“…Adel?”
Camilla’s voice sounded distant.
There was no time to process what had just happened.
This was an accident.
I needed to reload and start over.
…But how?
The world that used to be a game no longer exists.
The temperature had dropped with the setting sun and the coming of night. The wind brushed against my skin, from my toes to my face. The distinct scent of spring filled the air. This place was undeniably real.
Maybe… it was never a game to begin with. It wouldn’t be strange if this had always been a real world, just disguised as a game.
“……”
The enemy was someone strong enough to appear only in the latter half of the game. A witch who protected Black Alley from the shadows.
A calamity known in the game only as the Wide-Brimmed Hat Woman.
“…Hmm.”
I’d been careless. She must have started following me to the academy back then. When I saw the cat at the Night Fruit and tilted my head in suspicion, she must’ve realized it.
That I could perceive her.
Death was lapping at my throat like water lapping at a shore.
But… it’s not over yet.
I took a deep breath. If she’d meant to kill me, she would have done it already. She’d had plenty of chances.
Tap, tap…
The calamity, now in human form, approached me.
Now, we were almost eye level. I was still a little shorter, but maybe she no longer saw me as the same person from before.
That’s when it happened.
“Sniff sniff. You smell nice…”
Damn it.
It had just been wishful thinking.
Of course she wouldn’t mistake me for someone else now. In her cat form, she probably even saw the name tag on my uniform.
Her pale slender fingers traced up my chest. Then, suddenly….she kissed me.
“──!!!”
I could push her away. The “Wide-Brimmed Hat Woman” isn’t a brute-force type. But if I did, she might kill me.
So I stayed still.
After a moment, she pulled away and spoke.
“So you’re not, after all.”
“……”
“You pretended not to know until the end… Who’s that beside you? Oh, your older sister?”
“……”
“If you want my goods, come to 11-3.”
She gave a slight smile, then disappeared…
And after that, a long silence.
“──Kh… Haah… Haah…”
“Adel!”
I couldn’t help but collapse on the spot.
Even with Camilla supporting me, sword drawn and eyes scanning the surroundings, I still slid down as if all strength had left my body.
“…Are you all right?”
“…No.”
I fished out the drink I’d kept in my bag, rinsed out my mouth, and spat.
“……”
Death had come and gone.
***
“Maybe we should just call it a day and head back. Adel, you must’ve just gotten through something major, right?”
“…I’ll explain in a bit.”
“I’ll wait. But… is this hairstyle really necessary? It seems like it’d be a pain to move around in.”
“Of course it is.”
“Hmm…”
Camilla was currently wearing what you’d call a half-up hairstyle.
It was a style I had tied for her myself to create a calmer image completely opposite of her usual cool ponytail.
Until a moment ago, I’d been pleased by how awkward she looked in it.
But now, my mind was too tangled to even waste energy on emotion.
Blankly, I turned toward Deeks magic tool shop.
“Shopkeeper. I’m here.”
“Hmm? Oh, oh—it’s you. You were gone so long I thought you’d dropped dead or something.”
“I’ll sort through my feelings first, so pick out some gear that suits me.”
“Well, aren’t you obedient today. Got it. I’ve got a pile stacked up in the back room anyway.”
As Camilla and Deeks exchanged words at the edge of my vision, I sat down in the seat prepared for me.
Crackle—
◆ [Total Magical Structure Analysis] activated.
“……”
I was supposed to be organizing my thoughts, but all I could think about was what had just happened…
—The “Wide-Brimmed Hat Woman” who had disappeared after finishing her business.
She probably didn’t know, but as someone who’d played the game for a long time, I understood why she did what she did.
And I could vaguely guess why she didn’t kill me.
“……”
There’s one noteworthy difference between modern mechanical civilization and the magical civilization of this world.
Machines require regular maintenance, but already-made magical artifacts often don’t need any upkeep at all.
In other words, in a magical civilization… it’s not rare for something created a long, long time ago to still be functioning today.
What the “Wide-Brimmed Hat Woman” is wary of is something along those lines.
The Patroller… was it? Something like that.
Yeah. I remembered now.
—The “Imperial Patroller”.
After the empire was unified long ago, they created a type of magical machine to address public safety issues that arose among the now-mixed peoples.
Think of it as a kind of enforcer of justice.
A presence that constantly changes form, wandering the back alleys.
Taking the shape of a little girl, a wounded old soldier, a crying woman, a drunk man—
Taking on the form of the weakest person, it delivers swift judgment on any crime committed against it.
That was what the “Imperial Patroller” was.
In the imperial capital, there’s even a saying: “Don’t mess with anyone wandering the alleys alone.” That’s how ruthless the thing is.
But usually… it just wanders the streets in the form of a fool.
However, if by chance….by sheer coincidence, it were to set foot in Black Alley?
Then things would inevitably get messy. Black Alley is a breeding ground for all kinds of crime. No way the lowlifes there would pass up a chance to mess with something that looks so defenseless.
Which is why the “Wide-Brimmed Hat Woman” does what she does, preemptively eliminating anything that might be an “Imperial Patroller”.
She releases a burst of magical light, just strong enough to be recognized by a magical machine, and watches to see if the other’s eyes shift toward her… and the moment that happens, she kills them on the spot.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the Imperial Patroller disappears for good. It just switches to a different body and occasionally steps into Black Alley again.
Forever wandering the capital.
Gathering sins unto itself so it can pass judgment through its own body.
That kiss from the “Wide-Brimmed Hat Woman”… was her last resort to confirm whether I was a Patroller.
If I had been one, the moment she forcibly kissed me like that, I would’ve tried to kill her then and there.
But I didn’t.
Her words, “So you’re not, after all.” meant she’d confirmed I wasn’t the Imperial Patroller.
Not bad, actually.
Thinking it over… this wasn’t a bad outcome.
Even if it happened without me realizing, the “Wide-Brimmed Hat Woman” now believed I wasn’t her enemy.
Which meant… she probably wouldn’t attack me again.
And I had plenty of reasons to keep using Black Alley. If a kiss was the price of safe passage, I could live with that.
She might even, though I can’t say for sure… have taken a bit of a liking to me.
The address “11-3” was something I’d never heard of until I got here, but all I needed to do was level up a bit and go there.
“……”
There was just one thing bothering me.
……The Imperial Patroller… doesn’t exist anymore.
The reason I hadn’t recalled the name right away—
It was because, in the story, that thing had been referred to by a different name.
There is no Imperial Patroller. That thing was deactivated a long time ago.
But no one really knows that for sure.
And it’s no wonder…. because something else, pretending to be the Imperial Patroller, is still wandering the streets.
In other words, a fake Imperial Patroller exists.
Hmm.
And the true identity of that fake… is something created by demon worshippers.
A being that returns everything…. jokes, the slightest insults, even goodwill that looks vaguely like malice with death.
A demon of justice and execution.
“……”
I shrugged my shoulders.
Well… it’s got nothing to do with me.
I felt a momentary sense of seriousness, but thinking it over, this was a situation already set to be resolved from another direction anyway.
There’s no reason for me to get involved. Strictly speaking, “Mad Adel” has already exited the scenario, so there’s no need to worry too much about it.
There is the option of collecting demons, but that’s something worth attempting only after I’ve grown stronger. For now, it’s far too soon.
I’m out of it.
They’ll handle it themselves.
More important than that is Camilla.
Her equipment, for one, and also the conflict between her and the Bliss family….that’s what I need to look into.
“Big sister!”
“What is it?”
“…Wait, you’re telling me this upright young lady is your sister?”
“……”
“Haha! Just kidding. You two suit each other well. One’s upright, and the other’s a rude brat. What a perfect match.”
“Owner. Do you want to receive mourners instead of customers?”
“Haha, what a punk. So what if an old man jokes a little…”
***
At that moment, in the Magic Department.
In Head Professor Grayton’s office.
“This is unacceptable. I’m formally requesting a retraction.”
“…Do you not realize today’s a holiday?”
“I know it’s an imposition, but this is urgent…! I’ve been trying to meet with someone all morning and afternoon with no luck…!”
“What’s so urgent? I’d like to believe it’s not just because your scores were posted.”
Professor Grayton was looking at the student who had come to see him on a holiday evening.
Dark bluish-black hair, a relatively small frame. Aside from her decent looks, she was the picture of a typical Magic Department student.
He didn’t recognize her.
For Professor Grayton who remembered the faces of all promising students, a student he didn’t recall might as well have been a pebble at his feet.
A pebble buried among rough gemstones.
“…I’m saying that posting results without any notice is unfair. My personal information is completely exposed! In a land of learning like Tane, this kind of disclosure is discrimination….”
“It’s not discrimination. It’s a measure to help students improve. The professors discussed it thoroughly. It wasn’t a unilateral decision… I don’t see what the issue is. Unless you’re upset about your low rank?”
“Even so, I believe we should have been notified. Or at the very least, only names should have been shown…”
“…Sasha Nikita. Right…. Sasha. Could you tell me your rank?”
Reading the name tag on Sasha’s uniform, Professor Grayton let out a quiet sigh.
A surname he’d never heard of. So she must be buried near the bottom of the list. That was his assumption.
“…Eleventh place.”
“…Hmm?”
His attitude changed instantly upon hearing the rank. Grayton put on his glasses and checked the ranking chart.
He read the name in 11th place aloud.
“…Sasha Koskov. So that was you. But isn’t your last name Koskov, not Nikita?”
“……”
“Modifying your school uniform’s name tag on your own is inappropriate, Sasha.”
“It was approved by the student council.”
“Is that so? First I’ve heard of it… Wait a moment. Koskov? That Koskov?”
It was a familiar reaction. Sasha, keeping her head lowered, murmured quietly.
“…I request the removal of the published rankings.”
“…Hmm. Hasn’t it already been up for a full day? Taking it down now wouldn’t change much.”
“Th-Then at least a correction!”
“I’m afraid that’s difficult, Sasha. We’d have to call back staff who are currently off duty.”
“Then…”
“Well now, Sasha. You can’t hide it forever. This may be a good opportunity to let it come out.”
“…Huh?”
Grayton let out a slight chuckle.
“There will be no retraction. You may go now, Sasha Koskov.”
Clunk—
Slam!
Just like that, Sasha left the office.
“……”
And for a long moment after—
So, the criminal’s daughter does know shame. We need to be more thorough in inspecting who we let into the academy. Damn dirty drug dealers.
At the faint voice coming from the other side of the door, she lowered her head in silence.
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