"In less than half a year at most, a total of seven people have gone missing."
After entering an empty classroom, Esmeralda checked the surroundings for a while and immediately brought up the story.
Before I knew it, she returned to her true form.
"Normally, it would have been an indicator that could have been overlooked saying it was nothing, but… judging from the fact that all of them were wizards and had special skills, it's a different story."
"But how did you figure that out?"
In response to my question, she made an exaggerated gesture as if she didn't know.
"I don't know. I am, well, just passing on the boss's message to you. She's also in the association, so I think they must have been talking about it in secret there as well."
"Hmm… ."
"Above all, there was something they all had in common: they all went to Urea as exchange students."
Urea.
Again Urea.
I seemed to have frowned unknowingly at the name that I have been hearing these days.
"What, do you have any bad memories of Urea?"
"… there's nothing like that, so don't worry about it."
As soon as I shot back at her, asking if she was sounding me out, Esmeralda clicked her tongue in an audible way and muttered.
Even if I try to find some cuteness in any way, you're a little b*stard who doesn't have any in the slightest bit....
"Anyway, you'd better be careful. Urea has been very suspicious in their movements lately. And in their movements, there're often contacts with the Big Watch, and the intersection is… ."
Isaac McDowell.
It's that man.
"There is a man named Isaac McDowell who is a senior professor at Urea, and also a prominent figure in the field of ability study. Keep that in mind."
When the expected name appeared, I nodded slightly.
Esmeralda tilted her head slightly, looking at me, and continued.
"Anyway, you'd better be careful. There is nothing for sure, but as I climb up, his traces keep coming out from all over the place little by little. That too is to hide the traces of work that have been done. In this case, it means there is absolutely something."
"That person must be one of the faculty members coming here this time, right?"
"Yeah, you're quick-witted in this regard. That's why I'm telling you to be careful."
She nodded, pulled something out, and handed it to me.
Two photographs.
There were pictures of Alice Blesbuck in disguise, with her hair dyed blonde.
"And I happened to catch her traces that you asked for. It immediately disappeared like smoke, but.... ."
"Details."
"The date was four days ago. She was found in the Fennoscandia side."
"Fennos, what?"
"Fennoscandia, you know Scandinavia. Just think of it as the Northern Europe side."
"…then is there the Baltic Sea over there?"
She gave a surprised look at my question.
"What, you don't know Scandinavia, but you know the Baltic Sea? Yes. there is. But why?"
"…… ."
I shut my mouth.
It was because the seal of a Seven Evil was hidden in the Baltic Sea.
That too was the seal of the Seven Evil that has the deepest connection with Alice Blesbuck.
I thought her disappearance was not a simple matter, but I never thought it might be....
"… well, anyway, we're doing some more investigation."
She glanced at my expression and muttered.
"Actually, we're in a very ambiguous situation right now, so it's hard to move recklessly. So I can't guarantee that we can get results right away."
"Ambiguous situation? Ah, she did say there was a civil war because of the split."
"Umm…well, I don't mind telling you. The boss told me to help you as much as possible."
Red Case, the Thorns Cross Society, and the Big Watch.
In this way, she began to lay out the current situation of the three factions.
"First of all, the civil war has ended to some extent, and a truce has been called. It was largely divided into the forces gathered around the Guards, the forces gathered around our boss, and other scraps."
"You mean it's torn to shreds."
"Yes. the former has a small sphere of influence, but most of them have strong abilities, the so-called guys who run in the field. Our side has a large sphere of influence and a large number of people, but most of them are dead wood. The rest… you don't have to worry about."
"Hmm."
"Well, the Thorns Cross Society is over. The leader died, and almost all of the executives called apostles were killed or arrested. Some idiots are gathering to organize or privatize, but… ."
Here she glanced at me.
"Your that terrifying older sister is really biting the bullet to chase them and uproot them. Probably within a few months, they will all become the dew of the execution ground and disappear. Maybe that's why they're flailing around like fire moths, but in the end, it's going to shorten their lifespan."
After listening to her, I realized it was inevitable that the Big Watch had become a stronger force.
But immediately she uttered something unexpected.
"The Big Watch is also staggering these days. A new force has emerged that is actively keeping them in check."
"A new force?"
"Yes… we don't know anything about them yet. What the hell are they doing, what their purpose is."
Esmeralda murmured, blushing as if she were ashamed to say it herself.
"Nothing has been found except that those guys are calling themselves Milited's children."
"…Wait, what? Who?"
"Milited's children."
"…… ."
"What, what's wrong with you again?"
This time I was really at a loss for words.
Milited's children.
It was a name I knew well, but it was a name I thought I would never hear.
Milited's children are none other than the sequel to Clouds on the Horizon's....
They were the main villain group that appeared in the next work, which was such garbage that it blew all the remaining fans' hearts away.
The problem was that I barely touched the sequel, so I literally knew them only by name.
"… no, let me know when you gather more information about them."
In the end, that was all I could say.
First, I need to gather information about them and make a decision.
"Okay. But don't expect too much. They're so elusive... ."
"Rather than that, is that all you have to say?"
Disappearance of graduates.
Balance and status between the existing three forces.
Alice Blesbuck's trail.
And the new force that suddenly appeared, Milited's children.
A lot of information poured out of her mouth in less than a few minutes of time.
It was when I let out a small sigh at the sheer volume of things I had to pay attention to, even though the situation was already giving me a headache.
"I have one last thing to tell you. Perhaps this is the most important information for you right now."
"… and what is it?"
"The secret card that the association is preparing to keep the World Tree clan in check."
She grinned as I looked at her.
Then she quietly sat down on an empty desk and looked at me.
"By the way, I must have heard it clearly from the boss, but I wonder if I can remember it or not?"
"What kind of prank is that now?"
Esmeralda stared at me quietly and let the laughter flow.
Then she blinked and stared at me with a scrutinizing gaze.
"I'll let you know if you promise me you won't approach the boss anymore."
"What?"
"I told you, don't approach that person anymore."
Esmeralda said in a serious voice.
"I'll deliver the information to you as I have done so far. I won't play useless tricks along the way. If needed, I'll do what you ask me to do without saying a word. Just promise me that you will never see that person again. It's not much different from now, right?"
"Let me ask the reason first."
"… I believe in superstition. That too very much."
She stared at me with cold eyes.
No, it wasn't cold eyes.
Those were the reluctant eyes that one makes when they don't want someone near.
"I can't shake the feeling that if that person keeps getting involved with you, that person will die."
So, please don't approach that person.
Hearing her desperate words, my feelings were, frankly, one of dumbfoundedness.
"Don't approach, in the first place, I don't even know where your boss is, nor what she's doing at the association. Most of all, you've always visited me first from that side, have you already forgotten?"
"So what I mean is I don't want you to try to meet her first. Because if you want, the boss will come to meet you right away."
Esmeralda said so and looked at me.
"So? You promise or not?"
"Yeah, you're saying you don't want me to meet her in person, right?"
"Yes."
It wasn't a very difficult request, so I said yes.
Then Esmeralda gave me a look that said she was relieved by just that.
"Okay, then I'll tell you. What the association is preparing now is… ."
* * *
― Yes, got it. I'll call them, you don't have to worry about it anymore....
From beyond the phone, I could hear Lee Ye-Eun's voice, so tired that it was easy to notice.
Contrary to Rev Dunkinson's words that he couldn't reach her at all, Lee Ye-Eun answered my call even before I heard the ring twice.
…when I told her what I wanted to talk about, her voice, which was somehow excited, calmed down a little, but after hearing me, she added, don't worry.
― Oh, yeah, I heard. Ahn Do-Hoon, I heard you won an overwhelming victory in a match with that person?
Lee Ye-Eun said congratulations while muttering in an excited voice.
― As far as I know, he was clearly an S rank, but now it's a fact that Junior is no different than an S rank, along with everyone there in the whole academy…!
"How the hell do you know I fought him and won? It was a private duel."
― Ah.
A tuk sound came from the other end of the phone.
She hung up the phone.
I tried to call her once, but I heard the guide voice that said she couldn't answer the call, and I texted her straight away.
It was a text message saying that if you don't call right now, I won't contact you again.
Not long after, she called again.
"The connection is very bad."
― Yes... that's right… .
I could tell without seeing her that her face would be dyed bright red.
I murmured with a small laugh.
"I thought I've been seeing Kang Yeon-Kyung a lot around me these days somehow, but… ."
― Oh, uh. No. It's not like that....
"Well, I'll talk about the details later, so let's get to the main point."
It's good to talk to her, but at least not now.
I brought up what I had just heard from Esmeralda.
"Along with the association, there are some forces that are preparing to keep your side in check."
― Yes, well, it's always happened. Don't worry too much... .
"It's a little dangerous this time. We'll have to deal with it quickly."
I cut her off in mid-sentence and said.
"Svengali, whom we defeated, his seal was hidden in one of the roots of the World Tree. The man who was the head of the Thorns Cross Society found it in the literature and released it. Am I right?"
— …yes, I don't know where you found out, but you're absolutely right.
"There will still be Svengali's energy there. The seal wasn't properly destroyed, so it is leaking his energy."
— … yes?
I don't know how the association smelled it.
Perhaps, it was just a random shot that hit by coincidence, but I couldn't laugh it off because it was clearly mentioned in the original story.
I had to deal with urgent matters first.
"The Seven Evil was sealed in the World Tree, and his energy is still there. These two facts alone would be a pretty big blow. The truth wouldn't matter. If they roughly combine and pull it out in a stimulating way, it might bring an irreversible blow in an already bad situation. Maybe it will give the association an opportunity to actively interfere with the World Tree clan."
— …… .
Lee Ye-Eun was silent.
After a while, I heard her getting up from her seat.
— Thank you, Junior. I'll get back to you later.
"Yes. I hope I'm mistaken."
— … thank you so much for your concern. I mean it.
With those words, Lee Ye-Eun hung up the phone.
I stopped and sighed on my way to the cafeteria.
"Haa… ."
My head throbbed like it was about to crack open.
It was when I was about to contact Choi Hyun-Woo and Han Soo-Young, pressing my palm against the throbbing forehead, saying, I'm done with the conversation, I'll be right there.
The phone rang.
"What again? This."
It was the first time I saw the number.
I immediately declined to receive it.
After a while, a text message came in.
[Hello. I don't know if you remember, but I'm Jin Ye-Jeong. I met you the other day at the banquet hosted by the World Tree clan.]
"Wait a second… ."
Jin Ye-Jeong.
It was obviously the name of the person who is Jin Ye-Seul's older sister.
As I was looking at the text for a moment, another text came in.
[If it's okay with you, can we meet separately? I will go to the Academy's reception room on a date of your choice. And I would like to say in advance that there will never be such a request or talk that you are worried about these days].
Vrrrng.
One last text message arrived after that.
And seeing the contents, I had no choice but to call her.
[I would like to have a conversation related to my sister, Ye-Seul. I'll be waiting.]
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