An explosion echoed through the night, startling everyone awake.
At that moment, Eve entered the immigration office.
"Hello, I am Eve Waldeurk, the head of the Polaris Immigration Office."
Eve's eyes widened as she took in the occupants.
Theo, Aisha, Amy, as well as the academy principal, the princess of the Wood Elf tribe, and a flashy-looking man were all present.
It was a gathering of members she had never anticipated.
But what surprised her even more was Theo's manner of speaking.
"It's been a while, Eve."
He had used respectful form of speech with her.
Just before entering the academy, he had openly expressed the opinion that "collateral branches are a disgrace to the Waldeurk family."
He would use informal speech with anyone, regardless of their status or age, if they were from a collateral branch.
'Has he become this kind of person? What happened to him during this time?'
Eve greeted Theo with mixed feelings.
"Uh, yes. Hello, Theo...?"
Theo stood up and spoke.
"Yes. I would like to catch up more, but it doesn't seem like the right time for that."
With that, Theo left the immigration office.
Amy, Aisha, Taylor, and Eve followed him.
Siena and Luna, after bickering with each other, slowly made their way out as well.
Outside, knights and soldiers were bustling about in a panic.
"Everyone, gather up! Is the 5-minute standby team not ready yet?"
"We are currently putting on our equipment, squad leader! We assemble in 3 minutes."
"Damn, in such an urgent situation! I told everyone to be equipped and ready!"
"Have we located where the bomb went off?"
"We suspect it's near the fountain in the square! We haven't pinpointed the exact location yet."
"Once the 5-minute standby team is assembled, we move out. Inform the citizens first! Tell them not to leave their homes!"
Theo watched the situation unfold from a distance.
'It's better to act separately.'
The Polaris Knights are formidable in open combat but ill-suited for capturing elusive bomb terrorists like now.
The terrorists who carried out the bombing are likely few in number.
Even if Oswald, a strong member of [Turning White], is behind them, with the current team, even without the fickle Luna's help, it was worth attempting.
'We'll leave as soon as possible.'
While the Polaris Knights draw their attention, taking a different route to strike them seemed the most efficient.
Theo asked Siena.
"Siena. Can you find the location of the ones who threw the bomb? Start with the area around the square's fountain."
"Hmm, wait a moment. Swoosh-swoosh! Zoom-zoom! Swish-swish!"
Siena summoned the trio of wind spirits and whispered something to them.
However, her expression soon turned grim.
"They say the area around the fountain is severely damaged and they can't locate the culprits. There's a smell around the fountain that the spirits dislike."
"Is that so."
An item immediately came to Theo's mind.
"An anti-spirit potion, then."
Before acquiring Little Fist, it was an item Amy had given him to drive away Siena's spirits, and he had actually used it.
As far as he knew, there was only one person on the continent capable of making this item, and that person was affiliated with Equilibrium.
Theo asked Taylor calmly.
"Branch head, I want to find their location. Do you have any ideas?"
"No, nothing comes to mind."
Taylor answered nonchalantly.
Even Theo, with his keen observation skills, couldn't immediately tell if the answer was truthful or not.
Although Theo had been interacting well with Taylor, he didn't fully trust him. Taylor was a person whose thoughts and plans were always confusing.
'Then.'
Theo categorized the current situation into three cases in his mind.
First, Taylor is lying.
Second, the creator of the anti-spirit potion has been bribed by [Turning White].
Third, there is another creator of the anti-spirit potion.
Anyway, he decided to continue this thought later.
'We have no choice but to go to the fountain in the square.'
Theo prepared to run and told his companions.
"Let's quickly move to the fountain in the square and check for any clues left by them."
Theo and his group arrived at the fountain in the square.
Aisha spoke bitterly.
"It's tragic."
True to her words, the vicinity was filled with traces of the explosion.
Although it was late and there were few casualties, the fountain, as well as the nearby shops, were all destroyed.
Luna frowned.
"Really bad people. They even sent innocent cats to the starry skies."
She looked down at the numerous dead bodies of stray cats caught in the terror attack and chanted softly.
Soon after, she scoffed.
"They blocked the use of magic? Despicably cunning enough to make one want to tear them apart."
The terrorists had anticipated Luna's arrival.
Then, the [Demon Sword] strapped to Theo's waist buzzed.
─Child. In the northwest direction from your current position, about 50 meters away, someone is watching us. It's too far to see who it is, but... the sneaking glances are suspicious.
─It is indeed suspicious.
It was strange for someone to be outside, especially after being advised not to leave their homes.
At the same time, the adage that the criminal returns to the scene of the crime came to mind.
"Someone is watching us. Follow me immediately."
After murmuring quietly, Theo concentrated energy into his legs and cast [Haste].
'Magic use through [Magic Cartridge] is possible.'
Theo dashed towards the suspicious figure.
With a tearing sound of the wind, Theo disappeared.
"Wow. That kid, he's incredibly fast? Even though magic should be blocked."
"That's right. I had no idea Theo's running skills were this good."
The group forgot his instruction to follow immediately and stared at the spot where he had vanished.
As soon as he saw me running, the guy started to flee.
He clearly had something to hide.
He was fast, but I quickly caught up to him from behind.
However, his movements were so swift that it was difficult to catch him.
I aimed for his legs and swung my sword, but he dodged my blade strangely, as if he had eyes on the back of his head.
'This guy.'
I immediately said to Nay.
─Nay Nay. I need to grab this guy's ankle. Please transform into a whip.
─Understood.
With a hissing sound, the [Demon Sword] transformed into a whip.
I aimed for his ankle and lashed out with the whip.
"Ugh!"
Apparently not expecting the whip, it wrapped around his ankle. He tumbled forward at the speed he was running.
I stepped firmly on his back, holding the whip wrapped around his ankle tightly.
"If you move without my permission, I will ensure you can never use your legs again."
But he didn't listen to me quietly.
"F*ck off!"
He struggled to escape.
I infused energy into the whip wrapped around his ankle, making it hard as a metal club.
I forcefully twisted the whip in the opposite direction of his ankle.
"Aaaaah!"
His scream echoed.
But I pressed down emotionlessly on his back with my foot.
"Next time, it will be the other ankle."
I wrapped the whip around the opposite ankle.
He whimpered and mumbled.
"Just kill me! You devilish bastard!"
"You have a sharp tongue."
I infused energy into the whip again.
"Damn—! You bastard!!"
As he mourned the imminent parting from his ankle.
"Phew~ You're quite fast, Theo."
Taylor and the group arrived.
Seeing the situation, Taylor understood immediately and came over to me.
"Hahaha, Theo. That's a rather aggressive negotiation technique. Such methods often backfire."
"Is that so."
"Would you let me handle this? You learn quickly, Theo, so just watch from the side for a bit."
Taylor gave a benign smile.
Nay commented.
─That flashy kid seems quite the lunatic.
─I agree.
─In my experience, such kids can be quite creative. They are also capable of producing results.
Well, Nay's commentary wasn't necessary.
Taylor is an executive of Equilibrium, the continent's largest assassination guild.
Naturally, he would have a deep understanding of negotiation techniques.
I said to Taylor.
"Then, I will learn from you, Branch head."
"Hahaha, thank you."
In less than two hours, Taylor managed to-
"I, I'll talk! Please, just spare my life... sob, sob..."
-successfully extract meaningful information from him.
