Under the sky tinged with the light of dawn, Grace Steele stood atop a tall building in Arcanium, squinting as she looked down at the city's nightscape.
This city was particularly famous for its beautiful night view due to the blinding neon lights that never went out and the floating objects wandering the sky like satellites. They continuously emitted light.
The official na for these objects, which were known for keeping Arcanium brightly lit, was 'Paharagal's Eyes.' However, their true purpose was to observe every movents in the city.
They observed the entire city 24/7 without a mont's rest. Yet, what's the point if they couldn't even detect a witch's movents?
"Hmm... Captain, looks like sothing interesting happened."
At Grace's words, Kaen narrowed his eyes. The Stella Knights were currently in control, and a team from Stella's Magic Investigation Unit was temporarily blocking off part of the area to investigate sothing.
Because of this, Grace and Kaen couldn't approach, but there was no need to anyway. They already knew what had happened there.
"They're using the Compass of mory? That expensive thing..."
The Compass of mory was a rare ancient artifact, with only seven existing in the entire world. It could recall past events like mories, but it had a major drawback: the cost of using it is astronomical.
Even using it once to recall a very brief mont costs as much as a small country's monthly revenue. So, it was not sothing that could be used lightly.
However, the institutions that own them—Stella Academy, the Adolevit Kingdom, the Skalben Empire, and the Manwol Tower—were so wealthy that they could use the compass whenever they wanted without worrying about the cost.
From the perspective of Manwol Tower, which owned two of the three remaining compasses, it was quite...
"They're just throwing money away."
It was a pathetic sight.
"They use the Compass of mory so recklessly, and yet they get permission to do so? That's insane. Stella is either Stella or just plain stupid."
"Regardless of other matters, the principal of Stella is not a fool. There must be a reason for giving permission."
"Eh~ they just look like idiots to ."
Although Kaen disagreed, the idea of chasing a witch's trail using the Compass of mory seed utterly foolish to Grace.
However, the fact that Baek Yu-Seol was involved made it worthwhile to keep watching, so they did not leave.
While the Stella Magic Investigation Unit was examining the scene, Baek Yu-Seok stood a step back and simply observed. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking.
"By the way, who do you think killed the witch hunter? It doesn't seem likely that a witch could have done it..."
Grace recalled seeing a witch hunter only once when she was very young. Having experienced their overwhelming and terrifying power firsthand, she knew well.
A witch hunter couldn't be killed by the power of an ordinary witch or mage.
Witch hunters, who gained monstrous power at the cost of abandoning their very existence, were at the pinnacle of the magical world's food chain.
The fact that such a witch hunter was found dead was a significant event even from Manwol Tower's perspective, and it was impossible to to ignore it.
Most importantly.
"Baek Yu-Seol, that kid seems to have so idea about the witch."
While the Stella Knights were desperately trying to track the witch, Baek Yu-Seol remained calm and observed the scene.
Given that Baek Yu-Seol was no ordinary student or mage, it was only natural to suspect that he knew sothing.
"Maybe we should follow Baek Yu-Seol?"
Since they had co to track the witch, Grace's thought of choosing the most efficient thod made sense.
"... Let's watch a bit longer."
Kaen said this and then leaped off the building, disappearing sowhere.
"Ugh... He could at least say sothing before leaving. Really!"
As a knight, Kaen could move freely like that, but being a pure magic user and a priest, Grace had to take the stairs down step by step.
When she climbed up to observe the scene, her thighs hurt so much. The thought of going back down made her feel dizzy, but the possibility of eting the witch made Grace's lips curl into a slight smile.
————-
The next morning.
"Hey! Did you hear? There was a murder at the witch's restaurant last night."
"They say the restaurant owner died."
"No. I heard a black-robed dark mage appeared, and the waitress fought him to a standstill."
"But isn't it true that soone died? The Stella Magic Investigation Unit has been occupying the scene since last night."
Eisel, who had arrived early in the classroom, overheard the strange rumors circulating among the students.
"Eisel! Did you hear? Did you hear?"
"Yes... Sort of."
"What could have happened?"
Her friend Marlene exclaid in excitent.
"I heard a legendary witch hunter appeared."
"A witch... hunter?"
"Yes, yes. According to witnesses, the mage who attacked the witch's restaurant had a ghostly appearance with no limbs, and his eyes were glowing. They say it resembled a witch hunter."
"No way. There aren't even any witches, so how could there be a witch hunter..."
"Right? But doesn't it seem like sothing could be out there? Even if it's just a legend, you never know. There have been reports of witch sightings a few years ago, after all."
Eisel hesitated, then closed her mouth. Marlene was probably right; witches likely existed.
By now... Baek Yu-Seol was probably chasing after the witch himself.
'What on earth is going on...'
She had heard the rumors.
Yesterday, Baek Yu-Seol had gone sowhere with the Stella Knights. And then the news of the incident at the witch's restaurant ca out. It was hard not to worry.
Suddenly, she felt a sense of self-reproach.
What was she doing last night?
Studying.
As always, she was studying.
He must have been running around trying to solve sothing related to the witch, while she was obsessively studying, unaware of anything.
How pathetic.
But still... Jumping in to help without thinking was foolish.
She had no idea about this situation, and even if she did, how could she possibly deal with a witch?
Ding! Dong!
After class, she walked weakly towards Class S.
On the way, she overheard, "Did you hear? Baek Yu-Seol is skipping class today," which made her feel even more down.
"Ah! Just leave alone, will you? Get lost."
As she walked down the hallway, she turned her head at the familiar voice. A few students glanced over and then quickly hurried past as if they didn't want to get involved.
'Edna...?'
And beside her, the beautiful golden-haired prince, Jeremy Skalben.
"Oh sorry. I didn't consider your feelings."
Jeremy awkwardly apologized to Edna, but she was still gritting her teeth in anger.
"Who told you to sign up as a participant? Ugh, it's so annoying. Now I have to go through the hassle of cancelling my application."
"Well... I heard you were really interested in the League of Spirits recently..."
"So, you pushed into the competition that accepts participants on a first-co, first-served basis, knocking out other competitors who genuinely wanted to participate?"
"It's not like that..."
"And just because I enjoy watching the matches doesn't an I ever said I wanted to compete, you idiot."
Listening quietly, it was clear that Edna had every right to be angry. If you were napping at ho and suddenly found out you were a tournant participant the next day, anyone would be furious.
"Sigh... How am I supposed to cancel this?"
Eisel walked past them, pretending not to notice. She didn't want to get involved in the argunt between Jeremy and Edna. Despite his kind appearance, sothing about Jeremy Skalben always felt off.
'Besides, the registration period has already ended, so she won't be able to cancel it now.'
She felt a bit worried but thought that Edna would find a way to deal with it. As she tried to sneak past, Edna noticed her and waved with an exaggerated gesture.
"Oh, Eisel! I was just looking for you. Perfect timing! Let's go together!"
"What? Uh, sure?"
Edna hurried over to Eisel, put her arm around her shoulders, and started walking quickly.
"Let's walk fast. I don't want to deal with that idiot anymore."
"Uh. Okay...!"
Looking back, she saw Jeremy reaching out with a forlorn expression, looking as if he was watching a tragic heroine leave. But Edna didn't seem to care at all.
After walking briskly for a while, they finally stopped to catch their breath.
"Phew, he's like a leech."
"What happened...?"
"Just the usual annoying stuff."
She didn't seem to want to explain further. It looked like she didn't want to dwell on the annoying incident.
With a clunk, Edna grabbed an ion drink from a nearby vending machine, opened it, and chugged it down in one go. Then she tossed the empty can into a trash bin with a perfect throw.
She then plopped down on a nearby bench and patted the seat next to her.
"What are you doing? Are you busy? Do you have the next class?"
"No... I have about 40 minutes."
"Then sit down for a bit. I've got sothing on my mind."
"Sothing on your mind...?"
It was surprising to think that even soone as straightforward as Edna could have worries.
Eisel sat down cautiously next to her, and Edna spoke with a serious expression.
"I'm debating whether to have cheese pork cutlet or rose pork cutlet for lunch."
"This is a serious issue. If I order the rose one and it tastes bad, it's a waste of money and ruins my appetite. But if I get the cheese one I always have, there's no risk, but it's the sa old taste. It's a high-risk, high-return situation."
Is it appropriate to use the term 'high-risk, high-return' in this context?
"Why not try the rose pork cutlet for a change?"
"No. Now that I think about it, that doesn't seem right."
"... Then go with the cheese pork cutlet."
"I'm tired of that. I'll just have the tenderloin pork cutlet."
'What does she want to say?'
"This isn't what I usually get, so it's fresh, but the taste is guaranteed. Wow, I was really logical today."
As Eisel laughed at the absurdity, Edna's expression darkened.
"I'm serious."
"I can see that..."
"Shall we go then?"
"What? Where?"
"We decided, didn't we? To go get pork cutlets."
"But it's still morning..."
"So what? We'll have brunch."
"Oh."
"Brunch ans breakfast and lunch combined, by the way."
"I know."
Eisel chuckled and nodded. She realized she hadn't had a proper breakfast, and listening to Edna's chatter had sohow lightened the weight on her chest.
10:18 AM.
It was a weird ti to eat—too late for breakfast and too early for lunch.
Eisel found herself eating tenderloin pork cutlet in the academy cafeteria. She picked up a knife. How long had it been since she'd last used a knife to cut her food?
Holding the pork cutlet with a fork and cutting it with a knife, she noticed Edna across from her.
Edna simply stabbed her cutlet with a fork, cut it in half, and took a big bite.
Edna ate confidently, dipping the cutlet in the sauce instead of pouring it over.
Suddenly, she spoke.
"Want to go out tonight?"
"... What?"
"To Arcanium."
"Oh... You an go out?"
Maybe she wanted to have dinner together.
Eisel thought so, but Edna appeared to have a different idea.
"Yeah. I'm curious about what Baek Yu-Seol is up to, and I feel restless."
"... Are you thinking of helping Baek Yu-Seol?"
"Maybe? Hmm. Yeah. You could say that."
"But the opponent is a witch. There's nothing we can do."
They had to be realistic. No matter how much people called them genius mages, the world Baek Yu-Seol was dealing with was completely different. With their immature skills, they would be more of a hindrance than help.
"Do you think I'm crazy enough to take on a witch?"
"Then what exactly are you planning to do...?"
Edna hesitated and then closed her mouth.
According to what she knew, the ShadowBlade Division from Manwol Tower should be in Arcanium by now.
She planned to use them, but she couldn't reveal everything just yet.
"I can't tell you right now, but I'm sure it will be helpful. I'm certain."
Eisel leveled her gaze to et Edna's eyes. The playful look from earlier was gone, replaced with a serious expression.
Although she couldn't be sure what Edna was planning or if it would even be effective... For now, she decided to trust her.
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