The Former Swordmaster Who Pretends to Be the Worst, and the School’s Top-Ranked Chairman’s Daughter Who’s Way Too Sweet in Public, It’s a Real Problem
“Ah, welcome home, Rika. Welcome, Saito-kun.”
“I’m home, Dad! You’re home early today.”
When we arrived at the Agatsuma residence, it was Ryotaro who greeted us.
I had assumed he’d be out on business, so I was quite surprised. Even so, he welcomed us with a smile and urged us to come inside.
Then, he turned to Rika and said,
“Oh, right. Rika, could you run an errand for me at the facility?”
“Huh? What’s up, all of a sudden?”
Caught off guard by his unexpected request, my childhood friend tilted her head in confusion.
Looking at her, my father smiled sheepishly and said,
“There’s something I forgot that I need you to go get. If I were to go myself, it would be a bit of a big deal… Could you do that for me?”
“Ugh… I guess I have no choice…”
“Ah, that’d be a huge help.”
Persuaded by Ryotaro, Rika puffed out her cheeks in displeasure and headed toward the research facility. After watching her back disappear, my father let out a sigh of relief.
And then,
“…This way, Rika won’t hear about it.”
“So that’s what it was, after all.”
In response to those words, I nodded, as I had expected.
It went without saying that Ryotaro-san wanted to talk to me about the request. Given that, it made sense for him to be careful not to let his daughter overhear.
But for me, there was a slight concern.
“But are you sure this is okay? There was a spy infiltrating the facility until recently.”
“There are plenty of other eyes watching over things there. Besides, after what happened the other day, no fool is going to try anything so soon.”
“……If that’s your judgment, Uncle, then fine.”
Even so, I still felt a lingering sense of unease.
But we couldn’t let Rika come back while we were arguing. With that in mind, I cleared the room and headed to the empty living room.
We each took a seat across from each other at the table, and
“…For now, at least, I’ve figured out the background of the person Euclid sent over.”
Ryotaro cut straight to the chase.
The fact that he only knew the person’s background bothered me, but I chose not to interrupt and simply nodded.
“I don’t know their name or what they look like. Apparently, they aren’t a legitimate member of the magical world. In other words, they’re either a hired hand or an outsider with ties to it.”
“…………An outsider.”
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but furrow my brow.
Looking at the facts laid out like this, it became clear once again that this was no ordinary matter. Our enemy is Euclid—an organization that could be called the very center of the magical world. Just how skilled must the person they’ve sent be?
With that in mind, I finally asked,
“Is there anything else you know…?”
“Ah, that makes sense. It’s just that, unfortunately, information is hard to come by. However—”
At that point, Ryotaro paused.
Then, furrowing his brow, he said:
“That person is apparently quite famous in the underworld as a ‘Hunter of Heretics.’”
“Hunting heretics…?”
He must have sensed the somber tone in my voice.
He nodded quietly, then began to explain.
“In this world built on magic, they’re people who hunt down those who disrupt that harmony. They seem to be at odds with Novozarksk, which relies primarily on science, but this time, it appears a particularly fanatical member of that group was sent.”
He paused to catch his breath.
Then, Ryotaro began to tell me what he knew about the opponent’s past.
“From what I’ve heard, several key figures from Novozarks have been killed. Of course, none of this is made public, but some of these incidents have been reported in the media or on social media as ‘accidents’ or ‘incidents.’”
Then, he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me.
I took it and scanned it. Listed there were the names of major incidents and accidents I’d heard of myself. In every case, a Novozarksk researcher had lost their life—but even so, was that guy really responsible for the plane crash?
If this information is accurate—
“…This might be a more dangerous opponent than I thought.”
Given the sheer scale of it all, my words seemed to hang in the air, somewhat disconnected from reality.
After all, when things reach this level, it’s hard to grasp the reality of it. Ryotaro must feel the same way. Nodding back at me, he said,
“Yeah, it’s truly chilling. And when it comes to this latest incident, you’re the one I really want to warn.”
“Huh…?”
Caught off guard by his words, I was filled with doubt.
Just as I was trying to figure out what he meant, Ryotaro furrowed his brow. Then, quietly, as if stating a simple fact, he told me this.
“Our opponent is a ‘Hunter of Heretics’ who worships magic. In other words—”
“I’m sorry to drag you into this,”
he seemed to say, lowering his voice.
“Your swordsmanship, Saito-kun, could very well be a target for their purge.”
That was no laughing matter.
No. Of course, it wasn’t a joke to begin with.
But at that moment, to me, it sounded all too much like one.
Maiban