"...Wh-What is this?!"
The letter was blank. There was nothing there, just a sheet as white as a fresh canvas.
An awkward gust of wind blew past the four of them.
"I think we might be screwed," Dick said, breaking the silence. "He said this letter had our dispatch location and ntor on it."
"Wh-What do we do?"
Dick whipped his head around. "Did irin do sothing wrong when she opened the seal?"
At that, irin jumped. "I-I didn’t do anything! I really just opened the letter! Simon, look!" she pleaded, handing the letter to him.
’Hmm.’
But it wasn’t as if Simon had a brilliant solution. He lightly shook the letter, flicked it with his finger, and checked inside for anything else, but to no avail.
While they were all staring at the blank paper with dejected expressions...
"What!" irin scread.
A pitch-black magic circle had suddenly appeared in the center of the blank letter.
’Clank! Clunk!’
With the sound of interlocking tal, a black mbrane shot out from the letter and enveloped the four of them. Kamibarez let out a surprised gasp, and the other three gathered around her, on guard.
Letter —Level 1 security docunt confird. Activating morial magic.
A clear voice emanated from the letter.
"Ah, no way!" irin raised her voice as if she had realized sothing. "Since the letter’s contents can’t be leaked, they used this kind of security-type black magic instead?"
"That makes sense!" Dick clapped his hands.
Letter: —Confirming subjects.
This ti, a magic circle appeared in front of each of their faces.
Letter: —irin Villenne, Simon Polentia, Dick Hayward, Kamibarez Ursula.
Letter: —Subjects confird.
The magic circles disappeared along with the voice.
"This is amazing!" Dick exclaid in admiration. Their fear having vanished, the four of them looked around with curious expressions.
Crimson flas shot up from the empty air. Scraps of paper-like debris fell from the flas, gathering in the air to form words.
Everyone stared, their eyes wide.
「Vengeance」
Dark Alliance Neutral Zone Special Agent Dispatch Authority
"Oh my god!" Dick gasped. "Vengeance! It’s Vengeance! Our dispatch location is a jackpot!"
"What’s Vengeance?" Simon couldn’t hold back his curiosity.
"The guardians of the Neutral Zone," irin answered, brushing back her sky-blue hair. "The Neutral Zone is, as the na implies, completely ‘neutral,’ so neither Kizen nor Efnel can exert influence there. It’s a private organization that works for the Dark Alliance on Kizen’s behalf."
"And among those private organizations, Vengeance is super famous!" Dick was grinning from ear to ear. "It’s an agency where necromancer agents operate and fight against Priests! Maybe we’re going to fight Priests, too!"
"P-Priests..." Kamibarez’s eyes darted around nervously.
Just then, more debris fell from the flas and assembled new words.
「Intelligence Departnt, Federation-certified 3rd Rank, Seiwyr Grizmann.」
irin nodded. "Uh-huh, it seems this is the ntor who will be in charge of us."
This ti, a scorched-looking scroll appeared from the flas. It unfurled, revealing a map. A building in the town they were in was marked in red.
"Maybe he wants us to go there?"
"I think it’s a eting spot, too."
The map burned away, and soon the darkness that had enveloped them lifted, revealing the townscape once more.
"Whoa! As expected of Vengeance! They’re showing their class with just one letter!"
While an excited Dick was making a fuss, Simon was recalling the map he had just seen and comparing it to the current scenery. "A tavern, a shopping district, the docks..."
Moving his fingers and pointing to each location, Simon nodded. "Hmm, right. This way."
"As expected of Simon!"
The three of them followed behind him. Dick, looking extrely pleased, whistled and threw an arm around Simon’s neck. "Hahaha! A special agent dispatch, isn’t this exciting!"
"It is," Simon chuckled and nodded.
"Honestly, commoner," irin said, pressing a hand to her forehead. "You’re the one I’m most worried about. Don’t act all cocky and rude in front of our ntor later. He’s the one who can manipulate our grades."
"Of course, of course. I can tell that much."
anwhile, Kamibarez stuck close to Simon, gently holding onto the hem of his clothes. She was like a wary little kitten. She would jump in surprise at the sound of a door slamming open or people shouting, her shoulders trembling as she hid behind him.
"Kami, are you okay?"
"Ah, yes!" she said, forcing a smile. It seed she was a bit shy in the new environnt.
"There it is!" Dick shouted.
It was the wooden house they had seen on the map. While most of the surrounding houses were made of clay, the wooden house stood out, so they spotted it right away. The sign indicated it was a small village tavern.
The four of them walked over, their expressions tense.
"Excuse ." irin, as the team leader, took the lead and entered the building. They had been worried about how to recognize their ntor without a secret password.
It was a needless worry. There was only one person sitting inside.
He flashed a bright smile that revealed his white teeth. He wore a gray uniform with a green patterned necktie, which seed to be the Vengeance uniform, and his blond hair was long only on the left side, covering his eyebrow. He had a lean build, a sharp jawline, and a nose that pointed down. Overall, he was a handso man with dark eyebrows and a greasy smile.
He spoke first, spreading his arms wide. "Welco! Students of Kizen!"
His voice was high-pitched, close to a soprano. The four of them bowed in unison.
"It’s a pleasure to et you!"
"Now, now, please sit comfortably." He brushed back his ssy bangs with the back of his hand, closed his left eye, and smiled, revealing his white teeth.
Soon, the four of them sat down at a table across from him. They all straightened their backs and placed their hands on their knees, assuming the most polite and respectful posture possible.
"Haha, there’s no need to be so tense. You can be comfortable in front of ." He placed a hand on his chest and continued. "As you saw in the letter, my na is Seiwyr Grizmann. I work in the Intelligence Departnt of Vengeance."
"Ah, yes! We will introduce ourselves as well. First, I am the team leader, irin Villenne!"
irin began to introduce each mber one by one. The mont she introduced Simon, Seiwyr’s eyes seed to sparkle.
"So you’re the rumored Special Admission Number One of Kizen."
irin and Dick shot him envious glances. As expected, the title of Special Admission Number One was well-received everywhere.
"I’m satisfied." Seiwyr brushed back his lopsided bangs with the back of his hand and winked. "You are the students who will be working with at Vengeance for a week. It’s only natural that Kizen would send such excellent students."
Simon listened to Seiwyr’s explanation and felt a sense of relief.
’Thank goodness.’
To be honest, after the seniors from the Mutant club had thoroughly scared him, he had been a little worried about the Dispatch Evaluation. They had given all sorts of examples: ntors with terrible personalities, ones who used physical violence, mad scientists who tried to turn students into undead, scumbags who sexually harassed female students, and even malicious ones who made students do nothing for the entire evaluation period, only to give them the lowest score on the last day.
But at least, based on first impressions, Seiwyr seed to be a necromancer who fell within the bounds of common sense.
"Seeing you young necromancers reminds of my student days. Back then, many professors offered to make their direct disciple, but..."
Though he did seem to be a bit of a talker.
"Oh, by the way, the letter?"
"I have it."
"Please give it to . I’ll hold onto it."
As Simon politely handed over the letter with both hands, Dick cut in. "I was so surprised when the letter was blank! But then that special effect! Whoa!"
"Dick!"
irin shot him a look, but Seiwyr replied with a smile. "It’s only natural to be surprised the first ti you see it."
Seiwyr brushed back his bangs, revealed his white teeth, and winked. "Actually, I had a similar experience once—"
He began to pour out a waterfall of stories. As Simon listened, he looked at the letter Seiwyr had placed on the table.
On the letter, which should have been blank, he thought he could see sothing very faint. Simon widened his eyes to get a better look, but Seiwyr picked up the letter and put it in his pocket.
"Uh, Seiwyr... Sir?"
"Please address as Agent."
"Ah, yes. Agent!"
"Of course, I will also call you all agents. Agent irin." Seiwyr brushed back his bangs and winked. At this point, Simon thought it was less a habit and more a compulsion. "It doesn’t matter that you are students. As long as you are tasked with the sa job as , we are equal comrades who can entrust our lives to one another."
"As expected! Your mindset is truly amazing, Agent!" Dick gave a thumbs-up with both hands. He seed to have fallen completely for Seiwyr’s charm.
"Jeez."
irin kicked Dick’s leg as if to tell him not to show off.
"Agent, I’m curious about what kind of mission we’ll be undertaking."
"A very good question, Agent irin!" Seiwyr said, snapping his fingers. The surroundings then turned to darkness, just like when they had first opened the letter. "Pardon , security is important." After saying that, Seiwyr gestured for them to co closer.
The four of them lifted themselves from their chairs and leaned toward him.
"Our mission is to secure a person of interest."
"A person of interest! What kind of person!" Dick quickly asked.
"That kind of proactive attitude is very good, Agent Dick. I will reflect it in your mission attitude score."
"Thank you!"
Seeing that, the model student irin’s expression showed a hint of envy again. Not to be outdone, she leaned in further and assud a serious posture.
"It is..."
Simon also pricked up his ears, his expression tense.
"It is... it is... it is..."
He was great and all, but he wished he would stop dragging things out. After confirming that the four of them were reacting with curiosity, Seiwyr spoke in a very small and secretive voice.
"A Saintess candidate."
The four students’ mouths dropped open simultaneously. As if this was the exact reaction he had been waiting for, Seiwyr wore a satisfied expression.
"A-A Saintess candidate?"
"That’s right, Agent Simon! Recently, we at Vengeance received Level 1 intelligence from an agent who infiltrated Efnel!" His voice beca a whisper. "A girl with unprecedented divine compatibility has been born in this Neutral Zone."
"And we’ve received information that Efnel is mobilizing Priests to retrieve that girl." He spread his palm. "Coincidentally, this is a matter related to you Kizen students. You know about the Saintess of Purification, right?"
How could they not know? The Saintess who had possessed the body of Francesca, the Head TA of Venomology, and tried to annihilate the entire Kizen first year. In the end, her plot was thwarted by Simon and the other students, and she was killed by Nephthys, but later that very ’Essence of Purification’ had possessed Anna’s body, forcing Simon to travel all the way to the Holy Federation. He had been involved with the Saintess of Purification in many ways.
"Efnel is extrely on edge right now. A considerable amount of ti has passed since the death of the Saintess of Purification, yet the next one has not appeared. It is a very rare case for the period until the next Saintess’s advent to be this long."
Everyone nodded with tense faces, listening to Seiwyr’s story.
"In fact, the most suitable person to beco the Saintess of Purification was right here in the Neutral Zone. It seems Efnel is quite certain this ti. That very girl." Seiwyr clapped his hands together. "We will retrieve her before Efnel does."
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