Chapter 68: Hostage Crisis (1)

I wanted to use [Detection] to accurately gauge the number of enemies.

But with Karina right below me, that was impossible.

The moment I moved my mana, her sharp senses would surely pick up on it.

Here, I had to be nothing more than a swordsmanship specialist.

‘Damn it.’

With no other choice, I heightened my senses.

I could feel three presences. That was all.

But I couldn’t tell if there were more enemies beyond the corridor.

Even now, the enemy was getting closer.

If this kept up, getting caught was only a matter of time.

‘What do I do?’

My palms started to sweat coldly.

The problem, as expected, was the hostage.

Taking down these guys wasn’t actually difficult.

I didn’t even need Karina; I could handle it alone.

But.

If there’s a hostage, the situation changes.

‘If the main force on the second floor finds out these guys are down, the hostages won’t be safe.’

But getting caught wasn’t an option either.

Karina, standing next to me, kept jabbing me with her elbow.

Her glare seemed to ask, ‘Why are you hesitating instead of killing them all?’

‘Wait.’

I deliberately put on an irritated expression and mouthed the word.

Karina, seemingly annoyed herself, bit her lip but quieted down, probably because of the Echo Stone.

I suppressed her actions and racked my brain.

No matter how much I thought, there was only one best solution.

‘The only way is to take them out quickly so the main force on the second floor notices as late as possible.’

In other words, we’d launch a preemptive strike.

If they spotted us, a fight would be inevitable, and the second floor would learn of our presence.

So, it was better to delay that moment as much as possible.

‘In the meantime, find a way to contact the outside and come up with a solution.’

I whispered to Karina.

‘Get ready.’

‘For what?’

‘Magic. Your fastest, most powerful spell.’

After that, I focused all my senses behind me.

Step, step.

When the sound of footsteps came right up behind us—

“Keron.”

“Huh? What?”

“Sabo-sama is calling. He says if you’re done checking, come down.”

“Oh, really? I was getting sick of this. Let’s go down quick.”

The footsteps quickly faded.

I let out a silent sigh of relief.

‘They had a signaling device.’

If I’d launched a surprise attack, it would’ve been a disaster.

No matter how fast I took them out, I couldn’t be faster than a signal sent through a device.

Honestly, this was nothing short of pure luck.

‘No, damn it. After all the bad luck I’ve had, isn’t it about time I got lucky?’

I crawled out from under the desk.

“Why’d you let them go?”

Karina, following me out, asked irritably.

I looked at her.

I was curious if she was serious.

And she looked dead serious.

“Why didn’t you attack?”

“……”

“Now that I think about it, choosing this place as the meeting spot… Could it be?”

Karina narrowed her eyes at me.

I looked at her and debated.

Main story or not, should I just kill her here?

This level of role-playing was borderline insanity.

It was like I, not even a real thief, had to act like one.

“Sigh. Fine. I’m actually a thief. So just die.”

“I knew it…! My deduction was right.”

“Oh, you little…”

Karina crossed her arms and smirked.

“I was just kidding. Why’re you getting mad? Suspicious.”

“……”

I decided to ignore her because I was losing my mind.

More importantly—

‘Was she always like this? How did I not notice during Frey?’

Her genius talent aside, this was too much.

The answer came quickly.

In FreyThe player character is clearly Ivan.

The entire story unfolds solely from Ivan’s perspective.

And in that story, Ivan and Karina are lovers.

‘Wait. So all those descriptions and portrayals were just Ivan’s rose-tinted glasses?’

In other words, Ivan saw everything Karina did as adorable.

And I, the player, had believed it all.

I was momentarily shocked by this revelation.

‘How could I deal with that awful personality…’

Even the most lovesick fool couldn’t compare.

‘Is this the power of love?’

“Heroes really aren’t just anyone.”

“Huh? What’d you say?”

“Nothing. You don’t need to know.”

“Honestly, I’m not that curious.”

Karina continued.

“So. What’s the plan now?”

“Just wait.”

In FreyThere are several random events.

The most notable is the Magical Beast Terror (all caused by me).

The next is these unauthorized intrusions by dark clerics.

In a way, this is more dangerous than the beast terror since they’re human, with clear goals and intelligent movements.

‘This hostage situation is no different.’

I didn’t yet know what they wanted.

It could be to tarnish the Academy’s reputation or sow chaos, or they might have other demands.

I needed to find out.

‘I heard the Darkness was acting suspiciously. Should’ve asked Rachel for more details.’

Recalling my conversation with Rachel a few days ago, I cracked open the window.

It had been noisy outside for a while.

As expected, Blue Dragon Hall was surrounded by a crowd.

Professors, guards, and cadets.

They were shouting at the hall but didn’t dare enter.

“It’s a barrier, isn’t it?”

Karina was right.

A barrier was currently surrounding Blue Dragon Hall.

‘They came well-prepared. This isn’t just a random event.’

Of course, the professors could break it if they tried.

But the hostages were the problem.

“They’ve been warned! If you try to break the barrier or show any signs of doing so, we’ll kill the hostages without mercy!”

A shout erupted from below.

It was definitely the dark clerics on the second floor.

“Those bastards…”

Karina, fuming, looked ready to jump out the window.

Thankfully, she had enough sense not to.

‘Pity.’

We hid below the window.

No one—neither the dark clerics nor the crowd—could know we were here.

‘If they find out we’re here, they’ll try to contact us somehow.’

And if that went wrong, it’d be over.

“Fortunately, the hostages are still alive! If you want to keep them that way, you’d better meet our demands!”

“You’re saying you want to negotiate!?”

“Exactly! Heh heh heh!”

I saw the Vice-Dean standing tall, having been summoned.

Beside him were Allen and Pirion, the two department heads.

And Baron, the head of student affairs, was there too.

They briefly exchanged words.

“Our demand is simple! Meet it, and we promise to release all the hostages here!”

I strained my ears.

Karina, holding her breath, focused on the voices too.

The Vice-Dean shouted.

“State your demands!”

“Gerard! Bring us Cadet Gerard of the 888th class!”

I closed the window and clutched my forehead.

‘Oh, crap. Why me again…?’

* * *

In an instant, Blue Dragon Hall became the eye of the storm.

“Gerard! Bring us Cadet Gerard of the 888th class!”

The Vice-Dean tilted his head at the hostage-takers’ demand.

“Gerard? Why are they demanding him?”

He looked around, but everyone just shook their heads.

“That damn fool must’ve caused trouble again. A dropout causing harm to the Academy…”

Allen Desico stomped his foot, seething.

“Quiet, Allen. Nothing’s been confirmed yet. Don’t let personal feelings ruin this.”

“But what other reason could they have for demanding that guy?”

“There is one.”

“What?”

“If they’re connected to the Head Collector, it’s entirely possible.”

The Head Collector was the alias of Cave, a slaughter-grade villain notorious for his gruesome murders.

But a few days ago, he was killed.

By the hands of Gerard, the Academy’s dropout cadet.

“Revenge?”

“That’s how it looks.”

“I didn’t know the Head Collector had such loyal allies.”

“That’s not the issue. The problem is what comes next.”

Frustrated sighs echoed around.

Naturally, they couldn’t hand over Gerard to save the hostages.

But if they didn’t meet the demands, many lives were at risk.

Especially since one of the hostages was the son of Marquis Wagner, a key figure in the Summoning School and the right-hand man of Duke Zain.

‘This is maddening.’

The Vice-Dean clutched his throbbing head.

“There’s no negotiating with villains. They’ll kill the hostages anyway.”

Then, Baron, who had been quietly observing, spoke loudly.

“Head of Student Affairs?”

“Even if they keep their promise to release the hostages, the moment we hand over Gerard, this Academy will become the laughingstock of the Empire. What kind of Academy can’t protect its cadets?”

The Vice-Dean gave a bitter smile at Baron’s sharp words.

He was right on every point.

The Vice-Dean felt a brief pang of shame for even considering weighing the options.

‘You’re better than me. Now, what do we do?’

The Vice-Dean cursed the absent Dean, Bell Toro, but his sharp mind was already calculating the best course based on all the circumstances.

“Sir Valoma.”

“Yes, Vice-Dean.”

“Have the guards and cadets pretend to retreat while surrounding Blue Dragon Hall tightly.”

“Understood.”

“Department heads, listen.”

“Yes.”

“Find a blind spot to break the barrier without being noticed. Move carefully.”

“Understood.”

After giving orders to the guard captain and department heads, the Vice-Dean looked at Baron.

“Head of Student Affairs.”

“Yes.”

“Find Gerard.”

Seeing Baron’s expression harden, the Vice-Dean smiled kindly.

“Don’t worry. We’ll only draw their attention. The moment they try to exchange Gerard for the hostages, the department heads will infiltrate. You’ll go with them.”

“Oh.”

Baron’s face brightened.

As he turned to find Gerard, the Vice-Dean understood why Gerard had earned the Honorary Merit Medal.

‘A good teacher produces good students.’

But moments later, his smile shattered like a cracked frame.

“…Gerard’s missing? What does that mean?”

For the first time, the Vice-Dean, always composed in front of crowds, stammered.

“As I said, Gerard isn’t on campus. He’s not in the dorms, and I checked the training hall he frequents, but he’s nowhere.”

“What about off-campus?”

“I checked with HR, but there’s no record of him leaving…”

‘This is unreal.’

The Vice-Dean looked dazed.

He turned to Blue Dragon Hall.

On the second floor, a man with a sinister grin stared down at him, smiling brightly.

“Taking too long, are we? Plotting something, I bet? Heh heh.”

His smile widened.

“No good. Ten minutes. You have ten minutes to bring Gerard, or we’ll start throwing hostage heads.”

A ten-minute time attack.

The Academy plunged into chaos at this unexpected turn.

* * *

Yuria ran.

‘Senior. Senior. Where are you, Senior?’

Ten minutes had passed since Baron ordered her to find Gerard.

In truth, Yuria had been looking for him since the incident at Blue Dragon Hall began.

She was worried about him.

But she couldn’t find him anywhere.

“Still no luck, Yuria?”

“Huff. No. Huff! I’m sorry!”

“Damn it.”

Even Baron, always coolheaded, looked devastated.

It wasn’t just Yuria.

Many cadets were searching for Gerard under Baron’s orders, but their results were no different.

“He’s not at the training hall!”

“I checked the lounge, but he’s not there!”

“I couldn’t find him either. Sob.”

Baron felt desolate.

So did everyone else.

Then, Luna Filler, Karina’s right-hand woman, cautiously spoke.

“Um, I don’t know if I should say this, but… I haven’t seen Karina since earlier either.”

Baron and Yuria turned to her simultaneously.

“Really, Luna?”

“When did this start? Speak!”

“Well, right after the afternoon lecture…”

Baron slapped his forehead.

That was the exact same time Gerard disappeared.

What a coincidence.

* * *

I didn’t know what was happening outside, but I instinctively felt it.

Whatever happened, the outcome would be extreme.

‘Either I become a traitor or a hero.’

One or the other.

And there was only one choice I could make.

‘Hero.’

No question.

I, trapped in here, had to resolve this incident.

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