Tailed (1)
Wherever people made their homes on the Kempf-Litton Continent, a temple was sure to be found.
They were, quite literally, places to worship the gods; had those celestial beings not intervened in the continent's pivotal crises, humanity would have been wiped out long ago. Judges, Arbiters, Guides—mortals bestowed fitting titles upon each deity according to the duties they carried out.
And now, the highest among them had delivered an oracle.
Starlight plummeted from the direction of two constellations, carving a clock-shaped array into the temple floor before its solitary hand began to turn to the left. This was unquestionably no mortal drawing or ordinary magic circle.
"A clock forged of starlight...?"
"It can't be... An oracle...!"
"Quickly, inform the others! The Constellation has granted an oracle!!"
What did this single hand signify? For what reason did it turn in reverse, swinging left instead of its proper clockwise path? And what did it mean when the hand froze at regular, deliberate intervals? Everyone in the temple gathered as one, urgently striving to decipher the grave event that was a Constellation's oracle.
After a brief five-day winter break, Lebrant Academy welcomed the new semester as the student body advanced a grade. A whole year had slipped by, winter had crested, and everyone had moved up one step. Current students bustling to greet prospective juniors fresh out of orientation, starry-eyed freshmen brimming with anticipation, and visiting parents mingled together, making the campus grounds livelier than ever.
The faculty and hired laborers were just as frantic. It was a hectic season when the administrative staff tasked with receiving entrants from the empire saw their duties redouble. Amid all this commotion, I needed to make preparations to intercept the surprise attack of magical beasts that would strike during the Start-of-Semester Evaluation.
"Thank you so much, dear. Today of all days, we were dreadfully short on hands."
"Don't mention it. I'm just glad I could help."
Whenever the academy reached peak chaos like this, odd jobs were frequently outsourced to the students. At best, it amounted to part-time gigs or day labor like hauling cargo, but this was the sole window of time when a student could legitimately earn extra coin. And right now, I was in dire need of cash.
"You did wonderful work. Thanks to you, today's chores are all wrapped up. Would you like something cold to drink?"
The cafeteria auntie offered me a refreshing drink as I wiped away the sweat from hauling piles of incoming ingredients.
"You can speak casually with me, ma'am. I'm just an underclassman, after all."
"Should I? Oh, goodness, look at my head. The work is done, so I have to pay you!"
She hurried into the back of the kitchen and promptly reemerged, holding out several ten-Alte notes tied with twine alongside a pouch jingling with dozens of coins. However, having no intention of accepting the full sum, I handed back everything except four of the paper bills.
"This is more than enough."
"Now, wait just a minute, dear. You worked so hard; I'd feel terribly guilty if you only took that much."
"It's really fine. I eat the wonderful meals you prepare with fresh ingredients every single day. This is plenty."
"Aigoo, listen to how sweetly you speak... Honestly, you're around my son's age, so I just want to look out for you. No, I insist! Take it all!"
The auntie stubbornly brushed aside my protests until I had finished my drink, pressing every last coin and bill into my hands.
I really don't need this much, though.
Hauling all those heavy food crates had certainly worked up a sweat, but this pay far exceeded an entire week's worth of meals. I needed this money for a single purpose: to neutralize the magical beasts that would launch an ambush from the contaminated underground waterways during the Start-of-Semester Evaluation. Still, thanks to her overwhelming generosity, I now had enough to purchase the sacks of herbs I needed with plenty left over.
Might as well hold onto it.
Keep it saved, and an opportunity to spend it would surely arise. Simply emptying two or three bulk sacks of the herb into the waterways would noticeably weaken the creatures. While I couldn't guarantee there would be zero casualties, my memories of the previous timeline assured me that this preventative measure was the right one.
Tucking the money securely into my pocket, I set off to purchase the sacks of herbs. But just as my footsteps receded from the cafeteria, another set approached.
"Excuse me, hello. Is there, by any chance, any work I could help with?"
Another female student, her hair tied back in a reddish-brown ponytail, was also wandering about at this hour, searching for work.
No good.
Michel had scoured every corner for work, but not a single job suited her abilities. It would have been ideal if there were tasks requiring magic, but regrettably, fire elemental magic saw surprisingly low day-to-day demand. At best, she could contribute her talent to crafting magical objects, but that discipline demanded an understanding of the intricate field of magitechnical engineering.
Engraving artifacts required a similar academic background, and when she inquired about alchemy, she was turned away on the grounds that she had never attended any lectures on the subject. Nor had she conditioned her physical body like a vanguard, making it impossible to jump into manual construction labor. Quite literally, there was nothing she could do. She could only bury her face in her hands and let out a weary sigh.
If only I could earn enough to cover the cryogenic stasis device's maintenance fees until my early graduation is approved this semester...
At a time when she needed to scrape together whatever coin she could, being so utterly powerless was infuriating.
Still, I can't give up.
If she kept searching until the end, maybe she would stumble upon something manageable. It was an exceptionally busy period for everyone, after all. Shaking off her despondency with a surge of optimism, Michel brushed off her skirt and rose from the bench—only for her gaze to catch on a passing figure.
"Can you carry all that? Want me to lend you a handcart?"
"I'm fine, thank you. I'll take them one by one."
In the broad daylight of an open street, there was no way that jet-black hair could go unnoticed. Recognizing the distinctive shade Senia had described, Michel immediately realized it was Junon.
Wait... what is he hauling?
He was carrying large, tightly wrapped burlap sacks, transporting them somewhere one at a time. Curiosity piqued, Michel decided to quietly shadow Junon as he hoisted a sack onto his shoulder.
"Hup. Whew... this is heavier than I thought."
Junon hauled the first sack into the entrance of the underground waterway. Perhaps because it was an infrequently requested herb, the merchant had stuffed it to bursting. He muttered a quiet complaint, lamenting that fetching the remaining two would drain the rest of his stamina.
"Well, nothing to be done about it."
He sat down on a flat stone just outside the canal entrance to catch his breath. What puzzled Michel above all was the sack itself.
Just what could be inside that...?
After working hard to earn cash, all he bought were three bulky sacks. When there were so many useful things to spend money on, why purchase that? What was more, the location he had brought it to was bizarre. It was a dank, dreary drainage conduit trickling with foul runoff. A suffocating stench and thick, viscous muck coated the area so thoroughly that it was impossible to tell when it had last been cleaned; the sheer sight of it made her skin crawl. Did that sack have some connection to this vile place? And was Junon aware of it?
He's moving...!
Having caught his breath, Junon set off to fetch the next sack. Seizing the moment, Michel darted forward and untied the bindings.
"What in the world...?"
The interior was packed entirely with pale white powder and crushed leaves. What possible purpose could these contents serve in such a filthy canal? She pinched a small handful of the dust and brought it to her nose. A distinct aroma wafted up, allowing Michel to identify it almost instantly.
"Mistelis leaves...? Then this is a purifying agent, isn't it?"
The leaves and white powder were harvested from an herb renowned for cleansing impurities and dark contamination. To test whether any other substances had been mixed in, she ignited a speck with a flicker of magic; the unique fragrance vanished, and the powder turned ashen, hardening into a solid pebble. She tested a leaf as well, but it yielded an identical reaction, proving that no extraneous compounds had been added.
Just what did he intend to do with this?
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps echoed once again. He had returned with the next sack far quicker than before.
I-I'm going to get caught!!
Michel hurriedly tied the sack back into its original shape and ducked into hiding.
One sack, two sacks, and finally a third. Deep within the underground waterway, the rustle of powder and leaves being dumped out could be heard until Junon emerged, carrying the emptied burlap. Clutching the discarded sacks, he quietly walked away from the drainage canal.
A purifying agent...? In a drainage canal...? What could possibly link them together...?
According to Senia's deduction, Junon was also the one who had left Sylvia behind after rescuing her that day. It was an accomplishment well worth boasting about, yet he had concealed it entirely, keeping his silence. With his actions growing increasingly suspicious in every regard, Michel felt she needed to keep an even closer watch on him.
Having scattered every last ounce of the three sacks of purifying powder and leaves throughout the drainage channels, the preparations were complete. All that remained was seeing whether the disaster would unfold during the Joint Practical Training of the Start-of-Semester Evaluation. Unless someone deliberately went down there to meddle with things, it was safe to assume my intervention would hold.
However, my gaze suddenly snagged on an anomalous object.
"Hm?"
A handkerchief lay on the ground. I never carried a handkerchief to begin with... so why was this lying here? This was hardly a spot where such a pristine piece of cloth should turn up. The path behind me led straight into the underground drainage tunnels, making it a deserted, secluded route.
Had someone come down here to clean? The canal was far too foul for that to make any sense. Had a passerby decided they didn't need it and tossed it aside? Why would anyone go out of their way to step into such a filthy, muddy ditch just to discard a handkerchief? Could the wind have carried it in by chance? Absolutely not. No matter how light a handkerchief was, an item of this mass wouldn't simply float here unless someone forced it with wind magic or a gale swept through.
Not a single hypothesis held water.
Which meant only one thing: someone had tailed me.
A chill just ran down my spine.
Whoever was tracking my movements, it would be disastrous if they interfered. I needed to double-check if I had overlooked anything inside the waterway. Pivoting on my heel to retrace my steps, I rounded the stone corner—
Smack!
"Ah?"
Something firm slammed directly into my chest, followed by the dull thud of someone hitting the ground and a flustered female gasp. The person who had just tumbled onto her backside was undoubtedly the one who had been trailing and watching me.
And yet...
"Ow, ow, ow..."
Why was an all-too-familiar reddish-brown ponytail greeting my eyes?
Wondering if I was hallucinating, I blinked several times. No... I definitely wasn't seeing things. After inhaling the stench of rot while dumping sacks of herb powder, there was no way this was a dream. Then... why?
Why? Why the hell are you here?
"S-Sorry. Um, the thing is..."
Why would you tail me, someone you're supposed to have zero connection with?
"If I asked you to pretend you didn't see anything... that wouldn't work, would it...? Haha..."
Michel, why did you have to witness this?
The very person I had been certain I would never cross paths with again had just been caught red-handed stalking me.