# Enhanced Translation
Many people, truly, truly many people misunderstand one fact.
The fact that Ivan is not a racist. This is somewhat of an unfair accusation, since he came from a world where discriminating against people based on skin color or individuality was illegal from the start.
People of this primitive world might not even be able to imagine such laws could exist, but that's what civilization is.
Therefore, Ivan does not hate other races for their racial characteristics, peculiarities, or differences from humans. Isn't that too base a behavior for a civilized person to display?
He was Earth's representative, so he always had to act rationally. Thus, he understands other races for rational reasons.
Let's take some examples.
Orcs, giants, and demons like the Taurus are closer to magical beasts than people. Does the ability to speak and having their own cultures make them people? No. Parrots can speak too, and sperm whales also enjoy cultural activities.
People must have morality. That's one of the things Ivan firmly believes in, even in this terrible barbaric world. So let's set demons aside.
Another representative non-human race is, of course, elves.
Ivan is confident he wouldn't waste even a second defining elves. There's no room for deliberation. These creatures are not people. Because they have no morality.
Indeed, elves and morality are difficult words to reconcile. Water and oil at least mix when shaken, but Ivan has never seen morality mix with elves even momentarily when he shook them.
Instead, elves tried to make up for their sad nature in their own way. They participated in the war alongside the alliance. They fought to the death, so there are mitigating circumstances. (Sadly, room for improvement has not yet been observed.)
Finally.
Dwarves.
These half-cut moles (short, digging in the ground, having beards, and squeaking) actually had similarities with Ivan. In that they had no prejudice when dealing with other races. (The beard is not a similarity.)
Due to the minor issue of being so unprejudiced that they sided with demons, their zealous espionage activities spreading bizarre egalitarian ideology, and the geographical issue of their area of activity being adjacent to the northern front, Ivan had built many memories with them during the war.
Therefore, he never thought he could do anything with dwarves for the rest of his life. At least, nothing besides killing each other. The grudges between them were simply too great to begin with.
How many dwarves had died by his hand? And how many humans had dwarves killed? It's ridiculous to even measure the grudges. It's also funny to argue about who started it first. That's just what war is.
Therefore,
"The Scribe Comrade has spoken! Egalitarianism does not mean the future state we must achieve! We call the movement of reality that rejects the current state, all of that, egalitarianism!"
"Waaaaaah—!!"
The moles gathered in the banquet hall were raising drinking horns as big as their heads and screaming.
Ivan felt like sighing.
A huge bowl appeared before his eyes. It was filled with beer, bubbling and sloshing. Surprisingly, dwarves call this a drinking glass.
"Drink up, comrade!!"
The dwarf smiled with small eyes full of goodwill. Ivan got goosebumps for a moment because the words "dwarf's smile" or "goodwill" were so unfamiliar.
They wouldn't have poisoned it. If they were going to poison anything, it wouldn't be beer—these creatures couldn't even imagine poisoning beer.
Ivan felt lonely among the dwarves who were all loudly chattering, occasionally shouting quotes from the "Scribe Comrade," and intermittently singing a bizarre song called "Long Live the Scribe Comrade."
The path of civilization and reason is so long and difficult.
To understand this situation, we need to go back to the time right after the "retreat."
This was when the word "peace" was not yet a joke. Ivan was already missing Pritzenkaya from several days ago.
EP16. Someone who goes to a conflict zone for vacation during school break.
"Good."
Ivan was leisurely grooming his beard while sitting in the newly reopened director's office.
This orphanage, which had been terrorized by Droan's siege tanks, had been rebuilt bigger and more magnificent under the sponsorship of the Saintess and Elizabeta.
There was even a chapel inside. Although there was no dedicated priest assigned so prayers were only held on Sundays, it was a remarkable achievement. The children always had minor injuries.
Being able to receive the priest's healing sacrament for free was an enormous contribution to the orphanage's finances.
*Slurp.*
Taking a sip of the aromatic tea brewed from roasted barley, Ivan was enjoying the peace that had come after a long time.
Since he couldn't carry this perfect beard comb around for fear of functional issues, Ivan had been unable to enjoy this precious time for a while.
It was a small but fulfilling time. Largely because there were no assigned missions at the moment.
The academy was on break, potential allied spies from various countries had returned home, and the children of the Hero Party—the main protection targets of his mission—were all hospitalized at Pritzenkaya Cathedral.
Since the Saintess was personally nursing them, there would be no complications, and they were safely tucked away receiving treatment quietly, so there was no need for security.
So, this meant it was also a vacation for Ivan. Not at all intentional, but sadly thanks to students who would spend their entire break in hospital beds. (He heard that Isabelle was grinding her teeth so much that she received a warning from the Saintess.)
*BANG—!!*
"Hmm."
So even when the door opened with enough force to explode, Ivan could carefully put down his beard comb instead of throwing an axe. This is why people should live with composure.
"Enrique. Knocking is not done with your feet."
"Yes, Director. Do you have time?"
"No."
"What are you doing now?"
"Vacation. I'm off duty."
Enrique giggled and plopped down on the office sofa, whistling.
"Wow, it's changed a lot? Now there's even a bed! Yes, people should sleep in beds."
"Don't you sleep in a coffin?"
"Huh?"
"Hmm?"
Aren't vampires supposed to sleep in coffins?
Come to think of it, she didn't seem to carry a coffin during the war.
Ivan was witnessing the moment his common sense was being destroyed.
"I really want to hit you. Disciple. Stop talking nonsense and pack your bags."
"Bags."
"Yes, let's go to work."
"That's not possible."
This country has no concept of vacation. Benefits like guaranteeing leisure time for workers for sustainable labor is a welfare level that even the church wouldn't consider.
Therefore, Ivan, like all exploited workers, had to fight for his rights with his own hands.
"I told you I'm off duty today."
"This is really ridiculous. Since when do we have on-duty and off-duty... Aren't you the commander of the counterintelligence headquarters?"
"When superiors rest, subordinates can rest too."
"Oh."
Enrique nodded with an impressed face but soon came to her senses.
"I almost got persuaded!! I'm telling you it's urgent! Disciple, do you remember how long it's been since you've seen me?"
"87 days."
"...You remember this.... Aren't you curious where I've been?"
"Hmm."
That wasn't Ivan's area of work. Ivan is now a civil servant, and civil servants are a profession that is indifferent to all areas except their own domain. (Some Krasilov civil servants are even indifferent to their own duties.)
Enrique clutched her forehead and slumped onto the sofa. She crossed her legs on the table, not even caring about Ivan's expression.
"There's chaos up there right now."
"I see."
"I mean the dwarves are causing chaos."
"Hmm."
Ivan continued combing without even looking at Enrique. Tangled beard hair shouldn't be forced through. You had to gently work through the comb teeth, using the snap of your wrist to smooth the grain. Otherwise, the hair might break while still tangled.
Enrique shouted in frustration.
"Come on! Listen!"
"I am listening."
"Aren't you curious about what suddenly happened to the dwarves, why I know about it, where I've been all this time, things like that?"
"I can guess."
Ivan continued speaking without turning his gaze.
"The Pritzenkaya underground terror was a commotion caused by the dwarves' earth-network excavator. I know you left to directly intercept the underground tunnel invasion."
"Uh... yeah. That's right."
"If dwarves dug tunnels in the underground passage, both you and I know we need to trace that route back. We need to identify and block their invasion path."
"...Right."
"In the process, you encountered dwarves, there was combat, and you figured out why the dwarves suddenly showed up in Pritzenkaya."
"...Correct."
Ivan put down his beard comb and looked at Enrique.
"Then that's a military matter."
"..."
"Enrique. We can't mediate every conflict."
This is especially true for the Hero Party. They must distinguish between military duties and missions.
Heroes don't participate in wars. War is the role of the army. No matter how powerful they are, they cannot be deployed to every front.
A hero's true value lies in not revealing themselves. The mere fact that there is enough power somewhere to kill the Seven Dragon Lords serves as a powerful deterrent.
Even if the front collapses, even if countless people are being slaughtered. Heroes never appear to save them. Instead, the Hero Party infiltrated enemy territory to assassinate the Seven Dragon Lords and the Demon King.
Therefore, strictly speaking, heroes were not humanity's guardians. If classified by role, they were closer to humanity's avengers, agents of vengeance.
The same applies now that the war is over. The Hero Party's seclusion makes a tremendous contribution to the peace of the Allied Kingdoms. The fact that experts capable of assassinating even the Demon King are scattered and living in seclusion in various countries can, by itself, be a terror to ambitious individuals.
"I know. I know. But disciple. It's a more serious problem than you think."
Enrique looked at Ivan with a bitter smile.
"They're preparing for war, not terrorism. The dwarves, I mean. Military factories were operating throughout the mountain range."
Meeting Ivan's gaze directly, Enrique slowly opened her mouth.
"Not against us, not against humanity. They were preparing for civil war. Aviditas, remember?"
"..."
Ivan's gaze deepened. The Dragon Lord Aviditas. Why is that dead specter from the past here now...?
"That crazy lich was destroyed... but his apostles are still alive. Ever since Aviditas's floating island crashed until now. They've divided the dwarves in half and kidnapped the Secretary General's son."
"..."
"If they win the civil war, the conflict will shift to the northern front. They'll definitely want to destroy this country."
What Aviditas's apostles want is probably revenge. Punishment for the blasphemers who killed their god.
Their holy war will certainly be directed at Krasilov. The dwarf civil war is merely the prelude.
Enrique had to invest all her time in contacting dwarves who opposed the war and understanding the situation.
"Krasilov's national structure no longer has the capacity to wage war. 'Little' Ivan. Please."
Looking at the most reliable and competent expert when dealing with dwarves and necromancers.
Enrique straightened her posture with serious eyes.
"Let's save this country. Let's go finish what we couldn't finish in the last war."
Ivan looked quietly into Enrique's eyes and then sighed. He carefully placed his beard comb in the desk drawer and locked the complex locking mechanism with clicks.
"My vacation is going to be longer than expected."