Chapter 4: Detective Horn?
Shortly before Diablo met the flower seller girl, year 165 of the Lyferian calendar, first month, sixth day—
The clock tower’s bell tolled, informing one and all that it was noon. The grounds of the capital’s mage academy were vast. The campus popularly known as the Blue Brick Building was a new building made of pearly white pillars and blue bricks. One of its many classrooms was the middle school wing’s first year, class F classroom. The desk at the back of the class and next to the window was Horn’s seat.
The students were divided by their grades, with the honor students being in class A, while class F was said to be where all the bad students were sent to. Horn had entered during the middle of the school year and had hardly studied any magic before enrolling, so her skills as a sorcerer were nonexistent. She was actually a level 80 thief...but she promised her guardian, Lumachina, that she’d keep that fact hidden.
With the day’s lessons having been concluded, Horn’s bespectacled female teacher delivered a message.
“It’s become clear today that we’ve lost contact with several of our students. We currently do not know of their whereabouts.”
The students stirred as the classroom filled with whispers and murmurs. Picking up useful information out of the noise and tumult was one of a thief’s basic skills, and Horn picked up on what they were saying without even focusing: a student from the high school wing’s second year class A and two other students from the third year class A had gone missing.
Three more...
A tiny girl, small enough to sit in the palms of Horn’s hands, sat on Horn’s desk, crossing her legs on Horn’s pencil case which served as her impromptu chair.
“It’s ten peeps missing now, right? Isn’t it, like, really bad for the school? Like, totes bad.”
Her name was Babalon, a self-proclaimed level-up goddess from another world. If Diablo could see her, he’d recognize at a glance that she was wearing what looked like a high school uniform from his world. But only the owner of the Holy Grail could see and hear Babalon, and that owner was Horn.
Horn nodded at Babalon’s words. There was probably some incident going on. Ten students were missing already, all of them girls. It started at the end of last year, and while it was interrupted during the long break at the start of the year, it resumed on the first day of school this year with three more disappearances. Did they go missing during the holiday?
“Quiet!” The teacher clapped her hands in a loud, menacing fashion. “Everyone, remember to never act alone, even on academy grounds. Understood?”
Everyone gave a collective “yes, ma’am,” but only a handful of them would actually be that obedient. Horn was certainly part of the group that wouldn’t. The teacher left the classroom, and after everyone dispersed, Horn headed for the exit without anyone to accompany her.
At the corridor connecting the school buildings, Horn made way for another ward. Strictly speaking, though, the bag in her hands contained the Holy Grail, and Babalon sat on her shoulder, so she wasn’t completely alone.
“Hey, hey, Horn, my girl, what do you think the culprit’s like?”
“...You think they were kidnapped?”
No one else could see Babalon, so whenever Horn spoke to her it looked like she was talking to herself. Not wishing to be seen as a gloomy weirdo, Horn spoke in a soft voice, while trying to move her lips as little as possible. Thanks to Babalon being a blabbermouth, Horn had more than enough practice to master that particular skill.
“It’s totes gotta be kidnapping! Like, legit! I dunno about the three chicks today, but, like, the seven other girls didn’t leave notes and never consulted with their girlfriends.”
“...That’s what the rumors say, yeah.”
There were many students at the academy, but it was still a private school. With the whole matter looking like such an incident, rumors spread like wildfire that this wasn’t a disappearance, but a kidnapping case.
“Incident? It’s an incident?”
Why did Babalon look so happy about that?
“...I kinda want to focus on my magic studies instead.”
“You’ve got, like, zero compatibility for it though?”
“Stop it! We don’t know that yet!” Horn raised her voice despite herself, prompting another student passing by in the corridor to look at her with a jump.
Giggling apologetically, Horn sped up her steps as if she were running away.
“Did you see their face?!” Babalon cackled obnoxiously. “My sides!”
“...When am I gonna get uncursed again?”
“I’m not a cuuurse, I’m the goddess of the Holy Grail.”
“So it’s gonna last forever, huh...” Horn sighed.
“If you let go of the grail, I’ll just go somewhere else, y’know?”
“But you haven’t leveled me up yet.”
“Right, riiight. Well, I’m bored stiff waiting for my next owner. It’s a win-win situation, y’know?”
Babalon had the ability to give the Holy Grail’s owner a one-time increase in their level, in exchange for two liters of a virgin’s blood. While Horn certainly fulfilled the virgin requirement...losing two liters of blood was fatal. That said, she couldn’t just sacrifice someone for it. On the other hand, though, letting go of the grail felt like a waste. And so, Horn remained haunted by Babalon with nothing to show for it.
Horn visited the staff ward. The capital’s mage academy didn’t have a singular faculty office where all the teachers were gathered as the teachers were all skilled sorcerers who conducted active magic research, and had rooms that served as their retreats. First, she decided to visit her homeroom teacher’s laboratory, but...
“Huh. She’s out.”
“What did you need that annoying four-eyes for, anyway?”
“...I wanted to ask her about the missing students. I can’t focus on my lessons in peace with them on my mind.”
“Whoa, so annoying. Just leave it to the cops.”
Leave it to what now?
Babalon had a habit of using unfamiliar words, on top of her manner of speaking already being as erratic as it was.
“...There are no adventurers around, and even though the imperial knights showed up to investigate a few times, they didn’t solve anything.”
“Bummer.”
“But rumors say the old campus... Ah...”
Horn shuffled over to the edge of the hallway. She’d met the old lady walking down the hallway once before, in her interview before she was enrolled in the academy. This was the academy’s headmistress, who stopped in front of Horn.
“You’re...”
“G-Good day.”
“Yo, yo, yo!” Taking advantage of the fact that the headmistress couldn’t see or hear her, Babalon gave a nonsensical greeting.
“I believe you were Horn, correct?” The headmistress fixed her monocle. “Do you need to ask your teacher something?”
Her voice was hoarse, but her pronunciation was impeccable. Horn thought to make an excuse, but then decided that this was actually a great chance to consult the headmistress.
“I... Um, I was worried about the students that went missing...so I wanted to check the register. But I need a teacher’s approval for that.”
“You’re looking into the matter?”
“Ah...”
She thought the headmistress would scold her for doing this despite being a mere student. There was a case afoot, so she wanted to investigate it—it was just an adventurer’s habit. Horn had only just turned thirteen and was currently a student of the mage academy, but before this, she was indeed an adventurer. No matter what, an adventurer defended the races from all manner of threats.
“Come with me.” The headmistress nodded.
“...Huh?”
The headmistress motioned for Horn to follow, and the two entered the headmistress’s office.
†
The room was more modest than Horn had expected. There was no luxurious furniture, and despite being larger, it wasn’t much different from a room in the student dorms. Her desk was large, and the walls were covered with bookshelves stuffed with complicated-looking books.
The headmistress sat on an oak chair, placed her hands on the desk, and crossed her fingers together.
“How much have you researched this incident so far?”
“Seven went missing last year, and three more today. It’s likely kidnapping, and the reason people think that is because they didn’t leave any notes or tell their friends anything about wanting to run away... At least, that’s the rumor. And people say they saw them heading toward the old campus building.”
The old campus building wasn’t currently in use. It was locked and secured at all times, and no one was allowed to enter without a teacher’s permission.
“The imperial knights are inspecting the old campus building as well.”
“I figured.”
Not only that, they’d combed through the entire grounds and still didn’t find anything.
“But I haven’t looked around yet,” Horn said.
The headmistress seemed surprised. “Right... I’ve heard a bit about you from your guardian.”
“Ah...”
“I don’t intend on telling anyone else, but...you’re actually a renowned adventurer, correct?”
Renowned?!
She wanted to deny it, but thought that it’d be best to avoid a misunderstanding for now.
“Th-That’s right.”
“From what I hear, you made contributions in saving a town in the west from the Demon Lord’s army, as well as exposing corruption from within the church.”
“Well, all I really did was fight some paladins...”
“Pffft,” Babalon cackled. “All you did was run around and get cut down within an inch of your life.”
Horn went silent and turned red.
“Frankly speaking, it’s my and the other teachers’ jobs to solve this problem for the academy...” The headmistress closed her eyes. “But...could you please lend us your help?”
“Leave it to me!”
Feeling exactly like she’d accepted a quest as an adventurer, Horn was filled with a sense of elation. Having the headmistress’s approval made inspecting the academy much easier, too.
“This is the academy’s master key.” The headmistress handed it to her. “If there’s any place you can’t enter with that, come speak to me again.”
The headmistress had also arranged for someone to cooperate with Horn’s investigation. She excitedly accepted the request to help resolve the incident.
“Wait, isn’t that...?!” Babalon exclaimed enthusiastically. “Isn’t it that, like, ‘One truth prevails,’ ‘In the name of my grandfather’ kinda thing?! I’m so hyped, let’s gooo!”
I don’t know what you’re talking about, but stop saying things that’ll get me in trouble!
A sudden chill ran down Horn’s spine...
“Ah?!” Horn wheeled around with a bad feeling. The door to the headmistress’s room opened and someone waltzed in, without having knocked first. Horn braced herself.
The one who entered was a blond man clad in a crimson longcoat. He was tall and slim; an elf, perhaps?
“You’re in charge of this academy, correct?” He glared at the headmistress with clear, blue eyes.
The headmistress narrowed her own, her golden eye gleaming under her monocle.
“Who might you be? I don’t recall expecting any guests.”
“I am Thanatos the Undying, of the Order of Palace Knights.”
Horn stiffened. When she first arrived in the capital, she’d met them once. She didn’t really notice because she’d been watching the parade back then...but Alicia had told her they were dangerous folk after the fact. Rem also told her that they’d killed the members of the church’s Cardinal Authority.
“This entire area is filled with foul magic...” Thanatos’s gaze scoured the room. “I am looking for its source.”
“On whose order? The academy has a right to autonomy...”
“I couldn’t care less for your ‘rights’ or your ‘autonomy.’ Take up your complaints with His Majesty. The Order of Palace Knights have full authority to eliminate any who pose a menace to this country. That means our word is as good as the king’s orders. If you stand in my way, I will show no mercy, no matter who you may be.”
“I see. Very well... I will allow you to inspect the academy. But in return, I will report any outrageous acts you commit here to His Majesty.”
“Do not get in my way, and instruct your subordinates as such.”
His attitude was utterly oppressive. The man hung up the blackened longsword sheathed at his thigh, then swept his coat as if to make a show of it, and turned around. Having said his piece, Thanatos left the headmistress’s office, the door shutting loudly behind him.
“Step on a LEGO, you annoying a-hole! Go stand in the middle of an intersection! Creep!” Babalon pumped her fists in annoyance: left, left, right.
“I don’t really care who solves the case so long as it’s resolved.” Horn shrugged. “But with him around, it just looks like we’ll have more trouble on our hands...”
“That is true...” the headmistress agreed. “However, he is true in saying that suspicious magical energy has been suffusing the campus. It is being skillfully obfuscated, so we cannot discern where it has been coming from.”
“Even for you, headmistress?”
“It would take some time even for me to find the source.”
“If the magical energy has to do with this incident...it means the culprit knows he’ll be recognized eventually...”
So they probably didn’t need much more time. Hurrying along with the investigation would be for the best.
†
Horn visited the staff ward’s special reference room, where the information on the missing students was supposedly stored. The headmistress said that, in place of herself, being too busy to help out directly, she would have someone help Horn out with the investigation. That person was one female student with long, lustrous black hair. The girl was thin, slender, and tall—a human despite looking like an elf.
“My name is Angeline, from the high school wing’s third year class A. I serve as the student council president. The headmistress specifically asked me to help out with an investigation... Who might you be?”
She spoke like a boy, but her voice sounded angelic.
“I’m Horn, from the middle school wing’s first year class F. There are some, err, circumstances...”
“So I guess you’re not just some washout.”
“The class F students are just a bit bad with magic, that’s all.”
“And people like that get called washouts in a mage academy, but... Nevermind. I want to find the missing students, too, no matter what. Let me know if there’s anything you want to know.”
“Then I’ll start with the missing students’ profiles.”
“I have them all summed up here.”
Angeline extended her hand toward the bookshelf and chanted a spell and what sounded like a sequence of numbers. A flurry of pages suddenly flew off the shelf and landed in her hand.
“Whoa! That’s awesome!” Horn exclaimed with round eyes.
“Huh? No, it’s really not that unusual... Everyone can do this by their third year of high school... L-Look, just forget that and look at these documents. I tried to summarize what we know about the missing students.”
“Great work!”
Spreading out the pages over the long table, Horn and Angeline took a seat and read through the documents. Half of the missing students were third years from the high school wing and had a few similarities between them, but the biggest one was that they were all high achievers: students from class A, all with vast magical energy. Their races were diverse, with demons and grasswalkers seemingly making up the most of them, but there were elves and humans mixed in too. Most importantly, though, was that they’d all received lectures from the same teacher.
Incidentally, the mage academy allowed it’s students to choose whatever lectures they wished to take. Their division of classes only mattered during compulsory subjects and school events, but they were essentially free to pursue whatever knowledge they wanted to learn, assuming their schedule accommodated for such lectures, and were permitted to pursue independent research. So long as they cleared the graduation exam, they would receive their diploma from the academy.
“Professor Bihyak from the ritual magic branch...” Horn pointed at a name appearing on the page. “He’s a demon, right?”
“He looks totes suspicious! He’s got a pervy look in his eyes!” Babalon, who was sitting on Horn’s shoulder, began spouting nonsense again upon seeing Professor Bihyak’s picture.
“...So you’re curious about him,” Angeline said uncomfortably.
“It’s not that, he’s just super suspicious! All of the missing students attended his lectures.”
“Professor Bihyak is one of the academy’s top teachers. His theory on ritual magic is on the cutting edge of magical research worldwide, so it makes sense many of class A’s students study under him.”
In cases where there were more applicants for a lecture than open spots, students from class A were preferentially picked. Those who had higher grades received such privileges.
Horn read Angeline’s expression. “You really look up to him, don’t you?”
“...Yes... I won’t deny it.”
“But we can’t ignore him in regards to all the missing students,” Horn proclaimed.
Angeline hung her head. After pondering for a moment, she parted her lips to speak.
“Actually...”
“Yes?”
“Around the end of last year, Professor Bihyak asked me to help him with an experiment after school.”
“Did something happen when you did?”
“Well, I couldn’t attend because I was busy with a student council meeting.”
“Ah...”
“So I had another student help him in my place... A childhood friend of mine, and another brilliant student.”
“Don’t tell me she...”
“Went missing, yes.” Angeline pointed at one of the students’ pages.
“...I see.”
Horn rose from her seat. “I’ll go look into Professor Bihyak!”
“Hold on...”
“I’m not gonna barge into his lab or anything, I just want to check things out first.”
“I understand that, but I want to come with you, so please wait.”
“Why do we have to wait?!”
Angeline gathered up the documents and put them back on the bookshelf with a slightly bothered face.
“I can cast a spell to remove books from the shelf, but there are no spells for putting them back.”
“O-Oh... Sorry.”
They set their chairs back in place, and after making sure the windows were all locked and the drapes closed, they left the reference room behind them.
†
Three days after the two girls began their observations, in the afternoon—
Horn had climbed up a tree, looking over the courtyard leading to the staff ward. She could see the entrance to Bihyak’s room from the window, which was closed with a drape during the day and at night. Sunlight could make a book’s pages become discolored while magical ingredients spoiled when exposed to sunlight, so that wasn’t entirely unusual in and of itself.
I promised Lumachina I wouldn’t use my thief skills, but...
It was after school and she’d officially accepted the headmistress’s request as an adventurer. She’d likely be forgiven for this.
Horn used her Hiding skill to mask her presence. If a level 80 thief actively tried hiding themselves, a sorcerer would stand little chance of detecting them, though things may be different if they summoned a beast with detection abilities.
“Horn!” Babalon tapped Horn’s cheek.
Horn, who’d carelessly dozed off, woke up with a jolt. A female student entered the door at the furthest end of the hall, entering Bihyak’s room. It was six at night, and everything had already gone dark. Even if it were a teacher’s laboratory, it being just the two of them so late after school felt problematic enough to Horn...and that was after the teachers instructed the students to not walk outside alone.
But if Horn were to just barge in here, she wouldn’t be able to prove it had any connection to the abductions. They’d just be warned for their carelessness and that would be it. There was no point if they couldn’t find the missing students.
Horn waited silently. If she were to go in front of the room, she could probably listen in on the conversation, but if they became too wary she could end up missing out on precious clues. She had to be as cautious as could be.
“Someone’s coming out!”
“Looks like it.”
Bihyak illuminated the dim corridor with a candlestick, clad in a crimson, hooded robe. It was a color sorcerers often used: the color of magical energy, of rusted metal, of dried blood. Bihyak had dark red hair with a few streaks of white. Deep wrinkles carved themselves into his face. He was a man with a piercing gaze. A striking tattoo extended from his right cheek to his forehead, proof of him being a demon. Demons were said to be born as a result of humans mixing their blood with the Fallen. While it was only conjecture, it had once led to their race receiving a great deal of prejudice.
The man Horn respected the most, Diablo, was a demon, too, so Horn held no preconceived notions about the race in particular. Or rather, she had no intention of holding any, but here and now...
Looking at Bihyak from the side, he looked less like someone of the races and more like a Fallen.
Horn rubbed her eyes. Following in his footsteps was a female student, the same one who entered his laboratory a short while ago.
“...She’s being controlled,” Horn said, focusing her gaze at the girl’s movements.
“Huh?” Babalon tilted her neck.
They were on the other side of the courtyard, so Horn’s voice wouldn’t reach them, but she whispered nonetheless.
“She’s not walking the same as when she entered his lab. She’s not dragging her feet as much.”
“But that’s good, isn’t it?”
“Normal people usually have their minds get in the way of their walking. They keep looking around, so their stride is always a bit off-balance. The only ones who don’t walk like that are soldiers and adventurers who were trained to walk effectively.”
“Off-balance? But you can’t, like, see that from this far away.”
“Maybe if there was rain or fog, but at this distance it’s the same as them being right in front of me.”
“Whoa... Gross.”
“Hey?!”
Thieves and seekers functioned as a party’s eyes and ears, so having transcendent senses was a given for them.
Horn no longer had any reason to say on top of the tree, so she briskly got down. As she landed, Angeline came out from a nearby thicket.
“How was it, Horn?”
“He moved. He should be coming out of the building soon, so I’ll tail him.”
“I’ll... I’ll come with you.”
“Huh?”
“I won’t cause you any trouble, but I need to save my best friend. And...I need to see with my own two eyes if Professor Bihyak really is the culprit.”
Angeline said she respected the professor, and didn’t want to believe he was the kidnapper.
“You’re already causing us so much trouble, y’know?” Babalon said sharply. “Can’t you tell you’re kinda interrupting right now? Gawd.”
This was probably because her actions and sense of responsibility as the student council president ended up getting her childhood friend involved. But Horn knew the feeling of wanting to do something and being too powerless to act all too well. She was the same as Horn was before.
Horn scratched her head. “All right. But stay behind me. You can’t make any sounds, not even talk.”
“I promise.” Angeline nodded with a serious expression.
“Wait, hold up, Horn! Isn’t this, like, a super bad idea?!”
“...I’ve got my Hide All skill. A level 80 thief can hide an entire party’s presence.”
“Oh, yeah, that lowkey cheating skill.”
“...Is it really cheating?”
A level 80 sorcerer could summon creatures capable of fighting toe-to-toe with dragons, and warriors attained martial arts capable of slaying such summons. Reaching level 80 granted one skills capable of influencing group battles. In that regard, masking a party’s presence didn’t feel all that impressive. If anything, it felt insufficient. In Horn’s case, she didn’t reach such a high level as a result of her efforts, but from her subjugation contract with Diablo. The black, leather collar bound around her neck gave her half of her master’s level. However, if Diablo died, so would Horn.
I didn’t gain that kinda experience...
Using an item to gain all those levels at once may have left her skills underdeveloped. If only she had some veteran thief to teach her how to properly utilize them...
Horn shook her head and those thoughts away.
I’m gonna become a sorcerer, just like Diablo!
That was her goal in life. But for now, she’d do what she could as an adventurer.
Bihyak and the female student had already left the staff ward. It was dark out, but that didn’t matter much to Horn’s eyes. She silently tailed after them...
†
The old campus—
Professor Bihyak had led the female student to this two story stone structure behind academy grounds. It technically had a third floor if one were to consider the attic. Its light-blue-dyed shingles were dotted with holes. A window connected the passage between the attic and the roof.
Bihyak unlocked the front entrance, entering with the female student in tow. Horn stopped in her tracks, looking in from a tree’s brush, watching the light of the candlestick retreat through the window. The light and shadows were just barely visible through the wooden, latticed window. She couldn’t pick up on the details, but she could tell it was Bihyak from the pace of the steps, with the female student remaining faithfully in his footsteps, before they both entered a classroom.
“What do we do?” Horn was conflicted.
“You go in, that’s what!” Babalon stuck out her fist.
“Hmm...”
Horn had heard that the imperial knights inspected the old campus building and didn’t find anything. Still, Bihyak just led a female student to a classroom here for seemingly no reason.
Angeline leaned forward, her eyes filled with resolve, as if she were steeling herself and saying, “Let’s go!” Horn nodded and approached the old building cautiously, so as to not make any noise, and reached out to the old wooden door. Its hinges looked prone to creaking, so Horn opened it lightly, as if wind were enticing it open.
Compared to the dilapidated exterior, the interior wasn’t as damaged. Horn advanced down the corridor’s wooden floor, arriving at the classroom in the center of the first floor. A faint light emanated from the gap between the floor and the door.
Horn held her breath. Closing her eyes, she focused on her hearing; her dictation skill. Surprisingly enough, she couldn’t hear anything from inside the room except for one person breathing.
Just one...?
She could only hear Babalon on her shoulder and Angeline behind her. She couldn’t sense the female student’s presence... But she definitely saw the female student go into the building.
Horn reached for the door and pulled it open...
“Ah!”
†
The candlestick was the only thing illuminating the room, which was full of books piled up in every corner. The old professor was seated in one of the student’s seats with a book in his hand as he lifted up his eyes to look at Horn.
“Well, this is a surprise. What are you doing here?”
“Professor Bihyak...”
“Indeed. Do you need me for something? And just who are you?”
“Ah... I’m Horn. From first year class F.”
“I see.”
“And I’m Babalon! A level-up goddess from another world, teehee?” Babalon introduced herself, knowing full well he could neither see nor hear her.
Angeline followed Horn into the room and lowered her head respectfully.
“You as well...?” Bihyak’s expression filled with surprise.
“I-I’m sorry...”
“I don’t know what business you have with me, but I cannot say I look too fondly on you chasing me out here. This building is off limits for students.”
“But!” Horn stepped forward reflexively. “Didn’t you just bring a student here with you?!”
“I came here by myself, young miss.”
“Wha...?!”
Horn looked around the classroom again. It was dark and only illuminated by the candlestick, but not to the extent where Horn couldn’t see another person. Heaps of piled up books littered the floor, but there didn’t seem to be anything else that could be related to magic.
“I use this classroom as a storeroom of sorts. With the headmistress’s approval, of course. Perhaps you mistook that for whoever you’re looking for?”
He pointed at a life-sized doll standing against the wall, which was clearly not the student. It had a cross section showing the internal organs of the races; an anatomical model, as it were. Inspecting it, Horn found it was indeed just a wooden model.
“My word...” Bihyak shrugged. “Pretending to be imperial knights when you’re so young? And you, too, Miss Student Council President?”
“I-I’m sorry!” Angeline went red with embarrassment.
Horn broke into a nervous sweat. She’d trailed him and walked in with confidence, but while the suspect was there, the female student had disappeared.
“C-Can I inspect the room...?”
“Do as you please. But if you come up with nothing, I will report you to your homeroom teacher.”
Horn nodded.
Less than an hour later, and despite a level 80 thief’s careful inspection, she found nothing wrong with the room. No rotating walls, no trap doors in the floor or openings in the ceiling. She couldn’t find any magical tricks in the room, either. Most of the magic tomes in the room were simply covered in dust, and Horn had Angeline inspect any that didn’t. While their contents were fairly high-level, they weren’t anything one couldn’t buy at the market.
However, Horn did find what looked to be a girl’s strand of hair, but with this having previously been used as an actual classroom, it wasn’t unreasonable to find something like it lying around.
Horn hung her head in disappointment. Bihyak, still seated on the chair, waved his hand as if dismissing a misbehaving dog.
“Go back to your rooms... I haven’t the time to waste on you.”
“I-I’m so sorry!” Horn said through gritted teeth as she left the classroom.
Babalon looked like she wanted to tell her something, but her mouth remained shut for once.
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