## Chapter 261 – Counterattack (12)
‘I never expected a situation like this…!!’
Three girls fighting with different intentions.
And the sudden acceleration of the Lalatina conquest, which I thought should be done step by step.
The best-case scenario would be for Carla to abandon her reckless idea, but Hye-ryung’s involvement only made things worse.
So, I hastily wrote a letter telling Eloise to go to the second floor and dropped it on her head…
Who could have imagined that the biggest problem would arise after sending Eloise to stop the two of them?
“Professor Eloise…”
“Is the information… reliable…?
What happened, even…?”
Carla, overwhelmed by Eloise’s questioning, shrank back.
Perhaps because a faculty member was present, her confidence from just moments ago had vanished. She stammered, blurting out everything she knew in response to Eloise’s questions…
“My brother is a teaching assistant, so I heard things here and there…”
“I’m a professor too. I’ve heard some stories.
Besides, it’s a rumor that anyone living in the royal capital has heard at least once.
There’s no proof, but it’s said that a large cartel from the back alleys is targeting the Academy.”
How blatant had Lalatina been for such rumors to circulate so widely?
But the biggest problem was that even with such rumors, no one could say anything to her.
They might have heard about criminals from the back alleys, but the word “cartel” carried a different weight.
“A cartel…?
Why would a cartel target the Academy…?”
Eloise began to look troubled at Yui’s question.
It seemed like she was hesitant, wondering if she should be saying such things to students.
“I don’t know exactly… but it seems to be related to their business.
I heard they’ve recently been coming to discuss formal procedures…”
But perhaps thinking they needed to know, Eloise told them what she knew.
Inevitably, the girls’ expressions darkened upon hearing the story.
Yui, who had heard about the cartel’s notoriety from Raniena and Aurora every time she visited Enic, even though it was somewhat exaggerated.
And Hye-ryung, lost in thought, gauging the extent of the opponent’s abilities.
But Carla, the other one, clenched her small fist with a determined expression.
“Then… you know that the Academy will be affected if things continue like this…?
The Dean of the Department of Magic directly recommended that I transfer the rights to my research…
But Professor Eloise, you were the one who conveyed the Dean’s wishes…!!
I believed that my research would be used properly… that something like this wouldn’t happen…”
Of course, realistically, interfering with the affairs of a powerful cartel like Lalatina would likely lead to threats to one’s safety, let alone hindering them.
But perhaps because the line between innocence and foolishness is thin.
Even after hearing about the seriousness of the situation, Carla seemed determined to pursue the ideals she believed in…
“Um… Carla…
No matter what you say…
As a professor, I can’t just stand by and watch a student do something so reckless… Ah…!!”
At the sight of Eloise suddenly clutching her head, the girls, slightly surprised, approached her, but Eloise held out her hand.
“Professor…?”
“Are you alright…?”
“Ah… It’s nothing…!!”
Eloise, carefully stepping on something that had fallen to the floor with her shoe to hide it, forced an awkward smile while grumbling inwardly.
‘If you’re going to drop a letter, the least you could do is avoid the corners…
I’ll definitely say something if I ever meet you…’
“Ah… My stomach might be a little upset…
I’ll be right back, so let’s talk later?”
“Eh…? Professor…!?”
Now seemingly more skilled at hiding things, Eloise bent over, pretending to have a stomachache, and slipped the letter under her shoe.
She left the students behind and hurried to the bathroom in the workshop she had visited before.
“Haa… Haa…
What is it this time…”
Locking the door tightly, just in case, Eloise took out the neatly folded letter from the envelope.
As she began to read the letter, Eloise’s panting breath, filled with complaints, suddenly stopped, and her eyes widened as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have.
And the scream-like voice that followed might have been a bonus.
“Isn’t this… insane…!!”
“Professor…!! Does your stomach hurt a lot?
Should I prescribe some laxatives?”
“I’m not… constipated…!!”
Eloise, startled by Hye-ryung’s absurd question after hearing her scream, dropped the letter.
On the small letter at her feet, short sentences, written neatly as if printed, shimmered darkly on the parchment.
『Retrieve research results.
Address: 26 Pedierov Street, 3rd Block.
Lalatina Safehouse…』
“Just who are you…”
.
.
.
.
.
.
The letters on the nameplate in front of the door read, “26 Pedierov Street, 3rd Block.”
At first glance, the place looked like an ordinary empty house, but five burly men were sitting around a table in the living room, playing a card game.
If you only considered that, it might seem like a group of married men who had been kicked out by their wives were gathering to kill time until their wives’ anger subsided.
But when one of them stood up, slightly opened the door next to them, and glanced inside, several trunks and piles of parchment were scattered around the room.
After confirming that there were no problems, the man returned to his seat and picked up his cards, returning to the game.
“You bastards!!
Are you messing with me again?
Why are the cards changed!!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…?
Uno Reverse!! Haha!!”
“Let’s raise the stakes!!
Let’s make the pot bigger!!
If you’re scared, then die?”
And in front of that house’s door.
“There are people inside…”
“I know that too?”
At Yui’s voice, who was quietly listening at the door to gauge the situation inside, Hye-ryung’s nonchalant reply could be heard.
“Hye-ryung…! That’s not what I meant…!
Are you really going to do it…?
More importantly… is this really the right house…?
How does the professor know this…”
Then, Yui, whispering in a small voice but raising her voice, clutched her forehead, and Eloise, who was next to her, cleared her throat softly and tried to gloss over it.
“Well… I have a helper who gathers information…
Otherwise, there’s no way I would know this place…?
Still… it’s somewhat reliable information…
There must be a reason for asking me to do this…”
Yui’s eyes wavered at Eloise’s hesitant words.
But seeing Carla’s expectant expression next to her, Yui couldn’t say anything and could only sigh.
It was the evening of the next day that they finally came to this address written on the letter.
Because each of them had schedules such as school classes or research during the day, they took preparation time under the pretext of being fully prepared.
The four women gathered together in the evening and waited until the time when people became scarce at night.
Following the address written on the letter, they passed through the alley without any problems and successfully arrived in front of the house.
But now that they had come, it was so sloppy that Yui, who was restless with the feeling that the authenticity was confusing, gently shook Carla’s arm next to her.
“Carla… it’s dangerous inside, so stay here quietly.
Hye-ryung and I will go in.”
“I didn’t come here to stay still…!
Let’s just go in together…
The more hands, the faster we can find things…!”
“Well, Kazunomiya is right.
Where are you going to go if you can’t even fight?
I’m more than enough for those guys.
You, Miss, and Kazunomiya should stay here with the professor.
Securing an escape route is always the standard.”
Hye-ryung, who had thrown off her cloak, was wearing an outfit that resembled the night clothes of assassins, unlike her usual cheongsam or school uniform.
Hye-ryung, wearing a confident, rotten smile, applied something from a vial she took out of her pocket to the hinges of the door, and then gently placed her hand on the doorknob.
As she slowly turned the doorknob of the door that had become silent, the door was quietly opening.
Anyway, like Lalatina’s tendency to completely reveal herself,
Perhaps her theory was that the parts that should be hidden should also be revealed within the ordinary.
Even if they were to carry out airtight security with dozens or hundreds of burly men, it would not be enough, but they looked so sloppy that they could sneak into the front of the door without any problems.
“Isn’t it too defenseless…?”
“Well, it’s a place that only looks like an ordinary house on the outside.
If you do shady things in a place like this, it can naturally become a disguise.
The Tang Clan also owns several such houses.”
“Is that… something you can tell us……?”
“It’s okay. I can just bury you as soon as you blab it out?
I won’t even spare you, Miss, in that regard?”
Carla shuddered at Hye-ryung’s chilling words.
Well, it would be more suspicious to organize a splendid defense force in such an ordinary place.
However, once such information is leaked, such camouflage completely loses its effectiveness.
“I’ll finish this quickly.
Just watch.”
