EIS V5 C1 - Nee-san's Return And The Progressing Illness Translated from the CN here: https://www.wenku8.net/novel/2/2542/139254.htm Checked against the JP here: https://files.catbox.moe/s1owqo.epub JP > CN > EN by PEGYAAAAHHHH The next day, Zeta and Delta's skirmish had the campus in an uproar. "They say someone picked up an unbelievable mana signature in the back of the dorm garden." "Seems that way, but I was asleep at the time so I don't know anything about it." "I was asleep too, so I don't know either." Hyoro and Jaga had complex looks on their faces as they spoke. "And apparently they're collecting evidence from the scene now?" "Seems like it. Quite a few of the teachers have gone down to help out too." "Since the crime scene was behind the dorms, I'm pretty sure whoever did it was trying to sneak into the girls' dorm. Looks like the perpetrator's a pervert." "No, it was behind the boys' dorm, it seems." "Hm, then the perp must have been trying to sneak into the boys' dorm." "What could their objective be?" "Well, obviously it's because there's a stud like me around." Hyoro had a gross smile on his face as he said that. "That's true, the dorm has studs like me in it too." Jaga also had a gross smile on his face. "Indeed." I replied with a Buddha-esque look on my face. These two aside, the other students seemed to be discussing last night's incident in earnest. Theories like the culprit being someone with a grudge against the academy, or the culprit being someone who focused on valuable relics, or how it was related to the prior missing persons cases were all flying around. Sorry, guys. The truth is, it was just a cat(and dog) fight. Still, I didn't mind this mood of "something happening behind the cover of a peaceful school life." "Our next lesson's in the lecture room, we'd better get over there quick." "Hold on, Cid, you've got some nerve to leave a chad like me behind." "Give me a bit, this chad over here isn't ready yet." I left the two of them to their own devices and headed off. Speaking of last night, that snap decision to move around as the Shadow Eminence and shake up Alexia was simply marvelous. On the one hand, you had a savage battle taking place in a secret place of the peaceful campus, and on the other you had me, who was worried about the future. Using Delta and Zeta's battle to add a sense of realism to my ad-hoc performance was truly a work of art. Plus, there was the way I showed my power and highlighted the different worlds which we lived in. In the battles of the dark side of the world, those from the light side were nothing but distractions -- this was a classic, stylish act that had been in play since well before the birth of Christ. Just thinking about it made me want to grin like a fool. The "Eminence In Shadow", the greatest idea that I had devised, would now be etched in the history of this world. "Master." I wondered if I was imagining things, because I suddenly heard Zeta's voice out of nowhere. "Up here, Master." "Whoops." Looks like it wasn't my imagination after all. And here I was wondering who that girl in the cleaner's outfit was that was tugging on my uniform. As it turned out, it was Zeta. For some reason, she was in work clothes and hiding her ears with a knitted cap. "What's wrong? Why are you dressed like this?" "A disguise, for infiltration." Zeta got straight to the point while she was plastered up against me. "Don't mark me, it's too obvious." There were other students in the hallway. "Master, you smell of dog." "After you rub up against me for a while, I'll smell of cats instead." "Mm." I pried Zeta off my arm." "Speaking of which, where's Delta?" "Lost her. She should be at sea." "I won't probe further." It was very hard to catch Zeta when she was serious about escaping. That was why she was confident of picking a fight with Delta. "Mm. Over here." Zeta dragged me by the hand into an empty classroom. Perhaps it was because this room had not been used in a while but the air here was cold and it was quite dusty. "My next lesson's going to begin soon." "I have a report." She suddenly leaned in close and whispered into my ear. It felt like we were going to continue the spy game from before. "The attack against her failed." "Seems that way." "But she is still on the other side." "Is she now?" "The Cult will send more assassins." Zeta moved over to the window and looked down from it. I stood beside her, and together were looked down upon the view outside the window. In the distance, I could see the knights and teacher collecting evidence from the scene of the crime. Zeta stared at them with her purple eyes. I copied her and stared in their direction as well. "It might be him." "Him, you say." "I'll step in if there is danger." "I'll let you be the judge of that, then." Just then, Zeta quickly crouched down. I copied her and ducked as well. "We've been spotted." "Looks like they've got someone with good instincts on their side." "Yes, hiding in the shadows." After stealthily looking around outside, I sensed a gaze coming from afar. "Now what are they looking at... Ah, it's time for me to go." The pre-lesson bell rang. By the time I looked back, Zeta had vanished without a trace. [SCENEBREAK] It was lunchtime. The three of us, Hyoro, Jaga and I, were queuing up at the school cafeteria. "So, what are we having for lunch?" "You're so lucky, Cid, you're going to use the money you stole from us to buy yourself a luxury lunch, right?" "Good for you, Cid-kun, we've had to eat the 980 zenny poor noble's daily set lunch day after day to the point where we can hardly stand it any more." "Saying I stole it is going too far. It's a proper right for me." That said, the money I won off them would be going into the activity funds for being a Shadow Eminence. Wasting it here would affect my future activities. I knew where my priorities lay, after all. And so, I picked the 980 poor noble's set lunch too. I firmly believed that everyday savings were linked to future success. "It's been a while, otouto-kun." Just then, I heard a voice from behind me. There was only one person in the entire world who would call me "otouto-kun." "Indeed it has, Nina-sempai." Her wine-red hair was as silky as ever today. The top button of her blouse was boldly unbuttoned, while her long slender legs descended from her short skirt. There was no way to deny that her sense of fashion was most provocative. This was Nina-sempai, a third-year student. "Where did you go for winter break? Claire was looking everywhere for you and she dragged me along too. Gave me quite a hard time, you know." "Well, all sorts of things happened." "Hm, all sorts of things, you say." Nina cut the line and stood in front of me. She had a very petite build, and her head was only around chest height for me. "No cutting in line." I was planning to shoulder-check her as I said this, but then she nimbly evaded me. "Looks like you're going for the 980 zenny poor noble's daily set lunch as well today, otouto-kun. You must be pretty hard up for cash." "I'm not hard up, I'm saving up funds for future ambitions." "Alright, alright, my treat then. What'll it be?" "I'll have the most expensive thing on the menu." "Sure. I'll have 2 sets of the 100 '000 zenny deluxe lunch sets for super-rich nobles." Nina-sempai ordered me the highest-end lunch they had. She always treated me very well, perhaps because she was a close friend of Nee-san's. Or rather, I should call her a handy sempai who'd listen to any request I made no matter what it was. Once I jokingly said I wanted to read a restricted book from the library and she actually brought it over. To this day, I have no idea how she did it. She'd also helped me out in many other ways. Meeting Nina-sempai made me feel that being Nee-san's little brother was a good thing for the first time in my life. "H-Hey, treat me too!" "M-me too!" Despite being mildly afraid of Nina-senpai's aura, Hyoro and Jaga chimed in as well. "I gave you guys poker cards, didn't I?" "You, you you have a point!" "Th-th-thank you very much for giving us those poker cards." "Oh, it's nothing. Claire DID cause you guys some trouble after all." Oh yeah, I think she did. And so, we secured a windowside seat, thanks to the authority of Nina-sempai. "Alright, have a seat." "Oh." I sat down beside Nina-sempai and dug into the super-rich noble lunch set while Hyoro and Jaga nervously sat opposite us and started on their poor nobles' lunch set. The super-rich noble's lunch set began with an appetizer. One of the maids prepared it for me with practiced skill. "It seems Claire's gone missing." Sempai said this while eating the carpaccio appetizer. "Seems that way." I started on the carpaccio too. I don't know what kind of fish they used for it, but it was delicious. "Princess Alexia asked me if I knew anything about it, but that day was just like any other, so I had nothing to tell her. How about you, otouto-kun?" "Me neither. Alexia came to look for me too." "Something seemed to be bothering her. Apparently some other students went missing too, so I'm a little worried." "Well, there WAS a big ruckus last night." "It was behind the boys' dorm, right? Sounds dangerous." "I know, right." "Speaking of which, I saw the Crimson Knights nearby. Although they seem to have grown in numbers, their quality leaves something to be desired." "Huh, you sure know a lot." "Sorta~" Nina-sempai winked smugly at me. "Are you going to join the knights after you graduate, Nina-sempai?" "Who knows? Unlike Claire, my grades aren't fantastic." "Hm? I see." "That's quite an interesting face you're making. My poor grades are quite infamous." "Really? I had you pegged for top of the class." "Hahaha, Claire should be this year's valedictorian, no? She's been leaving everyone awestruck with her growth recently. As for me, I just can't keep up." "Is that how it is?" Nina leisurely brought a spoonful of soup to her delicate little mouth. After taking a look at her, Nina-sempai ought to be stronger than Nee-san. Oh well, everyone had their own reasons for hiding their strength, and Nina-senpai was a pretty mysterious person too. "As for Claire, I'll tell you about her if anything comes up. You're very worried too, right?" "Worried? Not really... Aw, of course I'm kidding, I'm actually really worried." "You're just the same as always. Oh well, since it's Claire there shouldn't be too much to worry about. Feel free to let me know if there's anything bothering you." Nina-sempai flashed me an adorable smile. Meanwhile, Hyoro and Jaga ate their 980-zenny poor nobles' lunch set in silence [SCENEBREAK] "Can't I leave this place yet?" Claire sighed from where she was standing inside a school classroom. Her surroundings were veiled in white mist and she could not sense the presence of anyone nearby. ++Almost there.++ "You've been saying that for a long time now." ++I told you right, we're almost there. I'm trying to expand the gap here, but you've got too little mana, so it's taking a long time.++ "Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry for not having enough mana. I may not look it, but in this school, my mana levels are pretty high." ++Big fish, small pond.++ "You're being a real pain in the ass." ++Oops, I accidentally said what I was thinking.++ "So what are these gaps you're talking about?" ++They're the gaps that lead back to the original world, of course.++ "What do you mean by "original world"? Come to think of it, what IS this world, anyway?" ++Not telling you~++ Claire sighed again. There were far too many things she didn't know. She was planning to sit down on a table and cross her legs, but then a sense of dread suddenly filled her heart. "Hm?" Something was touching her leg. Looking closer, she saw it was a translucent human arm. It was covered in fresh blood and it was grabbing Claire's leg. "What, what the heck is this!" Claire hurriedly stood up and forcefully kicked the arm, driving it back. A person covered in blood emerged, as though it had sprouted from the arm which had been kicked away. His skin was grayish and his eyes were sunken in, and there was a deep wound on his chest. He looked like a corpse, no matter how you sliced it. ++Careful, that's a ghost.++ "A ghost?" ++One of the heroes of the past who was bound here. They are imprisoned by mana and they've been wandering here since forever. Grant them release.++ "Even if you tell me to grant them release... How should I do that?" "Beating him up should do the trick.." "Okay." Claire infused mana into her fist and dealt a straight punch to the ghost crawling toward her. The ghost split apart and vanished with a "splat". "What a disgusting sensation." ++The fact that ghosts are showing up is a sign the seal is weakening... This is a little bad." "What seal?" ++Ah, I was just talking to myself. I messed up; I need to keep her from overhearing me. She's got pretty sharp ears despite having so little mana.++ "I heard all that, you know." After that, Aurora fell silent. Claire, on the other hand, began kicking the ghost that showed up again. "I feel uneasy without a sword in hand." She had left her sword on the other side. Claire waited for Aurora to finish working while kicking away the reappeared ghosts. The ghosts began appearing more frequently, and the mist became denser. "Aurora, are you done yet?" ++Just a little more.++ "Really?" ++Yes, really. But unfortunately... We have a visitor.++ "Huh?" Claire sensed someone and looked back. There she saw a man in a long black robe. His face was covered with a mask. "When did he..." Claire took a fighting stance, but it felt very unnatural, probably because she wasn't holding her sword. Opposite her, the robed man raised his sword in a way that suggested it was very familiar to him. In an instant, he closed in on Claire. "So fast—!?" Claire barely managed to avoid the first attack and keep her distance from her opponent. However, the robed man had no intention of letting her go. He pivoted and swung at Claire. "Guh." After being sent flying, Claire shakily rose to her feet. She had taken a hit from the back of the blade, but she could still fight. It would seem her opponent had no intention of killing her, so was he trying to take her alive? ++You're going to lose.++ Aurora spoke in her head. "Quiet, you. This is a vital moment." ++Really now? But I can already see how it ends.++ "Ah, shut up, if only I had my sword...!" ++It wouldn't matter even if you did.++ "I told you, shut up!" ++Here he comes.++ And with that, the robed man launched himself with a mighty step, closing the distance between them. ++I'll lend you a hand.++ "—Huh?" Everything happened in an instant. The robed man, who had gotten right into her face, was sent flying by a swat from a red tentacle. The red tentacle grew out of Claire's leg, wriggling like a living thing. "What the heck is this now?" ++Blood.++ "Blood!?" ++You can do it too if you try. After all, you're...++ "...What am I now?" ++...It doesn't matter. We aren't done here yet.++ Claire looked up and saw the black-robed man rising to his feet. His cheek was bleeding, and his black mask had fallen from his face. "You're from the knight order..." She had seen his face before when enlisting in the knights." "It's been a while, Claire-san." He smiled and bowed as her spoke. "You're Viscount Jean, leader of the fourth squad of the third knight order.:" "That is merely an alias. I am one of the Named Children, "Jean of the Dark Smile". What the heck was with that naming sense, anyway? Claire thought that, but she did not say it. "Although I don't know what these Named Children are, I didn't expect you to be moonlighting in such a shady profession." "I didn't expect you to have this power either, Claire-san. How interesting... You didn't have it yet when we investigated you before." "Before?" "That's our business. In any case, it seems further investigation will be needed." He approached her, raising his sword as he did. Although Claire's red tentacle was about to take a fighting stance with her red tentacle, it lost power and melted away for some reason. ++Claire, this is bad.++ "Huh?" ++I'm almost out of mana.++ "Are you kidding me..." Claire's mouth twitched. "What marvelous luck. I have a present to offer him now." The "Dark Smile" smiled darkly, like his name. Just then, there was a cracking sound. It was like glass breaking, and part of this white, misty world began to splinter. "Wha!?" Someone dropped down through the fissure that had opened. She was a beautiful beastwoman girl wearing a tight black bodysuit, with golden ears and tail. She landed in front of Claire, and knocked the "Dark Smile's" sword away with a mysterious black mist. "Guh." The "Dark Smile" was sent flying with tremendous force. It looked like little more than a light tap. Even so, what was with that power... The girl stood there, wreathed in black mist and looking at her with a cool gaze. "Who are...?" "Zeta." She replied in a cold voice. ++Get away from her, Claire. That girl is unfathomable.++ Aurora's voice spoke in her mind. She sounded nervous, a rare thing indeed, and Claire was surprised. She took a step back and continued speaking. "Can I assume you're here to save me?" "I cannot allow the Cult to have you yet." "Huh?" The black mist flickered, and in the next moment Zeta was behind her. "Bye bye." Alexia felt someone grab her neck, and then she was thrown into the fissure in the world. "Wait, what are you doiiiiing!" Claire's wail faded into the distance, and vanished after she entered the fissure. Now only Zeta and the "Dark Smile" were left in this misty world. "Tch... How dare you get in my way." The "Dark Smile" squared off against Zeta." "Mm, greetings." "So you showed up in the end, Shadow Garden." Saying so, the Dark Smile raised his sword. Zeta looked very bored, in contrast to "Dark Smile", who had carefully calculated the distance between them. "You seem rather confident. Are you part of Shadow Garden's leadership?" "You noticed?" Zeta's reply was entirely self-centered. That was because she knew she was the absolute superior here. "What do you mean?" "Her secret." "You mean that power? What was that all—!?" At that moment, Zeta's mana surged. "Dark Smile's" knee's trembled in the face of that power which was about to crush him flat. "What, what... What the hell, that mana... Were you hiding it before?" "If only you didn't know, I could have let you off for a while." "What, what are you talking about—" "Since you know, this is farewell." "What did you... Uuuuughhh!?" Suddenly, the "Dark Smile" shed a black tear. Right after that, the pores of his body spewed black mist, and his body exploded. Zeta glanced at his corpse, and then muttered to herself. "Hm, a new move. Not bad." After that, she turned back and continued speaking into empty space. "It's over." As though in response to those words, a girl appeared through a rift in space. She was a girl with pink hair, wearing a black bodysuit. It was Victoria. "Yes, Zeta-sama." She knelt before Zeta. "We've confirmed Aurora's presence inside Claire-sama's body." "As I thought..." "Mm. It's all connected now. So that's why Master..." "Has the cult noticed?" "Not yet." "In that case, what is our plan?" "Go to Plan C." "Claire-sama will probably become the crux of the plan. But that is also the most ideal future for us." "The Master has spoken. He wants us to see the future clearly." "So that is Shadow-sama's will..." Victoria crosses her hands before her chest in prayer." "Also, tell her about the change in plan." Zeta vanished into a puff of black smoke, while Victoria smiled thinly as she watched her leave. [SCENEBREAK] The sound of fountain pens writing on paper filled the classroom. I stared at the exam script in front of me and furrowed my brows. "...I can't do this." The number of class quizzes had increased as the term-end exams drew closer. Failing these quizzes would mean being given extra assignments, and these assignments were massive and really annoying to complete. It would seem the teachers were working really hard to keep the idiots from failing and being held back. Until now, I had barely managed to avoid failing, like a background character. Through cheating, of course. However, my retribution for relying on cheating had finally come due. —Isaac-kun was absent. Isaac-kun was the top student in class, and his seat was perfectly positioned for me to see hsi script. In other words, one could say he was a student who was born to let me cheat off him. Thanks to him, I could keep my scores fine-tuned with divine precision. But who would have thought that Isaac would be absent! Thanks to him, I was in danger of failing now. "Guh..." Knowing whose scripts to look at was quite important for cheating. There would be no point in looking at an idiot's answers. To my right was Hyoro, whose shifty gaze was quite confusing. He was useless. To my left was Jaga, who was looking under his table at a strange angle. He was useless too. At this rate... The only one I could count on was Christina-san, a duke's daughter sitting diagonally in front of me.. While she was one of the top 5 students in class, she had a drawback. Namely, half of her script would be blocked if I tried to look at it from this angle. I had already copied all the answers I could see. However, I would only be able to get 40 marks with them, which was still a far cry away from the 60 marks that I needed to pass. Should I hide my presence and move to a position where I could see the rest of her answers? Still, I could hide my presence, but not my body. If I were to move around in this bright room with no obstacles, I could still be directly seen even if I was not sensed. There were many eyes in this classroom, and I would definitely be exposed. In that case, all I could do was move with speed that nobody could see. I could do that. If I got serious, it would be a piece of cake. However, there was another major drawback to that. If I moved so fast that people's eyes couldn't follow me, the wind pressure it would generate would definitely give me away. The answer script might be sent flying. No, Christina-san herself might be sent flying too. That would be a total loss for me. In that case, I would have to move with invisible speed while also not generating any wind pressure. To think I'd have to use such advanced techniques for a mere class quiz. Could I do it... I had always trained hard to move quickly, but moving at high speed without disturbing the air was something I had never trained to do before. The special assignments would mean my two days' break would be utterly wasted. They were that annoying. "...Should I do this?" But giving up here would ruin my reputation as a mob. I carefully spun up a wisp of mana that nobody would notice. Time for an improvisation, take this. At that moment— "Hey, you over there! What are you doing!?" "—!?" Was I spotted!? Shocked, my mana vanished like mist. However, the teacher was not looking at me. The teacher was looking beside me— "Hyoro Gari!! You're cheating, aren't you!" "I, I I I I, I wasn't looking at anything!! I totally wasn't looking at Christina-san's answers!!" Hyoro's face was pale and he was trembling. "Huh, and you even confessed to it. I've been watching you since just now. Get out now, and you'll be getting twice the normal amount of special assignments." "But, but how..." Hyoro left the classroom, a lifeless expression on his face. Christina looked at Hyoro like he was a piece of walking garbage. O-Okay then, time to pull myself together. I spun up another wisp of mana — and at that moment... "You over there! What are you doing!?" Again!? However, when I looked up, I found that the teacher was not looking at my shocked face. He was looking beside me again. "Jaga Imo! What were you looking at under your desk!?" "I, I I I I, I wasn't looking at anything!! I totally wasn't looking at the cheat sheet under my table!!" Jaga was gushing cold sweat like a waterfall. "Huh, well done on being so honest. Get out now, and you'll be getting triple the normal amount of special assignments." "How, how come I got more..." Jaga left the room as well with shaky steps. "The next person I catch cheating gets four times the amount of special assignments." There was vigilance in the teacher's eyes as he said this. Damn you for doing unnecessary crap like this, Hyoro and Jaga. Thanks to them, the risks had spiked. The teacher was watching very closely now. —However... "...How could I give up just like that?" I spun up my mana. Time seemed to slow down. Perhaps I might be able to do it now. This is the Mob Ultimate Technique specialized for cheating — No. 49!! "Watch this—" I gathered all my energy, and just then, something fell down with a "thud". "..." Humans would apparently lose the ability to speak for a while if something too unexpected happened. Suddenly, and for some reason, Claire-neesan fell out of the air from above the teacher. Everyone's eyes were focused on her and the entire room was silent for a while. I didn't expect her to go this far. Did she go missing just to set up a development like this... "What do you mean you can't hand me over!?" Nee-san got to her feet while trampling on the teacher as she shouted into thin air. "Tell me! What's this special power that I—!" And then, Nee-san suddenly looked around the classroom before stiffening up. "Claire Kageno. This is not your classroom." The trampled teacher's voice sounded like he was suffering very badly as he squeezed those words out. "Ah, this, er... um." Nee-san's face blushed beet red, and the expression on it was somewhere between laughing and twitching. "I, I sincerely apologize! Please forgive me!!" And then with her head still bowed, she turned right and hurriedly left the room. It would seem she would be called up later. Falling out of the sky, yelling into thin air, insisting she had some kind of special power — It would seem her condition was worse than I expected. Still, it had really helped me out this time. "...Thanks to Nee-san, everyone's attention was drawn away." I smiled as I filled in the blanks on my answer sheet. [SCENEBREAK] Claire sighed quietly as she left the student counseling room. "What rotten luck." The grade supervisor had lectured her for a full hour and the light streaming into the corridor now was a light red. She could hear the students in the distance. The sound of Alexia's footsteps filled the empty corridor. "And it had to be in Cid's class too. How am I going to face him tomorrow..." Her cheeks were a slight pink and she was speaking into empty air. "It's all your fault." ++How rude. It clearly wasn't my fault.++ "In that case, just tell me what;s going on. I ended up in some weird place and was attacked by a weird guy and then I fell out of thin air and onto a teacher. Nobody would believe me if I told them all this, right? They nearly sent me to a doctor." ++It's better that you don't know. There's no going back once you find out.++ "I say. How can you expect me to be content with being ignorant after encountering stuff like this? I'm really mad now, you know." ++...No. I can't do anything that would put you in danger.++ "Well, I'm already in danger. If you don't tell me, I'll go find out for myself. I won't let things end like this." ++It's useless.++ "I'll be the judge of that, Witch of Calamity Aurora-san." ++Where did you learn that name...++ "That's just one of the things I found out—" At this point, Claire suddenly came to a halt. At some point, a silver-haired girl had appeared in the corridor which she thought had been empty. "Sorry for interrupting you while you were talking to yourself, Claire Kageno-san. I have something I'd like to talk to you about." Her red eyes studied Claire with interest. She was a princess of the Kingdom of Midgar, Alexia Midgar. Claire's expression turned grim. "I was NOT talking to myself." "But there's nobody else here, is there?" Alexia gestured around herself. Claire's expression turned grimmer. "Princess Alexia, I have no intention of having a friendly chat with you." "It seems you do hate me. Is this not my first time meeting you, Claire-san?" "I don't want to talk to the shitty princess who deceived Cid." Claire's gaze turned sharp enough that you could almost kill someone with it. It would seem she was completely hostile now. "Hah? Look, there were reasons for that, okay? I had no intention of duping him." Alexia's gaze began wandering, like she was panicked. "Ah? Clearly that got to you. I can smell your lies." "Well pardon me, but I did not! In fact, what's with that attitude of yours!? I was planning to speak with you politely since you were his sister, you know." "I knew it, you're just pretending to be a good little girl." After that calm delivery from Claire, Alexia couldn't help but click her tongue. "You siblings are one and the same. You're each as rude as the other." "Oh, I'm like Cid, you say?" "Y-yeah, in terms of rudeness..." "I see, so we're alike... Ehehe." Claire smiled like a blossoming flower. "Hang on, what's with you?" "You've got a good eye, don't you!" "Ah..." Alexia felt a little distressed as the other girl pressed her shoulder up against hers. "So, you had something you wanted to talk about, yes?" "Well, that's true, but..." "Although I'm very busy right now, I guess it can't be helped. I guess I'll hear you out." "Thanks..." "By the way, how else am I similar to Cid?" "Uh, you both have black hair...?" And so the two of them walked down the twilit corridor, shoulder to shoulder. [SCENEBREAK] "...Where is this place?" "It's a special reception room which only those in power may enter." Alexia turned on the lights to the luxurious and gaudy room. "Those in power?" "Well, I AM part of the royal household, you know." "Ah, that does seem to be the case." I can't believe she actually forgot that, Alexia thought. "Please have a seat." "This is good fabric. The embroidery is beautiful too. What a waste of taxpayers' money." "Say, did anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?" "Not in as many words, no." Alexia and Claire sit down on the soft, fluffy sofas as they trade barbs. They are the only two in this spacious room. Alexia once again looks at Claire, who is seated opposite her. She had black hair and red eyes, and she was an honor student who excelled in both her studies and swordplay. It was said that her skills had undergone a tremendous improvement recently, and she was a prospective candidate for knighthood. No wonder. She was nothing at all like her little brother — apart from the fact that they were both incredibly rude. "Why do you have that serious look on your face?" "Because I'm going to talk about something serious, of course." "I know what you want. I won't hand Cid over to you." "I, I don't want him." Alexia clears her throat to try and cover up the fact that her voice had suddenly risen by a few octaves just now. "So, about you dropping onto the teacher during class." "What about it? Going to lecture me?" "I just want to ask you what happened." "I was using mana to jump outside the classroom and hit the teacher. I've apparently started acting strange because of stress. Although I'm not too sure about the circumstances, that's what happened. I am reflecting on my actions." Claire breezily rattles off that rote answer. "Do you think I want to hear that superficial rubbish?" "That's what my self-reflection essay said." "But that's not what really happened, was it?" "What do you mean?" "I know you're looking into the Demon Diablos." As she said that, Alexia laid the documents she had taken from Claire's room on the table. "Wait, that's my..." "I doubt you were researching this for fun, were you?" "...What do you want to know?" Claire's expression turned serious. "Everything. I want to know what happened on this campus." "...You're not going to treat me like a fool, are you?" "No. I'll never do that." "Really?" "Yes, really." Claire fell silent and looked away. She stared into thin air, as though she was talking to someone. After a short while, she gently shook her head. "I'm sorry, Aurora." "Huh?" Alexia could not help but tilt her head at that statement of hers which came completely out of left field. However, Claire was not talking to Alexia. All she did was stare into empty space. "I'm at my limit. I don't know anything and I'm feeling really uneasy about all this..." Claire's shoulder's trembled. "I'm sorry, it's nothing." She smiled as she said that. "...Are you alright?" "Not at all... Which is why I'm going to tell you anything. It may sound like nonsense, but you're free to believe it or not." "I believe you." To Alexia, Claire did not sound like she was lying at all. "Really? Then I should introduce her to you." "...Her?" "Her name is Aurora. She's a ghost, also known as "The Witch of Calamity". Come on, say hi." As expected, there was nobody in the place where Claire was pointing. Even after squinting and rubbing her eyes, she still saw nothing. "We met when—" [SCENEBREAK] After watching Claire talk as though there was someone else around, Alexia began to regret her promise to believe her. "—And that's what happened." By the time Claire had finished speaking, the sun had set. As the embers in the fireplace crackled, Alexia drank from a cup of coffee before sighing. "...Well, I think I understand the situation now, for the most part." "Are you willing to believe me?" "Oh yes. It might sound ridiculous, but it all adds up." "It adds up?" "That's right — everything adds up, be it Shadow Garden, the Diablos Cult and the incidents in this school. Although, I find it a bit hard to believe that part about Ghost-san." "Au-Aurora really IS here! She's sitting beside me and laughing at you!" Alexia couldn't help but glance at the empty place on the sofa. "Let's put the matter of Ghost-san aside for now." "I told you, she really exists!" "Still, I HAVE heard that name before. Aurora, the Witch of Calamity. One of the higher-ups in the Diablos Cult mentioned her. "Is the Diablos Cult linked to Aurora?" "I'm not sure about that. I've done some research, but there's hardly any information left regarding the Witch of Calamity. The only thing I know is that she once caused a huge disaster. "Aurora, did you cause a big disaster?" Claire addressed Ghost-san beside her. They seemed to be having a conversation. "Yeah, that's it. Aurora said she exterminated the Pig-Orcs. She said she was physiologically incapable of tolerating them." "...Somehow I don't think that was it." "No... Hm, I see. Aurora says she vandalized the Holy Shield Aegis. I didn't know such a famous shield existed." "That's definitely not it! And besides, the Holy Shield Aegis is missing and nobody's managed to find it yet..." "So that's not it either, huh. Then—" "—In any case, let's leave that aside for now! Let's move on to the next topic." "But Aurora has many other tales to tell." "Whatever, let's just get back to the main topic!" Alexia couldn't help but cough. "First, we need to figure out what's happening in the Academy." "Indeed." Alexia's expression turned serious. "While you claim to have been trapped in a mysterious realm, I've also experienced something similar. It was called the Sanctuary—" Alexia told her about her experiences in the Sanctuary. "—That does sound quite similar." "So perhaps there's something like the Sanctuary in the Academy. And you say you fought that Dark Smile guy, right? He's probably involved with the Diablos Cult." "He's Viscount Jean, leader of the Fourth Squad of the Third Knight Order." "While I expected that, it seems there really are Diablos Cultists in the knight orders. It seems they cannot be trusted now." "How about Iris-sama? Are the Crimson Knights reliable?" "Onee-sama... is very busy right now. In any case, the Diablos CUltists must be up to something if they're kidnapping students from the Academy." "What does that mean?" "A phenomenon similar to the Sanctuary has appeared in the Midgar Academy. I wouldn't be surprised if the Demon Diablos was sealed here too." "Now that you mention it, I remember hearing a rumor that the right arm of the Demon Diabos was sealed in Midgar Academy... That's only a rumor, right?" Alexia slowly shook her head. "I can't be certain about that." "Eh, really?" "We don't have any concrete evidence yet... But there are restricted volumes in the library containing the school's history. If the right arm of Diablos is sealed within Midgar Academy, I'm sure it would be recorded in them." "Surely you can access the restricted archives with your royal authority, right?" "Doing the paperwork for it will take a long time." "Then what should we do?" "We'll just have to sneak in there." Alexia smiled. "It'll be very bad if we're discovered." "Then we just have to not be discovered. We can't trust the knights, and we can't trust the teachers either — which means we'll just have to take care of this by ourselves." "You know, they might revoke my knighthood offer if they find me." "I'll hire you, then. I'm used to throwing gold coins around." "Do you have to throw them?" "It's very important to establish who's boss, isn't it?" "Um—" "In any case, that's all we can do. Right now, at this very moment, the Diablos Cult is moving in the shadows and Shadow Garden has gathered as well. At this rate, the number of casualties is only going to increase." After hearing Alexia's words' Claired lowered her head, as though she was thinking about something. Then she slowly spoke her mind. "Couldn't we just ask Shadow Garden to do it?" Alexia was momentarily at a loss for how to respond to that unexpected statement. "...Shadow Garden is an organization filled with riddles. While we don't know why they're at odds with the Cult, we can't trust them unconditionally either." "Is that so? Apparently they helped me out in the Lawless City." "Even so... They're also very dangerous. When I think about what would happen if they turned their combat strength against this nation, Nee-san's worries start to make sense to me." "I see... Still, I get your meaning. After all, that Shadow completely overwhelmed Elizabeth the Blood Queen by himself. If the Blood Queen was as powerful as the legends said, then Shadow must be truly extraordinary." "I do want to believe that she became weaker... Because if she was like the legends said she was, the Kingdom of Midgar will have to worry constantly about Shadow's intentions." "One false step and he could end up a worse threat than the Cult of Diablos." "That's true. Shadow Garden also has his confidantes, known as the Seven Shades. All of them are extremely powerful. Each of them is on par with Iris-neesama, or even stronger than her... Their organization is quite something, even without Shadow." "Now that you mention it, that beastwoman called Zeta... Aurora was very wary of her, something she doesn't do often, and she said she was unfathomable." "I hope they're on our side too. But... we can't trust them right now. They're just too dangerous." Alexia bit her lip. "You've got a point... As for us, we can only do what's within our capabilities. I'll help you, Alexia." "Thank you, Claire." Claire tightly clenched the hand of hers which had the magic circle inscribed on it. "Nothing will happen if we just wait. Whether it's Aurora, this magic circle, or Shadow... I need to figure it all out. Thank you, Alexia." "Hm?" Alexia was surprised to hear those unexpected words. "I'm very grateful that you heard me out. I couldn't do anything by myself and I was really uneasy. The fact that you could believe me makes me feel a lot better." "...Yeah." "That's why I said I could understand how you felt, Alexia. You must have felt really worried by yourself, right?" "Not really..." Alexia's voice wavered slightly. Her elder sister was frantically practicing her swordsmanship like she was possessed and hadn't gone to see Alexia any more. Rose had abandoned Alexia and run off by herself. As for Natsume... Well, she had never trusted her in the first place, so there was no problem there. "Let's do our best together." Alexia found herself reaching out and shaking the hand Claire extended to her. It felt like she was enveloped by warmth. "Thank you, Claire." "It's nothing. Plus, I'll be able to keep an eye on you too." As Claire muttered to herself, she tightened her grip on Alexia's hand. "Huh?" "Being able to get rid of a harmful pest like this would also be a great bargain." "Claire, that hurts." "Ara, sorry about that. Let's get along then, Alexia." "Yes, let's, Claire." Alexia returned the forceful squeeze, and they both smiled. They really are similar, Ghost-san thought. [SCENEBREAK] Claire and Alexia came to a halt outside a certain room in the girls' dorm. "Hey, is what you said really true?" Alexia's face was full of doubt as she asked Claire that question. "Yes, it is. We can't go wrong by asking Nina. Apparently, Cid once told Nina that he wanted to look at a certain book in the restricted archive, and the next day Nina actually got the book for him!" "Seriously? The more I hear, the more suspicious it sounds." "It's okay. Cid would never lie to me." "No no no, he's a man full of lies and desire." "Stop right there. I won't let you look down on Cid." "I'm just telling you the truth." Alexia interrupted their conversation by knocking on the door. "Coming~" Shortly after that flighty answer, the door opened. "Yo, Claire. I'm glad you're fine. I was so worried, you know." She was a petite girl with wine-red hair. "Sorry to make you worry, Nina." "I'm just glad you're okay. Make sure you tell me the next time you go missing, okay?" "I would if I could." "Speaking of which, here's someone I hardly ever see you with. Greetings, Princess Alexia." Nina shifts her gaze to the side and looks at Alexia. "Salutations, Nina-san." "Just call me Nina. Since when did you guys become such good friends?" "I wouldn't say we're friends." "More like enemies, actually." Alexia and Claire respond almost simultaneously. "Meh, not like it matters. In any case, come in. You have something to say, right?" Saying so, she invited them into her room. Nina sat cross-legged on the bed while Alexia and Claire simply sat on chairs. "Can I ask you a question before we begin?" Alexia did not seem to know where to put her eyes as she said that. "Sure, go ahead. Ask anything you want." "Why are you wearing only your underwear?" For some reason, Nina was wearing nothing but a set of sexy underwear right now. She might be small, but the body that she was flaunting right now was quite extraordinary. One could say that it was to the point where despite being girls as well, their eyes were reflexively drawn to her as well. "Because it's comfy." "Do you always dress like this? "I guess. Mitsugoshi's underwear both looks and feels great." Nina smiled and fiddled with parts of her underclothing that were just barely concealing her naughty bits. "You know... You have to tell me the product serial number afterwards." "Certainly. I could recommend some other items too. Want to take a look?" "Let me see them too." Alexia answered immediately, an earnest look on her face. "Not like you'll have the chance to show anyone." Claire snorted derisively. "Quiet, you." Alexia glared at her. "Rather than that, let's get down to business." "That's true. I ought to be turning in soon, so please cut to the chase. All-nighters are the arch-enemy of my lovely skin." "Okay, okay, okay. I was hoping to ask you about how you got that restricted volume, Nina. How did you do it?" Upon hearing Claire's question, Nina bats her eyelashes. "Restricted volume? I have no idea what you're talking about." "You don't need to hide it. I asked Cid. You brought a book out of the restricted archive, right?" "DId otouto-kun say that? How could I have done such a thing?" "LIke I said, there's no need to hide it." "I'm not hiding anything. I really don't know anything about that." "Really?" "Yes, really. And besides, how would I sneak into the restricted archive, anyway?" "I told you before, right? Poochie was lying." As Alexia said this, she had an expression on her face that was as though she was looking at an idiot. "Sh-shut up! Nina, is that true? Are you really not hiding anything from me!?" "C-Calm down, Claire! It's true!" Because Claire was grabbing Nina by the shoulders and shaking her so hard, the clasp of her bra burst open. "Uuuu~" Claire bit her lip as her face turned bright red. "Cid, you dummy! You lied to me again! I'll never forgive you again!" "So you were duped after all." "Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up! I've had it, I'm going back!" "Back home?" "Back to my room, of course!" "I, hey, wait a minute! We still have to discuss tomorrow's plan..." Alexia goes after the red-faced Claire as she storms out of Nina's room. "Ah, sorry to disturb you." "Although I don't quite get what's going on, make sure you don't go too wild, okay?" After Nina said that, Alexia closed the door with a vague smile on her face. When the room was quiet again, Nina rose and walked over to the window. "Now then." Her unhooked bra was left to fall on the ground, while her body was reflected on the glass of the window. There was a deep scar on top of her left breast. "...It's about time I made a move." She ran her delicate fingers over the wound. Before her icy gaze was the endless darkness of the night. [SCENEBREAK] I liked taking walks at night. The moonlit world was very quiet and helped dispel the doubts in my heart. Although I hadn't felt many doubts recently, I had once gone through a period in the previous world where I had wavered between my ideals and reality in my quest to become a Shadow Eminence. While absentmindedly training myself during that period was very handy, going for a night walk and re-evaluating myself was also a good thing. Just gazing up at the moon in this quiet landscape felt very much like what a Shadow Eminence would do. If there were any noisy bosozoku around, I would smite them with my crowbars in the name of justice. Oh well. In any case, I often went for walks at night for this reason after entering the academy. Recently, I had acquired a hobby of gazing down at the world of night from above. "Kukuku..." Laughing boldly like that felt really cool. The moon looked great tonight. I held up the crimson gemstone, now free of Delta's slobber, and held it up before the moon. Its deep red color was filled with a fantastic feeling. It was lovely. "Looks like it's filled with mana. I wonder how much it'll go for?" My my, Delta really did a good job. I was looking forward to its appearance at a Mitsugoshi auction. If it could sell for a high price, then I could buy up everything I needed for the Shadow Eminence Ensemble that I had in my heart. Things like a scarf of black lion mane, dining utensils made of dark crystal, and... "...Hm?" After looking to the side, I saw an uncle in a dark robe standing on the corner of a rood. You hardly saw anyone hanging around in places like these. Hm? Upon closer inspection, wasn't that robe he was wearing made of dark spider silk!? There was no doubt about that, given its deep black color and its luster. That exquisite texture was something you couldn't find in cheap goods. "...Truly excellent taste." I observed this uncle with excellent taste. His silver hair descended to his waist. His face looked sculpted, and his eagle-like eyes looked really cool too. Upon listening closely, I realized he was muttering under his breath. "It's later than the arranged time. After consulting the diagram..." Looks like he was a thief. The only people who would have diagrams were people trying to sneak into the Academy. After all, it would seem the academy had a lot of valuable relics in it. So basically, he was a stylish thief. "So they intervened after all. But if they cause trouble... then all we have to do is eliminate them." All he did was mumble about deep-sounding stuff. He had no idea that I had spotted him. His choice of words was pretty tasteful too. Just then, this stylish thief suddenly turned to look at me. Our eyes met. I had hidden my presence, but not my body, so obviously I would be seen. "What!? You, when did you—" "Ah, don't worry, I'm just out for a walk." Since I had no intention of interfering with him, I said so up front, to show that I was harmless. "I don't see anyone from the knight orders around. Who are you, then?" "I'm just an ordinary student." "A student, are you... Well, judging by your words and actions, you're probably not lying. I didn't expect to be spotted by an ordinary student on my first day here." "Oh well, these things happen. See you, then." "Wait a minute. Since you've seen me, you have to be eliminated." "Ah, I have no intention of getting in your way. I know nothing about thieves sneaking into Midgar Academy—" But this stylish thief was not listening to me at all. "Bad luck for you, kid." "Whoops." I immediately dodged the twin sickles aimed at my head. He was pretty fast for a thief. Well, that was a stylish thief for you. "What—! You avoided it!?" He was wary now, and pulled away from me. "You... Looks like you're not just an ordinary student." The stylish thief's voice lowered in pitch. "I don't plan to interfere with you, though." "Given your moves, are you from the special forces of the knight orders? To think you could deceive me; you're the first one to pull that off." "I'm just an ordinary student." "Oh please, are you serious? You must have been the one who killed Dark Smile too, right? He was never one to call for help. So it's obvious why they'd send me, the Dark Spider, over here..." "Erm, I think you've got the wrong person." "Still, your luck really is bad." "My luck?" "Because I — I'm stronger than Dark Smile." The stylish thief swung his sickles at my arm. Clang! My arm made a harsh, clashing sound, and sparks flew. "What? I couldn't cut it!?" I transformed my uniform. The black slime moved like it was flowing. It covered my arm and transformed into a hooked claw. "That black outfit, you're from Shadow Garden..." The stylish thief hastily backed away from me. However, nothing he did would change the outcome. "So fast—!" I quickly closed the distance to him and ripped his heart out with my claws. "How could... this, this power..." "Hm?" He grabbed the claw with both hands as his face twisted. "I didn't think... no, how, in this place... acting like a student... Fen...rir-sama... I'm very..." At this point, he coughed up vast gouts of blood. "Good grief. Yet another pointless killing." In order to keep his blood from staining it, I stole his dark spidersilk robe before booting him off the roof. "—Oh dear." Looking down, I found that the stylish thief had fallen to his death. That alone would be fine, but he had fallen right on top of a bronze statue, and he had been unlucky enough to be impaled by its sword. For some reason it looked like he had been executed. Now how should I dispose of the body? "...Meh, I'll just leave it." There was blood everywhere and it looked like it would be a pain to clean up. I'll just treat it as a surprise gift for the students living ordinary lives in school. Yeah, that's right. "Hm?" I suddenly noticed a mysterious white mist around me. But there hadn't been any mist until just now. "Mist...?" But in the blink of an eye, the mist vanished. "Huh, was I imagining things... No way." I could not have gotten it wrong. It might have only been for a moment, but I did see a white mist. "...Oh well, it doesn't matter." Seeing that white mist would not affect my life in any way. If you wanted to look at mist, you could go to the mountains and see as much of it as you wanted. More importantly, I ought to hang up this dark spidersilk robe on my wall before going to sleep. [SCENEBREAK] That place was covered in dim white mist. The light from four cylindrical pillars illuminated the surroundings. "Their suitability is really low... I guess these subjects are just too bad. We haven't been able to obtain any demonic possession victims recently." A slender man stood in front of the pillars' radiance. He looked at the document in his hands, made some notes there, and sighed. "Has the subject procurement team reported in yet?" Upon closer inspection, something seemed to appear within the red radiance. It was a human being. Four human beings floated in the light, connected by what looked like tubes. These tubes extended and shrank like living creatures, as though they were sucking something out. The faces of the four people were lifeless now. "There's no time. At this rate..." He paced around in front of the red light. Just then, the sound of footsteps came from the mist." "Sairyu-kun. What is the situation like?" (TL Note: 细柳/Slender Willow. Since it had kana on it I assumed it wasn't a nickname like Dark Smile or Dark Spider but intended to be pronounced in the JP way.) The owner of the choice came to a halt and spoke. The man called "Sairyu" quickly adjusted his posture. "We've secured four subjects with suitable mana from among the students. Since we've successfully begun absorbing their mana, it should only be a matter of time before the seal is opened..." "A matter of time, hm. As I recall, you had four subjects before this? "Ah, Shadow Garden intervened and interfered with us..." Gurgle. Sairyu gulped. "I have heard something to that effect before." "On that note, our opposition seems to be a member of Shadow Garden with leader-class strength." "Hm... One of the Seven Shades, then?" The man whose form was unseen seemed to be interested in this. "I'm afraid so. It must be one of the Seven Shades who hasn't shown herself before." "In that case, she ought to be Zeta." "Yes, she seems very adept at stealth..." "I hadn't heard any news of her entering combat, so I thought she was not skilled in battle." "Since Dark Smile has been killed, that means she's stronger than one of the Named Children, at least." "Hm. Isn't that interesting. As I recall, you brought over someone to replace Dark Smile, right?" "Just in case, I brought over Dark Spider, one of the stronger Named Children. That way, the plan will..." "If you mean that Dark Spider, he's already dead." "...Huh?" "He was found impaled in the Academy." "That... that's..." "It's true." "R-Really? No, of course not, I had no intention of doubting you. In that case, he must have been killed by Zeta, right?" "Who knows? I have no idea who did it, but Shadow Garden does move quickly. If only I had subordinates like that. I'm quite envious..." "Haha..." "So what do you intend to do if the plan is delayed?" "I intend to call more reinforcements from HQ." "The credit crunch from earlier has greatly decreased our funds. We could probably send reinforcements from the 2nd or the 3rds, but do you really think we can deal with them even if we put a bunch of small fry together?" "Ah, I.." "Shadow Garden has noticed this relic. That means we have very little time before they break through the defense system. "We've found a suitable subject; Claire Kageno. If it is permissible, there is also Alexia Midgar. With these two, I believe we can complete the plan immediately. "Alexia Midgar, hm..." "Will it be difficult, after all?" "...No, we'll do as you said. Besides, Zenon already made a move on her, so we can go a little overboard with her. After all, we of the Fenrir Faction have been managing the Kingdom of Midgar for a long time." "I will send my men at once." "You will go in person, Sairyu." "Eh...!" "You should be missing field work too, right? Since the school found you a position, you should make full use of it." "Ah, but my arm..." Just then, a gust of wind grazes past Sairyu's neck, leaving a scar there. "I'm sure that someone in Sairyu's position ought to make those two careless." "...Yes." "I'm finetuning the Relic. Make sure you get it done well." "Yes." Sairyu ran off like he was fleeing. "...Now then." An image was projected in the mist. It showed two girls; a gold-haired beastwoman and a pink-haired human. They were from Shadow Garden. "This is Zeta, and that Saint, hm... I didn't expect Shadow Garden would grab her. What would the other countries do if they knew?" The images of Zeta and Victoria moved onward toward the mist. There was another figure behind them. That person wore a robe that was not like the attire of Shadow Garden. Their face was covered by a hood. "So they've broken through to the third layer of the defense system. According to Sairyu's work..." As he muttered to himself, the man's presence vanished. The projection continued in this empty realm. Within the image, a pair of golden eyes looked toward this place.