30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue

20 – 6. The status window opened on the first day of school. (4)

*

“Screening and narrowing it down to three… maybe.”

It took three days to deduce this far. Ivan pressed his stiffened eyelids and stood up.

The criteria for screening were as follows:

Sudden emergence of a prominent figure, drastic changes in personality or tendencies, displaying peculiar behavior.”

If it weren’t for the support of the Intelligence Headquarters, obtaining this information would have been impossible. It was a task that required directly digging into the noble circle.

“If there’s a problem… it’s these guys.”

One is an orphan, admitted through a practical skills scholarship program.

The other two are from the nobility, meaning they are figures within the Royal Prince’s faction.

It’s delicate. Even if Ivan is just an undercover agent, tracing back their roots will inevitably connect them to the Intelligence Headquarters.

And the Intelligence Headquarters is Elizabeth’s right arm. If they recklessly provoke the nobility and get caught, it will harm Elizabeth’s political influence.

“Kidnapping all three might be tricky….”

Ivan, if Dmitri were here, would have scoffed at the idea (a sound he would have made while venting his frustrations with Elizabeth). He tapped the table.

One is a sensational freshman who entered on a full scholarship. Despite being an orphan, this individual has already attracted attention from various institutions. Provoking them recklessly would lead to unfavorable consequences.

The remaining two noble siblings are both from prestigious families within the nobility. Naturally, they cannot be kidnapped indiscriminately.

If Ivan were truly a ‘possessor,’ he might act more boldly, but for now, there’s only suspicion, and there’s no confirmed evidence.

Therefore,

“Let’s mark these three and observe for a while.”

Killing them is always an option.

Even kidnapping is not an impossible task.

But for a clean operation, without any repercussions, preparation is necessary.

So, after three days, Ivan decides to start working at the academy.

From that day on, rumors spread at Saint Jansc University that monsters were appearing.

*

Trapped in the shackles of being ostracized by some inexplicable malevolence, Esidith had few choices left.

Fortunately, the semester has just begun. No matter how important first impressions are, there should be ways to turn the situation around.

For instance, one option was to look for a person who is ‘too risky to mess with,’ like a certain uncle’s daughter.

‘Dad’s friend’s daughter…!’

Whether it was a promise between parents or an astonishing coincidence, the members of the warrior party weren’t all gathered in the same grade.

Even if the uncle has no particular thoughts, he wouldn’t dare approach a warrior’s child recklessly.

That’s how this lunch gathering came about.

“Nice to meet you. Analsdotir, right…? Is it okay to call you that?”

“Oh, that just means Dad’s daughter. Among ourselves, feel free to call me Esidith.”

“Well… Even so, you’re… a princess, right?”

“hahahahaha, a princess, indeed. I’ve never been treated like this before, so it’s making me tear up a bit…”

Cidius shook the hand of the lovely girl, her tears glistening.

“Oh, I was a bit rude, wasn’t I…? I apologize. You’re acquainted with Isabelle, right? You’re a freshman in the Knight Department, correct? May I ask your name…?”

“I’m Yuri Frank, Miss Cidius. Feel free to call me Yuri.”

“Cidius, stop chattering and step aside. Oh, you’re quite the distinguished lady, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know the list of noble families in the Crystalloph Court…!”

“No, what are you talking about…! No way! Nobility? That’s a big deal!”

Isabelle chuckled and lightly tapped Cidius. This one’s got a lineage even more prestigious than royalty.

Not understanding the situation, Cidius hesitated for a moment. Blushing, Yuri spoke up.

“I’m just an orphan. Frank isn’t even my real last name.”

“And Yuri is a boy’s name.”

“But surviving on the streets is tough with a girl’s name.”

Yuri laughed confidently. Isabelle smirked and turned her head towards Cidius.

“She’s our full scholarship student. She wields a sword really well.”

“Wow, better than Isabelle?”

“Of course, even better than Oscar. Honestly, it surprised me. Where did such a talent come from?”

“Don’t exaggerate. I was just lucky.”

“If luck helped us win, then that’s skill.”

Cidius felt a warm sensation in his heart.

Yes, this is it. This feels right.

A vibrant spring, warm sunlight, praising each other’s skills while sharing a meal, engaging in friendly competition. This is the romance he had envisioned.

Unconsciously, she wiped away the image of her uncle, who was probably chatting away with the Knight Department students by now.

***

Isabelle, Cidius, and the freshman.

Ivan observed them from a tree, flipping through his notes.

He couldn’t hear their conversation, but he could employ an exceptionally accurate level of lip-reading.

The casual talk flowed. The names were Yuri or Yuli.

Both were names in the freshman roster, but the likelihood of ‘Yuri’ being the one on his ‘suspect list’ was higher.

And that’s where the problem arose. Of all things, the ‘suspect’ was in contact with the Hero Party. And on top of that, her name happened to be ‘Yuri.’

Naturally, in the culture of the Crystalloph Court, that name was male. But, in Korea… and if you broaden the scope to ‘Northeast Asia,’ it’s used as a female name.

If there’s a woman using the name Yoori, there’s a high probability she’s a ‘possessor.’

A single red underline was drawn on the dragon’s deck.

*

“What’s that kid up to?”

Enrique, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, stared blankly at his disciple.

He was usually so sensitive that it would be difficult to approach him even on this street, but he was unaware of how focused he was, not even realizing his own approach.

She turned her gaze in the direction Iva was looking. In the distance, some freshmen were making noise on a bench.

A common sight.

“Hmm… Is that Isabelle…? That one looks like Acidus… They used to be close, so… I don’t know who that guy is.”

He had intended to visit the intelligence headquarters briefly when he heard about the situation, but ended up facing the sight of his disciple trailing freshmen, playing the role of a field agent.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s any taste to it. Was it just a show?”

Expressionless eyes, perfect concealment even in a casual moment. The usual Iva. He shrugged and hid behind the shadows.

*

“Eugene! Let’s go together! What’s the afternoon class? I, I’m going to the Introduction to Biblical Interpretation!”

“I’m in Gospel Original Language Reading. Sorry.”

“Ah, no! Later… Let’s see each other later! Have a good class!”

After laughing and seeing off a student whose name he couldn’t remember, the young man called Eugene fixed his face and walked down the lecture hall corridor.

Annoying. And confusing, too.

If he had known there would be so much to learn, he would never have chosen theology… but at the time, it seemed like the best option.

‘I can’t do physical work.’

This was a natural conclusion. Having never even held a kitchen knife in his life, it was impossible for him to wield a sword against monsters or demons now.

Yet, choosing a career that completely excluded combat was also difficult. At the very least, he had to choose a profession that directly went out to the field.

Hence, theology. Through the priest training, he could learn various buffs, healing skills, and even holy strike spells.

‘Plus, I have a knack for swordsmanship.’

The protagonist of [Northern Great Sword Genius], Eugene, was a sword genius. This was clearly proven by the system.

When all the surrounding freshmen showed low-level growth, exhibiting mediocre combat skills at best. Eugene had achieved a remarkable feat of reaching [Sword Mastery Level 5] from the first day of his possession.

He was at the level of a first-year instructor in the Knight Department at the Academy of Yansk University’s Department of Knighthood. In other words, he had already surpassed the level of a freshman.

But the problem was that learning swordsmanship technically and utilizing it to slaughter people were entirely different matters.

For a modern Korean who had never twisted a chicken neck once, this was an extremely challenging task…

“So, the priest is Choigondae….”

A rear guard not needing to step into the frontline. In a simple occupation that ends with a heal or a swing of the sword, and if they happen to wield the blade with more than average skill, a picturesque chicken-like figure emerges.

It has always been advised to pursue a job one excels at as a side gig. After all, isn’t it natural for an idol with acting skills to gain more popularity than a professional actor?

The peculiar problems arising here are:

First, the theology curriculum at Sung Yansuk University is as demanding as it gets, even compared to modern Korea.

Second, a stone-eyed hemodialysis Santa Claus is on the chase.

“What on earth is he…!”

Such events were absent in the original novel. In fact, the original novel was set in a completely different world. It wasn’t a subtle red imperial state, and there were no demon kings or warrior parties.

Just a mundane ‘family drama’ where a bad wizard family fights over approximately 1,000 episodes…!

The only commonality between this world and that novel is the familiar skill tree, status screen, and the familiar family situation.

Northern Grand Duke…? How could there be a Northern Grand Duke when this country called ‘Krasilof’ is already in the north!

“And why is his level not showing…!”

I know that the level indication changes to ‘???’ when it surpasses the normal level range. But this is going too far. Why does the academy gardener’s level look like that? And even more despairingly, he remembered that his family head’s level is 59.

As he deliberately turned his gaze away, a bearded giant on a tree nearby was staring at him.

No one around seemed to notice, so he was trying to ignore it, but [Expanded Intuition Level 3] faintly showed a blurry figure from a distance.

*

“They’re tailing three people.”

Enrique was sure. At first, he thought it was an order to protect the warrior party members, but he felt something was off and decided to follow them.

The problem is… those three have no commonality.

One is in theology, another in knight studies, and the third in magic studies.

Even considering their backgrounds, one is the son of a duke, another an orphan, and the last one the youngest daughter of a novelist. It just doesn’t match at all.

And then, there’s their way of living.

Growling like a tiger crouched in the bushes, glaring as if they were looking at some enemy…

“Aren’t we not supposed to mess with them?”

The orphan kid almost broke down the scholarship door, got admitted, and is now receiving love calls from everywhere.

The two noble kids are from noble families. Clearly, they belong to the royal prince faction. It’s not advisable to mess with them, and to top it all, they are both in magic and theology. The only commonality is that the department heads are not from Krasilof.

Theology is, of course, handled by a saint, and magic studies are managed by Calion’s elves. In other words, if you attack an undergraduate, it becomes a big problem.

“No way. Seriously? No way.”

Enrique smirked, but deep down, he was considering that the lunatic might have some reason to do such a thing.

The rogue of the hero party, the vampire reigning over the back alleys of Freichenkaya for a century, was always ready to intervene in emergency situations, stalking a student-stalker in the meantime.

*

‘He saw my eyes.’

I was trailing him from quite a distance away from the Theology and Main Building, yet he had noticed me.

Ivan stared at the youth from the ‘suspect list’ with his sunken eyes.

Yevgeny Nubikov Karamjin.

Yevgeny is an ordinary name. Nothing special about it.

However, the name Yevgeny is also used as Eugene in the Asian cultural sphere. Naturally, it carries a different meaning from the Catholic saint Eugeṇios.

In other words, it is a personal name that is commonly used in both Asia and Europe.

Therefore, the possibility of this guy listed in the roster being a ‘possessor’ is high.

Ivan drew two red underlines. Detection of concealment, suspicious movement, suspicious name.

*