Chapter 259

After completely burying Tommy socially and then outright killing him, my daily routine didn’t change one bit.

I just kept attending classes until the final exam and then rested on the weekends. Every day was a repeat of the same mundane routine.

There was one minor incident in between though. The demon’s magic circle I kept talking about.

I recently dismantled the demon’s magic circle that was left at the stock exchange. And it was very simple how I did it.

‘I really felt bad for Antonio.’

It was all thanks to using Antonio, who was obsessed with stocks. Antonio treated me like a fortune-telling octopus, and I ended up recommending some stocks to him.

Of course, those stocks turned into toilet paper shortly after. When Antonio realized that, he blew up, and I quietly got rid of my stuff.

The demon’s magic circle at the stock exchange wasn’t anything special. It was the specific stock board that was the magic circle of the demon.

The stock board recorded the stocks from Antonio’s hometown, the Granada Empire, and I intentionally targeted that.

‘Since it turned out to be an accident while trying to stop it, Rod didn’t say much either.’

He just laughed it off. I didn’t face any disciplinary action either.

I heard that there aren’t exactly no people who cause a ruckus like that.

Plus, since there are so many powerful people, it ended with just compensation.

Thanks to Antonio, I managed to resolve the demon’s magic circle and, at the same time, buy some stocks, so I hit two birds with one stone.

‘But I’m just holding back for now. Those stocks will soar later.’

Sometimes, it’s a bit of a bummer. I told him to trust me, but he insisted on selling again.

It’s sort of a panic sell phenomenon, but he seems to have less common sense than me. Or maybe he got caught up in madness.

Even the great physicist, Newton, said that he can’t calculate human madness, right?

‘Or maybe it’s just that money drives people insane.’

As for me, I don’t really care about money and was already comfortably affluent, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.

Oh, but that doesn’t mean I spend recklessly. I’m working hard to grow what’s left in my bank account.

With stocks and various benefits from the bank, I’m slowly accumulating it. It’s somewhat rewarding.

‘Still, I can’t give up on herbs.’

Every weekend, my routine of heading into the forest hasn’t changed. I can get it for free, so I can’t give it up.

By the way, the official entry into the Chaos Forest will be lifted after the final exam. The reason is that there might still be demons around.

The issue is that after the final exam, the demons are set to invade on a grand scale at the end of the year. I need to inform Luna about that soon.

‘There must be some signs…’

After entering the forest, I looked around, trying to gather herbs while also searching for traces. By the way, I came in alone.

I wish I could go in with someone else, but everyone seems to have their own things to do. I guess the final exam is approaching.

‘Demons can control monsters, so there’s bound to be one around.’

As everyone knows, demons can control monsters, and the higher their rank, the stronger the monsters they can control.

However, monsters inside the Chaos Forest would likely be hard to control. Since it’s a place where magic power is completely tangled up, demons also struggle there.

Since demons are beings made of magic power, inside the Chaos Forest, it’s practically a prison for them.

Unless there’s a specially made compass, it’s treated as a precious item even within the Academy, so it would be hard to obtain.

‘By the way…’

I was wandering through the forest when I looked back. There was no one behind me.

Since the hunter appeared, there hadn’t been any news. Even though I came into the forest all alone.

I couldn’t tell if someone was watching from afar or if they really had vanished.

Even if they were there, I had no intention of playing nice. But I couldn’t help but feel scared.

‘It would be nice if the hunter wasn’t around, but…’

I turned my head back to the front. In one of my hands, I held Ragnarok.

Having just finished hunting, it was still dripping with blood. I had dealt with some insignificant wolf.

‘Looks like I’ve picked up a strange person. Who could it be?’

For now, I plan to ignore it.

*****

Father Alexander took it upon himself to keep an eye on Sivar under the orders of Cardinal Vidal.

However, if he went himself, there was a high chance of getting caught in Rize’s watchful gaze, so it was only natural to send someone else.

The way that person could infiltrate was incredibly simple. They just needed to apply to work at the Academy.

The Academy had a variety of jobs gathered alongside students and professors, making it entirely feasible.

‘On the surface, it doesn’t seem like anything special.’

The infiltrating observer successfully blended into the Academy and kept a steady watch on Sivar’s activities.

From attending classes in the morning to going to bed in the evening, they monitored his every move as commanded.

Along the way, they picked up some interesting rumors and facts, one of which was oddly about his complicated love life.

‘Dating Princess Tartar while cohabiting with a duke’s daughter? What in the world…’

It was already a well-known fact, if not famous. At first, they let it slide, but now it had been established as a fact.

In reality, having multiple partners is common, and polygamy does exist.

But the matter in question was the subjects. The duke’s daughter and the barbarian princess. Who could ignore that?

Normally, this would cause serious political issues, but ironically, because it’s Sivar, everyone hesitates to bring it up.

‘Put that aside for now.’

The command was to thoroughly investigate the truth about Sivar but primarily observe his identity.

What kind of life he leads, and what abilities he possesses, among other things. Most importantly, the faith he holds must be watched closely.

To confirm whether he truly received Gulrak’s blessing, they needed to check for the use of ‘Thunder’ and whether he exhibited a rejection of Gaia’s divine power.

The main focus was Sivar’s real identity. They were ordered to observe as discreetly as possible without directly stepping in, but sometimes there comes a time when one must intervene.

‘How many similarities does he share with demons?’

Sivar, who had a fierce rejection reaction to Gaia’s divine power. That alone provided ample reason to suspect him.

Although they couldn’t inspect him closely due to Rize’s protection, the plan was to grasp further information through this kind of observation.

“Nom nom nom.”

“… …”

As time passed, the observer began to understand why he was termed a wild man.

This was Sivar’s first time entering the forest. The Chaos Forest is officially prohibited for entry at this time.

And yet, the fact that he entered so boldly hinted at an association with Rod.

‘What’s with him munching on some palm-sized bug…’

Seeing him munching on bugs as if they were snacks, the observer felt more baffled than shocked.

They had seen all sorts of things so far, so it didn’t make them sick. Just utterly perplexed.

As the saying goes, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”; it seems his instincts as a wild man still remain.

In addition to that, he demonstrated behaviors such as ‘marking territory’, gathering herbs, hunting, and more.

He showcased a raw lifestyle that was very much ‘him’, but that didn’t provide any adequate clues about his true identity.

‘But that won’t be the case for much longer.’

The observer fidgeted with a small glass bottle tucked in their pocket. It contained a clear liquid.

It wasn’t ordinary water but a liquid imbued with divine power. A kind of holy water.

Naturally, throwing it out in the open would raise suspicion, so they had to quietly wait for the right moment.

‘There was a river nearby. I’ll wait for him to drink water there.’

Dropping a single drop of holy water upstream and observing the reaction; that was the primary plan.

To do that, it was necessary to trace Sivar’s movements. The observer slowly followed Sivar from behind.

They minimized the presence they exuded, so they didn’t have to worry about being discovered. If they sensed them, they had a plan to flee immediately.

‘Are you a demon, or merely a human that Gaia dislikes?’

Whichever it was, one thing was for sure: Gaia dislikes that man. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be showing any rejection response.

Gaia is the mother of all life. She’s the goddess of the earth that nurtures life and is compassionate.

If even she despises him, he must have committed sins. The observer followed him closely with that resolved conviction.

“… …”

And there was a pair of eyes quietly watching this observer. A presence that neither the observer nor Sivar was aware of.

The hunter, with penetrating blue eyes, quietly trailed behind the observer. Normally, they would have planned to watch Sivar as usual.

But due to someone following him, they kept their distance and observed. Initially, they wondered if this person was an acquaintance.

Sivar always had a woman by his side when entering the forest. But not this time.

‘There’s a dirty smell in the air.’

The distinct smell of Gaia wafted around. The hunter frowned.

Though quite strong, they could definitely face them in a direct confrontation. It seemed they had come to follow Sivar.

Previously, their superior ordered them to operate in the forest until they accomplish their big goal. If Sivar appeared, they were to observe him.

Lastly, if there exists any entity that brings harm, they were to intervene without fail, by any means.

It was fortunate that no harm had been caused yet; if any hint appeared, they’d act immediately.

“Oh. Delicious.”

Sivar was oblivious, still munching on bugs.