207 – Host (4)
It is an uncomfortable reunion. It’s difficult to understand Luna’s true intentions, but this time it’s different. She harbored hostility towards the favela.
Fabella spoke calmly first.
“See you again after the sparring evaluation. Nice to meet you.”
The match between Luna and Favela did not end properly. An unknown force swept through the entire stadium, Luna was unilaterally overwhelmed, and the match ended without completion.
“… Hello.”
“I happened to go on a mission with Damian.”
And, ironically, the situation was reversed. Luna is the enemy, and Fabella and I are on the same side.
Luna stands silently for a while.
Then she put aside her hostility for a moment and spoke.
“Syntagma request investigation… “I will help you too.”
“Is that okay? “Strictly speaking, we are competitors.”
“… Before he is a competitor, Damien is my friend. “That’s more important.”
Fabella accepted it calmly.
“You have a good friend.”
“And I don’t want to see my friend get hurt.”
“….”
The last words seemed to be referring to the blow from Favela that pierced my side.
Luna approaches me with long strides. Then she grabbed my index and middle fingers tightly in her fist and pulled me out.
She gave off a strong vibe that she didn’t want to leave her friend next to someone who was wary of them.
Fabella quietly watched the two of us and followed us late.
“Luna, is it okay for this to happen?”
“I won’t get scolded for holding hands….”
“Uh, um, what if I get caught by the other members?”
“… “It’s a secret from the theater club members.”
“Okay.”
Luna took out the documents she had found from her bookshelf and handed them to me.
“This. Syntagma area… Here are the directions. “It was drawn by a local person, so it is more detailed than what was created by an external explorer.”
Then she takes out another document and hands it to me.
“This is a collection of all requests regarding missing residents.”
“Thank you, Luna.”
“It is impossible to take it outside… “You have to memorize it or write it down.”
Although the map was complicated, I thought I could make a copy quickly if I simplified it and recorded it.
“It’s rewarding to be in the art department. Learning how to draw helps in times like this….”
Then Fabella said.
“There is another way. “I’ll bring the magic reflex paper.”
“What is that?”
“It’s a magic tool that copies records exactly as they were originally written. Hang in there.”
Fabella went straight out of the storage room.
As Luna watches Fabella leaving, she looks strangely dissatisfied.
“Luna. “Did you record all this data?”
“Yes.”
Then she proudly took out the transcribed materials from her arms and showed them to me.
Although the printed records were copied neatly without a single line of misalignment, the map was in terrible condition.
The shapes are a mess, the lines are crooked, and the topographic map is drawn as if dough had been stepped on once. It looks like it was drawn by a five-year-old. The information was so distorted that it could not be used as a map.
“… “Good job.”
“Luna, you should have come to the art department.”
Luna smiled shyly and said, as if she was taking this as a compliment.
“No… “Damian is a better fit for the theater department.”
“Um… “Since we happened to become enemies, I hope she never encounters the theater club during her mission.”
Then Luna closed her mouth and put on a cautious expression.
“… In fact, the theater department and the art department have no choice but to meet.”
“Why?”
“The theater department decided to eliminate the art department first… “I’ll probably visit the art department as soon as I arrive.”
“….”
“And… and… When we meet then, I will do my best. “For getting eliminated from the art department.”
I nodded. That’s why Luna participated in her mission, and she had an obligation to demonstrate her best capabilities in her position.
“Okay. “Because that’s your job.”
“Damian, please do your best.”
“… I’m serious?”
“Yes, promise me. If Damien doesn’t come out sincerely… “I don’t think I can do my best either.”
Luna holds out her little finger. Is there a reason why she asks this much? Still, I don’t understand what Luna is thinking.
I don’t know the intention, but I also had to do my best when fighting broke out.
I said, pointing my finger.
“My friends from the theater club are all over now.”
When the humorous joke was told, Luna covered her mouth and laughed quietly.
Immediately afterwards, footsteps were heard in the favela.
When she approached her doorstep, we hastily untied our little fingers.
Favela appeared looking listless.
In her hand was a pale blue piece of paper.
“… “We’re running out of time, so let’s replicate it quickly.”
We started work without further delay. We piled up data by exchanging documents in silence.
While working, Luna occasionally cast her doubtful eyes on Fabella. But she didn’t speak directly.
The work was completed in an instant.
I had extra magic tools and paper. I asked Fabella for permission.
“Can I give one of these to Luna?”
I was very concerned that they would take the unrecognizable map as is.
“Yes. “But when you’re done using it, you have to give it back to me.”
Without asking Luna, I copied her map and placed it in her hands.
Luna looked at her paper with an expressionless face and said.
“This…” “How did you get it?”
“There is someone at the Magic Society who can help me. “I got some convenience by asking that person.”
“This…” “It’s not just convenience.”
Luna’s attitude is significant. Her eyes look as if she is looking at a valuable item that the Magical Society does not easily give away.
“I think it’s just a secret favor. Now that it’s over, do you want to go first? If we come out together, the members will probably be suspicious. The two were partners at the prom….”
“… Uh, um yeah. Luna, you had a hard time first, so go ahead. “Thank you.”
“Yes. “Damian, take care of yourself.”
Luna waves her hand at me as if she is regretful. She coldly lowered her head, as if drawing a line for Fabella, and went down first.
I asked when Fabella and I were alone.
“How did you know that Luna was your partner?”
She said as she gathered up her copied materials.
“I saw you at the prom. Organize your materials and come down. “I’ll wait at the front door.”
Then he left me and walked out first.
“You weren’t at the prom, right?”
“….”
Fabella suddenly stopped standing tall and froze like a stone statue.
I didn’t know why I said that. She wasn’t sure that she didn’t have a favela at the ball. She just followed her intuition.
From Noble mtl dot com
If it were a favela, I thought it would have been like that.
She didn’t answer and went back into the hall.
***
After finishing organizing her materials, I came down to the first floor and saw Fabella looking at something in front of the entrance.
“Let’s go.”
“Wait, wait. “Would you like to see this?”
“… ?”
I stood next to her and watched what she was seeing.
One wall of the lobby was decorated with black stone slabs.
Fabella said.
“They say they are a family that contributed to the founding of the Magic Society.”
From unfamiliar families such as Tears, Tebris, and Vector, to Luna’s original family, the Raylis family. The Pascal family name, which was familiar to me, was also engraved there.
Favela pointed to a place and laughed.
“Do you see that? “There is also the Izelius family.”
“… ?”
I believe Lilith’s last name is Izelius. No way.
“I guess Lilith doesn’t even know she’s an honorary member of the society.”
“… ….”
Isn’t Lilith her child given away by her family?
*
“My family is an excellent member…” Yo. This?”
Lilith made an expression that said it was the first time she had heard this in her life.
Fabella said with a grin.
“Yes. “The one that was hung side by side with other prestigious magic houses with a long history?”
“Not at all… I did not know. “No one in her family ever told me.”
Tami, a second-year member, said as she looked through her materials.
“It’s amazing that they entered the Magic Society and stole information, but how did they obtain such valuable items as anti-reflection paper?”
“I got a little help.”
“Ah… “I think I’ll be proud of the art department.”
Sierra suddenly intervened during the conversation.
“Guys, that’s not important right now.”
Then he pointed to the rear window of the carriage.
“I think the dance club kids knew it was our carriage and were trying to catch up with us?”
A familiar carriage was creeping up behind us at a reasonable distance.
There was no reason to delay any longer.
I handed the coachman a note with the destination written on it.
***
About an hour after leaving Rigbed, the carriage chasing us disappeared from sight.
I read the case record that Tami had copied in the shaking carriage.
“The place we are going is Poron Village, the site of the first incident.”
Sierra had her back from the start.
“What, first? “Are there multiple unsolved cases stacked on top of one mission?”
“That’s right. So, would you like to listen?”
Sierra sensed that she was going through a hard time and grabbed the back of her neck.
“Ha….”
“It’s a disappearance case. “They say a happy family of three with one daughter disappeared one day.”
“What’s the next incident?”
“It’s the same. Missing. They say a girl our age disappeared in a similar way in another village. “All other incidents are similar.”
Lilith asked a question.
“How likely is it that it was the work of a monster?”
“According to the first incident record, a thick fence was built and vigilantes patrolled every morning, but no traces of monsters were found?”
“Is this a kidnapping?”
“It seems like that. “Except for one family, most boys and girls of our age disappeared.”
“That… more… “It does.”
Lilith spoke nervously, as if she were experiencing this kind of thing for the first time.
Then, the carriage suddenly came to a sudden stop.
“Wow!”
Lilith, who was sitting across from me, couldn’t help but throw herself into my arms out of inertia. The other members riding in the carriage were similar.
I immediately took my stance and looked at the situation. It seems like it’s replacing something, but it’s hard to see because the coachman is covering it.
Did something unexpected happen? I understand that monsters do not appear because it is still an area of Eternia.
I carefully helped Lilith down, sat her down again, and got out of the carriage.
A handsome man was standing in front of our carriage. When he saw me, he greeted me warmly.
“Oh. “See you here, my innocent friend.”
It was Hubert, a mutant of dwarven descent.
“What are you doing?”
Hubert looked like he had rolled in the mud.
“We are an instrumental music club. Help… I need.”
Then he pointed to a place with his chin.
A carriage was sitting at the corner of the road with all its wheels broken. Nearby, students were bandaging injuries. The condition looks very bad. Looking at their faces, they look like fallen nobles taking refuge during the war.
We didn’t even enter the Syntagma area, so what happened?
“Have you met any bandits?”
Hubert held his weight and spoke seriously in a theatrical tone.
“The north wind has passed.”
“Seeing as you still have a sense of humor, it looks like you can still hold on.”
“We are not bandits. We were bullied by a student from the same school. “Motivation, to be exact.”
I didn’t understand. You can’t believe they destroyed other departments like this from the beginning. The school rule is to subdue fellow students to a state where they cannot fight, even without causing serious harm. If you look at them now, they are borderline violating the regulations.
“This doesn’t seem crazy.”
“That’s right. Those kids made a plan. “They are really crazy people.”
“What are you doing this for?”
Then a woman from one side answered.
“They have no interest in the tour of the City of Sorcery, which is the reward for winning.”
A girl slowly walks out from the forest next door. She had a bandage wrapped around her thigh, as if she had been injured as well. She just looked at me and continued her explanation.
“The goal is to find something else related to the mission.”
It was Cecil. I never thought I would see you again in a place like this.
“Who did this?”
“Gale Varianne.”
Deputy Chief of the Combat Department. He is known to be a member of the dance club.
“Did the dance club participate together?”
“It is only a dance club in name and has nothing to do with competition. “He’s going around with his gang to get what he wants.”
“Is that possible?”
“No. I came forward prepared to face severe disciplinary action. “Because I’m looking for something that’s that important.”
I sensed that this mission would not be smooth.
ist cecil from theatre club?