Vol 1 Chapter 5 (2/2)

“Rather than the eneth 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 s

“When we firstwith 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 foric 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 , it was still a tricky feat to pull off

Irori was honestly shocked Raishi+n had only started two years ago, but at that point in tih to manipulate a wooden puppet With her eye on his back, Shouko nodded

“The boy’s brother couldlife-like However, he couldn’t do that— and so he branded himself as talentless However—”

Her long eyelashes fluttered doards as she absenthed

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

At le 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 exorcis to say that his talent is so 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 edy of his siblings getting attacked, and the genocide of the Akabane clan were scarce

Both her th

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 ed topics

“Will Raishi+n be able to defeat Tenzen?”

“Who knows? That is so 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 sith numerous doubts

However, her brain soon settled down frohts evaporate away

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

Irori stared outside the , looking up at the ht sky

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

Godspeed, Raishi+n

(4)

With Yaya in tow, Raishi+n burst out of the tortoise dormitory

It ay past curfew The boarding master called out from behind hiency Raishi+n ignored hi the disciplinary committee and this was a related matter was too troublesome

Following the street lights outside the buildings, he dashed towards the griffon dorht wind caressed the back of his neck, causing his body to shi+ver

The conversation he had with Felix earlier replayed itself in Raishi+n’s mind

“Hey, Felix”

Raishi+n wanted to chase after Charl, but a hand on his shoulder restrained hi so

Felix held his hand out in a pacifying gesture

“I knohat you’re going to say, Raishi+n First off, letyour relationshi+p 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”

Raishi+n 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 Raishi+n 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 coue

By the tiht 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…!)

“—Raishi+n!”

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

Reflexively preparing for combat, he extended out a hand towards Yaya The other party had the saht of the street lalimmered in their hand

It was the cold glint of metal— a knife

Soht of the unknown person caused a sense of déjà vu to pass over hith hair and a pair glasses giving off an intellectual air… This person was—

“Lisette! It’s me!”

“Raishi+n Akabane…”

Lowering her knife, she lit a lamp in her hand to check Raishi+n’s face

She was alone As always, her auto 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 co out”

“— is that faith in me?”

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

“… My bad What did you ith 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, so 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 atte 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 thatout 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 shadowsabout stealthily ah they had skilfully hid their presence, Raishi+n’s five senses were sharper than a nor, he could sense them

Lisette looked over at the

“The truth is, the disciplinary co for Charlotte”

“What, is she that i her, are you?”

If the disciplinary coht she was Cannibal Candy?

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

Raishi+n stared at Lisette with a questioning look

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

“Just earlier, several ic 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 so to set Charl up— No, that wasn’t it If Charl really was Cannibal Candy, her ic circuits If so this would have the opposite effect

So, did that ic circuits for reasons unknown to Raishi+n…?

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

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

Raishi+n grew silent as he continued to think

Judging hiave 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 confir, Raishi+n chose his words carefully and deliberately

“Would it be correct to say that I a 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 confir with my own eyes”

Raishi+n told her where he would like to go

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

“That’s… sorant 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 circumstances, yes No matter how much of a brainlessduring an eency like this must mean there’s a reason behind it, no?”

Although he was a little bothered by sos she had said, Raishi+n nodded

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

For a short while, Raishi+n and Yaya were left alone in the cold

Yaya was sticking tightly to him, so the cold didn’t affect hi that was excessively hard to endure

Maybe the negotiations weren’t going slected 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 gratitude This is merely part of my duties after all”

Having spoken curtly, Lisette started walking ahead of Raishi+n

She led them towards the most important block of the academy

Heading past the central auditoriu across the head 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 tiravely 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 participate in the Night Party”

“Don’t be ridiculous I’ to stoop to that level”

“I’ the possibility exists, you pond scum”

“So I’ve been deet it I’ll leave Yaya here”

“Raishi+n…”

Yaya looked up at hiliht 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, Raishi+n…”

“Don’t worry I’ll be with Lisette”

“Being alone together with that woer…”

“… You’re still going on about that?”

“You have no cause for concern, sex-obsessed doll In the unlikely event he does attack ue”

“I’ 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 uardroom Lisette pointed at her armband to indicate they were here on disciplinary committee business

It looked like the guards had been infor their entry, they handed over a master key

The inside of the building was the sa in any fors were all built with straight lines,

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 autoic 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 so?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend, but I rather die than have sex with a playboy like you”

“…”

It was an aard hed in what appeared to be embarrassment

“That was a joke What is it?”

“What kind of automaton is Felix’s?”

Lisette thought for a while, searching through her

“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 ru the Renaissance period”

“So it’s an antique?”

“It’s not sohtly The Renaissance period was a tieniuses walked the earth Techniques that are now lost to us existed back then, and there are ic arts from that period that we have yet to break down Felix’s automaton is also theorized to be one of the eniuses”

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

Even though it was a reo, 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 ic circuit is installed inside it?”

“Well, I don’t know that ht Party entrant It’s not prudent to reveal your hand to someone ill become your opponent someday”

“I guess that’s not surprising as well”

“It’s just—“

“— Just what?”

“When ere doing field practice before, he created lava”

“Lava?”

“Yes He heated the earth and used it to dig trenches Also, during another ti to throw the enemy team into confusion”

“Fog… You sure it wasn’t just steam?”

If it was a ic circuit that revolved around heat enerate 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 severallike that should be impossible”

In any case, he was sure to be a troubleso were both fluid states without form

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

“Felix’s locker is in the rooht”

“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 i to search Felix’s locker

Raishi+n took theoff in the opposite direction

He had already grasped the layout of the building

“That’s—“

Behind hinored her and opened the door

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

Relying on the na 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 glass cylinder

It looked like a giant test tube The liquid that filled it completely looked just like forical speciirl suspended within

It wasn’t an automaton

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

Raishi+n cursed his own foolishness

I a so obvious?

In other words, fro

Suspended inside the glass cylinder, this was—

Lisette Norden’s corpse

The next h force to knock the wind out of him