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In Front of the St. Campbell Church, Belonging to the Saintess Faith—

“I can’t take this anymore! I’m going back home!” Barry Carter, the student council president, finally reached his breaking point and screamed.

The approaching army of the undead. The hectic nighttime escape. And as soon as they rushed into the church, which was supposed to be a safe haven, a flash of light caused a female student (along with her maid and pet) to disappear.

The string of abnormal events had finally snapped his mental stability. His outburst triggered a panic among the student council executives—pampered sons of nobles, high officials, and wealthy merchants—who began to lose control and started shouting as well.

“Are you kidding me? Do you know who I am? All of you should protect me!”
“This has to be a joke, right? There’s no way this is real. Whoever set this up, come out now!”
“Wh-Wh-What? They disappeared? Seriously? No way! Uwaaaah!”
“What the hell is this? What the hell is going on?!”

Teachers, instructors, and church staff desperately tried to calm them down, but once panic set in, it was hard to quell. People were yelling, trying to escape, or attempting to bribe the adventurer guards, turning the front yard of the St. Campbell Church into a chaotic scene.

They were in the front yard because as soon as Jill and her group had opened the church door and entered, the floorboards and the chairs and desks lining the sides had all disappeared, deterring anyone else from following them inside.

The student council executives, who should have taken the lead in calming the chaos, were the first to fall apart. As a result, the general members and students didn’t know what to do and wandered around in confusion.

“Hmm, this is bad.”
“Indeed.”

Princess Viola and Princess Lieselotte furrowed their brows at the chaotic situation, where not only the student council members but also the teachers and church officials were becoming increasingly unruly.

Incidentally, Barry, the student council executive committee chairman who first incited the chaos, was muttering to himself while hugging his knees:

“…It’s not my fault, it’s not my fault. I should have been able to invite the prince from the Graviol Empire and the princess from Cilento Central Nation, extolling the virtues of the Eunice Theocracy here. By the time this tedious research study ended, I could have secured my future within my family. That way, my life after graduating from the academy would be set; I could have arranged an adoption with a noble family of decent status, or used this achievement to secure a higher rank in the church. Maybe, just maybe, I could have even gotten close to Princess Lieselotte, and then I’d never have to worry about my livelihood again. Why did it have to turn out like this? Someone explain it to me…”

“That’s a disgusting thing to say,” sighed Lieselotte, resigning herself to his uselessness.

“Honestly, I think the male students should handle things themselves, but if they’re going to make a scene right in front of me, scaring my cute kittens, then we should probably remove the eyesore,” Viola suggested, soothing the frightened female students gathered around her with sweet words, a gentle smile, and casual touches, while casting a cold glance at the pathetic male students.

“Indeed. It is also the duty of those in leadership,” Lieselotte said, shaking her head in exasperation. She lightly brushed aside her luxurious ringlets, stood tall, and confidently walked to the center of the front yard.

Her royal demeanor seemed to part the crowd naturally, forming a straight path for her.

Watching her back, Daniel and Elias nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, in times of crisis, it’s the girls who you can really count on, right?”
“Absolutely. Even in the same situation, I could never manage that.”

Lieselotte, hearing this, turned around with an exasperated look and scolded them.

“Don’t you two have any intention of being useful? At least help search for Jill!”

The two boys then glanced at Luke and Cestlavie, who were on all fours, desperately searching for clues about the missing Jill at the entrance of the church.

♦♢♦

“Have you found any clues…anything at all?”

Luke, who was examining the perfectly circular hole in the floor as if it had been scooped out with a spoon, called out to Cestlavie, who was investigating the opposite side in a similar manner.

“Nothing… but there are traces of unusual mana. Judging by the remnants evenly distributed along this circle, it’s reasonable to assume that there was an installed magic circle here, likely a trap designed to forcibly teleport anyone who stepped into it.”
“A trap?”

Luke glanced at the priests and nuns of the church who were watching their actions.

“No, no way! There’s no way something like that could be set up in the church.”
“If something like that had been here, it would have caused an uproar long ago!”

They all shook their heads in denial.

“It was probably not a constantly active type, but one that activated under specific conditions. Either that, or, although unlikely, it might have been a timed trap that they happened to get caught in.”

Cestlavie, still looking grumpy, raised his head and gave Luke an appraising look.

“Let me ask you something. Does she—Jill—have any unique traits that others don’t? I know she uses magic. But if that were all, many members of the church would fit the criteria, yet nothing like this has ever happened before. There must be another factor.”

“……” Extraordinary magical power, the ability to manipulate multiple elements, rare healing magic capable of purification, spirit magic, a familiar equivalent to an SS-class magical beast, a citizenship card from the Super Empire—there were too many factors to count.

“You won’t answer it lightly, do you? …then let me rephrase my question. This church is related to Lady Clara, as you know. And the anomaly happened right here. So, can I assume that she has something to do with Lady Clara?”

“――!” Luke, who had steeled himself to some extent, was still visibly shaken by the direct question.