Disciple of Immortal

――While Kanata was having a hard time finding the ingredients to create 《God’s Blood; Ether》, a certain someone appeared in an abandoned church in the magic city of Manarak.

Her entire body was hidden beneath a thick black robe.

The robe had numerous magic formulae written on its surface with red ink, the combination of the black robe, magic formulas, and the blood-like ink made the robe look far more sinister than it was supposed to be.

In contrast with that eerie robe, the face of the person who wore that robe was so adorable.

The girl who visited the abandoned church, Lunaire, was walking with an unsteady gait before finally leaning on the wall.

After she stayed in that posture for a while, the girl took off her hood as if she was recalling something, and then stretched her hand to the empty space in front of her.

「Time-space Magic, 8th Rank; 《Dimension Pocket》.」

A magic circle appeared in front of her outstretched hand.

A treasure box then tumbled down from the middle of that magic circle.

Appearance-wise, the box was luxurious with ornamental gems embedded on its surface and gold framing on its corners.

That treasure box was none other than Lunaire’s pal, Noble Mimic.

「HoW’S thE SiTUAtION, MasTER? Has YoU MeEt KAnAtA?」

Tears flowed down Lunaire’s expressionless face upon hearing Noble Mimic’s question.

「… Let’s go back to 《Cocytus》, Noble.」

「AlREAdy!?」

Noble Mimic’s body leapt high in the air upon hearing Lunaire’s remark.

Lunaire gave a frail nod upon seeing Noble Mimic’s reaction.

「N-NoW… EveN ThOugH YoU WeNT To SucH LEngTHs To CreAtE ThaT RoBe…」

The black robe that covered Lunaire’s body could suppress her undead trait, Hades’ impurity.

But then, or so she thought, until Philia attacked her when the latter felt the former’s Hades’ impurity, meaning that not all her Hades’ impurity was suppressed by her robe.

In a normal situation, if Lunaire visited a city without wearing her robe, that city would instantly fall into chaos due to the Hades’ impurity that was released from her body.

This 《Impurity Sealer’s Robe》 could suppress a lich’s mana along with their Hades’ impurity.

Lunaire made this robe after using her extremely rich knowledge and made a round tour inside 《Cocytus》, hunting down the monsters needed for its materials.

Though it was imperfect here and there since she was in a hurry when she made the robe, the robe still exhibits its original designed function properly.

「I’ve had enough, already… I’m not a living person like Kanata. I shouldn’t leave Cocytus. Even when I’m wearing this, anyone with good intuition will see through me immediately.」

「No WAy, EveN ThOuGh YoU SeeMs To Be REaLLy EnJoyInG it WheN YoU lEfT ThaT PlaCe…」

Though Lunaire literally jumped out of 《Cocytus》 the moment she finished the 《Impurity Sealer’s Robe》, she was always restless since the moment she stepped out of Cocytus, a syndrome similar to a NEET’s.

She kept telling Noble Mimic something along the lines of, “Will I meet Kanata today?”, “Will I meet Kanata tomorrow?”, “What should I tell Kanata when I meet him?”, “I mean, what should I do after I meet Kanata?”, or “I wonder where’s Kanata right now?” over and over again.

Though Noble Mimic gave a seemingly pre-arranged answer and repeated those answers over and over again like a yes man, he was looking over with a warm gaze as she spoke with a joyous tone.

Even though Lunaire was truly delighted when she headed to magic city Manarak after she heard that Kanata went there, Noble Mimic found it was really strange that his master suddenly fell into a depressed state.

「Woe is me. Is there no method to stop this pain in my heart? Noble, maybe I really shouldn’t have left Cocytus.」

Lunaire grew more and more timid as time passed.

She grabbed her chest as if there was an unbearable pain in it, kneeling on the floor in front of the altar like a pious believer as she spoke.

「SO, WhAT HaPPeNEd TO YoU, MAsTER?」

「…」

Lunaire kept silent for a while upon hearing Noble Mimic’s question.

「There’s a girl… by Kanata’s side. She’s a cute, blonde haired girl… and, they seems to get along with each other.」

「AnD?」

「What do you… mean?」

「I KneW THaT ThEre’S A GirL WHo SeEms To BE GEt AlONg WiTH KaNAta, And TheN WhaT?」

「…」

Lunaire fell silent again.

「…I’M JusT WoNDerIng WhaT YoU ArE THinKIng AboUt. IF It TurnS Out tO Be SomeThiNG TrIViAl… ArE YoU BaCkiNg DowN NoW Just BeCaUSe TheY SeeMs LikE They’Re GEttInG Along WitH EacH OthER…」

Noble Mimic was dumbfounded upon seeing Lunaire’s naivety.

Though Noble Mimic has been Lunaire’s pal for a really long time, this was the first time he knew that his master had such disastrous interpersonal skills, mainly because there was rarely any human ever visiting 《Cocytus》.

「You’re mistaken! I-I just wanted to peep on him for a while, but… I ended up being attacked… by a homunculus-like child… who seems to be rather sensitive toward Hades’ impurity. And… since Kanata was right there too I… ended up retreating in hurry.」

「YOu weRe DEtECteD DeSpITe WeArINg ThaT CoaT?」

Lunaire’s body was wrapped in 《Impurity Sealer’s Robe》.

Even with such a robe covering her whole body, she still had this fear that someone might be able to detect her.

Noble Mimic twisted his body, asking another question upon hearing the fact that Lunaire was attacked in the middle of the city.

「ThAt’S ImPOssIBle, It’S NoT LIke YoU weRe GlAriNg At ThaT Girl As If you waNteD to Kill TheM, MasTer.」

Lunaire’s shoulder twitched upon hearing that remark.

Noble Mimic heaved a long, deep sigh upon seeing that reaction.

「… MayBe We SHoUld Go BACk BeFoRe CauSIng MoRe AccIDentS.」

「I-I wasn’t looking at them… as If I wanted to kill them. I just…」

「… JuST?」

「I was just wondering what kind of relationship they have with Kanata when peeping on them. I swear.」

Lunaire tried to make an excuse.

Noble Mimic turned toward Lunaire, full of suspicion.

「WeLL… SinCe We AlReaDy Came AlL The WaY to ThiS PlaCe, HoW AbouT You TrY To TaLK to KaNAtA? YOu HAVe No IdeA AbOut WhAt HappEned JusT nOw wiTH ThOse GirLS, And TheIr RelAtiOnShip WiTh KaNAtA.」

Lunaire was looking down in embarrassment, shaking her head as if to refuse Noble Mimic’s suggestion.

「I can’t… I can’t see Kanata with such a half-baked resolution. Maybe leaving here is the best choice. Even though I don’t know how to face him again once he returns to 《Cocytus》 after such a dramatic separation… my situation became more difficult due to this incident.」

「ThEN, WiLl YOU GiVe Up On FoLLoWiNG KaNaTa and go BacK to 《Cocytus》?」

「That’s…」

「If YoU Don’T KnoW WhaT To Do, YoU ShoUld JusT TaLK To HIM.」

Lunaire suddenly raised her face in astonishment.

Since she couldn’t just give up, she was left with no other choice but to meet Kanata.

That’s the only way to move forward with the current situation. Otherwise, the situation would only worsen.

「But… if I try to talk to Kanata and he tells me that blonde girl is his lover…」

Lunaire stood up, hand touching the wall.

And just like that, her five fingers dug into the wall.

And so easily pried the stone wall as if it was a piece of tofu.

「I… might have no idea what to do anymore. Even though I made this robe as fast as possible to catching up with him, I might not be able to bear anymore if he suddenly said those words…」

The concentration of Hades’ impurity coming from Lunaire suddenly increased at once.

Noble Mimic stretched his body vertically.

「… Anyhow, I guess I should see the situation for now. That child might have sharp senses, but… it’s not like the same goes for Kanata. That’s why I should upgrade the ability of the robe, just to be safe. Only by doing that can I observe Kanata in secret within reasonable distance…」

Lunaire spoke while touching her head.

「ThaT’S… jusT LikE A STaLker…」

Lunaire seemed to be completely immersed in her own world to hear Noble Mimic’s retort.

She invoked 《Dimension Pocket》 again and chose the necessary materials to enhance 《Impurity Sealer’s Robe》 from within.

「It SEeMs, I’M RiGht to SuGGest for Us To Go BAck… Before AnyTHing Happens.」