Leaving the strategy meeting venue, I talked with Lucia.
After hearing everything that had happened, Lucia sighed and bowed her head.
"I see, my brother... our Leader did all that. I'm sorry for the trouble he caused."
So it was true — just as Klye had said, she really was a reliable younger sister.
I nodded for no particular reason. Lucia Roje was a girl with the same black hair and black eyes as Klye.
But that was where the resemblance ended. The impression she gave was completely different.
Klye always had a vaguely distant expression, and his demeanor conveyed almost no sense of power whatsoever. Lucia was the complete opposite — an intellectual gaze, mana radiating from her slender frame. Her bearing as a Mage was impressive even by the standards of Terras, her homeland. But above all else, she was incredibly... cute.
Such mana, such beauty, and on top of that, she was reportedly the closest to Level 7 among the Mourning Specter right now. It made sense that Klye would brag about his sister. Saya wished she had a sister like that too...
Well, forget a sister — nobody in Saya's clan remained besides herself.
"How enviable..."
"Hm? Did you say something?"
Oh no — I'd been staring absentmindedly.
Liliz and the others had wonderful qualities as Hunters, but Lucia might be even more impressive.
The Visitors were staring at Lucia intently. They were naturally drawn to the strong. They'd gawked at Kaiser too, and the only powerhouse they'd shown almost no interest in was Klye.
From Lucia's gaze, just like Liliz and the others, Saya couldn't sense even a trace of fear toward her.
She really wondered what kind of conversation Klye had had with her... but even during the mock battle when her ability had activated excessively, the Hunters present hadn't been as frightened as the ones in Terras. Their training must have been different.
"It's nothing. Besides, it's fine. He helped me a lot, and... well, I've heard what he told you. So..."
"I've heard it too, Saya. The Leader said... that you and I could become good friends."
Lucia said this with a serious expression. It seemed Klye had told her essentially the same things he'd told Saya.
He probably wasn't trying to help her make friends, but it was a welcome development for Saya.
And it seemed Klye had completely anticipated Saya's visit. Not only had he spoken to her about this, but he'd even arranged for them to tackle a quest together. He really was a good person.
She wasn't saying that completing quests together would automatically make them friends, but it could serve as a starting point.
The issue was that the quest they needed to resolve was quite important — but when Klye said Saya was the best fit, did he mean she was optimal for completing the quest? Or did he mean she was the best catalyst for becoming friends with Lucia?
But either way, she couldn't afford to show an embarrassing side of herself in front of a potential new friend.
All Saya had were her abilities as a Hunter to show for herself.
"Just call me Saya, Lucia. Your brother was... an astonishing Hunter. If there's anything I can do, I'd like to help..."
At Saya's words, Lucia's eyes widened for a moment before she furrowed her brow in a troubled manner.
"...You're right. If the Leader said you were the best fit, there must be meaning behind it. Assuming he wasn't just saying something offhand, that is..."
"Would he really say something offhand?"
"The meaning of 'best fit' could differ, you know. Perhaps you, Saya — no, I'll keep that to myself for now."
What did she mean? True, Klye had both astonishing abilities and some unusual quirks...
Lucia gave a small cough, then looked at Saya with a serious expression and spoke.
"First, let's check out the site. If you notice anything, please let me know."
§ § § The place they were led to was an incredibly magnificent school.
In Terras, there were only a handful of schools. And even those mostly taught combat skills, with an atmosphere that felt tense and cutthroat.
Was this what a school in a major city free from monster threats was like? The students passing by were all neatly dressed, and they bowed politely each time they saw Lucia and Saya.
Saya had never attended school, but if she had, would she have made lots of friends?
She shook that fantasy away with a slight toss of her head.
She had no friends in Terras, but she had people she'd fought alongside. And she'd saved lives with her own power. Before the Level 9 exam, there had even been people who'd offered words of encouragement.
There was a place for everyone. Saya's current life was one she had chosen for herself.
She directed her gaze to the Visitors who had been following them and asked them to check the interior of the academy.
"I sense a strong magical presence... is there a spell active?"
"Yes. There was a major incident just the other day, and the barrier was only recently redrawn... can you tell?"
"More or less. My eyes are special."
Saya's eyes were more powerful than ordinary magical eyes. Her main ability was to see the Visitors, but beyond that, she could sometimes see things invisible to normal people.
There were both conveniences and inconveniences to this, but Saya had never once overlooked a magical trap.
In exchange, during the Code, she'd been hit right where it hurt.
"Magical eyes?"
"Yeah. Originally, they only changed color when my ability activated... but after taking Klye's advice and starting to use them, they've been constantly active ever since."
"...I'm sorry. Our Leader..."
"!? N-no, it's fine. He did the right thing."
"I see, I see."
Lucia nodded slightly.
Saya wasn't regretting it. If she hadn't activated her ability during the day, she never could have broken through that situation — and if that had happened, Kenbi and Kubi would have charged into the Royal Tower.
Even with Thousand Transformations, dealing with those two simultaneously would have been brutal.
Taking down the Code did seem like overkill, but apparently there hadn't been a single fatality. It must have been a necessary response.
"...What was the Leader like during the Code?"
After a brief silence, Lucia asked this question. At her words, Saya closed her eyes for a moment and reflected on what had happened during the Code.
The moment Saya had entered the Code, she'd been captured and kept masked the entire time. So she hadn't been in a position to observe Klye's actions up close, but she still had faint memories of events even during the time she'd worn the white mask.
Neither Prince Angus nor Gene Gordon, who had been weaving conspiracies behind the scenes, had ever seen through Klye's true strength.
Including the fact that even Saya — who should have only scored without Visitors factored in — had been fooled, along with the system evaluation he'd deceived, it was all the power of Thousand Transformations.
"Lucia, your brother is..."
Strong? No. Amazing? He was amazing, but that didn't feel like the right word. Then how should one sum up Klye Andrich's performance during the Code in a single phrase?
Saya thought for a moment before answering.
"I think... he was having quite a lot of fun."
"...I'm truly sorry. He's always been like that. He doesn't mean any harm, but..."
Lucia shrank back, her face turning bright red.
"Klye isn't at fault. If the other person and I hadn't made mistakes, he surely would have used a different approach."
At least, what ultimately brought down the Code couldn't be called a strategy.
Well, getting suspended was unfortunate and she felt bad about it, but she supposed it couldn't be helped.
"I don't think that's true at all. Really, my brother's actions are always completely out of nowhere..."
Just as Lucia said this in an exhausted manner, the Visitors returned.
"...Lucia, there seems to be something over here."
She followed the Visitor, who was waving its hand as if beckoning her.
They circled around the magnificent school building and walked across the grounds. What they arrived at was a courtyard-like area surrounded by tower-shaped structures.
A bright courtyard where numerous students were resting as they pleased. The Visitor stopped in front of a single tree that grew at its center.
It wasn't thin, but calling it a large tree would be a stretch — an utterly unremarkable tree. Its lush green leaves cast shadows on the ground.
The Visitor raised its arm. As if remembering something, Lucia spoke.
"Oh, there's a rumor about this place too. I don't think there are any victims, but — the rumor of the 'Confession Magic Tree.' Apparently, if you confess your love here..."
"You'll definitely end up together, or something?"
A story she'd heard somewhere before.
However, Lucia shook her head at Saya's words and said with a slightly disgusted expression.
"No... The rumor is that if you confess and get rejected, both you and the other person get eaten by the tree and vanish..."
"What kind of rumor is that..."
Nobody was happy in that scenario.
"That's why there are probably no victims. This place is always pretty lively to begin with. Nobody eccentric enough to confess here would exist, and even if someone vanished, there'd definitely be witnesses."
"I see..."
Then what was that strange mist floating in front of the so-called Magic Tree that only Saya's eyes could see?
It was a purple mist. About the size of a fist, it vanished while Saya watched, as if the whole thing had been an optical illusion.
Since the Visitor had guided them there, that mist was probably invisible to ordinary people.
She'd never seen anything like it in Terras. It bore a slight resemblance to the spatial distortions that appeared when the Visitors arrived, but the color was different.
But dwelling on it further wouldn't yield any conclusions. Saya wasn't the type to solve things through overthinking like Lucia's brother.
She switched gears easily and spoke to Lucia.
"Got it. Lucia, let's go to that classroom."
"That's right. Well, even if this tree turns out to be the cause of the disappearances, we could just cut it down or burn it. I think the 'Locked Ghost Classroom' could be solved by just blasting it apart too, but we can't get permission..."
Occasionally, Lucia's words and mannerisms overlapped with those of Liliz and Citry... She truly was a member of the Mourning Specter after all.
But that was fine. Lucia was very cute, and she was a candidate for Saya's friendship — personally endorsed by the cunning, scheming Thousand Transformations himself.
Then again, from other people's perspectives, Saya herself was probably just as much a handful...
"Lucia, would you like to have a mock battle with me?"
"Sure. Later, please."
To Saya's hesitant question, Lucia answered without a moment's hesitation.