■
After that, their investigation—which had devolved into a full-blown shopping spree—continued. From clothes to accessories, and even snacks. The more she bought for him, the more Rosetta seemed to glow with happiness. In contrast, Arl just looked more and more gaunt with guilt.
It was a chain of events that seemed to have completely forgotten their original purpose of finding the Serpents’ base. But this seemingly frivolous spree had a point.
“Alright, I’d say we’ve gathered plenty of information. Time to organize it, don’t you think?”
They settled into a nearby restaurant. Rosetta took out a notebook, its pages already filled with dense text. The notes contained the intel from the boutique manager, as well as valuable information she had collected from all over the district, as if on a mission to conquer every shop. Arl, half-impressed and half-dumbfounded, recalled how she’d done it.
“I can’t believe you bribed every single store we went to, just like you did at the boutique…”
“Fufu, ‘bribe’ is such an ugly word. I simply asked them if anything unusual had been happening, or if they were having any trouble. And as thanks for their time, I just… paid a little extra for my purchases.”
She gave him a wink, all business. This was the ‘information fee’ she’d paid, and this was the clue she’d bought.
“It seems a monster’s curse has been spreading around this area.”
The curse. The toxin of mankind’s natural enemy, which transforms its victims into monsters themselves.
“There’s no pattern to the victims. It’s spreading like an epidemic, hitting children and adults all over the district.”
“A curse… spreading like a disease?”
Arl frowned, puzzled. Rosetta had called them ‘victims,’ but a monster’s curse was nothing like an illness.
“A curse is supposed to be transmitted by a monster’s wound. It shouldn’t be… contagious…”
“Exactly. This is the Imperial Capital, not some small village. The outer defenses are tight. Not a single monster has gotten in since the Great Collapse. It’s weird. It means the curse is spreading without a monster to spread it.”
“…No, wait.”
Arl’s mind flashed back to the girl who had been brought to the Academy, the one he had cured on his first day back.
“If a curse is spreading on this scale, there’s no way <Noah> wouldn’t have noticed.”
The White Whale Academy of Magic, <Noah>, were the specialists in handling monsters. One of their primary duties was finding and curing the cursed.
“<Noah> patrols the capital regularly, checking for new infections. It’s a high-traffic city, so it’s not impossible for someone to bring a curse in. Their patrols are strict. I’m sure they haven’t had any new cases recently… It’s hard to believe they’d miss something this big.”
“You sure know a lot about <Noah>, Boss.”
If they find out I’m the Master of all three, the country is finished. Arl realized his slip-up instantly. Rosetta stared at him, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.
“You talk about them in such detail, like you’ve seen it yourself… Boss, don’t tell me—”
“Ah! N-No, that’s…”
He scrambled for an excuse, but it was too late. Rosetta’s eyes widened as she grasped the ‘truth.’
“—you’ve been gathering intel on <Noah> for me, haven’t you!”
“…”
Arl, pinned by her sparkling, admiring gaze, took a long breath and swallowed his pride. He gave a single, solemn nod.
“…Yes. That’s exactly right.”
“I knew it! Fufu, you’re amazing, Boss! You knew <Fenrir>’s plan, too. Your intel network is incredible!”
“Y-Yes… you can count on it…!”
If Kei had been there, she undoubtedly would have been looking at him with a pitying, deadpan expression.
“But you’re right,” Rosetta continued, all business again, “it is weird <Noah> didn’t notice. So I asked around. Paid a little extra for that, too.”
She got back to the main point. ‘Why weren’t the cursed victims being found?’
“It’s the Count. By his order, all the infected are being ‘taken’ somewhere. After that, they just… vanish. No one knows where. But we can probably guess…”
“…If the victims were seen, the public would know a curse is spreading,” Arl reasoned. “But if they’re left alone, they’ll eventually turn into monsters and cause a panic. The only other option is to make the victims ‘disappear.’ …So <Noah> can’t find them. The Count is definitely hiding something.”
The viciousness of the method pointed to one possibility. A monster’s curse, spreading with no visible source, in a city under the control of the Serpents of the Sordid Garden.
“‘A monster’s curse is a blessing! Monsterification is a holy ritual!’ …That’s the kind of crazy stuff the Serpents preach,” Rosetta said, her nose wrinkling in disgust as she remembered her interrogation. “It’s hard not to suspect them at this point. It really shocked me when we questioned that guy. The Serpents… they willingly host the curse in their own bodies. They call it a ‘blessing,’ a ‘mark of membership.’ It’s insane, carrying a bomb like that.”
“…That’s what it means to be a worshipper of monsters.”
The very toxin mankind feared, they embraced as something divine. That fact alone was more than enough to make them the prime suspects.
“The Serpents worship monsters,” Arl said. “We’re hunting their base, and we find this… It’s too convenient.”
“It’s more than enough reason to investigate. But if we just march up to the Count’s door, he’ll deny everything. We have no proof. So… we’ll make the first move.”
Rosetta smiled, a dangerous glint in her eyes, and flipped a page in her notebook. On it was a precise, hand-drawn map of the district.
“I’ve cross-referenced the victims’ homes, routines, and the time of infection. I’ve narrowed down the likely source of the curse. I don’t know if we’ll find the Serpents’ base or just the Count’s dirty laundry, but… worth a look, don’t you think?”
“…I’m impressed. You did all this, this quickly?”
“O-Oh? Fufu, well, you can praise me more… after we get results. Let’s go, Boss!”
Rosetta snapped her fingers. Instantly—as if from nowhere—her squad of black-suited girls materialized, surrounding them. Arl’s eyes went wide.
“Wha… Were you guys here the whole time?”
“Of course. We couldn’t let anything happen during the President’s and Boss’s… investigation… shopping… date. We were… observing… from the shadows.”
“Yeah, it was great. We got to see the President so happy.”
“And great work being her dress-up doll, Boss.”
“…You’re all… way too honest.”
Arl’s face twitched, but Rosetta just handed her bags of clothes to them.
“Sorry, could you take these bags?”
“You got it. We’ll guard these spoils of war. We’ll back you up on the investigation, too!”
The two of them, now unburdened, paid their bill and left the restaurant. They headed for the location marked on the map, the suspected source of the curse. They walked, a bizarre procession with their black-suited squad trailing behind them…
But no one in the street seemed to have time to notice… because they were all running away.
“What…?”
A wave of people was surging toward them, growing larger by the second, every face twisted in panic. They were fleeing… as if being chased by something terrifying.
And then, Arl saw what was chasing them.
────SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE────
A high-pitched, inhuman shriek tore through the air. Arl knew that sound. His guard shot up. It was the roar of an aberrant beast, announcing its presence.
“…No way…”
Rosetta’s voice trembled as she saw the figure looming through the fleeing crowd. There it was. A monster. It looked like a massive lizard, easily towering over a man. A black mist rolled off its body… A creature of pure, primal fear. It was a monster… an aberrant beast… stalking the streets of the Imperial Capital.
The Great Collapse… the nightmare of the monster invasion that had decimated the capital. In the five years since, the city had poured everything into its defenses. Not one monster had breached the walls. The threat had become a memory. Which is why this sudden, impossible appearance struck a deep, primal terror into the hearts of the people. Even Rosetta, the president of <Blacksmith>, was no exception.
“Hh… hha…“
Her breathing was ragged. Her heart hammered. Her feet were frozen to the stone. Rosetta knew she wasn’t strong. She always had to put on a brave face… but she was still the leader of a city-protecting organization. She couldn’t just freeze. Why… why can’t I move?
“Evacuate the civilians! That’s the top priority!”
Arl’s sharp command snapped her out of it. He was already giving calm, precise orders to her subordinates.
“Check for stragglers and guide them to the main street! Lock down the surrounding blocks so no one else gets in!”
Her squad, jolted back to their senses, nodded and moved out. Rosetta just stood there, staring, until Arl put his hands on her shoulders.
“Rosetta, you go with them. If the President of <Blacksmith> gives the order, the civilians will listen.”
“B-But—”
Before she could finish, she realized the flaw in his plan. If they were all evacuating… who would hold the monster back? Arl didn’t answer her unspoken question. He just turned his back to her and walked… toward the monster. To buy them time.
“Boss, wait—!?”
Her cry was lost in the screams of the crowd. The monster, seeing Arl approach, crackled with energy, like a thundercloud. BZZT! A storm of purple lightning erupted from its body, lashing the street and shattering the paving stones. Arl didn’t stop. He sprinted through the barrage, twisting and weaving, dodging every single bolt as if he could see the future.
A different kind of thunder crackled—an artificial one. BANG! BANG! Arl fired the pistol she had given him. Four shots, all perfect hits: one for each limb-joint, and one for each glowing red eye. The monster stumbled, but its wounds regenerated instantly, and it let out an enraged roar.
“Tch… Just as I thought. Without magic, this thing won’t even slow down…!”
Arl cursed, dodging another blast of lightning. Mages were called specialists for one reason: magic was the only thing that could permanently damage a monster. Its regenerative abilities made all physical attacks useless.
──Rosetta knew this. He knows that, she thought, frantic. He knows physical attacks are useless!
“Boss…!”
The monster roared, and the black mist around it began to glow, arcing with a massive charge. It was preparing for a final, devastating attack. Arl was wide open. And I’m just… watching? Her legs were still shaking. She couldn’t just decide to be brave. But more than she was scared… she refused to be the one who cowered and watched her Master die.
“A… AAAAAHHHHHH!”
Rosetta screamed, drew her own pistol, and emptied the clip into the monster. The bullets were useless… but they did get its attention. The storm of lightning turned from Arl… to her.
“Rosetta, no!”
Rosetta, in her own terror, didn’t notice the genuine panic on Arl’s face. She didn’t see that he was about to unleash the very power he’d been trying to hide—the magical light that was flaring to life in his left eye.
“Th-That’s right! Over here, you monster! Come and get me!”
The monster unleashed its built-up charge, a torrent of pure electrical fury, straight at her. And an instant before it hit… …a pillar of light descended from the heavens. It was a deluge of light particles, crashing down on the monster like a waterfall.
────SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE….────
The beast, which had ignored bullets, finally shrieked in pain. And then… Rosetta heard it. A singing melody, seemingly from nowhere. She knew what this was…
“…M-Magic…?”
The light faded. As the afterglow illuminated the street, the monster’s body was visibly disintegrating… turning to dust and vanishing.
“What… what happened…?”
Rosetta stared, stunned. She looked up and saw a small figure standing on a distant rooftop. She couldn’t make out the face… but she knew exactly who it was. An opponent she had fought countless times.
──She had just been saved… by the Saint of the White Whale Academy of Magic, <Noah>.
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