Part 1
Before Diablo got to know the flower vendor, on Lifelia calendar Year 165, January 6──
3 pm.
The clock tower bell rang.
The grounds of the royal capital Magic Academy was vast.
The school building that was called by the nickname the 《Blue Brick》 was a new building that was made with white stone pillars and blue bricks.
In one of the several school buildings──the First Year, Class F that was on the first floor of the middle school building.
The seat by the window furthest to the back of that classroom was Horun’s seat.
The division of students was done by grades, with A being the honor students, and the F class being called the class of failures.
Since Horun enrolled in the middle of the year, and had almost never studied magic until then, her ability as a Magician was of the lowest class.
She was actually level 80 as a 《Thief》 but......she had promised with her guardian, Lumachina, that she would keep that hidden.
At the end of today’s lesson, the glasses-wearing female teacher told them a message.
「Today, it has been confirmed that we have become unable to get in touch with several students. It is a situation where we do not know their whereabouts.」
The students made a fuss and were exchanging whispers inside the classroom.
Catching only the beneficial information from the noise was one of a Thief’s basic abilities. She had unconsciously started doing that.
It seemed that a girl from the High School Second Year Class A, and two senpais from the Third Year Class A had gone missing.
──Three people.
On top of Horun’s desk, a palm-size small young lady was using a pencil box in place of a chair and crossed her legs.
『With this, isn’t it ten people? Isn’t this school like totally dangerous? Like seriously～』
Her name is Babylon.
She described herself as a Goddess that governed over the leveling up of another world.
If Diablo were to see her, he surely would have noticed that she had an outfit that looked like that of a female high-school student of his original world.
However, Babylon’s figure could only be seen by Horun who was the owner of the 《Holy Grail》. Even her voice couldn’t be heard by other people.
Horun nodded.
She thought that there was most likely some sort of trouble going on. Ten people that were nothing but female students had gone missing.
Starting from the end of last year and going through the long vacation of the New Year’s holiday, there were three people altogether that had gone missing by the first day of the new term.
Did that mean that they went missing during the consecutive holidays?
*Pan pan!* The female teacher overbearingly clapped her hands.
「Quiet! Everyone, even if you are on campus grounds, be sure that you do not act alone. Do you understand?」
They had uniformly said 「Yeーs」, but there were probably a few students that wouldn’t do as they were told.
Horun was one of them.
After the teacher left the classroom and they had dispersed, she headed to the door without going together with anyone.
A passage between school buildings──
Horun was heading to a separate building alone.
Strictly speaking, the Holy Grail was within the bag that she held, but Babylon was sitting on her shoulder.
『Heyー, heyー, Horun-chan, the kidnapper, what kinda person do ya think they are?』
「......Is it really a kidnapping -ssu ka ne?」
Since the people around her couldn’t see Babylon, she would seem like she was talking to herself when she conversed with Babylon.
So that she wouldn’t be misunderstood as being gloomy, Horun would talk with a low voice that only Babylon who was riding her shoulder could hear without moving her lips.
Since she was a talkative one, she practiced and learned how to do it.
『It’s totally a kidnapping! Although I don’t know the three from today～, but the seven from before didn’t even leave any notes behind, and it’s said that there weren’t any kids that they consulted their troubles to.』
「......There is that sort of rumor -ssu ne.」
There were a lot of students, but even so, it was a closed world.
Especially rumors like this that had a criminal nature would rush about in no time at all.
That they run away, but were kidnapped.
『Totally an incident♪ Totally an incident♪』
Why did Babylon sound like she was enjoying this?
「......I just want to focus on my magic studies though -sukedo nee.」
『Don’t you not have the aptitude for it?』
「I want you to stop that -ssu! There’s still no telling that you know -ssu yo!?」
Since she had unintentionally made a loud voice, the other students passing by in the passage made surprised faces.
Going *Awawa......*, Horun quickened her step so as to run away.
Babylon roared with laughter.
『That face! It’s super hilarious!』
「......This curse, just when will it be broken -su ka ne?」
『I’m totally not something like a curseー. I’m the Goddess of the Holy Grail -poyo.』
「Is the effective time permanent?」
Horun breathed a sigh.
Babylon narrowed her eyes.
『I am the type that would go on to other places if you were to part with the Holy Grail though.』
「......I still haven’t gotten you to level me up -ssu.」
『That’s trueー. It would also be way too boring to wait for the next owner, right? So this is something like a Win-Win thing?』
Babylon had the ability to level up the owner of the Holy Grail just once.
For her to do that, she would need two liters of a maiden’s blood.
If her memories were correct, Horun was inexperienced but......two liters of blood was a lethal dose. That being said, there was no way she could sacrifice someone.
However, it was too valuable to let go of.
As a result, she was being haunted by Babylon even now.
She paid a visit to the staff building.
In this Royal Capital Magic Academy, a staff room that bundled up the teachers did not exist.
The teachers were excellent Magicians, as well as researchers of magic. Each of them possessed rooms that acted as their hermitages.
First, she paid a visit to her homeroom teacher’s laboratory but......
「Is she not here -ssu ka ne.」
『Do you have some sort of business with that annoying four-eyesー?』
「......I want to investigate the matter of the students that went missing -ssu. I wouldn’t be able to calm down and do my magic studies after all -ssu kara.」
『What a pain. Wouldn’t it be fine to just leave it to something like the police?』
Poliisu?
Babylon sometimes spoke words that she didn’t understand.
She had a bad way of speaking even without that though.
「......I don’t see any Adventurers, and it looks like the State Knights have done investigations several times, but it looks like they can’t make a resolution -ssu.」
『Downerー』
「According to the rumors, at the old school building......ah......」
Horun approached the end of the hallway.
The old woman that came walking over was someone that she had met only once in the interview before her enrollment.
She was the Headmaster of this Magic Academy.
That old woman stopped in front of Horun.
「You are......」
「H, hello -ssu.」
『Wassup!』
Taking advantage of the fact that she couldn’t be seen or heard, Babylon made a greeting filled with contempt.
The Headmaster readjusted her monocle.
「If I remember correctly, you were Horun-san, correct? Did you have a question for a teacher?」
She had a hoarse voice, but she had a clear pronunciation.
Horun had thought about deceiving her with something suitable, but this was perfect. She decided to discuss the matter with the Headmaster.
「Erm......I, have been worried about the going missing trouble......I’d like to examine the list of names -ssu. But, I would need sensei’s permission for that -ssu kara.」
「You’re investigating the incident?」
「Ahー......」
What in the world is a mere student saying──would she think that?
Going “I want to investigate if there is an incident” was the trait of an Adventurer.
Horun had just turned thirteen years old, and she was currently a student of the Magic Academy, but before this, she was an Adventurer. Protecting the people of the Races from all sorts of wonders was what an Adventurer did.
The Headmaster nodded.
「Come with me.」
「Eh?」
She was beckoned over.
The place she was accompanied to, was the Headmaster’s room.
Part 2
The room was more modest than she thought it would be.
There were no extravagant fixtures, and although it was wide, there wasn’t that big of a difference from a student dormitory room. The Headmaster’s desk was large, and difficult-looking books lined the wall of bookshelves.
The Headmaster sat down on an oak chair.
Putting both of her elbows on the desk, she put her fingers together.
「In regards to this recent incident, just how much have you investigated so far?」
「There were seven people at the end of the year, and three people today. It’s most likely a kidnapping, and the reason to think that is──there were neither any notes left behind, nor any friends that received any consultations that would cause them to run away......it’s because there were those kinds of rumors -ssu. Also, there were stories that they were seen going to the old school building -ssu kedo.」
The old school building that was currently not being used was securely locked. It wasn’t possible to enter it without a teacher’s permission.
「The State Knight gentlemen are investigating the old school building as well.」
「I believed that they were -su kedo.」
On the contrary, every nook and cranny of the academy’s premises should have been investigated.
However, they haven’t found anything.
Horun spoke.
「But, I haven’t examined anything yet.」
The Headmaster made a face like she found it surprising.
「I see......I have heard a bit about your circumstances from your guardian.」
「Ah......」
「I haven’t told this to anyone else but......Horun-san, you are actually a famed Adventurer, aren’t you?」
Famed!?
She had thought about denying it, but it was probably better to leave the misunderstanding for now.
「Yes -ssu.」
「Saving a western town from the Demon King army, and playing a large role in the fight to correct the Church’s corruption──that is what I have heard.」
「Well, I did fight against Holy Knights -ssu ne.」
Going *Pupupu......*, Babylon laughed.
『All you did was run around. And you were even totally cut down.』
「......」
Horun blushed.
The Headmaster cast her eyes down.
「In truth, the problem within the academy that the teachers and I should be resolving but......could you please lend us a hand?」
「Please leave it to me -ssu!」
Remembering the time she accepted quests when she was an Adventurer, Horun felt a light exhilaration.
If the Headmaster gave her permission, then surely the investigation be easier to do.
She held out a key.
「This is the Magic Academy’s master key. If there is a place that you can’t enter even with that that you need to investigate, then come and consult me again.」
It meant that she would even prepare a cooperative worker for the investigation.
Horun undertook the matter of solving the case.
Going *Waa!*, Babylon increased in tension.
『It’s that, isn’t it!? It’s that there is always only something truth thing and that type of thing where they put out the name, isn’t it!? This tension increase is totally cray-cray.』
──I don’t know what she’s talking about, but I’d really like for her to stop saying such dangerous remarks -ssu!
From behind, bloodlust!?
Horun turned around at that unpleasant presence.
「ッ!?」
The door to the Headmaster’s room was opened by someone.
To think they wouldn’t even knock!
She put herself on guard.
What came in was a blond man wearing a deep red long coat. His ears were long, and he had a slender face. So he was an Elf.
He glared with his dull blue eyes.
「You’re the top of the Magic Academy, right?」
The Headmaster narrowed her eyes.
Inside her monocle, her golden eyes shone.
「And who might you be? I should not have had any plans for visitors though.」
「I am a Royal Palace Knight──Thanatos the Immortal.」
Horun’s body froze up.
A Royal Palace Knight!
When she had just come to the royal capital, there was only one time where she came into contact with one.
At that time, she had her eyes fixed upon the parade and hadn’t noticed him but......later she was told by Alicia that they were a dangerous bunch. Rem said that even the ones that killed the people of the Cardinal Institute were Royal Palace Knights.
Thanatos sent his gaze around the room.
「A wicked magical power has filled this whole area......I have come to investigate that.」
「And by whose order? The Magic Academy has an autonomous......」
「I don’t know. If you have a complaint, then report it to His Majesty. We Royal Palace Knights have been given plenipotentiary powers for the sake of eliminating anyone that would do the kingdom wrong. In other words, it means that this is the same as His Majesty’s order. If someone is going to stand in the way, I will show them no mercy no matter who they are.」
「I see. Very well......I give you permission to do an investigation within the campus. In exchange, I will be making a report to His Majesty if there are any outrageous deeds that are done.」
「Do not get in my way. Make sure that you tell that to your subordinates as well.」
He had a high-handed attitude.
The man had a black-lacquered long sword hanging on his waist. As if to show that off, it was only after he flourished his coat did he turn his back to her.
Saying only what he wanted to say, Thanatos left the Headmaster’s room.
The door was closed.
『That super pissed me off, and made me want to super slug him in the face! Like totally seriously!』
Babylon was going *shuu shuu* punching out her fists. Left, left, right.
Horun shrugged her shoulders.
「If the incident is going to be resolved, then it doesn’t really matter who it’s done by though -su kedo ne. At this rate, it feels like the number of incident will increase -ssu.」
The Headmaster agreed.
「That’s true......But, it is true that wicked magical power has sprung forth within this academy. It’s been skillfully concealed so we can’t tell its origin though.」
「Even for you, Headmaster -ssu ka?」
「To pinpoint it, it seems like it would take me a bit of time.」
「That magical power is connected to this incident......And if even the culprit were to be aware that they were eventually going to be pinpointed......」
Would that mean that it was already at a point where not much time was needed anymore?
It seemed that it would be better to hurry the investigation.
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