# "When Will That Thing Go Back?"
"When will that thing ever go back?"
"Who knows what the Privy Council is thinking."
"What does the Privy Council have to do with it? That belongs to the Naval Command!"
The elves who had started their ordinary school life were, at this time, engulfed in confusion.
Even elves with high self-esteem and steeped in national pride have their limits. They were now grinding their teeth amid secondhand embarrassment and the subtle contempt of humans.
On the first day when the warship floated above their heads, the elf students proudly puffed out their chests, saying things like:
"See that? We're so awesome that we can float a warship in the middle of the human capital and everyone just stands around watching!"
These amazing people who had floated a warship at the entrance ceremony began to feel something subtly off after a week had passed.
"But even if it's an era where warships aren't necessary, is this really okay...?"
This was fear, close to survival instinct.
After all, placing a war machine in another country's capital is an enormous military provocation.
And if, by some remote chance, that military provocation led to war, they would instantly transform from students to prisoners.
In this primitive pre-modern fantasy world, there is no Geneva Convention.
Of course, in border disputes of the United Kingdom, prisoners aren't openly executed, and they probably wouldn't behead the sons and daughters of noble families who had gone abroad to study.
But that's something you might say only in a world where "common sense" prevails.
In other words, just imagining what kind of rampage the human kingdom (believed among elves to lack common sense) might go on makes their survival instincts twitch.
And finally, after another week passed—a full fortnight.
Looking up at their proud aerial warship still floating in the sky, the elves finally exhibited their racial characteristics.
They are at the forefront of civilization, parliamentary politics, and constitutional democratic monarchy.
Therefore, following their racial characteristics, they finally organized political parties. This means factional fighting had begun.
The elf students had now started a civil war, divided between the Privy Council faction and the Naval Command faction. (Civil war is also one of their racial characteristics.)
Of course, who holds royal authority cannot resolve this situation. Electing a freshman class president won't make a perfectly good warship say "Oh, congratulations" and return home.
In any case.
Outside: contempt and threats from humans.
Inside: the warm political activities among elves.
And above: that warship, just floating in the sky without any communication.
In this chaotic era where peace had become a vulgar joke.
A gardener and a young human noble visited the elf students' dormitory.
This happened the day after Dmitri carefully handed Ivan a "mission order."
Rewinding time briefly to the previous day. That is, the evening when Elizabeta decided she needed to take an axe to the elf captain's neck.
Dmitri headed to the orphanage where he had personally picked the royal treasury's lock every year, laundered the money cleanly, and then tucked it into his back pocket.
Since Elizabeta was fundamentally a shy girl (in his personal opinion), this matter had been conducted without informing Ivan.
In other words, Dmitri had been reigning as the orphanage's biggest benefactor until now. Officially, it was vaguely explained away as "preferential treatment for former officials" or "supporting a retired lieutenant colonel who couldn't receive his military pension." But regardless, wasn't it his hand that had provided the money?
"Oh, hello there, children!"
"..."
Dmitri walked through the grounds with a kindly smile for these eerie students who moved about with suspicious quietness.
It felt like walking down the corridor of a Counter-Intelligence Command political prisoner correctional facility. Mainly because the watchers were silently observing from corners of his vision without making a sound.
"I don't want to interfere with my respected senior's personal hobbies, but isn't this bordering on national treason?"
How did he come up with the idea of collecting orphans and using them as field agents?
Dmitri rubbed his creepy neck as he walked to the director's office.
Passing a Droan soldier making suspicious sounds—rip, rip—as he destroyed laundry.
Then passing a strange teacher wearing an odd hat who was being collectively lynched by the children.
"Senior, are you in?"
"Today you came through the door."
When he opened the director's office door, beyond the surprisingly desolate interior, he saw Ivan.
Ivan was flipping through a stack of documents with cold eyes.
"What brings you here?"
"Oh, um. I see you have a guest?"
"Ah, you're my brother's friend! Don't mind me, please continue with your business!"
"...brother...?"
It seemed his senior had surprisingly gained a much younger sibling.
After staring at the face of the young man with the lively expression for a while, Dmitri snapped his fingers. He thought the face looked familiar, and indeed it was someone he knew.
"Aren't you Lord Karamzin! My goodness, fancy meeting you here!"
"Lord? I'm just a student! Please speak comfortably!"
The worst troublemaker in high society suddenly enrolling in a theological school had caused quite a stir around Pritzenkaya for a while.
Isn't he the youngest son of the Karamzin ducal family, which had produced several defense ministers?
And such a person calling our senior, who never had any interest in politics, "brother"...?
When Dmitri's eyes flashed sharply, Ivan thumped the desk.
"Yevgeny. Wait outside."
"Yes, brother! Please continue comfortably! I'll be doing volunteer work!"
"Keep an eye on how many loads of laundry Mord has ruined."
"Yes, brother!"
Yuri backed out of the director's office with a sycophantic smile. Watching this scene with blank eyes, Dmitri tilted his head slightly.
"Your tastes have changed quite a bit, Senior? Didn't you used to dislike such people...?"
"The kid is nice."
"Come to think of it, your expression seems to have improved too. It must be because of Lady Enrique."
Ivan thumped the desk repeatedly and heavily. Always so quick-tempered. Dmitri grinned and pulled a letter from inside his coat.
"Colonel Kirillovna...?"
"The Minister of the Royal Household, you mean. Anyway, um. The situation is a bit complicated. And you're the only one who can help."
Dmitri handed over the letter and sprawled on the sofa.
"You know, I give you a lot of money every year. You could use a more expensive sofa."
Ignoring Dmitri's words, Ivan read the letter and frowned deeply.
This is quite a significant matter.
"Are you serious?"
"Would our princess joke about something like this?"
Infiltrate the Kalion warship floating above St. Yansk University and threaten the captain.
But at the same time, avoid casualties among the ship's crew as much as possible.
"Why?"
"Ah, this is a bit complicated."
Dmitri frowned. Where should I begin explaining this?
"It seems that warship is malfunctioning somehow. No matter how crazy those pointy-ears are, they wouldn't militarily provoke the capital for over two weeks. There's no reason."
"And?"
"So. We want to use this opportunity to catch our Foreign Minister... His Highness Alexandr."
Dmitri slowly straightened his back. With the smile gone from his face, he wore the expression of the Counter-Intelligence Command Investigation Bureau's Internal Inspection Lieutenant Colonel.
"The Kalion people know very well that our country is in shambles. Meanwhile, our Princess Highness personally came to 'threaten' them."
If the warship faces a real threat in the midst of this, the captain will certainly try to join hands with the Crown Prince.
That was the intention from the beginning when they provoked the captain.
"We need a scene where His Highness the Crown Prince makes contact with the elves. A scene that could implicate him in planning a military coup through the elf warship."
"That's extreme."
"Everything our Princess Highness does is like that."
"Is that the only objective?"
"Of course not. When have we ever worked that way?"
Dmitri stood up with a sinister smile.
"We will seize the Kalion warship. While condemning those pointy-ears who dared aim their cannons at the great Krasilov Palace. After declaring that they attempted a coup with the Crown Prince, we've already prepared to send an official letter of protest to the Kalion Privy Council."
"Kalion will dismiss it as the deviation of a single captain, and in return..."
"They'll have to approve 'docking' the 'totally destroyed' warship for 'repairs' on the outskirts of Pritzenkaya."
The aerial warship is exclusively Kalion's war machine.
However, as is often the case with technology, there's always a risk of leakage.
Therefore, they will seize the warship. After seizure, they will attempt reverse engineering under the pretext of repairing the "totally destroyed" warship.
From Kalion's perspective, it's not a complete loss. Considering the cost and labor required to build such a warship, Krasilov could never surpass Kalion's navy in the number of ships it could maintain.
But those few aerial warships are crucial for Krasilov. Without ice-free ports, Krasilov's maritime trade completely stops during winter.
If the operation succeeds, the princess will gain tremendous justification.
One such conspiracy won't cause Alexandr's downfall, but it will at least put him under enough political pressure to make him unable to move freely for the time being.
And if they acquire the "aerial warship design"...
They can move the military, which had declared neutrality in the internal conflict between the Crown Prince and Princess. After all, powerful war machines naturally go to the military.
Practical benefits, justification, and support.
They aim for three goals with one operation. Even if they don't achieve the best results, there will be no damage to the princess.
Wasn't it the elves' fault for docking a warship in front of the palace in the first place?
"Only you can do this, Senior. All the agents we can move are already exposed, and the undercover ones can't carry out the operation."
Right now, the only force the princess can move in Pritzenkaya is the Counter-Intelligence Command.
Since Enrique doesn't follow the palace's orders, Ivan is the princess's strongest card.
The Lumberjack, the Butcher of the Seven Dragons, the Great King's Executioner.
"Little" Ivan.
"If this matter is handled well, you won't need to carry out your existing operation, Senior. If the Crown Prince becomes a vegetable, there's no need to protect the distinguished guests at St. Yansk University. If you need other compensation... um. The princess asked me to convey this."
Dmitri hesitated for a moment, then carefully said:
"She will offer the position of State Secretary... she said."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
"Um... Her Highness will be hurt."
"Tell Her Highness to look at the sky."
Ivan said as he rose from his seat.
"Has there been any change?"
"Yes, brother! The text in the [Quest Window] has changed!"
Ivan nodded at Yuri's words.
After Dmitri left, Yuri returned to the director's office and quickly wrote down the changed quest text and handed it over.
["B-Rank Linked Quest" Krasilov Court Intrigue]
[The Princess wants to seize control of the court by obtaining the Crown Prince's weakness. Now, the fate of the Krasilov royal family rests on your choice!]
[Objective: Follow the Princess's orders to prove the collusion between the Kalion aerial warship captain and the Crown Prince.]
[Optional Objective: Ensure the survival of all aerial warship crew members]
[Optional Objective: Capture the aerial warship]
[Optional Objective: Inform Crown Prince Alexandr of the conspiracy details and proceed to the next linked quest]
[Objective Reward: ????]
[Failure Penalty: ????]
After reading the memo once, Ivan nodded.
"You'll have to come with me for this operation."
"Me? Really?"
"I need to see how the success rewards are given, and how the quest progresses."
These "quests" are generally registered before an "incident" occurs.
This is natural, if you think about it. There's no reason to throw a quest for an event that's already over.
Therefore, quests serve as early warning systems for future events.
In fact, the quest that appeared before Dmitri's visit was [Court Intrigue]. It was the type that asked you to understand the conspiracy involving the aerial warship and proceed with the mission by taking the side of either the Princess or the Crown Prince.
In other words, it was a "faction selection" quest.
Although faction selection wasn't complete yet, the moment he heard the princess's plan, the quest content changed. It changed to the form of conspiracy progression and informing.
An early warning system with real-time updates. An extremely useful resource.
Ivan looked at Yuri, whose value was increasingly growing, and thought:
'The transmigrators I know are the Demon King, the Hero, and me.'
The common point among the three is that they were all beings who reached the pinnacle in their respective fields.
And this guy, though still immature, shows enough potential to be considered in that category.
'Other transmigrators might be the same.'
What abilities they have.
What stories they carry.
And what ending they will face.
At the end of that conclusion, what form of ending credits they will see.
The Demon King died, the Hero disappeared, and he himself still remains.
Then what about other transmigrators? If they conclude their stories, will they die? Will they disappear? Or will they remain?
There was much to find out, a definite way to find out, and a reason to know.
"Tomorrow morning, 'persuade' the elf named Oswald and Yuri, and we'll begin the operation tomorrow night."
"What should I do, brother?"
"Assist."
I should train this guy as an agent, Ivan thought as he nodded.