Volume 2 Chapter 4.2
Back Alley Skits, Magic Hour Attacks Part 2
Translator : PolterGlast
While brushing the
dust from his clothes, Jin observed Casper stunned in front of the knife store.
Jin had no idea how
Casper had noticed the hidden door, but he had prepared an escape route in case
it was needed, so it was no problem. He had Gasta create a mechanism whereby
the floor under the office desk could be removed to expose a hole just large enough
for a grown man to just barely fit through.
He originally wanted
to have a tunnel leading to another location, but the construction period was
too short this time. Just being able to curl up and hide in the hole alone was
considered good enough.
Casper stared at the
sky for a while, but after a while, he gave up and started to walk slowly
toward the city.
He was walking in the
opposite direction from the bus stop.
Where in the world is
he going?
"...... Can you
go home first, Nina? I'll try to tail him for a bit."
Turning off the small
transceiver, Jin chased after Casper as he walked away.
Casper looked
dejected, as if he had lost all his money, and was walking so slowly that
people passing by were annoyed.
Was that how
much he had devoted himself to this date?
No, it is
dangerous to speculate only based on the surface.
The insight to spot a
hidden door with a single glance.
The discretion to draw
a line between himself and others at the last minute.
There are just too
many concerns to judge Casper as an insignificant opponent.
While following him at
a certain distance, Casper entered a deserted back alley.
The atmosphere has a
distinctly different feeling than that of the main street.
Graffiti all over the
walls. Trash lying on the street spread a foul odor. A steel frame protruding
from the outline of the building cast countless shadows on the street, as if
renovation work was being done on a nearby building, and the sound of
single-pipe scaffolding being assembled rang out like an alarm. The melancholy
wafting from Casper's back grew thicker, and even the shadows he cast on the
ground seemed to be a little darker than the surrounding area.
What on earth
could he possibly be up to in such a deserted street?
Jin considered several
possibilities, but none of them seemed plausible.
As a precaution, he
raised his vigilance up one more level.
He took a deep breath,
stretched his conscious mind to the tips of his toes, and adjusted his
concentration to be ready for any situation.
─It was at that very moment that he was tapped on the
shoulder from behind.
When he turned around,
he saw Casper Crawford standing there with a thin smile on his face. The figure
that should have been in front of him just a moment ago has vanished like an
illusion or a phantom.
"...... I thought
who was following me, so it's you."
*Clang, clang, clang,
clang.*
The sound coming from
the construction site overlapped with the beating of his heart.
"The Empire has
been so rowdy lately that it makes me unnecessarily cautious, huh?"
*Clang, clang, clang,
clang.*
Suddenly, the sun was
blocked by clouds, making it impossible to read the expression on the face of
the person in front of him.
"So? Why did you
follow me?"
*Clang, clang, clang,
clang.*
Jin spun his brain
frantically.
First, he had to
analyze his opponent's psychic ability. If he were to accept what just
happened, Casper's ability would be something like instantaneous movement.
But then, what was the
frightened look of those robbers?
The second thing to
consider is the presence or absence of hostility.
Casper's dislike of
men is a usual occurrence, but it would be a different story if he had lured
them into an alleyway like this by pretending not to notice that he had been
followed. It would not be any surprise if a large number of armed men were to
pop out of the shadows right now.
It might be best not
to say anything right now.
Casper stared at Jin,
who was cautiously waiting to see what his opponent would say, and slowly
opened his mouth.
"...... Don't
tell me, Nina-chan asked you to do this?"
"............?"
"She asked you to
secretly follow her around because she's nervous on her first date?"
Jin was speechless at
the outrageous misunderstanding.
Normally, he would
have complained, but now he should welcome this misunderstanding with open
arms.
"...... What a
good intuition you have. You're right."
"Seriously ......
I could escort her gently, though."
"W-Well, it means
that Nina doesn't think so."
─What the heck? Is love really all he cares about?
Jin thought that it
had been a long time since he had felt his pace so disrupted.
Jin's usual tactic is
to read what's going on behind the scenes and strip the other party's
psychology completely bare, but with an opponent this unpredictable, even those
basic principles won't work.
Even through the eyes
of a fraudster, it is impossible to tell whether Casper really has nothing in
mind, or whether he is actually devising a grand scheme behind the scenes, even
though he appears to be full of gaps.
In his bewilderment,
Casper turned his head down and began lowering his shoulders. Jin almost felt
sorry for him, even though he knew it might be a trap.
"...... Umm,
look, dude. Cheer up."
"Haa~, do I look
disheartened to you?"
"Don't you?"
"Not at all! I'm
actually on fire!"
─He suddenly recovered, huh?
Jin wanted to leave so
badly, but he managed to hold his ground.
"Listen, I know a
kid like you won't understand this, so let me tell you something. The more
impregnable the opponent is, the more passionate true love is. The way she's so
cautious of me makes it all the more exciting, no? This is the real thrill of
love!"
"In other words,
you won't give up to the point of annoyance?"
"Don't interpret
my words in any way you like!"
"I'm glad to hear
that you haven't been completely rejected. Then, good luck the next time you
see her at school."
"Haha-n, you're
trying to catch me off guard by saying that, right?"
"Ha? What do you
mean?"
"You said you
were just childhood friends ...... but you actually like Nina-chan too, don't
you? If you didn't, you wouldn't have agreed to do this task for her."
With a fearless smile
on his face, Casper pointed to the tip of Jin's nose.
"Fine, Jin
Kirihara. Bring it on. You want to compete with me for Nina-chan, don't
you?"
"Ha? I never said
something like-......"
"Yeah, I know. I'm
not so low that I won't accept a love rival's declaration of war. Once we get
back to the school, we're going to have a duel right away. The loser will
forget all about Nina-chan. Sounds simple right?"
"Wait, can you
please not proceed on your own?"
"....... Alright,
I'll take that as a sign of consent."
"Don't. You are
so bad at conversations, you know that?"
As long as he doesn't
know the full extent of Casper's psychic abilities, he has no chance of winning
if he fights with him now. Besides, he could not afford to be involved in
danger due to such a nonsensical flow.
Jin was not supposed
to agree to the <duel> until the very end, but Casper walked away with a
look of satisfaction on his face.
"...... This is
seriously becoming troublesome."
Jin sighed heavily.
From now on, Casper
would be persistently pestering him.
Whether he truly
thought of Jin as a love rival or whether he was actually the <shepherd's
dog> and was looking for an excuse to get close to Jin - it would still be a
troublesome situation.
If the situation were
to get any worse, he would be in a catastrophically bad situation.
So Jin decided to
accelerate the board at once.
◇ The next day ◇
Nina walked down the
hallway to her classroom, dragging her gloomy emotions with her.
She was worried about
the progress of the fraud she and her accomplice were working on.
It was good until they
were able to get close to two of the targets, but they had not been able to
obtain any information that would lead to proof that they were the
<shepherd's dogs>.
Jin said it was
inevitable because they had just started, but Nina thought he was being a
little too optimistic. They might not even get close to the bottom of this if
things continue to go on like this.
Above all, Nina was
becoming overwhelmed by the horror of this task.
The contradiction of
having to probe into a serious secret that the target might be harboring, while
also harboring a serious secret herself. If the target was honest, she would be
taking advantage of their honesty.
Doubt, distrust, and
self-loathing - a whirlwind of emotions engulf Nina.
This is the world of
fraudsters.
Has Jin lived all his
life in such an unredeemable place?
Is she really prepared
to deceive someone else, even to the point of bearing the unforgivable sin?
Of course, she is an
overwhelmingly powerful person feared throughout the school, so her expression
and attitude must be filled with confidence.
She must keep her
anxiety and conflicts inside her heart.
"Ah, Nina-chan.
Good morning."
A classmate who came
running from the front called out to her.
The emotional
stagnation seemed to clear away as soon as she saw Emma's cheerful smile.
"Good morning,
Emma" Nina asked an obvious question. "What's the rush? Besides, our
classroom is that way, right.......?"
"Nina-chan, have
you seen a brown paper bag on your way to the classroom?"
"A paper bag? No,
I haven't."
"I'm in trouble
...... I always keep my candies in that paper bag."
Her psychic ability of
the <ferocious sweetener> can double her physical capabilities while she
licks the lollipop. It's natural to feel anxious about the loss of the candy
that is the very lifeline of it.
"What should I
do, class is about to start......"
"Do you have
spare ones?"
"Yes, I have some
in my room."
"Then, let's go
get it together at the next break. I'm sure no one will attack you in such a
short period of time and I will protect you if it happens."
"Really!? Thank
you, Nina-chan!"
When Emma hugged her
with a carefree smile, a cruel question crossed Nina's mind.
─If I had to be suspicious of everyone who approached me,
what about Emma?
She was the
first classmate to speak to me when the others looked at me with frightened
eyes.
But what if
Emma was approaching me for some purpose?
In fact, she
did not hesitate to talk to Jin, who maintained his loner status. No matter how
sociable she might be, isn't that a little too much?
Thinking that much,
Nina hurriedly shook her head.
It's disgusting to doubt
one own friend.
Even if she becomes a
fraudster, she can't lose her humanity as well.
That would be no
different from the upper echelons of the empire and the academy, who are
working out dangerous plots behind the scenes. She has no right to condemn the
<White Knights>, who killed Jin's father and continue to dispose of
disturbing elements throughout the country.
─I will end up being the same creature as those cruel
older brothers.
Nina mobilized all her
acting skills and forced a soft smile.
"Emma-san, shall
we go back to the classroom for now?"
A crowd had gathered
in front of the classroom.
Everyone was peering
into the classroom, whispering something to each other in gossipy tones, and
the entrance was completely blocked. Most of the onlookers were students from
another class.
Nina wanted to find
out what was going on, but Emma, walking next to her, was preoccupied with
something else entirely.
"Ah! My paper
bag!"
Emma rushed toward a
female student wearing round glasses that covered half of her face. She was
apparently holding a brown paper bag with both hands.
"Sorry to ask
this all of a sudden, but where did you pick up that paper bag?"
"...... Oh, were
you the one who dropped it? Here you go."
The memory drawer
opened up when Nina saw the blank expression on the female student's face as if
she had never laughed in her entire life. She didn't immediately recognize her
because she was in uniform, but she was Satya Rodel, Karen's personal maid.
Since her alliance
with Karen is a secret, there is no way she can greet her here.
Satya seemed to be
aware of this and only made eye contact with Nina for a moment.
"I found it lying
in the corner of the hallway. Perhaps it was bumped by some passerby right
after it was dropped."
"Unn, I should be
more careful. Anyway, thank you!
"No, you don't
have to thank me."
Nina felt bad for
Emma, who was having an emotional reunion with the paper bag, but that was not
what she was concerned about.
She decided to ask
Satya, pretending that it was their very first meeting.
"Umm, what's
going on in the classroom?"
"...... You can
tell just by looking at the blackboard."
Doing as she was told,
she leaned out of the crowd to check the blackboard at the very front of the
classroom.
Seeing the writing
there, Nina gasped.
[We know there are
rats in this class. This is a declaration of war.]
The message was
written in a rough, violent font, using the entire area of the blackboard.
Nina tried to digest
the meaning of the word [rats].
If she thinks about
it, the message is directed at the infiltrators who have infiltrated the school
to uncover its secrets - in other words, it is a threat directed at them.
Perhaps it was the
<shepherd's dog> who wrote this message.
If so, what is the
purpose?
Should she take it as
a literal declaration of war? Or as a warning? To set as an example to others?
─No, let's be calm first.
She couldn't let
anyone know how agitated she was.
She had to accept that
sentence as just a mere occurrence.
With a furrowed brow,
as if she had just witnessed a silly prank, Nina returned to Emma and the
others.
If the <shepherd's
dogs> has uncovered Nina and Jin's true colors, there should be no need for
them to leave such a message to alert them. Especially since Nina is supposed
to be a powerful psychokinesis user, it would be safer for them to launch a
surprise assault on her while she remained unaware of it.
In other words, the
other party has not yet obtained any conclusive evidence.
They were probably
hoping to gauge Jin and Nina's reactions when they saw the message, and if
anything suspicious was found, that would be good enough. Possibly, there are
other potential candidates for the rats besides Jin and Nina.
"What a
disturbing graffiti. I wonder what it means."
"Hmmm. I have a
feeling there's a grand riddle hidden in there......"
Emma tilted her head
with an expression like a child excited to solve a riddle. The majority of the
other students probably think it's nothing more than the sudden appearance of
an entertaining and unusual event.
Only two people in the
school are being suffocated by the graffiti.
"Well then, I
shall return to my classroom."
Satya, the only one
who had remained indifferent, bowed her head reverently.
Come to think
of it, why is this girl here?
She doesn't
look like the type of person who would be an onlooker, but was she perhaps
instructed by Karen to do some reconnaissance?
As they passed each
other, Satya whispered something in Nina's ear.
"......
Karen-sama wants to discuss something with you tomorrow after school."
Discussion.
What should have
sounded so peaceful, now had an ominous tinge to it.
"She wants you to
keep your schedule open. Stingray-sama."
In other words, Satya
was here to tell her this.
Nina felt that
something was beginning to move under the surface. What that something is, Nina
does not know. She also does not know to what extent her accomplice, Jin, is
aware of this.
─Could this be...... a serious predicament?
Unanswered questions
swirled around, trying to engulf Nina in chaos.
＊
The target was clearly
flustered when she saw the message written on the blackboard.
Although she
immediately seemed to have regained her calm expression, her pupils dilated for
a moment, and she visibly gulped down fresh saliva. Only someone who perceived
the message as a threat would react that way to a mere scribble.
A lowly rat, who
planned to infiltrate the Heiberg Academy and uncover the school's secrets.
There were several
suspects, but it could be said that most of them have now been identified.
She calmly analyzed
the information obtained from her investigation so far.
The fact that this guy
has been contacting multiple students is also probably for the purpose of
gathering information to expose the <shepherd's dog>. In the extremely competitive
world of the Heiberg Academy, not many students would make such a strange move.
The target seemed to
be moving cautiously to avoid giving conclusive evidence, but that was
irrelevant to her.
All that mattered was
to forcefully extract a confession.
It is the same method
that the <White Knights> use to deal with wanted criminals, enemy spies,
and dangerous political figures. As long as they use this method, they can
extract as much information as they want.
That is the kind of
training she has had since she was a child.
◇
The scribbles on the
blackboard were erased before the instructor arrived, and class began as if
nothing had happened.
During the day, which
was rather unusually full of only classroom lectures, Nina repeatedly stole
glances at the profile of her accomplice, who was seated far away from her. Jin
was still listening to the instructor's speech with a bored expression on his
face, and she could not read what he felt when he saw the scribbles.
Time flew by, and
before she knew it, the final chime signaled the end of the day.
─I have to talk to Jin as soon as possible.
That was all Nina
could think about for the last two hours or so.
She quickly packed her
bags, said goodbye to Emma, who was sitting next to her, and walked down the
path leading to the gymnasium.
Even in such a dire
situation, the sky was magically beautiful.
The sun was setting
over the horizon, casting a final glow on a world that was turning to night.
The artistic gradation of orange and purple had a somewhat artificial feel to
it, and it was hard to believe that there was no one else's intention behind
it.
At the end of the
path, she saw Jin walking with his black hair tied behind his back, swaying as
he walked.
She has repeatedly
been told to walk a different route each time she heads to the gym, taking a
longer detour than necessary. So it was rare for them to bump into each other
like this.
─Hmmm? Isn't he walking awfully slow?
It didn't take long
for her to realize that this was a signal for her to walk alongside him.
Nina took large
strides so as not to look unnatural and lined up next to Jin.
"It's unusual to
see you here, Jin."
"I was just
taking a walk before dinner. By the way, what are you having for dinner
tonight, Nina?"
"Haa~?"
Nina was bewildered by
the topic, which was so peaceful that it didn't suit him, but she looked at
Jin's fingertips and sensed his intention. A hand signal made a circle with the
thumb and middle finger and the rest of the fingers held straight up.
─There is someone following us.
And there was only one
person they could think of who would be following them at this moment in time.
It was the person who
had written the message on the blackboard declaring war - the <Shepherd's
Dog>.
This was the reason
why Jin had chosen to talk about something that could be overheard by anyone.
Nina also decided to
go along with the conversation. If she mentioned the scribbles on the
blackboard, it might be interpreted as a confession.
She took a slow, deep
breath, taking advantage of the break in the conversation. It's still not as
good as Karen's breathing technique, but it's effective enough to help her
concentrate a little more.
Of course, she
prepared herself to deal with the situation.
Nina ruminated over
the next steps in her head.
If this went well,
they might be able to capture the <Shepherd's Dog> who tried to ambush
them instead. Then she would be able to put an end to the dangerous scheme she
was pulling on Karen and Casper.
Jin waved his wrist
through the air.
─A signal to begin the operation.
From this point on,
they cannot relax, not even for a moment.
End of Chapter 4
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