73. Witch Hunt (4)
73. Witch Hunt (4)
"There, there, don't be scared. Tell me what brought you here."
Reni asked Elisa in a gentle voice, as if soothing a child. Perhaps relieved because I had deliberately stayed far enough away to remain out of sight, Elisa slowly began explaining why she had come.
"U-um... th-this..."
Elisa took a small box from her bosom and held it out to Reni. Reni carefully accepted the box and opened the lid. I couldn't see what was inside from my position because the lid blocked my view, but the change in Reni's expression suggested it was dangerous. She snapped the lid shut, looked at Elisa, and asked,
"Where did you get this? No, where did you find it?"
"Um, it was found in a lecture hall near the dining hall..."
The Magic Department? She said the Magic Department?
"Reni, show it to me too."
"What?"
"Quickly!"
There was no time to waste. I strode over to Reni and examined the contents of the box. A kris? It looked like a miniature replica of a dagger with a distinctive wavy blade. The blade, about the size of a keychain, radiated an unmistakably ominous light. Someone had left it deliberately conspicuous.
Huh. Did they actually have at least some conscience?
They had thrown me a clue like this.
I didn't know what bastard had transmigrated me, but apparently they hadn't intended to abandon me in a barren wasteland without any guidance. Elisa had brought a tiny model dagger left at the last known location of the people who disappeared during the Demon Summoning Incident. According to veteran players who had combed through and analyzed every line of text in the game, it was a kind of boast.
A boast that said, 'Even if I do this, you can't catch me.'
But the truth was, in the game's story, you really couldn't stop it. That was what made it so unsettling. Ultimately, the witch the player captured was, at best, just cleaning up after the fact.
Could I solve here what the game itself had failed to resolve? Without the ability to save and reload?
"Where did you find this?"
Where was the first discovery site? If my memory served, the first missing person was in the Magic Department—
"I-I felt an ominous presence in a lecture hall near the dining hall and went to check, and it was lying in the corner... ha... haah..."
"Are you all right? Here, take deep breaths. One, two, one, two..."
...No, that wasn't right. It definitely hadn't been near the dining hall. The lecture halls there were used by General Studies. I took back what I had said about having a conscience. Whoever made the True Ending had apparently thrown theirs away ages ago.
They had quietly raised my hopes only to snatch them away. Was this what they called false hope?
Son of a bitch.
"Yohan, what's gotten into you? This isn't like you. Elisa's scared, so stay ten meters away again."
"Got it."
"Yohan looks like he's being punished!"
Don't tell such a sad story. I gently turned Millia's head aside as she leaned against me, then listened to the two of them.
"I understand that you found this ominous object. But why bring it to us? You could have reported it to the Guard."
Reni had a point. The Guard was responsible for security not only in Kalon Academy but throughout the city of Kalon. Why had Elisa come to us when an elite security force renowned across the continent existed? They should have been able to handle it easily.
...No, that wasn't right.
Even in the original, the Guard—whether from dereliction of duty or sheer incompetence—had never managed to catch the one who created the witch.
"W-well... I told the Guard, but they said an incident had broken out on the outskirts of Kalon and they didn't have enough people to investigate, so this would probably be pushed back... I-I also asked a professor, and they told me to try speaking with Reni... so I came here."
An incident had broken out on the city's outskirts? Had something happened at this point in the story? My memories were hazy. It was almost miraculous that I remembered as much as I did, so perhaps the smaller details were simply gone. Still, if it had been a major incident, something should have come vaguely to mind.
Perhaps the complications from the Hellhound Incident had created a butterfly effect and changed the course of events.
"So that's why you came to us..."
Reni lowered her head and tapped the desk with her fingers. She seemed lost in thought, probably considering how to handle this. Declining outright felt too unsettling, but accepting was awkward since this wasn't our jurisdiction to begin with. Still, I had to get involved in this case one way or another.
Because I had to befriend the witch.
I still had no idea why I was supposed to befriend her. Maybe I was meant to uncover the mastermind instead of killing her after saying, 'Am I too late...?' as in the original. And that mastermind was connected to the True Ending?
No. Enough idle speculation for now. Right now, convincing Reni was more important.
"Reni. Let's resolve this incident ourselves."
"Us? All of a sudden? We have to look after Saintess Karina. We're her Escort Knights."
"She hasn't woken yet, so we can afford to look away for a moment. Besides... don't you think it's strange that this happened at exactly this time?"
At my words, Reni folded her arms and closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and nodded in agreement.
"Now that you mention it, you're right. The Guard happens to be away from the academy, and then a strange object that is obviously cursed gets left behind?"
"Y-yes, I-I also thought it was suspicious, so..."
"Then investigate with Elisa. I'll inform the Guard and get back to work."
Fortunately, Reni seemed convinced. If she had refused, things could have become extremely complicated. Millia, who had been listening beside us, suddenly shouted as if unable to stay quiet any longer.
"I'll help too!"
"...Help how?"
"Uh... I'm good at finding things!"
"It could be dangerous."
"It's fine! If it gets dangerous, I'll run away immediately!"
Could she run away...? Millia wasn't much of a fighter, so I wasn't sure she could escape properly in an emergency. Perhaps my doubt showed on my face, because—
"I won't make you worry. I want to help too..."
Millia grabbed my sleeve and looked up at me with watery eyes.
Don't look at me like that. My resolve was weakening.
"...If I tell you to run, run immediately."
"Okay! Got it! Thank you! Yohan's the best!"
I told you not to cling to me.
---------------------------------
"I'll go to the Guard office and speak with them, so you two investigate where that dagger was found."
"Got it."
I saw Reni off at the main gate of Dawn Hall and headed toward the lecture halls. Millia was, of course, stuck to my side, while Elisa followed so far behind that it was difficult to tell whether she was part of our group or a stalker.
No—could you even call this being together?
She was following almost ten meters behind, and passersby were staring at her as if she were deeply suspicious. At that rate, someone might report her to the Guard.
...But if I approached her, she'd panic. That was its own problem.
Sigh. Why on earth was she like this toward me? Once we became a little closer, I would ask why she reacted that way. If it truly was only my face, I might genuinely cry. I couldn't exactly claim to be popular with women, but I wasn't hideous either.
"Yohan, she got caught."
"N-no! I-I'm with them... I'm part of their group..."
"Why is a member of your group trailing ten meters behind?"
At the question from the person who appeared to be a guard, Elisa hemmed and hawed, looked at me, flinched in alarm and averted her eyes—and repeated that sequence twice.
To anyone watching, she looked like a yandere who had been caught stalking me and secretly wanted my help but was too embarrassed to ask. Her gloomy air only made the impression stronger.
"She's... with me."
Polite speech really didn't roll off my tongue.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"It's true! She was on her way to the lecture hall with us!"
With Millia backing me up, the guard looked doubtful, then sighed and said,
"You don't appear to be lying, so I'll take your word for it. But I've never seen you before... What is your affiliation?"
"Dawn Hall. I'm Saintess Karina's Escort Knight."
What? Why? What? Why was he looking at me with such distrust? Did he want me to split his head open with my shovel? Why did everyone glare at me? It was irritating.
"Do you have your identification badge?"
I took my identification badge from inside my clothes and showed it to the guard. After examining it, he addressed me with an apologetic look.
"Ah... you're the knight who was recently appointed. My apologies for not recognizing you."
"...No... It's fine."
The two office workers finished their mutual apology routine, and the guard left to resume his patrol.
Good grief.
"Elisa. Walk closer to us."
"Ah, uhm, well."
"Isn't it enough if you just don't look at his face?"
"It's... not his face..."
Not my face? I looked at Elisa. If it wasn't my face, what had made her wet herself?
I really couldn't figure it out.
I sent a glance demanding an answer, but Elisa didn't reply, refusing to meet my eyes. Or rather—should I say she couldn't.
...Sigh. I should hurry up and investigate.
We hurried to the lecture hall, only to be greeted by a door bearing a notice that read: Off-limits.
"Off-limits?"
Had an incident occurred in the meantime?
"We can't go in?"
"It's for an investigation, so surely we can enter."
"No."
At the voice that suddenly interrupted, I turned toward the speaker.
...The Guard?
A stocky, cynical-looking middle-aged man in a Guard uniform glared at me as if I were a criminal and spat out,
"Go back. No one but the Guard may enter. That applies even to the Saintess's Escort Knight. This is... our territory."
...Who was this guy now?