---

---

With the morning sun shining through the window, Seiya opened his eyes and looked around.

Right now Seiya was staying with the Arunia family in his new room. He was supposed to be alone here, but his hands were enveloped in something soft.

Even if he tried to get out of the bed, these two “restraints” didn’t let him. Having no other choice he said:

「Yua, Lily, wake up. It’s morning already, we will be late」

When Seiya said so, the restraining force vanished and two beautiful girls opened their eyes.

A beautiful girl with white hair and red eyes was hugging his right arm.

Another beautiful girl with blue hair and blue eyes was hugging his left arm. [¹]

It wasn’t an exaggeration to call these girls absolutely beautiful, and these beauties were emerging from his bed. Moreover, they were naked.

「Get a grip you two. What are you doing here? 」
「Because I missed Seiya……」
「Because my sister was in your room」

Hearing their nonsensical reasons, he made a wry smile, and they skillfully diverted the topic.

「Seiya……If you don’t hurry up you will be late…..」
「Right, Seiya! Let’s go to school! 」[²] 「Don’t pull on me, wear something first」

After dressing the two naked girls that tried to leave the room as they were, Seiya headed to the dining room.

When they arrived in the dining room, Yua’s parents were already there and greeted them.

「You finally got up」
「Good morning Yua-chan, Seiya-kun, Lily-chan」
「Good morning……..father, mama……」[³] 「Good morning」
「Good morning!」

Having finished their morning greetings, the trio arrived at their seats.

From the right to the left, the sitting order was: Yua, Seiya, Lily. Soon, servants brought the plates and breakfast officially started.

As soon as breakfast began, Raiga, sitting in front of Seiya, started talking.

「From today forward, Seiya and Lily will be attending Arsenia Magic Academy with Yua. As I said yesterday, we adopted Lily as Yua’s little sister while Seiya was registered as our retainer. Understood?」
「Yes」
「All right!」

Actually, today was Monday and at the same time, it was the first day of their new school life.

「And Seiya will be in the same class as Yua」
「As expected from you」
「My dear is overprotective after all」

After Kana said that, as expected, Lily asked a question.

「And Lily?」
「You are registered as a trainee. You are free to do what you want and can visit Seiya during breaks. However, during the classes, it’s prohibited」
「All right!」
「Thank you, dad……」
「Don’t worry about it, Yua」

Yua thanked her father with a happy look, and Raiga and Kana were looking at her with a gentle expression.

「Also, Seiya. Don’t flirt too much at school」
「I know」

Seiya eyed Raiga with an annoyed look, but thinking about everything that happened already, he discovered that he might just do it.

After all, Lily and Seiya stayed in this house for a whole week already.

After they finished breakfast and dressed up, Seiya headed for Arsenia Magic Academy ahead of Lily and Yua.

According to the family register, Seiya was lower in status compared to Lily, who was adopted by Arunia family.

And just like that, the academy first decided to test Seiya. The test was scheduled for the morning of his first day.

Yua already taught him how to get to the Arsenia Magic Academy, so Seiya was able to arrive without any problems.

It was a large school building with a big fence surrounding it. Compared to Senabia Magic Academy, the design was different, but the general outline stayed the same.

Seiya entered the academy and talked with a guide.

Seiya learned about the location of the faculty room and proceeded to climb the stairs to the second floor. While he climbed, Seiya thought of the past.

When he was climbing the stairs of Senabia Magic Academy back then, he was filled with nothing more than disgust and reluctance.

But right now Seiya was excited, it was the start of his new life.

While thinking about his future, he arrived at the faculty room.

「Excuse me. I’m Kiritsuna Seiya, here to join the 2-A class. I was told to come here first thing in the morning」

When Seiya opened the door, everyone inside looked at him.

There were a lot of disappointed eyes that seemed to be saying「Is this the retainer of a special magician? 」,「He doesn’t look that strong」,「He feels somewhat normal」, but Seiya ignored them and patiently waited. [⁴]

Then a woman walked towards Seiya.

「You are Kiritsuna Seiya-kun, right?」
「Yes」
「I’m your homeroom teacher Yayuna Laniskale. Best regards」[⁵] 「Treat me well」

The woman who introduced herself as a homeroom teacher gave off a gentle and kind atmosphere.

Yayuna had long pink hair and pearl-like eyes, she seemed to be a direct opposite of his previous homeroom teacher Lamia.

Seiya though that she is definitely popular with the students.

「All right, let get to the test then」
「Right here?」

Seiya was surprised at the sudden development, but Yayuna answered with a never-changing smile.

「That’s right. The test’s content is simple. Try to release all of your mana, but do not target objects, only teachers」
「I see. I just need to release it without aiming at anything in particular?」
「By the way, if you hit the majority of teachers here, you will pass」

Said Yayuna with an amused expression. Seiya was a bit confused watching her. [⁶]

Full release, as the name suggests, means that the magician has to release all of his mana at once.

As an example, during the battle with the lightning beast in the Great Dalis Canyon, 『Holy Law』used by Yua and『Dark Tremor』used by Seiya were close to full release.

Full release is used as a method to roughly gauge the ability of a magician.

But Seiya was confused, he didn’t understand to what degree he should release his mana.

After he awakened his power he always fought with magical beasts or the lightning beast or Undine. But they definitely shouldn’t be used as the measure.

So, if he makes a mistake, a teacher might be injured or even lose his life.

If he kills a teacher here, he will be refused admission 9 out of 10. Thinking along those lines, Seiya released about 30% of his mana. [⁷]

「Understood. Release」
「Eh?」

Yayuna was surprised at his words, as were the rest of the teachers.

Because Seiya released all of his mana without a chant.

Normally, full release requires a chant belonging to one of the four attributes, and without it full release shouldn’t be possible.

And Seiya made a full release without a chant. [⁸]

But that wasn’t everything that surprised them.

At the next moment, several teachers fainted, facing the mana wave.

Normally, if a magician receives a wave of mana, there should be a mana wall surrounding his body. It’s not common for people to faint because of that.

However, Seiya’s mana entered their bodies and affected their organs and brain directly.

As a result, some of the teachers succumbed to the pressure.

Seiya didn’t understand this and further raised the amount of mana, but in a panic, Yayuna stops him.

「All right, Seiya. That’s enough」
「But it’s only 30%……」
「T-that was 30%?!」
「Eh, kind of」
「Just how much mana do y-you have?」
「I do not know that myself……」

Hearing his words, the teachers received a shock, but Seiya didn’t mind and said:

「By the way, do I pass?」
「Yes, no problem here. You can’t possibly fail if you have the power to make the teachers faint」
「I see. Then everything is good」

While he was filling necessary papers in the faculty room, the chime signaling the start of classes rang.

And along with Yayuna, his homeroom teacher, Seiya went to his new classroom.

---

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---

---

Bagil and Gris left the Gursber family and entered the dark territory to investigate one of the locations on the map.

The magicians of the church detained the magicians of the Gursber family.

And Bagil, Gris and a few people from the church want to investigate one of the facilities.

However, they found a giant crater instead of the said facility.

「Just what happened here….」
「Captain, this seems to be the right place」
「There is nothing h ere though」
「But this hole proves that there was something here」
「What the hell…」

The big hole before him proves that there was some kind of facility here.

But it looks like the facility just disappeared into thin air.

To this unbelievable sight, Bagil lost his words.

「What should we do, captain?」
「Let’s return to the church and hear the story from other victims」
「Understood」

He received the news from other teams that the victims were successfully liberated and escorted back, so he decided to return to the church in Freestan.

Upon coming back, they compared the information and came to know that only this facility disappeared.

Bagil thought that it was strange and returned to the scene on the next day to carefully examine the area. He managed to discover the remains of something resembling a building.

Of course, there was no one there. Bagil increased the range of the search but still returned empty-handed.

He only discovered the skin of a magical beast with all its internal organs disappeared. It had a nauseating stench and he could determine what it was when it was alive.

In the end, unable to discover anything else, they closed the case. But there were still people that weren’t convinced. Bagil was one of them.

Three days later, Bagil returned to the central kingdom and reported to the seven sages.

「This crater is definitely the remnant of the facility. But why did it disappear? If you think about it…could it be the dark attribute?! 」

Thinking about it once again, this place really fits the description of the aftermath after the dark magic.

「Then, could it be a person from Dakuria? Then what is with that beast’s skin? There is the Great Dalis Canyon in that direction….it’s hard to imagine he had some business in that place. But why…」

While Bagil was thinking that, his subordinate, Gris, entered the room.

「With that, the incident reached its conclusion」
「Yeah, good work, tell that to everyone」

The case is still ongoing. Bagil though so, but couldn’t tell Gris who didn’t know about the dark attribute.

「Understood. By the way, do you know what kind of people the special magicians are? 」
「Why do you ask?」

Why the special magicians all of the sudden, though Bagil. But in the next moment, he became shocked.

「It seems they allow their daughters to venture into the dark territory」
「Daughter in the dark territory?」
「Eh, the gatekeepers met a boy and two girls coming from the dark territory. It seems they are affiliated with a special magician. The family head claimed that they were subjugating magical beasts」

Judging by common sense, there is no father that will send his own daughter into the dark territory, but Bagil was rather sensitive to the words “dark territory” recently.

That’s why he asked for details.

「Which family is that?」
「Etto, Thunder God’s, if I remember correctly」
「I see. There are some interesting people in this world」
「You’re right. Well then, I will excuse myself」
「Good work」

Gris left the room and Bagil was left alone again.

Remembering what Gris just said, he started thinking again.

「If you follow the line from the facility to the corpse, there will be the Great Dalis Canyon ahead. And once you pass it, there will be the Aquaristan…..The gatekeepers said that they didn’t remember them」

Thinking about that, for a boy and two girls, it is impossible to pass through the Great Dalis Canyon. But if they belong to the special magician’s family it is a different matter altogether.

And if you add the dark attribute into the mess, the situation changes again.

「This case still hasn’t ended after all. I guess I should take a break and return to Aquaristan from some time」

Bagil said and quietly made his decision.

---

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---

---

At the same time as the giant appeared, the Gursber family’s magicians attacked the rest of the squad.

Although they were wearing the attires of butlers and maids, their levels as the magicians were quite high.

Members of the Bagil’s squad were talking while being protected by the seven Moras’『Wall of Light』.

Outside, the magicians were trying to break through the walls and attack them directly, but managed to barely destroy one.

Moreover, the destroyed wall was quickly restored again.

「What is that, Eliera?」
「Do you think I should know, Gris?」

Gris asked the fire magician, Eliera, about the giant that appeared from nowhere, but she wasn’t aware of anything like that.

「Maybe it’s not a fire but a flame」[¹] 「I think Waltz is right」
「So Paul thinks the same」

Paul agreed with Waltz, to the relaxed duo Kain said.

「Sorry to interrupt, Waltz. Can you make some fog? Moras seems to have some troubles」
「Relax, Kain. Moras will be fine」
「No, Waltz, it’s a little hard for him. It would be nice to have a fog」
「Can’t be helped~. God of the water, I’m your subject『Fog』」

When Waltz finished, thick fog started spreading around the『Wall of Light』, protecting the squad.

Then, with their vision worsening, the magicians stopped their aimless attacks.

『Fog』is an elementary spell of fog attribute, the thickness of the fog can be adjusted by the caster.

「This is the thick one, I can’t see anything」
「Do you have any complaints, Gris?」
「Nope. Anyway, what should we do now? 」
「It that is the flame, you should know」
「I guess, this is probably the Gursber’s unique spell,『Ogun』」

Answered Gris to Eliera, who was playing dumb just a while ago.

「So this is『Ogun』」
「So Kain knows too」
「I don’t know the details. All I know is that it’s a fire humanoid」

The six people could feel its aura even in the deep fog.

「But our captain should be okay」
「Yeah, Waltz is right. It’s fine in it is only to that extent」
「By the way, maybe we should launch the counterattack already」
「I they are this bent on attacking us, I can presume that they have no intention of giving up. I will leave it to you, Paul」
「All right. My soul, wrapped in the divine protection of earth, scream『Soil Flow』」

When the spell activated, the ground started flowing around the walls of light, swallowing the Gursber’s magicians.

They weren’t able to respond and were swallowed by the stream; about 80% of magicians were rendered unable to fight.

Intermediate spell of the earth attribute『Soil Flow』makes earth flow, as its name suggests.

It is difficult to use on the flat ground, and since he could use it at the same time in all directions, Paul’s level was quite high.

The six people dissolved『Wall of Light』and『Fog』and looked around.

「As expected of Paul」
「Waltz’s fog was also not bad」
「Maiden of the wind, dance and rage on this land『Wind Fang』」
「Hey, Kain! Don’t use magic all of the sudden! 」

Kain casted his spell on the magicians who still showed the will to fight. And Eliera was angry with him.

You can’t feel the tension of battle from these people.

「Sorry, Eliera」
「Flames of the abyss, descend upon this land『Flaming Breath』」
「Gris too, don’t just suddenly do that」
「Ah, sorry, Moras」[²]

Like with Kain’s case, Eliera got angry with Gris. However, thanks to that, all enemies were defeated.

「I seems the enemy was annihilated」
「Yeah, let’s go meet with the captain」
「You’re right」

Saying that, the six people wanted to go to their captain’s place.

They annihilated the resistance of the advanced magician’s family with just six people. As expected of the Holy Church. And the moment they dissolved the『Wall of Light』, the giant, 『Ogun』, disappeared too.

Going a few minutes back in time, before the white-armored Bagil stood the flame giant.

「How is that, Quickmaker? This is the unique spell of our clan」

Bagil observed『Ogun』with narrowed eyes. However, Koul interpreted it as if he was frightened and got increasingly arrogant.

「I don’t mind sparing you if you will stay silent about this case」

At that moment, he thought that he caught him in a trap and wanted to acquire a collaborator inside the Holy Church.

If I acquire a collaborator inside the Holy Church and thirteen apostles, I can act brazenly across the whole kingdom, thought Koul.

「Just how low have you fallen? I don’t mind sparing you if you release all hostages, you know」
「Don’t get carried away just because you are an apostle, you brat, don’t be so arrogant just because you can make things a little faster, Ogun! 」

With Koul’s orders, 『Ogun』swings his ax at Bagil.

Since『Brunak』was melted by『Ogun』just a while ago; Bagil had no weapon in his hands.

I won, Koul was convinced of that.

「Suck『Ice Rose』」

Immediately after his words, ice strings wrapped around and restrained『Ogun』, who tried to swing his ax.

Afterwards, thorns appeared on those strings and stabbed into the body of the giant. The figure of『Ogun』wrapped in the spikes was just too pitiful.

『Ogun』raised a scream and started shrinking, while more and more roses were blooming around its body.

As they were blooming, the giant kept shrinking. In the end, there were only roses left.

At the sight of the giant being extinguished in the matter of a few seconds, Koul lost his words. And to such a Koul, Bagil said, while emitting killing intent.

「Ogun…..」
「Tell me the location of the victims. If you do that, you won’t become a pray for my roses」
「Hiiiii! I understand! I will tell! I will tell you everything, so forgive me! The hostages are divided into three groups. They are all in the dark territory. The locations are on that map」

With his strongest spell easily destroyed, Koul had no choice but to tell.

「I see」

When Bagil picked up the map, his killing intent disappeared.

I’m saved, thought Koul. However, he didn’t notice. The rose made of ice was slowly creeping in his direction.

「Captain!」

While Bagil was studying the map, his squad gathered around him.

Therefore, Bagil immediately relayed the location of the kidnapped people to them.

「The hostages are divided between these three facilities. We will split into three teams. The division is the same as usual. After that, we will gather in the Freestan church. Everyone should hurry up and rescue the hostages, feel free to request for reinforcements from the church」
「「「「「「Roger」」」」」」

After receiving the orders, everyone except Gris headed for their respective destinations.

And Koul asked Bagil.

「A-am I safe right now?」
「Yeah, but you have to receive a punishment. As one of the thirteen apostles, I will determine it. And you receive the capital punishment」
「Aah…but you saidGuuaaaaaaa」

Koul screamed and dropped dead. On his back, there was a single rose.

---

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---

The Gursber family was situated inside a big mansion, which was currently expanding. Almost like, they were expecting an influx of people.

When landlord learned that they were from the Holy Church, he immediately granted permission to enter, but he wanted to meet with Bagil only.

The rest were put on standby in the guest room.

Bagil was told to surrender his weapons before the meeting, so he passed his sword to the servant. [¹]

When Bagil entered the meeting room, he spotted a slightly plump man in his late forties. The man saw Bagil and stood up in greeting.

「Nice to meet you apostle-dono, I’m the head of the Gursber family, Koul Gursber」
「Nice to meet you, I’m one of the thirteen apostles of the Holy Church, Bagil Eight」
「Please take you seat, Bagil-dono」
「Excuse me」

When they took their seats, a servant entered and put some tea on the table. After he left, Koul started talking.

「By the way, Bagil-dono, what brings you here?」
「Are you aware of the kidnapping incidents happening across the kingdom, Koul-dono?」
「I am, what about it?」

Bagil looked at his face but failed to notice any changes in his expression.

「I managed to uncover their purpose」
「Their purpose, is it?」
「Yes, do you want to know?」
「Eh, about that」
「I see」

Bagil noticed that, for a moment, Koul’s face flickered with agitation. It was unlikely to unearth anything else this way, so Bagil changed the question.

「The mansion seems to be expanding, are you expecting an increase in personnel?」
「Eh, well」

Koul started sweating. [²]

「Oh sorry, I digressed. It seems that the perpetrator wanted to mass-produce the magicians」
「Ho, that is」

Koul is sweating bullets, but Bagil pretends not to notice. What he was going to talk about now, was only his speculation.

「It seems that they moved around using the base in the dark territory」
「That is…….Why are you telling this to me? 」
「That’s easy. The culprit was receiving orders from you」
「T-that can’t be true! I never mentioned my name! 」 [³]

Of course, it was a lie. The criminal didn’t know the name of the mastermind. However, Koul got agitated and made a slip of the tongue. He was the mastermind.

「*******, you tricked me」
「Not really, you said it yourself」
「D-don’t care. Since you know the truth, you have to disappear. I, who inherited the will of fire, give me the power『Fire Slash』」

Koul took out the hidden katana and immediately cast a spell toward sitting Bagil.

「Hear my call『Ice Wall』」

But in the next moment, the wall of ice appeared before Bagil and protected him. 『Ice Wall』is a popular elementary ice attribute spell used for protection.

「No chanting!?」

Koul was surprised that Bagil cast his spell without chanting.

Koul tried to sneak attack the weaponless Bagil, without giving him the time to chant. He didn’t expect his『Fire Slash』to fail.

If only Bagil couldn’t cast without any chant.

「I can’t do something like the chant omission, I have just shortened it」
「What!? To shorten the chant to this extent…」
「Even if I look like that, I’m still one of the thirteen apostles. Besides, this is the reason I was chosen as one in the first place」

Chant shortening, as its name suggests, allows you to shorten the chant to a certain extent.

Bagil was able to do it since he was 18 years old.

The seven sages came to know about it and offered him the position in thirteen apostles. Other magicians can shorten their chant too, but Bagil is particularly talented in this regard.

「Anyway, you admitted your sin. Come out『Brunak』」

Bagil held the ice spear in his hands.

Bagil grasped the ice spear, Brunak, and stared at Koul. There was perceivable anger in his eyes; Koul finally recognized that before him stood one on the thirteen apostles.

And he remembered Bagil’s surname.

「It can’t be, are you the Quickmaker?」
「Yeah, there was such a name」

Quickmaker, that’s how people called Bagil, before he became one of the thirteen apostles.

A person who could make any armor or weapon with a short chant. That’s why Bagil was called as the Quickmaker. [⁴]

But after he became one of the apostles, this name was no longer around, therefore it took some time for Koul to remember.

「Well then, here I go」

Bagil pierced Koul’s left shoulder with Brunak in his right hand.

「Damn….」

Koul hits the wall with his back and grips the Brunak while enduring the pain in his shoulder.

Facing Koul, Bagil asked with a loud voice.

「Where are the hostages?」
「Did you think I will tell you?」
「You have a point, the shrine maiden of ice『Ice Flower』」
「Guaaaaaa」

When Bagil activated the spell, many ice flowers came out from the tip of the Brunak and tried to engulf Koul.

「If you stay silent, you may become an ice statue」

Koul glared at Bagil and tried to cast a new spell.

「Oh, god of fire, now protect me, the soul of the fire god『Ogun』」

In the next moment, the fire giant appeared next to Koul and Bagil; he was tall enough to pierce the roof of the mansion. He also melted the ice that was about to envelop Koul.

「Gursber family’s guardian deity, unique spell『Ogun』, right?」
「Yes…..This is the end of you」

Koul was convinced of his victory.

At the same time, the appearance of『Ogun』served as a signal for a fight between Gris’s squad and Gursber family’s servants.

---

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After five days, the group of five arrived in the city of Wokka.

Because they arrived at night, they decided to meet Paul and Kain in the inn.

When the meal was over, Bagil gathered everyone in the wide room borrowed from the inn, and said, while desperately restraining his anger.

「I understood the aim of the criminal」
「Is it true, captain?」

Asked Paul, who wasn’t informed until now.

「Yeah, the mastermind behind this case is probably a member of an advanced magician family」
「Captain, that is……」

Gris wondered if it was okay to say it, but before Bagil managed to answer, Waltz asked:

「Captain, so what is the purpose of the criminal?」
「Mass production of magicians」
「No way….」

Moras noticed something and made a surprised face. Kain also seemed to notice, so he asked Bagil:

「Magicians and girls….」 [¹] 「That’s probably true」
「Something…..So terrible…」

Hearing Kain’s words, Eliera, the only woman, understood the criminal’s purpose and showed an anger on her face. Gris also seemed to understand and lost his words.

「Probably, the criminal is committing a crime under the request from the Freestan’s advanced magician clan. In Freestan, your position is determined by your ability」

Bagil’s conclusion was: mass production of magicians.

The criminals are trying to raise the fighting power of their clan by making magicians breed with kidnapped girls. Then Bagil said:

「The mastermind if a member of the clan that uses fire magic」
「Why?」

Waltz inquired Bagil, he was also interested how he managed to narrow it to this extent.

Therefore, Bagil properly explained the reason.

「There were many magicians with fire attribute among the ones who were kidnapped. Perhaps they tried to raise loyal children with fire attribute」
「This might just work…」

Eliera agreed. However, she doubted that it was just that.

To his puzzled subordinates, Bagil said that he would explain everything tomorrow.

「I will go to church tomorrow and investigate advanced magicians, mainly of fire attribute. If found, we will head there and free the hostages. In the worst case, we will need to battle it out, be prepared」
「「「「「「Roger」」」」」」

The meeting ended at this point and everyone dispersed with complicated expressions.

The next day, when Bagil went to the church, the top brass of the church had a meeting.

When he learned about that, he told everyone to standby and entered alone.

Restraining his anger, Bagil opened the door with a loud noise.

「Please excuse me」[²] 「Who are you? We are in a meeting now」

The five men who were in the room raised a criticizing voice.

Of the five people, two were dispatched from the Holy Church and the other three were representatives of the Freestan. One of those three, a man of fifty years old, said.

「Outsiders should stand back. There is an important meeting」
「Toz-dono! This person is one of the thirteen apostles, Bagil Eight-sama! 」
「What?」

Hearing Torban’s words, the man named Toz looked at Bagil with incredulous eyes.

His attire was precisely of one of the thirteen apostles. Immediately changing his attitude, he said:

「That was rude of me. What brings you here? 」

Seeing his change in the attitude, Bagil goes straight to the point.

「I want a list of advanced magician families adept at fire attribute」
「Why would you want that?」

Toz was naturally interested why one of the thirteen apostles needed such thing, but Bagil could not answer.

「I can’t say. Nevertheless, this is my request as one of the apostles」
「I understand」

Having said so, Toz left the room and brought something like a file.

This was a list of advanced magician clans of the Freestan.

There were quite a bit of the families, but Bagil only chose those of the fire attribute.

However the was still a dozen left, Bagil had no choice but to narrow it further.

「Which of these clans have abundant funds?」
「These six」

You need funds to establish a criminal organization. Toz pointed at the six clans, but it was still too many. Bagil further asked:

「Which of these six clans are capable of operating in dark territory?」
「Only these two, sir」

It came down to two clans. With this, he can proceed, but he still asked.

「Were there any suspicious movements from one of these clans?」
「Yes, the Gursber family is behaving suspiciously lately……How did you know? We just planned to discuss it during this meeting………」
「A lot of thing happened, so how could I reach this clan?」

Bagil thought that this was it. With a strong desire to save the kidnapped victims, that is why he immediately asked that.

「In this case, it will be easy, they are quite close」
「Then can I ask you to guard the surroundings of Gursber family」
「Why?」
「In the worst case scenario, I will have to eradicate the Gursber family in the name of thirteen apostles」
「That is….」

Hearing his words, everyone understood. Is seems that Gursber family is in the center of a very big case, big enough to attract the Holy Church.

「Understood」
「I appreciate your cooperation.」

Bagil said so and left the meeting room.

Then he rejoined with his squad and headed for the Gursber family.

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On the next day, early in the morning, Paul and Kain went to investigate, and Waltz, Moras and Eliera headed to the Orna city, where Senabia Magic Academy was located.

Then Bagil and Gris went to the church and decided to gather information.

They failed to get any new information, but in the afternoon, a message came saying that the criminals woke up.

Bagil and Gris hurriedly headed to the hospital in the Orna city where the criminal was hospitalized, together with Harris and a few escorts.

They arrived at the hospital after a few hours, but the hospital personnel said that they wished for only two people to visit the criminal.

Bagil and Harris were the ones to go inside. When the two entered the hospital room, a man around 40 years old, who seemed to be criminal’s boss, was sitting on the bed.

「Are you church’s people?」
「We are indeed」
「That’s right」
「I don’t have anything to say to you, go away」

The man didn’t realize that he was talking to one of the thirteen apostles and the top of Windistan church. Harris said to him with a helpless attitude. [¹]

「But we still managed to catch  you」 [²] 「Uh-huh. I will only speak to the top of the church」
「Why so?」

Bagil immediately asked.

「Unimportant people won’t understand」
「So you will speak to the top person?」
「That’s right」

When a man said so, he averted his eyes from the two. He was implying that he wasn’t going to talk to unimportant people and wanted them to leave.

Seeing his behavior, Harris says with an amused voice.

「Then you can rest assured. I am Harris Tuberculin, one of the top people from Windistan church」
「I am Bagil Eight, one of the 13 apostles of the Holy Church」
「The top of the church and an apostle?!」

After learning their identity, the man seemed to receive a shock.

The man was going to call an important person simply to buy time, he was not going to tell the truth even he actually came.

So the man tried to activate something hidden in his right hand. But Bagil didn’t seem to mind and simply said. [³]

「The magic circle you were hiding was already erased. Just stop your useless resistance」
「What? Damn it」

The man was surprised that his hidden magic circle disappeared.

The man tried to cause them injuries and escape, but the other party was a top class magician, it was natural for it to fail.

「Well than, let us talk. I really want to know a lot of things」
「Do you think that I will talk if you say so?」
「Such bad manners. Think about it, I am at the top of the church. If you answer my questions, your sin might get lighter」

Although Harris tried to convince the bad-mannered man, the man was not stupid.

「Do you think that I will believe such obvious lie?」
「Hmm, I see. Let’s change the method. What if I let you escape, and say that you captured the top of the church and used him as a shield? You will probably face a lot of trouble」 [⁴]

Harris changed his approach from temptation to threatening. Facing Harris’s aura, the man finally makes a slip of tongue.

「They I will just go elsewhere!」
「By the way, where is this elsewhere?」
「Freestan. You shouldn’t have any authority there」
「I see, but you forgot something」
「I am one of thirteen apostles」

Even if you go to other places, thirteen apostles can freely move around, escaping in Freestan is useless.

「Damn, is it fine for the top of the church and one of the apostles to threaten people in broad daylight?」
「Well, this is certainly a bad thing」
「But we need to solve a problem at hand, can’t help it」

The two immediately admitted, and one even said a frightening thing.

「There is also a torture」
「Yes, the Holy Church will deal with the aftermath」
「I u-understand. I will talk. I will talk, so please stop」

Facing Harris’s menacing aura and Bagil’s sharp gaze, the man gave up.

「So you finally decided to speak」
「I will talk. Please have mercy」

Looking at the man who tried to escape the torture by any means necessary, Bagil said.

「Just say it already. Although, if I have to guess, your employer is from the Freestan?」
「How did you?」
「You previously said that you will go to the Freestan. You probably wanted to return to your employer, right? 」

Bagil was concerned, why did the man want to go to Freestan of all other places? But the reason was quickly found. It also goes well with Bagil’s speculations.

「As you have guessed, my employer is a magician from Freestan. I don’t know his name, but I heard he is in the Freestan」
「And what is his goal?」
「I don’t know the details, but I remember him talking about mass production of magicians」
「Mass production?」
「I don’t know about his methods, believe me. We were just told to collect girls」

At this time, the picture inside Bagil’s head was completed. And the anger welled up inside of him. The anger caused by criminal’s heretical studies.

「I see, I understand」
「Did you figured something?」
「Yes. I will head to Freestan right now」
「All right, I will stay here for a while then」
「Understood. Until we meet again」
「Be careful」
「Yes」

Then Bagil left the hospital room. Gris who was on standby outside the hospital room, seeing angry face of his superior, immediately became serious.

「Captain…..」
「Gris, contact Waltz’s team. We will meet and head to Freestan」
「Roger」

Gris understood that interrogation bore fruit, but didn’t ask.

Because he knew that he shouldn’t ask, Bagil will tell him if he decides so.

Gris have immediately contacted Waltz’s group, that was heading towards Senabia Magic Academy.

He used a special kind of stone called thought transmission stone. By pouring mana inside the stone you can transmit your thoughts to a specific person

Gris poured the mana into the stone in his hand and initiated a contact with Waltz.

Tsun~n~n~n

With this sound, he successfully connected with Waltz.

（Waltz?）
（What’s wrong, Gris?）
（Please come to a hospital in the Orna city right now. Captain and I are waiting for you here）
（What!? Why are you even there? ）

Waltz was surprised that they were in the Orna city, but Gris didn’t have time to answer him.

（Yeah, come as soon as possible. It seems captain understood the criminal’s goal and is very angry right now）
（Is it true!?）[⁵] （Yes, it’s true）
（Understood, we will be there soon）

Then, 30 minutes after the contact, Bagil and his four Captains gathered in front of the hospital.

There, Bagil relayed his orders.

「I uncovered the criminal’s goal, we will head to Freestan immediately」
「「「「Roger」」」」

Five people rode their horses to Freestan. The biggest kidnapping incident in the history of Leiria Kingdom was finally coming to an end.

---

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A group of people gathered in front of the Holy Church in the capital city Reinz.

In the center stood a silver-haired man in white whole body armor, Bagil Eight, one of the 13 apostles. His face was harsh, and it made people around him nervous.

And there were 6 people surrounding him.

The name of a strong-looking man with brown short hair is Gris Gureia. He is a magician adept in flame attribute magic from the advanced magician family and is one of the captains under the Bagil.

The name of a good-looking guy with black hair is Paul Marnier. He is a member of advanced magician clan and a specialist in earth magic, also one of the captains under Bagil. [¹]

The man with black hair and agile body is Waltz Sugirt. He is a magician of the fog attribute from advanced magician clan, also under Bagil.

The name of a bashful man with blue hair is Moras Brigar, an intermediate magician of the light attribute, serves under Bagil. [²]

Kain Surra is the name of a gentle man with orange hair. He is an intermediate magician of the wind attribute, also a subordinate of Bagil.

And the woman with reddish hair, Eliera Bojural is an intermediate magician of the fire attribute, the only female captain under Bagil. [³]

They were the six captains under Bagil and trusted subordinates, together they are to head to Windistan.

「This time, our Bagil platoon is to head to Windistan and settle the kidnapping incident. I’m counting on you in case of battle」
「「「「「「Yes sir!」」」」」」

Seven people led by Bagil started moving immediately as they mounted their horses.

Their horses, unlike ordinary ones, are called『Magic Horse』which can increase its speed by receiving mana from the rider.

They poured mana into the magic horses and rushed out with a tremendous speed in the direction of Windistan.

Three days later, after passing through a number of small villages and towns on their way to the destination, the team reached their destination.

Upon arriving in the city Bagil ordered the captains to secure the surroundings.

Although he said that, Bagil’s order meant that other than being wary of their surroundings, they are free to act as they see fit. Of course, captains knew that, so they acted however they wanted while completing orders.

And when the captains disappeared, Bagil headed for a certain building.

It was the Windistan’s church, that managed the region. As soon as he arrived at the church he entered a particular room.

Bagil passed through a door and entered the room, there was an old man waiting inside.

A white-haired old man in a dark blue robe was one of the top people in this church. His name was Harris Tuberculin and he was an acquaintance of Bagil.

Like the Holy Church in the capital, the regional church had several people on top.

If someone is dispatched from Holy Church, the representative will be sent from this circle for the purpose of smooth cooperation.

And Harris was a magician that once belonged to the Holy Church, now he was in the top brass of this regional church.

「You are finally here, Bagil-sama」
「Please stop such a formal attitude, Harris-san」
「Ho-ho-ho. That’s right, isn’t it」 [⁴] 「Yes, after all, I came this far thanks to your education」
「You are overpraising me, Bagil」

As Bagil said, Harris was Bagil’s teacher until two years ago.

Bagil became one of the apostles when he was 18 years old. He was still in the magic academy back then.

So the seven sages made Harris, who was an instructor for young magicians at the Holy Church, Bagil’s teacher.

Then he heard about the circumstances of the Leiria Kingdom from the seven sages.

After that, Harris was the one who educated and supported Bagil, thanks to him Bagil was able to become a wonderful apostle.

As Harris became his teacher, he was also taught by the seven sages about the outside of the Leiria Kingdom, so he was able to provide good advises for him.

Three years later, Bagil became a powerful apostle, so Harris left for the church in Windistan.

Harris was ordered to take a position in Windistan church because seven sages were afraid of him gaining more influence among 13 apostles.

Bagil apologized to Harris after he became aware of that, but Harris didn’t mind and was now enjoying country life.

「Bagil, are you here because of kidnapping case?」
「That’s right」

Looking at Bagil’s serious face, Harris immediately cuts to the chase.

He also received the news that the criminals were caught, but Harris also thought that it wasn’t the end of this case.

Since Harris was on top of the church he couldn’t move around so easily, and in that moment Bagil came. So there was no reason to not cooperate.

「Do you know about kidnapped students of Senabia Magic Academy in the city of Orna?」
「Yes, it should be four people if I remember correctly」
「Yes, in order to help the caught student, a few students of Senabia Magic Academy also guarded the streets, they found a suspicious person and followed it」
「That’s right, in order to save their fellow students, a few of their classmates patrolled the streets of Orna city, there they found suspicious people and tailed them」[⁵] 「And when they found criminal’s base, they rescued the hostages and caught the perpetrators, or so I heard」
「It’s admirable isn’t it」

Listening to Harris’s story, Bagil was honestly impressed.

Even though they are magicians, they are still kids. Bagil was a student before so he knew it all too well.

「And what is about the culprits?」
「They are unconscious. We will interrogate them when they will wake up」
「How about the hostages, were they all found?」
「Not all of them. I do not know the details, but they are probably a part of the whole」
「I see」

Bagil was convinced, the case doesn’t end here.

「I will contact you when they wake up」
「I thought I could stay here」
「One of the apostles? Is it that important? 」

As Harris said, apostles stayed on the crime scene only when it’s extremely important. So Harris couldn’t help but be surprised.

「Kind of」
「Can you tell me?」
「It’s only my speculations…….」
「I don’t mind」

Hearing that, Bagil decided to share his theories.

「I think that an advanced magician is one of the criminals」
「This is….a little…. 」

Harris couldn’t hide his surprise. He never thought that an advanced magician was involved.

But Bagil’s theory could explain a lot.

「It can certainly explain a lot of things, but is this really true?」
「I couldn’t think of any other possibilities」
「All tight, I will keep that in mind」
「Thank you very much. Please don’t divulge this to other people」
「I know」

Bagil finished his business in the church and returned to the inn his squad was staying at.

Captains were already waiting in the inn, and as soon as Bagil returned, it was time for dinner.

There, Bagil relayed to everyone his plans.

「About our future plans, I will remain here until the criminals wake up. Gris is to be by my side」
「Understood」

Gris nodded, hearing the order.

「Paul and Kain are to go to the church and investigate recent movements of magical beasts in the dark territory. Stay there for three days, and if nothing happens, return back to this town」
「Freestan it is, Roger」
「Roger」

They didn’t understand his motive but agreed nonetheless.

「Waltz, Moras and Eliera are to head to Senabia Magic Academy and question the classmates of kidnapped people」
「「「Roger」」」

Bagil finished relaying his orders and said.

「This case is not over yet. It won’t be over until we find everyone」
「「「「「「Yes sir!」」」」」」

A powerful reply resounded across the inn.

---

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There was a Holy Church in the heart of the central province of Leiria Kingdom.
[¹]

Although Holy Church is an institution situated in the capital city Reinz, it manages the regional churches in Freestan, Windistan, and Aquaristan, and protects the Kingdom from threats.

Decades ago, at the top of the Holy Church, there was a goddess Lina Maria, but she mysteriously disappeared. Then her subordinates, the seven sages, took control of church’s affairs.

The current seven sages aren’t the same as before, during the decades four of them died and church appointed four more to supplement their ranks.

And under the seven sages, there were thirteen people called apostles.

Thirteen Apostles are excellent magicians gathered from all over the Leiria Kingdom. There are powerful clans behind each of them, using their influence they were able to send they outstanding young generation into the church.

Thirteen Apostles are respected to the great extent.

And each of thirteen apostles had his own troops, when problems arise, they dispatch their troops to solve it. If it was impossible for troops to deal with the problem, they took the action themselves.

With such arrangement, the Holy Church had ruled this country without problems, after the disappearance of Lina Maria.

Currently, there were two men in the 8th meeting room on the third floor of the church.

One man had a well-ordered face and long silver hair, he was sitting in a chair and listening to the other man.

Another man had a strong build and brown short hair, he had a sword on his waist and was telling something to the first man.

The two men were young and seemed to be in their early twenties. But you can feel a sense of urgency from their expressions.

「What is your opinion on this case, captain?」
「What do you think?」
「I think it’s unnatural」
「Heh….where exactly? 」

The silver-haired man asked the brown-haired one, and his reply was.

「Yes, first is the culprit. Although the criminal is not in a central province, he is kidnapping across the rest of Leiria Kingdom. Kidnapping in the central province is risky and it is understandable. But even if he has multiple bases, he risks too much by kidnapping from such a large territory」
「That’s true」

The two people were talking about massive kidnapping incident that occurred recently.

People were kidnapped in various places, so the Holy Church declared an emergency and launched an investigation

「Besides, they even kidnapped a non-magician girl. You can at least use a magician as a mercenary, that I understand, but what was the meaning behind her abduction?」
「It is as you said, Gris. We do not understand his aim」

The silver-haired man replied to his subordinate Gris Gureia.

Gris is an advanced magician affiliated with the Holy Church, he is a field captain specialized in fire magic.

And silver-haired man agreed with his subordinate’s suspicions.

「Were the captain is of the same opinion? Perhaps the criminal wanted to sell her for operation funds」
「Oh, I thought about it too… but that’s impossible」
「Are you talking about the fact that he didn’t demand ransom?」
「Yes」

The name of the silver hair is Bagil Eight.

He is a magician affiliated with the Holy Church, ranked eight out of 13 apostles.

By the way, the name Bagil Eight is not his real name, his real name is Bagil Naveria.

Just like Gris, he is an advanced magician, and at the same time, he is a direct superior of Gris.

As for why he changed it, the thirteen apostles have a custom to abandon their family names and use their number in apostles ranking instead.

So in Bagil’s case, since he was ranked eighth among thirteen apostles, his surname was Eight.

He originated from Aquaristan and was a master of ice magic, he was one of thirteen apostles for 5 years already.

At that time Bagil was 18 and wasn’t eager to become an apostle. However, because his Naveria family strongly pushed him into apostle position, he ended up becoming one.

But Bagil, who became an apostle, wasn’t very motivated in his duties and just trained without rest.

The reason for his behavior were the words of seven sages.

Thirteen Apostles had the right to know about the existence of Great Dakuria Empire and dark attribute.

They are also informed of the possibility that a war may occur between the Great Dakuria Empire and the Leiria Kingdom. Bagil knew about it and became even more diligent in his training.

Only seven sages, thirteen apostles, and select few knew about the situation outside the Leiria Kingdom. Therefore, Bagil wasn’t going to tell this information to Gris.

Bagil was anxious inside.

What if Dakuria was involved in this incident? As he thought about that possibility he became filled with unease.

While he was thinking such things, Gris said.

「Since there was no demands for ransom, he might have transported them somewhere else」
「It seems so」
「But in this case, he couldn’t have escaped the baggage check at checkpoints」
「That would have caused a commotion at the checkpoint」
「That’s right」

From village to village, from town to town, from province to province, there was a need to provide your baggage for inspection. It was made to prevent the trafficking of illegal goods and the leakage of unique magic, it was nearly impossible to avoid inspection.

「Then it appears that the culprit was moving between the crime scene and his base directly」
「Yes」
「However, we didn’t receive a report from local churches」
「What do you mean?」

Given the boldness and scale of the crime, you can also see the approximate number of criminals. And since the number of criminals is high, their base should be particularly big.

Naturally, the bigger the scale, the easier it is to gather the information. However, in this case, the criminals were like ghosts.

「I do not know, but I have a speculation」
「What speculation?」
「Dark territory」
「Captain, this is…..」

Gris denied his words with a bitter smile.

Because it was difficult for ordinary people to stay alive in the dark territory, it was impossible for a criminal organization to exist there.

Besides, the dark territory is a monster den. The criminals aren’t idiots, thought Gris.

「After kidnapping, the criminals reached the dark territory and moved to their headquarters」
「Indeed, this might work, but there are magical beasts in the dark territory. They will be annihilated the moment they encounter those beasts」
「What if they could defeat the beasts?」
「No way……for a magician to be a criminal…..」
「What’s more, he is probably advanced magician」[²] 「No way….」

Gris lost his words hearing this unbelievable speculation.

Certainly, Bagil’s theory could explain everything.

No wonder they couldn’t find their base if it is in a dark territory. And no one would dare to inspect an advanced magician.

However, it was far from being believable.

「If he is an advanced magician, beasts won’t be able to harm him」
「Certainly, if the criminal is an advanced magician, he can freely go to the dark territory, he can defeat the magical beasts, and he can easily avoid baggage inspection. I wonder to which family he belongs to……」
「I don’t know how much I guessed right, but the possibility still exists」
「Did you report it to the higher-ups?」
「No, let’s keep it between each other for a while」
「Understood」

Then a man came inside the room in a hurry without even knocking. Gris instantly became angry at his conduct.

「Hey you! Who do you think you are to enter without knocking?」
「I’m s-sorry」

The man quickly apologized and relayed the information he recently received.

「J-just a little while ago, there was a report from the church in Windistan, they said that they caught the culprits」
「What?」
「Is that true?」
「Yes!」

Two people were surprised at the breaking news that arrived with unspeakable timing.

But they were excellent magicians. They immediately regained their bearing and asked for details.

「What’s your name?」[³] 「It’s Bin」
「Bin, go and make a contact with the Windistan’s church. We will follow soon after」
「Understood」

Receiving Bagil’s orders, Bean swiftly departed for Windistan.

Seeing him off with their eyes, two men made a serious face and continued their talk

「Gris, we should head there too」
「Understood. What about the troops?」
「The incident is still not closed. Gather only the squad captains」
「We will gather the troops on the way?」
「That’s right」

In that way, the two men headed to Windistan.

---

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「Operation start. I will launch a signal in the sky in due time」
「Oh!」
「We are counting on you, Ryuka」
「Yup. O the goddess of light, grant me your power『Reflection』」

Immediately after she cast her spell, Ryuka, Lanya and Chris disappeared from the surroundings.

The spell that Ryuka used was intermediate level spell『Reflection』. This spell is able to reflect the light hitting the object, and by doing so the object becomes invisible.

But they just became invisible, their aura and sounds still remained, a magician with superior perception like Kair could still find them in no time.

「Kair, have you investigated the building?」
「There are close to fifty people inside. About 30 of them seem like victims. The culprits are 18. Probably non-magicians. The victims are in the back of the factory; the criminals are spread around the walls」

Kair, who had the greatest perception, described to Chris’s team the number of people in the factory and their placement.

「Roger. Let’s go, everyone. We will enter from the back」
「Okay」
「Un」[¹]

The group split up and infiltration team circled around the factory. Three people reached the back of the factory and stopped close to the wall, Lanya stepped out and cast her spell.

「O, my wind soul, bestow upon my hands.『Wind Edge』」 [²]

A green magic circle appeared in her right hand following Lanya’s voice, that hand held an eastern sword, resembling a katana.

Lanya’s favorite weapon, a beautiful katana, you can recognize that it is a masterpiece from one look.

Lanya held her sword coated in『Wind Edge』facing factory’s wall, she poured her mana and unleashed her spell.

「I, the one who received divine protection of the wind. Follow my soul『Wind Fusion』」

The wind wrapped around Lanya’s『Wind Edge』and raised its sharpness.

The spell she used was an elementary wind attribute spell『Wind Fusion』. It is a spell often used to enhance the sharpness of swords.

This spell is often used by swordsmen.

Lanya took a stance with her sword, Arun style magic swordsmanship on full display.

「Arun style, first stance『Turning Swallow』」 [[^3]]

Lanya swung faster than the eye could see, a part of the wall of the factory was cut off without making a sound.

There were at least three cuts on the wall of the factory, but they have seen her strike only once.

But from where the other two came from? The answer is simple. It wasn’t her sword that made these cuts, but the wind surrounding it.

The wind couldn’t keep up with a speed of her katana and became separated. Because of that the wind turned into wind blades and sliced the wall in different directions.

Chris quickly dives in the hole, followed be the rest of the team.

Walking stealthily for a while they arrived at an open space.

This was the exact place where victims were kept. And fortunately, there were no patrols or guards around.

Seeing the victims, Ryuka immediately dissolved 『Reflection』from the team and run up to them.

The kidnapped people were surprised by three people appearing out of nowhere, but when Chris explained that they were students of Senabia Magic Academy and came to help, people finally became relieved.

And then, following Chris’ leadership, victims successfully left the factory without being noticed.

Chris confirmed everyone’s safety and cast a spell to notify assault team.

「I, the one who received divine protection of light, call upon your power『Shining Bullet』」

The bullet light flew in the sky without making a sound and disappeared as quietly. It was present for a very short time, but it was enough for Kair and Jin.

Jin and Kair noticed the signal without any problem.

「Apparently they succeeded」
「Then let’s commence the attack」
「How should we start?」
「Just shoot them once with『Fire Bullet』」
「One won’t be enough」
「No problem, leave it to me」

Saying this, Jin pointed in the direction of the factory with his right hand and released a spell.

「Maiden of the wind, dance, and rage on this land『Wind Fang』」

Just like that, 『Wind Fang』flew from Jin’s right hand and easily destroyed the gate with a boom.

The criminals raised a commotion at first, but immediately after they took out their weapons and started looking for enemies.

Apparently, their combat experience was plentiful, despite being non-magicians.

After『Wind Fang』, Jin casts a new spell with the target being the people inside.

「Judgement of the wind god, punishment for sinners, divine protection of the wind, dance of speed『Invisible Bullet』」

『Invisible Bullet』were shot in large quantities into the factory one after another, but the criminals swiftly hid behind objects, so none were hit. But Jin never tried to hit them in the first place.

Finishing his preparations, Jin passed the baton to Kair.

「It’s you turn, Kair」
「Sure! Leave it to me. This one is going to be big」
「No way. Please make it even weaker than usual」
「Will it work with just that?」
「It’s fine」

Kair was going to make the best『Fire Bullet』in both size and quality, but was stopped by Jin.

Having no choice, he produced a『Fire Bullet』which was a little weaker than usual, and released it into the factory.

「Eat this!『Fire Bullet』」 [³]

Kair’s『Fire Bullet』flew into the factory with a small noise.

Will it even work? Thought Kair, and in the next moment from the factory in front of the two people resounded a big explosion.

The faces of Jin and Kair became pale at this sight.

「Kair, you overdid things」
「I properly reduced the power, Jin」
「I think you should have suppressed it a little more……」
「Too late for that」

Why did Kair’s weak『Fire Bullet』blew up the whole factory? The is hidden in『Invisible Bullet』, Jin shot previously.

Jin’s『Invisible Bullet』is usually made of nitrogen, but this time it was made of oxygen instead.

『Invisible Bullet』made of oxygen collided with various places in the factory and dispersed, as a result the factory was filled with oxygen. [⁴]

And Kair’s『Fire Bullet』was thrown inside.

Oxygen has the property of assisting burning and combustion processes. What will happen if someone releases fire inside the room filled with oxygen? A big explosion will be your answer. [⁵]

Two people were looking at a violently burning factory in front of them with somewhat stupid faces. Soon afterwards, a lot of water attribute magic circles appeared to fight the fire.

「Jin, Kair, that is an overkill」
「Chris, what is happening?」
「That is a teacher’s work. After we liberated everyone, we called a few teachers who were nearby. Then a big explosion happened, and the teachers are trying to extinguish the fire」
「Thanks Chris, really」
「Thank you」

Jin and Kair were honestly grateful, thanks to Chris the accident won’t happen anymore. But Chris immediately poured a bucket of cold water on their heads.

「I am still fine, but I think they will be really angry with you」
「「……」」

Although those guys were criminals, they used a powerful magic against non-magician opponent. This result is everything but unnatural.

「Did you find our classmates?」
「Unfortunately I didn’t. Only girls were captured, our people are probably elsewhere」
「I see, I hope we find them eventually」
「Let’s all gather for the time being」

After that, everyone gathered together and were strictly lectured by the angry Lamia.

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All students of Senabia Magic Academy were forced to go back home because of the church’s request. Ryuka’s group wasn’t an exception.

「Even so, although it is an emergency, everyone is quite relaxed」
「Indeed. I think there are other victims」
「What do you mean, Lanya-chan?」

Ryuka asked Lanya. But it was not Lanya but Jin and Chris who answered her question.

「Lanya meant that it was not only one girl」
「Too much movement for a single girl」
「As Chris and Jin said, something is fishy」
「Come to think of it, that’s true」

It was strange if you think about it.

Even though the four magicians were kidnapped, the church was still moving secretly rather than issuing an emergency situation.

However, as soon as a non-magician girl was kidnapped, they immediately caused a commotion. It was strange that the church attached so much value on a non-magician girl.

「But why is she so important?」
「No, I do not think that she is that important. Maybe, there were many victims」
「Probably, there are over thirty people」
「This is serious」

To Jin’s speculation, Kair spoke with a troubled expression.

Thirty people, that number of people is not so easy to kidnap. The kidnapping comes with a risk, kidnapping 30 people at once is rather unprofessional.

It was close to the level that he thought that they feel pleasure from the risk rather than money.

「But teachers are on the move, right?」
「It is still worrisome though」
「I would have been nice having him around right now」
「Are you about Real?」
「Yeah」
「That would have been reassuring, but he is not here right now」
「Who knows, maybe he is on the move right now」
「Ha-ha, that could be true」

Real is a boy who used to be together with these five people.

Although he is not in Senabia Magic Academy right now, he is a boy with a strong sense of justice, he had a position of a leader among the six of them.

While talking about all of this, five people arrived in the Orna city. Jin immediately found a suspicious person.

「What’s wrong, Jin?」
「There is a suspicious person over there」
「True. That is definitely suspicious」

In their line of sight, there were two men hiding in the alley. The dubious pair had a bag that can fit a person inside, and they seemed to avoid people around them.

「Was it only me who thought that those guys resemble a stereotype kidnapper?」
「Relax Lanya, I think so too」

Even if you have a person-sized bag and wear appropriate clothes, you won’t try to kidnap people in the middle of an alley, right?

But now it is different. In this town, a new victim has just appeared.

In this situation, two suspicious people with big hemp bags were incredibly eye-catching.

「What should we do? Should we catch then and interrogate」
「No, let’s tail them」
「Let’s go with Jin’s solution. Kair, if we just catch them all of the sudden then we will be deemed kidnappers. Besides, if we can find their base we will be able to save everyone」
「Yeah」
「I understand. Then let’s tail them」

Five people suppressed their aura and started tailing the suspicious duo.

As expected from the students of the magic academy, their aura was almost nonexistent. Two suspicious men were non-magicians, so they did not seem to be aware of the tail.

Apparently, the factory seems to be their base.

「Here」
「I feel like we were right」

As Lanya said, the place where the two people came, was a big factory that was used in the past.

The wall is rusted in some places, and some roof tiles are missing as well. At first glance, it is pretty creepy and nobody will approach on their own volition, so it is the perfect place to hide.

「What should we do?」
「I think that we should rush inside. What about Jin?」
「I agree with Chris. Everyone?」
「Of course I’m in」
「I agree with you」
「Me too」

The rest agreed with Chris. Since they discovered criminal’s base they couldn’t just leave without doing anything.

Five people thought so and decided to assault the factory. And as far as they saw, the criminals aren’t magicians, this will make their job much easier.

「The it’s decided」
「Okay, then first of all we should split into two teams. Jin and Kair are the first team, me, Lanya and Ryuka are the second team. My team will infiltrate and free the hostages, then you can go all out. But try not to kill anyone」

Chris explained the strategy. The rest were impressed with this strategy; it is hard to come up with this strategy on the fly.

「I understand」
「All right」
「I also understand, but why am I inside the infiltration team?」
「Because Lanya’s job is to cut the hole in the wall. We will use that hole to escape with the hostages」
「I see. So we need Lanya’s power. I’m counting on you」
「Yes, I got it」

Everyone understood their roles, and the plan came into motion.

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At the time of the lecture, due to consideration of the teacher in charge, it was decided to study magic which can be used for self-defense.

At the same time, its purpose was to try to distract students a bit.

By the way, the morning lessons were left to show that the academy won’t be shaken by some kidnapping incidents.

However, the academy principal Edward was going to the church branch after hearing the fact that Seiya was abducted.

Because it was easier to gather information inside the church. Edward nominally went to the church branch as the principal of Senabia Magic Academy, but on the inside, he was doing it for Seiya.

By the way, the branches of the church were located in various places and were able to communicate with the headquarters.

Sudden lecture on self-defense lasted for two hours, it was a break at Senabia Magic Academy.

There were multiple groups in the class, and one of them had familiar faces. Kair and Chris. Kair and Chris were talking with two girls.

One of them was a girl named Lanya Arun. She had a beautiful black hair tied in a ponytail and cool atmosphere around her.

Lanya is the eldest daughter of the Arun family, an elementary magician who is good at wind attribute magic. The Arun family is an intermediate magician family, but it is said that they are close to the title of advanced magician family.

The Arun family used a combination of magic and Arun style swordsmanship for generations. And by using the Arun style swordsmanship at the same time as magic, they had the strength close to that of advanced magicians.

Among the magicians, the Arun style magic swordsmanship was recognized as unique magic. [¹]

Another girl is Ryuka Tinamo, a girl with red eyes and beautiful blond hair.

She had a warm atmosphere and was called a Princess for her gentle heart and beautiful appearance.

Ryuka is the second daughter of the Tinamo family and specializes in the light attribute magic, Tinamo family is an advanced magician clan. They are famous for their support capabilities.

Ryuka and Lanya are top-class beauties in this class, from the looks of it, Lanya considered herself a bodyguard of Ryuka, the princess.

They were very close to each other, Ryuka was always trying to spoil Lanya, they almost looked like sisters.

In addition, Tinamo family and Arun family are quite close to each other, this is one of the reasons why Ryuka is pampering Lanya.

When four people were talking in the classroom, Jin came back from the staff room.

Jin explained to Lamia about the state of the four people in practical training yesterday and tried to return to class, but Edward came back unexpectedly and forced him to explain again.

That’s why he managed to return only during the break. Ryuka asked Jin, who came back.

「Oh, Jin, welcome back. You are so late, what were you doing?」
「Yesterday, I was the one who retired the four people during the practical training, so I was explaining their circumstances to Lamia-sensei and principal Edward」
「You are probably tired, Jin」
「So, what has happened after all?」

Lanya asked the situation of the four people.

「Unknown retired Zach, the other three were retired by me」
「What!? Did unknown retired Zach!?」
「Yes」

Kair was surprised that Seiya retired Zach.

No wonder, because Seiya always endured the assault of three people they clearly didn’t expect him to retaliate. Lanya and Ryuka were also surprised, although they didn’t voice it.

「I see, the trio got angry, then they took Unknown outside the school land and got kidnapped」
「I agree with Chris. The teachers were thinking the same too」
「Will they ever come back?」
「Ryuka, I think it is too early to say that」
「I’m of the same opinion as Lanya, Ryuka」
「Sorry……」[²]

Ryuka apologized with a depressed expression.

「But still, I’m concerned about them」
「Yeah, I think they were taken to Freestan」
「I also agree with Jin」

Chris agreed with Jin’s opinion, but the other three didn’t understand why Jin thought so.

「How do you know?」
「It’s simple. First reason, the criminal didn’t ask for money」
「Jin is right. I think that the criminal will use them for human experiments」

They thought that they will become test subjects.

Kidnappers didn’t request for money yet, and simply killing them was illogical.

After all, the corpses weren’t found. Even if the criminal tried to conceal the corpse, the church would have found him soon enough.

However, if the dead bodies of the four people weren’t found, then the only possibility is a human experiment, and human experiments are thriving in Freestan district.

「Tsk, Chris-san, what kind of human experiment?」
「I do not know the content of the experiment, but the chance of them staying alive is very small」
「I wonder if Zach has more chances to survive since he is from the intermediate family」
「That’s right. And the lowest chances to live…」
「Unknown」
「It can’t be….」

When five people were talking about such a dark story, Lamia, their homeroom teacher, came into the classroom.

However, because the next lesson is self-training, it was strange that Lamia came at this time. However, everyone soon saw her serious face.

「Although it is sudden, today’s lessons are canceled. Everyone is to make their way home」
「Why, teacher? Is this because of the four? 」

A male student asked Lamia.

「You are wrong, not only them. Someone just got kidnapped in the Orna city.
This time it was a non-magician, a girl. As a result, the Senabia Magic Academy was requested by Windistan church to issue an alert, and the academy responded accordingly.
As a result, it will be impossible to guarantee the safety of students in the town’s surroundings」

The students became unable to say anything.

It already happened so it can’t be helped. Magic academies are sometimes requested by the church to stand on alert for emergency situations. There are different levels depending on the situation.

The is a total of 5 levels.

Because of the request, teachers will collaborate with the church to solve the problem, so normally safe magic academy will not be safe anymore, and the students are forced to go home.

「When you return home, do it in groups of three, dismissed」

Having said her piece, Lamia quickly left the classroom. Students started to go home, that included Ryuka’s group too.

But their faces were somewhat dissatisfied.

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When the practical training was over, all of the students were supposed to gather in the classroom.

The classroom was already filled, except for four seats, and everyone was waiting for the homeroom teacher Lamia.

Then the door of the classroom opens and Lamia comes in, she says looking at the classroom.

「Good work everyone, this is it for today. By the way, I can’t see Zach, Hoa, Shura, and Seiya. Is there anyone who knows where they are?」
「「「「「……」」」」」

The classroom became quiet after Lamia’s question.

Some are interested, others are looking away. Actually, the students in the classroom and Lamia knew nothing about the location of Seiya and the others, but they had a certain guess.

It was unconcealed violence in the name of sanctions, students in the class knew about it, but no one would report it to Lamia or intervene.

After all, nothing good will happen if they involve themselves with Unknown, it is better to be indifferent than to show concern.

Actually, Zach’s unilateral violence against Seiya was considered a problem even amongst teachers.

But they weren’t able to catch him by the hand, if Seiya files a complaint it would be possible to issue a warning, but since Seiya never complained, teachers couldn’t move even if they wanted to. [¹]

So Lamia couldn’t say anything here.

「I see, whatever then. Winners should not fall behind, and losers are to win next time. That’s it, dismissed」

Lamia said her piece and the day ended for Seiya’s classmates.

The next day, the chime signaling the beginning of classes rang, and students assembled in their respective classrooms.

You would expect to see a full classroom, but for people were absent. Of course, they were the same people.

Classmates did not care about the four vacant seats and were waiting for teacher Lamia to come.

After some time the door opened, Lamia came in, but her face looked tired, there was no sharpness as usual.

Students in the classroom started to wonder about Lamia being different from usual and wanted to know the story. To such students Lamia declared.

「Good morning, there is something I want everyone to hear. Calm down and listen. Yesterday, Zach Runias, Hoa Teil, Shura Neins, Kiritsuna Seiya from this class were kidnapped by someone and still missing」
「「「「「……」」」」」

Students are frozen as if they couldn’t understand what Lamia was saying.

However, she said that their classmates who were here until yesterday disappeared, their reaction was natural.

They were told about kidnappers that target magicians, but because they were not affected in any way until now, they were rather optimistic.

In addition, Lamia says to the downhearted students.

「The criminals who kidnapped them weren’t discovered and the was no talk about ransom yet」

Listening to that remark, classmates have a look of despair. That is supposed to be the reason why the abduction of magicians is the most common is ransom.

To abduct magicians, you need to shoulder a significant risk, but the amount of ransom will rise accordingly, so immature students are often targeted.

And the second most common reason is the unique magic. If you abducted a member of intermediate magician family or higher, you can try to research the magic of the said family and pass the analyzed data and hostage together, the ransom will be tripled then.

Any one of those is a serious crime.

Either way, it is necessary for the criminal to inform the family about the kidnapping, but such message wasn’t sent.

The other variants are: to be used as a research material or to be killed.

Lamia said that four people were kidnapped, but that was not confirmed, in the worst case the four people may never return home.

But even if they are to be used for the human experiment, there is a chance they will stay alive.

「The church already knows, but still be careful. Since the church is already on the move, the criminals should be caught quickly, but do not push your luck, run if you are in danger.
Also, there won’t be any afternoon lessons today. Therefore, it is forbidden to stay in the academy. If it is possible then return home with an escort. Also, Jin, come with me to the staff room, over」

As she said that, Lamia took Jin out of the classroom. And the listless classmates were getting ready for the lecture.

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