"Thanks, hospital big brother!"
"Thank you very much!"
"Y-yeah. Take care now."
My thoughts were still in chaos after that, but my body properly fulfilled what needed doing. I took Issei-kun and Irina-chan with me, retracing the path I'd walked and arriving near the 'Hyoudou household' with the children's room I'd seen earlier. As expected, that house was his home.
After energetically saying goodbye, the ftwo headed straight home. I'd carefully erased any Sacred Gear wavelengths, and didn't check for the Longinus since stimulating it at the wrong moment would be disastrous. I'd ended up using magic on Issei-kun, so I was incredibly nervous about what would happen if it awakened. But at least no particular changes seemed to have occurred. While relieved by that, I felt utterly exhausted.
I'd really encountered them at the most unexpected timing. I'd taken it for granted that Issei Hyoudou would be around my elementary school age, or possibly middle school—I'd never even imagined otherwise. He was actually younger than me, and a kindergartener at that.
I'd interacted with them far too casually, but I'd only treated his injury and talked briefly, so probably my existence didn't strongly influence them. Though I did tell Issei-kun not to mention the oppai chant to others... It should be fine, probably. Still, to think such a pure and honest child would aspire to become a Harem King in the future. My eyes welled up in various ways.
"Sigh... Anyway, I accomplished my objective, right..."
There were unexpected encounters with Miltan and little Issei-kun, but I'd successfully completed my initial purpose. Honestly, I still had no idea how I should proceed from here. For now, I just wanted to rest this tired, heavy body. I'd think about difficult things another day. Just for today, I wanted to spend it peacefully without thinking about anything. Over ten years before the original story—that really was too much.
I looked up at the sky beginning to show twilight colors and started walking toward Kuoh Town's station. I needed to hurry a bit or it would get dark. Walking along roads surrounded by block walls, somehow holding together my sinking mood, I trudged homeward. Yeah, today's events were apparently quite shocking to me after all. Because I'd reincarnated into the same world as the protagonists, I'd thought we'd at least share the same perspective. I'd imagined experiencing that tumultuous era together from afar.
Most painful of all was how distant the peace between the Three Factions remained. The troublesome enemy called Khaos Brigade would appear, Rizevim would bring world-ending crises—those were scary too. But beyond that, the protagonists would be there. I'd planned to cheer from the rear support like a proper mob, but before the peace, such leisurely thinking would actually get me killed. Everything around me was truly packed with death flags. For me, this was a tear-inducing era.
Without knowledge of the original story, Souta Kuramoto and Issei Hyoudou probably would never have crossed paths. Since continuing to feel down was pointless, I had no choice but to think positively about gaining ten years' grace. Speaking of unexpected things, I hadn't thought I'd actually meet Irina Shidou.
I remembered the original story describing her as Issei Hyoudou's childhood friend who often played with him when young. She'd been tomboyish enough to be mistaken for a boy. A reincarnated angel who'd become known as a "self-proclaimed" angel, and the innocent-spirited Archangel Michael's ace. I'd thought I'd never meet her, so I was truly surprised.
"...Wait?"
Hold on, wait just a moment. My barely functioning brain suddenly felt an intuitive alarm that I needed to restart it urgently. This wasn't the time to say I was tired—there seemed to be a problem I needed to think about right now. I desperately put my thoughts, which had stopped at the original timeline revelation, into full gear.
What bothered me wasn't "Issei Hyoudou." It was "Irina Shidou." She was living normally in Kuoh Town. Meaning she hadn't moved abroad yet. Irina-chan appeared early in the original story, dispatched to Kuoh Town as a Holy Sword wielder from the Church. A beautiful girl with chestnut twin-tails who came to recover the Holy Swords stolen by the Fallen Angel cadre Kokabiel. My bad feeling seemed to center on her after all.
Not her personally, probably. Right, why had I thought I wouldn't meet her? Because I knew from the original that she'd moved abroad before entering elementary school. There, Irina-chan would receive Church teachings and become a believer. But first, why did Irina Shidou move away from Kuoh Town? The reason was said to involve her father, Touji Shidou.
Yes, because an incident occurred in Kuoh Town during the time Irina Shidou was still there. A major incident that ended in the sad result of purging. Because of that, the Shidou family couldn't remain in this town. That incident was the tragic love story recounted in the original. An event buried in darkness that was only exposed ten years later by a former Church warrior who'd become a vengeful specter of resentment. A forbidden romance between a devil woman and a Church warrior—an incident only told as past history.
The sad incident involving Cleria Belial, the previous administrator of Kuoh Town, and Masaomi Yaegaki, a subordinate of Touji Shidou. A story that ended as past history in the original. But where was I now? What era was I in? Realizing this fact so belatedly, I involuntarily covered my mouth.
Bad. This was beyond bad. I needed to leave Kuoh Town immediately or something terrible might happen. I'd come thinking this was currently the vacancy period with no devil administrator. But no. If Irina Shidou was here, the previous administrator was still alive. This town—Kuoh Town—was undoubtedly currently devil-managed territory. And holding an enormous bomb.
"—!"
Before I knew it, I was running. The town I'd been leisurely enjoying walking through now felt ominous. I could hear my pounding heartbeat, cold sweat flowing from my forehead. It was evening now. Devil activity time might have already begun. To leave Kuoh Town before dark, I dashed down the road at full speed.
Careless. I'd truly come at the worst possible time. If it were last year—no, next year—I wouldn't need to panic this much. But now was before Issei-kun entered elementary school, and before Christmas. In the original, they made a promise during their childhood Christmas. After that, Irina Shidou moved away. Meaning the incident would definitely occur within about six months from now. Wasn't this potentially a time of tremendous tension?!
I turned right at the next corner, then right again. That should lead to a major road, and going straight from there would reach the station. While checking the map in my hand, I proceeded along the planned route. Yet what I saw was another maze of streets.
"Huh?"
Did I take a wrong turn? Was the main road one block further? I frantically tried to check the map, but suddenly my partner's crimson thoughts flashed from my pocket. Only then did I realize I'd lost my composure. So focused on escaping from here, so self-absorbed that I'd completely ignored my surroundings. This was bad—Azazel-sensei would be furious. Such a pathetic mistake.
I stopped once and slowly surveyed the area through my partner. As I thought, no people around. In the town wrapped in twilight, a sensation like I was the only one here. This feeling—I'd experienced it fighting the stray magician. In other words, too late. I was already caught in the opponent's technique. Not knowing when I was noticed hurt, but I immediately took a stance ready to move.
Which side was it? Devils or the Church? Maybe the Church. I'd made contact with Irina Shidou. If Touji Shidou had placed some technique on his daughter out of concern for her safety, that might have aroused suspicion.
Either way, not a good situation. The Church and magician associations weren't hostile, but weren't exactly on good terms either. Mainly due to ideological differences. Magic was originally power created from demonic magic, the enemy of the Church. Even after the Three Factions formed an alliance, there were dissenters in the Church. While not openly hostile, it was a relationship that drew frowns.
Having come this far, I steeled my resolve. I held the stick Lady Mephisto gave me in my left hand, disassembled my Sacred Gear with Analyze, and concealed it in my right hand while keeping it miniaturized and ready to throw. The Sacred Gear's existence absolutely could not be revealed until the last possible moment. Damn it, I really should have moved more carefully when going to Kuoh Town. How could I have imagined that going to Kuoh Town might get me pinpoint-involved in a past incident from the original story? I didn't need some jinx about mobs getting caught up in unrelated incidents.
"A figure...?"
I couldn't see details against the sunset backlight, but I saw a figure walking toward me. Only one person visible. But there could be reinforcements. While synchronizing with the flow of qi around me using pseudo-sage arts, I remained vigilant through my Sacred Gear. It was only a few meters' range, but it should detect presences approaching me.
The person walking straight toward me appeared to be female, though hard to see in the light. This ruled out Touji Shidou, but what puzzled me was the clothing the woman wore. Not a Church sister's habit, but a cute academy-designated uniform with lace on a reddish-brown skirt. Her chest emphasizing the shirt showed an impressive figure, and her waist-length hair reflected light, appearing to shine pure white.
Who? I knew she wasn't from the Church. I hastily checked with my magical tool whether magical power could be sensed nearby. The result came back positive. Meaning she was probably... a devil. Cleria, the previous administrator here, was a devil known only to be female with no other details. She might be part of her peerage.
However, my thoughts stopped at the voice I heard.
"Long time no see, Milky Elementary Student-kun. Judging by that staff, you really were someone from this side after all."
"Huh..."
Milky Elementary Student-kun. Only one person had reason to give me such a tear-inducing nickname. My body trembled involuntarily. As the sinking sun changed the light's angle, the woman's full appearance, previously hidden by backlight, came into view.
Gray hair with tips that looked somewhat white. Her beautiful features that had sparkled with smiles now felt somehow stiff. The woman with gray eyes matching her hair stood there dressed like an ordinary student heading home from school.
"The lady from earlier?"
"Yeah. Sorry, I hastily placed a technique on the keychain I gave you. I'd cast a magic technique on it to track your location. But the moment it reached your hands, that technique vanished. The magic was activated, but something was blocking it from being detected on this side. So I thought something was up and watched you."
The keychain had magic cast on it. My eyes widened, filled with disbelief. The detection magic disappearing was probably my Sacred Gear's effect. I'd been preventing special effects like Sacred Gears and magic from leaking externally. That effect had erased the technique on the keychain I received. Which made her suspicious of me.
Our encounter had definitely been coincidental. I never imagined she'd place magic on a keychain. Even studying magic and sorcery as I was, I was still a novice barely a month into being taught. I couldn't yet detect sorcery. But at that time, I'd been completely off guard. I hadn't wanted to think she'd do something like this.
"Why..."
"When I happened to hold your hand then, my ability activated. So I thought 'could it be?' and placed the technique."
"Your ability, ma'am?"
"Right now, things around me are a bit chaotic. My peerage told me to always keep my ability active for self-defense, so I could erase opponents' traits or special effects. So when I held your hand then, my ability almost activated and I hastily shut it down. ...My ability almost activating means the other party is using some special effect. That's why I felt the discrepancy that you weren't an ordinary human child."
A power that erased opponents' special abilities and effects. Depending on how you heard it, an ability similar to mine. Probably her ability to erase abnormalities, which she constantly maintained, noticed upon contacting me while I was activating the Sacred Gear's erasure abnormality. At this unexpected discovery method, I could only grimace. Bad luck, or timing that was divinely perfect. Milky-related things seemed to only bring trouble.
Still, an ability to erase opponents' special effects and traits. Probably not a Sacred Gear's power. And I knew that power from the original. What I'd seen in the original wasn't her, but someone from another branch using it. But since she was born into the same house as him, she probably could use it too. If she came from the lineage of the original seventy-two pillars of devils.
...Why did I have to meet her here? Why did I make contact with her of all people? If her ability matched my expectations, I'd realized this lady's identity. Now I understood her gray hair was the same as his, who was called the 'Emperor.' She looked mature yet somehow childish, a woman capable of wonderful smiles. But she was...
"...Who are you?"
"Do you know of devils? Let me introduce myself properly. I'm currently entrusted with managing Kuoh Town—Cleria Belial. You noticed my ability through my Belial house's power of 'Worthless.' Please, remember me well."
Cleria-san greeted me as elegantly as a noble princess. No, I'd heard she was from a branch family, but she was properly part of the nobility. And cousin to the current Rating Game champion, 'Diehauser Belial.' Described as someone close to him, who loved Rating Game gossip and seemed highly curious. In the original story, she was already... a figure from the distant past.
A woman killed by purging for the tragic forbidden love between devil and holy person. But behind that, the machinations of old devils swirled, and facts buried in darkness by them would be revealed. And her very existence became the catalyst that drove Masaomi Yaegaki, resurrected by the Holy Grail, and the man with the alias 'Emperor' Balberith toward revenge. Her death itself became a major current in this world's flow.
The sunset brilliantly illuminated her, and devil wings deployed from her back. A single breeze flowed between us, quietly swaying both our hair. The silent world that arrived seemed to burn that gray color into my eyes.
The reality that would soon unfold in Kuoh Town stood before me.
***
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