“···Is something wrong? I heard a concerning noise.”

“It’s nothing. Just some useless criminal causing a commotion.”

“I see.”

Well, who told him to commit treason?

If he hadn’t done such foolish things, he’d be living an ordinary life right now.

···Of course, I fully understand how disappointing the royal family’s behavior has been in recent decades.

People have plenty of reasons to be dissatisfied. On that point, there’s no denying the royal family’s mistakes. It was clearly their fault.

But committing acts of terror and treason is a different story.

Because things didn’t go their way, they spread fear and tried to plunge the world into chaos.

They brought it upon themselves.

“Ah, Your Highness, that reminds me, there’s something I need to inform you about.”

“What is it?”

“A knight came by earlier with information regarding your request.”

“···I see. Thank you for everything so far.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. If I could just ask for a bit more support for the prison···”

“Don’t worry. We’ll increase the budget by 30% this year. Is that acceptable?”

“That’s more than enough.”

The warden nodded with a pleased expression.

What was he so happy about, exactly? What did he plan to do with the budget increase?

Improved staff welfare? Expanded facilities? Or perhaps lining his own pockets?

···Not that it was something I needed to concern myself with.

The prison’s budget was tight anyway, so even a 30% increase wouldn’t make much of a difference.

With a smile, Stella left the warden behind and picked up the phone.

It was time to receive the results she had been waiting for.

The door to the counseling office opened softly, and the students, who had been anxiously staring at it, rushed forward all at once.

What happened? Did they find her?

Unable to contain their curiosity, they all began bombarding Stella with questions.

“What, what happened?!”

“Did you find her?!”

Even in the most prosperous capital of the country, it was impossible to know the details of every criminal organization.

But even if they only found one, that would be enough.

If one of those organizations had their teacher, they would crush it, no matter how powerful, and rescue her.

“···I’m not sure how to say this. I did get some information on criminal organizations, but···.”

“Why, what’s wrong? What’s the problem?”

“There’s only one.”

“What?”

“There’s only one organization that seems to operate with a team of at least five people.”

“···Is that possible?”

“That's what I thought. I can hardly believe it myself.”

While they had hoped to find at least one organization that might be harboring their teacher, they hadn’t expected there to be only one.

The students stood there, staring at Stella in disbelief.

···Could that even be possible?

“There’s more to the story.”

“More?”

“Surprisingly, the number of criminal organizations began to sharply decline at a certain point···until there was only one left. The others consist of individuals or small groups of two or three—hardly what you’d call an organization.”

“···.”

“That seems suspicious, doesn’t it?”

“Very.”

The capital, with its rapid growth, naturally attracted wealth. And with wealth came those who wanted to take advantage of it.

But now, all those who should have been drawn to it were gone, except for one?

The only explanation was that someone had been systematically wiping them out.

···And they knew who that someone was.

“It’s the teacher, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. There’s no one else capable of pulling off something so absurd.”

“And as for the one remaining organization, it has barely committed any crimes and is known for caring for abandoned children, so the authorities have been turning a blind eye.”

The students were sure now.

Their teacher had to be with that organization.

An organization that committed so few crimes and cared for abandoned children?

That was exactly the sort of thing their teacher would do.

That unnecessary kindness was so typical of her.

···At this moment, the students realized that the teacher they had known hadn’t been pretending.

Her behavior had always been consistent, both then and now.

“I’m sure you’ve already guessed from the fact that there’s only one organization left, but the place paying protection money to keep the teacher safe is the same one.”

“···So close, yet so far.”

“Indeed. Who would’ve guessed she was hiding in the capital all along?”

What were they supposed to say to her when they finally found her?

Should they grab her and demand an explanation for why she left?

Or should they simply tell her they missed her?

They didn’t know how to react.

“···So, should we go to that organization now?”

“No, let’s wait a bit.”

“What? Why?”

“You don’t think everything will be resolved just because we find the teacher, do you?”

“···No?”

“Of course not. You all know as well as I do that the teacher ran away from us once.”

Flinch.

Stella’s words made the students’ bodies tense.

They didn’t know the exact reason yet, but it was true that she had abandoned them.

“If she realizes we’ve found her, she’ll definitely try to run away again.”

“No, she wouldn’t run away a second time···”

“She absolutely will.”

“Why, why are you so sure?”

Eileen protested, her voice full of frustration as she looked at Stella.

She had been thinking that if they knew why the teacher had run away, and if they removed that cause, she wouldn’t run again.

She didn’t want to believe that this idea was wrong.

Because if it was, what was the point of finding the teacher?

“No, knowing her personality, she’ll definitely try to run.”

“···Ugh.”

“Since you can’t argue against it, I guess you were thinking the same thing. ···That’s not much of a plan, is it?”

“Wh-what do you want me to do?! What’s your plan then?! Do you have a better idea?!”

“I do.”

Stella addressed Eileen.

No, she addressed all of the students.

“If she tries to run, we’ll just block her escape routes.”

“Block them?”

“Exactly. Just like a hunter setting a trap for their prey, we’ll lure her in and capture her. Even with her hypnotism, she won’t be able to escape.”

“Is that even possible?”

“It can be done. So, wait a bit longer. I understand you’re eager, but if we rush in now, she’ll just flee to an even harder place to find. Let’s consider this our last chance.”

“Hmm···.”

Miss Ophelia had already given up her position as a teacher at the academy and fled.

Did they really think she’d return willingly just because they found her current hideout?

Stella thought that was a huge mistake.

If they went to her now, she’d disappear again immediately.

With her ability to use hypnosis, it was impossible to predict how badly things could go if they failed now.

She might even erase their memories of her entirely. That was a possibility Stella couldn’t ignore.

···Without a clear understanding of the limits and possibilities of her hypnosis, rushing in would be the worst move.

If they truly wanted to meet Miss Ophelia again, they couldn’t afford to make a reckless mistake.

They had to do it perfectly.

And neatly.

As if they had anticipated her every move from the beginning.

“Don’t be so hasty. We know where she is now. You’ll see her soon enough.”

“···You don’t think she’ll escape?”

“Don’t worry about that. Knowing her, she’s probably just sitting around playing games.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“So, let’s focus on figuring out the best way to capture her.”

Stella, Orca, Leo, and Anastasia began their strategy session.

If anyone had overheard their conversation, they might have felt compelled to call the authorities immediately. The discussion was so brazen and direct.

“···Do I really have to eat this?”

“Boss, are you complaining about food now? You should be setting a good example for the kids.”

“Boss isn’t eating it! I’m not eating it either!”

“See? You’re already being a bad influence on the kids.”

Ugh.

I stared at the food in front of me with distaste.

I really didn’t want to eat it.

I prodded the green stuff on my plate with my chopsticks.

“B-but broccoli is a bit···”

“Boss··· the kids are eating it well. What kind of example are you setting if you won’t?”

“Ugh.”

“I’m already worried about your health with all the snacks you’ve been eating lately. You need to eat something like this.”

“B-but I didn’t eat those snacks because I wanted to! The kids gave them to me, so I had no choice···”

“But you ate them, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah, but···”

“If you don’t eat this, I’ll limit your game time to one hour a day from now on.”

“Th-that’s not fair!”

Startled, I looked at Jane in shock.

A life without games? Was that even possible?

The only reason I was able to adapt to this world so easily was because it was somewhat developed.

In this world, which felt like a mix between the medieval and modern eras, playing games was one of the few things that kept me going.

If I had been sent to a purely medieval world, I probably wouldn’t have survived.

And now she was threatening to ban games?

That was outrageous.

But I was living as a guest in this house. If Jane really decided to ban games, I’d have no choice but to accept it.

Even though I was called the boss, Jane didn’t back down in situations like this.

“So, hurry up and eat.”

“Ugh···!”

I had no choice.

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced the green devil down my throat.

···It tasted awful.