Chapter 777 – Absence Case Log -1-

000

Looking at Emma welcoming the owners of the mansion, the members of Cleon’s party, who entered the living room in an awkward atmosphere, sat down on the chairs in the living room.

“Ah. You don’t have to worry about me. Because you all have your own work to do.”

However, seeing that, Emma smiled kindly and was considerate of her group’s situation, showing adult composure.

＂No no! Because you can’t help but care!”

Even after hearing Emma’s kindness, Sasha replies that it is difficult for her to concentrate on her own work as she said.

Then, Cleon places his hand on her forehead for a moment and then asks Emma a question.

“Has the curse been lifted?”

“Huh. While Illenuga and Cleon were away.”

Of course, the way to lift the curse had been established through cooperation with Illenu, but Illenu did not want to involve Emma in anything dangerous if possible. After the series of events in Asteris ended and things calmed down a bit, They had talked about returning her to her original form.

However, the fact that Emma’s curse was lifted when the Five Elements Festival had not even started yet means that something had changed while they were away.

“What happened? While we were away from Asteris…”

When Cleon, who had a hard time believing that Illenu had lifted Emma’s curse simply on a whim, asked her that question, Emma slowly opened her mouth as if to answer his question.

001

A day has passed since Cleon appeared with the children, opened another dimensional door, and disappeared to a place called Lila’s hometown.

Schrödinger, who was guarding the house, was killing time by lying on the sofa and rolling around.

There were times when he lamented his situation as if he had become completely in charge of housekeeping, but when he thought about it, various incidents continued wherever Cleon went, so he thought that it might be safer to be left alone like this.

However, since there was no companion, there was no one who could prepare a meal separately, and as I was filling dinner and breakfast with the preserved food left at home, such as biscuits or beef jerky, I was already missing Kuon’s warm rice.

“Well, I guess I’ll be back sometime today…”

Then, Schrödinger gets up from the sofa and, thinking that it might be a good idea to go outside for a walk on such a nice day, he jumps down with a light movement and stands on the living room floor.

“Schradinger! Simsimae!”

There was a young human girl hanging on his leg.

＂Not Schrae, but Schroe. The problem is that human children have short tongues.”

This girl, called Emma, ​​was brought in by Schrödinger after he began collaborating with Cleon.

At first, I thought she was Cleon’s secret child, but when I heard about her circumstances, I heard that she was a woman who used to exterminate vampires with a dhampir and was cursed to look younger.

She thought that she could not easily meet such unusual circumstances, but she was able to meet Cleon’s quality.

She wonders what fateful star she is living under without even realizing it, but Cleon, who will answer, must be busy with Lila right now to settle the children in the village.

She said, “Maybe she should just take Emma with her and let her live there…”

＂?＂

Emma raises her head in response to her name being called.

However, Schrödinger soon shook his head as if it was nothing.

Illenu, looking for a way to break her curse, works late at night at a bar and dives into a dreamland in her bedroom to make up for the lack of sleep during the day.

Schrödinger, who thought it was inevitable that Emma would be bored since it was just him and Emma in the usual bustling house, held Emma’s hand.

“Good. Then shall we go for a walk by ourselves? “After coming to this mansion, you haven’t really had a chance to go outside and play, right?”

“Huh! Let’s go~!”

Taking Emma, ​​who energetically answered Schrödinger’s questions, Schrödinger left her house after leaving a small note for Ilene, who was probably upset that Emma had disappeared.

As seen from inside the house, the sky was clear, and the sun was high and shining brightly.

It may be a little too hot to call it the best weather for a walk.

If it were my old self, it wouldn’t have mattered much because I had a doll’s body that couldn’t feel heat, but now my body can feel things like temperature and humidity, so I’m glad I didn’t turn into a hairy cat when I became a human. That was what I thought.

Emma, ​​where did she get it from, seems to be smart enough to protect herself by putting her straw hat on her head, creating a shade that blocks out the sun’s rays.

“Where did that come from?”

＂Mine!＂

＂Okay…＂

There was no proper answer, but Schrödinger probably decided that it was pointless to ask the child any more questions, so he shrugged his shoulders and looked up at the sky.

“Okay then. It’s nice to go for a walk, but where should I go? It’s not fun to just walk without a destination…”

Then, as if he suddenly had a good idea, he looked down at Emma next to him and asked.

“Emma. “Where does she want to go?”

“I don’t know!”

“… I guess that’s right. I almost never leave the house…”

Schrödinger sighs as if he had asked something pointless and begins to move on as if there is nothing he can do.

“What. I wonder if it would be okay to walk for a while, have some lunch at the market, and then come back home.”

─ Schrödinger, who was walking towards Asteris with such carefree thoughts, could not have imagined that this small deviation would greatly disrupt the three days that Cleon and his party were away.

002

The first place Schrödinger and Emma headed to was a large park with green grass and children playing.

Emma also remembers the park where she went out to practice flying with Sasha and González, her eyes sparkling as she looks at the children running and playing in the grass.

“Schradinger! Let’s go!”

“For a moment! I have no intention of running around over there!”

Like a child walking a pet, Emma runs into the midst of her children, dragging Schrödinger with him.

As if there was nothing he could do about it, Schrödinger decided to hang out with Emma for a bit and looked at what the children were doing-

Suddenly, they noticed the gaze directed towards them and looked around while perking their ears.

＂…＂

Since the sticky sensation felt from that gaze was not very pleasant, Schrödinger thought that it must be targeting them.

“Emma. Wait a minute, I’m playing here with the kids.”

＂Rest?＂

＂Ah… Um… Yes. Toilet.”

At first, Schrödinger hesitated for a moment to understand what Xuya meant, but then he nodded and moved away from Emma.

Then, Emma came outside for the first time in a long time and naturally joined in on the playing field on the grass with children of her own age (from the looks of it).

One eye is watching the scene with satisfaction, thinking that children’s friendliness is beyond imagination.

While Amelia was away, she was wiping away the drool that came out spontaneously with the back of her hand, thinking that this was how she needed to recharge the energy of ‘her kind older sister’ within her.

＂Hey.＂

When she felt a hand reaching out from behind her and grabbing her shoulder, she flinched, and her body trembled.

“Why are you looking at children like that? This pervert bastard. Follow me, I’ll throw you in the government office.”

When she looked behind her, Schrödinger, who had been by Emma’s side just a moment ago, had turned around her, hiding his presence, and was holding her back.

Then, despite being embarrassed, she reveals her identity by taking off the sunglasses on her face and the mask covering her mouth.

“Now, wait a moment. It’s me!”

What was revealed along with the red hair hidden under the coat was the dragon knight Drake’s dizzying true face that could not be told to anyone.

It was a perverted lolicon Diora.

“What… Are you Cleon’s comrade?”

He was an extraordinarily misunderstood Cleon in his absence.

“Yes, that’s right! You were a homunculus living in Cleon’s house, right? So the name is…”

As she watches Diora repeat the same words: shoo… Shoo… Cream puff…, Schrödinger kindly tells her his own name, with her tendons sprouting on her forehead. Br〉

＂Schrödinger.＂

“Yes, that’s right! It was Schrödinger!”

＂There is no need for cats! What is it that gives me goosebumps!”

Apparently, since Schrödinger’s appearance was not that different from Amelia’s, she seemed to be well within her defense range.

“So? What were you doing here? Reconnaissance of something? Or…”

“Me? I was just watching the kids…”

When Diora answered like that without any malice, Schrödinger kept his mouth shut for a moment, then turned to the direction of the government office and muttered.

＂After all, this guy is more likely to get arrested once…＂

“Wait a minute! For the safety of the city! Since something shouldn’t happen while Cleon was away, he was taking a break while patrolling to watch the kids!”

Seeing Diora making excuses so desperately, Schrödinger let go of her shoulder as if he had no choice.

＂More than that. You knew it. Cleon is not there now.”

“That’s right. I always know where Amelia and Cleon are.”

＂That’s stalking too…?＂

“No, no. It is the minimum insurance for an alliance.”

Well, if you leave Asteris, it will take some time to find where you went. Diora answers.

Even as she said that, she puffed out her cheeks and complained to Schrödinger.

＂More than that! I heard that Cleon brought in a bunch of cute kids from outside Asteris! Why didn’t you show it to me!?”

“No, it wasn’t a situation where I could show and not show and say the same thing. Those kids, first, are refugees…”

Above all, there is no way I could tell Diora, a knight of the kingdom, that these children were taken from the imperial territory. The wise Schrödinger thinks about this but doesn’t talk about it.

“Destitute? Hmm. “

However, when Diora nodded as if she understood her general situation, she leaned back on her bench and spoke.

“What. If that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do about it. Even in Asteris, you never know when the Exiled Church might appear and do something wrong. I mean, you can’t let down your guard. Considering that Cleon’s party is the largest force that can oppose them in this city right now, they will have no reason not to move.”

＂Well… Since there is a grand plan to launch an air fortress and attack, isn’t it difficult to disperse the force, so you are staying calm? During these few days, nothing related to the exiled church happened.”

＂It would be nice if that were the case, but…＂

As the situation continues, like the calm before the storm, you feel like you should be grateful for this peace, but at the same time, you feel anxious about the situation where it feels like the peace is continuing at any moment.

For those who don’t know the situation, everyday life is just passing by.

There is a moment of silence between the two.

In fact, we know very little about each other, so it is difficult to continue a conversation in a situation where the only information we have is that the other person is a lolicon and a homunculus.

“Well, then I guess I’ll go back to Emma… I came out for a walk. You too, do it in moderation. So as not to be caught by others…”

With that being said, if Schrödinger tries to return to her Emma.

The next moment, a hand was placed on Diora’s shoulder once again, saying “Chin”.

＂I finally found it…＂

＂Eh. Is it already!?”

When Dio, thinking that it was the other reporter Schrödinger had mentioned, turned around in shock, there he saw a boy with black hair and red eyes, and a mature woman who looked about 10 years older than the boy, looking at him. It was there.

＂Ohne show…＂

“Drake! “I have an urgent request to make of you!”

When Diora heard the boy say that, she came to her senses for a moment and deduced their identity from their facial expressions.

“Ah. The vampire siblings saved by Cleon. Apparently, her younger brother was Bayleen… And her older sister was Maybelle?”

Diora spoke while placing her hand on her chin as if she had just finished investigating Cleon’s surroundings.

“More than that, please don’t say Drake out loud outside. First, I am hiding my identity.”

She looks like an ordinary, suspicious woman on the outside. But her true identity is her ultimate weapon that protects the peace of her kingdom.

Drake, the dragon knight who is said to be the strongest… That’s me! Looking at her using her grandiose self-appeal, her Beirlin looked a little annoyed.

“It’s not the time to talk carefree like that.”

Then, he took something out of her pocket and showed it to her.

Tied to a thin rope was a talisman (talisman necklace) made of iron cross with a shining red jewel embedded in it.

＂Do you know what this is?＂

“I know. It’s the talisman of the Initrad Blood Cross, a vampire mercenary group. “Where did you get such a hideous thing?”

They were a mercenary group with quite a reputation in the world of darkness, and were an organization that blended into human society and operated as a mercenary group using their abilities as vampires.

Not only do they conquer dungeons, but they also carry out any mission, including kidnapping, murder, robbery, and terrorism, if they can receive sufficient compensation. They were wanted in the kingdom, but the problem is that there is very little information about the leader or members of the organization.

They are a legendary mercenary group that has been in existence for hundreds of years, with no contact being made through humans and only disposable familiars, and no one knows their true identity.

“Today, while I was going for a short walk with my sister… I felt the energy of a compatriot hiding in the crowd of people at the Five Elements Festival, so I tracked him down and interrogated him, and he was found to have that talisman.”

＂Hehe… By the way, what did you do with that vampire?＂

＂He let me sunbathe.＂

Diora shrugged her shoulders at Bayelin’s words and took the talisman that Bayelin was holding.

“They never move alone. Perform only one request at a time. The entire mercenary group is committed to the task and will not give up until the goal is achieved.”

When Dio nodded her head at Beirlin’s explanation, she looked around.

“In other words. Initrad has entered Asteris…”

“Okay. What’s most annoying is that they know how to magically reduce the effects of sunlight, even if they don’t cover themselves with parasols or clothes. Unless you are someone like me or my sister who can sense the scent of your fellow countrymen or have an excellent sense of smell, it would be difficult to determine their identity.”

At those words, Diora smiled as if she knew why they had come to see her.

“In other words. You are asking me to cooperate. So that we can find the hidden Initrad.”

“Okay. As far as I know, the next strongest force in this city right now after Cleon is you. And one more person… I was thinking of going to talk to the vampire hunter in this city.”

＂Ilenu is sleeping at home right now. If it were to hunt vampires, I would run out with my eyes wide open.”

When Schrödinger, who was listening to her story next to her, said that, Bayerlin nodded.

“Then let’s go together. I need help from many people, even if only for a moment. If Initrad is trying to cause chaos in Asteris through indiscriminate terrorism-“

As Beirlin said that, she tried to move her steps.

＂Aaagh!＂

A scream rang out from the meadow side of the park.

When Schrödinger and Diora, unable to figure out what had suddenly happened, looked in that direction, there was a young girl who looked to be about 10 years old, pushing the children while emitting an evil aura.

She was carrying Emma, ​​unconscious as she was, on her shoulder.

＂It’s Initrad!＂

＂Emma!＂

Diora and Schrödinger run to save Emma, ​​shouting different names.

But the next moment, something like a thick black fog covered the otherwise normal space, blocking the two people’s vision.

＂This is…＂

＂The veil of dark magic…!＂

When Diora momentarily raises her magic power and swings her arm, the darkness disappears in an instant.

Meanwhile, the girl carrying Emma had also disappeared.

＂… Damn…!＂

“You kidnapped Emma, ​​what on earth are you trying to do…”

When Diora frowned, she could see citizens confused by the sudden situation and government troops running towards this place.

＂… That.＂

Then, Schrödinger found a note left where the girl had been a moment ago, quickly picked it up, and made eye contact with Diora.

“It seems that Initrad’s purpose is not to confuse Asteris, but Cleon and his group.”

The note contained a threatening sentence intended to be conveyed to Cleon.