Chapter 126
Chapter 126
Goldiba (2)
According to Spring Parsley’s investigation, there was almost no doubt that the Alexis couple’s relationship had been good.
“That such a harmonious couple could be criminals.”
“It’s not such an astonishing combination.”
At the Carlson Labor Correctional Facility, there had been one lunatic who had been caught gouging out the eyes of boys under ten and pickling them; that man had also been a filial son who worried about his mother day and night.
In truth, one could not call a son who had been sent to the labor correctional facility and frozen to death a filial son… but anyway, there were all kinds of people in the world.
“What about the husband? What did he do for a living?”
“He was said to be a full professor in the mathematics department at Goldiba University.”
Kairus made a questioning sound and then checked the papers again.
“That’s too young for that.”
It was extremely difficult for someone in their early thirties to have already risen to a tenured professorship at a university.
“He must have been either extraordinarily brilliant, or there was some maneuvering behind the scenes.”
Irena’s remark made Kairus nod.
“In this case he was probably closer to a genius. The Alexis family wouldn’t produce a mathematics professor.”
“Agreed. He was probably a son-in-law taken in.”
Both Kairus and Irena remembered having heard the name of the Alexis family. They were not the sort of family to produce professors of mathematics, unless they were knights, generals, or security captains.
How he had performed some genius feat to become a professor at that age was not Kairus and Irena’s concern.
The important point was that someone who had become a university mathematics professor so young probably had no talent for fighting.
“Kidnapping him would be easy.”
He was not an unemployed layabout staying at home; he regularly went to work. They could hit him on the back of the head on the way from home to the university and knock him out, or poison his meal at the university.
“What if, by any chance, Karen Alexis pretended to be crazy and abandoned her husband?”
“Then she would carry out what she had threatened.”
Kairus answered Irena’s question.
After all, the completion of a threat lay in carrying it out. Threats, absurdly, were a crime that relied heavily on mutual trust.
If criminal and victim did not both keep their promises, trust would be lost, and the threat would lose its meaning.
“These are train tickets and a forged ID.”
“Suddenly they became three siblings.”
At Nora’s remark, Spring Parsley answered.
“I thought long and hard about it. Considering the age differences between the three of you, there could not be a daughter of Nora Galatea’s age.”
Hearing that, Nora fidgeted and answered.
“Isn’t it impossible?”
It might be possible. The problem was the way people around them would look at it. And Nora, being a Lunaseeker, could not not know that, so her earlier question had been thrown out simply to fluster Spring Parsley.
“The fastest and most reliable method would be to use a sedative.”
A university could be considered a relatively open space. There were lots of people walking around, and no one was obligated to remember each other’s faces.
As the discussion continued, Nora, who had been quietly listening, twirled a finger around her hair and spoke.
“You two think about what happens after the kidnapping. I’ll take full responsibility for bringing the professor.”
At Nora’s declaration, all three pairs of eyes, including Kairus’s, turned to her.
“…Yeah, it’d be more reliable for you to handle it independently than for us to rack our brains over it.”
Kairus was the first to speak. Kidnapping people or quietly cutting throats was originally the specialty of the Lunaseeker Agency, and as a member of the Featherwing family, Kairus had a great deal of trust in the Lunaseekers.
That agency was prestigious enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Featherwings, after all.
“Thanks for the trust, I’m about to cry.”
Since Kairus was effectively acting as the leader, no one objected to his decision.
“Let me know if you need anything. I’ll get it ready.”
Spring Parsley quickly scrapped her own kidnapping plan and decided to support Nora instead.
“And the other two… it would be best if you focused on eliminating any threats along the post-kidnapping route and on maintaining a tight perimeter after moving the target.”
“Where do you plan on keeping the kidnapped math professor?”
Kairus asked, and Spring Parsley replied.
“Goldiba Citizen Shelter.”
“At the citizen shelter? You’re going to keep a hostage there?”
Nora, who had been listening, looked intrigued.
“Citizen shelter. I’ve heard of it. I heard even the accommodation fees and everything else cost less than half a pyint.”
“It wasn’t built to make money.”
It was a resort facility with a purpose different from that of an ordinary hotel. Citizens of the Empire who weren’t nobles watched over one another and engaged in regular self-reflection exercises there.
Among them, those recognized for leading exemplary lives were given the title of “model citizen.” The shelter was a facility that such people could reserve and use in advance.
“So it’s practically unusable for most people.”
“It’s more symbolic than anything else.”
The Emperor was merciful to his faithful subjects. So if you wanted to enjoy such facilities at a low cost, you had to always remain loyal and lead a model life. The Emperor remembered your efforts and rewarded them.
“Most of the actual users weren’t nobles, but people who had accumulated a fair amount of wealth and honor.”
People who had genuinely lived exemplary lives and qualified were lucky if they managed to use the place even once a year, despite making reservations.
But that wasn’t the point. The real question was—why hide a hostage in a place like that?
“Due to the facility’s current deterioration, reconstruction has been scheduled. It seems to be quite dangerous.”
Spring Parsley took out a few pages from a report that contained information on the facility and showed them.
“So basically, it could collapse at any moment.”
“If the hostage is placed there, large-scale combat becomes impossible, and they can’t recklessly send in a strong agent either.”
Because a fight could bring the building down. If something like that happened, Karen’s husband—just an ordinary mathematician—couldn’t be guaranteed to survive.
“We could even threaten to collapse it ourselves. Most reports conclude that the structure could be brought down by external impact alone.”
They would deliberately place the hostage in a dangerous location, and Kairus and Irena would wait outside. If the situation began to go sideways, they would threaten to bring the building down.
“They say it’s been in this condition since three years ago. And it’s still waiting on reconstruction?”
At Nora’s words, Kairus let out a dry chuckle.
“The Citizen Shelter isn’t a place that makes money. It’s where money is spent.”
Reconstruction of such facilities was typically a low priority. And if it had been neglected for a long time, all the better.
“Memorize the location.”
“Already got it.”
Nora responded to Kairus and began scanning the documents Spring Parsley had laid out again, looking to confirm something.
“Looks like I’ll need a letter of recommendation. Nothing major, just for a site visit.”
“Who would even be able to write something like that?”
To Kairus’s question, Nora replied.
“Melvin Istovan. You worked with him, didn’t you?”
Ah, that archaeologist. He had worked at the Rezantin Museum to evaluate artifacts, so his credibility was solid.
“There’s probably an archaeology department at Goldiba University. I think I could get the necessary qualifications for a site visit.”
Their time with Melvin hadn’t ended on a completely sour note, so if they offered proper compensation, he should be able to provide the paperwork needed for the visit.
“What’ll you do after getting in?”
“I’ll take care of the rest. The important part is getting in openly.”
Nora gave a sly wink. Kairus looked to Spring Parsley and said,
“Once we get the guarantee from the Rose Garden, we’ll board the train to Goldiba right away. Contact Melvin and find out if he can get us the documents we need.”
There was no need for Kairus to do all of that himself. Since Spring Parsley would remain in Bennett City, she could contact Melvin and get what was needed.
“Will do.”
With the conversation wrapped up, they all rose from their seats and received a guarantee from the Rose Garden.
Afterward, Spring Parsley stayed behind in Bennett City, while the other three boarded the train headed to Goldiba.
“I can’t believe we have to ride the train for five days.”
Upon reaching the sleeper car, Irena plopped down on the bed and let out a sigh.
“Because it’s not an express.”
Spring Parsley, who had obtained the documents necessary for Nora’s university visit, would be sending them via express train.
The express carrying the documents and the train carrying Kairus’s group were scheduled to stop at the same station a day before arriving in Goldiba. At that point, they would receive the necessary paperwork and continue on to Goldiba.
“I like train trips. There’s so much to see in the world.”
Nora, for her part, looked quite excited. This was only her second time riding a train, so there was no reason for her to feel bored.
“Yeah, enjoy it while it lasts.”
Seeing Nora’s reaction, Irena made that remark and then turned her gaze to the window. With a loud bwoooonk, the train pulled out of the station.
This time, they were using a four-person sleeper car, but they’d had someone reserve the fourth ticket without actually boarding.
“The bread tastes sour.”
“It’s rye bread. Deal with it.”
To avoid attracting unnecessary attention, they used a sleeper car typically used by commoners. That, of course, meant the food options on board were limited.
“I’m not complaining. There were cheap breads in the Aylan Republic that had paint mixed in.”
That was a twisted way of exploiting the common belief that white bread tasted better. While mixing in sawdust or straw was something that happened even in the Empire, adding paint—who could even think of that?
“Don’t they arrest people who sell that kind of bread?”
“When something’s cheap, there’s always a reason. If you buy bread that’s suspiciously cheap, the responsibility’s on you.”
The mentality of the Republic’s people was somewhat unfamiliar to Kairus and Irena, who were from the Empire.
“I saw people selling that kind of bread in Bennett City too. Didn’t you know?”
“Be sure to let me know next time. I’d rather not eat paint.”
Even as they discussed the mindset differences between the Empire and the Republic, the train kept rolling along.
A few days later, when the train stopped at an intermediary station, Kairus retrieved the documents they had requested earlier and handed them to Nora.
“How much sugar have you inhaled?”
After handing over the papers, Kairus commented as he noticed the empty candy wrappers scattered around the train car.
While Kairus had gone to fetch the documents, Nora had polished off an entire bag of licorice candy.
“We were taught that eating a lot of sweets regularly is good for us.”
And in fact, even after all that sugar, Nora’s physical condition seemed perfectly normal.
While traits like reverse muscle contractions and joints that could rotate 360 degrees were known characteristics of Lunaseeker procedures, there seemed to be a few more enhancements at play.
“Anyway, with this, we’re ready. We should arrive in Goldiba by tomorrow morning. Best get some good rest until then.”
“Like that unni?”
Nora glanced toward Irena, who was snoring with a sleep mask over her eyes.
“Yeah, like that one.”
As if trying to make up for all the hellish time they’d spent out in the field, Irena spent most of the train ride sleeping. It wasn’t hard to understand.
In truth, even Kairus and Nora had taken to closing their eyes and dozing off whenever a hint of sleepiness hit them. Until the next morning, the three on the train passed the time like people with nothing to look forward to—alternating between sleep and food, as if dead to the world.