Book 12: Chapter 1: Part 3
Book 12: Chapter 1: Part 3
Heres the chapter, enjoy~
Part 3
My name is Lexia von Arcelia! Its nice to meet you!
After school.
When everyone gathered to begin the investigation of the mysterious phenomenon proposed by Yukine, Lexia-san, and Yuti, whom Luna had called in advance, were present.
They also decided to ask Kaori to join the investigation team, and before long, the group had grown fairly large.
Seeing Lexia, the princess of another world, Ryo and the others squinted in dazzlement.
A-amazing! What is this aura?
Y-yes! Im just standing here, but Im overwhelmed!
Hahaha!
It may seem a bit exaggerated, but the actual atmosphere around Lexia-san is somewhat overwhelming and makes you realize that she really is a princess.
Then, seeing such a Lexia, Kaede looked somewhat anxious.
U-um Lexia-san is also living in Yuuya-kuns house, correct?
Oh, Y-yes. Thats right, but just like Luna, its a homestay!
I understand that, but Mmm
Hahaha! Kaede, you dont have to be so pouty! You know, isnt it good if you can turn things around from here?
R-Rin-chan!? What do you mean by turning things around Ah, thats right, but!
While such an exchange was taking place, Kaori also had a difficult expression on her face.
To move so boldly does it mean that both Lexia-san and Luna-san are that serious about it?
Kaori? Whats wrong?
Ah! N-no, its nothing at all! More importantly, its fun to go out with everyone like this!
Yes, thats right. This is what Japanese JK should be all about.
Merl, as usual, where do you get that eccentric information from?
At any rate, I was looking forward to it, too, because it was a new experience for me to play after school with such a large group of people.
But then, it would have been nice if Akira had been with us too.
Certainly! I think hes the type of guy who wants to be a part of this kind of fun, but hes kind of busy every day!
Akira was also invited to participate in this investigation, but he seemed to have something to do and was returning home with tears in his eyes.
Ryo was right. He always seems to be busy.
As each of us gathered in this way to deepen our friendship, Yukine opened her mouth.
Were all here now, so lets get going.
Y-yeah! Im a little scared, but with this number of people
As usual, Kaede is scared. But have you decided where to go?
Yeah. Theres actually this mysterious phenomenon happening right next to the school, so I thought wed go check it out there.
This time, the investigation was to find the cause of the mysterious phenomena, but it also included the purpose of showing Lexia-san and Luna around the city. There is nothing wrong with that, but I have some concerns about the mysterious phenomena.
I called out to Kuro, the Evil power lurking in my body.
(Hey, Kuro. I wonder if its possible for an evil beast to be summoned to this world like before?)
Huh? Well, thats not going to happen in a normal way, though. But it has actually appeared before. It would not be surprising if it appeared in this world again by some chance.
(As I thought)
I wondered if an evil beast might be involved in this mysterious phenomenon.
If the identity of the culprit was unknown even after such a public uproar, it no longer seemed as if the crime was committed by human hands.
And if it really was the work of an evil beast, I couldnt just leave it at that.
While I was making a difficult face, Yuti looked at me curiously.
Question. Whats wrong?
Hmm? A-ah, nothing.
Hey, Yuuya! Lets go first.
Yes!
For now, I put off thinking about difficult things and followed Yukine to the site where the mysterious phenomenon had occurred.
On the way there, Lexia-san came up next to me and smiled.
Hey, what do you think of me in my uniform? Yuuya-senpai?
S-senpai?
Isnt that right? Im in the grade below Yuuya-sama. In that case, its normal for me to call you senpai, isnt it?
T-thats true, but
Then Im a senior too, Lexia.
Luna is Luna!
Hey, why?
Kaede and the others were surprised to see the two of them continue to argue, but Yuti, who was enrolled in the same middle school as Lexia-san, looked at me with a tilted head.
Question. Yuuya, a senior?
Heh? W-well, in terms of position, yes
Yuuya-senpai Strange.
Strange, you say?
Certainly, it is strange to be suddenly called senpai by Yuti since she had never called me senpai before.
That should be the same for Lexia-san, but from Lexia-sans point of view, she seemed to enjoy calling me senpai.
I see that the hierarchical relationship on Earth is formed in this way.
No, its not that this is the only way
But you are saying that those in the grade above yours should be called senpai, right?
Thats true, but
As for Merl, she was also trying to acquire a lot of information in order to somehow fit in with the Earths culture. Whether that direction is correct or not.
After walking around happily like that, we finally arrived at our destination.
I believe its somewhere around here.
It was a back alley with few pedestrians, a place I would not normally pass by.
The area was littered with trash, and to be honest, it was hard to tell that a mysterious phenomenon had occurred here.
Its kind of a dirty place
Is this the way back alleys are in every country? It still doesnt seem as bleak as it does over there, and its better.
What a comparison
While Lexia-san frowns, Luna, who has lived in the underworld as an assassin belonging to the Dark Guild, seems to think nothing of this back alley.
As we continue down the narrow alleyway, Yukine suddenly stops.
Ah.
Hii!?
Ryo looked at the place where Yukine stopped and shouted in surprise.
Caught by the voice, we turned our gaze
W-what is this?
Claw marks?
There were sharp claw marks carved into the concrete wall as if some giant creature had gone wild here.
Hey, hey, are you telling me theres a bear in the city?
E-even so, isnt it too big?
Shingo-kun was right. The claw marks were too big to be from a bear. After all, the marks left by the marks were much longer than our height.
Then Merl touched the claw marks.
After examining something, she whispered to me in a whisper so that Ryo and the others could not hear.
Its strange. These claw marks dont seem to match the claws of any creature on Earth that exists in my database
Then again, maybe its not an earthly creature, but the work of some otherworldly creature? That would be an evil beast or
Negative. Its not the size of an evil beast. And I dont feel any remnants of Evil. Its a different creature.
I think Yuti is right. Theres no sign of evil around here.
Not only Yuti but also Kuro had denied the possibility of the work of evil beasts.
In this case, it would be better to think that these claw marks were caused by another being, different from the evil beast.
If so, what kind of creature could have made these scratches?
As I contemplated various things in front of the claw marks, Kaede, who had been quietly keeping quiet, opened her mouth.
H-hey, why dont we go home now? L-look! We could check it out like this! Right?
Kaede says, but what about Yukine?
Thats right. I dont think we can find out anything by looking any further.
T-thats glad to hear!
Geez If youre so scared, you shouldnt have followed us at all.
Eehh? Rin-chan, thats terrible!
We decided to leave the back alley as we realized that we had nothing to gain from it.
Ara? Are we done with this place?
I guess so. I dont think were going to find out anything more by staying here
Hmm I dont know about it, but are there creatures in this world that can leave those claw marks?
No way! Ive never seen claw marks that big before!
Hmm? Then what are those claw marks, then?
Lexia-san and the others seemed to find the place itself, a back alley on Earth, unusual, and looked around, but for the moment, there was no point in staying here, so we agreed to leave.
Right! Now that were all here, lets all go somewhere and have fun!
Oh! That sounds great! With this many people, maybe a sports center?
O-or maybe karaoke?
While everyone was talking about what to do, we were about to leave the back alley thats when it happened.
!?
Suddenly, I felt a terrible chill, and a cold sweat broke out on my back. How can I describe it? I felt an irresistible sense of disgust.
I was bewildered by the sudden situation, and it seemed that I was not the only one who was feeling this sensation.
W-what is that?
Suddenly, I feel cold
Maybe we hit the jackpot?
What do you mean, jackpot?
Yukine was the only one who spoke carefree, but everyone looked around and was on the lookout.
Luna was also protecting Lexia-san behind her back, and before long, she was also preparing her weapon, a string.
Yuuya, do you know what this presence is?
N-no. Ive never felt this kind of presence before either
Ill tell you one thing; theres no sign of an Evil beast or an evil beast.
If Kuro says so, then this chill must be caused by a totally unknown entity.
I looked at Merl, who was operating a device attached to her left arm while hiding from Ryo and the others.
Its strange. I dont see any particular life forms in the vicinity
Ive been trying as well with my [Presence Detection] skill, and there are no reactions around me that seem to be that.
To get out of this situation, for the time being, we try to get out of the back alley.
At that time.
Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
!?
Suddenly, a monster we had never seen before appeared right in front of us!
The monster had the physique of a seemingly elementary school student at first glance, but its head was bald and clean, it wore no clothing on its body, its belly was greatly swollen, and its entire body was covered with reddish-black skin.
The most distinctive feature of its body is its claws, which are unusually long and sharp, disproportionately so for a childlike figure.
Because the claws were so huge, the monster in front of us was walking while dragging its claws.
The sudden appearance of this unknown monster made everyone in the place gasp in awe.
Then, the monster turned its sunken eyes toward us.
Kuh!
Yuuya!
It was almost a reflex.
As soon as I quickly thrust the bag in my hand in front of my body, the monster pierced the bag with its claws!
Hah!
Kii!
After blocking the monsters attack, I threw the bag away, and at the same time, I flung myself at the monster and slammed a kick into its torso.
The monster was blown away by my kick, and I shouted to everyone while it was still in the air.
Everyone, run!
R-run, you say!
Kishaaaaaa!
Shocked. Yuuyas kick didnt work at all!
The monster in front of us did not seem to have suffered any damage at all, although I thought I had released the kick with a lot of force.
However, even if I tried to fight the monster, Kaede and the others would be caught in the middle of it, and I couldnt take out my sword or spear in the middle of the city.
What should I do!