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.

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.

「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.

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.

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.

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.