Euphemia hesitated for only a fraction of a second before saying, “Come on, let's follow him!”
For Freya, she was in a simulation, so she certainly wasn't afraid of dying. But for Euphemia, everything happening right now was real. Making this decision despite knowing the target's strength meant she was incredibly bold.
Jerome went back to the same scallion pancake stall from before to buy a few pancakes for breakfast. It was clear he really loved them. After eating, he went back to wandering around like a loafer. Freya and Euphemia had absolutely no idea what he was doing or what his goal was.
Time flew by, and the entire day passed in a flash. Just as the two thought they would have to return empty-handed again today, Jerome suddenly waved down a carriage and said, “To 【Cobdo National Academy】.”
Hearing this, the two immediately perked up, and Freya even repeated, “Cobdo National Academy!?”
Wasn't that where she went to school? It was located in the center of Auxerre, the most bustling area of the city. But it was already evening; what was Jerome going there for?
Freya quickly cast a physical enhancement buff on herself and Euphemia, and they began to run after him. However, they were still wearing the Invisibility Cloak. While walking normally didn't affect them much, running caused larger movements, making it highly inconvenient.
If they stayed too close, they would likely step on each other's feet and trip. But if they stayed too far apart, their bodies might slip out of the Invisibility Cloak. To passersby, a disembodied arm or leg moving through the air would look terrifying.
But they were currently facing a third scenario. Because Euphemia focused most of her attention on her feet to avoid accidentally stepping on Freya, her speed dropped significantly, forcing Freya to slow down as well.
Seeing the carriage pull further and further away, meaning they would lose him sooner or later, Freya simply reached out and scooped Euphemia up in a princess carry. Her bare white feet pattered rapidly against the ground, making soft pitter-patter sounds.
“Eh... Eh!?” Euphemia was completely stunned. Before she could say anything, Freya cut in, “Hold on tight!”
“Oh... Oh!” Euphemia complied, wrapping her arms around Freya's neck. After that, they ran across almost half the city.
Near Cobdo National Academy, as the carriage slowly came to a halt, Freya found a spot to gently set Euphemia down. She didn't notice Euphemia's completely flushed cheeks at all, her attention entirely focused on Jerome ahead. “This place... It looks like his destination is the school's back hill?”
As one of the most prestigious schools in the Kingdom of Tarapaca, Cobdo National Academy boasted a massive campus. Aside from the standard academic areas, it also housed faculty apartments, student dorms, cafeterias, a sports stadium, and laboratory buildings.
Additionally, there was a small wooded area behind the school that had been developed into a park-like space. The students called it the “back hill.” They would stroll there in their free time to relax, and of course, it was a popular dating spot for couples.
Euphemia took a deep breath to calm herself down, then asked, “Fufu, are you familiar with this place?”
Freya nodded. “Yes, because I'm a student here.”
By the standards of her past life, Cobdo National Academy couldn't be strictly classified as a high school or a university; rather, it was a combination of both.
Freya was currently in the second half of her second year, which meant her third year was just around the corner. After taking the Kingdom of Tarapaca's unified examinations—the equivalent of a college entrance exam—she could stay at Cobdo National Academy for advanced studies to take university-level courses if her grades were high enough.
If her grades were poor, she would have no choice but to pack up and leave.
Pushing that tangent aside, Euphemia couldn't help but look puzzled after hearing Freya's explanation. “If you're a student here, why haven't you been attending classes?”
Freya replied, “We have much more urgent matters to attend to right now. Who has the time to worry about going to class!”
As they spoke, they followed closely behind Jerome. Naturally, there were security guards at the gates of Cobdo National Academy. Under normal circumstances, outsiders other than faculty and students were not allowed entry.
Yet, the two guards at the gate didn't try to stop Jerome at all upon seeing him, letting him right in.
As they passed, Freya briefly closed her eyes to sense them and said, “Those two guards aren't real people. They're 【Soldiers】.”
Euphemia said, “Yeah, I'm not surprised at all.”
They entered through the school's side gate, so they quickly reached the back hill. The paved stone path underfoot gave way to soft grass. When Freya stepped on it with her fair, lovely bare feet, it felt like stepping on cotton—soft and incredibly comfortable.
Inhaling the natural fragrance of grass and wood wafting through the air, she felt her spirituality grow more active. In other words, if a battle were to break out here, her strength would increase by at least ten percent.
There were no clearly defined paths here, only a few narrow dirt trails worn down by frequent foot traffic. However, Jerome didn't take any of these trails. His destination was clear as he walked across the grass toward the deeper parts of the woods.
After walking like this for a few minutes, a barren clearing about ten meters in diameter came into Freya's view. She immediately noted, “This place wasn't originally like this. Someone must have cleared out all the plants to create this open space on purpose.”
That said, as Freya stood on her tiptoes to peer into the clearing, it really did look completely empty. But the moment Jerome stepped into the center of the clearing and lightly stamped his foot, as if activating some mechanism, red patterns quickly lit up across the barren ground.
Densely packed lines interlaced with one another, forming highly complex patterns. Euphemia frowned slightly, squinting her eyes as she stared at it for a long time before speaking, “This is... a massive occult array!”
“The outer ring is a concealment array specifically designed to hide traces, concealing the main array in the center when it's not active.”
Back in the abandoned warehouse, Euphemia had drawn an occult array for surveillance. At the time, Freya had been able to see it using her Heart Perception. But even if she closed her eyes now, she couldn't perceive the one before them at all.
This meant that this so-called 【concealment array】 was also designed to counter the Earth Pathway's Heart Perception. If Jerome hadn't activated the array himself, Freya and Euphemia would never have discovered it.
Freya asked, “What is the effect of the main array in the center?”
Euphemia frowned and studied it for a bit longer before saying hesitantly, “I'm not entirely sure. It's too complex, so I'll have to look up some reference materials when we get back. The only thing I can make out right now is... 【Combustion】. Its effect should be related to burning.”
As soon as she finished speaking, both Freya and Euphemia realized something and said in unison, “So, is this the disaster that will sweep through the city in a month? The fire that swallows the entire city?”
Freya added, “But... can a single occult array really have such an absurd effect? To spark a fire that engulfs an entire city?”
Euphemia explained, “Theoretically, yes. But this tiny array in front of us definitely isn't enough on its own. To cause a fire on such a massive scale, the array itself would have to be as large as the city!”
“I suspect this array here is the core, and there should be numerous other nodes scattered throughout the city.”
While they were talking, Jerome pulled out some spirituality crystals from his pockets, squatted down, and began drawing. It was clear that the array before them was unfinished, and Jerome had come here to continue working on it.
In fact, this had been his goal yesterday. However, due to his cautious nature, he hadn't come last night, choosing instead to rest at the inn for a day before delaying his plans until today.
As Jerome drew, Euphemia pulled out her notebook and pen to copy the patterns on the spot. Freya had no intention of interrupting her. Blinking her lovely green eyes, she looked back and forth between Jerome and Euphemia's profile.
Time ticked by. After about two hours, Freya noticed that Euphemia had actually caught up to Jerome's "progress."
For instance, if the array was originally about thirty percent complete, and Jerome brought it to forty percent over those two hours, Euphemia had gone from zero to forty percent in that same amount of time.
Now that their progress was perfectly synced, Euphemia had to wait for Jerome to draw a bit before she could copy it. Although "practical execution" was indeed harder than Euphemia's "note-taking," even Freya could see that Jerome's drawing process was extremely stiff. He was a complete novice.
Then, just as Euphemia was grumbling while waiting to copy more of his "homework," she noticed Jerome suddenly stop. The man packed up his things and began walking back the way he came, clearly preparing to leave. This move left Euphemia utterly baffled.
“Wait, this array is only thirty to forty percent complete at best. He still has plenty of time, so why is he leaving already?”
If Euphemia couldn't figure it out, Freya, who knew absolutely nothing about occult arrays, was naturally even more clueless. She suggested, “Once this array is fully drawn, that's when the disaster will happen, right? In a way, isn't it a good thing that he's drawing so slowly?”
Euphemia replied, “Hmm, you have a point.”
Stepping aside to make way for Jerome, they watched him leave the back hill. Freya asked, “Should we keep following him?”
If the school's back hill was the core of Jerome's plan to set the city ablaze, then he must have another base of operations besides this—his actual residence. After all, he couldn't possibly stay in hotels every single day, right?
Euphemia nodded. “Let's go.”
After another period of tailing him, they quickly arrived at a place two blocks away. It wasn't particularly far—a residential area located in the city center where most of the city's middle class lived.
As for the wealthier and more powerful nobles? They would never live in the same area as commoners; they all had their own manors and villas.
Right before Freya and Euphemia's eyes, Jerome walked into one of the houses. Soon, the dark house lit up, and they could faintly see a silhouette pacing back and forth through the window.
This was highly likely Jerome's actual residence. However, Freya noticed Euphemia suddenly swallow hard, a look of utter shock on her face. She couldn't help but ask, “What's wrong?”
Euphemia paused before stammering, “This guy... why does he live right next door to me?”
When Euphemia first moved to this city, she had bought a house outright. By some bizarre stroke of luck, the house she purchased was right next to Jerome's. They were actually neighbors!
Naturally, learning that her neighbor was such a powerful mastermind filled Euphemia with lingering dread. However, she quickly steadied her emotions and said, “In any case, we've gathered enough intelligence. We can pull back now.”
Through this stakeout, they had uncovered Jerome's true identity, which the letter from Euphemia's grandfather could directly prove. They also knew the source of the impending disaster—the array on the school's back hill—and the sketch Euphemia had copied could serve as concrete evidence.
These two points alone were enough to request support from the Mobile Squad. Combined with their knowledge of Jerome's residence, they could arrange for an ambush here. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Freya nodded and said, “Let's go.”
However, just as they turned to head back and walked about two hundred meters, a red-haired man suddenly appeared around the corner of a crossroads directly ahead. He walked straight in their direction—or, more accurately, toward Jerome's residence.
......
Rate on N.U.
