Volume 6
Chapter 23
In a certain room in the academy where the investigation headquarters had been set up, the main members in charge of this operation had gathered and were scrutinizing the information that had been sent from various places. In the center of the room, a magic circle with a diameter of several meters had been set up, and it was repeating a regular cycle of light and darkness while emitting a faint light. A stand was placed in the center of the magic circle, and a huggable Enseki was sitting on it, and reports from various places were being sent in from time to time.
Next to the Enseki,
Tima was holding her hand over it and releasing magic power, and Shina was
commanding the spirits that had gathered from the magic power of the girl in
front of her. On the floor of the stand, a magic circle to stabilize the Enseki
was drawn, and Tom and Inda were working hard to maintain the magical formula. Jihad
and Mauzu were also standing by nearby, and they were looking at the map spread
out on the desk. Various colored pieces were placed on the map, and the
positions of those pieces were changing with every new report.
"Jihad-dono, what
about the suspect and the undercover investigator...?"
"We couldn't
carelessly put people on them, so we chose some of our best men. I don't
believe there will be any problems..."
Mauzu, the captain of
the Security Force, nodded as if he was convinced by Jihad's explanation.
Jihad, who had temporarily taken Camilla off the pursuit, had assigned one of
the two trackers who had been following her and Ken to guard and monitor
Camilla, and had the remaining tracker continue to monitor Ken.
"This is
headquarters to 'Starlight,' what's your situation?"
When Jihad spoke into
the Enseki, a faint light appeared, and a low, muffled voice replied.
The target has
separated from the undercover investigator and has entered an alley in the
civilian district. There are no people around.
Jihad nodded in
satisfaction at the tracker's confident reply. Based on the information that
was continuously sent from the tracker who was following Ken, Jihad continued
to move the pieces on the map while looking at it.
"I see, there are
no problems with Camilla-kun's side, are there?"
Yes, my
partner is with her just in case.
"Good. You
continue the pursuit as you are."
Roger.
After the short reply,
a sound like a rope being cut was heard, and the light of the Enseki, which had
been shining, subsided a little. The tracker had probably returned to pursuing
Ken.
"Inda, what about
the other military police?"
"They are waiting
near the borders of the administrative district and the commercial district. In
the vicinity of the target, teams A and B from the civilian district are on
standby, and teams C and D are on standby behind them."
Inda, who was
answering Jihad's question clearly and concisely, had no fluctuations in the
magical light from her hand or the light from the magic circle on the floor. On
the other hand, Tom, who was also controlling the magic circle, had a very
serious face, and his expression was a little stiff. He probably had his hands
full with the control of the magic circle and didn't have the luxury to care
about other things.
"You're quite the
capable one, Inda-dono."
Not only Tom, but also
Mauzu, the captain of the Security Force, had been letting out voices of
admiration at the sight of the capable woman who was not only helping Shina and
the others, who were the core of this operation, but was also supporting Jihad.
However, even though
the people around them were in a state of astonishment, Jihad and Inda were
calmly and accurately watching the situation change. The distance between the
red piece that represented Ken and the blue pieces that represented the
military police was gradually getting narrower. At the same time, the blue
pieces on standby in the rear were surely cutting off Ken's escape routes one
by one.
In the face of the
encirclement that was surely being built, Jihad was listening to the report
that was being sent from the Enseki without even moving an eyebrow.
Headquarters,
a magical reaction has been detected from the target. At the same time, water has
started to cover the target.
The tracker's slightly
strained voice echoed from the Enseki. A tension also rose at the same time.
Judging from the words "magical reaction" and "water," it
was almost certain that Ken had started using the Water Mirror Heart Mask. With
this, it was almost confirmed that he was the holder of this ability.
"Good, this is
where the real work begins. Everyone, pay close attention to the reactions of
your Communication Stones, stay in close contact, and continue to monitor the
target."
Civilian
district team A, roger.
Civilian
district team B, roger.
Civilian
district teams C and D, roger.
The replies of
acceptance of the orders came from all over the encirclement around Ken.
This was where the
real work began. Since the target's appearance and physique could not be relied
on after the Water Mirror Heart Mask had been activated, the rest of the
operation depended on the Communication Stones in their hands and their ability
to sense magic. They would continue to monitor Ken's movements while cutting
off his escape routes, and as soon as he tried to do something, they would move
to secure him.
When the time came to
move, two of the four teams placed in the civilian district would move to
secure the suspect, and the remaining two teams would cut off his escape
routes. Furthermore, half of the personnel placed in the north and south districts
were placed near the border with the civilian district. If it came down to it,
they would also move to secure Ken and cut off his escape routes.
"Depending on the
situation, we will immediately move to secure the target. In that case, teams A
and B will make contact with the target, and teams C and D will cut off his
escape routes. When you make contact with the target..."
If Ken were to take
any suspicious actions, Jihad was planning to immediately respond in kind.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have built such a tight encirclement for just one
person.
The moment he was
about to convey that order to everyone through the Enseki, the light of the
Enseki, which had been faintly shining on the magic circle, suddenly started to
flicker irregularly.
"What?! What is
this!"
Tima and the others
widened their eyes at the Enseki, which had started to let out a disgusting crackling
sound and an electrical current.
"M- Magic power going out of control?... But why!?"
Inda, who had quickly
noticed the sudden change in the situation, tried to control the magic power,
but the magical light overflowing from the Enseki showed no signs of weakening.
"What's going
on!"
"I don't know!
The magical formula of the Enseki suddenly..."
Jihad's voice became
rough, but the overflowing magic power was raging like a fire on a dead leaf.
"This is bad!
Everyone, get down!"
The next moment, a
pure white flash of light filled the room, and a roar and shockwave ravaged the
headquarters.
***
A corner of the
civilian district. In a corner of the town with few people, a part of the
shadow of a house illuminated by the setting sun moved. Looking closely, a
citizen in plain clothes was talking into something he was holding, while
erasing his presence.
"Headquarters,
the suspect has changed into a middle-aged man in his 40s and is moving
northeast."
The person who was
trying to communicate with headquarters with the Communication Stone in his
hand was one of the trackers who was following Ken. He had left his partner,
who had been investigating Camilla, and was focusing on pursuing the suspect.
"Headquarters, is
something wrong?"
The tracker, who had
been constantly reporting Ken's situation, noticed that there was no reply even
when he made a report and tried to communicate many times, but there was no
response from headquarters, and the Communication Stone in his hand remained
silent.
When he infused it
with magic power, it shone red, so there was no problem with the Communication
Stone itself. Was there some kind of trouble? A sense of unease crossed his
mind. While glaring at the Communication Stone, which was no longer functioning
as a communication device, the tracker made a calm decision.
In front of him, Ken,
who had changed his appearance to a middle-aged man, was walking slowly. He was
probably planning to walk around the town and change his appearance many times
like this to deceive any witnesses.
"I can't take my
eyes off him..."
The tracker, despite
his opponent being a student, did not underestimate his skill. The suspect in
front of him was a person who could reach A-rank in ability alone, even if he
was inexperienced. He didn't know how he might be noticed, so he had to be
careful. If Ken were to focus on fleeing and he lost sight of him, not only
would the entire operation be a waste, but it could also cast a shadow on the
town's security in the future.
"Fortunately, the
encirclement should be almost complete. Depending on the situation, I might
have to make a judgment on the spot and secure the target myself..."
The tracker, even
without communication with headquarters, was trying to fulfill his mission. He
came out of the shadow of a building without a sound and resumed his pursuit
without being noticed, keeping an eye on the suspect who was walking about 20
meters ahead of him.
Eventually, Ken turned
down a street and disappeared into the shadow of a house. The tracker carefully
and quickly moved his feet while checking the presence of the suspect and the
people around him.
And after confirming
that there was no one around besides the suspect, he stuck himself to the
corner of the house where Ken had just disappeared and tried to peek inside to
confirm his location. But the next moment, a shock ran through the back of his
neck.
"W-what..."
His vision blurred, and
the strength drained from his legs. He had no idea what had happened. There was
no one around besides Ken, the suspect, and the suspect's presence was still
far away from him.
His body collapsed to
the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. The tracker's consciousness,
which was in a state of confusion, was fading. In the dim twilight, a shadow
covering him was reflected in his blurry vision. The shadow was completely
covered in a cloak, and he couldn't even tell his face or physique. The only thing
he knew was that the shadow was in the shape of a human.
The human figure
glanced at the tracker, who was now immobile, and took out a shining bag from
his cloak and scattered its contents into the air. The bag contained a
sparkling powder. While being captivated by the light that was scattering in
the twilight sky, the tracker's fading vision was closed in complete darkness.
***
The military police
who were stationed in the civilian district and were building the encirclement
around Ken were surprised by the sudden interruption of the communication
network, but they were trying to stay calm.
The military police
huddled together in the shadows of the houses. Because it was a covert
operation, their clothes were unified to look like adventurers, and their faces
were also dirtied with a certain amount of soil and dust.
"What about
communication with headquarters?"
"No good, there's
no response..."
No matter how many
times they tried to communicate, there was no response from the Communication
Stone, which was glowing red. After a moment of silence, the leader of team A,
who was commanding the military police in the civilian district, looked up and
looked at everyone with a determined expression.
"...It can't be
helped. In the worst-case scenario, we'll secure the suspect on our own."
The members there
nodded slightly at their leader's words. It was impossible for them to move in
a large, organized group, but they might still be able to coordinate with each
other since they were all members of the same team in the civilian district.
"Fortunately, we
have already surrounded the suspect. Teams C and D will maintain the
encirclement as they are. Teams A and B will enter the encirclement. Pay
attention to the changes in your Communication Stones, make contact with the
target, and secure the suspect."
"Roger. I'll send
the message to teams B, C, and D."
A messenger
immediately moved and ran toward the positions of the other teams, which they
had known about just before the communication was cut off.
"Let's go."
The leader told his
men and took out his Communication Stone. The next moment, the leader's eyes
widened. The Communication Stone he had taken out from his cloak was already
emitting a faint red light. The same went for the other members. It showed that
a being with magic power was already nearby.
"Everyone, the
target is nearby! Look for him while paying attention to your Communication
Stones!"
At their leader's
command, the members scattered and started searching for Ken with the Communication
Stones in their hands. But strangely, even when the members moved apart, the Communication
Stone continued to glow red.
"W-what's going
on?"
"We're also
getting a continuous reaction here! We don't know where he is like this!"
The voices of the
confused members echoed around them.
"Calm down! It
might just be happening in this area! In any case, let's go to the location
where the suspect was just before the communication was cut off. This
abnormality might return to normal by then."
At the quick judgment
of their leader, the flustered members immediately regained their composure and
hurried to the location where Ken was thought to have been. However, even when
they arrived at that location, Ken, the suspect, was not there, and the Communication
Stones continued to emit a red light. And the phenomenon of the Communication
Stones continuing to glow had spread not only to teams A and B, but also to
teams C and D, who had been securing the area, and they had completely lost
sight of the suspect.
***
It wasn't just the
teams in the civilian district that were confused by the communication network
being cut off. The same went for the teams in the administrative and commercial
districts that were placed as reinforcements.
In one of the teams
placed in the commercial district, Mars and Mimuru were looking at the blue
stones in their hands with difficult expressions.
"What do we do?
This stone isn't making a single sound."
Mimuru picked up the Communication
Stone in her hand and swung it around.
"......Maybe
it'll get fixed if I hit it?"
"I think if you
hit it with your brute strength, it won't get fixed and will just be broken
fatally?"
"I know, right...
Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
Mars glared at Mimuru
with a side-eye as if to say, "I'm offended," but Mimuru just looked
into the Communication Stone, tapped it with her finger, and made noises like,
"Aaa~, aaa~." She completely ignored Mars's accusing gaze.
"No good, there's
no response. It seems to react to magic power, though..."
Ignoring Mars, who let
out a sigh, Mimuru infused the Communication Stone with magic power, and the
stone began to emit a faint red light. It seemed that there were no problems
with it other than the fact that it wasn't connecting to anywhere. Mars and
Mimuru, who were not knowledgeable about these things, had no idea what to do,
and they both slumped their shoulders.
"It seems our Communication
Stone isn't the only one that can't communicate..."
When Mimuru glanced at
the person next to her, she saw the military police who was assigned to watch
them trying to communicate with headquarters with a desperate expression. But
no matter how much he infused it with magic power, the Communication Stone only
glowed red and didn't reply at all. Eventually, the military police gave up
trying to communicate when there was no response at all.
"What are you
going to do?"
"Since the
communication hasn't been restored, we'll wait for a messenger without moving
from here. Fortunately, we knew that the suspect was in the civilian district
just before the communication was cut off."
It seemed that the
military police would maintain the current situation where they had gathered at
the border between the civilian and commercial districts for a while.
"I wonder what
Irisdina-san and Feo are doing in the administrative district?"
"I don't know. We
have no idea what the situation is. If the communication with headquarters is
still alive, they're probably moving according to orders, but if there were no
orders, they're probably maintaining the current situation."
In fact, the teams in
the administrative district where Irisdina and the others were participating
and the artisan district on the east side were maintaining their current
positions and were waiting for instructions from a messenger.
However, since the
communication network was cut off, they wouldn't get any information soon. So
Mars and the others stayed there and waited for a messenger to come. They
leaned their backs against the walls of the houses around them and relaxed.
When they looked down the street, they could see people coming and going on the
main street.
The commercial
district was changing its appearance from a daytime town to a nighttime town.
The noise also reached Mars and the others, who were far from the main street.
"Move, move!
We're in a hurry!"
"Heyyy, which
store are we going to today~?"
"Young man. How
about it, want to have some fun tonight?"
Merchants who were
still running around the town and working hard even after the sun had set,
workers who had finished their day's work and were trying to recharge their
energy for tomorrow, and women who were trying to attract customers now that it
was business time. People were peeking in and out from the gaps between the
houses. Their clothes were all different, and it was a scene that symbolized
that this was a chaotic commercial district.
"Oh, you people,
what are you doing in a place like this?"
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, a raspy
voice reached Mars and the others' ears. When they tilted their heads,
wondering who it was, they saw an old man in a robe standing there. Mars, who
noticed the old man, Zonne, frowned as he remembered the outrageousness of the
old man.
"What are you
doing here, perverted old man? The brothel is over there."
"Oh, my bad. Now
then, today I'm going to have a nice time with Satella-chan... No, that's not
it! What a rude guy to say that without a greeting..."
The fact that he was
properly doing a self-deprecating act even while he was angry showed that this
old man still had a funny personality. Mars was a little surprised by Zonne's
sudden appearance, but he was already starting to feel like a hassle at the sight
of the same lazy old man.
"So, old man,
what are you doing in a place like this?"
"Hmm? Because my
house is around here, that's why. But more importantly, what a beautiful little
kitten you are~. Your skin is full of the glow of life. The fur on your tail is
magnificent."
And as per tradition,
Zonne started flirting with Mimuru, who was the only woman in the team. He
looked at her tail and thighs in a way that wasn't overly lewd and praised her.
The military police in plain clothes around them were also taken aback by the
flattering words that were coming out of his mouth as if he were breathing.
It was true that
Mimuru's body, which was good at agile movements, had a combination of the
vitality and flexible muscles unique to beastmen, while also having a feminine
softness. She was usually not very noticeable because of her energetic
appearance, but her face was well-proportioned, and she was not inferior to Shina.
"Miss. Would you allow
me to sing a poem of my love for you under the moon tonight?!"
Zonne put his hand on
his chest in a theatrical manner and gave Mimuru a confession of love like an
actor in a play. However, the gesture was so pretentious that Mars and the
military police were all put off by it.
"Sorry, you're
not my type."
"Whoa!"
And naturally, Mimuru
bluntly cut off Zonne's confession. It was such a splendid rejection that they
could almost hear a "swish!" sound.
"Besides, I have
Tom. Tom is amazing. He's so good at studying, and he's an assistant to
Torgrein-sensei at the same age as me..."
Before Zonne, who had
been rejected by Mimuru, could recover, Mimuru declared that she was already
taken. What followed was a storm of praise for her lover.
"He always cares
about me, and even when I get a small injury during training, he notices
it..."
Mimuru continued to
give her speech with a blushing expression on her face, with her cheeks flushed
red. The way she was looking up at the sky with her tail wiggling showed that
she was thinking about the person she loved. And from the outside... it was
also annoying.
"...Something is
off with her."
Mimuru's feelings for
Tom, which seemed to have no end, didn't stop even after a few minutes, but
rather gained momentum. A few brave souls tried to interject and stop her, but
no matter how much they talked to her, Mimuru's "I love Tom" call
didn't stop.
"Shina doesn't
eat my cooking and gives vague answers, but he eats my cooking with a
smile..."
"No, I think his
face is just twitching, and he's only eating it because he can't
refuse..."
It seemed that some
dangerous misunderstandings had started to mix in. No one would want to eat
that taste-destroying food that could kill them if they were unlucky.
Considering Tom's personality, it was hard to believe that he could refuse
Mimuru's pushiness.
"Ugh, ugh, once
again my sincere love has..."
"What part of
that invitation was sincere...?"
Zonne, who had been
brokenhearted again, let out a voice of grief while the military police around
them were watching the situation unfold.
But as expected of a
"self-proclaimed" poet who lived for love, he seemed to be growing
hair on his heart. And Zonne, as if struck by lightning, suddenly raised his
head and started shouting at the sky with bloodshot eyes.
"As I thought, my
destined wife can only be that beautiful black-haired girl! Hey, boy! Where is
my black-haired girl?!"
Black-haired girl...
Mars guessed that he was talking about Irisdina.
"...I don't know.
By the way, does Irisdina care about you, old man? From what I've heard, she's
been rejecting you all the time."
Mars's reply was harsh
toward Zonne, who was getting worked up and about to grab him. Mars's reply was
quite apathetic, as he was tired of the old man's sudden rise in tension and
the wildcat girl who had already started to go out of control.
However, it was a
well-known fact that Irisdina didn't care about Zonne at all. He would try to
touch her skin under the pretense of fortune-telling, and he would flirt with
her important little sister. Honestly, there was nothing about him that would
make her attracted to him.
Zonne, who had been
getting worked up, fell silent, perhaps after recalling how many times he had
been brushed off.
"............"
"............"
Mars and Zonne stared
at each other in silence. The fact that they both had expressions as if they
had chewed on a bitter bug was strangely surreal.
A moment of silence
flowed between them, but the next moment, Zonne suddenly started holding his
head and lamenting as if he was grieving for the world.
"Ugh! Damn you!
That brat again!"
"Well, I knew
you'd react like that..."
The person who came to
Zonne's mind after he was told he was not wanted was probably the person
Irisdina cared about the most now. In Mars's mind, his friend's face with a wry
"Ahahaha..." smile was also passing through.
"Ugh, my lonely
heart is all wounded. Is there no one who can heal my heart...?"
Mars involuntarily
burst into laughter at the thought of Nozomu's face with a disinterested smile.
On the other hand, Zonne, who was completely in despair, was looking at the
empty space with a hollow expression.
"That's right, at
a time like this, the black-haired little sister would be... "
He heard words that
made him feel an unpleasant premonition. The black-haired little sister. Mars
could only think of one person who fit that description.
"...Hey. I found
a suspicious person."
"Huh?"
Mars put his hand on
Zonne's neck without a word and restrained him. Naturally, Zonne, who had been
suddenly restrained, was dumbfounded and had no idea what was going on.
"W-what are you
talking about! Why do I have to be treated like a suspicious person!"
"What are you
saying, you who tried to cry to an 11-year-old girl?! What are you planning on
doing, you walking obscenity?!"
He had unintentionally
raised his voice, and the old man's neck was squeezed because he had put force
into his arms. While listening to the old man's groan like a crushed frog in
his ear, Mars recalled the stripping commotion that had happened at Ox-Head
Pavilion. That tragedy had been caused by the old man in front of him. Ox-Head
Pavilion was always noisy, but at that time, it was such a commotion that the
customers had completely turned into a mob. As a result, everyone who was there
was punished by Emma, who had turned into a demon, but Mars was still furious
at Zonne, who had not learned his lesson.
"What are you
getting wrong?! My love is still too early for that black-haired little sister!
I just wanted to be a little healed by that energetic smile!"
"Hmm..."
It might have been a
desperate excuse, but the words surprisingly resonated with Mars. Well, Mars
also understood the feeling of being cheered up by Somia's smile. Her pure,
innocent smile would surely soothe a person's frayed heart. Perhaps because he
was in a low position in the family hierarchy, Mars also understood Zonne's feelings
a little. The strength in his arms, which were restraining the old man,
loosened slightly.
But at that moment,
Mars noticed a dangerous presence on both sides of him. When he turned his head
to check, he saw military police with stern expressions on their faces standing
there.
"... We're detaining you."
With a low,
intimidating voice, the military police arrested the old man without a word.
"W-why?! And who
are you people?!"
The military police
were in plain clothes at this time and were not wearing their usual armor. With
their dirty hemp clothes, faces, and worn-out weapons on their waists, they
would look like nothing more than adventurers at first glance. But the way they
straightened their backs and moved crisply made them feel like they were the
military police in charge of the peace of this town. It was impossible for the
military police to ignore Zonne's remarks from earlier.
"We are the
military police who protect this town. Squad leader, we have a suspicious
person here."
"Understood, the
two of you take him to the station. But come back as soon as you hand him over.
We're in the middle of an important investigation."
The perverted old man,
who was held on both sides by the plain-clothed military police, was about to
be taken away. But Zonne was also putting up a desperate resistance.
"Listen to me!
I'm a law-abiding citizen!"
"...Mars-kun. He
seems to be an acquaintance of yours, but is this old man really not a
problem?"
"Ugh...
Well..."
The squad leader asked
Mars, who was an acquaintance, about Zonne's character. But he was clearly
glaring at Zonne as if he were looking at a suspicious person.
Mars hesitated, not
knowing how to reply. It was true that he was a troublemaker who had a lot of
energy for his age and would cause insane problems, but Mars also knew from his
short time with him that he wasn't the type of person who would force himself
on a woman. So Mars had a feeling that arresting him and taking him away was a
bit too much. Well, if he were to be asked if he was completely not a problem,
he would probably shake his head.
However, this
hesitation sealed the old man's fate.
"...Take him
away."
"......Ah."
Seeing Mars hesitate,
the squad leader, who had judged that this old man was a problem, ordered his
men to take him away. Before Mars could stop them, the military police, who
were filled with a sense of duty, saluted and started walking toward the
station while firmly restraining Zonne.
"Wait, let go of
me! I didn't do anything!!"
Zonne's scream echoed
in Mars's ears. While listening to the scream that was like a plea, Mars
slumped his shoulders in exhaustion.
After that, Mars and
the others were ordered by Jihad, who had sent a messenger from headquarters,
to thoroughly search the area near the border with the civilian district.
Jihad's orders were also sent to the other districts, and each of them focused
on monitoring their respective areas. However, they were unable to find any
signs of Ken Notice, and after the team in the civilian district lost sight of
the suspect, they had no choice but to continue their search while expanding
their search area.
***
In the central park,
which was about to be swallowed by the darkness of the night, Camilla, who had
been investigating Ken, was sitting on a bench. At this point, the Enseki was
broken, and the communication network was already dead, but Camilla had not yet
realized that fact. Ken, who had told her to wait there, was nowhere to be seen
around her.
Anxiety crossed
Camilla's mind. Would Ken really come to this place? Had Ken perhaps found out
about her investigation, and had he already achieved his goal?
Camilla, who was
sitting alone on the bench, was absorbed in thoughts for which there was no
answer. Perhaps to distract herself from her anxiety, she was repeatedly
clenching the blue Communication Stone in her hand.
"Camilla, sorry
to keep you waiting..."
A voice suddenly
called out to Camilla, who had been lost in thought, from behind her. Camilla,
who flinched, jumped up and turned around.
"...Huh? No...
zomu?"
Camilla's expression
stiffened in surprise. The person reflected in her eyes was none other than
Nozomu Bountis.
For a moment,
Camilla's expression stiffened, but she immediately felt a sense of incongruity
about Nozomu, who was standing in front of her. Nozomu had military police with
him who were monitoring him. But there was no sign of them anywhere. It was
impossible to imagine Nozomu running away from the military police who were
proving his alibi. So the person in front of her must be...
"No way..."
"Well, that's
right."
As if he could read
her mind, the Nozomu in front of her curled his lips into a smile and nodded.
That smile was the same as the person who had caused this whole situation. The
Nozomu Bountis standing in front of her was undoubtedly Ken Notice, who had
used the Water Mirror Heart Mask to disguise himself.
Camilla's face was
still frozen in surprise, and her gaze went back and forth from the feet to the
top of the head of the person in front of her many times. Camilla herself
couldn't believe it, but the figure of Ken standing in front of her was an
exact copy of Nozomu.
"Camilla, what is
that?"
Ken's gaze was fixed
on the Communication Stone in Camilla's hand. Camilla quickly hid the Communication
Stone behind her back. A cold sweat ran down her spine for a moment.
"......N-nothing,
it's nothing big. Lisa hasn't been doing well recently, so I was planning on
giving it to her to cheer her up."
"......Hmm."
Camilla was trying to
somehow deceive him, and she was looking away with an awkward atmosphere. The Communication
Stone certainly looked like an accessory at first glance, but Ken was giving
her a suspicious look.
This is bad if he gets
suspicious.
A thought crossed
Camilla's mind, and she looked down and made a sad expression.
"I think it's
fine, isn't it? I can't be by Lisa's side anymore, but I can at least hope that
she gets better..."
She suppressed her
pounding heart and the extreme tension that felt like it would make her go
crazy. Camilla didn't think of herself as a person who was good at acting, but
the expression of her looking down and gritting her teeth didn't look like
acting at all. That was only natural, as the words she had said were her true
feelings.
"I don't think
you need to worry about that. After this is over, Lisa's worries will
disappear."
In contrast to the
somber Camilla, Ken had a carefree expression on his face. Camilla suppressed
her boiling anger toward Ken and just remained silent.
"Well, let's go.
This is where the real work begins, and I really want you to help me..."
Ken, who had been
staring at Camilla for a while, shrugged his shoulders a little and started
walking as if to urge her to follow him.
"Where are we
going...?"
Camilla, who had a
puzzled look on her face, asked as she followed Ken, who had started walking
without telling her his destination. But Ken didn't even turn around.
"Hey, are you
listening to me?"
Camilla kept asking
Ken. Ken, as if he was being a big shot, turned around at the voice that was
constantly calling out to him from behind. And while letting out a cold aura
that would make anyone's whole body shiver, Ken muttered.
"Ecross..."
Camilla couldn't
believe her ears at those words.
***
A crimson curtain
flowed over the street that was beginning to be enveloped in dusk. In the
central park that completely surrounded Solminati Academy, Lisa was sitting on
a bench, feeling a sense of melancholy all by herself.
"Where did Ken
and Camilla go...?"
Lisa had chased after
Ken and Camilla, whom she had seen after school, but by the time she got out of
the school building, they were already gone. The students who were on their way
home were having a lively conversation and were smiling innocently. Their
smiles were so clear, as if they had no worries at all.
As she looked at their
happy faces, the sense of isolation that was festering in the depths of her
chest grew even bigger. She looked around for a while out of her loneliness,
but Ken and the others were still not there. Lisa leaned her back against the
backrest of the bench and looked up at the sky where the stars had started to
twinkle. Her face was tinged with a shade of melancholy.
Nozomu, who had been
arrested on suspicion of assault and had been put in a cell, was released this
morning due to a lack of evidence. Nozomu, who had once again become the center
of attention after his mock battle with Jihad. The series of incidents that had
happened around him had already spread throughout the academy in various forms
by the time he was released, and groundless speculations were running rampant.
The people who were
negative about Nozomu concluded that he had done it, and the people who were on
his side insisted that there was an impostor. Because they couldn't hear the
truth from Nozomu, who had returned to the academy, or from his close friends,
ridiculous stories were also flying around, such as a doppelganger being in the
town or that they had all been tricked by a mischievous fairy.
Amidst all that, no
student came to ask Lisa about the story. Perhaps it was difficult for them to
ask Lisa, who was at the center of the rumor, and they just watched her from a
distance as if she were a hot potato. She felt like she was being watched like
a show, and she could hear people whispering around her. When she looked at
them, the person who had been looking at her would look away awkwardly and
disappear. That atmosphere in the academy was cornering the already unstable
Lisa even more.
Recalling what had
happened in the classroom, Lisa made a gloomy face and sat alone on a bench. At
that moment, she saw some female students in the same Solminati Academy uniform
in front of her. From the looks of it, they were also 3rd-grade
students.
"Hey, what do you
think happened in that incident in the commercial district the other day?"
"I heard a lot of
things in the academy. That Nozomu did it, that it was an impostor. And there's
also a story that a doppelganger infiltrated the town..."
The two female
students who were on their way home were talking about the rumor about Nozomu Bountis
that had been dominating the conversations in the academy recently.
"I don't know,
but the timing of this commotion, right after Bountis and Jihad-sensei had
their mock battle, is a little too perfect..."
And from the content
of their conversation, it could be inferred that they were skeptical about the
events from two years ago and the assault case that Nozomu was said to have
caused this time.
"Then, was the
rumor about Bountis cheating, which was spread two years ago, actually
true?"
"Who knows? But
it wouldn't be unnatural to think that the Crimson Princess dumped Nozomu,
right?"
As expected, Lisa's
name also came up in the conversation. The woman who had abandoned her
childhood friend after his Ability Suppression was manifested and he was
branded as useless. The ugly rumors that she heard pierced Lisa's chest.
Her head suddenly felt
hot, and a shout of anger that was welling up from the depths of her stomach
came up to her throat all at once like magma.
"!"
A passionate emotion,
along with a stabbing pain in her chest, welled up. She jumped up from the
bench and glared at her classmates in front of her. But the angry shout that
should have burst out was somehow stuck in the back of her throat and did not
come out of her mouth.
The image of Nozomu
came back to her mind. Not from two years ago, but his apologetic expression
from just a little while ago.
It's a stupid
story, isn't it? There's no way Lisa would look at me when I was running away
and not facing her...
And Nozomu's voice
echoed in her mind. The anger of Lisa, who had been furious at the words of the
person she should have hated so much that she didn't want to see his face,
subsided as if the tide had gone out.
"Ah..."
The sudden cessation
of her fury and the something that had gotten stuck in her mind. She couldn't
even understand herself and could only stand there in a daze. The classmates
had noticed Lisa, who had suddenly stood up.
"Whoa...!"
"What's wrong...?
Huh?"
The students, who had
noticed Lisa's presence, made an embarrassed face and then left the place with
a forced laugh. But Lisa didn't notice them and just looked down, repeatedly
questioned herself.
Nozomu
betrayed me. He threw away all of my feelings.
That had been the
truth for Lisa Hounds for the past two years. But the more she tried to believe
that, the more the image of Nozomu, who was worried about her, just like two
years ago, came to her mind.
The scene of his
betrayal she had seen two years ago and Nozomu's unchanging smile. The two
contradicting Nozumus clashed, and Lisa, even as her body trembled with the
anger of his betrayal, was unable to deny his words. She continued to be
tormented by the impulse to scratch her chest and the sharp, squeezing pain.
Lisa no longer knew
what she should believe.
The park was now
deserted. The sun was setting, and darkness was gradually beginning to envelop
Arcazam. Lisa just cowered like a child who was afraid of the night. However,
the pain that was gripping her chest showed no signs of subsiding.
She sat on the grass
for a while with her face buried in her knees, but she slowly raised her head.
At that moment, the figures of two people, a man and a woman, walking side by
side in the darkness, came into her eyes.
"......Is
that..."
One of them was a
person whom she could call her best friend, who she had made since coming to
this town. The other was her childhood friend who was still stirring up her
heart.
"......Camilla,
and Nozomu?"
The pain in her chest
grew even bigger at the sight of Nozomu and Camilla walking side by side. The
stabbing sensation in her chest had already turned into a gouging, intense
pain. Her face was stiffer than ever before.
"Why are those
two...?"
In a situation she
couldn't understand, Lisa could only stare at the two of them disappearing into
the town. Before she knew it, she had started running again, chasing after the
two of them. Why did her chest hurt so much? She still couldn't find the reason
for that and just wanted to escape from the pain that was tormenting her.
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