We barely touched our drinks before slipping out at 4 a.m. to head to the dorms.

It was because of my future.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I was so out of it, barely noticing if the liquor was going in my mouth or my nose. There was another issue, less pressing than my future but still a problem.

I’d only managed to gather 2 points of favorability from Eszett.

‘I could probably squeeze 1 point from Ulrike. But Yulia… how do I approach her?’

That’s the tricky part.

If they were complete strangers, I could just dive in headfirst with what you’d call a “conquest” strategy, no holds barred. But these are friends, teammates I’ll have to face until graduation.

If I pull that kind of stunt, it’ll end up worse than a failed group project—nothing more, nothing less.

‘…If I gain favorability and rewind time, does it reset?’

I pinched my cheek at that thought.

Now I’m starting to think unethical shit. No, I just realized none of the ideas I’ve had so far are exactly wholesome.

It feels like my brain’s being pickled in the direction this system wants.

Anyway, how do I build genuine friendship…?

“Gah, your cheek’s all… purple. What the hell?!”

Looking up, I saw Narce holding the doorknob, staring back at me.

I pinched myself to stay quiet, but I must’ve done it too hard.

“Just pinched it.”

“Uh…?”

Ignoring his confusion, I shoved him into the room.

As I stepped into his new dorm room, the scene was different from before.

“Nice dorm.”

“Oh, you didn’t check it out last time?”

“Nope.”

The dorm was pristine.

Bigger than his old one, it felt more spacious and comfortable.

“So, you said you wanted me to use my ability on something?” Narce said, settling into a seat.

After hearing Daniel’s words earlier, I’d asked Narce to take a look when he had time, since I needed help interpreting something.

With Narce dropping that unsettling prophecy, it seemed wise to get another opinion before shit hits the fan.

Of course, I can’t expect much insight here. He didn’t see Daniel’s face or hear the conversation firsthand.

I’ll just take it as an extra opinion. Since I can’t tell Narce everything, I’ll start with what’s safe to share—the figure from the scriptures who killed his brother.

“Narce. In the scriptures, Cain is banished from Eden to Nod.”

“Yeah.”

“But what do you think it means if Cain stays in Eden and God has no intention of banishing him?”

“…Blasphemy…?”

I let out a hollow laugh at Narce’s instinctive response.

He seemed embarrassed by the reflexive answer, waving his hand.

“No, no~ I mean, if that’s the case, there’s surely a divine purpose, but the scriptures aren’t written that way~ Leaving humanity’s first murderer in Eden? Why? You heard something like that?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s probably not about the Old Testament era. The Abel and Cain story must apply to our time. Does it mean this era’s Cain will stay in Eden? Or that God deliberately placed this era’s Cain in Eden? One of those two.”

“Hmm… That’s the worst.”

Given the context, Cain’s probably Adrian Askanian, right?

But that won’t happen.

I’ll make damn sure it doesn’t.

“What about being told to become Rosalind?”

“Rosalind? Maybe ‘become someone who knows how to love’~?”

“I already know how.”

“More sincerely!”

I think I was sincere enough.

Anyway, he’s not getting a read on this one either.

I gave up expecting much and moved to the next question.

“Thanks. Last one. What does ‘Caesarea is right in front of you’ mean?”

“……”

Narce’s expression hardened for the first time.

“Where’d you hear that?”

“Same place as the other two questions.”

“Hmm… Caesarea Philippi, maybe? It’s not exactly close, so maybe it’s a scriptural metaphor.”

Given the Christian cultural context, scriptural metaphors are common, so he should know, but without context, it seemed tricky for him too.

“First, Caesarea is where Jesus declared to Peter, ‘On this rock, I will build my church.’”

“Right. So what does it mean that it’s right in front of you?”

“Well, maybe another church reformation’s coming?”

“……”

How does he say that so casually…?

Sometimes I wonder what this guy’s deal is.

“Haha, bit unlikely? Then let’s move forward. It’s also where Jesus asked his disciples, ‘Who do you say I am?’ It’s famous for Peter’s confession of faith.”

I know that much.

The problem is the interpretation.

If even Narce is struggling with this, I should put it on hold.

“Hmm, too abstract~ Does it mean you need to recognize God? But you can use Divine Power without faith, so… I don’t think you need to start believing in God now.”

“Is it okay for you to say that?”

“Huh? Of course not!”

“Right…”

He’s impossible to pin down.

But soon, I understood why he spoke like that. Narce’s eyes gleamed as he said, “Theoretically, learning to use Divine Power isn’t impossible, but there’s no real precedent. An atheist with Divine Power? That’s a rare case worth preserving, don’t you think?”

“Your curiosity’s something else.”

“Well, anyway, I’m not thrilled with my interpretation either. I’ll dig into it more later, so let’s take it slow. Now, about your future…”

“Narce.”

“Yeah?”

I looked at his smile and thought.

There’s something I need to ask before getting to the main point.

He’d previously said Heike hadn’t used her ability often.

I assumed she hadn’t and asked her based on that, but she said she *had* used it a lot.

There are four possibilities: Narce’s standards differ from ours, his Insight can’t read far back, like a decade ago, he lied to me, or his Level 2 Insight malfunctioned.

“Narce. You told me before that Heike hadn’t used her ability much.”

“Yeah.”

He seemed to catch what I was getting at and explained right away.

“Honestly, when she said today she used it a lot, I was thrown off. But here’s what I picked up back then: ‘I can’t use my ability on people. What if they ask me to? On people? I’m not ready for that at all.’ …I figured if she felt and thought like that, she probably hadn’t used it much.”

“……”

I stayed silent, then smiled.

“Got it.”

“…Oh, how do I get closer to Lucas…?”

I considered there might be another possibility, and he knows I’m thinking that.

That’s why he’s reacting this way.

But I don’t fundamentally distrust him. I still rely on his Insight and Foresight, and he’s been a good ally.

Besides, I can’t share everything with my friends, including him, so I’m not about to blame Narce alone.

“We’re past the point of debating how close we are, right? I trust you, Narce.”

“Of course. You know that.”

He grinned and changed the subject.

“Alright, shall we move on to something else?”

“Yeah. Why’d you say we need to do our best about me?”

“Haha…”

As the moment to read the future arrived, Narce’s face darkened.

“I can’t bring myself to tell you. Honestly, I’m not even sure I read the future right.”

“What the hell did you see?”

“Ugh… My stomach’s churning.”

Narce shuddered, giving a faint smile like his soul had left his body.

“……”

No idea what he saw to act like that.

“Tell me what you saw, Narce. So I can prepare.”

“…All I can say for sure is this: The Pentalon checkpoint duty doesn’t feel like it’ll go in our favor. Honestly, I’m not sure we’ll even last until the closing ceremony.”

“We won’t make it?”

“Maybe we’ll have to step back for safety reasons?”

A lot could change in a month, so that’s probably why he’s saying this.

I smirked and shook my head.

“If that’s the case, might as well step back now.”

“You know…”

“It won’t work, right?”

“Yeah. And avoiding it won’t solve anything. Pentalon’s a problem, but so are we.”

It’s not that trouble happens *because* we’re on Pentalon checkpoint duty…

“We’re targets, and so is Pentalon?”

“Something like that.”

So even if we leave Pentalon, it’ll still be attacked, and we’ll get hit wherever we go next.

That changes things.

“Knowing your life in advance is kinda fun.”

I smiled into the void.

Might as well aim for a two-for-one deal.

I’ll have to take some losses no matter where I go, so if I’m gonna deal with it, let’s deal with it and take down both.

Narce, who’d been chuckling, gradually lost his smile and tilted his head.

“Lucas, honestly, I’m not sure I read it right.”

“Then why’d you say it…?”

“Still gotta tell you. Just in case it actually happens.”

“Then tell me details so I can avoid it.”

Feels like an endless loop.

Narce shook his head.

“You can’t avoid it. The only advice I can give is this.”

“What? Tell me. I’ll take it to heart.”

“Don’t get entangled with people.”

* * *

Don’t get entangled?

I need to collect 10 points of favorability from Eszett.

Not to mention, avoiding people altogether is damn near impossible.

Our job requires us to deal with people.

“Everyone coming here is a New Human, so they’ll all have IDs. Only mages can enter right now. Most are regulars, so you can relax.”

At 6 a.m. the next day, we were at the stadium early.

Checking IDs isn’t our main task; it’s just to get a feel for the place.

From the afternoon, we’ll be scanning the stadium for hazardous elements with Magic Power.

‘I took the exam to send victims to the hospital, not to run a damn checkpoint for the third round.’

We tried to handle as many victims as possible to keep other teams from interfering, but that’s tough now that we’re stuck here.

Still, knowing someone’s targeting Pentalon, I don’t have major complaints about being assigned here.

A Pentalon department official looked at us and said, “Things are tense with Pleroma right now, so you need to be firm. You can subdue and hand over to the police or use magic, but don’t be too aggressive—it’ll make people uneasy. You get it, right? Be friendly. Believe it or not, people your level scare others, even fellow mages.”

Got it, warm iced Americano, coming right up.

The vague “find the right balance” comment put a slight tension on my teammates’ faces.

“If someone asks for a handshake, just do it, and answer politely unless it’s too personal. Obviously, don’t eat anything but water while on duty. Contact us if you need a break, and we’ll cover. We’ll take over at noon anyway, so you can wait till then.”

“Yes.”

Why handshakes? But other mage groups handled this place before the national teams arrived, so it’s probably from their experience.

That was the end of the briefing.

I headed to my assigned gate and waited.

Hardly anyone was around at 6 a.m., but by 7, people started flooding in.

The staff—since this was the employee entrance—looked dead inside, and their faces dropped even more when they saw me.

I wasn’t fazed; it’s not surprising anymore.

What *was* surprising was that some didn’t react that way. A few just stared at me with wide eyes and gave me favorability for a brief greeting.

Ding—!

Favorability +1

‘Oh.’

Not bad for being outside school.

I watched the random number pop up, handing back an ID to a mage who looked at me like I was a curiosity.

“You’re good to go.”

He nodded and went inside.

Some actually asked for handshakes, ranging from my age to elderly.

“Congrats on first place.”

“Thanks.”

I lightly shook a stranger’s hand and smiled.

Another favorability window popped up.

By 10 a.m., I’d probably racked up 50 points today.

‘Nice, but… good thing ID checks are just for today.’

Standing in the same position for four hours is killing my legs.

At least observing favorability kept me from getting bored.

Noting the traits of people passing through, just in case of an incident, was mildly entertaining.

One thing in common: they were all basic Grade 9 mages.

The kind we’d almost call civilians—barely enough Magic Power to use warp magic, the lowest tier of mages.

Probably low nobles, barely above commoners.

Then, a young mage approached, hood up and a hat pulled low.

“ID, please.”

“……”

Maybe because the checkpoint staff changed, he stared at my face, eyes wide.

I was about to tell him to hurry up with the ID when he spoke.

“You’re Askanian, right?”

“Yes.”

“Can I get a handshake? Man, I was so impressed. Eszett’s number one.”

‘Dramatic much?’

His grand gestures and flair made me suspicious, but I extended my hand.

He reached for it but quickly pulled back.

“Can you take off your glove?”

“What?”

I stared, unable to process what I’d heard.

The moment I was sure he’d said it, a million thoughts raced through my mind.

Take it off? Why?

He’s not asking to keep it, is he? Not like he wants to visit the police station, so probably not outright theft.

I admitted this weird request was beyond my common sense.

So, my answer was clear.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“ID first.”

“Oh, of course. Got it ready.”

He pulled a crumpled paper from his pocket, grabbed my hand, and shoved it in. Shaking him off, I held my breath at a strange smell.

It was like he’d doused the paper in every perfume he could find.

Holding my breath, I checked the name.

[Alex Müller]

[Hanover Governor’s Certification: General Grade 9]

Müller.

The surname caught my eye.

A dime-a-dozen name.

The first name, too—just as generic, no distinguishing traits.

He kept staring at my face while I checked. Or so it seemed.

“Cool eyes. Real mage vibes? How’s it feel to have a one-of-a-kind color?”

“Where do you work?”

“Building A, basement cafeteria. New manager this time.”

I nodded, glancing between the ID and him.

No anomalies in his Magic Power.

Nothing to detain him for on appearance alone.

What, call him in for questioning because he drenched his ID in 20 perfumes?

‘Not bad.’

I tapped my artifact to call the security team.

Warping in, the security mages glanced at him and signaled me.

Handing over the ID, they grimaced slightly.

“Sorry, but with security concerns, we need to search you briefly.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

He raised his arms, calmly watching the mages empty his pockets. Then he looked at me and said, “I thought *you’d* do it, but guess not?”

The security mage, unaware of his earlier odd behavior, replied casually, “We’ve got it~ All clear. Things are tense, so we check for odors too. Come prepared, and you’ll pass quickly.”

“Got it.”

He took his ID back from me and stared at it.

Then, without blinking, he looked up.

“Gotta keep this forever.”

“……”

What, were you gonna throw it out?

Of course you keep it.

‘The world’s big, and lunatics are plenty.’

All kinds, too.

After meeting this guy, the magic-crazed weirdo at the opposite gate seems like a tame lunatic by comparison. Feels like I’m confirmed not to have crazy friends, and that warms my heart.

Of course, that’s just an immediate impression.

‘Alex Müller, huh.’

You can’t miss a red flag this big.

He’s likely the reason Narce felt nauseous.

The next two hours went smoothly.

As lunchtime neared, I started to get up.

Then, the break room door flew open.

“Yo, Luca~”

Elias barged into our team’s private break room. This time, he was paired with someone else.

‘Was hoping to team up with Narce.’

Too bad he’s off using Divine Power solo.

I asked Elias, “Done eating already?”

“The bread was trash, so I tossed it.”

“Alright. I’m hitting the bathroom. Wait here.”

“What for?! I’m coming!”

Just washing my hands and fixing my hat, but he’s gotta ask.

He’s always poking around, but Elias seems extra bored today.

Thinking that, I let him trail me back to my post.

“…Huh.”

“What?!”

Look at this guy. So many questions today, and his voice is unnecessarily loud.

More importantly…

‘Where’s my glove?’

It wasn’t on the table where it should’ve been.

Elias, watching me, asked, “Missing a glove? Got a spare?”

“……”

I do.

But…

Elias pulled a new pair from his belt clutch and handed them over.

“Thanks. But, Elias.”

“Yeah, what?”

“Earlier, someone asked if I’d take off my glove for a handshake.”

“Huh?”

Silence.

Elias’s face, struggling to process what he’d heard, was priceless.

“…Should we call Narce? The break room’s great for strategy but the worst for this.”

“Gotta talk via artifact.”

“Yeah, we should. Or just go to Narce?”

“No.”

We’ll talk, but no need to meet in person yet. If a bigger issue pops up, Narce will contact us.

There’s no hard evidence the thief is that guy, but my gut’s screaming, so the answer is to catch him and shake him down.

“Let’s keep watching.”

And if we grab him and turn him inside out, we’ll get the evidence.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep