Nina wedges herself in front of me. She’s tiny, so her head barely comes up to my collar. “Hey, no cutting.” I try to elbow her, but she nimbly sidesteps it. “Going for the nine hundred and eighty–zeni poverty meal, are we, Young’un? Sounds like someone’s a little hard up for cash.” “I’ve got big plans for the future, so I’m being economical. It’s not like I’m actually broke or anything.” “Oh, yeah, sure you aren’t. Go ahead, order whatever you want. It’ll be my treat.” “I’ll take the most expensive thing they’ve got, then.” “Sounds good.” She turns and orders the priciest meal the school cafeteria has to offer. “Two of the ten thousand–zeni super-duper filthy rich lunch sets, please ’n’ thank you.” Nina is a friend of my sister’s, so maybe that’s why she’s always so nice to me. Whenever I ask her for something, she never lets me down. One time, I even joked that I wanted to read one of the forbidden books from the library, and she actually went and got it for me. I have no idea how she pulled that one off, but the bottom line is, she’s constantly helping me out. Meeting Nina was the first time I was ever glad to be my sister’s brother. “Y-you should treat me, too!” “M-me too, me too!” Despite being daunted by Nina’s very presence, Skel and Po never miss a chance to look for handouts. “I gave you two that deck of cards, didn’t I?” “Th-th-that’s right!” “Th-th-thanks for the cards!” “No problem. I felt bad after the way Claire hassled you.” Ah, so that’s how it went down. Thanks to Nina’s influence, we’re able to secure one of the nice tables by the window. “Go on, take a seat.” “Aye-aye, ma’am.” I sit down next to Nina and begin digging into my super-duper filthy rich lunch set. Across from us, Skel and Po nervously do the same with their broke aristocrat lunch sets. The super-duper filthy rich lunch set starts with an appetizer. A maid skillfully sets it up. “So, Claire’s gone missing?” Nina asks as she eats her carpaccio. “Sure looks that way,” I reply as I do the same. Dunno what fish this is, but it’s tasty as hell. “Princess Alexia just asked me if I knew anything, but everything that day was pretty normal for me, so I didn’t have anything to tell her. What about you, Young’un?” “I’m in the same boat. Alexia’s really going hard on the search, huh?” “Something’s got her worried, I think. There’s been a couple of other students going missing, so I’m kinda worried, too.” “I guess there was that whole commotion last night.” “The thing behind the boys’ dorm, you mean? Yeah, scary stuff.” “For sure.” “That reminds me, I spotted the Crimson Order scoping out the scene. I hear they’ve been on a recruitment drive, but their newbies are about as rubbish as you’d expect.” “Dang, you know all sorts of stuff.” She gives me a proud wink. “You could say that.” “Are you planning on joining the Knight Order when you graduate?” “Ooh, I dunno. My grades aren’t nearly as good as Claire’s.” “Really? They aren’t?” “Why do you look so surprised? Everyone knows my grades are terrible.” “Oh, huh. I always just assumed you were at the top of your class.” “Ha-ha-ha. That’d be Claire, probably. She’s been getting wicked good marks lately. I’m just your run-of-the-mill underachiever.” “I’ll take your word for it, I guess.” Nina unconcernedly raises a spoonful of soup to her petite mouth. Just by looking at her, I’m pretty sure Nina’s stronger than my sister, but hey, everyone’s got their reasons for wanting to keep their true strength a secret. Nina’s a woman of many mysteries. “I’ll tell you if I hear anything about Claire,” she says. “You must be worried about her.” “I must? Not really… Err, I mean, yeah, I’m worried sick.” “You never change, do you? It is Claire we’re talking about, though, so she’s probably fine. If you ever need a hand, you know where to find me.” Nina flashes me an adorable smile. Meanwhile, Skel and Po eat their broke aristocrat lunch sets in silence. “Can we seriously not get out yet?” Claire heaves a sigh in the academy classroom. Her surroundings are shrouded in white fog, and there’s nobody else around. “Just a little longer.” “You’ve been saying that for ages.” “Yes, because it keeps being a little longer. I’m trying to widen the crack, but you have so little magic it’s taking me forever.” “Oh gee, my bad. Sorry for having so little magic. I’ll have you know, I’ve got more magic than almost anyone at school.” “Small fish, small pond.” “I swear, it’s like you’re trying to offend me.” “Oops, did I say that out loud?” “Also, what were you saying about a crack?” “There’s a crack you can pass through to get back to your original world.” “My original world? What world is this, then?” “Oh, a lady never tells.” Claire lets out another sigh. There’s so much she doesn’t understand, she doesn’t even know where to start. She sits down at a desk. Right as she’s about to cross her legs, though, she senses that something is off. “Huh?” There’s something touching her leg. On further inspection, she discovers that it’s a translucent human arm. It’s drenched in blood and grabbing on to her. “Wh-what is that thing?!” She leaps to her feet, gives the arm a fierce kick, and backs away. As the arm goes flying, the rest of a blood-soaked human appears attached to it. Their skin is ashen, their eyes are sunken, and their chest has a massive wound in it. It’s pretty clear they aren’t alive. “Be careful. That’s a spirit.” “A what?” “A hero of old who’s been chained to this land. They’re bound by profane magic and forced to wander for all eternity. Go on and put it out of its misery.” “Okay, sure, but…how exactly do I do that?” “Oh, hitting them will probably do the trick.” “Hrah!” When the spirit tries to get back up, Claire wallops them with a magically imbued punch. The spirit bursts and fades away. “That felt nasty.” “If spirits are showing up, then the seal must be weakening… This could be bad.” “What seal?” “Don’t mind me. Just talking to myself. Ah, I messed up. I need to make sure she can’t hear me. I guess what she lacks in magic, she makes up for in hearing.” “I can still hear you, you know.” From then on, Aurora is silent. Another spirit appears, and Claire kicks them away. “It really sucks, not having a sword.” Sadly, she left her sword back on the other side. Spirits continue popping up every so often, and Claire dispatches them as she waits for Aurora to finish working. The spirits are coming more frequently now, and the fog is getting denser. “Are you almost done yet, Aurora?” “Just a little longer.” “For real this time?” “For real. But unfortunately…we have company.” “Huh?” Sensing someone behind her, Claire whirls around. A man in a black robe has been standing there since who-knows-when. His face is hidden beneath a dark mask. “When did he—?” Claire assumes a combat stance, but without a sword, she looks a little silly. In contrast, the robed man does have a sword, and he brandishes it with a practiced hand before closing in on Claire in a flash. “How’s he so fast?!” Claire dodges his initial strike by the skin of her teeth, then backs off and puts some distance between them. However, the robed man has no intention of letting her get away. He circles around her and strikes her with his sword. “Rgh!” Claire gets sent flying, but she then totters back to her feet. That was a powerful blow he dealt with the flat of his sword, but she’s not out yet. The man doesn’t seem to be going for the kill. He must be planning on capturing her. Aurora’s voice echoes in her head. “Looks like you’re outmatched.” “Shut up, will you? In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m in the middle of something here.” “Well, yes. In the middle of losing.” “Oh, be quiet! If I just had a sword…” “It wouldn’t make a difference.” “I said shut up!” “Here he comes.” The robed man takes a running start and bears down on Claire. “I’ll lend you my strength.” “…Huh?” It happens in the blink of an eye. The man is right in front of her, ready to strike, when all of a sudden, a red tendril swats him away. The tendril is coming out of Claire’s foot, and it undulates like it has a mind of its own. “Wh-what is that thing?” “Blood.” “Blood?!” “If you work hard, you’ll be able to use this technique, too. After all, you’re…” “I’m what?” “…It’s nothing. The fight isn’t over yet.” Claire looks up and finds the robed man standing before her. There’s blood dripping down his cheek, and his dark mask has fallen off. “I know you… You’re from the Knight Order.” Claire saw him during her internship there. The man grins and gives her a bow. “We meet again, Claire.” “You’re Viscount Jean, captain of the third Knight Order’s fourth company.” “That was just a cover identity. I’m a Named Child—Jean, the Wicked Smile.” What sort of stupid name is that? Claire wonders. However, she decides not to voice that thought out loud. “I don’t know what a Named Child is, but I didn’t take you for the kind of guy with a sketchy side hustle.” “Nor did I ever imagine you harbored such power. How fascinating… We didn’t find anything of the sort the last time we studied you.” “I’m sorry—the last time you what?” “Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about. At any rate, it looks like we ought to run those tests again.” With that, he readies his sword. Claire’s red tendril tries to get ready for battle as well, but for whatever reason, it goes limp and dissolves instead. “This is bad, Claire.” “Hmm?” “You’re out of magic.” Claire’s lip twitches. “You useless little…” True to his name, a wicked smile spreads across the Wicked Smile’s face. “Lucky me. I get to bring a present to the big man.” Kshhh. All of a sudden, there’s a sound like glass shattering, and a chunk of the world of white fog fractures. “Huh?!” Then a figure falls out of the fracture. The newcomer is a beautiful therianthrope girl with a golden tail and ears, dressed in a jet-black bodysuit, and as soon she lands in front of Claire, a strange black mist swats the Wicked Smile’s sword away. “Rrgh!” The Wicked Smile gets sent flying with incredible force. It looked like little more than a light tap. How could a blow that minor have carried such tremendous force? The therianthrope girl shrouded in black mist stands silently. Her eyes are cold and composed. “Who are you…?” Claire asks. “Zeta,” the girl replies icily. Claire hears Aurora in her head. “Get back, Claire. I can’t get a read on the limits of that girl’s strength.” There’s a rare hint of tension in Aurora’s voice, which surprises Claire. She backs up a step, then poses a question to Zeta. “Would I be right to assume that you rescued me just now?” “Can’t let the Cult have you. Not now, at least.” “Huh?” The black mist flickers, and the next thing Claire knows, Zeta is behind her. “Bye-bye.” After grabbing Claire by the collar, Zeta hurls her through the fracture. “Wait—what do you think you’re doooooooo—?!” Claire’s cry grows distant as she gets swallowed up by the fracture and disappears. Now Zeta and Jean, the Wicked Smile, are alone in the world of white fog. “Tch… How dare you get in my way?” the Wicked Smile says as he squares off against Zeta. “Mm. Nice to meet you.” “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised the Shadow Garden decided to show up.” With that, the Wicked Smile holds his sword at the ready. As he carefully gauges the distance between them, he notices Zeta giving him a bored look. “You seem awfully confident,” he says. “What’re you, a member of Shadow Garden leadership?” “Did you find out?” Zeta completely ignores his question. The absolute confidence she has in her abilities lets her do things like that. “Find out what?” “Her secret.” “You mean that power she has? What about—?!” Before he even finishes his sentence, Zeta’s magic surges. The Wicked Smile’s knees rattle as the sheer force of the magic threatens to squish him flat. “Wh-what the…? What’s with all that magic? How were you hiding it?” “If you hadn’t found out, I could have left you at large.” “Wh-what are you—?” “But you know, so good-bye.” “What’s going on…? GAHHHHHHHH?!” All of a sudden, the Wicked Smile sheds a black tear. Then black mist erupts from every pore he has, and his body explodes into tiny bits. Zeta shoots a glance at his corpse. “Mm. This new technique isn’t bad.” Then she turns and addresses the empty room. “All done.” As if in response, a girl appears from the rift. This one is wearing a black bodysuit, too, but her hair is strawberry blond. It’s Victoria. She kneels before Zeta. “Understood, ma’am.” “I confirmed Aurora is inside Claire.” “So it’s as we suspected…” “Mm. It’s all connected. That’s why Master did what he did…” “Has the Cult noticed?” “Not yet.” “What do we do, then?” “Shift to plan C.” “Claire will be the key to our strategy. However, it’s the one that leads to the most desirable outcome.” “Master said to fix my gaze on the future.” “So this is Master Shadow’s will…” Victoria folds her hands in front of her chest in prayer. “She needs to know, too,” Zeta orders her. “Tell her the plan’s changed.” With that, she turns into black mist and vanishes. Victoria watches her go with a thin smile. The only sound in the classroom is that of pens scribbling across exam papers. I frown and glare at my test. “…Welp, I’m stumped.” Finals are just around the corner, so we’ve been getting a lot more pop quizzes lately. The only punishment you get for failing them is an extra homework assignment, but those extra assignments are a bunch of work and a royal pain in the ass. The teachers are desperate to get even the absolute morons up to par. Personally speaking, I’ve been keeping up my background character facade by just barely passing each quiz. Through cheating, of course. Now, however, my overreliance on cheating is finally catching up with me. The problem is, Isaac is absent. Not only is Isaac the top student in the class, he also sits at the perfect angle for me to see his paper from my seat. It’s like he was born for the express purpose of me cheating off him. Thanks to this guy, I’ve been able to tailor my quiz scores with nearly superhuman precision. But today, he’s absent! Now I’m in real danger of failing. “Rgh…” When you’re cheating, it’s crucial to pick the right person to cheat from. It won’t do you any good sneaking peeks at an answer sheet if the person writing on it is an idiot. I look to my right and see Skel shadily glancing around. He’s useless to me. I look to my left and see Po staring beneath his desk at a suspicious angle. He’s useless, too. At this point, the only person I have left to rely on…is Christina, the duke’s daughter, who sits diagonally in front of me. She’s one of the top five students in the class, but there’s one big problem with her—from the angle I’m at, more than half of her answer sheet is obscured. I’ve already copied down the bits I can see, but that adds up to only forty points out of a hundred, tops. I need sixty to avoid failing, and this ain’t gonna cut it. Should I conceal my presence and sneak somewhere that gives me a better view to copy from? The issue there is, concealing my presence doesn’t do squat as far as making my physical body disappear. If I start walking around without any cover or obstructions, then people are just gonna spot me with their eyes. And given how many eyes there are in the classroom, I’ll get caught for sure. In light of that, it looks like my only choice is to move so fast that no one can see me. It’s an option, for sure. If I really let loose, moving that fast is a piece of cake. However, there’s a glaring flaw in that plan. If I move faster than the naked eye can see, the wind pressure will literally blow my cover. I might accidentally send the test paper flying. Heck, I might accidentally send Christina flying. That right there would be a complete baby/bathwater situation. In other words, I need to move subtly enough to not release any wind yet fast enough that nobody sees me. Who knew a little old pop quiz was going to demand such an exacting level of technical mastery? Am I even going to be able to pull this off…? I’ve done loads and loads of training to be able to move fast. However, not once have I ever trained to be able to move fast without building up wind pressure. That said, the extra homework assignment would take me two whole days to finish. “…No guts, no glory.” To give up now would be to sully my name as a background character. I begin molding magic so fine that no one will notice it. All right, baby. First time’s the charm. Right as I do… “Hey, you there! What do you think you’re doing?!” “?!” I got spotted?! I freeze in shock, and my magic dissipates. However, I’m not the one the teacher is looking at. He’s looking at the seat beside mine. “Skel Etal!! You’re cheating!” Skel trembles as the color drains from his face. “I—I—IIIII wasn’t looking at anything!! I swear I wasn’t looking at Christina’s answers!!” “Ah, so nice of you to admit exactly what you did. I’ve been watching you like a hawk, you know. Get out of my classroom. You just earned yourself two extra homework assignments.” “B-but that’s not fair…” Skel leaves the room looking like a dead man walking. Christina watches him go with an expression of absolute contempt. A-all right, Cid, pull yourself together. I mold my magic as fine as can be, and right as I do… “Hey, you there! What do you think you’re doing?!” Again?! I look up in alarm, but the teacher still isn’t staring at me. Once again, his eyes are on the seat right beside mine. “Po Tato!! What’re you looking under your desk for?!” Po begins sweating buckets. “I—I—IIIII wasn’t looking at anything!! I swear I wasn’t looking at the cheat sheet under my desk!!” “Well, at least you’re being honest about it. Get out of my classroom. You just earned yourself three extra homework assignments.” “Th-the number went up…” Po leaves the room, staggering unsteadily as he goes. “The next person I catch cheating is going home with four extra homework assignments.” The teacher’s eyes gleam. Dammit, Skel and Po, why’d you have to go and make such a mess of things? Thanks to those two bozos, the risk level just skyrocketed, and our teacher is on high alert. But that’s not gonna stop me. “Surrender isn’t an option.” I mold my magic. The flow of time seems to slow. Right here, right now, I just might be able to do it. This is a mythical Hidden Normie Technique designed specifically for cheating—and it’s my forty-ninth one!! “Behold…” Then, right as I focus every nerve in my body, I hear it. There’s a loud thud as something comes falling out of the air. “………” When things happen that make zero logical sense, people tend to find themselves at a loss for words. I have no idea why Claire just fell on top of our teacher, but every person in the class is now staring at her in dumbfounded silence. Even I had no idea she was planning on going this far. To think that this is what she was foreshadowing when she decided to go missing… “What do you mean, you can’t let them ‘have’ me?!” Claire tramples our teacher underfoot as she rises to her feet and shouts at the empty air. “Answer me! I have special powers, and I’m not—!” At that point, she shoots a quick glance around the classroom. Her expression stiffens. “You’re in the wrong room, Claire Kagenou,” our squished teacher chokes through the pain. “Ah, well, that’s, uh… Heh.” Claire turns bright red. I can’t tell if she’s smiling or if her face is just twitching. “I-I’ll be going now! So sorry about that!!” With a brisk bow, she does a quick one-eighty and scurries away. Looks like someone’s getting in trouble later. She’s falling out of the sky, she’s talking to the empty air, she’s declaring that she’s got special powers… Her symptoms are progressing faster than I ever expected. Just this once, though, they saved my hide. “Thanks for distracting everyone, Sis.” With a grin, I fill in the empty spots on my answer sheet. Claire emerges from the guidance counselor’s office and lets out a small sigh. “Well, that was dreadful.” The head teacher just scolded her for nearly an hour, and the light streaming into the hallway is taking on hues of red. Off in the distance, she can hear students chatting. Her footsteps echo through the empty corridor. “Of all the classes it could have been, why did it have to be Cid’s? I have no idea how I’m supposed to look him in the eye tomorrow.” She blushes, then turns to the empty air. “And it’s all your fault.” “Wow, rude. That was in no way my fault.” “Then explain to me what did happen. Nobody’s going to believe me if I tell them I got attacked by some weird people in some sort of weird space and ended up falling on top of a teacher. I thought they were about to refer me to a shrink.” “You’re better off not knowing. Once you do, there’s no going back.” “Puh-lease. I can’t stay in the dark, not after what just happened. I’m pissed.” “…No. I can’t put you in harm’s way.” “I’d say I’m smack-dab in harm’s way already. Besides, if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m just going to figure it out myself. I refuse to let things end like this.” “You’re wasting your time.” “We’ll see about that… Aurora the Calamity Witch.” “Where…where did you learn that name…?” “I did my research, that’s what I—” Claire freezes in place mid-sentence. She thought the hallway was empty, but at some point, a silver-haired girl showed up. “I do apologize for interrupting your soliloquy, Claire Kagenou. There’s something I want to talk to you about.” The girl peers at Claire, her red gaze burning with interest. It’s Alexia Midgar, one of the Midgar Kingdom princesses. Claire’s expression hardens. “I wasn’t just talking to myself.” Alexia puts on a big show of scanning the hallway. “Well, I certainly don’t see anyone else around.” Claire’s expression hardens further. “You and I aren’t friends, Princess. I have nothing to talk to you about.” “I can tell you’re no fan of mine. Which is odd, considering that as far as I know, we’ve never talked before.” “And we’re not going to, you royal wench, not after the way you led Cid on.” Claire’s eyes are full of murder and steel. Alexia can practically feel Claire’s gaze burning a hole in her. “What?” she cries. Her gaze darts around, and there’s a hint of panic on her face. “There’s a whole lot of context you’re missing! At no point was I trying to lead him on!” “Oh, really now? You can barely even say it with a straight face. I smell a liar.” “Excuse me! Rude! I’m not a liar! And also, what’s with the attitude?! You’re his sister, so I figured I could at least try to pretend to be nice to you.” “And there it is. A liar and a fake, to boot.” Claire practically spits out the words, and Alexia clicks her tongue. “You really are siblings, aren’t you? You’re exactly alike, the way neither of you has a respectful bone in your body.” “Wait, you think Cid and I are alike?” “Th-that’s what I said, yeah. At least when it comes to disrespect…” “Ohhh, so you think we’re alike… Tee-hee-hee.” Claire’s entire face lights up. “What does that matter, though?” “Wow, I guess you do have an eye for people!” “Uh…” Claire swings her arm over Alexia’s shoulder, and Alexia has approximately zero idea what to make of it. “So you said you had something you wanted to talk about?” “I mean… I did…” “You caught me at a busy moment, but oh well. I guess I can make some time for you.” “…Thanks?” “By the way, what other ways would you say Cid and I are alike?” “I—I don’t know, your hair color?” With Claire’s arm still over Alexia’s shoulder, the two of them make their way down the twilit hallway. “What is this place?” Claire asks. “A special parlor only accessible to the elite,” Alexia replies as she turns on the extravagant room’s lights. “Then what are we doing here?” “I am a princess, you know.” “Oh yeah, that’s right.” Did you seriously forget? Alexia wonders. “Go ahead and sit down.” “Ooh, this is comfy. And the embroidery is so pretty. What a colossal waste of our taxes.” “Say, do people ever tell you that you don’t know when to shut up?” “Not that I can recall.” Alexia and Claire sit on a pair of big fluffy sofas as they converse. The two of them are the only ones in the room. Alexia takes another look at the girl sitting across from her. Claire has black hair and red eyes, and she excels both at her schoolwork and as a dark knight. Her sudden meteoric rise in strength has been the talk of the town, and she’s already informally been offered a spot in the Knight Order. The way Alexia sees it, Claire and her brother don’t have a single thing in common—not a single thing, aside from how disrespectful they are. “Why are you giving me that serious look?” Claire asks. “Because we need to have a serious conversation.” “That’s for sure. I won’t let you have Cid.” “I—I don’t want him!” Alexia’s voice comes out shrill, which she covers with an affected cough. “This is about you falling on that teacher in the middle of class.” “What, and you want to lecture me?” “I just want you to tell me what happened.” “I used my magic to jump in from outside the classroom and attack him,” Claire replies in a brisk monotone. “I guess I went a little bit crazy from stress. I’m not sure I totally follow, but that’s definitely for sure what happened. I regret my actions, and I won’t do it again.” “I’m not asking about your cover story.” “Well, that’s exactly what I wrote in my apology letter.” “But it’s not the truth, is it?” “What do you mean?” “I know you’ve been doing research on the demon Diablos.” With that, Alexia takes the papers she retrieved from Claire’s room and dumps them on the table. “Wait, why do you have my—?” “I can tell you’re driven by more than just idle curiosity.” Claire’s expression turns serious. “What do you want to know?” “Everything. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on here at the academy.” “…And you won’t make fun of me?” “I won’t. Not a chance.” “You swear?” “I swear.” Claire goes silent and shifts her gaze. Now she’s staring intently at a spot of empty space. From the look in her eyes, it’s almost as though someone’s talking to her. Eventually, Claire shakes her head. “Sorry, Aurora.” “Huh?” Unsure what to make of the non sequitur, Alexia tilts her head in confusion. However, Claire isn’t talking to her. She’s still staring at nothing. “I’m at my limit here. I don’t understand what’s going on, and it scares me…” Claire’s shoulders tremble a little. Then she turns back to Alexia and offers her a small smile. “Sorry, you can go ahead and ignore all that.” “…Are you okay?” “Nothing’s okay… And that’s why I’m going to tell you everything. It’s going to sound ridiculous, so it’s up to you whether you want to believe it.” “I believe you.” As Alexia sees it, there’s no sign that Claire is trying to lie to her. “Really? Then I had better start by introducing her.” “Who?” “Her name is Aurora. She’s a spirit known as the Calamity Witch. Go ahead and say hello.” Claire points over to the side. There’s no one there. Alexia squints, then rubs her eyes, but still, nada. “Now, I first met her back when…” As soon as Claire launches into her explanation as if there’s actually a person there with them, Alexia starts regretting having told Claire that she would believe her. “…And now I’m here.” By the time Claire finishes her story, the sun has already set. As the fireplace crackles away, Alexia takes a sip of her coffee. “I think I get the picture.” “And you believe me?” “I do. It sounds absurd on its face, but it all lines up.” “It does?” “That’s right—it’s all connected. The Shadow Garden, the Cult of Diablos, the weird things happening at the school, everything. The part about the spirit is still a little hard to believe, but still.” “A-Aurora exists! She does! She’s sitting right there and laughing as we speak!” Alexia steals a glance at the empty sofa. “Let’s set the whole spirit issue aside for the moment.” “I’m telling you, she’s real!” “However, I do recognize the name. Aurora the Calamity Witch… A member of the Cult’s leadership mentioned her.” “Is there some connection between Aurora and the Cult?” “I don’t know. I tried researching it myself, but there aren’t many surviving documents about the Calamity Witch. The only thing I was able to learn is that she once caused a huge disaster.” Claire turns to the spirit. “You caused a huge disaster, Aurora?” It really does look like she’s talking to someone. “Ah, so that’s what happened. Aurora says that she’s the one who wiped out the Pig Orcs. She says she just couldn’t stand the look of them.” “…I don’t think that’s the disaster they were talking about.” “It isn’t? …Oh, I see, I see. Aurora says she’s also the one who doodled on the holy shield Aegis. Apparently, she didn’t know how famous it was when she was doing it.” “That’s definitely not the right disaster! Besides, Aegis went missing, and no one’s been able to find it.” “It’s not that, either? In that case—” “Let’s table that for now, shall we? It’s high time we moved this discussion along!” “But Aurora says she has more stuff she wants to brag about.” “I don’t care! We need to get back on topic!” Alexia clears her throat. “The first thing we ought to figure out is what exactly is happening here at the academy.” Claire’s expression sharpens. “Agreed.” “Now, about that strange space you got trapped in, I went through something not unlike that myself once. It was at a place called the Sanctuary…” Alexia goes on to explain what happened back at the Sanctuary. “That does sound similar,” Claire says. “So there’s a phenomenon resembling the Sanctuary that’s happening here on campus. Then we’ve got the Wicked Smile guy you fought. Odds are, he was working for the Cult of Diablos.” “That was Viscount Jean, captain of the third Knight Order’s fourth company.” “I was afraid this might be the case, but it looks like the Cult has personnel in the Knight Order. We can’t trust them.” “What about Princess Iris? Surely we can trust the Crimson Order.” “My sister is… She’s busy right now. Either way, it’s clear that the Cult is kidnapping students to carry out some diabolical plan.” “What sort of plan, though?” “There’s a space similar to the Sanctuary here at Midgar Academy, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there was a piece of the demon Diablos sealed here like there was there.” “Now that you mention it, I’ve heard rumors about the right arm of Diablos being locked away somewhere in the academy… But those are just rumors, right?” Alexia shakes her head. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” “Wait, seriously?” “I don’t have any solid evidence, but… There’s a forbidden book in the school library that details the academy’s history. If someone sealed Diablos’s right arm here, then it would have to be recorded in that book.” “Can you use your royal authority to get us into the forbidden book section?” “Cutting through all the red tape would take ages.” “What do we do, then?” Alexia grins. “We sneak in, that’s what.” “We’ll get in big trouble if they catch us.” “So let’s not get caught. We can’t trust the Knight Order, we can’t trust the teachers… It’s up to us to crack the case.” “If we get found out, I’m pretty sure I can kiss my informal offer good-bye.” “I’ll just hire you myself. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s throwing coins at people.” “Do you really need to throw them?” “It’s important to let people know who’s in charge.” “…Uh-huh.” “Anyway, we’re doing this. The Cult of Diablos and the Shadow Garden are making moves and mobilizing as we speak. If things go on like this, the victim count is just going to rise.” After listening to Alexia’s speech, Claire hangs her head and sinks into thought. Then she slowly makes her suggestion. “What if we just left everything to the Shadow Garden?” Alexia is so caught off guard that she’s momentarily struck speechless. “…There’s too much we don’t know about them. We don’t even know why it is they’re fighting the Cult. I’m not willing to put that much unconditional faith in them.” “Are you sure? From what I gather, they saved me back in the Lawless City, too.” “Even so, the Shadow Garden is dangerous. When I imagine what would happen if they ever turned that massive strength of theirs against Midgar, it makes me think my sister might be right to be so worried about them.” “Ah, fair. I kind of get it, you know? After all, Shadow took down Elisabeth the Blood Queen on his own. If the legends about her strength are true, then that would mean Shadow really is in a league of his own.” “I have to believe that she was in a weakened state. If she really was as powerful as they say, then the Midgar Kingdom will have little choice but to tiptoe around Shadow for the foreseeable future.” “One wrong move, and he’d become a bigger threat than even the Cult, huh?” “Exactly. He has an entourage in the Shadow Garden called the Seven Shadows, and they’re forces to be reckoned with. All of them are at least as strong as my sister, and some of them might very well be stronger. It’s not just Shadow. The whole organization is a powerhouse.” “Now that you mention it, there was that therianthrope Zeta… I’ve never seen Aurora that scared of someone. She said she couldn’t get a read on the limits of Zeta’s strength.” Alexia bites her lip. “Look, I want to believe that they’re on our side as much as you do, but…for now, I can’t trust them. They’re too dangerous.” “Yeah, you’re right. I guess we just have to do whatever we can. You can count me in.” “I really appreciate that, Claire.” Claire takes her own hand with the magic circle on it and clutches it in her other. “If all we do is sit around, nothing’s ever going to get done. Aurora, this magic circle, Shadow… There are so many questions we need answers to. Thank you for this, Alexia.” “Huh?” Alexia looks at her in confusion. Those weren’t the words she’d been expecting. “For hearing me out and for really listening. It was scary, being on my own. I felt so powerless. The fact that you believed me really means a lot.” “…Anytime.” “And I get how you feel, too. Things seem so hopeless when you’re on your own, don’t they?” “I never said I—” Alexia’s voice trembles. Her sister’s been practicing her sword work like a woman possessed, and she never has time for Alexia these days. Rose deserted Alexia and went off solo. And Natsume…well, Alexia never trusted Natsume in the first place, so that one’s whatever. “Let’s do this, you and me.” Claire offers Alexia her hand, and Alexia shakes it without a moment’s consideration. She can feel its warmth envelop her. “Thank you, Claire.” “Of course. Besides, this’ll make it easier to keep an eye on you,” Claire says under her breath, then squeezes Alexia’s hand so hard it cracks. “Huh?” “If this is what it takes to protect him from your clutches, it’s a small price to pay.” “C-Claire, that hurts.” “Oh gosh, I’m sooo sorry. I’m looking forward to working with you, Alexia.” “L-likewise to you, Claire.” Alexia squeezes back just as hard, and the two of them smile. It’s like they were cut from the same cloth, muses the spirit. Claire and Alexia stand before a room in the women’s dorm. Alexia gives Claire a skeptical look. “Hey, are you sure about this?” “Of course. Nina will come through, one hundred percent. Cid says he told her that he wanted to read a book from the forbidden section once, and the next day, she brought it right to him!” “Seriously? I’ve never heard a faker-sounding story in my life.” “No, no, it’s cool. Cid would never lie to me.” “Of course he would. The guy’s practically made of lies and avarice.”
Chapter 75
33 min read