Tale of Discovery

"Look," I say in a solemn tone as I gaze into Jessica's eyes, "You won't be able to leave this place no matter what happens. Wouldn't it be better for you to cooperate with me than having me resort to unconventional methods to make you talk?"

"I told you," she responds while glaring at me, "I would rather die than do that!"

"So, you say, but I wonder if the rest think the same way…" I say while casting a few glances around, causing a few of the girls to flinch.

Seeing this, I realize that what I'm doing is pointless and wouldn't get me what I seek.

As such, I have no other choice than to simply use Indoctrination…

With that thought in mind, I shift my sight back to Jessica and send the order: 'Tell me the most important thing you believe that you should hide from me."

Following that, Jessica's eyes seem to lose focus as she enters a dazed state for a few seconds before her both opens, and she says, "I was supposed to find you and arrange an ambush on those close to you in order to lure you out to a trap and capture you for the founder."

Hearing her words, I squint my eyes as I try to relay another order: 'Who is the founder?'

Unfortunately, that doesn't work, shortly after which I recall the fact that I am only able to relay one order for every usage of Indoctrination on an individual.

Nevertheless, her response to my order has shocked the girls present as they all gawk at her with an expression of disbelief and horror on their faces.

Good. It seems like the order worked just fine.

Even so, she sure went into detail regarding the plan despite my order being rather vague.

From the time I practiced the ability on Kristina back in the Rift, the responses are usually what come to mind first.

For example, if I were to use Indoctrination on Ayumi and order to tell me who is her big brother, she would give one response, and that would be either me or Shunsuke, mostly depending on who comes to her mind first.

As unfortunate as it may be, I didn't get to try this out in the past when it crossed my mind for the sole reason of being concerned regarding the outcome.

If she were to answer with Shunsuke, he would cease to exist…

Shaking such thoughts aside, I focus back on the matter at hand, only to realize that Jessica is now lying on the ground while still being in a dazed state.

It's almost as if she has become a shell without any thoughts or senses, simply staring ahead at nothing.

Naturally, something like this is quite a terrifying sight for those unaware of what's going on. That's the case with the rest of the girls right now as they stare at me with pure fear apparent in their eyes.

Letting out a small sigh, I telekinetically lift Jessica's body from the ground and continue to hold her up while saying, "Don't make me resort to this. I've already captured enough souls as is."

"So… is anyone willing to share some knowledge with me? I promise to not hurt you and your comrades if you do so."

Hearing my words, a few expressions of doubt form in the room before one of the girls present raises her hand and asks in a meek tone, "I will talk."

Inspecting the girl who just spoke up, I notice that it's one of the two whose legs I just restored. I suppose being 'hurt' once already was enough for her….

---

After a while of interrogating the girls, I exited the room by using Permeation to pass through the door and began making my way over to where Kotori is supposed to be at.

As soon as I arrived there, I found myself gawking at the sight of the blonde-haired man getting kicked in the guts with a stupid expression on his face.

And so, I am here, standing beside Kotori as she scrolls through some terminal in front of her.

"That was surprising," she says, "I expected you to be much rougher with them," she says while still focused on the terminal.

So, she was observing my actions after all. Good thing I decided to act 'nicely' and not pressure the girls too much.

Letting out a sigh, I say in a wry tone, "There would be no point to scaring them speechless. Some terror along with a spark of hope is what usually makes one talk."

"What about the girl whose soul you took?" Kotori continues as she turns her head to face me with a complicated look on her face.

"That was obviously a bluff," I say while remaining unfazed, "Humans fear the unknown, so I simply took advantage of their lack of information to plant terror in their hearts easily through the usage of otherwise ordinary abilities."

"Hmph," she scoffs, "You say ordinary, but it made her reveal their plan so easily. That's not something I would call ordinary."

"Kotori," I say in a somewhat cold tone, "Why are you so insistent on this matter?"

Following my statement, a panicked look appears on her face as her eyes dart around for a few seconds before she shuts them and mutters, "I'm sorry. It's just that… I'm worried."

Despite her voice being extremely low, I can hear her properly. Not only that, but I can sense the concern, anxiety, and care contained within it as well.

Why is she feeling like this? Is it because of 'my' abrupt transition from Itsuka Shido to the current me who can only act like him? Or, is there something else that I do not know of?

"Kotori," I say while reaching my arm out to pat her head, "Is there anything you're keeping from me?"

She doesn't respond to the question, but instead remains silent, inclining me to think that there indeed is something she is hiding.

Whatever it is, the matter is causing her apparent discomfort. I will let this slide by for now, before asking her this again once we're alone at night.

Perhaps, then she would have fewer inhibitions on sharing information.

---

Left with nothing to do, I was dropped off at a location near my school.

As such, I walked all the way over to my seat in the classroom while thinking of various matters.

The matter that bugged me the most was the one regarding spirits.

I wonder what I should do with them once I have them all rounded up.

From my experiences, Codes are much stronger than other beings, excluding Unknowns. The spirits are Codes, albeit 'weak' ones if I were to judge them according to their Code waves as I did with Gaia.

Back in Sorcerers' Lair, AI could detect Gaia's Code waves despite her 'true body' being a vast distance away from my location. The reason for that was either her usage of her powers over extensive distances by merging with the planet or the fact that her power was simply far beyond any other Code I had encountered.

Despite most evidence leading toward the former, I can't cross out the latter without definite proof.

And this is what's troubling me right now. Dominion is classified as a One-Digit the same way Gaia is. So, AI should be able to detect her Code waves when she is making use of her powers near me... right?

{Affirmative.}

Alright. That's great. At least, I can somewhat prepare for unexpected occurrences by AI informing me beforehand.

"Shido!" a voice interrupts my thoughts.

Focusing on reality, I notice that everyone in the class is staring at me with various expressions on their faces.

"The teacher called out your name a few times, but you didn't respond," the voice, which belongs to that of none other than Tohka, continues.

Hah~ The matter with Dominion has been gnawing at my mind for a while now. I've even lost focus to such an extent, which normally wouldn't be possible.

Letting out a sigh, I lock my sight on Tamae who has a troubled look on her face while twirling her brown-hair.

Shortly, Tamae opens her mouth and says, "Umm, Itsuka, you're being called to the infirmary."

"By whom?" I curiously ask as I rise from my seat.

"By Ms. Reine," she responds.

Nodding my head once, I begin to walk toward the door while using Clairvoyance to scan the infirmary.

There, I find Reine sitting on a bed while staring at a computer screen.

Having seen that, I slid the classroom's door open and walk out of the class before closing the door behind me.

As such, I begin to make my way over to the infirmary while deliberating on the reason that Reine could have called me over.