Bonus chapter thanks to @Imjusthereforchapters from Ko-fi!
Malia raised the SagePhone and looked at the screen. As previously agreed with the teachers, there was a message.
The content was overall similar and straightforward.
[Beginning the operation.]
It was the signal for the beginning of the operation.
While the response team tracked down the Indus leaders, the escort team would search for Indus members who might be somewhere on the train.
If Indus really tries to use the business cards, there’s something they definitely need to confirm.
– Where is Frondier?
And one of Indus’ members needs to board the train to know Frondier’s exact location.
There aren’t only Constel students on this train. There are regular passengers, of course, and Indus could be hiding among them.
Until today, Malia and other teachers had conveyed a common statement to some students:
‘Frondier is on another car due to volunteer work.’
They didn’t actively inform all students about this. Only the students from Frondier’s Class 5 and a few other students who had asked about Frondier knew.
However, when you tell it to a few people, the students will share the information with each other, and the story spreads. Then, the original content gets distorted and exaggerated, of course.
This exaggerated information transforms into ‘rumors,’ reducing its credibility. When the information is not credible, confusion arises.
From Indus’ perspective, Frondier might be on another car, but it could be just a rumor and Frondier could be on this train. In the end, Indus has no choice but to split up its forces.
What Gregory used in Constel, the effect of ‘rumors,’ is now being used by Constel.
However, the truth is, Frondier isn’t on the train at all.
While Indus is racking their brains trying to figure out which car Frondier is on, they’ll never be able to find Frondier’s location.
Creating the illusion that there are only two possible truths, to prevent the consideration of a third, hidden truth.
Moreover,
“Wow, what’s this? So fascinating.”
On one side of the train, a few schoolgirls were chatting. They each held several facial mask packs in their hands.
“Can we really use these? They look expensive.”
“It’s fine. I got them from a senior I know too. But be careful, if you do something weird with it, you’ll be immediately restrained.”
“Ahaha, I won’t do that.”
One of the girls distributed the mask packs to her friends, introducing them almost as if they were toys.
The owner of the mask packs was, of course, Quinie.
This was certainly not Quinie’s intention, but something Frondier had asked for.
“How is it? How is it?”
“Wow! It’s identical! Just like magic!”
The girls applied the mask packs to their faces, transforming into the faces they desired, and laughed uproariously at each other. Since Quinie had initially handed them out as ‘toys,’ this was a natural outcome.
Of course, these girls had no intention of changing their faces to Frondier’s, nor did they know what Frondier’s face looked like.
However, if the Indus members were to witness the students wearing the mask packs, it could spark different suspicions.
Not yet certain of their location, the mere presence of the masks could lead to doubts about their ability to identify them by face alone.
Eventually, Indus members might take some risks to verify Frondier’s presence.
“Excuse me, miss.”
“Yes, yes?”
“It seems you were ‘scanning’ our students. Where did you learn to do that?”
“Oh, I, no, I mean…”
“Could you come this way for a moment?”
Teacher Jane was smiling, but the smile was chillingly cold.
The woman swallowed her saliva at the sight of Jane and meekly followed her lead.
Catching them wasn’t of great significance. Most of them were likely not core members of Indus and probably didn’t possess any substantial information about Indus.
This was merely a signal. A signal that Frondier was indeed aboard the train.
The harder the teachers of Constel worked to respond, the more they focused on finding Indus, the more they would believe that Frondier was on the train.
“…Well, then.”
Jane checked her phone.
A text she had been waiting for, but not warmly, had arrived.
[The Chancellor has made contact with Indus.]
A message from Malia. Jane’s expression turned cold. The woman following her suddenly became more frightened.
“…I don’t know how great Indus is.”
But can they take down Chancellor Osprey?
Osprey is the pillar of Constel, its peak, and the pride of all Constel teachers.
“Show him what you’re made of, Chancellor.”
No, just kill him. Like the cockroaches.