"Tell me which professor ordered you to watch me. I already know everything. If you tell the truth, I'll let you go."
His eyes trembled. He rolled his eyes behind me, dragging out his words.
"That... No..."
"Who is it!"
"T, Traut! Professor Traut ordered it!"
Under my pressure, he squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
Good.
Traut... He's one of the scholars who became a professor long ago with the support of the Askanien family.
He's a mage, but he's not currently a professor in the Magic Department; he teaches magic in another department.
Now I understand clearly why he misunderstood my brother's letter.
This man knows that the Askanien family made a pact with the Imperial family to protect Lucas. It's a story anyone connected to our family would know.
So, Traut must have thought my brother's letter was sent to ensure the pact wasn't broken—meaning, to closely monitor whether I was making contact with Pleroma.
I smiled and released the student's shoulder.
"Alright, good. Thank you."
"...Huh?"
"Look, since you've run into me, you thought it'd be better to talk to me and get some information. Right?"
"What, what are you talking about...?"
"And, come to think of it, it would be better to change the watcher from now on."
I glanced at the badge on the student's jacket and continued. It was a Knight Department badge.
"You're not even from my department. Who would be able to watch me properly? Someone from the same department, same class, a fellow special class user would be the optimal conditions. You yourself don't think you're the right person for the job, do you? So, talk to the professor tomorrow. No matter how you look at it, you're at a significant disadvantage."
"What have you been talking about since earlier..."
It's a fair question. It's not the truth; it's a mental manipulation spell.
I felt a splitting headache coming on and frowned. Then, I pointed my wand and uttered the spell I used a month ago.
—Enter through the narrow gate.
His eyes went blank.
But this time, he mustn't fall asleep here.
I caught the student as he was about to collapse to the floor, propped him up in the direction he had run from, and infused divine power into his forehead to wake his consciousness. Instantly, strength returned to his body. The moment he opened his eyes, shock washed over his face.
"Ah!"
He saw my face, jumped back, and screamed.
The last memory remaining for him now is of me suddenly turning around. He must have been startled to face me, not expecting me to turn.
Coming to his senses, he greeted me with a trembling voice.
"...Oh, hello, Lucas. Right?"
"Hello."
I greeted him with a raised eyebrow.
He rolled his eyes and forced a laugh.
"Um, what a strange coincidence meeting here. I, I wasn't following you or anything... just glad to see you."
That's my line.
He'll report all the information he's gathered to Professor Traut, so I can use this opportunity in reverse to disrupt the information my brother most wants to know.
To do that, I need to put on an act suitable for this situation.
As I stared at him with a slightly displeased expression, he chewed his lip and continued.
"Ah, actually, I was thinking of talking to you a bit."
"Talk to me?"
"Kids these days talk about you a lot. I heard you've become very... sociable, unlike last semester."
I narrowed my eyes and simply nodded. He hurriedly continued.
"Um, but you seem a bit uncomfortable now. I guess it's because we ran into each other late at night at the edge of the school..."
"Of course it's a bit awkward. So, you're saying you followed me to talk?"
When I answered in the direction I had implanted in him, a look of relief flashed across his face. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, he slightly raised his voice and quickly replied.
"Right. I happened to see you leaving the library, and you suddenly started running. I wondered if something was wrong, so I followed. Sorry if it made you uncomfortable."
"...No, it's fine."
I shook my head while looking at him.
How could it be uncomfortable?
From now on, without even knowing it, he'll relay the false information I fabricated to the professor, and the professor will also write it down in detail and send it to my brother.
I don't even need to go to the yellow press. I've found an effective method of disruption, so I should make good use of it this time too.
* * *
"Professor."
A student knocked on the door of the Magical Swordsmanship professor's research lab.
The nameplate reading 'Stefan Traut' shone in the sunlight.
Hearing the call to enter, the student walked in naturally and sat down in front of the professor.
The student broached the topic to the professor, who was still engrossed in his work.
"Nothing unusual during the day."
When the professor looked up and silently gazed at him, the student continued.
"There was something a bit strange in the evening. He left the library at 11 and just started running blindly towards the area with the third education building. I followed him, but..."
"You followed him."
The professor furrowed his brow and nodded slightly. The student averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck.
"It seemed suspicious heading towards the school where the younger students go. I got caught, but... I handled it well. I said I was looking for a lost pet."
The professor looked at the student with eyes that asked if he had come all this way just to say that. The student hurriedly got to the main point.
"After talking for a long time, he hasn't changed much from his first year. The talk about him changing seems exaggerated."
"Is that so..."
The professor nodded and wrote something down on paper.
"Talking at length, it showed. I think the impression that he seems surprisingly normal is just because people only exchange a few words with him."
"You're saying he can hold a conversation briefly, at least. Anyway, it's surprising that the student can converse even briefly. Did you find out the reason?"
"Yes, he said he needs to raise his grades."
At that, the professor tilted his head and asked again.
"Grades?"
"He said his family wants him to improve his grades. He also mentioned something about attitude scores, not sure what the connection is..."
"Hmm."
The professor nodded and quickly wrote something on the paper.
The student narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.
"It was hard to understand... but putting it all together, I think he might have adapted because of participation-based classes. The Magic Department places more emphasis on activities like presentations compared to our department. Just my guess, though."
The student shook his head again, falling into doubt.
"No, even so. To change that much just to raise grades..."
"People can do anything when cornered."
"Cornered?"
The student made a disbelieving face, then remembered he was in front of the professor and relaxed his expression.
The professor stopped his pen and waved his hand.
"That's enough. Anything else you found out?"
"No, nothing... in particular. He's either in the dormitory or the library all day. He said himself he doesn't do anything special. He probably has no choice since he has no friends to hang out with at school."
"I see. Good work. That student will likely continue like that, so only come if you see any strange behavior."
"Yes."
The student turned to leave, then stopped dead in his tracks. The professor, who had been scribbling something on the paper, looked up.
"What is it?"
"Ah..."
The student's eyes widened as if he remembered something, then turned his body back towards the professor.
"...But, Professor. As you know, I'm from a different department than that student, and we don't have many points of contact."
"So?"
"I was thinking it might be better if a student from the same department does the watching. Wouldn't a student from the Magic Department special class be better than me?"
"Are you saying you don't want to do it?"
"No, that's not it.... No. I'll be going."
The moment the student hurriedly opened the door, his eyes met someone standing there.
"Oh."
The student faltered slightly and stepped aside. Narke gave a slight nod to the student and entered the professor's research lab.
"Hello, Professor."
"What brings you here?"
"I was thinking of taking your lecture during the break, and I was wondering if it's a subject recognized by the school I exchanged from. Can you find out?"
"Sure, have a seat here."
Narke looked towards where the student had left, closed the door, and sat down. Then, glancing at the professor's desk, he asked.
"But, was that about Lucas just now?"
* * *
"From now on, Narke has to watch Lucas~!"
"Good for you. But you understand what that means, right?"
I let out a dry laugh at Faye's excitement.
I had gone up to the rooftop right above and heard Narke's words relayed by Faye verbatim. It seemed we could read each other's words from just a few meters away.
Anyway, that's why I sent Narke at that time.
If I continuously apply mental manipulation magic to the watcher, the professor might notice. A long tail gets caught.
Then I just need to change the watcher myself.
Leo would probably do it if I asked, but Narke was more suitable for this task. Narke could deliver false information more calmly than Leo could.
Narke boasted that since exchanging, he had become somewhat close to Lucas and could investigate things other students wouldn't know.
Since a student from the seminary wouldn't be genuinely trusted for being outwardly friendly with a student suspected of being Pleroma, the professor readily entrusted the watch to Narke.
'He'd be surprised to know Narke himself brought up the topic, telling me the Pleroma rumors are nonsense.'
I should check if the survival probability has changed around now.
Dawn 777 — 716 days, 21 hours, 13 minutes, 01 seconds until the final ending 'Chapter X. Death'
— Change Probability: 7.9% (+1.0%p)
It was 6.4% when I first met Narke and checked. It rose 0.5%p in between, and another 1%p from this incident. I felt relieved and raised the corner of my mouth.
"Narke's coming out!"
Faye jumped down from my shoulder and headed for the stairs.
Now that this matter is somewhat settled, it's time to focus on the bigger picture again.
I followed Faye down, acknowledged Narke's greeting, and headed towards the annex.
* * *
Today's meeting started a bit early because it's the weekend.
I leaned on the desk and looked at the students.
"Until now, we've focused on data collection. Now we're moving into full-scale analysis."
"Wasn't it analysis until now?"
Melvin asked with wide eyes.
"It's about synthesizing everything. First, let's talk about how activities will proceed from now on. You all know the Imperial Pleroma Response Headquarters exists, right?"
"Sure."
"There are many departments there, but the core is two places: Strategy and Combat. We'll focus on what the Strategy Office does, and only go on field investigations when necessary."
Of course, Leo and I plan to go out frequently.
Although the thought of going out again after seeing the Chimera Wolf has completely vanished... On the contrary, because of its existence, we need to go out and confirm if the novel's developments are changing. That way we can respond to changes in Pleroma.
I laid out the prepared materials on the desk and answered.
"Pleroma started moving with new rules two years ago, when they gathered 100,000 believers. I investigated crime records from two years ago and categorized the monthly number of incidents."
I handed out papers with graphs drawn on them to the students and read out the numbers.
"From January: 11, 8, 7, 4, 5."
"It's gradually decreasing."
"Then it spikes again from June and decreases. 13, 8, 10, 5. And, from October again: 9, 15, 14."
One student frowned and asked.
"Isn't this... just irregular?"
"Wait, it seems to decrease a bit when one season ends and another begins. Is it a preparation period?"
"Hmm, that makes sense."
The students began conversing and deducing on their own. Leo tapped the paper with his pen and looked up.
"Crimes from October to March are mostly property damage and assault. Crimes from June to August are mainly classified as abduction and enticement. But besides these types, knowing exactly what incidents occurred would help understanding."
I took out a notebook with scraped newspaper articles and opened it.
"Right, from October, crimes are mostly desecrating graves and stealing corpses, or drawing blood from living people or livestock. On the other hand, from June, it's mostly kidnapping, abduction, unauthorized illegal propaganda, etc."
"Crazy stuff whether it's winter or summer."
At one student's remark, Narke burst out laughing.
"Haha, more than that, the nature of the crimes is different. The activities change by season. Right?"
"Correct. If in winter, most crimes are related to Pleroma's resurrection, immortality, and magic, then in summer, most crimes are for cultivating believers and maintaining the organization."
As the pieces started falling into place, the students examined the information with much more serious expressions.
I took out an article and handed it over.
It was an article about strengthening supervision of public cemeteries and thoroughly verifying the identities of entrants as winter approaches.
"This much is information the Imperial family already has, just not openly publicized. To this, we need to add one more thing."
—-----------
T/N:
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