After splitting up from Tatsuya, Mikihiko was walking around the neighborhood of the New International Convention Center, while using a flashy searching spell as they discussed last week. There was a wide green park, a large lake and lush woodlands surrounding the Convention Center and it was often used by foreigners.
Erika and Leo were chatting with each other, while following Mikihiko from behind but they didn’t neglect their vigilance due to the escort role they’d been given.
The situation changed at about the same time as Tatsuya decide to go to Kiyomizu Temple. It was during the observation of the opposing bank of Takaragaike Lake near the competition venue.
The presence of killing intent rose up around the woods of Satoyama. Mikihiko realized it first, followed by Erika and Leo.
"They’re here."
Erika rushed to Mikihiko's left side, as if to look at his face under the tilting parasol——it was supposed to be camouflage and make them look like a sweet couple who were whispering to each other.
"From within the mountain?"
Leo thrust his neck in-between the gap of Erika and Mikihiko to whisper in a low voice. Whether being glued to each other or dating each other, they acted quite well.
"The presence was pointing to the mountain, but it doesn't guarantee that they're the only enemy. There's a probability that the attackers might not be human. Watch out." Unfortunately, Mikihiko was not as carefree as the other two, he looked back with a discomforted frown, noting what Leo said.
"Only brats, they have some kind of a love triangle relationship."
"I can't see it as anything but students with love troubles, is it worth the risk to go out and attack them?" These were the conversations of the nine men who were hiding below the grove, looking down at Mikihiko and company.
They were talking normally. Their voices were barely audible but they used a communication device that incorporated magic to read the movement of the lips, the conversation could be understood even without it emitting sounds. This method was at risk to eavesdropping, even before intercepting the conversation since there's a chance that the radio waves is discovered. Thus, they took some precautions whenever they encountered this type of a situation, Erika and Leo would act as a couple that had no care about the world, just living a normal peaceful everyday life.
However, some of them were still alert.
"I've been observing that boy for a while, he was using a Shiki. He's the descendant of the Yoshida Family. We can't just leave him alone."
Those words raised the alertness of his companions.
"Hasn't the second son of the Yoshida lost his power?"
His voice rose as he asked about this, the middle aged man that seemed to be the leader of the group chided him with a harsh tone.
"That's outdated. Yoshida Mikihiko has regained his strength and has become even stronger than the first son.” The atmosphere tightened. “We're going to confirm that. We won’t kill him, a light injury will do for now."
Although the man who was rebuked was not convinced, he remained silent. He took out a small scroll from his chest, small enough to be held in his palm.
The other seven including the leader followed suit. A white haired traditionalist watched in silence without making any action.
"Ha!"
The first one to respond to the enemy attack was Erika. The parasol in her hand swung hurriedly at the presence that approached them from behind. The removable attachment of the umbrella was thrown in defense against the blue onibi3. Unhindered by the umbrella the blue onibi rained down around them as Erika shot them down with a weapon disguised as the umbrella handle. A second and third waves of the onibi came in rapid succession, a thin silver rod intercepted from time to time, it was not an iron stick nor a gold stick, and it was a thin silver rod armament device.
This armament device was lent to Erika specifically for this Kyoto trip, it was made by FLT's 3rd Division with an activation spell that emphasized speed rather than weight, a movement type spell. The weapon does not only accelerate the body but the weapon itself as well. Hence, in order to keep up with the device the user has to put additional strain on the arm and it can create unnecessary weight in the arms with the risk of hurting the bone. However, Erika experienced nothing of the sort and had mastered its usage well.
The onibi rain ceased. However, it was not the end of the attacks.
Following the flutter of red and yellow colored leaves, came blades of wind. Although Erika had no difficulties in tackling the onibi, she wondered if she could intercept a blade made of wind with no shape or color.
A fearless smile crept up her lips, however, she returned to her normal stance once she heard 'leave it to me' from someone behind her.
Erika left the wind blades to Mikihiko.
He chose to use a metal fan charm to activate a wind-blade magic of the same type as the enemy. A number of sparks could be seen in the air. Mikihiko's blades deflected every single one of the enemy's, despite being on the defensive.
Erika’s and Mikihiko's attention was focused on the next attack coming from the sky. Behind them, the shadows of trees on the ground took the shape of a person. A creature with a black shape rose from the ground.
Without any sound and blending its presence with the surroundings the shadow approached Mikihiko from the back.
"Uryaaa!"
Leo yelled at the shadow. He raised his fist, hammering down on a man in a black sweater. Before being taken down by Leo, he reduced the impact by flinging himself backwards and then escaping with a somersault.
"Are these guys’ ninjas?"
After some observation, the black-looking sweater was a dark-green color. Even the color of the pants was the same. It was different from the traditional ninja costume, as if being modernized as a commonly worn outfit. However, judging from the Kunai4 in his right hand and the scroll in his left hand the enemy was indeed a ninja.
Three more, five more human-shadows showed up. Leo didn't get the chance to see where they came from.
"Hehe, interesting."
However, it didn't affect his fighting spirit. Leo had no bad habits of seeking out formidable opponents but as long as the opponent was strong, he had the tendency to get hot-blooded. It might be due to the genes that he inherited from his grandfather as he was produced as a biological weapon. Leo himself, occasionally thought so.
However, it was his way of exaggerating things in his mind.
——Which was why.
It was still much better than being anxious about losing even before the fight. Once the mind is defeated, it became impossible to even flee from the scene. That was what he thought.
When his mind is defeated, it was the same as forfeiting his life. He'd only flee, when he thought that he needed to flee.
He didn't flee because he hadn’t given up. Was the natural response of seeing a tiger bearing his fangs, not to run? He wasn’t running away, regardless of what he thought but in an emergency he wouldn't give up his survival.
——I rejected that kind of a pathetic death. I live to fight.
The ninja’s in sweaters spread out around Leo. Consciously or not, they were retreating away from him.
At Leo's side, a hand was struck accompanied by a cry of pain.
The ninja who met Erika's Silver rod crouched down and held his broken arm. In that instant, the other ninja who was approaching Erika chose to jump away from her in order to escape. With those two factors in mind, she didn't have to be worried about another attack from the ninja. "Leo, even though you’re hot headed, you need to keep your consciousness clear. You're not fighting alone, you know."
After Erika said that, Leo noticed an attack was coming from the side.
"Sorry, thanks for saving me."
The sounds of the blades of wind colliding caused sparks to scatter, which was heard by Leo. "You're in the wrong too, Mikihiko. Why do you end up protecting your escorts." "It's going both ways. Aren't you protecting me from the enemy's surprise attacks from the shadows?
"Ok, let’s go with that."
Leo took out a knuckleduster from his pocket. Even though it looked like a fashion apparel plastic toy, it served as a good disguise from the police. So long as it's in contact with him.
An activation spell started to develop around his left wrist and was absorbed into it. It was not the usual voice activated CAD.
It was a fully thought operated CAD from the German CAD manufacturer, Rozen, one of the latest works of the Magi Kraft Division. Leo obtained this CAD through a certain connection— —though it was more as a form of an apology and it was only recently that he had mastered its usage.
However, this mission required weapons which were less noticeable.
Erika had an armament device disguised into a parasol, for this very purpose.
Since his usual CAD has a 'ready-to-fight' image, Leo opted to bring this CAD for this trip. Even though the actual deployment speed depends on the hardware, the efficiency depends on the magic sequence or in other words, the software. The state-of-art thought-operated CAD showed the high processing speed by filling in the time lag of the thinking process. Tatsuya himself had optimized the Magic Sequence to prune the inefficiency in the software without any change in the expected result.
The knuckleduster was of a synthetic resin with cemented carbide reinforcement.
The activation spell was also set to be a successive output.
This time even the long sleeved shirt and jeans, were complemented with the highest grade bulletproof material.
"Well, then. Let's get started."
Leo produced a bam sound when both of his fists met each other.
"Let me take care of the enemy on this side."
Erika took a stance and swung her silver armament device.
"I'll assist you."
Mikihiko opened a fan-shaped magic instrument.
"Here I go, oraaa."
Leo was heading towards the enemy with a loud cry.
Naturally, the Ninjutsu user opponents didn’t just wait silently.
Leaves swirled up in front of Leo, obstructing his view. It goes without saying that it was an unnatural phenomenon. It was magic that manipulates the wind to lift and swirl the leaves. The technique itself was not deadly. However, it was enough to make Leo halt his feet to cover his face with his arm.
There was a light shock to his arm, chest and thigh. It was a Kunai attack from the enemy.
The Kunai that were shot were unexpectedly fast, still their weight had been far too little against Leo's reinforcement magic.
A gust of wind blew.
From behind Leo.
Mikhiko's magic cleared up their vision.
The Ninjutsu user that stood before them ate his scroll and his hands, which were empty after throwing the Kunai, was making hand seals5.
Even Leo could understand that the enemy in front of them was not a ninja like in the storybooks but a traditionalist magician with real presence and power. This was one of the well-known stereotypes giving a clear 'image of a monk', ruining his tension.
Although it didn't affect his rush, for a moment Leo himself was disturbed. The chest of the Ninjutsu user bulged and deflated at once.
A loud sound was produced, and Leo was struck with dizziness.
The scroll that he swallowed earlier was a whistle in disguise. It was not just a normal whistle, it was a magic instrument for sensory organ interference via sound.
The Ninjutsu user took out his knife from its sheath. It was a knife instead of a Katana, even a 'Ninja' couldn't resist modernization.
He must have been confident in his own skill. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation before he pounced on Leo.
His miscalculation was that, Leo's flesh was not of some ordinary man. The general evaluation of Leo’s magical talent is somewhat low, however his physical ability is outstanding. Even with an obstructed sense of balance, Leo keeps his muscles in control with the help of the other senses. The enemy thrusted his knife, Leo raised his right hand, wearing his knuckleduster and met the knife, as a result the knife was dropped in the impact.
And he struck down the enemy with a left hook.
Leo's fist just crushed the jaw of the Ninjutsu user.
"Yabeee!"
That word was involuntarily spoken out, indicating his incorrect regret of failing to go easy on the enemy. Although his naiveté was a disadvantage; Leo had the ability to fill the gap.
Behind the man who was defeated, the next enemy showed up. The man stuck out his mouth at Leo. Leo laid down in that instant.
The man spewed out flames from his mouth.
A fan of flames passed by Leo’s head, however, the trajectory of the flame was reversed in the air and the opponent was late to notice.
The fire-breather fell while rubbing his burnt face. The U-turn movement of the flame was due to Mikihiko's magic.
Behind Leo, Mikihiko scowled at the fog that he had created. However, Mikihiko didn’t hesitate for the next attack. He was already preparing the next spell to be activated.
As Erika herself said, she had to help Leo from being sandwiched by two Ninjutsu users. Her CAD had less weight in its blows when compared to her usual katana but the speed is greater. At the next moment, the body of the Ninjutsu user who had dropped his knife split into two.
"Bunshin (Shadow Clone)!?" Erika raised her voice in surprise, the Ninjutsu user split himself into two and held a kunai, wearing a smug face at the same time.
However, the situation was quickly overturned.
One of the Bunshins disappeared and now there was only a single person. As it could be seen from the expression of the Ninjutsu user, it wasn't going according to plan. Mikihiko's spirit magic broke his Ninjutsu spell.
Erika wasn’t going to miss this chance.
Four silver trajectories were drawn in the sky.
Both the hands and feet of the Ninjutsu users were broken to the bone and they were lying on the ground before a weak lightning struck them.
The lightning had been prepared to attack all of the enemies.
Mikihiko delivered a lightning magic to the eight Ninjutsu users who had already lost their combat strength, and knocked them unconscious.
Mikihiko let out a big sigh.
"Is this the end?"
Leo looked around while saying this.
Meanwhile, Erika took down the remaining prey.
"There's no sign of reinforcements."
Leo took a deep breath after hearing her.
"We just fought ninjas."
Leo laughed. Even though he knew of their existence, he'd never thought he could exchange blows with one.
"They are Ninjutsu users. They are not that rare. Because they live in a world where old- fashioned magic is preferred after all."
Yet, Erika didn’t join in on Leo’s laughter, and curtly replied so.
"You're right. Moreover, this isn’t so far off Iga and Koga, the base of Ancient Magic; even Mt. Kurama has turned into a center of Ninjutsu users. I wonder if these guys are from the same faction."
Mikihiko supported Erika's claim.
"Hmph, it's probable. How interesting. I never get bored whenever I'm with you guys." Leo didn’t get offended. Rather, he seemed to have enjoyed the situation.
"Wait a second, I got dragged into this problem thanks to Tatsuya."
This is Tatsuya-kun’s fault, rather it was thanks to Tatsuya-kun. Although she pretended to complain, Erika's real feelings were the same as Leo’s.
"No difference."
Leo smiled wryly. Beside him, Mikihiko also threw in a wry smile.
"By the way, what should we do with them? Leave them to the police?"
Erika had no hesitation to call the police. Not because of her connection to the police but due to the fact that she acknowledged their authority.
"The Police, huh."
Seems like Leo has something against the police. However, he didn't blatantly reject Erika's proposal.
"I wonder if that's for the best…"
Mikihiko agreed to Erika's proposal, he took out his information terminal with the hand that didn't carry an auxiliary device. He intended to contact '110' on his own.
However, his finger stopped as he attempted to start the voice call.
He unconsciously stopped his movement from tapping on the pocket terminal.
He glared into the woods while holding his fan-shaped device. Mikihiko released a mass of Psion’s. He sent his Shikigami to search the area.
"Enemy?"
Mikihiko didn’t have time to answer Leo's question.
"Look!"
Mikihiko started his activation sequence, as Erika cried out.
Erika's eyes were directed to the pond.
Leo and Mikihiko saw it as well.
From the pond, four beasts formed from the water jumped out.
"Kasei-tai (visualised spiritual energy)!?"
Leo shouted.
"No! Kugutsu-shiki-oni (demon-type puppet/shikigami) shaped with water, a type of golem! It has a real substance!"
While shouting to answer them, Mikihiko stared at the monster without blinking.
"Reirei? Gouyu? Chouyuu? Even Fusho?"
Mikihiko spoke with a dazzled voice.
A striped cow that resembled a tiger, Reirei.
Wild boar with a human face, Gouyu.
Chouyuu was a monkey with four arms.
And Fusho, a deer with four horns.
These were all smaller versions of the beasts from the continent, which were said to cause floods.
This was clearly the deed of the traditionalists from the continent.
"What are these guys!?"
"The enemy's magic! Nothing else matters besides that, right!"
Shouting back to Leo, Erika swung her Silver rod against the closest Kugutsu-shiki-oni to her.
The enemy was not out of reach.
The thin blade emitted Psion’s when it touched at the edge.
It cut off the magic spell that sustained the golem. A water-shaped beast usually returned to water upon scattering.
However, there was no time to put their guard down.
The beasts weren’t only those four.
Reirei, Gouyu, Chouyuu and Fusho landed one after another in the pond. Creepy evil appearance aside, the monsters were about the size of a parlor dog, so it didn't look to be very threatening.
However, they weren’t quite as harmless as a parlor dog. Beside the fact that the opponents are magical creatures, they didn't know if the monsters had any hidden powers.
"Firstly, let's retreat fro-?"
Erika was left speechless before finishing her proposal of escape.
The miniature beasts went to the defeated Ninjutsu users on the ground instead of their group.
"Is it not an enemy?"
Erika wasn’t the only one trapped in surprise. Putting Leo who had no long-distance attacks aside, even Mikihiko has also forgotten his magic activation.
"Tsk!?"
The three stared at what's happening and gasped in unison.
The miniature beasts whose bodies were formed of water, began to devour the bodies of the living Ninjutsu users that couldn't move due to injuries.
"Don't kid with me!"
Erika reigned in her surprise and started to wield his silver rod again.
Mikihiko was shaken out of his paralysis by Erika's voice, he started a flame spell.
The Psion blade tore out the Kugutsu-shiki-oni, the flame ruined the Magic Sequence that sustained the monsters.
All of the monsters returned into water.
Leo worriedly approached the Ninjutsu users who were groaning in pain. He had activated reinforcement magic earlier, but due to the shock, the damages on their faces and necks was unavoidable.
"Uugh."
When he crouched down to get closer, that was the first cry he made.
"It does look hideous, but it doesn't seem like it had reached their bones yet."
Leo straightened his waist to face Erika and Mikihiko.
"And everyone is alive."
Even though their eyes and throats were numb, their vital signs seemed to be fine. Mikihiko put on a relieved expression when he heard that.
However, Erika was still on high alert.
"Strange."
"What is?"
Her unusual appearance made Mikihiko nervous again.
"Why does the water not soak into the ground?"
The ground is not paved here. Hence, the water that had formed the golem should soak into the soil naturally.
In contrast, the water mixed with blood was flowing back to the pond.
"Uwogh!?"
Leo jumped back reflexively to distance himself. Even though jumping four meters far without a run-up, preliminary action, nor magic, showed that his jump force was amazing, but Erika and Mikihiko weren’t paying attention to it.
They immediately noticed the unnatural movement of the water, the movement of the water which was mixed with the blood, suddenly started rapidly gaining momentum. Leo reacted quickly by retracting his footing from the flow of blood and water.
"What in the world…"
"Enemy magic!"
Erika's puzzled question was answered by Mikihiko, with a warning at the same time.
But, it might not have been needed in the first place. The phenomenon which occurred in front of their eyes, could be observed by Erika and Leo. The water in the pond was swirling.
Gently, at first, and then increasing in speed.
Then, from the center of the whirlpool came a torrent of sound, it was a serpent made out of mud, rearing its neck.
"Souryuu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiangliu)!" It was a giant snake with nine human faces. The large specter (??: kyoda --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madtsoiidae) of the continent named as the evil ) god of the flood, 'Kyoe'. When the Souryuu appeared in the land, the water would rot and unexpectedly ruin the soil (unfruitful swamp: acidic soil, can't be used for agriculture). unfruitful swamp: acidic soil, can't be used for agriculture
"Get away!"
Seeing that the nine of them started to open their mouths, Mikihiko shouted to Erika and Leo.
At the same time, he expanded the wind barrier.
From the mouth, narrow muddy water flowed out one after another.
The two of them, then, tried to avoid a direct hit from the streams.
The splashes that rebounded from the ground were blown away by the wind barrier which was swirling around the three of them.
However, the Ninjutsu users who were unable to move, couldn't avoid the aftermath of the attack.
A bitter voice rang out from the defeated men who lay on the ground when the miniature monster spat out the mud.
The body parts that were bathed in the muddy water from the Souryuu's mouth melted.
"Acid!?"
"No, it's a corrosive curse."
Mikihiko denied Erika's words.
"Be careful! Unlike acid, it doesn't only melt the part that came in contact with the liquid." Even though they had not received any injuries from this attack, but they didn’t doubt Mikihiko's words, especially after seeing what happened to the Ninjutsu users.
"Argh. Where's the operator!?"
If he was able to manipulate this much, the operator should have been in the vicinity.
No, the idea was spot on. The presence of the operator was detected a little while ago from within the forest. Unmistakably, he was the one who manipulated this monster. However, the Shikigami that he dispatched earlier hadn’t reported anything. Is it a sign of his skill, or special equipment, for example a Buddhist charm to disorient magician’s senses using a Kimon Tonkou.
Even with Erika's and Leo's physical skill, it took a lot of effort to avoid the uninterrupted stream of muddy water from the nine mouths. Mikihiko also had his hands occupied putting up barriers in order to avoid direct hits, he couldn't afford to activate a new Shikigami.
"Erika, Leo, let's retreat from here!"
"I agree with you wholeheartedly, but!"
"How are we going to do that!?"
Mikihiko clenched the back of his teeth at Erika's retort.
There is a way. The power of a puppet from folklore could be increased based on its lore. Therefore, there are cases where the magician wasn’t able to hold against the amplification of the magic, borrowed from a higher individual from folklore, which resulted in the cancellation of the entire spell. Even if not, in the end the control of the spell would depend on the power of the magician.
Although it was fake, Souryuu belongs to the water kin. The highest level of spirit among the water kin was a spell for 'Dragon' (Can I do this?).
I should be able to do it now.
However, the hesitation remained.
That was the magic that caused Mikihiko to fall into a slump and made him think that he 'lost his power'.
——In the end, Mikihiko didn’t have the chance to decide. He no longer needed to make that decision.
An intense light of Psion’s appeared before the three, the snake that carried nine heads, was enveloped by it.
From the information body, a Magic Sequence formed. The virtual magic area appeared suddenly in the information body with defined coordinates, instead of bombardments of ballistics.
The body of the snake with nine human faces exploded.
As a result, the Magic Sequence at the core of the Kugutsu-shiki-oni was blown away, which means that the magic information that formed the beast itself has been shattered.
The water that splattered in the aftermath wasn’t cursed. It returned to being ordinary water from the pond. The corrosion that was occurring on the bodies of Ninjutsu users also stopped.
"Are you alright?"
The three of them were worried, and thinking 'what just happened?'. The answer was right before their eyes.
The black slim pants and dark red jacket, with black boots, it was the uniform of Third High School. Moreover, the boy held a red gun-shaped CAD in his right hand. Upon seeing that appearance, the three of them recognized him instantly.
"Ichijou Masaki."
Leo said his name in surprise.
The Ace of Third High, from the 10MC. Ichijou's first son stood before the three.
Masaki looked around, wary of ambushers——observing if there was any sign of magic being activated. He decided to tone down his tension after a while of not finding any enemies lurking around.
In front of him, there were eight defeated humans who had suffered serious injuries. Masaki also perceived that they weren’t the victims, but the attackers who had been defeated, and since they couldn't move, there was no meaning for Mikihiko to check on their situation.
"Hmm? You're from First High…"
Masaki remembered Leo’s and Mikihiko's face from last year's Monolith Code.
"Yoshida Mikihiko. Ichijou-kun, thanks for your help."
However, he didn’t seem to remember their names. When Mikihiko introduced himself, Masaki's face was relieved.
"No, you're welcome. As a magician from the 10MC, I cannot afford to overlook that malicious magic. Please don't mind it."
"At any rate, you saved us. That was quite close."
"Ah, no… by the way, what was that?"
The sudden change of the topic might have been caused by his embarrassment. If that's the case, Masaki has a different personality than Tatsuya, in that he is 'shy'——However, the subject of comparing them might not be appropriate at this time.
"Kugutsu-shiki-oni with blood as an offering to shape a monster from water, a type of golem magic."
"So it's Ancient Magic?"
"It's a technique called Houjutsushi (doll forming magic), which is commonly used by magicians from the continent."
Hearing the exchange between Masaki and Mikihiko, Erika interrupted with a displeased voice.
"Hey, can we do the lecture after? That Houjutsushi might still out there somewhere."
Masaki looked around quickly with an alarmed expression. He seemed to have forgotten that possibility. On the other hand, Mikihiko shook his head as response to Erika's words.
"No, there's no possibility of that."
"How can you be so sure!"
Mikihiko tried to open his mouth several times, before shaking his head again.
"It's better to just see the real condition instead of hearing my words. Let's go and see."
"Judging from your words, have we incapacitated the Houjutsushi operator?
Instead of answering Leo's question with words, Mikihiko nodded.
"Do you know his whereabouts?"
Involuntarily, Masaki was about to open his mouth to interpose.
"Are you coming, Ichijou-kun?"
He was invited instead, Masaki nodded at that invitation.
They went uphill to the forest. It didn't take much effort for the four of them to walk that path.
They hadn’t even dropped a single globule of sweat as they discovered the Houjutsu user that they were looking for.
"As I thought. I understood what would happen, but it's still not a pleasant feeling." The Houjutsu operator had fallen with his face facing down the soil.
"Is he dead…?"
Much to Masaki's surprise, Leo had no fear that he could get attacked and squatted down next to the white-haired head of the Houjutsu operator to touch his neck.
"…There's no pulse. He's dead."
Expressionlessly, Leo seemed to be indifferent. He was not so insensible as to smile while reporting in front of the corpse, this was the most appropriate attitude that he could think of. However, that meekness disappeared as soon as the corpse jerked.
Erika let out a piercing scream. Even for her, it was an inevitable shock after seeing the contorted face of the corpse.
"It's the result of the broken spell. Ancient Magic of this system manipulates the puppet with the spirit of the operator, their consciousness keeps being connected after the magic has been activated."
"Hoo. Once Modern Magic is activated, there would be no backflow of information. Ancient Magic Sequences seem to be quite different when compared to Modern Magic."
Hearing Mikihiko's words, Masaki involuntarily opened his mouth. Immediately after the explanation, he released the meaning behind Mikihiko's description.
"In other words, this guy received the damage after I destroyed the spell that connects him to that monster, which led to damaging his spirit…?"
"It's not your fault. The magician must have understood the risks of this magic. Especially, if he wanted to manipulate such a huge Kugutsu-shiki-oni. Naturally, the consequences are multiplied.
Cold as it seems, that was the exchange made by the operator."
"So, it's that kind of a power."
This was not the first time Masaki saw dead people——even for killing, this was not his first time either. He had claimed the lives of others, though he was just forced to do that. Even now, 'Rupturing' the monster of water was the right decision.
Nevertheless, even with his experiences, he still couldn't react cold heartedly, especially when he saw the brutal look of this old man.
"…Sorry, Yoshida. For making you anxious."
"Don't mind it. You helped us after all."
Masaki forced a smile, Mikihiko also shook his hand with a smile.
"Ichijou-kun, please leave the explaining to the police to us."
Mikihiko was intending to let Masaki go, however Masaki did not agree with his words.
"No, I'll go too. On the other hand, the girl over there, umm."
"My name is Chiba Erika. Don't worry about me. Since I'm used to these kinds of things."
Masaki stared at her stiffly in response to those words. However, when he thought that his
reaction was rude, he immediately reigned himself in.
"I see. You're from the Chiba Family?"
"I'm Chiba Erika, a 2nd year at First High."
At Erika's nonchalant reply, Masaki lightly batted his eyes. With the exception of his sister, he almost never received cold treatment from girls around his age.
"Pardon my rudeness. I'm Ichijou Masaki, a 2nd year at Third High."
Then, it reminded Leo that he hadn’t done any introduction, so he identified himself while trying to tone down the awkwardness.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance. First High, second year, Saijou Leonhart."
Just like that, he probably managed to dispel the awkwardness, and it did seem that the target behaved the way he intended——Leo introduced himself to Masaki.
"Ichijou, you must have prior engagements, right? Don't hold yourself back for us, we can handle this by ourselves now."
"Don't mind it. I came to Kyoto alone. I came for the preliminary inspection in this city for the Thesis Competition to avoid an incident like last year. So, I can afford the time."
"Huh? Actually, we are here for that as well. Umm, let's report to the police first." Leo said that as a follow up,
"Ah, Hello. My name is Chiba Erika, 2nd year at National Magic First High School. I'd like to talk to the magic crime division. We were attacked by some magicians… the location is…"
When they heard her voice, Leo and Masaki looked at each other with a wry smile.
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