“So, after that customer left our establishment, he never returned that night?” the man asked thoughtfully from his seat in the tea room.

Once everyone had sat down and compared the information they had gathered, they quickly pieced together what had happened that evening.

“That’s right. He still hasn’t returned to his dorm. We searched every place he normally visits, but there was no sign of him. All his friends also claim they didn’t see him that night,” Aesphyra said, breaking her long silence.

“That’s why we want to know whether the lost item he came here to claim actually belonged to him. Did he take it with him? And how long was it before he left?”

“No. The customer confirmed that the lost item wasn’t his. He rested in our card room for a while afterward, then left,” the man replied.

“May I ask what the lost item was?” Mirexia asked.

“A few misplaced cards.”

“Misplaced cards?”

“Yes. You may not know this, but some cards are exceptionally rare and quite valuable among collectors. Drawing one isn’t easy. For people who play Divine Cards, losing such valuable cards is extremely difficult to accept,” the man explained.

“Then approximately what time did he leave?” Mirexia asked.

“Around nine, I believe.”

“You said he rested here for a while before leaving?” Aesphyra asked.

“Yes.”

“Was he alone?”

“I believe so. He was the only person who entered the room, and he ordered only one drink,” the man said. “I can show you the relevant records.”

“Understood.” Mirexia nodded after a moment’s thought.

They questioned the man about several other matters, but once they had determined there was nothing else of particular interest, they had no choice but to leave.

“What we can confirm now is that Vinny disappeared after leaving this card room that night,” Mirexia said with a frown.

It was still the weekend, so there were no classes. Mirexia had only just reported the matter as well, meaning news of Vinny’s disappearance had yet to spread widely.

“However...”

Mirexia looked deeply at the card room behind them.

“Someone may not have told us the truth.”

This card room was the last known place Vinny had visited before disappearing. As for who appeared most suspicious, the answer was obvious.

“I don’t think Vinny’s disappearance is likely to have anything to do with this card room,” Aesphyra suddenly said.

“Why?”

“When we mentioned that Vinny was missing, the shock and disbelief on the blue-haired desk attendant’s face didn’t seem feigned. More importantly, once she learned what had happened, she hurried to find the manager with an urgency that seemed excessive,” Aesphyra analyzed.

“It was almost as though she were even more anxious about Vinny’s disappearance than we were.”

“Could it be that they thought it would take longer for anyone to notice, so they were caught off guard?” Shicodale asked in confusion.

“How could that be? The overwhelming majority of Carillian Academy’s students have roommates. Someone going missing would be noticed very quickly. At most, it would take a day or two before their disappearance was confirmed. That can’t be the reason.”

As soon as Aesphyra finished speaking, her fine brows suddenly drew together. She turned and walked in another direction.

“??”

Neither Mirexia nor Shicodale understood what Aesphyra intended to do, but they said nothing and followed her.

Aesphyra pushed aside the bushes beside the road and entered the thicket. She looked around as though searching for something.

Shicodale was about to ask what she was doing, but Mirexia stopped him. Aesphyra had clearly noticed something.

“Very faint.”

Aesphyra paced back and forth through the small grove before finally stopping in one place and murmuring to herself.

This should be the spot, but she still could not be certain. The scent was so faint that even with her level of alchemical skill, she could not tell whether she had imagined it.

She took out a bottle of alchemical solution and poured it over the grass beneath her feet.

Mirexia watched thoughtfully. Shicodale still wore the same adorably blank expression as before, his face practically announcing, What are we doing here? What is she doing?

Even so, he obediently refrained from disturbing Aesphyra.

He might not understand what she was doing, but since it was Aesphyra, she must have had a reason.

The blue-green solution quickly spread across the grass beneath her.

Aesphyra crouched down and began parting the tufts of grass one after another. After repeatedly combing through them, she finally found what she was looking for beneath one particular clump.

“Just as I thought.”

Aesphyra’s expression changed slightly.

“Aesphyra, what did you find?” Mirexia asked as she and Shicodale approached.

They then saw a tiny but striking speck of red on the soil Aesphyra had exposed—soil that should have been stained blue-green by the alchemical solution.

There was only the smallest trace of red. Without pulling the grass aside, it would have been extremely difficult to discover even with the alchemical solution’s assistance.

“What is that?” Mirexia did not know much about alchemy.

“Someone used an alchemical potion here not long ago. The potion was poured directly onto this spot.”

“The person responsible must have cleaned up afterward. But traces of alchemical solutions linger for a long time and are extremely difficult to remove completely. That left us a clue,” Aesphyra explained.

“This road is on the route Vinny would have had to take back to his dorm.”

Aesphyra collected some of the red-stained soil in a transparent vial, then rose to her feet.

“You mean someone deliberately targeted Vinny and lay in ambush along his route back that night?” Mirexia asked in surprise.

“But this is Carillian Academy. Even if someone plotted against Vinny and abducted him, they couldn’t have taken him far. The mentors on patrol would have discovered them.”

Mirexia calmly considered the possibilities.

“This potion is probably one of the keys to what happened, but Vinny may not have disappeared here.” Aesphyra glanced at the sample inside the vial.

“The important question is what kind of potion was used here and what its effects were. I won’t be able to reach a conclusion until I take it back and analyze it.”

She then looked at Mirexia.

“Mirexia, dear, you can have the Student Council reenact Vinny’s movements after he left that establishment that night. The card room itself also needs to be investigated more thoroughly. But it would be best to conduct everything in secret. You know why.”

“Yes. That’s what I intended to do.” Mirexia nodded.

Know why? What does she know?

Shicodale looked at Mirexia, then at Aesphyra.

The two of them shared a perfect understanding and said nothing more. Shicodale alone had no idea what Aesphyra meant by you know why.

*****

“Not bad, Kero. You’ve made some obvious progress recently. Don’t tell me some expert has been secretly giving you pointers?”

Inside Carillian Academy’s arena, two second-year students were sparring.

“No, of course not.” The boy named Kero looked embarrassed by his companion’s praise. “I’ve just been putting what our teachers taught us into practice.”

“Please. I praise you a few times, and now you’re putting on an act?” His companion rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, we’ve trained enough for today. Let’s go.”

“You head back first. I want to practice a little longer.”

“Hm? What’s this? Are you seriously planning to make a run at the Carillian Academy Chosen Leader Tournament?” his companion teased.

“Yes. It’s an opportunity that will come only once in my life, so of course I have to fight for it.” Kero nodded earnestly. “I don’t want my future self to have any regrets. No matter how slim my chances are, I want to give it everything I have so I won’t look back and wish I’d tried harder.”

“All right, all right. I’ll head back first, then.”

After hearing that, his companion did not have the heart to discourage him.

The two of them possessed only ordinary talent and had no particular strengths. Achieving a respectable result in the Chosen Leader Tournament would be nearly impossible for either of them.

Of course, they were only considered ordinary by Carillian Academy’s standards.

Here, being a genius was merely the minimum requirement for admission.

Before long, Kero was the only person left on the Training Field.

He practiced his sword swings over and over again.

In truth, he had lied to his companion.

It was not that no one had given him guidance.

Someone certainly had.

An unknown amount of time passed. As night approached, Kero gathered his belongings and picked up his cup. When he looked through the window, he saw that a black curtain had completely enveloped the sky.

Had it gotten this late without him noticing?

Kero left his Training Field and discovered that nearly all the others were already empty. Even the few students still present elsewhere were packing their things and preparing to leave.

It seemed he had lost track of time while training again.

Kero glanced thoughtfully at the large clock inside the arena.

It was already almost midnight. The arena would be closing soon. Even during the peak training period before the Chosen Leader Tournament, barely anyone remained this late.

Kero left the arena alone and approached the gates. The light behind him stretched his shadow into a long, thin shape that reached into the darkness beyond the entrance.

He walked toward his dorm while considering what parts of his strategy could still be improved.

Perhaps because it was a weekend night, there were few students outside. Aside from the tall crystal lamps used to illuminate the road, his elongated shadow seemed to be his only companion.

The wind was strangely cold tonight.

Even Kero, whose mind was occupied by other matters, could not help noticing it.

He continued onward.

His ranking had been near the bottom, and he had barely scraped his way into Carillian Academy. As a result, his dorm was in a relatively remote location, forcing him to travel much farther than most students every day.

As he followed the road back, a sudden flash of light burst from the woods beside him and swept across his body before disappearing in an instant.

“Hm?”

Kero instinctively turned toward the source.

A human silhouette had appeared where the light originated.

However, the flash had vanished so quickly that he had not had time to react. He had only vaguely glimpsed someone standing within the dark forest.

Had he imagined it?

The light was gone, and everything had returned to normal, as though the flash had never appeared.

Kero stared strangely at the trees.

His dorm area was already remote, and the woods nearby were even more isolated, bordering one corner of the island. Hardly anyone visited this place even during the day.

Why would someone be here in the middle of the night?

Kero found it extremely strange, but he did not consider it particularly alarming. This was Carillian Academy, after all. As long as he remained within the Academy grounds, he should be safe.

“Hello? Sorry to bother you, but what are you doing out there this late?”

After hesitating, Kero decided to call into the woods.

There was no movement among the trees.

No one answered him.

Had he really imagined it?

Then what had caused that flash of light?

Kero could not make sense of it.

FLAP-FLAP-FLAP!

At that moment, a flock of black birds burst from above the trees and rapidly scattered in every direction.

The sight made the situation seem even stranger.

Kero stepped into the woods.

The area was so remote that there were naturally no lamps inside. He could only faintly make out the stone table and stools placed among the trees.

There was clearly no one there.

The woods felt eerie at night. Hardly anyone had passed through this place for a long time, leaving it devoid of human presence. The entire grove seemed lifeless.

Drip.

Drip.

What was that sound?

Kero’s face tightened in surprise as he heard something dripping nearby. When he drew closer, he discovered that some kind of liquid seemed to be falling from the edge of the stone table.

Curious, he leaned in for a better look.

It was no use. The darkness was too deep for him to see clearly.

Kero had no choice but to cast an illumination spell.

The instant the light rose, however, more than one human shadow appeared on the ground.

“?!”

Kero jolted in fright and spun around.

A black-robed figure stood directly behind him, staring at him with a pair of lifeless eyes.

“W-Who are you?”

As fear seized him, Kero had the vague feeling that those eyes looked familiar.

He had seen them somewhere before.

The black-robed figure said nothing.

He merely stared silently at Kero.

“Wait... Are you—?”

As the illumination spell drove back the darkness, Kero finally saw the incomparably familiar face beneath the black hood.

“Upperclassman Vinny?” Kero exclaimed in astonishment. “Upperclassman Vinny, what are you doing here this late at night? And why are you dressed like that?”

He looked as though he were deliberately trying to scare someone as part of a prank.

The dark figure remained silent, but something strange flashed through his eyes.

“Upperclassman Vinny?”

When the black-robed figure still did not answer, Kero stared at him in confusion.

“Who are you?”

Only after a long silence did the black-robed figure finally speak. His familiar voice carried a strange hoarseness and depth that Kero had never heard before.

“Upperclassman Vinny, don’t you remember me? You gave me some pointers when we were riding in the carriage together.”

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