Chapter 20 : Fastening the First Button (3)

Chapter 20: Fastening the First Button (3)

“Do not move.”

Lancia warned in a solemn voice, glaring at the man who had suddenly appeared.

Her hand rested on the hilt of her sword, ready to draw it at any moment.

“I am Lancia Jintia of Crooks, Arpentia Academy.”

Even as she sincerely stated her name and affiliation, she never once took her eyes off the man in front of her.

“At present, you are considered to be engaging in threatening conduct toward us, and I believe you are closely related to the situation we are currently facing. In accordance with school regulations and doctrine, you are hereby designated as a potential enemy, and I am notifying you that, if necessary, physical measures may be taken against you.”

With those words, Lancia slowly drew her sword—still in its sheath.

Because of doctrine, she could not recklessly use a naked blade against someone whose identity was unknown.

It was well known that Holy Knights and Holy Knight candidates prepared their swords so that the sheathed blade could be used as a blunt weapon in situations like this.

“Either lift your hood and show your face, or leave this place at once. If not, I advise you not to move until we have left—”

Before she could even finish, the man rushed toward them.

The motion flung his robe back, revealing his face.

I couldn’t help but frown.

‘He’s not in his right mind.’

His pupils were unfocused, and drool dripped from his gaping mouth.

Above all, the strange pattern carved into his forehead and the ominous energy emanating from it made it obvious to anyone that he was not in a normal state.

“I told you to stop!”

Lancia stepped forward as if to shield me, closing the distance in a few quick strides.

In that instant, as though waiting for her to move, about five or six people suddenly sprang out from different spots along the street.

All of them wore the same robe, each with a pattern carved into their forehead.

Their vacant eyes and dazed expressions were identical to the first man’s.

In their hands, they held ordinary objects—things you could find anywhere—but each was more than capable of being used as a deadly weapon.

‘She’s not actually going to pretend to struggle against these guys, is she?’

Fortunately, my worry was unfounded.

Even though the number of attackers had suddenly increased, Lancia showed no sign of panic or hesitation.

Calmly, she struck the arms, legs, and shoulders of the charging assailants, subduing them one after another.

Indeed, no matter how much she tried to act, it would have been absurd for a Holy Knight candidate to fail against a few untrained civilians.

‘A needless worry.’

The problem was that the attackers themselves were not normal.

Even after suffering serious injuries, they showed no sign of slowing down, continuing to charge at Lancia.

It wasn’t that they were well-trained—it was more like they couldn’t feel pain at all.

I was watching them closely, almost as if studying them, when—

Flap flap!

The mist bird suddenly appeared in front of me again, beating its wings violently.

Once more, it seemed to be warning me of some kind of danger.

And this time, I didn’t even need to look to know what it was warning me about.

I could feel someone rushing in from my blind spot, aiming for my back.

“Guh!”

“As expected.”

I quickly twisted my body and kicked the attacker in the stomach.

Thanks to having already cast the Miracle of Enhancement, my movements and the power behind my kick were far beyond that of an ordinary person.

The man I kicked couldn’t even let out a proper scream before he was sent crashing into a pile of garbage.

Then, suddenly, a wave of unpleasant dissonance swept over me, making me flinch.

It was the kind of sensation that could make you think you’d been struck by some unknown attack.

‘…What was that?’

Still, the matter at hand came first.

Shaking off the clammy, unpleasant feeling, I turned my gaze toward where the man had been sent flying.

“Distract me, then go for my back, huh.”

In my previous life, I’d been on the receiving end of that trick so often it made me sick.

Gripping my staff, I strode toward the garbage pile.

‘Not yet.’

I hadn’t felt the sensation of really connecting with that kick.

Which meant the man had either strengthened his body through some means, or was naturally far tougher than the average person.

The reasons could vary, but the conclusion was the same—

I hadn’t inflicted a decisive injury.

Which also meant he could still move perfectly well.

‘In that case…’

Without hesitation, I pulled a fire charge from my pocket and hurled it at him.

I had originally prepared it for the Dungeon Field Class, but now wasn’t the time to save it.

“Kh!”

As I expected, the man leapt away from the garbage pile the moment I threw it.

The pile burst into flames where the fire charge hit, and he stared at me in surprise.

“What? Were you expecting me to toss you a coin?”

Even with a mask on, I couldn’t tell who he was—couldn’t even make out the shape of his face.

That mask was probably enchanted in some way.

His voice was likely altered as well.

The only thing I could tell was his hair color.

‘Brown. No one comes to mind.’

But the shade was so unnatural and artificial.

It was the classic sign of either sprayed-on dye or transformation magic.

Yet there was no scent of dye.

‘Then it’s magic.’

I’d already been uneasy about the lack of any detectable presence around us.

I’d considered a few possibilities, but magic was clearly the most likely.

After all, I could think of at least half a dozen different spells that could cloud someone’s mind.

Still, for a supposed mage, something about him felt off.

Which meant he might be using multiple artifacts or magitech tools—or have someone nearby assisting him.

‘If I catch him and beat it out of him, something will turn up.’

Whether it was evidence, testimony, or an accomplice—it didn’t matter.

Thinking that, I shifted my grip on the staff, holding it like a spear, and rushed him.

Given how little I knew about him, I intended to keep my distance and chip away at him slowly.

“Oh?”

When he dodged my swift thrust, I revised my plan and adjusted my grip again.

Thrust, twist, pull.

I aimed for his head, striking again and again, but he narrowly evaded each attack.

‘He’s skilled with his body too.’

Deciding I’d seen enough, I quickly pulled something from my pocket and threw it.

He dodged it lightly, as if he had expected it.

But I wasn’t disappointed.

I hadn’t thrown it to hit him in the first place.

“Ugh!”

The bottle of oil shattered, scattering its contents across the ground.

His foot slipped on the oil, his body swaying violently.

And I wasn’t stupid enough to miss such an opportunity.

“Hmph!”

I swung both hands with all my strength.

Unlike earlier, I could vividly feel through my hands the distinct sensation of a proper hit landing.

Thwack!

With a dull sound, his head was struck, sending him flying into a wall once more.

On the ground, fragments of the broken mask from the impact scattered like messy petals.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue softly.

In that brief moment, I had clearly seen him throw himself backward to diffuse the force of the blow.

This time, I had no intention of giving him time to regain his balance.

Even so, having taken a blow to the head, he wouldn’t be able to move freely.

In the meantime, all I had to do was crush a few of his limbs—simple enough.

Just as I was about to rush him—

“Kh!”

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, fierce flames surged upward, blocking my path.

The flames swayed as if trying to swallow me whole, forcing me to step back several paces.

In that moment, I saw the fire move unnaturally, deliberately consuming the broken mask fragments.

Quickly, I bent down, grabbed a few pieces from the ground, and tucked them away.

I didn’t forget to collect the dagger he had dropped either.

“Junior!”

Before I knew it, Lancia had finished up at the front and approached, reaching out as she began casting a miracle.

It was the Miracle of Protection—one I knew well.

“Mm…!”

She seemed to struggle, showing visible effort to maintain the miracle.

Seeing that, I quickly gathered divine power to add my strength to hers.

Could the flames really be so strong that she found them difficult to handle?

No—these flames weren’t overwhelming because they were truly powerful…

‘Wow…’

Even in this situation, she was still acting.

I couldn’t help but click my tongue in admiration.

Of course, in her current guise as a “below-average Holy Knight candidate,” she wouldn’t show anything more than that.

If she had fought seriously, it wouldn’t have taken this long to deal with them in the first place.

And if those flames had truly been so strong that even her real skills struggled to hold them back, I would have been burned to ash long ago.

‘Anyone who didn’t know her would completely fall for it.’

Crack!

While I was thinking, the protective barrier began to fracture with a sharp sound.

I was about to layer my own Miracle of Protection over hers when—

“Phew.”

With a short breath, she suddenly withdrew her hand.

At the same time, her miracle dispersed into the air like fading smoke.

But no flames rushed in to engulf us through the gap in the barrier.

“…It’s gone.”

She let out a sigh as she looked over the ruined street.

“Looks like it.”

The flames had already vanished as if they had never existed.

The man who had been slammed into the wall was gone too.

In that moment, I felt the strange oppressive weight that had filled this space lift away.

Looking at the people sprawled on the ground, I slammed my staff into the earth hard enough to make a resounding thud.

“This doesn’t seem like an ordinary incident… So who should we call? The guards? Or the Academy?”

Still catching her breath, Lancia answered without hesitation.

“I think it would be better to contact the Church first.”

She murmured the words as she sheathed her sword.

“Because, just as you said, this doesn’t seem like an ordinary matter.”

Her gaze was fixed on the people lying on the ground—or more precisely, the strange patterns carved into their foreheads.

But unlike her, I was looking at the tip of my staff.

‘Good.’

A few strands of brown hair swayed there.

‘Glad I kept aiming for the head.’

The amount was more than enough.

Plucking the tangled strands free, I carefully tucked them into my pocket.

“There they are!”

“Move quickly!”

The sound of commotion and shrill whistles grew louder.

Seeing the city guards approaching from the distance, I nodded.

“…What’s about to happen might be even more troublesome.”

No—perhaps this would prove the bigger nuisance.

Spotting a familiar face among the approaching guards, I let out a small sigh.

By the time the statements were finished, it was well past evening.

The goat-bearded guard captain, whom I’d met before during the incident with Yuran, had shouted that he’d throw me in jail the moment he saw me.

But when Sister Roberta arrived right after, her razor-sharp glare shut him up instantly.

He must have recognized her at once, judging from the way he paled.

In the end, instead of the guards, we were questioned at the Academy with Roberta present.

Normally, it would have ended with a brief inquiry, but the problem was the strange patterns carved into the attackers’ foreheads.

Investigators from the Academy and the Holy Sun Church questioned us in detail, skillfully slipping in leading questions.

Fortunately, thanks to Sister Roberta’s active defense of us during the process, suspicion faded quickly.

“Phew…”

After the questioning ended, I saw Roberta and Lancia off—they said they had something to discuss—and headed straight back to the dormitory.

On my desk lay the broken mask fragments, the dagger the man had used, and the items I’d bought today, all scattered about.

‘Didn’t think they’d brazenly attack in the middle of the street.’

Whether I was the target, or Lancia was, I didn’t know.

Maybe they were after both of us.

But what mattered in the end was the fact that both she and I had been attacked.

‘What exactly are they after?’

It had been far too sloppy to be called a proper attack.

So, was there some other objective?

For what purpose?

“…To divert attention?”

I briefly entertained the thought, but then shook my head.

I still lacked information.

Drawing conclusions when information was insufficient would only lock my thinking into the wrong path.

I sat down and picked up a fragment of the broken mask.

The only thing I could tell was that it contained a strange power.

“This isn’t really my field…”

As I muttered, a sudden laugh escaped me.

Not my field, huh.

“Did I ever really have a field in the first place?”

Flap flap!

While I was speaking to myself in self-mockery, the sound of wings came from right beside me.

There, sitting on the window ledge, was the mist bird, staring straight at me.

“So, why did you follow me this time?”

At my question, it tilted its head, as if it had no idea what I was talking about, wearing a look of complete innocence.

“I don’t mind you being here, but don’t get in my way.”

It had, in various ways, tried to help me before, so I couldn’t bring myself to chase it away or treat it coldly.

Whether it understood my feelings or not, the bird simply gave another innocent flap of its wings.

“Well then…”

Turning my gaze back to the desk, I looked over the scattered magitech tools.

The mask fragments could wait—there was something I needed to do first.

The oddly tall attacker.

The unpleasant sense of dissonance I had felt from him.

And the conversation I’d had with Lancia today.

Something in my mind kept tapping at me, urging me on.

“Looks like I’ll have to put in some work.”

Reaching for the desk, I tried to recall my memories from my previous life as much as possible.