e within.

The sender for this message was Erika. “Onii-sama, is it bad news?”

Perceptively picking up on her brother’s mood fluctuation, Miyuki watched Tatsuya with worried eyes.

Removing his sister from the seed of unease, this particular sort of thinking did not cross Tatsuya’s mind at this moment.

“I received a communique from Erika saying that Leo was attacked by a vampire and is currently hospitalized.”

“....You must be joking, right?”

The media had a dramatizing effect. For example, in regards to events that happened in neighboring cities, so long as the media had extensive – or even exaggerated – coverage, this may lead to the misconception that this was an event that did not relate to oneself or even came from a fictitious world. To compound matters further, an irregular existence such as a “vampire” committing crimes only served to deepen the lack of realism. Nonetheless –

“It’s the truth.”

No matter how sudden, there was no advantage in ignoring what happened in front of them. Only by directly confronting these events could any countermeasure be created.

“Looks like he’s receiving treatment in a police hospital in Nagano. Luckily, his life is not in danger, so we can pay him a visit after school.”

“—Yes.”

To Miyuki, Saijou Leonhardt was only one of her brother’s friends. Since Tatsuya said visiting him after school would be fine, Miyuki had no reason to refuse. – Disregarding, of course, what she was thinking on the inside.

? ? ?

Today, Erika asked for the day off.

Since she had already notified Tatsuya, Mizuki, Mikihiko as well as the school’s administration, pretty much everyone who needed to know already knew.

However, Erika was watching Leo’s sickroom in the name of caretaking (that being said, she was sitting on the bench outside of the sickroom), so no upperclassmen would know.

Since the school was free attendance, time wasn’t an issue. Still, for the ex-Student Council President and previous Club Groups Leader to inquire about an unrelated student was not within expectations. The present Student Council President and current Club Groups Leader showing up would actually make sense.

Katsuto discreetly glanced at Erika, who was still camped at the entrance, before turning an uninterested gaze towards the door.

Mayumi wore a slightly mischievous smile as she nodded in greeting to Erika and also turned to the door.

Erika didn’t stop Mayumi from lightly knocking on the door to the sickroom.

She wasn’t here to care for Leo, she was here to watch out for him – to be precise, she wasn’t watching out for him either, she was guarding Leo against “uninvited guests” – so there was no reason to stop them.

Erika rose and departed behind them without bidding the two upperclassmen farewell.

Erika’s destination was one of the administrative rooms in the hospital.

Her older brother and his confidant were in that room.

When Erika barged into the room without knocking, Toshikazu could only awkwardly, discreetly try to avoid her gaze.

The redness on his face was barely visible. Seeing that the swelling had largely faded from her brother’s face, Erika regretted not hitting him harder when she had the chance. (She used her fist instead of her palm this time.)

Besides, it wasn’t very often that her “idiotic brother” willing took a beating without any resistance.

Even if a little, if she could release some of the pent up resentment left over from her adolescent years, she wasn’t going to let the slightest chance slip through her fingers.

“....Um, young lady. You’re not considering any more violence, are you?”

Her dark fantasies interrupted, Erika turned her sharp gaze on Inagaki.

Overcome by her forceful manner, Inagaki’s eyes were drifting all over the room.

Despite the cold shoulder from her father, Erika had the largest number of supporters among the disciples.

Her bright personality coupled with her dazzling looks and, most importantly, she was the only wielder of the Secret Arte – Yamatsunami. In live combat, she was on record to wield Yamatsunami with ease. Rather than relying her bloodline as the daughter of the house, she used her own technique, strength, and charisma to size an almost idol-like stance in the Chiba Family.

In the face of her glare, many of the disciples of her house would cave.

Before all of that, Inagaki wasn’t in the same category as Erika. If tapped as a sparring partner, he would simply be a toy for her to play with. With her original outstanding ability and the meteoric rise in the past half a year, the only worthy opponents for Erika in the Chiba style were probably restricted to only the current head and her two older brothers. The fact that Erika’s ability far exceeded her rank was out of consideration for her older sister who was only mundane in swordsmanship and talent, a fact that was well known among the family’s disciples. “Brother.”

At Erika’s call, Toshikazu reluctantly turned his head to face her. Although her tone was more masculine, it fit perfectly with the undisguised displeasure Erika wore on her face.

“Right now, that guy should be receiving visits from direct descendants from the Saegusa and Juumonji Families, correct?”

You know exactly what they’re here for, don’t you? Erika’s gaze silently interrogated him.

Inagaki’s back became even straighter at Erika’s biting words and furious eyes, but Toshikazu wasn’t so easily awed by his sister.

“Last night, the woman rescued along with Saijou-kun appeared to be someone from the Saegusa Family.”

“And that’s all there is?”

“Orders from above. They said, don’t investigate any further.”

He spread his hands in an exaggerated manner and shrugged his shoulders.

Hearing the answer that she already guessed to be the case, Erika clucked her tongue.

“Setting aside Kasumiseki, Sakuradamon is still within our family’s jurisdiction, right?”

“But our division is within Kasumiseki’s jurisdiction.” “How useless.”

Despite her furious muttering, Erika possessed a firm grip on logic and didn’t dissolve into a larger tantrum.

“Wiretapping?”

“Disabled once they entered the room.

I never thought that the Elfin Princess’s Multiscope would be so capable.”

Elfin Princess was morphed out of Mayumi’s nickname “Elfin Sniper”, and was an endearing term used by her supporters in the shooting magic competitions. Since the term elf tended to remind people of small creatures, this was a rather appropriate term of Mayumi, but also the same reason why no one used this term in her presence.

“So we’re becoming even more useless.... Then, what if we setup the devices outside the room?”

“Neutralized by the sound barrier. That’s probably Juumonji’s Phalanx.”

Hearing Inagaki’s objective answer, Erika didn’t even want to say the words “how useless”.

“Then we can at least speculate. You have a gut feeling, right.” Under Erika’s gaze, Toshikazu could only shrug again.

“Just speculating? Looks like Saegusa is hiding the victim.” “....Hiding the body, you mean?”

Hearing a “speculation” that far exceeded her expectations, Erika didn’t bother to hide her surprise before asking again.

Hiding the body belonged to destroying the evidence, and while it was fundamentally different from getting rid (abandoning or destroying) corpses belonging to homicides a person was responsible for, this was still breaking the law. Even if the Ten Master Clans retained privileges beyond the scope of the law, obstructing the police from investigating a large chain of serial homicides was....

Upon arriving at this point, Erika noticed the darker connotation behind this.

“In other words, this “vampire” incident is related to Magicians, right?”

“Probably. Except we don’t know if it’s a victim or accomplice.”

“Victim? It would actually make sense if a Magician committed the crime so they don’t want to hand over the body and tried to dispose of it themselves. If even a Magician is the victim, why are they keeping it from the police at all?”

Hearing his sister’s combative words, Toshikazu revealed a meaningful smile.

“Yes, that is precisely the point. This case doesn’t seem so simple now, does it?”

? ? ?

After school.

Tatsuya led the usual party to the police hospital in Nagano to visit Leo. After getting the number of the sickroom at the receptionist’s desk, they headed for the elevator. However, it was here that someone called out their name.

“Everyone’s here now.” “Erika, you’re still here?”

The gist of the situation was already conveyed through the morning text. Erika’s oldest brother was responsible for the vampire case, Leo was asked to assist in the investigation, but was unfortunately dragged into the mess. To make him shoulder the responsibility (but not take the responsibility), Erika asked for the day off to visit Leo at the hospital. At least, that’s what the text message said.

Yet, they received the communique before school and now it was almost dusk. Tatsuya using the word “still” was probably quite appropriate.

“It’s not like I’ve been here all day. I returned home once today and came back about an hour ago. I guessed that Tatsuya-kun would bring everyone about this time.”

As they got into the elevator as a group, Erika answered Tatsuya’s question.

Her voice and expression were not unnatural in the way that someone was lying.

Except, the fact that she was perfectly normal only served to deepen the idea everything was false. On this point, Erika was probably the only one who didn’t notice.

“Erika-chan, is Leo-kun going to be OK....?”

Mizuki was standing right next to Erika in the elevator as she quietly asked her question. Even though they were just about to find out with their own eyes, she was probably still uneasy. These emotions differed from one person to another, so some people were able to keep a tighter rein on being objective.

“Don’t worry, Mizuki. Didn’t I mention in the text message? His life’s not in danger.”

Nonetheless, this also depended on compatibility between people’s differences. Seeing Mizuki heave a sigh of relief and pat herself on the chest, Erika cast a warm gaze at her, but if it was a guy doing this, Erika would undoubtedly be snarking mercilessly.

Even if no one else said it, Mizuki was definitely not the only one thinking the same thoughts. After a few more moments of awkward silence, Erika knocked on the door leading to the sickroom.

“Ah, come in.”

A young woman’s voice came from within the room. “Kaya-san, excuse us.”

Leaving her bemused friends behind, Erika opened the door and quickly stepped in. At this time, the first one to recover was, of course, Tatsuya.

Before the curtain in the room could obscure Erika, he entered the sickroom.

Miyuki was right behind him. Seeing this, Honoka quickly hurried in as well, with Mizuki and Mikihiko coming in after exchanging a glance and closing the door behind them.

Inside the spacious and undoubtedly high class sickroom, the ones who greeted them were Leo, who was sitting up on his bed with a bored look on his face, and a young woman with ash blonde hair sitting on a nearby folding chair.

She was probably 4-5 years older than they were. Her hair was the same color as the owner of Eine Brise, which gave the impression that they shared the same nationality. In regards to her features, if they were a little craggy and accounting for the gender differences, she would like exactly like Leo, which clearly hinted at her blood relation to Leo.

“This is Saijou Kaya-san, Leo’s older sister.”

Before the question could be asked, Erika introduced them to the young woman. Her identity was just as Tatsuya and company had surmised.

Kaya rose and respectfully nodded to Tatsuya’s group in greeting. While not particularly graceful or well-rehearsed, it was still a degree of solemnness that students were unable to emulate.

After everyone inquired as to Leo’s health, Kaya took the flower vase and left the room. While she excused herself to change the water, the unstated reason was because she wanted to give them some privacy.

“What a gentle older sister.”

Mizuki murmured once Kaya disappeared through the doorway. These were her true feelings, not just some social rhetoric.

Tatsuya shared similar feelings, and no one seemed to visibly disagree.

Still, Leo revealed a slightly conflicted expression, reminding everyone that every family had its dirty laundry.

“Man, this sucks.”

Hence why Tatsuya didn’t inquire any further. After all, Leo’s family situation had nothing to do with Tatsuya.

“I can’t believe you guys are seeing me in such a state.”

Leo said in embarrassment. There was no longer any trace of conflict on his features.

“Now that I look at you, you don’t seem injured.”

“I’m not that much of a pushover. It’s not like I wasn’t resisting.” “Where were you hit?”

At Leo’s fearless grin, Tatsuya brought up the obvious question. With that, Leo’s smile vanished.

“That’s where I don’t understand....”

That being said, this wasn’t because he was getting moody. His expression declared that he hadn’t given up, but he was honestly uncertain what happened.

“At the moment of contact, I suddenly felt like I lost all my strength. I mustered my will to deliver one last attack, to which the perpetrator fled, while I was keeled over on the ground until Erika’s older brother found me.”

“Were you poisoned?”

“Well, no matter where they looked, there’s no sign of laceration or puncture on my body. Nor is there any foreign elements in my blood.”

Truly, a particularly weird situation. Tatsuya also tilted his head while Mikihiko chimed in.

“Did you see their features?”

“Well, I did see something. They wore a hat, long overcoat with carbon armor underneath, and a mask. There was no way to tell facial features or physique, but....”

“But?”

“I got the feeling that it was a woman.”

“....A woman has the wrist strength to go toe-to-toe with Leo?”

“That’s hardly unheard of.”

Erika immediately retorted at the wide-eyed Mikihiko.

“With the right medication, even an elementary girl can strangle an adult male.”

“That’s true.... But.”

“But?”

“There’s also the possibility that you weren’t up against a human being in the first place.”

“Eh? Miki.... Are you telling me you buy into that stuff like vampires?”

Hearing Mikihiko’s low muttering, Erika immediately shot back with her eyes bulging out.

“My name is Mikihiko.”

His tone remained light, but he still stuck to rejecting that nickname. Mikihiko seemed to have that automatic response prepared. On the other hand, Erika’s response wasn’t her fault either. While the subject was interesting in casual conversation, but people who actually believed in vampires, even among Magicians, was in the extreme minority.

“Do you have any ideas?”

However, Tatsuya’s reaction did not belong to either the majority or the minority. Tatsuya didn’t believe in demons and ghosts either, but nor did he rule out the possibility of an inhuman creature.

At Tatsuya’s question, Mikihiko hesitated briefly before confidently addressing the question.

“I think there’s a chance that Leo ran into a “Parasite”.” “Parasite? You don’t mean literally, right?”

Seeing Erika tilt her head in one direction, she didn’t seem to think Mikihiko’s words were ridiculous. This time was likely out of genuine curiosity. His mood likely buoyed by such a sight, Mikihiko lectured on.

“Paranormal Parasites, aka Parasite. In the modern age where the existence and might of magic have been publicized, modern magic is not the only area seeking international cooperation. Ancient Magic can’t remain stagnant either, so globalization is unavoidable. Heirs of Ancient Magic have hosted many international conferences centered in England, aiming to standardize terms and concepts and refine them.”

“I know that Ancient Magic is more progressive on the international cooperation side. What of it?”

Mikihiko was starting to pick up steam when Tatsuya cut him short, causing Mikihiko to cough and rally himself.

“Parasite is also one of the acknowledged terms. Monsters, evil spirits, djinns, demons, of all the various entities in the different countries, we call the magical beings that infest human beings and turn them into inhuman creatures as parasites. Even if Ancient Magic has become globalized, that still doesn’t change the fact that they keep their secrets to themselves, so it’s not surprising that everyone here with a modern magic background doesn’t know about it.”

“I can’t believe the monsters and djinns actually exist....”

After listening to Mikihiko’s explanation, Honoka murmured in fear. Tatsuya dropped a handonto her shoulder.

“In the past, no one believed that magic existed. However, we are capable of using magic. Even if we were ignorant of their existence, there’s no reason to be afraid.”

This was not a natural reaction on Tatsuya’s part. He knew these words coming from him would have a profound reaction on Honoka.

Which is why Tatsuya retracted his hand after Honoka jumped at the human contact and he was sure that he dispelled that blind sense of unease. Of course, he was also aware of how Honoka lamented the lost opportunity, but he pretended to be oblivious.

“So that’s the vampire’s true identity.”

Afterwards, he glanced at Mikihiko. Being overly fearful served no purpose, but he was also well aware that ignorance could compound the threat.

Without directly replying to Tatsuya’s question, Mikihiko turned a determined look at Leo.

“Leo.” “Um, what?”

Leo was overwhelmed by the ardor in those eyes. “Can I examine your spectral form?” “Spectral form?”

It appeared that the term spectral form didn’t register, seeing as how Leo could only parrot back the pronunciation. On some level, this wasn’t Leo’s fault, since neither “spiritual form” nor “soul vessel” were terms used in modern magic, and not because Leo was too slow to pick it up.

“Spectral form refers to the information body that is shaped like the physical body, except that it links the physical flesh with your spirit.”

Mikihiko used his fingertips to trace a large “spectral form”.

“The key to the spectral form is life, or life force. Monsters that devour the flesh and blood of man are rumored to prey on the life force that is taken with the flesh.”

“In other words, while vampires suck blood, what they’re really looking to do is sucking away the life force?”

Mikihiko nodded with a tight expression at Erika’s words.

“Vampires drink blood and ghouls consume flesh, but since they weren’t material beings in the first place, they should only be interested in life force. At least, if what the elders in Ancient Magic told me is to be believed.”

“Based on that line of reasoning, it shouldn’t be surprising to run into a vampire who relies on sucking out the life force, huh.” Tatsuya murmured at Mikihiko’s words.

In response, Mikihiko nodded once more.

“If I can examine Leo’s spectral form, I think I should be able to find out. ....Honestly speaking, I was never convinced that this vampire incident was caused by normal human beings. It always seemed like something more than just serial homicides, and not just because there was no trace of blood being sucked out. My instincts as an Ancient Magic user tells me this, except I have no proof. Precisely because it was only my gut feeling, so I never told everyone about Parasites. However, now even Leo has been attacked.”

“Go ahead Mikihiko.”

Leo overrode Mikihiko’s self-incriminating words. Mikihiko took a long second to process the meaning behind this concise phrase.

“....Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Actually, it’s more like I’m requesting you do so. There’s no way to respond if we don’t understand the cause.” Leo’s underlying meaning also contained forgiveness. In response to this degree of trust, Mikihiko’s expression tightened once more as he reached his hand towards the bag next to his feet.

Wielding bona fide talismans created with black ink on paper, Mikihiko used traditional mediums that even Tatsuya came across for the first time to verify Leo’s status, and failed to disguise his shock. More likely, he never even though of doing so in the first place.

“How should I say this.... While Tatsuya is also in a league of his own, Leo, are you really human....?”

“Hey, how polite of you.”

It was another thing altogether as a joke, but when faced with those words spoken in dead earnest, even Leo wasn’t able to laugh it off.

Leo’s mood was plainly affected.

However, Mikihiko was already astounded enough to miss this completely, or more like he wasn’t even able to detet this.

“No, but.... How are you still up and about? The average Magician would be unconscious if so much life force was devoured.”

“Setting aside exactly what life force is, can you also detect how much is missing?”

Tatsuya’s expression showed how impressed he was, to which Mikihiko replied back with a neutral smile and a nod.

“That’s because the spectral form and the physical body possess the same shape.

Since the capacity size is a given, the original amount of life force compared to the current level is more or less detectable.”

Mikihiko squinted his eyes and once again gave a measuring look at Leo.

“Currently at Leo’s life force level, forget even crawling, the average person wouldn’t even be able to remain conscious. To able to sit up and still converse like this, his physical capability must be astounding.”

For Mikihiko, this was something that just popped out.

However, the phrase “astounding physical capability” struck Leo in the heart because his genetic modifications to raise physical prowess.

“Probably. My body is specially designed.”

Even so, Leo kept up his smile. He didn’t plan on causing a fuss at someone who unknowingly caused him harm.”

“At any rate, right now I feel powerless because that masked woman ate my life force. Is that how it goes?”

Leo suppressed the fluctuations in his heart and asked. “I think so, but.....”

“But?”

“....Since this was during combat and they have the ability to consume life force on contact, there should be no reason to suck blood. While I have no idea who they can take blood without leaving any wounds but.... Why is this Parasite wasting additional time and energy doing something extraneous like sucking blood?”

Even Tatsuya had no answer to Mikihiko’s query. In truth, this was because blood was lost instead of being sucked away, so right now they had no way of arriving at the truth.

Visiting hours came to a close and five people left the sickroom.

The five people were Tatsuya, Miyuki, Mikihiko, Honoka, and Mizuki.

Erika said she had to meet up with her brother Toshikazu and stayed behind.

Although none of the five understood those words at their literal meaning, again, none of them verbalized this.

“Speaking of which – Mikihiko.” “Hm?”

Suddenly being called on, Mikihiko turned from his conversation with Mizuki and switched over to Tatsuya.

Miyuki and Honoka flanked Tatsuya.

While they weren’t holding onto his arms, the physical distance was close enough to make no difference.

Let all the popular men burn. Except there was no way of knowing whether Mikihiko was truly thinking this.

No matter what Mikihiko thought, it was unlikely that Tatsuya would pay heed to it.

“There was one detail I forgot to ask.”

Actually, he intentionally failed to ask this question out of concern for listening devices. Even for someone other than Mikihiko, getting Tatsuya to cough up dangerous information was extremely difficult.

“What is it?”

“In regards to creatures like demons and Parasites, do they occur frequently?”

Even though they weren’t eating, Mikihiko almost gagged.

Owing to Tatsuya’s nonchalant tone, Mikihiko listened in with only a casual mood, only to hear a rather profound question.

“....No, they are really rare. While in the stories they exist in hiding ready to do evil, those are largely Magicians pretending to be dark creatures. For example, our side believes they have determined the true identity of the infamous spirit at Mt. Oyama to be a practitioner from the Middle East.”

Unconsciously, Mikihiko was stroking his chin just like someone in a “contemplating posture”.

“The chances of a Magician running into a real spirit is about....

Maybe one in ten generations. Even so, those encounters are usually something accidentally stumbling into our world. Real incidents of spirits harming humans that necessitated immediate extermination from Magicians probably once every several hundred years across the globe.

At the end of the day, the last time on record that Japan exterminated a true spirit was probably when Yusanari Abe exorcised the nine-tailed fox nine hundred years ago.”

“Yet, this vampire incident was probably done by a “real spirit”.” “I believe so.”

“Do you think this is a coincidence?”

“While I cannot say for certain, but the probably is near zero....”

Mikihiko’s reply was extremely prudent.

“As history has progressed into the modern age, incidents of spirit activity has been on the decline. I am unwilling to believe that this incident came out of nowhere.”

After hearing Mikihiko’s response, Tatsuya softly said “Indeed.”

After making sure that Tatsuya’s group left and Kaya returned to the room, Leo collapsed back onto the bed in exhaustion. Although Erika was still in the room, he had already pushed himself to the limit.

“....Meh, I already know everything anyways.

There’s no need to keep bluffing any longer, OK? You’ve already worked really hard.”

“....I’ll just.... Take that as an honest.... Compliment.”

“It was an honest one. Compliment, I mean.”

Seeing Leo painfully close his eyes, Erika revealed a warm smile. “Um, Erika-san.... Is my brother really going to be fine?”

Still, seeing this interaction, Kaya didn’t seem to find anything funny.

“No worries. I’ve already called the best doctor the Chiba Family knows of. I know it can be a little difficult for you to understand since you’re not a Magician, but life force exhaustion requires more time to recuperate than physical exhaustion. All of the necessary recovery procedures have been done already. Afterwards, the best medicine would be plenty of bed rest, so he’ll be fine after a while.”

Kaya shook slightly at being identified as a mundane. Though Erika noticed this, she didn’t espouse any comforting words from her mouth.

“Then, I’m headed off to my brother’s place. If you need anything, please don’t hold back and call the nurses, my brother’s subordinates, or even myself.”

Erika gave a cursory bow to Kaya and excused herself from the sickroom.

Leo had no intention of chiding Erika for her attitude.

“Young mistress, can you show a little mercy?”

The moment she entered the room that was listening in on Leo’s sickroom, Inagaki called out to Erika.

Although his words were vague due to several omitted words, Erika knew exactly what he was talking about. That being said, Erika also held those words in contempt.

“I don’t plan on requesting any Magician to take care of him. It doesn’t matter if it’s our parents or siblings, they’re all a hassle to deal with. I think keeping this degree of relationship here would be enough. Speaking of which.... You heard what was said in there.”

The last sentence was directed towards Toshikazu.

Erika’s oldest brother was sitting with his back to a chair and both hands clasped behind his head before he brusquely peeled off his ear set and straightened up.

“It was very interesting. Then, assuming the second son of the Yoshida Family is spot on with his theory, Erika, what do you plan on doing?”

“Under these circumstances, it doesn’t matter if he’s correct.”

How tedious, Erika’s condescending gaze seemed to accuse Toshikazu as he sat on the chair.

“Even for a moment, that guy counts as a member of the Chiba style and is one of our own. In addition, I personally instructed him in the art of the sword, so he technically counts as my first disciple. No master could just stand by while their disciple took a beating.”

“What a cold line of reasoning.”

“There’s nothing there, so stop fishing. Even if they don’t exist, there’s plenty of reason to accept the fight. I have no idea whether the vampire is male or female, they were the one who gave -->>

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