Chapter 23: The Word “Stalker” Didn’t Exist
It had been a while since Yulia came to stay at my house.
Meileen’s morning sickness had subsided, and her belly was starting to show quite a bit.
Yulia still had a bit of morning sickness, but according to Mr. Bennett, she was doing exceptionally well.
Everything was going smoothly, but one day, Ivern came to check on Yulia with a serious expression on his face.
“Is there someone snooping around town about me?”
“Yeah. Apparently, there’s someone trying to find out what I’m buying.”
“Isn’t that your stalker?”
“Stalk… what?”
Ah, right.
The word “stalker” doesn’t exist in this world.
“It’s a term from my original world. It refers to someone who obsessively clings to someone they have feelings for.”
As I briefly explained what a stalker was, Ivern shuddered for a moment, as if he could picture it.
“That’s definitely scary… but it’s not like that. They were just quietly following me while I was shopping.”
It seemed that Ivern hadn’t noticed it himself; he had been informed by others.
“What the hell? You should’ve noticed that yourself.”
When I said that, Ivern made a sulky face.
“Unlike you, I’m a weak human! I can’t use Detection Magic!”
“But you’re physically capable, right? You could’ve sharpened your hearing or something.”
“…That was a blind spot.”
Seriously.
The fact that humans excel in physical abilities means they can enhance their senses like hearing and sight.
These guys tend to think with their muscles.
“So? How long have you been followed?”
When I asked, Ivern frowned in thought.
“Honestly, I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean?”
“It can’t be helped. It was my explorer companions who noticed it, and apparently, the stalker was hiding quite cleverly. They said it was a coincidence that they found out.”
“So, it’s probably an intelligence agent from some country.”
An intelligence agent, huh?
“Mona.”
“Yes?”
When I called for Mona, she came over from taking care of Meileen and Yulia.
Mona was formerly part of the intelligence division of the Demon Tribe Nation.
I decided to check if there had been any movements from there.
“Has the intelligence division of the Demon Tribe Nation been investigating Ivern’s activities in town?”
“No. To be honest, the Demon Tribe Nation was more focused on restructuring its system, so the intelligence division was busy monitoring whether the Human Tribe would attack during that time. We didn’t have the luxury to investigate Kenta-sama’s activities.”
“Got it. For now, we can rule out the Demon Tribe Nation. Thanks, you can go back now.”
“Yes. Excuse me.”
Mona bowed and returned to Meileen and Yulia.
As I watched her go, Ivern muttered.
“So that means it’s a human country targeting you…”
“By the way, did you just notice this recently?”
“Yeah.”
“Then we can rule out Weimar too.”
“So that means it’s another country…”
Ivern’s expression grew tense at the thought of an intelligence agent from another country infiltrating.
But, well…
“You don’t need to worry too much about it.”
“Huh?”
Honestly, I was going to brush it off since it was a common occurrence, but Ivern became extremely displeased.
“It’s too late for that, right? This place has become a public secret. There have been people snooping around like that before.”
“Well, there were, but… now that you mention it, what happened back then? I hadn’t seen those guys for a while, so I thought they had disappeared.”
“…I don’t know?”
I hesitated to tell the truth because I thought Ivern might be put off, but it seemed he caught on anyway.
“…You’re grinning. You’re going to say they’re probably buried somewhere, aren’t you?”
“Huh? Are you stupid? If I did that, bugs would swarm!”
“…Fine, I get it. You don’t need to say any more.”
“Really? Don’t you want some confirmation?”
“I don’t need it! Don’t say it! Absolutely don’t say it!?”
I wondered if he was just joking, but since Ivern was desperately covering his ears, I decided to hold back the truth.
“So? You came all the way here to report this because you’re worried about me?”
I said with a smirk, and Ivern replied with a serious face, “That’s not it.”
“Yulia is here, right? Even if you’re fine, what if something happens to her?”
“What? So you’re worried about Yulia, not me?”
“And Meileen.”
“What about me?”
“…Huh?”
When I asked if he wasn’t worried about me, he scoffed.
“Isn’t that a bit rude?”
“It’s not rude. Besides, is there anyone in this world who could harm you?”
“I don’t know?”
I genuinely had no idea.
So far, I hadn’t encountered anyone.
“Do you really need to worry about someone like that?”
“Well, I guess not.”
“Right?”
Somehow, I found myself convinced by Ivern.
“Anyway, if someone was watching my shopping, that means they saw me buying maternity supplies and baby items. I might be overthinking it, but you never know what the upper echelons of the Human Tribe might do if they find out I have a pregnant woman here. It’s better to be cautious.”
Indeed, the upper echelons of the countries in this world… the rulers are all scum.
If they found out I had a pregnant woman…
“…Weimar has a bad precedent, huh?”
“Exactly.”
Ever since Princess-sama from Weimar came, nothing good has happened.
Maybe it would have been better to blow up the entire Royal Castle, not just the Younger Princess-sama.
“It might be too late, but I’ll be careful on my end too. You should stay on high alert more than ever.”
“Yeah. Thanks for the info.”
After that, Ivern spent some time with Yulia before heading home.
Now, while I was told to be cautious, I would know immediately if someone touched the Barrier, so I’d be aware right away.
The only concern was when I went to pick up Mr. Bennett, but unlike Ivern, I could use Detection Magic, so I was always on guard when entering town.
After all, I was a wanted man.
Well, that was about it.
Even though I received a warning from Ivern, I continued my daily life as usual.
Then one day.
There was a reaction from the Barrier.
Multiple ones, at that.
“Hey, what the hell is the entrance security doing?”
Isn’t it your job to stop guys like this? I used Detection Magic to probe around and found…
“Well, well.”
There was no sign of people at the entrance of the forest.
“Sigh… This is becoming a hassle.”
I couldn’t just ignore the fact that someone was taking such forceful measures, so I headed toward the location where the Barrier was reacting.
There, I witnessed something extremely unpleasant.
“…So that’s what they’re doing.”
What I saw was Mr. Bennett, bound and with a knife pressed against his neck, surrounded by several knights who were pointing their swords at Ivern, forcing him to act as a guide.