These Orphans Need a Headmaster (1) This was a story from the days when I served in the Extermination Unit.
Back then, there were commanders known as the Seven Dragon Generals of the Demon King’s Army.
Each one carried the fate of an entire race on their shoulders.
In truth, it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to call each of them that race’s own Hero.
Until the Hero’s Party appeared, the Allied Kingdoms were swept aside with embarrassing ease.
After all, the demon races were physically superior to humans from the outset.
When entire races united with the goal of conquering the world, there was simply no stopping them.
The war against the Demon King’s Army could, in other words, be described as a war between humanity and every other race.
Driven into a corner, the strategists of the Allied Kingdoms devised a solution.
“If we want to break the demons’ unity, we can’t win through conventional warfare.
We need a decapitation strategy.” Throw soldiers into the meat grinder if necessary—hold the front line no matter the cost.
Meanwhile, dispatch “assassins” to eliminate the Seven Dragon Generals and shatter the enemy’s chain of command.
The demons were little more than a loose coalition of tribal nations where only strength mattered.
Kill the Seven Dragon Generals, and their subordinates would inevitably turn on one another, each competing to seize the vacant command.
They were right.
Viewed from the bigger picture, the Hero’s Party was nothing more than an assassination squad.
One that was sent into certain death— Yet always returned alive.
And because of that, even the kings of countless nations couldn’t afford to treat them carelessly.
That was why Ivan hated the Hero’s Party.
Because they were exactly the same reason the Krasilof royal family had decided to disband the Extermination Unit.
We were simply too sharp a blade to keep around in times of peace.
*** Having received intelligence on the enrollment schedules of the Hero’s Party’s children, Ivan was enjoying some well-earned leisure.
The timeline he had planned was flawless.
First came Esidisi, whom he had rescued a few days earlier.
Then Isabelle, the daughter of the Hero Maximilian.
She would depart from the Kingdom of Thyles during the first week of February.
A few days later would be Oscar, the son of the knight Gilles Vert, also leaving from Thyles.
Those two weren’t a concern.
Relations between Thyles and Krasilof had never been bad, even before the war, and the countries were close enough that he would have plenty of time to deal with the train attack.
Then there was Elpihera, daughter of the mage Beolgrin.
She wouldn’t even be traveling by train.
Beolgrin’s homeland was the Kalion Archipelago, an island nation floating beyond the Black Sea.
She would be arriving aboard a warship, making her safer than anyone else.
Krasilof lacked an ice-free port, so she would probably come through Thyles first.
Still, someone arriving on a warship wasn’t going to dismiss all of her escorts.
Finally— Lucia, the disciple of Enrique.
She belonged to the Kingdom of Krasilof.
Which meant she had probably already arrived somewhere in the capital.
She was the one he could check on last without causing any problems.
If anything…
She was also the person he felt the least eager to meet.
In other words, once he casually dealt with the train terrorist attacks targeting the two freshmen in February, everything else would resolve itself without him having to intervene personally.
The train attack itself was basically the tutorial.
After what he’d confirmed through Esidisi, he was now completely certain.
Until the school term began, there was absolutely no reason for him to take action himself.
Therefore…
“I want kimchi jjigae.” He was once again passing the time by adding to his list titled: “Foods I’ll Eat When I Return to Earth.” Sitting in the Headmaster’s office with a cup of coffee, warming himself beside the crackling fireplace…
There was nothing he treasured more than moments like these.
Tteokbokki.
Not the rosé kind.
And definitely not those delivery franchise versions swimming in excessive sauce.
The tteokbokki he wanted was the slightly thick, street-style version sold at school snack bars.
If he remembered correctly, the stand that sprinkled curry powder on top had always been the most popular.
“I want to go home…” “Are you going to abandon us again?” “…” Ivan’s unfocused eyes snapped open.
Kim Seonwoo’s lingering emotions were crushed beneath Ivan’s consciousness, leaving only Ivan himself as he turned around.
A small child was clinging to the outside of the window.
“How long have you been standing there…?” “Since you started mumbling about what you wanted to eat, Headmaster!” “This is the third floor.” “I’m famous for paying attention in class!” “…Do we have wall climbing in the orphanage curriculum?” Ivan walked straight to the window and threw it open.
Lifting the grinning child by the waist, he carefully set them down inside the room.
“I won!
Right?” “Don’t compete over something like that.
Use the hallway next time.
It’s dangerous.” “Aww, but this is the only way I can beat you!” There was a long-standing game at St.
Vasilisa Orphanage.
Sneak up on the Headmaster without him noticing.
Among the children, it was wildly popular.
Ivan was the mysterious man who could catch a ball flying toward the back of his head without even turning around.
No matter how quietly they moved, it was impossible to hide anywhere near him.
Despite his cold expression and razor-sharp demeanor, he was surprisingly harmless.
To children who judged people by their actions rather than appearances, he was one of the best playmates imaginable.
“I’ll make you a cup of cocoa.
Drink it, then head out.” “Yes, sir!” Ivan never discouraged the game.
After all, once these children graduated from the orphanage, they’d need a way to survive.
If they could fool even his senses…
Then no matter where life threw them, they would never starve.
After sending the cheerful child away, Ivan returned to his peaceful leisure.
About two weeks remained before Isabelle boarded her train.
Until then…
He was free.
Or at least, that’s what he believed.
Until one of his orphans was suddenly kidnapped.
*** “Hey.
Which group do you belong to?” “I don’t think you guys understand.
If our Headmaster finds out about this, you’re seriously screwed!” “Hah!
Listen to this brat!
Anyone listening would think we were the ones who got kidnapped!” The capital of Krasilof, Prizhenkaya, was one of the largest cities on the continent.
Naturally, every great city had its underworld—the places collectively known as the back alleys.
Prizhenkaya had several slum districts.
Even among the gangs and outlaws of the back alleys, one type stood above the rest.
The organizations known as assassination guilds.
If you stab someone to death, the law naturally comes after you.
The more important your victim, the harsher the punishment.
But the reward also rose accordingly.
An assassination guild consisted of people who thought: “As long as I get paid, I don’t care if I end up on the execution scaffold afterward.” Movie-style assassins who emerged dramatically from the darkness, killed only their target, and vanished without a trace…
Didn’t exist in the real world.
“So who the hell is this Headmaster of yours?!” “I-It’s Ivan Petrovich!
Y-You’ve heard of him, right?
Right?!” “What?
Hahahahahaha!” Of course these men had heard the name Ivan.
And the surname Petrovich.
Ivan was the most common given name in Krasilof.
Petrovich was the most common surname.
Even the late king, celebrated as one of the greatest monarchs in history, had been named Ivan.
It was like someone asking, “Hey, do you know Kim Cheolsu?” The low-ranking assassins burst into laughter.
Then…
A quiet voice echoed from the darkness of the alley.
“Wait.” The gang members immediately lowered their weapons and hurriedly stepped aside.
Footsteps.
Tap.
Tap.
A woman walked through the path they had opened.
“Who did you say?” “I-Ivan…
Petro…
Petrovich…
our Headmaster…” The woman looked the captive child up and down for a moment.
Then a long smile spread across her face.
“So that stubborn bastard claimed he was retiring…
and all this time he’s been building an assassination organization behind the scenes?” At St.
Vasilisa Orphanage, sneaking up on Ivan without being noticed was treated as little more than a children’s game.
But to someone else…
It could easily look very different.
Especially to a true master of the profession.
The woman most knowledgeable about assassination in all of humanity.
Shadow Blade Enrique.
From her perspective…
There was only one possible conclusion.
“So he faked his death, retired cleanly, and started a new life…
Heh.
Right.
Can a dog really change its habits?
How could the Extermination Unit ever change theirs?” Chuckling to herself, Enrique nodded.
Ivan Petrovich.
Identified as the leader of an evil organization that gathered orphans and trained them to become assassins!
*** “It looks like one of the orphans has been kidnapped?” “Yes, Headmaster!
Umm…
do you remember Priscilla?” “Of course I do.” Ivan remembered every personal detail of all three hundred of his orphans, graduates included.
Priscilla.
No surname.
Seventeen years old.
A war orphan.
She had no idea who her parents were.
Ivan remembered finding her begging near a military camp during the war after she’d been abandoned.
She had always been mischievous, but fundamentally courageous and talented.
Since she was nearly old enough to graduate, he hadn’t worried about her very much.
Lately, she’d apparently been visiting various places in search of employment.
“Who took her?
Where?
When?” “We’re not sure…
but only the coat she was wearing came back.” “…Do you think it’s a threat?” “Probably.” Ivan accepted the coat from the teacher and examined it carefully.
Frayed cuffs.
A badly worn collar.
One button hung by a thread, ready to fall off.
He inspected it casually…
Until his hand suddenly stopped.
There was an ordinary handprint.
Covered in dirt.
So faint that no one would notice unless they looked closely.
Beneath the dirt, barely visible, was the outline of a scar in the center of the palm.
A cross-shaped scar.
“So…Enrique.” That was the mark used by the members of that ill-tempered old woman’s organization.
No fool would kidnap an orphan for money.
Which meant this was either a provocation…
A warning…
Or…
A summons.
Ivan realized he would have to rearrange the schedule he had postponed the longest because it was the one he least wanted to face.
Shadow Blade Enrique.
Or, in other words…
His old master was calling for him.
Because the Extermination Unit…
Had been Enrique’s creation.