Chapter 170 - Cannot Go Back (1)
“By the way, have you heard that rumor?”
The occasion for Yuna to learn about the ominous rumor circulating in the academy recently was from Shasha's casual chatter.
“A rumor?”
Yuna tilted her head. As a girl who wasn't particularly well-connected, she rarely ca across unusual rumors.
What kind of rumor now that the sester is over? That aning was probably there as well.
“Yeah. The rumor that… people have been going missing at the academy recently. Especially students!”
“Eh?”
At Shasha's words, Yuna's eyes widened into circles.
It was because she had expected another topic like the love gossip that Shasha, who was usually interested in things that were a bit uncomfortable for Yuna, would bring up.
But a sinister rumor about students going missing.
After hearing that story, one thought ca to Yuna's mind.
The thought of what if that rumor about people going missing was actually true.
“That, if it’s true, isn't it super dangerous…?”
That's why Yuna, breaking out in a cold sweat, spoke with a rather serious expression.
And the reply that ca back to that straightforward reaction from Shasha was.
“Ahaha! Don't worry, don't worry! Rumors are just sensational and are rarely true~.”
“Is… that so?”
“Of course~ And would sothing like this ever happen at the academy? If it were real, even with it being vacation, there would be a huge uproar with everyone saying their kid has disappeared from ho.”
Shasha smiled and waved her hand. Yuna's serious reaction every ti she introduced a rumor was quite enjoyable for her.
“I guess so….”
At Shasha's words, Yuna nodded. It was certainly a nonsensical rumor that made you think ‘Does that even make sense?’ as soon as you heard it.
How could a disappearance case like that brazenly occur at the continent's best knight training institution, which was self-proclaid and recognized by others? It was an impossible thing.
Even more so since the students of this academy had powerful figures in their backgrounds.
However, after hearing about the rumor from Shasha, Yuna's mood was not good at all.
And the reason was very simple.
‘Sohow, my premonition…’
It was because Yuna's unique premonition was telling her.
Sothing is ominous, it said.
Since it was just a simple premonition, she couldn't take any action on her own.
And above all.
‘When a rumor like this goes around, it feels like so ddleso person is going to interfere.’
Soone who, at first glance, seems cold and only interested in their own training and grades, but at the end of the day, is an undeniably good person.
“Ugh.”
Yuna thought. It's just a groundless fear, right?
It has to be.
It's probably a groundless fear.
The topic that had briefly troubled Yuna's mind was thus concluded.
While such internal conflicts were taking place, soone was moving busily to respond to that incident.
***
I'll get straight to the point.
The rumor about the student disappearance case currently circulating within the academy is a stark fact.
The mastermind behind the case is kidnapping students and academy staff to use as research material, and behind it all is 『Ad Astra』.
This was the full story of the incident.
A question might arise. Why go through the trouble of kidnapping students, who are troubleso to deal with, for experints?
Wouldn't it be easier to target soone easier? A question like that.
‘I also had that question while playing the ga.’
Well, according to the original , this disappearance case was not for collecting research material, but was a ploy to throw the knight society into chaos.
It was part of a sabotage to throw Archenia Academy, which played a rather important role in the knight society, into chaos, and to rapidly tarnish the trust of the noble society in the knight society.
That was the enemy, 『Ad Astra』’s, objective.
As the enemy's objective was clear, the task I had to do was also very simple.
What could it be?
To deal with the kidnapper.
And since that culprit was one of the individuals supplying information to the ‘Knight Executioner’ Grændal, to also obtain information about Grændal's hideout.
Actually, the latter was the main objective.
‘Giovanni Rava.’
I repeated the culprit's na in my head.
It wasn't a very unfamiliar na to recall. The fact that I had seen the na often since the days when was a ga played a part, but there was another factor that made the na more familiar.
‘That guy is a professor at this Archenia Academy.’
Since I had taken one of his liberal arts lectures, I was also sowhat familiar with the na.
It felt strange to be taking a lecture from the guy who would beco a kidnapper.
Anyway, his position was what enabled him to commit the cri.
To select students who were in a position where their disappearance wouldn't cause a big commotion, and to be in a position to easily interfere with them, that was about the extent of it.
Co to think of it, it might be difficult to think of a suspect other than the academic staff of Archenia Academy.
In any case, once the direction was set, there was no reason to hesitate.
All that was left was to go to his hideout, wait, and rush in the mont he brought a victim to the hideout.
…But, there was one minor problem.
A really minor problem.
After the Exchange eting incident, I could feel certain gazes on in my daily life.
And they were very persistent.
Actually, it was true that there hadn't been a single mont since I fell into this world as Rain Enlight that I hadn't felt gazes, but this ti, the nature was a bit different.
They weren't the gazes of contempt I had felt from right after falling into this world until the beginning of the sester.
Nor were they the gazes filled with killing intent that I had felt so many tis until now.
It wasn't a poking sensation like the forr, nor was it a sense that stimulated a sense of crisis like the latter.
‘It feels like they’re watching without any emotion.’
The fact that such sensations were felt just from gazes was a rather strange thing to think about now, but considering the things I had been through, the answer was that it wasn't that strange.
Anyway, when I consulted Regina about this problem, I got the answer quickly.
“Ah, the owners of those gazes must be the observers. My dear brother probably assigned them, right?”
“Ah. I see.”
It was an answer I could understand imdiately.
Since I was already marked as a person of interest, it wouldn't be unreasonable for the intensity of the surveillance to beco even tighter.
‘No, maybe I just noticed it now.’
Perhaps the eyes of surveillance had been following since before the Exchange eting.
It's just that I had grown to the point where I could feel their presence only after overcoming more than a thousand deaths.
These gazes of surveillance were not only annoying , but also restricting my actions.
‘As long as I can't shake off these gazes, acting covertly is out of the question.’
But even that, as I said before, was not a big deal.
Just as I had found a way to solve things sohow until now, I would do so this ti as well.
***
23:00 on January 27th was painting a rather cozy scene.
Heavy snow was falling from the sky, and the wind was not strong, creating a moderately atmospheric mood.
Perhaps thanks to the sowhat romantic atmosphere, when I looked down from my room in the dormitory, I could see a few students enjoying the atmosphere outside despite the late hour.
Seeing that, I couldn't help but feel that they looked happy.
Was this what people commonly called youth?
I couldn't deny that the word youth had little to do with right now.
“……Alright.”
If you were to ask what I was doing in that situation… I was just slowly preparing to go to sleep.
The routines of finishing late-night training and self-study as always, then returning to my room in the dormitory to wash up, things like that.
This was truly a mont of daily life, and I had to let this mont pass and welco tomorrow.
My usual routine was complete, and all that was left was to go to sleep.
‘That is, if it were the usual .’
Yes. As the words implied, I couldn't go to sleep yet.
I still had sothing I had to do, and there was still a long ti before the curtain of night would lift.
“Well then.”
As I always did, I headed back to the window to draw the curtains in my room before going to sleep.
I stood by the window for a while, staring outside, and I could feel sothing.
‘Is it in the direction of the bell tower across the way?’
That sothing was a gaze.
The gaze of surveillance that had now beco a complete part of my daily life, but whose strangeness I could not erase.
The intention of that gaze was clear. To watch and see if I was up to no good, sothing like that.
It was also clear who had assigned that surveillance.
But I had no intention of ekly playing along with Claudio's sly intentions.
Deureureuk.
The sound of the curtains being drawn rang cheerfully in the silent room.
Co to think of it, I didn't have a habit of drawing the curtains before going to bed until before the last sester.
Was it about half a year ago that I started the habit of drawing the curtains before I slept?
And that new habit was for this very mont.
“…….”
After drawing the curtains, I moved silently across the room.
My destination was the blind spot in my private room, unreachable from the two windows.
More precisely, it was the magic circle drawn there.
‘There were no problems in the final calculation. The marking on the destination is still valid.’
I carefully went through the final review process to activate the magic circle.
It was only natural, as it hadn't been long since I had learned the magic inscribed in this magic circle.
“……Hoo.”
I took a slow, deep breath and placed my hand on the magic circle.
Among the Origin Magic passed down from Arien, the mid-tier space series magic, 『Teleport』.
I was about to use this magic to head to a certain place.
And that destination was none other than… the base of the culprit in the kidnapping case happening at this academy.
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