Imperial capital.
High above the city, where rows upon rows of pastel-colored rooftops stretched out below.
A young man wearing Tane Academy’s uniform continued a dangerously unsteady run. Quite some time had already passed since he started sprinting.
With every leap, the man twisted his face into a grimace, only to collapse the instant his feet touched down, over and over again.
His stamina had long since reached its limit. A mana core and magical output were not omnipotent. Forced physical enhancement which was clearly something he wasn’t accustomed to rapidly consumed the oxygen and energy within his body.
His vision narrowed, his breath climbed up to his throat; this was the reality of an untrained human body.
And yet, the man did not stop. Without giving in to despair or hesitation, he simply scanned the structure of the rooftops and the obstacles ahead with his eyes, preparing for another jump. He didn’t spare a single thought for the pain to come.
Watching this scene, Henry who was disguised as a coachman swallowed a low murmur.
“…Adel Bliss.”
That Adel Bliss might be connected to demon worshippers was a suspicion Henry had already been half certain of.
After all, Adel’s actions so far had been filled with things even Henry couldn’t understand.
Humans make judgments based on information gathered from their surroundings. Ordinary people cannot conceive of what they cannot see, and even exceptional individuals cannot accurately infer what they cannot hear.
And yet, Adel Bliss seemed to exist in blatant defiance of such common sense. The moment Henry faced him today, he realized that much.
He knows something. His eyes suggested knowledge beyond what was known….beyond the surface.
That was why Henry had thought such insight could only be possible if Adel were connected to demon worshippers.
“…So you weren’t the culprit after all.”
But the sight before him now made that conclusion impossible. Even while limping, Adel refused to stop. That alone was more than enough to erase suspicion…no, it crushed it entirely.
An expression driven solely by the fear of being too late. An attitude that stirred something long forgotten within Henry, whose emotions had mostly been worn away.
At the very least, this much had to be acknowledged.
Henry quietly closed his eyes.
“……”
With a high degree of certainty, this man was not an enemy. He was closer to an ally.
Much like Camilla Bliss whom they had once tried to recruit, he was someone with an upright and sincere nature.
“…I’ll help you just this once. But understand this is merely part of a plan to retrieve one of our own. Sally White is a valuable asset to us as well.”
Offering an excuse no one would ever hear, Henry activated gravity-manipulation magic.
***
I’m going to die.
I’ve felt this several times before, but yeah, I really have no talent for running.
Why is she running so fast?! Stop running!
Has she already been enhanced by a demon parasite? Or is this just the true extent of Sally White’s physical ability?
The speed wrapping around my entire body is far greater than when Awen carried me last time, and yet, there’s still no sign of closing the distance.
My muscle fibers weren’t just tearing anymore. My tendons were starting to feel like they were at risk too. If I damaged myself this badly, even demonic transformation might not be enough to heal me quickly.
And then—
“Adel Bliss—!”
It’s the coachman from before. Still dressed the same, his face hidden under a hat…he suddenly appeared, running alongside me in midair.
Grabbing a chimney in front of me, I launched myself forward with all my might and shouted:
“Sorry, but I don’t have time to deal with you right now!”
“I’m going to reinforce your footing from now on. Catch Sally White!”
“……!”
Amid the urgency, I gave a sharp nod. I didn’t know what wind had suddenly blown to change his mind, but for now, our goals were aligned. In that case, there was no reason to reject the help.
If I’m going to accept it, I might as well use it as efficiently as possible.
“What level of magic can you cast instantly?”
“…Fifth-rank!”
“Good. Starting now, cast magic on the spots I step….rank four ‘Explosion’, and rank five ‘Telekinesis’. No waveform modulation….just standard activation!”
“…Are you insane?”
Even from here, I could feel the shock in his voice. Understandable. Starting from the fourth rank, magic has a definite lethal force, and what I just asked for might easily get me blown up by my own spells.
But it doesn’t matter. I know the exact timing of each explosion—
Crackle—
◆ [Total Magical Structure Analysis] activated.
I have a trait that lets me fully analyze magic structures. Right now, there’s no chance I’ll miss the timing. The heat surging through my body is all the proof I need.
“This is suicidal!! You’ll blow off your entire lower body!!”
“Cut the chatter and just do it.”
Even now, Sally is getting farther away.
“Even if you catch up, what then? She’s in a demonic state! What are you going to do?!”
“I’ll figure it out!”
“…Damn it.”
The exchange was brief. Without another word, he began constructing the spell.
“Then don’t die, Adel Bliss!”
Beneath my feet, a surge of powerful mana distorted reality. Deep flames licked at the air…
– ……
I could die doing this. I understood that.
And yet, it all felt strangely distant.
Woooooooong—
I can see every detail of the magic spreading across the platform. For a moment, it feels like my vision is expanding. There’s not a trace of anxiety.
Intuition flows through my brain and transforms into words. A complete analysis of the magical structure….it’s right in the palm of my hand!
◆ Explosion-type magic spell: 3 seconds until activation, 2 seconds…
◆ Pyrokinesis-type magic spell: 3 seconds until activation, 2 seconds…
An instant. But it felt like an eternity.
Now!
Boom—!!!
Flawless timing, down to the split second. A technique known in the game as a “Super Jump”.
And in this moment, I perfectly recreated that technique.
My vision accelerated.
The peach-colored hair drew suddenly close.
“Sally Whiteeeeee──!!!”
And the moment she heard her name and turned around—
“Got you at last! You little—!”
“Eek?!”
I grabbed Sally by the hair.
Baaaaaang!!
Then crashed straight through the roof, slamming into the space below.
◆ [Total Magical Structure Analysis] activated.
I ignored the feel of wood slamming against my body.
To rip out the demonic parasite, I shoved my hand straight into the back of her neck.
She’s still sane, so it must be here somewhere…!
“…Huh?”
I suddenly sat up. Before I realized it, I was straddling Sally with my hand supporting her neck—
But…
There’s something more important than that.
“What the… It’s not here.”
Could it have already climbed up her spine? That thought prompted me to scan her entire body using magical structure analysis.
“……”
Clean.
Not a trace of demonic presence anywhere.
For some reason, only the pitifully whimpering maid remained before me.
She was not the host of the demonic parasite.
***
“Why did you attack me? More than that…. why did you run away?”
“…I didn’t mean to run…”
“Why did you hide in the first place? Because of you, your teammates and even I…look, I was almost kidnapped and locked up. All this crap I had to go through just because—”
“…Uuuu…”
“Don’t tell me you’re sulking because you lost a game? Upset because your whole ‘pure and innocent’ act got exposed? What’s there to be upset about?”
“That’s not it……”
“You think it’s okay to go smashing through rooftops dressed like a nun? Aren’t you supposed to be a role model or something?”
“……Ughhh!!”
Sally pushed me away.
She hugged herself and spoke, looking like she was about to cry.
“You’re one to talk, Adel! Just now, you… you looked like some kind of demon…! I was the one who was shocked and ran off to get Camilla!”
“What……?”
“And how do you even know the name of my ability? I’ve never told anyone! Who… what are you?! Are you connected to that person…the one who made me like this?!”
“Huh……?”
I tilted my head blankly.
“You want to know why I attacked you? It’s because you knew the name of this ability! A name I didn’t even come up with. A name given to me by the person who ruined my life…and you just said it like it was nothing!”
For a moment, I wondered how she didn’t know.
But then I realized…. unlike me, who could just check character sheets, it actually was strange for someone to know the name of their own unique ability.
Like… in the real world, if someone eats spicy food well, people just go “oh, they’re good with spice.” No one goes around saying “Spice Immunity!” or anything like that…
The tables had turned.
“How do you know?! You’re connected to that person, aren’t you?! Did you approach me on purpose?!”
“You’re the one who asked to eat lunch in the bathroom together……”
“And what are you anyway?! Why chase after me like your life depended on it?! Grabbing a lady by the hair like some kind of lowlife—!”
“No, I… I thought you’d been taken by the demon cultists or something… I’m sorry for grabbing you like that.”
“Aaaagh!!! Don’t apologize!!! I’m Sally, okay?! Sally White! There’s no way someone like me would get taken down that easily! And what were you planning to do after grabbing me anyway?! You can’t even do anything! That was nothing but reckless bravado! What if I had gone full demonic and killed you?!”
It’s not like I couldn’t do anything. Sloppy or not, I did have a plan.
“Well… I figured I’d just pull the parasite out and transfer it into my body, then destroy it myself…”
“…What?”
“Then it’d be fine…”
“…What are you even—”
Sally, who had been stomping her feet in place while sitting, suddenly stopped.
The house we had crashed into through the roof was empty. Only thick dust remained, slowly settling.
Silence.
From outside, the faint sounds of the distant street barely filled the space between us.
Sparkle, sparkle……
Pop—
Maybe it was the shock from the roof collapsing. The ceiling light, which had been flickering precariously, went out.
In the darkness. Within the narrow field of vision, she stomped her feet while still sitting.
“…What are you, exactly? What kind of person are you…?!”
“Adele Bliss… the early admis…?”
“Don’t talk back! …I’ve met plenty of people who were kind to me before, but I’ve never met an idiot like you!! You’ll die. You’ll die, you know?! You fought so hard to become human again….you should know better! Do you even understand what it really means to be associated with demon cultists in this place?!”
“Uh…”
“You’d associate with demon cultists for someone else’s sake? Even go so far as to turn demonic in their place?! Do you actually think someone would be happy about a sacrifice like that?! From the beginning, from the very beginning…!!”
A hot liquid touched my thigh. At some point, Sally had started crying, and her tears were now falling freely.
I hid my sour expression. I felt like some terrible person who makes every girl he’s involved with cry…
“From the beginning… none of this is really how you feel…”
“……”
“Every little thing you’ve done for me, even the kindness you feel in your heart… even the reason you keep coming to the bathroom every lunch break even though you have friends now… all of it… it’s not really how you feel…”
Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
It was like a broken faucet. No matter how much she wiped, they kept pouring out, and she clutched my shoulders with both hands, covering her mouth.
“You probably think someone like me is a bother. You’re just acting based on the emotions they planted in you… You’ve been deceived by your own feelings toward me… If it weren’t for that, you’d probably be disgusted by me…”
“……”
“Don’t throw your life away so easily… You finally, finally became human again, didn’t you…? Don’t waste it on someone like me. Use it for something more meaningful… You have your whole life ahead of you… Please, I’m begging you. Just forget about someone like me…”
I hesitated. I don’t know what to say to a crying girl.
In a situation like this, I guess the “right” thing would be to ride the mood and say something like, “It’s okay! I believe these feelings are real!” to ease her suspicions and comfort her.
But unfortunately, I’m not the type for that kind of sentiment. I don’t even have the courage to say it.
“Sally.”
The only thing I can do is calmly tell the truth.
“I’m sorry, but… you’re wrong about everything.”
“……?”
“To explain… I’m magically disabled. I have a condition where magical energy can’t function. The flow of nullified mana constantly roams inside my body. Because of that, I reject any foreign mana. Even healing spells don’t work well on me.”
“…What does that have to do with anything…?”
“And the source of your power lies in your unique mana wave. Still don’t get it?”
Looking at Sally, whose eyes had turned red, I stated calmly:
“…Your ability doesn’t work well on me. Sally White.”
It happened in that instant.
With my trait activated, I could see it….the rhythm of her mana, her pulse, paused for a moment.
If I had to guess, we were in a room at some inn. In the dark space, only her wide shocked eyes stood out clearly.
“…Huh?”
“Even without that, we’re a bad match. And on top of that, I have the ability to see the structure of mana waves. Which means…”
“──…!”
“I’m immune to your ‘Innocent Purity’. My feelings can’t be manipulated.”
“……”
This time, her mana wave began to flare wildly. I simply deactivated my trait.
“…It also means I have no reason to trust your nonsense. Not now, not ever.”
I flicked her forehead. Only then did I realize my finger was broken. My face twisted in pain.
Sally noticed. She crawled over on her knees, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Holding my injured finger in both hands, she sat in silence for a long while before finally asking,
“…Is it true?”
“Yeah.”
“It really, really doesn’t work on you?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“Then the reason you came looking for me… was it really because of your own feelings?”
“Yeah. It annoyed me how you were acting all holy like a saint or something.”
“……”
Tap.
Her peach-colored hair brushed against my chest. Sally gently tapped me with her forehead.
That’s when I realized again. My rib was broken.
“I’m going to test it.”
“Go ahead.”
“……”
“…?”
“I am testing it. Your heartbeat really hasn’t changed. Not even a little. Doesn’t it race at all?”
“I told you, it doesn’t work.”
“…It’s not fair.”
Because of my broken rib, the spot where her forehead touched started to hurt. I tried to push her away, but she suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.
“…Just for a bit, please… just stay like this…”
“…F-Fine, just for a bit, okay…!”
“Yes… just for a moment. That’s all I need…”
I really might die.
“…Adel.”
“What is it…”
“Thank you for finding me. You went through a lot.”
“Y-Yeah, okay, now let go…!”
“Did you know… I found something too.”
“I don’t know! I don’t care!! Just let me go!!”
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