Kikou Shoujo wa Kizutsukanai

Amidst the falling snow, the two stood out with their vivid colour.

A bewitchingly voluptuous woman, and a beautiful young girl.

Both were clad in beguiling kimonos. The girl was holding an umbrella, to shield the woman from the snow.

At first glance, they looked like sisters. The woman was like a gorgeous rose, and the girl like an elegant chrysanthemum— they had vastly different airs about them, but their facial features had some similarities.

“This is it, isn’t it?”

Coming to a halt in front of a certain estate, they pa.s.sed through the blackened door.

It looked like there had been a fire. The estate had been completely devastated by it, leaving it a mere shadow of its former self. The smell of burnt ash permeated the place, and the ground was covered in a thin layer of soot.

In the midst of it all, there was a lone boy.

The cold in the air was enough to sting bare flesh, yet the boy had stripped to the waist, making gestures with his fingers like a mountain hermit. An ancient-looking scroll was unfurled before him as focused his magic energy and poured it into the wooden puppet in front of him.

Shakily, like a newborn infant learning to walk for the first time, the puppet took unsteady steps forward.

The boy was making the puppet move. His whole body was drenched in sweat. He was concentrating so hard it looked like he was about to pop a vein, but disproportionate to his efforts the wooden puppet only moved a little.

With wild, ragged breaths, he gritted his teeth hard enough to crack them as he pounded on the floor in irritation with his clenched fists.

His face looked terrible. His cheeks were hollow, and his eyes were sunken in. However his pupils shone with a fierce light, making him look very ghastly. He looked like he was on the verge of dying at any moment.

The boy looked through the scroll with bloodshot eyes, before making gestures with his hands once more. He began to store energy at a point below his navel, and then—

He spewed out blood with a terrible sounding cough.

Racked with coughs, he fell down on his back and stopped moving.

—This was a suitable time. The woman stepped out from under the umbrella the girl was holding, and walked towards the boy.

“That was quite the effort, boy.”

“… I am not ‘boy’.”

The boy replied in a hoa.r.s.e voice. He was still conscious. His physical endurance was surprising.

“That’s right. You have a name, and it is Raishin.”

A wary look crept into his eyes. The woman gave a mocking laugh,

“I know a lot about you, boy. You’re the sole survivor of the Akabane clan.”

“… Who are you?”

“You’re not very diligent, are you boy? You were born into a house of puppeteers, and yet you don’t know who I am.”

Turning to the girl, she beckoned her over.

The girl seemed to understand what to do. Without any particular instruction from the woman, she stopped in front of the boy, turned her back to him and removed her kimono.

The boy was startled, but he no longer had the strength to cover his eyes.

The girl’s skin was exquisitely beautiful. With neither mark nor blemish on it, it was a smooth as a field of snow.

At the lower left of her beautiful back, above her hipbone, an inscription had been carved into it.

Karyuusai, it read.

That name was one that resonated throughout the world. Even the military’s top bra.s.s had acknowledged her as the eminent puppet craftsman of this generation.

So— this girl was an automaton?

The boy’s eyes opened slightly wider. He was shocked by the vibrancy of her complexion. The feel of her skin was exactly like that of a human being.

“She’s pretty, isn’t she? This is one of the Setsugetsuka trifecta, Yaya of the Moon.”

“…!?”

He had only heard of their existence before, Karyuusai’s prized treasure, the Setsugetsuka.

They had never been revealed to the world before. No matter how rich a girl was, there was no way she could have owned one.

Therefore, at this present point in time, the only one who would be in possession of a Setsugetsuka would be the creator himself.

His blood soaked face contorted as he let out a weak laugh.

“You gotta be kidding me… Karyuusai is… a heavy drinker, fond of women, and someone who wildly indulges in the pleasures of life…”

“Oh, so you do know me after all. Yes, that is all true. I do love wine, women and song.”

“That means you’re the one who… created the Imperial Guard’s… Oborofuji…”

The woman turned her head away like it was something tedious, and spoke in an oddly depressed tone.

“That thing was a failure.”

‘A failure…!? That monster…. which changed… the entire landscape of the Fuji training grounds…?”

“It wasn’t beautiful at all.”

The boy was rendered speechless. The woman carried on speaking.

“In this fleeting world however, nothing is useless— thanks to that failure, my fame has grown somewhat significantly. I guess you could call me a celebrity now. And I do have influence amongst the army higher-ups.”

She laughed violently, and stared into the boy’s eyes.

“Enough influence to grant you your wish, boy.”

“My… wish…?”

“Yes. I can help you find the person you hate so much that you want to kill him.”

“—“

“To go up against him, I’ll even lend you the world’s best automaton.”

The boy moved his pupils horizontally, his gaze falling onto the beautiful girl standing next to the woman.

If the Setsugetsuka were exactly what the rumours said they were, then it was possible—

“Say, boy. Become mine.”

It was a piercing gaze. The woman lightly and gently touched the boy’s cheek.

The boy’s body stiffened. It was like a dangerous wild beast was staring at him.

What surfaced in the boy’s eyes was the emotion felt when faced with something completely unknown; instinctive fear.

However at the same time, he was charmed by her.

The intensity of her entire existence captivated him, being both poison and antidote.

“The road lying before you forks into two paths, boy. You can either choose to freeze to death here, or you can—“

Raishin stared at the unexpected visitor, struck dumb by her sudden appearance.

There was no way he could be mistaken. Her bewitching beauty was exactly as it was when she first appeared in front of him two years ago. In no way inferior to the dolls she created, she was as dazzlingly beautiful as any of them. Also, the voluptuous b.r.e.a.s.t.s that had mesmerized Raishin were as sensual as ever.

Like that night, there was a beautiful girl accompanying her tonight as well. Her face looked like Yaya’s, but she had silver hair and her eyes were more dignified. Also, she was a little taller.

“Shouko, why are you…”

She put her finger to her lips.

“Raishin. Is something wrong?”

The pretty boarding master peeked out of the office with a doubtful look on his face. Raishin thought “oh c.r.a.p.”, but managed to say,

“Nothing. Everything’s fine.”

The boarding master withdrew his head.

— She can’t see them?

“Let’s go to your room.”

Shouko whispered into his ear. The faint smell of her jasmine fragrance caused the boarding master to frown suspiciously, but not even in his wildest dreams could he have guessed that was such a peerless beauty standing there.

A magic art to hide one’s presence. That was something Yaya’s sister machine, Komurasaki, was skilled at.

Having understood the situation, Raishin feigned an air of ignorance towards the boarding master as he retreated back to his room.

If he was honest though, all he wanted to do at the moment was to go search for Charl, but since Shouko had gone out of her way to come visit him, she wasn’t someone he could brush off.

Returning to his room, barely had Yaya jumped up towards him when she stopped in surprise.

“Shouko!”

Shouko looked at her in the way a mother looked at her child,

“You seem energetic enough, Yaya.”

“Yes. Yaya’s functions are perfectly normal.”

“If you’re perfectly normal, why are there traces of tears on your face?”

Someone abruptly cut in. The beautiful girl walking behind Shouko reprimanded Yaya.

Yaya took a step back, her wariness on full display.

“… Since when were you there, big sis Irori?”

“Oh? Are you out of it that you cannot even count the number of visitors? Or have your eyes gone bad? Are they just there for show?”

“That was just sarcasm. Yaya is totally focused.”

“With an att.i.tude like that, surely you have been causing nothing but problems to Raishin, haven’t you?”

“T-that’s not true at all…”

“So you haven’t been having wild delusions over Raishin and resenting him, burning with jealously over your misguided suspicions, crying, losing your temper, and flying into jealous rages?”

“N-n-n-no, I h-h-haven’t…”

“Really now, you should learn from Komurasaki. She doesn’t complain about getting simple tasks, doesn’t get lose herself within delusions of love, and just works hard to fulfil her duty. In the first place, you—“

“Uu… Sis is always so mean to me…”

Ignoring the two sisters, Raishin held out a chair for Shouko and poured some tea.

“So Shouko, why are you at the academy?”

Needless to say, the academy’s security were pretty strict. Sneaking in with an automaton was a dangerous predicament. Even if said sneaking in was covered by a high level magic art that killed off their presence.

“I couldn’t sit still because I was worried about you, boy.”

She flashed him a flirtatious glance. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were pressed together and the nape of her neck was tantalisingly visible, causing Raishin to clutch his nose.

A cold killing intent from Yaya drifted over from behind him, causing his blood to freeze.

“Don’t tease me like that. There’s a legitimate reason for you being here, isn’t there?”

“Cannibal Candy might prove to be a more troublesome opponent that we thought.”

“—!”

It appeared she had gotten hold of some new information. Sitting up a little straighter instinctively, Raishin waited for her to continue. However, Shouko calmly sipped her tea, and changed the subject, to his irritation.

“That was quite the reckless stunt you pulled, boy. I heard you got into a scuffle with ten automata.”

“… It was a one on one at first.”

“And then you ended up destroying none.”

“I did destroy some. Half was Charl’s handiwork, but all ten ended up as sc.r.a.p—“

The lens buried inside the eyepatch flashed. He felt the eye stare at him from deep within like it was buried in a bottomless ravine, and found himself stopping halfway.

“Do not misunderstand, boy. Puppets aren’t humans.”

Those were sharp words. Yaya’s shoulders stiffened at her cutting remark.

“Your naivety borders on hubris. Until you stop the heart, an automaton will not die. Your act of compa.s.sion then could return to stab in the back one day. The ambition you harbour is not so easy that you can achieve it without staining your hands. Take that sentimentality and cast it away into the deepest pits of the earth.”

“… I cannot follow that order.”

He knew he was being childish, but Raishin still stubbornly refused.

“Automata have a sense of self. They can feel pain and they can feel pleasure. They even have hearts. How does that make them any different from humans?”

“Foolish child… You still do not understand anything, boy.”

With a hint of pity in her voice, Shouko coldly spoke.

“If you kill a human, the law cla.s.sifies it as murder— If you destroy an automaton, it’s only considered damage to property. It matters not what you think, boy. Open your eyes to reality. There is a chasm separating the two.”

“Even so, to me, automata are human as well. If you stop an automaton’s heart, it’s the same as killing a human. I don’t care what society thinks, that is what being a puppeteer means to me.”

“… It’s only going to get worse, you know?”

“I am prepared for it.”

“I see. In that case, try as much as you can to stick to your optimistic principles.”

Although she was blunt, a faint but unexpectedly gentle smile surfaced on her lips.

Raishin was captivated by it. Of all the smiling faces he had seen up till now, this was by far the prettiest.

“About Cannibal Candy.”

Sipping her tea, she returned back to the topic at hand.

“It’s a far bigger enemy than you thought it was, boy.”

“Bigger…?”

“The military thought the people who’d gone missing might provide a clue to narrowing down the true ident.i.ty of Cannibal Candy. Naturally, they promptly began their investigation into the victims. However—”

“— They couldn’t be found.”

“Exactly. Over twenty boys and girls just upped and vanished from the face of this earth. Cannibal Candy isn’t just eating dolls; he’s doing away with the owners— or possibly their corpses. Because of that it’s looking like he really does eat them.”

Hiding a corpse require a back-breaking amount of effort. A large number of killers were undone because of trouble with hiding the bodies of their victims. Burying the bodies left behind freshly dug earth. Carving up the bodies would leave ma.s.sive amount of bloodstains. In the first place just moving the bodies alone would be tough. Keeping them alive and hiding them might be an easier option—

Nevertheless, they were talking about a large number of people. For an individual to be able to confine so many was unthinkable.

Was that why she referred to the enemy as bigger?

“The academy, the royal family, or even the British government may be involved in some way.”

“… You’re suspecting the academy of being in cahoots with Cannibal Candy?”

“Doesn’t it seem that way to you? The academy is policed by both security and the disciplinary committee. If someone were to try something, the two layers of protection would clamp down on them immediately.”

However, the reality was that Cannibal Candy was still at large.

Also, so many students had vanished and the cause behind their disappearance was still unknown.

If the academy was really pulling the strings behind the whole affair though, then the disappointing lack of results would suddenly make a lot of sense.

But that would mean the disciplinary committee, the campus security, and even the teaching faculty all were the enemy— wouldn’t it?

“It’s not too late for you to wash your hands off the matter, you know?”

For a brief moment, Raishin was strongly tempted by that course of action.

If he pretended not to have noticed anything strange— It wasn’t as if the academy would disappear if he continued living with feigned ignorance. At most, the student council would just exploit him.

Raishin had a goal. An enemy he had to defeat at all costs.

If he were to involve himself needlessly with other affairs and end up dying, then the only person he could blame was himself.

Even so.

“… There’s someone I can’t abandon.”

Having realised something, Raishin muttered it out aloud.

“She’s hopelessly rash, barbaric, short-tempered, and always alone by herself. Even so, she isn’t a bad person.”

His words came in bits and pieces as he continued voicing out his thoughts.

“For some reason I don’t know, she’s currently chasing after Cannibal Candy. Or possibly, that could have been her goal from the very start… at least I think so. Furthermore, I owe her a debt of grat.i.tude… so I guess I’m obligated to her in some way… Argh, dammit, what a pain!”

Ruffling his hair, Raishin raised his head up.

Looking straight into Shouko’s face, he told her.

“I want to help her.”

“… Did you forget our wager? You bet your life, boy. If you were to selfishly go off and die a dog’s death somewhere without my permission, I’d never forgive you.”

Raishin ground his teeth. Shouko was right. Just as she said, he couldn’t go off and die like that on his own. Needlessly charging headfirst into danger was something unforgivable. However—

He couldn’t just abandon Charl either.

Seeing Raishin’s frustration, Shouko sighed.

It wasn’t a sigh of resignation, it wasn’t a sigh to mock him, it was just a genial sigh.

“Yaya, come over here.”

Yaya trotted over. Shouko placed her hand on her chest.

Momentarily, a wave pa.s.sed through Yaya’s body.

Raishin had no clue as to what had just happened. Nevertheless, Yaya’s eyes started spinning and she started to fall backwards.

“Yaya! Are you ok!?”

He hurriedly caught hold of her. Yaya’s eyes were still spinning, but she wasn’t visibly injured.

Without giving him any chance to raise his doubts, Shouko carried on imposing information onto him.

“Yaya’s Kongouriki is peerless under heaven— but even then, there are some things she cannot go up against. For example, Tyrant Rex’s magic circuit Gram.”

“Sigmund’s blast of light?”

“That’s not the most accurate description of how it works. Put simply, light is the result. When the atmosphere is annihilated, light is produced.

“Do you know what kind of magic circuit that is?”

“I can roughly guess. It’s a secret formula that is closely related to how the universe works. Because of that, there is no counter-measure for it. No matter how hard the object, or how mirrored the object is, they’re all powerless before that magic art. Basically, as long as it has form, it will be annihilated. If Yaya were to be hit by that head on, she would die.

Raishin felt Yaya stir slightly in his arms.

“One more thing. Yaya’s natural enemies are wind and water.”

“Fluid states…?”

“Yes. No matter how strong Yaya may be, she cannot hit something with no shape. Be careful when you encounter opponents with no physical bodies.”

“… Alright.”

Seeing the both of them nod, Shouko was satisfied.

“Well then, sorry for keeping you so long. Be careful.”

“Yeah. Let’s go, Yaya.”

“Roger!”

After making sure that Yaya was in a proper condition, Raishin dashed out of his room.

As Raishin and Yaya departed, Yaya’s elder sister— Irori watched them go off with complicated feelings inside her.

“Raishin has calmed down quite a bit. Back then, he was like a ravenous mountain dog.”

Shouko took a puff out of her pipe, before languidly replying.

“The pa.s.sing of time polishes a man. So too do hate and anger.”

“Still, for that Raishin to throw himself headlong into danger for someone else’s sake—“

“That boy would happily get the short end of the stick if it meant someone else would benefit.”

“… I always thought Raishin was ruthless and motivated by self-interest. That he would be fine with others getting hurt if it were in the interests of his goal.”

“ Fufu… Then that means you’re even less focused than Yaya. I don’t remember making your eyes to be that bad, Irori.”

Harsh words spoken with a gentle tone, Shouko lightly rebuked Irori.

“The boy isn’t ruthless, but the circ.u.mstances he was caught up in certainly were. Fate dealt him a cruel hand. You see him as motivated by self-interest, but his current conduct is merely because he’s driven by revenge— In short, from the beginning of the beginning, the boy was already like that; someone who would show compa.s.sion to even the most bitter of foes.”

“Are you referring to him showing consideration for his enemy’s circ.u.mstances?”

Shouko didn’t answer. She just continued smoking her pipe serenely.

Irori quickly grew uneasy.

“Mistress. Was it a good idea to let Raishin go off like that? Like you said earlier, Raishin will be going up against a formidable foe…”

“Are you worried about Yaya? You always did dote on her a lot.”

“Wha—!? T-there’s no way I’d let my personal feelings…”

Her white skin turned scarlet, and she waved her hands frantically about in denial.

“There’s no cause for concern. I’ve removed Yaya’s restriction.”

Irori grew even more worried as she piled on more questions.

“… Will Raishin be fine? What if he gets completely consumed by Yaya…”

“The boy is not so weak.”

“Are you sure? Raishin has barely been a puppeteer for a few years— if I may be frank, he’s like a baby bird that hasn’t learnt to fly yet. I’m sure if you properly explained the situation to him, he would know that he isn’t at the required level just yet.”

“Rather than the enemy, the boy has severely miscalculated his own strength. It’s just that he hasn’t noticed it yet. He hasn’t realised that he’s been blessed with his own innate talent.”

Shouko let out a small chuckle as she remembered something.

“When we first met, the boy was training with a wooden puppet.”

“Wooden?”

A wooden puppet didn’t have Eve’s Heart installed inside it, and so it was just a plain, regular wooden doll.

Obviously, this meant that it didn’t have any form of autonomy. Thus, it relied solely on a puppeteer’s magic energy for everything— the puppeteer had to control the tension in the joints, balance, and its overall movements. Even for someone with telepathy or a mountain ascetic who had devoted himself to rigorous training, it was still a tricky feat to pull off.

Irori was honestly shocked. Raishin had only started two years ago, but at that point in time he already had magic energy skilled enough to manipulate a wooden puppet. With her eye on his back, Shouko nodded.

“The boy’s brother could manipulate a wooden puppet to the point of being life-like. However, he couldn’t do that— and so he branded himself as talentless. However—”

Her long eyelashes fluttered downwards as she absentmindedly sighed.

“A regular puppeteer wouldn’t even be able to make a wooden puppet stand.”

At most, they would only be able to move a single limb at best.

“Fufu… You really are such a fearful boy.”

“The Akabane clan were a family of diviners. I’ve heard they were skilled in exorcism arts and shikigami usage. Are you trying to say that his talent is something to be expected, since he’s from that bloodline?”

“Yes, and isn’t it wonderful? However, fortune and misfortune are merely two sides of the same coin. It is precisely because he has the Blood of the Scarlet Wing in him that he’s suffered misfortune and had his family destroyed.”

Irori’s mouth shut. Details of Raishin’s childhood, the tragedy of his siblings getting attacked, and the genocide of the Akabane clan were scarce.

Both her mistress and Raishin had refused to talk about it at length.

However, she thought the status quo was fine as it were.

She was content to wait till the time came when Shouko wanted to talk about it. Until then— and even after that, the three sisters would strive to be of help to their mistress to the best of their abilities.

Having reached a conclusion, Irori left the matter aside and changed topics.

“Will Raishin be able to defeat Tenzen?”

“Who knows? That is something he’ll have to attempt to find out.”

“Are you saying that the possibility exists, then?”

Shouko didn’t answer, casting her gaze out to their disappearing figures as she smoked her pipe instead.

After a while, she abruptly muttered.

“This talk about revenge is ridiculous.”

“Eh—“

“If he knew the truth, the boy would hate me for sure.”

A lonely smile which had never been seen before till now surfaced on her lips.

Irori’s thought module started to swim with numerous doubts.

However, her brain soon settled down from its chaotic state as she let all her thoughts evaporate away.

As long as her mistress knew the truth, it was fine even if she didn’t.

Irori stared outside the window, looking up at the moon hanging in the night sky.

Her thoughts were very much like a prayer as she quietly lowered her head downwards.

G.o.dspeed, Raishin.

With Yaya in tow, Raishin burst out of the tortoise dormitory.

It was way past curfew. The boarding master called out from behind him to stop and turn back, but because it was an emergency Raishin ignored him. Having to explain that he was a.s.sisting the disciplinary committee and this was a related matter was too troublesome.

Following the street lights outside the buildings, he dashed towards the griffon dormitory. The cold night wind caressed the back of his neck, causing his body to shiver.

The conversation he had with Felix earlier replayed itself in Raishin’s mind.

“Hey, Felix.”

Raishin wanted to chase after Charl, but a hand on his shoulder restrained him from doing so.

Felix held his hand out in a pacifying gesture.

“I know what you’re going to say, Raishin. First off, let me just say I’m not doubting your relationship with Charl at all.”

“Then why did you go and say all that?”

“Obviously, it was for her sake.”

“— What do you mean?”

“If I didn’t tell her that, she would have continued her reckless actions, no? She’s bad at cooperating with others, and working alone is fraught with danger.”

Raishin fell silent. He couldn’t think of a response. He was right that Cannibal Candy was dangerous, and that Charl wasn’t likely to follow the instructions of the disciplinary committee.

However, while it was logical, he still couldn’t accept it, and Raishin doggedly continued on.

“… Even if you say that, you can’t deny Charl was hurt.”

“After we take care of Cannibal Candy, I’ll make amends for what I’ve said.”

There was more sincerity in his eyes than usual as Felix said that.

His recollection coming to an end, Raishin clicked his tongue.

By the time they took care of matters, it might already be too late.

Charl wasn’t as strong or as aloof as she pretended to be.

(Don’t do anything rash, scary dragon girl…!)

“—Raishin!”

Yaya shouted a warning. He was lost in thought and his attention to his surroundings had therefore decreased. Suddenly he noticed for the first time there was a presence approaching from directly opposite them.

Reflexively preparing for combat, he extended out a hand towards Yaya. The other party had the same reaction, and braced their body. Catching the light of the street lamps around them, something glimmered in their hand.

It was the cold glint of metal— a knife.

Something felt suspicious as the height of the unknown person caused a sense of déjà vu to pa.s.s over him. The body was slender and conservative, with shoulder length hair and a pair gla.s.ses giving off an intellectual air… This person was—

“Lisette! It’s me!”

“Raishin Akabane…”

Lowering her knife, she lit a lamp in her hand to check Raishin’s face.

She was alone. As always, her automaton wasn’t accompanying her.

“Are you searching for Charl?”

“Yes. As a matter of fact, I was just on my way to the tortoise dormitory.”

“You were heading towards me?”

“Knowing you, I felt that you’d come dashing out.”

“— is that faith in me?”

“Don’t get too carried away, you tapeworm.”

“… My bad. What did you want with me then?”

“Where were you headed to?”

“Towards your direction. I wanted to hear your thoughts.”

Lisette had a clouded expression on her face as she gave an exaggeratedly loud sigh.

“Charlotte didn’t have a large circle of friends. If she didn’t think of going to you, and is just foolishly loitering around the area, then the situation is hopeless.”

“Uhuh. Can you rephrase that in a better way?”

“Quite simply, I have no clue as to where she could have disappeared to…”

Pressing her finger to her lips, she was deep in thought. After that, something occurred to her and she turned to face him.

“You were out with her the whole day today, weren’t you? Did she say anything at all?”

“No, not really… In any case, I believe Felix is the cause of her disappearance.”

“Was that a feeble attempt at shifting responsibility onto someone else to hide your own incompetence, you tubifex worm?”

“Why are all your insults fixated on variations of long and thin worms?”

At that moment, Raishin noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and turned to look at their surroundings.

“… It’s getting a little rowdy out here.”

Looking closely, he could see shadows moving about stealthily amidst the trees and in the cover of the buildings. Although they had skilfully hid their presence, Raishin’s five senses were sharper than a normal person’s. As long as he stopped moving, he could sense them.

Lisette looked over at them as well, before hesitantly speaking.

“The truth is, the disciplinary committee is putting its full effort into searching for Charlotte.”

“What, is she that important— wait, you’re not suspecting her, are you?”

If the disciplinary committee were chasing after her, did it mean they thought she was Cannibal Candy?

Lisette didn’t even move an eyebrow, but Yaya covered her mouth with her hands in shock.

Raishin stared at Lisette with a questioning look.

Lisette hesitated a little before finally caving in and resignedly confessing the truth.

“Just earlier, several magic circuits were discovered in Charlotte’s room.”

—Magic circuits?

Was she referring to the ones that Cannibal Candy had removed…?

“That’s impossible!”

“It’s the truth. The one who discovered it was the boarding master…”

He went over the facts in his head. It looked like someone was trying to set Charl up— No, that wasn’t it. If Charl really was Cannibal Candy, her magic art would annihilate the magic circuits. If someone was really trying to set her up, doing this would have the opposite effect.

So, did that mean that Charl was h.o.a.rding magic circuits for reasons unknown to Raishin…?

Considering Charl’s strength, there was also the possibility she could have inflicted an attack that would leave the magic circuits undamaged.

“We still have yet to verify if the circuits in question are those that Cannibal Candy had removed. One of the professors is currently examining them, but since they’re in pretty bad shape, the results will only be out tomorrow.”

Raishin grew silent as he continued to think.

Judging him to be of no further use to her, Lisette gave a short bow,

“We’ll part here. I should be getting back to the search now—”

‘Hang on.”

Lisette dubiously came to a halt.

Wanting to confirm something, Raishin chose his words carefully and deliberately.

“Would it be correct to say that I am currently someone who’s a.s.sisting the disciplinary committee?”

“That’s right.”

“In that case, I would like to carry out an investigation, with your co-operation.”

Her interest piqued, Lisette turned to face him.

“What do you want to do?”

“I would like to confirm something with my own eyes.”

Raishin told her where he would like to go.

Lisette was shocked. A rarely seen troubled look appeared on her face.

“That’s… somewhere where I don’t have the authority to grant you access.”

“Whose permission is needed then?”

“… Give me a minute. I need to discuss this with Felix first.”

“So you’ll help?”

“Given the current circ.u.mstances, yes. No matter how much of a brainless mosquito larva you may be, for you to request such a thing during an emergency like this must mean there’s a reason behind it, no?”

Although he was a little bothered by some of the things she had said, Raishin nodded.

Lisette told him she would have to make a phone call, and returned back onto the path.

For a short while, Raishin and Yaya were left alone in the cold.

Yaya was sticking tightly to him, so the cold didn’t affect him that much. The wait however, was something that was excessively hard to endure.

Maybe the negotiations weren’t going smoothly, or she had completely neglected to mention it, or perhaps she had met an accident halfway; Lisette still hadn’t returned.

The anxious wait lasted several minutes. Finally, Lisette returned—

“Be grateful. Felix talked to the executive committee.”

In short, they had been granted permission.

“I will guide you. It’s the least I can do since we’re co-operating on this.”

“I am in your debt.”

“I shall have to decline your grat.i.tude. This is merely part of my duties after all.”

Having spoken curtly, Lisette started walking ahead of Raishin.

She led them towards the most important block of the academy.

Heading past the central auditorium, pa.s.sing through the back of the clock tower and cutting across the headmaster’s residence, there was a large rectangular building that looked like a gravestone.

The building where all the important machines were stored away, the Locker.

“Before you enter, you should know that your entry is subject to one condition.”

The expression on her face was five times more severe than normal as she gravely spoke.

“Inside, countless automata are stored in a state of hibernation. Needless to say, they are all completely defenceless. If you wanted to, you could easily destroy them, and their owners would be unable to partic.i.p.ate in the Night Party.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to stoop to that level.”

“I’m just saying the possibility exists, you pond sc.u.m.”

“So I’ve been demoted to a microorganism now? Fine, I get it. I’ll leave Yaya here.”

“Raishin…”

Yaya looked up at him with a worried look on her face. Her large eyes glimmered, reflecting the light from the lamp. She looked as innocent and helpless as a puppy.

“Shout if anything happens. It would be tragic if you were attacked by Cannibal Candy.”

“Yaya will be fine. More importantly, Raishin…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be with Lisette.”

“Being alone together with that woman means your chast.i.ty is in danger…”

“… You’re still going on about that?”

“You have no cause for concern, s.e.x-obsessed doll. In the unlikely event he does attack me, I will bite my tongue.”

“I’m not going to attack you! Both of you, stop your nonsense!”

Ending the conversation, Lisette took the front again, and walked towards the rectangular building.

There were sentries posted at the entrance, and more security personnel in the guardroom. Lisette pointed at her armband to indicate they were here on disciplinary committee business.

It looked like the guards had been informed already. After processing their entry, they handed over a master key.

The inside of the building was the same as its façade, lacking in any form of decoration whatsoever. Its floors, walls and ceilings were all built with straight lines, making it feel choking and confining.

The lights inside were all switched off, so they headed deeper inside with only their lamps lit up.

“So, what do you wish to confirm?”

“A third-year student’s automaton. If my logic is correct, then it could prove to be a decisive clue to locating Cannibal Candy.”

“In that case, we should be heading up to the second floor. This way.”

“… Can I ask you something?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend, but I rather die than have s.e.x with a playboy like you.”

“…”

It was an awkward moment. Lisette coughed in what appeared to be embarra.s.sment.

“That was a joke. What is it?”

“What kind of automaton is Felix’s?”

Lisette thought for a while, searching through her memories before answering.

“I don’t exactly know much about the details, but I have seen it before. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I’ve heard rumours that it was made during the Renaissance period.”

“So it’s an antique?”

“It’s not something you can just dismiss lightly. The Renaissance period was a time in human history where countless exceptional geniuses walked the earth. Techniques that are now lost to us existed back then, and there are magic arts from that period that we have yet to break down. Felix’s automaton is also theorized to be one of the miracles created by those geniuses.”

“… That’s no surprise. Anyhow, I can at least say it’s an automaton that got him listed in the Rounds.”

Even though it was a remnant from a century ago, it was still in active use— an automaton like that couldn’t be just dismissed as obsolete. It was likely far superior to modern craftsmen’s handiwork, and there had to be a secret to it.

“So what sort of magic circuit is installed inside it?”

“Well, I don’t know that much… I might be his a.s.sistant, but I am also a Night Party entrant. It’s not prudent to reveal your hand to someone who will become your opponent someday.”

“I guess that’s not surprising as well.”

“It’s just—“

“— Just what?”

“When we were doing field practice before, he created lava.”

“Lava?”

“Yes. He heated the earth and used it to dig trenches. Also, during another time, he manipulated dense fog to throw the enemy team into confusion.”

“Fog… You sure it wasn’t just steam?”

If it was a magic circuit that revolved around heat manipulation, then it was possible to generate both lava and fog.

“No, it was more natural, like it was an extension of his nerves or senses.”

“What the heck is that? Unless he’s using several magic arts together in conjuction… but no way, something like that should be impossible.”

In any case, he was sure to be a troublesome opponent. Lava and fog were both fluid states without form.

Having reached the top of the stairs, Lisette came to a halt.

“Felix’s locker is in the room furthest back on the right.”

“It’s alright, I don’t plan on going there.”

Lisette’s eyes narrowed in puzzlement.

From the flow of their conversation, she had the impression that they were going to search Felix’s locker.

Raishin took the master key from her hand, and started walking off in the opposite direction.

He had already grasped the layout of the building.

“That’s—“

Behind him, Listette was saying something. Raishin ignored her and opened the door.

The lockers resembled caskets, and were lined up in orderly rows.

Relying on the nameplates, he looked for the locker he was searching for.

Before long, he discovered what he was searching for.

Registration code White Mist— Listette Norden.

Supressing his impatience, he used the master key to unlock the lock, and opened the cover with an air of finality.

“…!”

Inside the locker, there was a large gla.s.s cylinder.

It looked like a giant test tube. The liquid that filled it completely looked just like formaldehyde. Enveloped in that liquid, just like a biological specimen, there was a completely naked girl suspended within.

It wasn’t an automaton.

Peeking out from her split chest was real tissue and real flesh.

Raishin cursed his own foolishness.

I am such an idiot. This… How could I have not noticed something so obvious?

In other words, from the beginning of the beginning, she had been here all along.

Suspended inside the gla.s.s cylinder, this was—

Lisette Norden’s corpse.

The next moment, something hit Raishin from behind with enough force to knock the wind out of him.