30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue - Chapter 28

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 28: A Night of Counting Stars (2)

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* * *

Eugene was desperate. He kept talking, trying to prove his usefulness.

“What about that one?”

“Lily Downer. Second-year Knight Department student! Level 32. Completely average, big bro!”

“Then that one.”

“Who? Ah, the black-haired one beside her? Marie Philipson, also a second-year Knight Department student! Level 29. I guess she isn't very good at studying!”

Ivan looked at Eugene with renewed interest.

To find the transmigrator, Ivan had once gone through the profiles of every undergraduate at Saint Yansk University. He could not remember every detail, but his long service in the Annihilation Unit had made him good at memorizing personal information.

He had now realized that this kid's accuracy rate was close to one hundred percent.

‘A walking profile page...?’

Ivan and Eugene were walking across campus. With the semester in full swing, the university grounds were crowded with students.

There were plenty of test subjects, so Ivan was able to examine Eugene's Status Window more closely.

‘It organizes the things he can perceive.’

The kid was like a database with access restrictions.

It showed information Eugene could know and access at this point in time, such as a person's level, name, and position.

To learn more detailed information, he needed an “understanding” of the target. The closer he became to someone, the more detailed a profile he could obtain.

In other words, this kid was...

‘He was born for intelligence work, wasn't he?’

His background was excellent. A clergyman from a ducal family. He could go to any country within the Allied Kingdoms without raising suspicion.

It would be even easier if the only requirement for accessing someone's high-level information was “closeness.” He would not even need to conduct intelligence operations. Simply entering high society would let him gather information.

There was another way to use this Status Window with its information access restrictions.

Eugene could not perceive information he had no access to.

Put another way...

Information Eugene could not perceive belonged to targets ordinary students could not identify. How many people could a duke's son fail to identify at Saint Yansk University?

Which meant this kid was...

‘Specialized in rooting out spies, at least within the school.’

After figuring that out, Ivan took Eugene around and searched the entire university. As a result, he learned that around seven people had names different from those on their admission papers.

“Their levels are either too high or I can't see them, their names are different, and I can't see their positions at all.”

“Good.”

Ivan walked on as he considered it. There were fewer than expected.

There were three main groups likely to plant personnel at Saint Yansk University.

The Crown Prince faction, spies from nations friendly to the Allied Kingdoms, and demonfolk.

All three groups would have infiltrated the school for their own purposes, so seven exposed agents was by no means a large number. The Allied Kingdoms alone consisted of ten countries.

‘They planted agents among the ordinary students too.’

Some might have been raised as agents from childhood, while others might have been planted without even realizing they themselves were government agents.

Setting aside a few countries...

‘The ones with levels that are too high are likely collaborators with the demonfolk.’

The core members of the Crown Prince faction classified as powerful were already under surveillance by the Counterintelligence Command.

Considering Princess Elizaveta's competence, the Crown Prince faction could never secretly raise powerful fighters.

“Um... boss. But her real name is Yuri. Yuri Frank.”

“That isn't a problem. Didn't you say my name shows up as Ivan too?”

“Ah, right. Then how are we supposed to find out?”

“Persuasion.”

Ivan nodded and headed toward the courtyard.

Three female students were eating sandwiches on a bench beneath a row of trees.

“Oh, mister!”

“Eek!!”

The two students' opposing reactions only deepened Ivan's suspicions.

There was a good chance she was not a transmigrator. Suspecting someone over nothing but their name was mere speculation.

Still, that student's reaction was clearly suspicious.

Ivan had once been a thoroughly trained agent, and he was very good at looking ordinary.

In other words, being frightened by a harmless, ordinary-looking gardener was suspicious no matter how one looked at it.

“Isabelle, have you been well?”

“Hahaha, has it really been that long? Our first class was only the other day!”

“Mm.”

“Mister, have you eaten? Is anyone looking after you? The cafeteria food is really awful, would you like one of these?”

“Ah, uh...”

When Isabelle took out a sandwich and handed it to Ivan, Aesidis sighed.

Ivan accepted the sandwich from Isabelle, took a bite, and stood before the girls.

“Ah, you know this person, right? Yuri Frank, a Knight Department student. This is Aesidis. She's in the music department.”

“Mm.”

“Oh, right. Mister. Wait... mm.”

Isabelle narrowed her eyes at Eugene, who stood beside Ivan.

He was someone she had never seen before. Who was he? Was he a government agent too?

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“Eek?! B-Bella! Wait!”

Ignoring Yuri's strange, flustered gestures trying to stop her, Isabelle walked away with Ivan.

Only after they had moved some distance from the group did she speak.

“I really wanted to say this after class, but you suddenly disappeared. Are you out of your mind?”

“Mm?”

“No, you're a government agent, mister. Didn't we agree to keep it between us?”

With a serious expression, Isabelle looked around and whispered.

“I don't know who Tilles sent besides Sir August. But they must have sent at least one more person. How could you reveal yourself so openly in a situation like this?”

“Reveal myself?”

“Your abilities! You're a secret agent!”

Ivan tilted his head and looked down at Isabelle.

Even standing straight, the tiny girl only came up to his chest. Lowering her face slightly, she swept her gaze around with a tense voice.

“I don't know what the Krasilov government is hiding here, but I owe you... Mm. Should I look into it too?”

“Look into what?”

“Oh, come on, the spies dispatched by Tilles! I don't know whether any are among the freshmen, but let's look for them!”

Isabelle nodded firmly, her eyes full of trust.

Ivan shook his head as he watched her.

To betray her homeland so easily. Did she have no patriotism at all?

Then, after thinking about it for a moment, he realized he had never acted out of patriotism either.

He had never been loyal to the Krasilov monarchy. He had only personally respected the late king.

“There is no need.”

“Huh? This is a very valuable opportunity. You'll regret letting it pass. Once I graduate from here, I'll rise to a very high position in Tilles, you know? Don't you manage your human resources? Are you really a government agent?”

What exactly did this child think an “agent” was?

Ivan knew she had been pampered at court, but was the gap between that and her first impression not too great?

Expressionless, Ivan nodded.

“If you want to, do it.”

“...Your attitude is really awful.”

Isabelle shook her head, then suddenly asked,

“By the way, what are they hiding here that has the elves acting like that even now?”

She gestured at the sky with her chin.

More than a week had passed since the new semester began. Nearly a month had passed since the entrance ceremony.

Yet Kallion's warship was still anchored in the sky above Saint Yansk University.

At first, the students had been confused, but now most of them simply reacted as though, “The elves are being elves.”

Still, Ivan found it somewhat strange. That ship was, after all, a foreign warship. Saint Yansk University was even located right in the middle of the capital.

The Crown Prince might have had other intentions, but Elizaveta would never have tolerated such a thing. The royal household and the capital region were within Elizaveta's sphere of influence.

“Who knows? Who can understand what elves are thinking?”

* * *

“Yes, Sir Veilchest. How was today's report?”

“We failed, Your Excellency.”

“I see. So we failed again today.”

Onest nodded with a subtle smile.

“What did the Krasilov monarchy say?”

“They threatened to shoot us down if we don't withdraw within three days.”

“They said the exact same thing three days ago. Ignore it and continue your work.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

After dismissing the technical officer, Onest pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed away his cold sweat.

“Why...?”

Every warship underwent a thorough technical inspection before departure. The Glory of Boyle under his command was no exception.

Of course, this was neither wartime nor a deployment to the front. It was only a simple show of force, one too minor to even spark a diplomatic dispute, so they had only conducted peacetime-level maintenance.

Even so, it was a Kallion air warship.

During the last war, it had ruled the skies as the demonfolk's terror. Minor malfunctions could occur, but there had never been a problem that interfered with a ship's navigation.

Then came a knock from beyond the captain's cabin door.

“Your Excellency, someone from the Krasilov court has arrived.”

“Tell them I will receive them separately this evening. Didn't I say I had an afternoon appointment?”

“I-I did explain that, but...”

A commotion sounded beyond the door. The urgent voice of an officer followed.

“You can't do this, ma'am.”

“This is a diplomatic discourtesy!”

Elves naturally had keen hearing, especially indoors.

With the metallic click of a latch came footsteps. Sharp heels rang against the deck within the ship.

Onest instinctively knew who had come and let out a deep sigh.

“Come in.”

“I was about to.”

Beyond the cabin door, which opened without the slightest courtesy, stood a woman with beautifully flowing silver hair.

Elizaveta. The leader of this country's monkeys.

Onest forced his expression under control and cleared his throat.

“How rude. Are you aware that a warship is foreign territory?”

“Of course I am. That is why we haven't shot it down even though it's floating in our airspace.”

Elizaveta strode forward and dropped into the seat across from Onest. The splendid uniform of a Krasilov general gleamed beneath the cabin lights.

When she crooked a gloved finger, the man standing at attention behind her walked forward and opened a black case.

He took out a cigarette, placed it in her hand, and respectfully stepped back a few paces.

Before Onest could protest the sheer disrespect of smoking in the captain's cabin, Elizaveta's sharp eyes flashed.

“So tell me. How should we... no. How should I deal with you?”

“What...?”

“Our government's official position has already been delivered. ‘We will give you three days.’ But that is not my position. Elf, you have two choices.”

Elizaveta flicked her fingertip. With a hiss and a surge of magic, the tip of the cigarette caught fire.

She drew in deeply, then exhaled.

White smoke seeped from her lips. Through the thick cloud rising for an instant, her purple eyes gleamed like a predator's.

“First, explain what you are plotting at once, then ask for our cooperation.”

“And if we refuse?”

“I will send a woodcutter.”

When the smoke cleared, it revealed the beautiful face of a royal smiling gently.

As though the pressure from moments ago had been a lie, Elizaveta smiled as she spoke.

“Fortunately, your country's warship is made of wood.”

“Such an insult...!!”

A woodcutter, to an elf...? No insult could be more severe within the bounds of diplomatic rhetoric.

As Onest flew into a rage, Elizaveta shrugged and stood.

“An insult. I believe I have heard your answer.”

“You cannot represent the will of the monarchy alone. Do you think you will leave unscathed after daring to act this way?”

The conflict between the Crown Prince and the Princess was already famous internationally. It had gone beyond a simple power struggle to the point where civil war was considered imminent.

Was it truly wise to make a complete enemy of a major power within the Allied Kingdoms under such circumstances? If Kallion sided with the Crown Prince, the Princess's position would inevitably be shaken.

Onest growled with that meaning in mind, and the Princess smiled faintly.

“To threaten the Lord Chamberlain in Pritchenkaya. What an amusing joke, Captain.”

“Ghk...!”

“And Captain, remember this.”

Elizaveta opened the cabin door and glanced back.

Purple eyes like those of a bird of prey flashed.

“I am the will of the royal family.”

* * *

“Your Excellency, the foreign minister is urgently returning to the palace.”

“For someone of royal blood, he is awfully impatient.”

Elizaveta gave a quiet snort as she walked along the deck.

Her brother never did anything unexpected.