”
“You saying that’s something you should….”
Should say? It’s not like I haven’t gotten billions in free treatment at Wittelsbach, but what can you do?
Before he could bring up other identities and lose his mind, I continued.
“There’s a way to show people the severity of the situation without harming our life force.”
“The severity of the situation?”
I nodded at Chelinggen’s question.
“Think back to Nark’s prophecy. It’s been days since the Investigation Bureau started looking into this case, but who sees it as a threat reaching Pentalon? On closer inspection, it’s a highly suspicious ability user committing a highly suspicious crime, but the managers and investigators treat it like just a few threatening letters.”
Of course, they responded seriously, but did that seriousness lead to the right handling for the issue? …Not at all.
“If we walk out looking fine and report ‘someone sprayed air that suppresses mana in a sealed room,’ it won’t be enough. Plus, saying ‘you can still escape by pressuring the core’ would make the severity clear even if it’s significant, but it’s hard for it to fully sink in. No matter how objective people try to be, they focus on visible damage.”
“…….”
“And if, while we’re escaping like that, the culprit stops supplying the mana-suppressing air and drains it to destroy evidence?”
“…So.”
Leo asked with a grim face.
What’s there to ask. Looking at his face in the darkness, I said.
“You know there’s a way to let more people know, stimulate more people’s senses, and trap the mana in the air so it can’t be destroyed.”
“…No way….”
Leo pressed his forehead like he’d heard something he shouldn’t.
Yeah, he gets it. Fortunately, no one needs to evacuate the building this time.
Chelinggen looked back and forth between me and him.
“What? I’m curious about the plan.”
I rummaged through the spot with the standard supplies I’d checked earlier.
This place had mana lamps, but since they weren’t universal yet, getting necessities from the supply room wasn’t hard.
Scraaape—! Whoosh—
Meaning, starting a fire was easy.
I scraped matches hard against the striking surface, and flames ignited. Like before, scraping four or five at once made the fire grow quickly.
“Huh…?!”
Chelinggen let out a hollow laugh.
I grabbed another five and scraped them hard against another matchbox’s striker. I held ten lit matches in one hand. The flames licking up to the wooden parts heated my hand. I climbed the ladder Leo had set up in one go and brought the fire to the sprinkler’s solder joint. I could see it scorching.
‘Like before.’
One, two, three….
Four.
Pop— Shwaaaaa—
Five.
With the sound of something blocked flowing downward, cold water sprayed from above in all directions.
The smell of water and match sulfur lingered at my nose.
‘Ah, perfect.’
Beeeeeeep— Whiiiiiirrr—
A massive alarm blared, big enough to make my heart pound. Red lights flashed through the door crack. The water wouldn’t stop pouring to the floor until someone turned it off from outside.
I grabbed Leo’s outstretched hand and got down.
Shwaaaaa—
[Fire has broken out. Citizens, please follow safety personnel and move quickly to emergency exits. Fire has broken out. Citizens, please…]
Stepping on the flooded floor, I looked at the dim door and said.
“Now they’ll come. The Investigation Bureau will get their act together a bit more, and that guy… his range of action will be restricted now.”
If heightened security keeps him from approaching me anymore?
That’s half my goal achieved already. Good.
Conversely, if security tightens but he’s still not restricted?
That gives good material for inference too.
Turning someone else’s trap into my own is always fun. Once trapped in my plan, every breath he takes will only lend weight to one of my hypotheses.
At my relieved words mixed with laughter, Chelinggen stared blankly before bursting out laughing.
“Hahaha!”
“What?”
“Seriously, what is this…”
Chelinggen stood up. Amid the alien alert sounds, white text appeared before my eyes.
Ding—!
Affinity +1
Chelinggen was already right in front of me.
He whispered at a volume indistinguishable from the water.
“Lucas.”
“Yeah.”
“…You’re really the best.”
I’d heard it before.
Even in the dark, I could feel joy and thrill on his face.
He hadn’t given affinity while I was acting all this time, but now he does.
‘Likes ideas that’d get you a fine, huh….’
It wasn’t new to me since I’d done it before, but since he hadn’t joined the magic potion contest, it felt fresh to him.
First time seeing someone raise affinity for popping a sprinkler.
For some reason, feeling like I should retract my hopes for Chelinggen, I smiled.
Bang—!
Someone flung the door open.
I squinted at the doorway with red light pouring in.
Three people stared at us in shock.
“This is the place!”
“Someone locked the door from outside! Did you know? More than that, fire?”
“None.”
“Yes?”
“Couldn’t use magic to get out because someone made it impossible.”
The mage snapped his fingers with a puzzled face. No reaction, and his face went white.
“Huh? Warp works?”
“You used mana outside the building, so it does. Not in here.”
“It’s real. Should’ve brought an oxygen spray…”
“Can’t contact via artifact?”
“Yeah. We couldn’t even reach each other via artifacts before the alarm, so we were checking.”
They looked conflicted, unable to act.
Unlike modern times, popping sprinklers doesn’t auto-call firefighters, but now they’ve found another issue to report immediately, yet mana and artifacts are down, and running there would be too slow. Mana crimes hinge on speed, since evidence destruction via air is easy.
But no problem. I popped the sprinkler for evidence preservation too.
I opened one of the many glass bottles on the shelf and scooped up floor water.
“The air’s mana has dissolved in the water. Analyze it, and you’ll find mana not from us three. Might even be illegal magic potion.”
“…!”
The mage took it and exchanged looks with the others.
Another mage said to us.
“Thanks. Can one of you come with us? Warp to Pentalon HQ outside. We’ll go to Police and Investigation Bureau.”
“Sure.”
Chelinggen strode out. Then he smiled at us. His face plainly showed he’d had a blast.
Another mage beckoned us.
“You two, come out and wait. We’ll contact Police for backup right away.”
Before we could reply, the mage and Chelinggen headed to the first floor.
I shook water off my coat and hat and exited the supply room.
The sprinkler was still going.
Leo, lost in thought, stood blankly getting drenched, staring at the floor.
* * *
“Leo.”
Lucas called me from afar.
His words slid past my head like background noise. The floor water had risen to my shoe heel height. Ripples in the dark blue water overlaid with flashing red light kept changing shape.
“Leonard.”
Lucas shook water from his hat and coat, then called me again.
I knew we needed to get out, but my feet wouldn’t move an inch. Other thoughts gripped my mind.
‘…‘That stalker has no intention of showing up directly in front of us,’ she said.’
Yulia said that.
And when I asked what the hell he was doing earlier, Lucas said he’d explain ‘by tonight.’
If he’s explaining tonight, what’s the difference between now or bedtime?
It was frustrating, but from experience with him so far, I could guess.
It meant there was a valid reason he couldn’t explain right now.
So, Lucas’s unusual attitude and Yulia’s words…
‘…….’
I’d done something stupid again, like back in first year.
How many times has this been in front of Lucas.
So, him getting close to Yulia without me knowing, forming the one relationship in the world I couldn’t wedge into, wasn’t it.
If that were the case, Bayern would have no way to intervene, which is why I’d always kept tabs on Yulia.
Yulia Chelinggen was someone with ambition to challenge anything for what he wanted. Even without knowing Nikolaus, he saw only Lucas and recognized his boundless potential. That he was someone who could hugely influence a nation.
With his sharp eye for people, he never liked me or my parents’ staff, and as a kid, he even tried to recruit Bayern’s retired chancellor as his political mentor.
So, knowing Yulia Chelinggen well, from that moment, I had no choice but to compete to keep the talent both the empire’s light and shadows wanted.
If everything I saw today was just acting as a criminal’s love rival to catch the stalker, if that was really all…
‘Lucas going over to Grand Duchy of Baden isn’t happening yet.’
The natural desire not to let a talent Bayern fully backed go to another country turned into a sense of victory that I still held the edge over Yulia, and relief that Nikolaus remained in Bayern.
And, separately…
“…….”
The impatience I showed earlier was downright embarrassing to watch.
If I’d thought more deeply about his safety as a friend rather than Bayern’s claim, I could’ve understood why they acted that way.
Leo stood silent, letting water hit his face.
A victory revealing all my cards isn’t a true victory.
However, regardless of my regrets, this incident was a good wake-up to my complacency.
Nikolaus hadn’t gone to Baden yet, and using today’s lesson as a springboard, as long as his heart doesn’t change, I’ll keep him from going.
But first, just once.
This time, I want the answer from him directly. Beyond national affairs, if Lucas’s will differs from mine, I have no intention of binding him to Bayern.
“…….”
After mumbling to myself for a while, staring at the rippling red warning light in the floor water, I said.
“You’re not going to Baden, right.”
* * *
“…….”
I looked at Leo standing far away.
I could hear him clearly even over the water.
He brought up Baden.
Whether the soundproof magic works on the culprit now is unknown, and it probably doesn’t, but better than nothing.
I cast soundproof magic and pondered his words deeply.
‘I wondered if there was some reason I didn’t know…’
Now the puzzle fits.
Chelinggen is from Grand Duchy of Baden, Leo from Kingdom of Bayern.
Neighboring countries, and the gap between them is far smaller than between Anhalt and Bayern. Baden isn’t as strong as Bayern, but it’s a large territory with good military.
Plus, Chelinggen and Leo are astonishingly similar in disposition and abilities. Personalities differ a bit.
So, Leo could only interpret Chelinggen politically.
Now all the answers are out.
‘Damn kid.’
Nikolaus sticking around is enough.
I know politicians can’t hang with friends like normal, but seeing him agonize over talent poaching already feels exhausting.
Of course, national power rests on capital, so not missing even one talent shows excellent monarch qualities.
But that’s Leo’s situation. I’ll get along with Yulia Chelinggen too.
Not because he’s future Grand Duke of Baden, but because he’s upright and kind humanly. No unique shine like Elias or Leo, but always quietly glowing, hard to hate.
‘If Leo approaches politically, I need to balance with a personal approach too.’
Not my style.
But beyond personal ties, answering his political question politically…
I spread faint divine power so only he could hear.
—“Yeah. I’m not going.”
“…….”
—“Don’t know why you’re asking the obvious. How’s Anhalt supposed to run if I don’t stay in my country?”
Leo looked at me with wide eyes.
“…Ah.”
He finally got it.
I smiled contentedly and nodded.
‘Should I smack him once?’
He’d assumed I’d work as Nikolaus in Bayern my whole life.
Of course, the kingdom’s support contributed about 90% to my survival, so if I stay in this world, I intend to work for Bayern lifelong, but basically Anhalt first.
Leo let out a light laugh.
“…Good, that’s a fine resolve.”
His breezy reply like nothing happened left me nonplussed, and I asked.
“Where’d that crazy teacher self from earlier go?”
“Huh? Hahaha…”
Leo laughed like he’d lost it.
Is this back or not.
Before he turned into a drowned rat, I dragged him outside.
Now all three of us, including Chelinggen, needed laundry, but he was worst. Water dripped with every step.
Leo, unconcerned, laughed and said.
“I still can’t believe it.”
“Spit it out.”
“You created that lovey-dovey atmosphere all day just for this?”
“…….”
Lovey-dovey atmosphere? He felt more than just buddy acting too…
Our blood-sweat teamwork yielded this perfect result. Satisfying.
As I pondered where to deny first, Leo murmured lowly beside me.
“Sorry.”
“For what?”
“If I’d thought deeper about your situation, I wouldn’t have said anything. You were already troubled, and I made it harder for you and Chelinggen. I know you’re not the type to do that without reason, but…”
Not that hard, just thought it was model student-like. This apology fits him too. Wasn’t mad, but he thinks that way.
I smiled and waited for him to continue.
In the dark, I saw Leo avert his eyes. He held back a laugh briefly, then tried for a serious face.
“…The first thing I saw was you and Chelinggen right before kissing, so I misunderstood.”
“What?”
“Next time something like this happens, I won’t… well, not sure if I can stop you, but I’ll think you have a plan. But…”
“…….”
How deep was the misunderstanding?
I clutched my forehead.
Vision darkening. Now I fully got why Leo overreacted.
He would’ve seen it that way. Yulia’s hat touching mine as it fell, his hair brushing my forehead when he came in. Chelinggen might’ve turned his head while facing the window.
He held back a laugh, cleared his throat, and asked.
“Really… ahem… you didn’t, right.”
His constant smirking suggested even he found our actions ridiculous.
Feeling my head cool, I replied.
“You thought that? What were you thinking then?”
“Honestly, first impression?”
“Yeah. Honestly.”
“‘What the hell are these idiots doing in the workplace? This a dorm? School? Ah… team life’s doomed.’”
“…….”
“Of course, second thought was different. Like, you guys I know wouldn’t do this.”
He made excuses, but I focused on his first statement.
‘Idiots messing around at work’ yeah.
If I saw this at work, I’d beat and kick them out too. Grabbing Chelinggen’s nape wasn’t extreme.
“We’ve never done it, have no intention, no plans…”
“What? Then why’d Chelinggen bring his face to yours…”
“Yeah, understandable misunderstanding.”
That’s why he interfered so desperately.
Team romance starts, minimum awkward till graduation, maximum lifelong. In a 7-person team, not 17, two dating?
Even if fine, worry about missions; breakup’s disaster. Tears in many ways.
Politics aside, as leader, couldn’t allow it.
Instead of my earlier limp reply, I gave a proper answer.
“Yulia just fulfilled my request perfectly. I asked to act close, not create atmosphere, but simple closeness wouldn’t provoke the stalker. I’m grateful.”
“Right. I’ll apologize to Chelinggen later too, so don’t worry about team mood from me and him.”
No, seems unnecessary.
Rather, Chelinggen and I should apologize for not telling him first.
Like Leo said, not school but temp workplace, skinshipping with friend all day deserves criticism.
But he’ll apologize if he thinks he’s wrong, even if I say no need.
‘That’s how he’s kept smooth relations with that inflexible FM personality.’
Better not stop clear expressions.
“But why do you keep calling Yulia ‘Chelinggen’? You used to call him Yulia fine.”
“…Dunno.”
Leo replied shortly and smiled at me.
Even without words, it was the nerve war with Baden.
‘Childish….’
Friends getting along. Castle name or whatever, shows they’re close.
First floor bustled soon. Mages who warped out brought backup.
Maybe knowing team peace held, Leo much softer now beckoned me.
“Let’s go.”
* * *
5 PM.
Unlike the fire-darkened inside like night, outside was still bright.
“We need to install gas lamps.”
“No, block magic potion spraying in air first. Opening ceremony this weekend, when to lay gas lines.”
“No way around it.”
Investigators bickering drifted through the window.
Crowds already outside.
Mostly investigators and mages. Civilians peeped from across street but couldn’t enter given severity.
‘Should’ve been like this ages ago.’
Only tightening security now that it’s serious.
They couldn’t catch anonymous notes appearing real-time despite ID checks at main stadium, presupposing special ability user.
Yulia and Leo called out for questioning.
Left alone inside, I explained to bureau mages stationed at HQ, got spare dorm clothes, changed.
“Why do I always borrow from you guys.”
I chuckled hollowly, buttoning up. Wittelsbach mansion I use couldn’t admit outsiders, so Nark lent clothes.
“Haha~ Whatever! Just for going home.”
Nark laughed, patting my coat collar.
Yeah. Just for dorm trips, wonder if any would do. Straight to lodging, no leaks.
He started chuckling softly, knowing my thought.
Back after changing, the recording mage closed his notebook.
“You can go now. Must’ve been shocked, rest up…”
“Hey, can you two come back?”
An investigator opened door without knock.
Fifth time like this probably.
Nark and I stood.
Needed to check barrier safety for stadium, so Nark and I called for divine/mana tests. Among mages here, Eschet mages strongest, close why we went.
Elias, Ulrike, Yulia strong enough for barrier test, but no special reason me over them. Just picked first visible for simple labor.
‘Just hit barrier full force….’
Investigator beside said solemnly.
“Reinforced barrier as you said. Won’t crack even direct livestock hit now.”
“Good. Let’s test.”
—“It’ll crack again.”
Nark said via divine power, just for me.
Must’ve used insight. I held laugh, shook head.
Outside breeze hit face soon. Mage parted crowds of investigators and imperial mages, heading to barrier.
Mage turned to us.
“One by one, 10m apart, set to disperse airborne if breaks…”
“Hey!”
Then Nark yelped shocked, grabbed my shoulder, shoved me back.
Splat—
Raw egg hit another mage’s back nearby.
“What?!”
Sudden egg here? Before panic, something flew into peripheral vision. Pop by ear.
“Ah.”
Pain, I touched temple.
Something slimy dripped to shoulder.
Mage and Nark gasped silently. Nark brushed it off, wiped my face with hand.
He magicked my fallen hat from floor.
“…….”
While I silent, surrounding mages backed from me and egg-hit mage.
“What?”
“Not just imperials here now?”
“What…!”
Investigator blew whistle, swapped wand to staff, slammed ground. Tapped fixed comm artifact to subordinate.
“Seal stadium branch now! Warp block, trace mana for who warped out.”
[Yes?!]
“Perp appeared. Inspect everyone inside one by one. Process quick while I divide zones!”
As he ordered lockdown fast, other investigators and friends ran to me.
I looked skyward. Red-tinted translucent barrier edge for test visible.
‘Inspect one by one.’
Ridiculous.
They won’t catch perp till I do.
Leo ran up with soulless face alongside Yulia, forgetting to act distant.
“You okay?!”
“…….”
Not time to answer.
I watched raw egg remnants on floor morph into pink note pile. Egg enchanted clearly.
I grabbed handful, read one by one.
[Sprinkler! Got 200 of that Anhalt Daily you came out in, but five circulated too much, mana depleted. Thought read as newspaper, but you let me see live. Should’ve filmed.]
[Locked you so feel oxygen vanish each breath, but I was too lax.]
[Sudden thought: opera?]
[Glad you’re so aware of me. But people have limits, provoking anger like that no good…]
[I wanna see you long-term, but trying call me out like that. Almost appeared before you. Would’ve jailed, never see face lifelong. Almost really did stupid method. See how mad I am?]
[Top 1% no.1 thinks different. Right? Saw all exam vids. Great method!]
‘Strutting without knowing how exposed.’
Almost really did?
Not almost—he acted, giving me info.
I chuckled softly, dropped notes.
Leo flustered briefly, then calmly asked seeing my face.
“…Why laugh. Not laughing time.”
“Hypothesis confirmed.”
Nark replied expressionless.
“What hypothesis. About perp’s identity?”
“No, later.”
Leo’s question cut by Nark quick.
Nark knew too not to voice.
I nodded, replied.
“Can’t say. Might be listening. Instead…”
Looked sky again, continued.
“Will solve before Pentalon ends. Tell soon. More than that, we need code for talking.”
Leo frustrated, cast soundproof, replied.
“Code now? Go rest. No need explain. I’ll follow your lead without.”
“What. You Leo?”
I laughed lightly, stared at sticky remnants on hand.
Leo always nitpicking plan risks, realism, now this felt new. Too full of perp thoughts to purely admire his change, regrettable.
Vision shaky from possibilities.
Anyway…
Meant to go straight mansion earlier, but mind changed.
“Nark.”
“Yeah.”
“Take me to school?”
I smiled, offered hand.