After a full day of carriage travel, Simon had developed a habit of resting his chin on his hand and gazing at the scenery outside. As ti passed, the brown, desolate land began to change. Patches of green increased, and trees and bushes grew lush.
"When people think of the Neutral Zone, they usually only imagine vast wastelands or deserts!" Seiwyr explained boastfully, brushing his bangs back with the back of his hand. "That’s a stereotype. In fact, there are still many areas where desertification hasn’t progressed!"
The closer to the center, the more desert there was, and the closer to the outskirts, the more forests you could see, Seiwyr explained. In other words, Team 7 and Seiwyr were heading toward an outlying region.
During that full day of travel, Simon had to listen to Seiwyr’s hundreds of achievents until his ears were ringing. Dick had beco an ardent fan, completely engrossed in Seiwyr’s heroic tales, and irin, needing to get a good grade, was also playing along enthusiastically. Kamibarez just nodded with a smile.
After a considerable amount of ti passed...
"We’ve arrived."
They had reached their destination. This village, nad Kelso, was a place that seed like a fifty-fifty mix of a city and a jungle.
Architecture seed to be developed, as brick buildings made with proper masonry were visible. But the plants here had such strong vitality that sprouts were poking out from between the tiles and bricks. Large vines even wrapped around entire buildings. It seed the people living in this village had given up on constantly removing the ever-growing plants.
"Ugh, I feel like my butt has gone flat," Dick complained as he got out of the carriage. The other team mbers followed, stretching their bodies. Being cooped up in a small space for so long had made them all stiff.
"Alright, agents. Your attention, please!" Seiwyr captured everyone’s attention and said in a serious voice, "The Saintess candidate is in this very city."
That one sentence brought a wave of tension. The four of them also nodded with serious faces.
"If we’re one step too late, Priests could already be lurking in this city. But don’t worry too much." Seiwyr brushed his bangs back with the back of his hand and showed his shining teeth. "This Seiwyr will block any and all white magic!"
"As expected, we can count on you, Agent Seiwyr!"
"You all should focus on searching and finding the target. No matter what happens, you must not rush at the Priests or attack first."
"Yes!"
"Then, let’s begin the mission." Seiwyr took the lead and gave a thumbs-up. "The mission on which the future of our Dark Alliance depends!"
"Yeah!" Dick raised his arm high, pumping up the mood.
"...The future of the Dark Alliance, really," irin muttered quietly.
In any case, the operation had begun. Seiwyr stuck close to the building wall and moved forward, muffling his footsteps. Hiding in the shadow of the building, he peeked his head out to survey the area, then gestured for them to co. The four of them followed him with quick steps.
Entering an alley and sticking to the building wall again, he cautiously opened the lid of a trash can. "Be careful. There might be a trap set by the Priests."
irin looked incredulous. "In a trash can?"
Seiwyr moved around distractedly, picking up fallen trash and discarded clothes, and opened anything that had a lid. Dick, proclaiming himself his ardent assistant, followed behind and did the sa.
"I’m starting to feel a bit disillusioned," irin said, sitting on her haunches and picking up a piece of trash with her index and thumb. "Securing the Saintess candidate is the top priority, right? Instead of wasting ti on this nonsense, we should just go straight to the destination and—"
"Found it."
When Seiwyr opened the lid of the trash can, there was indeed a pure white holy magic circle drawn inside.
"Huh? It’s really there? In a trash can?" As irin approached with a surprised face, Seiwyr shouted.
"Be careful!"
Suddenly, a holy bullet shot out from the magic circle in the trash can with a thump.
"Whoa!"
The mont she stumbled in surprise, Seiwyr leaped in front of her like a painting and blocked it with a defensive magic circle.
"Be careful," Seiwyr said. The holy bullet didn’t disappear even after hitting the defensive magic circle; it wriggled as if it were a living creature. "It seems to be a white magic with a will of its own. There might be a high-ranking Priest among the enemy."
Seiwyr spread his palm. "Let’s seal it."
An arm of Jet-Black shot out from the magic circle, grabbed the divinity, pulled it into the magic circle, and then disappeared with a clang.
"Are you alright, Agent irin?" he said, offering his hand to the fallen irin. She nodded and took his hand to get up.
"S-Sorry."
"It’s alright. Mistakes can happen. However, from now on, I hope you will follow my instructions more thoroughly."
Seiwyr and Dick went ahead again, and Kamibarez and Simon approached her.
"Are you okay, irin?"
"Ah, yeah." She let out an embarrassed laugh. "H-He really is an amazing person... I guess?"
"He was chosen as a ntor by Kizen, so he must be amazing!"
While the two girls were talking, Simon wore a serious expression.
’I couldn’t react at all.’
To be precise, he hadn’t even felt the divinity flying toward him before he could react.
’...I thought my ability to sense divinity had improved after my lessons with Professor Parahan.’
Simon walked on with a sense of doubt. Seiwyr was taking an incredibly roundabout route. He would enter another alley, claiming to have found traces of Priests, or point at a passerby and say they might be a Priest, then take a long detour.
Eventually, they found their destination: a single house where the Saintess candidate girl lived.
"From here, we must break through head-on," Seiwyr said in a heavy voice, like a commander before a war. "The Priests will undoubtedly attack. I will handle both offense and defense alone, so you all just look ahead and move to the destination. Are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"Powerful white magic might co flying. Keep your bodies as low as possible, cover your heads, and run. Now then."
Seiwyr left the alley. "Run!"
With Dick in the lead, irin, Kamibarez, and Simon ran out in that order. The street was empty, and it was a straight path to the girl’s house.
"Huh? What, this is a piece of cake."
No sooner had Dick uttered those words...
’Boooom!’
The attack truly began. A dazzling flash erupted in the sky, and holy projectiles began to bombard the ground indiscriminately.
"Aaaaaah!"
The team mbers gasped, covered their heads, and ran. The sight of the holy projectiles raining down was like a teor shower.
"Not a chance!"
And Seiwyr’s performance began. He appeared, his long sleeves fluttering. "I won’t let you lay a hand on my juniors!"
Seiwyr’s movents were nothing short of spectacular. He would appear next to the students who were running with their bodies hunched over, deploying a defensive magic circle to block the holy cannonballs, or send Priests charging from the alleys flying with a single gesture.
"Keep running straight ahead!"
When he swung his arm, the ground rose up like a wall to block the holy bombardnt. Magic circles containing ‘Exorcism’ appeared all over the sky, but they were thwarted by a single gesture from him and scattered into the air.
"Wow, wow! This is insane! Agent Seiwyr must be at least as strong as a Kizen professor!" Dick was so happy his mouth was about to split. irin and Kamibarez were too busy running with their heads down to notice.
Simon, who was running at the very back while looking after his teammates, blinked with a face devoid of any tension.
’This is supposed to be an incredibly dangerous situation. Why do I feel no tension at all?’
An unnerving calm settled over him, so profound he wondered if sothing was wrong with him. It felt more like he was out for a neighborhood jog than on a battlefield.
"We’re here!" Dick ran up and grabbed the doorknob. "It’s locked!"
"Move, commoner!" irin created a magic circle on her palm, froze part of the door, and then shattered it with a kick. The four of them imdiately rushed inside.
"I-I don’t think anyone’s here."
It was an incredibly old and shabby house. The four of them split up and searched the house, but it was already empty. Just then, Seiwyr’s voice ca from beyond the window.
"Hahaha! Running away with your tails between your legs! Realize the greatness of , Seiwyr, the strongest necromancer of Vengeance!"
After shouting in a theatrical tone, he leisurely walked into the house. "The target?"
"I don’t think she’s here."
The mont he heard the report, Simon saw Seiwyr’s expression turn genuinely flustered for the first ti.
"N-Not here? That can’t be..."
Dick quickly said, "She was already kidnapped by the Priests! It must be! There were so many of them attacking us just now!"
But Seiwyr seed too stunned to even answer.
"Agent Seiwyr?"
"Ah, um! It’s nothing." Seiwyr quickly lifted his head and said, "I will chase the fleeing Priests. You agents, please conduct an investigation and find out where the girl went."
irin took a step forward. "Agent? The circumstances make it obvious she was kidnapped by the Priests. Wouldn’t it be better if we all chased after them together?"
"Absolutely not...! Ahem, I am sufficient to chase the Priests alone, so please follow my instructions here."
Seiwyr left only those words and ran outside. The four of them were left standing there.
’Hmm.’
Simon peeked outside. Despite the holy bombardnt and chaos, the town scenery was strangely peaceful.
"Haaah, I don’t get it, but a ntor’s orders are absolute." irin crossed her arms. "Let’s split up and investigate, just like the agent said."
"Okay! What was that girl’s na again?"
"Sasha."
The three of them split up to gather information.
"Simon?" Kamibarez, who was about to leave the house, looked back.
Simon waved with a smile. "I’m going to search this house a little more."
"Ah, okay!"
After Kamibarez left, Simon leisurely investigated the house.
[Bwahaha! How absurd!] Pier’s voice echoed in his head. [Even you must have figured out that Seiwyr fellow is a clown, boy?]
’I have a feeling, but no concrete proof yet.’
What was bothering Simon now was sothing else. He recalled Seiwyr’s face, which had shown undisguised panic and dismay when he heard the girl was gone.
’Whatever is going on, this mission seems real. For now, let’s focus on this job.’
[Hehehe! It’s good to save the fancy cake for later!]
For now, finding the Saintess candidate was the top priority.
Simon searched the house from top to bottom, looking for anything that could be a clue. ’Leaves?’
Along with strands of hair, there were many leaves and twigs scattered about, even though they were indoors. There were also worn-out clothes and a teddy bear with one eye missing. It was a shabby house where the wind whistled through the cracks. He was able to gather a lot of information. The girl who lived here was poor. She lived alone, without parents. However, there were traces of soone else coming and going.
As he looked around, Simon headed toward the storage room. The door was locked. "Overlord. Please."
’Bang!’
A tentacle blade shot out from thin air and shattered the door. Simon stepped inside, his eyes widening in shock.
Simon’s expression grew cold. [What is it, boy?]
Simon opened a burlap sack that looked like it had been tossed in a corner. Inside were various syringes and strange vials. ’What in the world happened in this house?’
"Simon!"
Just then, he heard Kamibarez’s voice. As Simon ca out toward the living room, she was pressed against the window. "Co here for a second! irin found an important clue!"
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