Mephisto had heard about the situation from Elric before, so he simply nodded silently.
Meanwhile, he thought to himself.
Even though he doesn't know what the dean or something is doing.
Seeing that he was against Elric, it's clear that he won't have any luck.
***
After disguising himself at the "Shadow Inn."
Elric excused himself briefly and left the inn.
『There's someone trailing behind you.』
But not long after, Elric heard Mephisto smirking next to him.
A lurking presence within the range of perception. There was a shadow watching this side at a corner of a busy street where crowds were bustling.
[Yes, I'm aware.]
『So meticulous, yet seems to have made a mistake somewhere.』
Mephisto teased, making Elric snort.
[Has your judgment become blurred as you get older? What do they say about this, poor judgment? Senile? I heard those are some early symptoms?]
『What, you?』
[Clearly, those are just tails attached to outsiders, aren't they? There and there.]
Elric pointed out the ones lurking on the roofs, hiding behind fountains, disguising themselves as homeless with newspapers.
These people are hiding in various places and spying on passengers.
『….』
[If there are suspicious characters, they should weed them out immediately. Don't try anything weird.]
Tsk!
Mephisto tried to shake Elric, but instead, he had to swallow his pride.
'By the way, it's a bit strange.'
Ignoring Mephisto's remarks, Elric glanced discreetly at the person quietly following him.
Though their attempts to deceive him were amateurish, their skills bore the mark of training from the Thieves Guild.
'Even if it is the Blue Lion family, deploying this many personnel to a small city like this?'
Probably similar things are happening in other cities near the Snow Mountain.
No matter how many branches of the Thieves Guild they had, it wasn't an easy task.
'The person behind the pursuers is quite powerful within the Weyl family, and has a schemer next to him, so he can accurately predict our movements.'
Elric's eyes gleamed sharply.
'Or perhaps there's leaking information from within our own ranks.'
Whatever the case, it was no easy matter.
Elric wasn't particularly concerned, though.
In fact, he had no intention of doing anything to draw their attention.
He had arrived at a stall specializing in newspapers.
"Can I get some newspapers?"
"We've got plenty of newspapers here, as you can see."
The middle-aged man selling souvenirs next to the stall replied as Elric tilted his head.
"I'd like to purchase not only today's but also the newspapers from the past month."
"You've come from the countryside?"
Due to the limitations of transportation in this era, newspapers were not widely circulated, so rural nobles and gentlemen often purchased bundles during their occasional visits to the cities.
Elric was no exception.
"Yes, that's correct."
"Here you go."
Elric handed over some of the money he had received as a commission from Isabelle to the middle-aged man and received a bundle of newspapers before heading to a nearby café.
This way, the pursuer would likely not find his actions noteworthy.
The articles he wanted to see were all related to Professor Berex.
[The expedition team that received everyone's expectations and blessings finally sets out!]
[Dean Berex says, 'The dragon's nest to be discovered this time may have unprecedented scale.']
[After the Jewel Dragon's nest, what characteristics will the newly discovered nest have?]
[Day 1 of exploration, the long-awaited start.]
[On the second day, a spot with a large amount of mana detained was found. Excitement on-site increased.]
[On the fifth day, nothing found; we have to dig deeper.]
[On the tenth day, no discovery was completely different from expectations. Is the size of the nest really as big as the Dean predicted?]
[On the sixteenth day, a failed expedition.]
[On the twenty-fifth day, the distressed expedition team. The Imperial palace expresses disappointment!]
[On the thirty-fifth day, an unprecedented tragedy of failure! Criticism from companies and bankers who invested in the exploration!]
[The Rose Bridge, now called the 'Bridge of Wails,' has already seen over tens of thousands of suicides.]
[On the fiftieth day, Dean Berex, who led the expedition, shows a downward trend in the election for headmaster. Blame game begins.]
[The imperial family expresses strong doubts about this expedition fraud.]
"This is a mess. A complete mess."
Elric chuckled as he read through the newspapers.
The contents of the articles were all similarly dismal.
Initially, all expectations were focused on the expedition team and Professor Berex. He played so well with the media that even small newspapers cast a favorable light on him.
But as the expedition progressed and dragged on, the favorable sentiment gradually turned malicious.
This was because nothing was found, and the damage only increased due to an abnormality caused by the mana spot.
And when they could no longer dig deeper into the ground, the word "fraud" emerged.
Numerous bankers and nobles who invested in the expedition suffered significant losses. Citizens who had hoped for a windfall ended up either sitting on the streets or even committed suicides.
The media unanimously churned out malicious articles about the incident, and even the imperial family intervened.
[In the upcoming headmaster election, will Dean Berex's last-minute turnaround reverse his declining prestige?]
"A last-minute turnaround? What a joke."
Elric snorted as he read the most recent article.
Now, the election for the headmaster of the Usdun Academy is just two weeks away. The once-soaring reputation of Professor Berex seemed to be crashing down to the ground.
However,
"This still doesn't sit well with me."
[The achievements regarding the Jewel Dragon's nest exploration still show dominance.]
[As Elric Melvinger, the owner, remains in a coma, the necessity of granting excavation rights to the Magic Tower gradually emerges.]
"More resilient than expected."
Old ginger is supposed to be spicy. Elric lightly flicked his tongue.
He had anticipated some resistance, but he hadn't expected it to be this strong.
"Well, there's not much time left anyway."
Elric planned to arrive in Imperial Capital before the headmaster election and reveal his identity straight away.
If he did that, Professor Berex would naturally crumble. Currently, what supports him is the achievement regarding the Jewel Dragon's nest, so all he needed to do was to expose the fact that it was a lie.
"Still, if I'm going to blow it all up, I want to make it bigger. Hmm, what else could I stir up?"
Elric's goal wasn't just to oust Professor Berex from the academy.
He wanted to make a grand debut in both politics and academia with this issue.
Fame would greatly assist in raising the status of his family.
'Truly a prestigious magic royal family!' That's the kind of exclamation he wants to hear.
But that wasn't enough.
He needed something more.
While pondering over this,
[Clash between the Academy and the Nerester family! What is the direction of excavation rights?]
[Sean Nerester's protest! The fate of two who were once close friends, but have now become political enemies.]
'.....I'm really sorry.'
Elric could see an article about Sean included there.
Despite risking condemnation from the academic world as much as going for his mentor's throat, he felt incredibly grateful and sorry for Sean for stepping up like this.
'I should buy him some bread later.'
'What kind of bread does Sean like again?'
Thinking that he should probably send a delivery of bread to the Nerester family along with a letter containing news from here, at that moment...
"Fire! Fire!"
"Fire! Get some water, quick!"
Elric swiftly rose from his seat and turned his head towards the direction of the noise.
A fire was burning wildly above the flower shop across the street.
With the wind blowing roughly, there was a risk of the fire spreading to adjacent shops in no time.
The shop owner, unsure of what to do, rushed outside, while people hurriedly came and went, carrying buckets and rushing towards the nearby fountain.
But to Elric, with his Mind's eye, the fire looked entirely different.
'Arson, isn't it?'
Amidst the black smoke, intricate patterns of grains could be discerned.
It was evidence that magic had been activated.
***
"Hmm! Is this the entire list of added visitors?"
Beskov, Blue Wolf Squad 2 leader, grimaced as he looked at the list brought by his subordinate.
"Yes. That's correct."
"This isn't enough. Not nearly enough. It's clear as day that someone has come to this vicinity, timing-wise."
Beskov had already received a stern warning from Hilton, who was his superior even though he was also a squad leader.
Block all the roads leading to Imperial Capital, find Isabelle's group, and eliminate everyone except her.
It went without saying, but the term 'everyone' encompassed not only witnesses but also the villagers who were likely to become witnesses.
And...
-Find and bring the 'variables' who dared to impede squad 6. We must make them pay for touching our squad in any way possible.
Unless one was an expert or advanced level, facing Squad 6 alone was impossible.
Therefore, Hilton predicted that the 'variables' would be a team of at least 2-3 individuals.
With Isabelle and the remaining two knights the last ones to report, along with the addition of an unidentified team, there would be at least six people. Thus, the focus would be on identifying such individuals.
The problem was that there had been no progress for several days.
The suspects turned out to be different individuals. Despite searching a smaller number, they still couldn't be found.
Did they anticipate our movements and evade it?
'No. That's unlikely.'
As someone who knew Hilton's meticulous nature well, Beskov couldn't entertain the thought that his prediction might be wrong.
His 'instinct' sometimes bordered on the supernatural, making it hard to doubt whether they were even the same species.
As Beskov pondered deeply, Simonan, another man standing nearby, interjected with a smirk.
"The 'shadows' we planted over there are supposed to pass this way as well, right? So, what's there to ponder about? Just ambush them, isn't it?"
Simonan was the leader of Blue Wolf Squad 3.
He had been sent along with Squad 2 by Hilton, fearing that if the 'variables' turned out to be more numerous than expected, they might resort to destroying evidence, which made it evident that Hilton was attentive to this matter.
Beskov wasn't particularly pleased with this arrangement, primarily because he and Simonan didn't get along well.
"What do you mean by 'ambush them'?"
"How about setting a fire?"
"What?"
Beskov's brow furrowed.
But whether he reacted or not, Simonan was nonchalant.
"Let's burn down the whole city. Then those bastards will come running out, won't they?"
Beskov was momentarily speechless.
The reason he disliked Simonan was precisely this.
Unlike himself, who was composed and thoughtful, Simonan often blurted out opinions without much consideration.
The problem was...
"What do you think? Is it okay?"
What he found even more unsettling was that sometimes, such opinions seemed quite plausible.
"Are you saying you can pound the grass to make snakes pop out?"
"Are you making fun of me for being ignorant? Is it good or bad?"
"...I mean, it's a good idea."
"See? Since it's okay, who cares if a small town disappears when the order is to eliminate witnesses as much as possible? Everyone's probably focused on the Academy anyway."
Simonan continued with a chuckle.
"No matter how well they hide, who wouldn't come out when the city turns into ashes? And considering our righteous young lady's personality, she won't be able to hold back. It's as sure as can be. We can do things my way without worrying about the hassle of dealing with it later. Kill two birds with one stone."
Beskov nodded.
"Is there a better way?"
"Of course. Otherwise, would I even bring it up?"
Simonan quietly took something out of his pocket.
At that moment, Beskov's eyes widened.
"What's that...?"
"A scroll containing the 4th-circle 'Advent of Heatwave,' and not just one, but five of them."
"Where did you get that?"
"Oh, come on. Why are you so suspicious? Are you trying to rob me of my money? I spent quite a bit of money to get these. Anyway, what do you say? Are you in?"
"I'm in."
And so, Squad 2 and Squad 3 of the Blue Wolf began to move.