“Come back tomorrow, okay Canis? You too, Ferris!”
“Sure, and thanks for the awesome grub, master! See you around!”
“…Thanks for food.”
Canis and Ferris made a somewhat visually striking pair—Canis was a particularly tall man, and Ferris was a young girl who was quite small in stature. Both wore turbans wrapped around their heads in the same style.
“Ahhh!” Canis exhaled with satisfaction. “That was good stuff!”
“…”
“Huh? What’s up, Ferris? You seem down.”
Ferris didn’t answer.
“Hm…you’re thinkin’ real hard about somethin’, eh?”
“No progress,” she said finally. “Nothing. Not since that day.”
“What? We’ve totally made progress.”
“Explain.”
“We figured out that our target doesn’t just use magic, but he’s also an awesome swordsman. Well, guess we ain’t super sure if that’s true or not yet, but it’s valuable intel.”
“…”
“Come on, don’t look at me like that! You’re scaring m—”
Canis abruptly cut his sentence short as he saw a black-hooded man disappear into a nearby alleyway. From the way he walked and everything in his demeanor, Canis knew at once that they were in the same business.
Still, there was no reason for the two of them to interfere. It had nothing to do with them. Canis should have ignored the man, and yet he found his attention pulled irresistibly toward the stranger. Then, with his incredible hearing, Canis caught a snippet of their conversation:
“Execute the plan tonight. Capture the Dark.”
“Understood.”
This was a discussion that he couldn’t ignore. He could easily imagine what they meant by the “Dark”—and had to make sure that wasn’t the case.
“Ferris.”
“Yes. Heard them,” she confirmed. “Need to investigate.”
“Yeah. Just make sure you follow my orders. You got that?”
“…Got that.”
With that, Canis and Ferris both vanished, melting away into the night.
4
THE HOUR WAS SO LATE THAT EVEN THE TREES were sleeping, as three hooded men dressed in black sprinted through the darkness, blending in with the night. They ran with such elegant discipline that their footsteps were almost inaudible.
“Final confirmation. This magic tool interferes with mana use in an area of effect. It only lasts five minutes. After that, it self-destructs to avoid anyone learning any more about it…that is all.”
“Then we can’t fail, huh?”
“Understood.”
“That’s right. We incapacitate the Dark within the time frame, get him in the Shackles of Mana Sealing, and get him out of there.”
“Yep, you got it!”
“…Understood.”
The group was headed toward the Aslan Magic Academy dormitories. Normally, the building was under the strict guard of several different magic tools that prevented intruders from gaining entry. But on that night, for some reason, none of them seemed to be working. The men arrived at the dorms, then made their way around to the rear of the building. One of them placed a hand on the back door handle, and it easily swung open.
“Just as the intel said.”
“Yeesh! This lot sure have gotten used to bein’ at peace, huh?”
“Quiet. Focus. We cannot fail.”
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry ’bout that.”
The man who scolded his comrade continued his lecture.
“So far, everything has been just as we were told. We don’t know what might happen in there, though, so we’re activating this magic tool the moment we enter the dorms. Keep your eyes on the clock, got it?”
“…Understood.”
“Yep. Five minutes on the dot. We’ll be in and out lickety-split.”
“…Agreed.”
“You really can’t give more than a one-word answer, huh?”
“Right. Let’s go.”
The man in front opened the door, stepped inside, and immediately activated the magic tool in his hands, just as he said he would. The drawback of the tool was that its effect also applied to the three men themselves—but they had all known that ahead of time, and so that wasn’t an issue.
The trio immediately sprang into action. First, they came upon the cafeteria, where they found two men that appeared to be guards lying suspiciously in the hallway. They seemed to be breathing, so they were clearly unconscious rather than dead.
“…”
The intruders didn’t appear to be surprised by the two guards. They spared them only a brief glance as they proceeded down the hallway. The dorms were cloaked in darkness, but the intruders’ footsteps were certain, as if they knew the place well. They stopped in front of the door to a certain room and exchanged glances.
This is the one, they agreed silently.
The door was locked, but one of the men made quick, well-practiced work of picking it open. After another glance to his comrades, he quietly pushed the door ajar.
“Oh my, welcome.”
“Wh—”
The man could not suppress a small cry of shock—it was the first thing to happen that night that he had not anticipated.
The room was illuminated by a faint little light, revealing a beautiful young girl with silver hair sitting leisurely on the bed before them. The man only hesitated for a split second, then quickly took action. If the girl were to scream, their mission would fail on the spot. She had to be killed. He had no idea who she was, but it didn’t matter—there was no other option but to silence her immediately. Swiftly, he drew his stiletto and held it in his right hand as he advanced on the silver-haired girl, a murderous glint in his eyes. He took another step closer…and then he dropped his weapon to the ground.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hmph, I knew it. Foes, then. That’s all I needed to know.”