Even if the smell was faint, it wasn’t that hard to track down a scent coming from a place it shouldn’t be. The delicate lingering fragrance, tenuously connected, was something Lina followed without haste.
Why was she in such a hurry, using the emergency staircase instead of the elevator? The path that led outside the school soon led into a dimly lit alley with little foot traffic.
The bustling center of the 21st District was said to be safe enough for a lone stroll at midnight, but crime could still happen. And when it did, it often took place in these shadowy corners.
No matter how good the security is, there’s always a blind spot that those responsible for it can’t see.
It was somewhat serious, albeit concerning, that the crime happening in those blind spots was not just any ordinary crime, but one involving witches.
Just a month ago, she had shown little interest in such matters.
To be honest, she still didn’t have much interest.
Lina chased the fragrance with a bitter smile. She followed a narrow path that formed naturally between buildings, until she found the source of the scent lingering in the area.
It was still here.
Did someone notice they were being tracked? They hadn’t even tried to hide their following, so it seemed likely. Just as Lina could smell the other’s presence, they could also smell hers.
Unless— the other party wasn’t a ‘demon.’
The villa looked like it was on the verge of collapsing, having likely been around for at least 30 years and probably unattended for the last 15.
It was uncertain which floor they were on until they went inside. Lina placed her hand on the cracked door, which looked ready to splinter at any moment.
“Do you have a hobby of stalking?” she whispered to herself.
“Did you notice?”
“Is this really a time for jokes? Not like you were trying to hide it anyway.”
“Hmph.”
A woman with straight blonde hair and a slightly sharp look emerged from around the corner of the winding alley. She wore jeans and a shirt that didn’t seem like her usual attire.
“Is the commander of the knights really taking it upon herself to keep an eye on everything? Are you that short on hands?”
“Well, I’m also the head of the Inquisition. It’s my duty to keep an eye on the most important people. And the more short-handed we are, the more critical choices and focus become, don’t you think?”
Andrea, unlike her usual self, brushed her straightened hair with her hand and inquired.
“Goodness, you really are unlucky.”
“That’s one of the milder insults I’ve heard as the head.”
“…….”
Tsk. ‘Annoying,’ Lina thought, casting a sidelong glance over her shoulder at Andrea.
*
When she left the school to chase after them, she felt quite lost.
Taking advantage of everyone’s diverted attention, they vanished, and upon reflection, she realized she didn’t even know Lina’s phone number. She wasn’t even sure if she carried a mobile phone. Spending almost every day together except for weekends, it felt so natural that she presumed she already knew it.
“Should we check Lina’s house?”
Selena’s suggestion was reasonable. If she found her at home, that would just be fortunate.
But it would probably be useless. After hearing the story from the kids who flew over the wall, she tried asking the church about the place, only to be politely rejected.
They had apparently closed the area completely for investigation after the incident, relocating the original residents elsewhere. It seemed it wasn’t just a decision made by the church but also involved the government’s intervention.
Even though it’s a power agency, it seems that the church, which is typically considered a notch below the government, wouldn’t have the authority to act on this. It was a frustrating matter for her yet still a procedure she understood.
And she had no idea where Lina was relocated. The church had categorically refused to share that information. No matter her status, they couldn’t simply disclose the whereabouts of a witness they were protecting. They were extremely reluctant to share even the information of single nun.
There were ways to ask her directly, but… No, she didn’t even ask for her phone number, so there was no way she would have asked for her address!
So asking the teachers… what could she say?
“Um, I think she left during practice and I want to see if she got home safe. Can you give me her address?”
Yeah, sure.
Or rather, they might not understand the panic she was feeling. Only a few people, maybe the church and Andrea, would know that Lina was a demon, and the fact that Lina had direct ties to demons too was known only to her and the church.
The other kids were probably merely complying with her because they believed she knew something.
So wouldn’t it make sense to track down the missing student instead? But that, too, wouldn’t be easy.
The missing student was from the Officer School, not the Academy. The Academy’s teachers were only responsible for supervising during joint training; they didn’t know all personal information.
Even if she spoke up now, there’d be many steps to go through, which would take time.
Plus, she wasn’t even sure if Lina really followed the missing student.
Of course, she was almost certain, knowing the situation, but…
“First… I think I should inform the teacher about that student. Can we contact the officers from the Officer School?”
“Yes, we can. I’ll report right away.”
It was better to handle what they could. The very fact that a cadet had gone missing on school grounds was a matter of concern. The Officer School would surely respond to that.
“And we…”
What should they do?
While she was in deep thought, Aurora, who had been standing a few steps away, hesitantly raised a hand.
“Shouldn’t we go outside and look?”
Aurora said nervously.
“But how? We have no way to track them.”
“Um, well…”
In response to Satsuki’s comment, Aurora put on a seriously pondering expression, then sighed deeply before continuing.
“I… I’m a magician. I learned tracking magic while working as a Miracle Investigator’s assistant…”
“Was there really such a convenient magic?”
Selena tilted her head. Although she wielded a magical bow, Selena was also an excellent magician. It was natural she would have more knowledge about magic than the average person.
“Well, um, see… this is… it’s magic that only people from the church can use! It was created for emergencies, so others wouldn’t know!”
“……”
Poor Aurora couldn’t tell a lie at all. Although she should have originally known.
This time, everyone’s suspicious gazes turned toward Linea, who was nearby Aurora. It was as if they were saying, ‘You’re from the church too, so you should know. Just tell us.’ Linea blinked, flustered.
“Hmm? Ah! Uh, yeah! I think I’ve heard of it. The church is such a special organization that it wouldn’t be surprising for them to have any sort of magic. There are even places that independently research magic and magical power, like witchcraft departments at universities.”
“……”
It wasn’t outright lying, but it was absolutely a dodgy diversion. If you had to dissect her tone, it sounded like, ‘I don’t know~’ while avoiding eye contact.
“I don’t know much about magic, though. Except for Holy Power.”
I raised both hands in surrender. Gloves that I always wore to conceal the stigmata were still on my hands.
Well, there’s nothing inherently impossible about it, right? In the auditorium, they repaired torn clothes and prevented shocks with magic. It wouldn’t be out of the question for tracking magic to exist as well.
Still, using a tracker would probably be a better option.
“So… that means we can track them somehow, right?”
To my words, Aurora nodded eagerly.
“Then I’ll trust you.”
Even if Aurora’s tracking magic idea was just a cover-up, it seemed they could use some unknown means to track someone down.
Moreover, I knew Aurora wasn’t the type to lie when someone was in danger. Just like when she helped Erica last time, she was kind-hearted and followed justice. Therefore, I decided to trust her.
With my words, Aurora smiled brightly and said,
“Then let’s get going! The traces are already starting to fade!”
Of course, I didn’t expect her to run off like that right away.
We hurriedly followed Aurora, who dashed out without waiting for us.
*
To be honest, I regretted it a little.
‘Tracking magic, seriously? Should I have just said I placed a tracking device instead?’
No matter which side I reasoned from, it seemed rather strange. It sounded like Aurora herself had been watching Lina. Of course, it’s not like she hadn’t observed at all or didn’t report to her superior.
But saying she was tracking Lina by ‘scent’ would be even weirder.
There was no way she wanted to bring up her sensitive background, and it would be even stranger to say she was tracking someone by ‘scent.’
‘No matter how you look at it, that sounds way too creepy…!’
I was already feeling some self-loathing and didn’t need layers of guilt piled on top of it. It would have been better to just blur it out.
Well, at least it was somewhat successful.
Though they didn’t fully believe in the means of tracking, they trusted that there was a way to trace someone.
Thank goodness. It was a relief, but—
How long could I keep hiding it?
Or should I keep hiding it?
I wasn’t worried about Clara. Clara would likely not change her attitude toward me, even if she heard about my background, just like she had with Lina.
But what about the others?
Linea, Selena, Satsuki, Jian.
Part of me thought they wouldn’t react too negatively, but I still worried about what might happen if, by some slim chance, they began to dislike me.
After all, Selena lost her sister to demons and beasts, Linea belonged to an Inquisition that dealt with demons and beasts harshly, and Satsuki was of a race effectively banished by demons. All of them had ample reasons to ‘dislike’ demons, and she could empathize with that.
‘But now isn’t the time to worry about that.’
There were more pressing matters to address. Let’s finish that first.
Moreover, the situation at hand concerning Lina, who was running ahead, was related to all of this.
*
“How do you come to know where to go?”
“Can’t I just say nothing?”
“How demons know each other’s locations and gather has been a mystery for a long time. Do they have some ability to sense each other?”
“……”
As they descended the stairs of the villa where even electricity seemed to have long been cut off, Andrea occasionally asked questions. It didn’t seem like she meant to relieve the awkwardness.
Her tone wasn’t particularly serious nor was it laced with humor. These were meaningless questions, tossed out with no expectation of an answer.
Then again, the lack of expectation could be a façade. Perhaps she was probing for information unintentionally slipped out from offhand remarks.
She no longer cared about those things.
Of course, there was no inclination to give her that satisfaction either. It wasn’t out of personal gain or purpose—just that she simply didn’t like this woman.
So what Lina chose was to remain silent and keep walking down the stairs.
“Hmph.”
Seeing that Lina remained unresponsive, Andrea must have felt it was pointless to continue, as she stopped asking questions.
What appeared to be only five stories tall from the outside actually had a much deeper basement. This building surely hadn’t been constructed this way from the start. It likely underwent alterations, primarily through magical means, initiated by a witch using it as her base.
How long had they descended? The light from above faded, and now that they could barely navigate by feeling alone; it was getting too dark for an average person.
Lina was a demon, one with a greater affinity for power at night. Finding her way in this level of darkness wasn’t a challenge.
“If there’s something up ahead, then I have no need to worry. I can find my way in the dark. This much training is typical.”
“I’ve never been worried.”
Hadn’t even planned to ask.
Grumbling inwardly about Andrea, they soon reached a flat surface instead of more stairs. What lay before them was more like the hallway of an ordinary villa, with only one entrance.
There were no signs posted anywhere. Clearly, whoever resided here didn’t possess a sense of humor to label it with something like ‘Beneath Level 1.’
“Looks like we’ve arrived.”
“Yeah.”
Lina replied, grimacing.
The stench was unbearable. It wasn’t just a demonic smell solely detectable by Lina’s nose. Though faint, it was a horrible stench that even an average human could smell.
Or was it really a stench?
Various scents mixed chaotically, where each on its own could be considered pleasant, like perfume or flower fragrances, but they were so intertwined that they created a horrible stench that one couldn’t separate.
Lina retrieved her sword from the case she’d brought. She left the case behind and drew the sword from its sheath.
“Looks like you brought your weapon.”
When she turned to check, Andrea was also already wielding her weapon. The dim light emanating from her holy sword began to illuminate the darkness little by little. While an average person might feel comforted by such light, it was slightly unsettling from Lina’s perspective. A single wrong touch could mean death.
Receiving Clara’s holy power before nearly made her believe she was done for.
The other kinds of light Clara showed her were much warmer, allowing her to roughly imagine what feelings a human might experience looking at them, but she referred to them as miracles.
Mistakenly appearing could spell disaster for her.
…
Well, that won’t be necessary now. She wasn’t alone, and given that Andrea was there, surely others would be outside.
If they thought their commander was in danger, they would rush down immediately.
Well, that’s fine.
“Well, I guess we’re ready then.”
“Agreed.”
With both hands grasping the hilt, Andrea stood ready. Unlike her usual armor or priestly attire, she bore regular clothing, and with her hair styled in casual rolls, she could easily be mistaken for a college student or office worker.
However, as she stood grounded, lit by the emanation of her sword, she looked nothing short of a ‘Paladin.’
Tsk, Lina clicked her tongue and turned back.
Slowly approaching the door, she grasped the handle. Strangely enough, it wasn’t locked, as if it had been expected to be opened.
*
Aurora confidently chose paths through the intricately tangled back alleys without hesitation. If she had come on her own, she would’ve likely gotten lost and wandered in circles.
There were many buildings. Rather than towering structures, there were small, low buildings packed closely together. Two-story townhouses and cement blocks that seemed poorly constructed. The oldest villas made of red bricks barely reached five stories.
Fortunately, since it sat on flat ground at the heart of the 21st District, steep inclines and descents were few.
In fact, at this point, even if there was a tracking device attached, she would still likely end up lost. No matter how sophisticated a satellite communication device it was, there would be errors, and on account of the tightly clustered small homes, pinpointing exactly where she might be would be impossible.
The town was eerily quiet. Even if a group of teenagers were sprinting around making noise, no one appeared to be watching them. Not a single person could be found walking through the alleys.
“That seems a bit odd.”
Jian murmured quietly. He must have sensed the same thing.
“Seriously. It feels a bit spooky, to be honest.”
With the sun setting and the sky darkening,…
Going home would be terrifying. I couldn’t even watch horror films alone.
Whatever was happening, we needed to finish up quickly and leave.
“…Ah!”
Aurora, sprinting vigorously at the front, halted in front of a crumbling building. The rest of us, following closely behind, quickly stopped too.
“Ah! Saintess!”
Two heavily armed paladins stood before the dilapidated structure. Their armor bore the emblem of an eagle tearing a snake, indicating they belonged to the Inquisition.
Well, it seemed they had found the right place. I had no idea how they had done so but would have to ask when we returned to the convent.
As the two knights recognized me, they rushed forward, drawing their swords with a clang! The sound echoed as their armor moved.
“What’s going on here?”
Not knowing how to respond to their sudden salute and seeing the expressions of my friends as they gazed at me in awe only made me fumble. Fortunately, the knights relaxed their stances after initially reacting.
“Yes! The commander has issued a standby order! There is a possibility of demons lurking inside!”
Seeing how serious they were, I couldn’t tell them to cut it out either, so I nodded.
So it was Andrea’s doing.
“I see. Then may we enter?”
“Well, that…”
The knight hesitated at my question. Considering the commander had descended, it was certainly not an affair for a mere teenager to interfere with.
It seemed they wouldn’t move aside.
…This might feel a bit rude, but sometimes was the time to…
“If so, as a Saintess, may I request your assistance? As the church’s only Saintess, please allow me to meet my friend below.”
It felt a bit too much to issue a command directly, so I opted for a kinder approach, causing the two knights to flinch and share a quick glance with each other.
“…Then, we will accompany you inside. Is that okay?”
“Yes, that’s fine.’
Wow, what a great effect! Is this what power feels like?!
I should definitely utilize it every time someone blocks my path in the future!
I nodded back at my friends, signaling them to stick behind me.
With that newfound life lesson tucked away in my heart, I followed the knights into the dimly lit interior of the villa.
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