"Mister, do you ever smile?"

"...."

"You know what? Forget what I said back then. You don’t remind me of my father at all. At least my father jokes around sometimes."

"...Do you ever shut your mouth? Should I have brought a stapler to seal it shut?"

Traveling across Germany and then the rest of Europe hadn’t been easy for Julius and Anneliese, who was now on the run. After helping her escape, it didn’t even take a month before Julius became a fugitive himself.

The German Republic had already fallen under SIBYL’s control, and SIBYL deemed him a threat. As a result, he was branded a criminal. Julius had no choice but to flee the capital and buy as much time as he could before the inevitable.

"I can’t believe I fell for your delusions," he said. "I should’ve just left you to rot in prison."

"Hehe. Don’t say that, Mister. Leaving everything behind isn’t a simple decision you can just make on the spot. You’ve been thinking about it for a long time, haven’t you? Treason."

"Treason?" Julius scoffed. "You say it like I’m the one in the wrong. It’s the new German Republic that had betrayed the Schneiders, not the other way around."

"Is that so? For me, it’s the entire world that’s betrayed me."

"...."

Julius didn’t answer. He kept moving, heading toward a nearby convenience store. Both of them stepped inside, acting as if nothing was unusual. Julius made his way through the aisles and began pocketing items into his bag.

The act was careless and obvious, and it didn’t take long for security systems to react. Cybernetic sensors lit up and robotic assistants flipped into defensive mode.

"Y-You...!" the cashier stammered.

He recognized Julius immediately. Julius was one of the most wanted criminals in modern Germany, a fugitive with a bounty so high it ran headlines for weeks. None of that mattered to Julius.

He simply pushed forward, smashing through the robotic guards. Anneliese sat casually on top of a freezer, eating a stolen popsicle while she watched the spectacle unfold as if it were entertainment.

When it was done, the convenience store was a mess. Broken shelves, sparks from damaged machinery, and scattered merchandise marked their path. Julius stuffed whatever he could into his bag, then handed both his bag and the extra load to Anneliese.

"Eh, I’m carrying all this?" she complained.

"Of course you are. You can’t even fight. It’s only right you carry my things."

"...Yours?"

"What? You think you get a share for watching me do all the work?"

"You’re the adu;t..."

"So are you."

"...You said you’d be my teacher."

"You never called me teacher, did you?"

"...Fine."

She sighed, but she didn’t argue further. Annelise already knew this was just how Julius was. Truthfully, he was surprisingly considerate of her, even though she was a stranger he’d only met two months earlier.

As they continued walking after running away from Revenants Knights, Julius asked, "How was your father like?"

As they continued walking after their escape from the Revenant Knights, Julius asked, "What was your father like?"

"Oh? You’re finally curious?" Anneliese tilted her head, smiling. "Should I tell you? Hmm~ Should I tell you? Are you really curious?"

"Forget I asked. This is why I don’t like you."

"Aww, come on," Anneliese laughed. "My father... where should I start? Oh. For one, he was filthy rich!"

* * *

Julius sighed as the thought resurfaced. The sight of children running around the elementary school halls brought back memories of Anneliese from that time.

She had been a truly infuriating woman who only seemed to know how to bother him.

Yet, despite that, he hadn’t disliked her.

Anneliese didn’t deserve to die the way she did.

"...Glasshearts."

The word escaped from his mouth as his expression hardened. Every single one of them had to die. If not for the sake of the German Republic, then for the countless people deceived by those viruses known as Glasshearts.

They had embedded themselves deep into society, leeching and leeching until Europe had lost its identity.

In truth, the German Republic had never fully fallen. It had simply changed hands. A broken Germany under new management. A broken Europe struggling to breathe.

SIBYL, serving as a vanguard, became the first and strongest line of defense for the Glasshearts. It was a technology they exploited to destroy the Republic from within.

Taking a slow breath, Julius entered the classroom.

"Good morning, class. As of today, I’ll be your new language teacher."

Dozens of small faces turned toward him. Some children sat upright with bright curiosity, while others slumped over their desks, still half-asleep. A few whispered to their seatmates, trying to guess what kind of teacher he would be.

Julius set his bag down at the front and adjusted his glasses. He looked around the room, spotting Helga and Alina seated together near the middle. They stiffened as soon as his eyes passed over them, trying their best to sit perfectly straight.

"My name is Jeremy Stinken," he said. "You may call me Teacher Jeremy. I hope we can all learn well together."

The students blinked at him. Some remained silent. A few giggled quietly at the odd name.

"We’ll take things slowly today," Julius continued. "Since we’re meeting for the first time, I’d like each of you to introduce yourselves. Tell me your name and one thing you like."

Before he could gesture to the front row, several hands shot up all at once. Others bounced in their seats, eager to speak despite not being called.

Julius paused, watching them raise their hands out of order.

"...One at a time, please."

The noise settled only slightly. A boy in the first row stood up without waiting.

"My name is Daniel. I like dinosaurs!"

Julius nodded. "Thank you, Daniel. Please sit."

Another child immediately stood.

"I’m Sofia. I like cats."

"Thank you, Sofia. Next."

He continued down the room, letting each child speak. Some answered loudly with pride. Others just whispered inaudibly. Helga and Alina waited until it was their turn. Helga spoke first, carefully.

"I’m Helga. I like drawing."

"I’m Alina. I like books."

Julius offered a small nod, forcing a typical teacher’s smile.

"Very nice. I’m glad to meet you."

In truth, sneaking into the school hadn’t been difficult. This was one of the privileges granted to a Directorate officer. All Julius needed to do was speak to the principal and tell her he needed to operate undercover.

Like many educators within the system, the principal was an IM for the Directorate. As a result, convincing her posed no challenge.

The entire operation had been Julius’s idea from the start. The only real obstacle had been his superior, Klaus Weber. Klaus had resisted the plan at first, but after Julius presented his reasoning and laid out the details, Klaus eventually relented.

There was simply no better way to approach Lukas Meinhardt than through the children connected to him.

In other words, his twin daughters, Helga and Alina.