No Way Back

Hansen County!!!

Investigation Bureau agents in black uniforms were deployed in force.

Although His Majesty the Emperor had said the possibility was slim and that they only needed to conduct low-intensity tracking of Fernandez I's whereabouts.

The Investigation Bureau had merely symbolically assigned a small number of personnel.

But one had to realize that the Investigation Bureau had already become a colossal organization.

Even a small number of personnel made for quite a spectacle.

Though the Investigation Bureau could not cover every possible angle, there was no need to underestimate its capabilities.

Investigating the Holy Cross Royal Family's family territory was merely the most obvious line of thought.

Thanks to the comprehensive household registration system, even if Fernandez I had forged an identity in advance, the fact that he was traveling with Antoine made the pair highly conspicuous.

All they had to do was compare the times of their movements to discover that the two sets of tracks overlapped to a remarkable degree.

Though he could not be directly identified as Fernandez I, he was nevertheless placed on the list of suspects.

There would be no shortage of similar suspects, and the Investigation Bureau began conducting further targeted investigations.

Fernandez I learned of the news very quickly.

He had thought that, having vanished without a trace, no one would remember him anymore.

So even if his false identity was not foolproof, it should have been safe enough.

But for some reason, the Great Xia Empire had begun searching for him again.

Being valued so highly should have made him feel gratified, but he truly could not be happy about it now.

If he had truly reached the end of the road, of course he would have been willing to be valued by the Great Xia Empire, even if it meant