Day 2 (Part 2)

After a quick twenty-minutes — I predicted wrong — I had rested the car facing out from the school. There was just a single problem: Shiki wasn't around. And so, I used the newest tools in my arsenal: my recently acquired phone. I immediately grabbed it from my pocket, and I gave a quick message to Shiki.

The message read: [I've arrived.] 

Around five seconds passed before I heard a familiar sound effect. Accompanying that sound effect was a response from Shiki in the form of a chat box.

It read: [Perfect timing. My talk with our senior just ended.]

I put my phone back in my pocket, and I sat still to wait for him. Apparently, he took his sweet time walking to the schoolgates, considering that five minutes passed before I could see him. Shiki began jogging towards me, and I unlocked the door for the passenger's seat to my left, the front-left seat. Shiki attempted to open the door, but he couldn't open as it was locked

Why was the door locked? Shiki tried to open the rear doors.

I rolled the windows down, and I informed him. "Sit yourself on the front seat. Alice is not here," I explained. He quickly took note of my words, opening the front-left seat.

"How was your talk with our senior?" I asked him. I raised the windows back up and turned the car on as I waited for him to answer my question. Obviously, I was interested in what Shiki and Ciel were talking about.

"Nothing too important. She asked me about The Tohno family." That sounded intriguing. "...She was interested in whether something bad happened for me to go back to the mansion." Was this just a genuine worry on Ciel's part?

Ciel acted kind to everyone, and it seemed that it was especially the case for Shiki. However, she was an Executor of the Holy Church. No matter how kind it was for her to give me a Black Key, I also had to remind myself that she was someone that had spent countless years hunting down heretics.

My thinking process was stopped as Shiki called out to me, "Hey Freedan." He tapped my shoulder. "You turn right on the road after this," he instructed.

I replied, "Ah, okay." I then stared blankly in front of me. We were already in the outskirts of the city's business district. And as he instructed, I turned right.

"I just realised this, Freedan, but what are you wearing?" He asked me. What about my clothes?

"Hm?" I hummed as I turned to face him. "Do you dislike it?" I sought a compliment.

"Don't get me wrong, you look great." Of course I looked great. "But… Why are you dressed up so… sophisticatedly? He asked.

"Well," I began. "...You could say that this outfit is meant for formal events." That was indeed the case. Every single one of the Api family members had to wear these types of outfits whenever they went out for gatherings that included other magi. "Also, your family head went out of her way to allow me to speak to her, so dressing well is the least I could do."

"...I suppose that you have a point there," Shiki noted. "Ah, Freedan, turn right over there." He pointed at a three-way intersection about fifty metres away. Soon enough, that distance was halved.

"Anyways, about Akiha…" I turned right. "Besides her strict nature towards you, is there anything else I should be wary of?" I asked. It was best to know what she wanted or at the very least, hated. I had no intention of accidentally making her angry.

Shiki narrowed his eyes in thought, and after a while, he finally spoke, "To be honest, I think the reason why she was strict yesterday was because she had high expectations of me." He joked, "Oh how disappointed she was…." 

"I'll act my best, then," I announced. I had to be careful not to aggravate her; I didn't know how half-demons reacted to anger. 

And I wished to make sure that I wouldn't have to know that.

As I pondered my impending meeting with the Tohno family's head of house, I stepped on the car brakes, stopping at a red light of a four-way crossing. The streets to my left and right were flatly levelled, leading to more lanes . However, the street straight ahead — beyond the crossing — was a long slope leading up to a hill.

"Where do I turn?" I asked the guy seated next to me. The streets here felt like a maze, so much so that I've had to ask Shiki what the way was numerous times. Though, considering that I didn't even know the address of the Tohno estate, I supposed that it was a given for me to ask for his help.

Thinking about it, how would I have reached the Tohno estate without Shiki? If I didn't pick him up earlier, then it was more than likely that I would have gotten lost within the maze of asphalt and concrete. 

No matter, I focused my mind on Shiki's answer.

"Huh?" He muttered, as if my words pierced his thoughts. Considering what we were talking about earlier, his thoughts were likely centred around his sister, Akiha. "Go straight ahead. After that, you hug the left lane until you come across a gigantic, metal gate." His instructions were heard loud and clear.

"Affirmative, boss!" I responded. He merely gave a tired sigh and a slight grin as a reply.

After the traffic lights finally went green, I did as Shiki instructed. As we traversed up the slope, the chirping sounds of birds were heard through my vehicle's interior; it was a pleasantly peaceful sound, and because it was, I allowed my ears to hear at a higher capacity.

With the increase of my hearing capacity, the sound of my vehicle's mechanical workings hummed to my ears.

A second later, a light breeze whistled through the air, and what followed were the rustling of leaves from the trees to mine and Shiki's left.

I rolled the windows down, and I took a deep breath of fresh air. It was as I thought, even the air here smelled of nature. I gradually lowered my senses before I asked, "Is there a forest nearby?" It was a weird question, but passing the time and being able to stop thinking about that by having a conversation was more than important enough for me to set aside any feelings of awkwardness.

"Yeah…? Why do you ask?" Shiki replied.

"The air is particularly fresh here, so I was just wondering," I explained.

As we followed the curving, uphill slope of the road, I could see that the left side of the street was now a grey brick wall with a height of three metres that seemed to span forever. Though, there was also another noteworthy feature on the wall just twenty metres ahead of us: a large steel gate for vehicles; there were also two smaller gates between it, there for the access of individuals.

"This is it, right?" I faced towards my left, where Shiki had been sitting since I picked him up from the school.

 He nodded in response, and he said, "We — or should I say you — are unable to enter without pressing that doorbell over there." He pointed to the side of the large gate, and a small button — the doorbell — was there.

"I suppose I should ask you to press it," I requested for Shiki to do it. 

"I'll do it, but the gate doesn't open by itself, so I'll need you to push it with me," he explains.

After I parked the car nearby, the both of us left the vehicle. Shiki first pressed the button, and after a while, the gate had gotten unlocked. There was a prerecorded voice on a speaker just above the button that invited us to enter. I pushed my half of the gate with ease — the one-hundred plus kilograms swung backwards just as any hinged barrier would — and it was the same with Shiki.

I quickly entered my car and passed it through the now opened gate. Just as I was about to step back out to close it, the metal gates closed on their own.

Seeing that, I complained, "Seriously? The gate has to be opened manually, but it closes on its own?" The complaint wasn't directed at anyone in particular, or anything at all, but it was confusing why a gate could automatically close but not automatically open.

I sighed indignantly, but I quickly let the feeling of exasperation go; there were more important things to be done.

Apparently, the Tohno mansion was still a drive up the soft slope, then a turn to the left. Considering that this was the estate of one of the most influential families in Japan, I wasn't too surprised. It would have been a lie though if I said that I wasn't impressed with the amount of land the Tohno's had; after all, from what I could see, it was as spacious as the old Api estate back in England.

When the left turn arrived, the ground finally became flat again. It was somewhat dark, the sea of trees sandwiching the pathway I was driving in prevented the already little moonlight.

Ah, I forgot to add that detail: it was already dark out. It was around five-forty five, but it was autumn,

The paved road that I was driving on had been sandwiched by thick greenery and trees; I speculated that the area around the mansion was a forest. Also, it explained the woodsy fragrance that hung around the air.

After driving through just a bit more, I could finally see the Tohno mansion in all of its glory. 

It was a large white building with a blue roof; the mansion's white walls were intricately adorned with arched windows and decorative columns. The dominant colour of white gave it a classic yet modern look. There was a balcony directly above the mansion's main entrance with double doors. All in all, the sophisticated details that decorated it was a marvel to look at.

I stopped my car's engines, and I slowly exited out of it with a certain flare, a kind of elegance. Once I had stood straight, I could see Shiki's bemused expression staring right at me. "What?" I asked. I already knew why he looked at me like that. He wasn't used to me acting so… gracefully. Well, the term he would describe would have been 'weird'.

He sighed, not bothering to question me. "Let's just go," he said as walked slowly towards the mansion's front doors.

I took a few deep breaths, the woody scent of the forest nearby filled my nose. I soon followed suit. Shiki was already under the shade just in front of the doors. Though, there wasn't any sunlight to actually be shaded from, for the sun had set an hour ago.

"I must say, Shiki… The blue roof adds a nice regal touch to it," I called out to him. I saw his eyes widen. "Is there anything wrong?" I asked.

"You can see the features of the mansion even though it's so dark?" Shiki sounded exasperated. Why was he so confused?

"I eat a lot of carrots," I explained. In response, he gave a blank, unconvinced expression, but he didn't ask any further in spite of that. It wasn't a good explanation, but it didn't matter; after all, Shiki would've given an even blanker glare if I answered with 'Biological Superiority.'

After I had finally walked up the stairs leading to the front door, Shiki took a deep breath, and a second later, exhaled with a sigh. "You seem… nervous, Shiki," I commented. 

He looked at me, and from what I could see through his glasses, he looked slightly worried. "Please, try not to anger Akiha; she's even scarier when furious," he admitted. I nodded, taking a step to the left side of the still closed entrance. "Can I be with you during your talk with her?" Shiki asked, almost out of nowhere. "...Just to make sure that I can try and defuse the situation if it ever gets bad," he explained.

"No," I answered with zero hesitation. Shiki's offer made sense, yes; however, he had no idea about the supernatural side of the world — The Moonlit World — and I wanted to talk to his sister regarding exactly that. 

I would be honest if I said that I wanted to tell Shiki about everything: our blood relation, the presence of mystical powers, and far more pressing — the dangerous Dead Apostles that wandered around the city. However, I couldn't do that; if I told him that, then not only would he be overwhelmed with the information, but he would also not even believe it.

Actually, I had ways to prove it, but the earlier issue still persisted, there was a lot to unpack. It also didn't help that I genuinely wished for him to live a normal life. Ughhhh, this is so annoying! Shiki's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Freedan, are you okay?" Shiki asked. "You were randomly complaining about how annoying something was…" He looked genuinely concerned for a moment.

Why did he react like that? Ah, I accidentally said my thoughts out loud…

"It's nothing, really," I quickly responded. " Anyways, are we entering your home or not?" I immediately changed the topic. Thankfully, Shiki decided to let my previous mistake go.

Shiki took a deep breath. I did the same. He put his hands on the doorknobs and rotated them.

Creak…!

A sliver of warm white light had passed through the gaps of the sides of the doorway as Shiki pulled the doors. I took a few steps back, and once there was ample room for us to enter, we walked in. I squinted my eyes as I went through the doorways, and I closed the doors for Shiki. A few seconds later — once my eyesight adapted to the presence of bright light — I looked around, and I could immediately tell that the mansion's interior was far, far more intricate than its exterior.

Crimson-red carpets lined the floors, giving a refined look. From what I could tell, there were five doors that all led to different rooms; this was clearly the lobby of the mansion. A refined-looking chandelier illuminated the room with white light, and numerous wall lamps were also on to provide slightly warmer yellow light. There was also the most defining feature: a wide carpeted staircase with beautifully carved wooden carvings. All in all, it was a room that could easily be remembered just for its architectural beauty; the one who designed the room obviously had wonderful tastes.

"Master Shiki, welcome back." It was an unfamiliar voice of a woman that I heard as I scoured the lobby, searching for any more details to appreciate. I looked over towards the voice, next to the left door beside the base of the staircase. The source of the voice was a red-haired girl that seemed to be Alice's age; she wore a maid outfit, and she bowed to me, "...It seems that your friend was with you, master Shiki," she took notice of me. "Please come to the dining room, both of you, master Akiha is patiently waiting."

I waited for Shiki to move first, towards the dining room; I had no interest in seeming like an ignorant person. Also, I didn't know where it was, so even if I was ignorant, I would've waited for him. "Thank you, Hisui," he said. So that was the maid's name — Hisui.

I slowly followed Shiki, and we walked towards the door next to where Hisui stood. I quickly took a deep breath before I entered. I took a quick glance around the dining room. Numerous paintings were framed on the walls, and the dining table itself was spectacularly long.

I saw another maid that stood on the far corners of the room, and there was a well-dressed girl that patiently sat on the table. The girl that sat down was likely Akiha — the sister that Shiki loved complimenting so much. And to be fair, from what I saw, I now understood that every compliment regarding her beauty were perfectly placed — actually, the compliments might not have been enough to do her justice: Jet-black hair — typical of the Japanese, skin so smooth and unblemished that one could have thought that she was a doll, and Cerulean-Blue eyes fixed with a calculating, ardent gaze; the feeling that she gave off was similar to Lady Barthomeloi, but less terrifying.

"Freedan?" Shiki whispered. I quickly left my stupor and slightly jerked my head towards his direction. He was giving a suspicious look, as if he was assuming something. I merely gave a confused stare in response, and he responded with a blank expression. "I know she's beautiful, but please keep your senses," Shiki whispered.

I see, he was feeling protective of his sister.

Ironic, he gave a similar reaction to me now back when he first saw Alice in the past, and it was even funnier that I also told him off in the exact same way. Was this his revenge?

Akiha stood up in a dignified manner. "Ahem—" She cleared her throat gracefully, very gracefully. "I am Akiha Tohno, the newly appointed head of the Tohno family," she introduced herself assertively.

Judging from Akiha's body language, I could tell that even though she had only been the head of a family as a affluent as the Tohnos, she had been groomed to become the family head.

I bowed my head, "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Akiha. I am Freedan Liberia, a friend of your brother." I genuinely acted politely; she didn't know of my true identity, and it was likely that she didn't even know of my presence in the supernatural world. I also didn't introduce myself properly as Shiki was also in the same room.

She replied, "A pleasure to meet you, too, Mr. Freedan." She turned to the maid standing near the corner of the room. "Kohaku, please serve our guest." From the corner, the maid — Kohaku — took a few steps towards us. It was obvious from the difference in name that this wasn't the previous maid, Hisui; however, they looked similar; just a look at her hair colour told me that Kohaku and Hisui were related, likely sisters.

"Mr. Liberia, Mr. Shiki, please take your seats," Kohaku politely requested. Both of us did as she kindly asked of us, Shiki sat on the chair that faced Akiha's, and I sat next to him. After we both sat down, Hisui filled two glasses with water, and placed them down. Kohaku carried a tray of what seemed like traditional Japanese dishes. She placed the plates and bowls down just in front of us.

The dishes looked wonderful, and it was likely that every single ingredient — every single step of her cooking — was handled with utmost care. The dish that was in front of me looked good, and it was more than likely that the taste would be heavenly.

I restrained myself from immediately digging in; I had to show etiquette. Nothing screamed more like a foul ignoramus than someone who completely disregarded table manners. Akiha was the head of the mansion, and I was just the guest, so I had to wait for her to start.

I let my eyes wander around, listlessly observing the room's layout. They wandered everywhere, from the white and blue carpet's designs, to even the fabric of the dinner table; I was looking quite literally everywhere, everywhere except the delicious temptations that were propped just in front of me. 

As my eyes appreciated every surface of the room like a child that had seen a magic trick for the first time, I heard the distinct sound of thin wood smacking against thin wood. I followed the sound, and it was right beside me. It was Shiki, with the two chopsticks clasped between his palms, and his mouth opened, "Itadakimasu," he said.

I sensed malice across the table, and I saw the physical representation of a demon. The eyes that I appraised to be ardent were clear and empty, as if the cerulean-blue colour was clouded with disappointment. Well shaped eyebrows twitched. A sigh escaped.

"Miss Akiha, you seem to be in deep thought," I told the head of the Tohno family. In a moment, as if everything I saw was a blur, her expression returned to its original state.

"Ah, no need to worry, Mr. Freedan," Akiha assured me. She added, "It's just… it seems that my brother truly does need to relearn his etiquette." Those cold, unfeeling words… She reminded me of Alice. I felt that Alice would have been like Akiha if she had more authority than me.

Shiki quickly stopped himself from eating, and he looked at his sister with a tinge of fear, a result of her judgement. 

Shiki wasn't necessarily rude; he acted like a normal person. The problem was that he acted like a commoner as the eldest child of the previous head. To me, it didn't matter. However, judging from what I could feel about Akiha, she was clearly — and I meant 'clearly' — disappointed in him. Actually — no, she looked like a movie director knowing of a bad actor's poor performance; she wasn't disappointed because she had no hopes in the first place, but she still felt negatively looking at it anyway.

Akiha closed her eyes, and she sighed, "...Itadakimasu." She began to eat, trying her best to ignore Shiki's lacking etiquette. I followed suit; I was hungry, and the food that was served looked absolutely wonderful. 

My use of chopsticks needed more practice before they could be considered perfect, but I tried my best to at least look somewhat respectable. And as much as I've referred to Shiki's way of eating as 'crude', he wasn't actually that horrible. We slowly ate — for Shiki and I, we were trying to seem respectable — and it took me around six minutes to clear through all of the food.

Oh, have I described what the food was like? It was absolutely amazing; the flavours were perfectly balanced. I would have loved to explain exactly what made it so delicious, but the best compliment that I could give was that whoever cooked the food was a cook that was as skilled as the Api family's chefs.

"The food was wonderful," I said to no one in particular. The way I said it made it seem more like a widely-accepted fact rather than a statement. However, judging from the others' expressions, what I said was a sentiment shared by Shiki and Akiha. Of course, good food tasted good — that much was obvious — but people had different tastes and preferences, so their concurrence still had merit.

"I'm sure that Kohaku is pleased to hear that, Mr. Freedan," Akiha affirmed. Ah, so it was her that cooked that meal. "Now, it appears that all of us have finished dining, so may I ask why you wished to speak with me?" She asked. Now this was going to be the dangerous part. From what I could tell, she was a calm and reasonable person, but if I blatantly said that I was related to a family of demon-hunters — people that Akiha most likely did not like — she might become hostile.

"I apologise, but this is important, so may I ask Shiki to be left out of this conversation," I requested. It was more than likely that Akiha would dismiss my future statements if Shiki was here, so he needed to be away. When I turned to face him, he looked concerned.

"Be very careful, Freedan," he whispered. I could hear it clearly because of my wonderful hearing, but it was likely that if it was anyone else, they would have heard nothing.

"I see, then would you mind that we have this conversation over tea in the living room?" She suggested. "Anyways — brother, why would your friend require extreme caution?" She asked menacingly. Shiki jolted from her words; it was obvious that he wasn't expecting his sister to hear such a quiet whisper. 

"..." Shiki stayed quiet. He knew that responding in any way would just result in a quick, condescending admonishment.

It was almost guaranteed that in a parallel world, a world where Alice was my older sister, it was likely that she would have been acting like Akiha.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat, interrupting them. "Tea sounds nice," I said. Akiha gave a small nod, and Shiki was now temporarily free. Akiha stood up from her seat, walking to the door; she gestured for me to follow.

Before Akiha stepped out of the dining room, she looked back, towards Shiki. "By the way, brother, since you have a sufficient amount of free time, please study; the midterm exams happen in three weeks," she reminded him. Akiha then looked towards the maid that was following her; she ordered, "Kohaku, please prepare some tea."

Kohaku bowed down respectfully, "Yes, Miss Akiha." She proceeded to exit the dining room, likely headed for the kitchen.

Akiha faced me, "Let us go." I nodded. She began to walk towards the room across the lobby — I followed her.

I heard the faint voice of Shiki as I followed Akiha. "I'll be going to my room now,' he told someone, likely Hisui. It was the logical conclusion — after all, Kohaku was likely preparing tea in the kitchen, and considering that I saw nobody else enter the room, it had to be Hisui.

A door creaked behind me. "Mister Freedan, is everything all right?" Akiha asked. "It seemed like you were looking at something," she explained.

"Yes," I answered. "I was just appreciating the wonderful decorations," I lied. It wasn't like me to lie pointlessly, but the less she knew about my capabilities, the less her chances of becoming apprehensive about me were. 

Akiha opened the door fully, and she walked in the room. I quickly followed her inside, and from what I could see, the room that we were inside was the living room.

The living room — like all of the other rooms I saw earlier — was beautiful. Though, the room evoked more of a feeling of relaxation. I supposed that it was fitting; this was the living room after all. In the middle of the room was a dark rectangular coffee table. Three similar looking sofas surrounded on three of its sides: left, right, and front of the room — from how someone saw it as they entered through the door. Akiha sat down on the sofa to the left.

"Please, sit yourself, Mister Freedan," she offered, her arms laid out to the sofa to the right. "Would you like to talk about it now, or would you like some tea?" She asked.

"I'm afraid that what I'll be talking about might cause an…" I needed to think of a proper word for it. "…upsetting reaction, so maybe tea might help us remain civil." I've only realised now that muttering that was a mistake. It was likely that she would assume my words to be bad.

Akiha looked at me with a suspicious glare. "Oh? May I ask why that is?" She asked coldly, suggesting, "You do not think to 'threaten' the Tohno family, yes?" The tone in her voice darkened with every word she spitted out. Her ardent eyes, despite looking the same, were hiding an unsettling feeling as she peered at me.

Akiha looked at me with a suspicious glare. "Oh? May I ask why that is?" She asked coldly, suggesting, "You do not think to 'threaten' the Tohno family, yes?" The tone in her voice darkened with every word she spitted out. Her ardent eyes, despite looking the same, were hiding an unsettling feeling as she peered at me.

I immediately tried to defuse the situation, "Oh no, I did not mean it as such!" I exclaimed. I explained, "It's not about the Tohnos, Miss Akiha — it's about Shiki." Her threatening aura subsided, but not by much; it was obvious that she found anything regarding her brother to be of importance. I took a moment to take a deep, calming breath, and I repeated, "It's about your brother, Shiki." I elaborated, "Your adopted brother." She immediately glared daggers.

"I know that the Tohno family has non-human — Oni — blood coursing through their vei—" I immediately stopped speaking when she stood up. "...Please calm down!" I yelled. She did not listen, and I could see that the ends of her hair were becoming a tinge of blood-red. Fine, it was time to reveal the bomb. "Shiki is my biological cousin!" I yelled out, hoping that she would actually start listening. She still had an intense glare that could have killed me.

Thankfully, she actually did stop after that. "Hah—?!" She uttered in surprise. Her expression was now that of shock.

"Huuu…" I sighed in temporary relief. "I just wanted to ask this simple question: Why was Shiki Nanaya — someone from an organisation that hunts down demons — adopted to the Tohno family?" I asked. She took a deep breath, and she sat back down. "Oh, and don't worry, Miss Akiha. I'm not a demon hunter," I added, giving an 'innocent' smile.

Creak…

The door swung open, and what came in the turbulent room was a trolley of a teapot and two teacups. I paid no heed to it, and I repeated, "May I ask why?" Kohaku wordlessly walked towards Akiha, giving her some tea; the maid didn't seem to care about what we were talking about. After that, she walked over to me, and she also poured me a cup of tea. "Thank you," I whispered.

Akiha elegantly picked up the saucer and drank her tea. Once she was done sipping, she said, "...Shiki was adopted into our family because… I'm afraid I can't tell you." She took another deep breath, "However, I promise you this, Mister Freedan: the reason for it wasn't malicious. Far from it…" I looked into her clear ocean-blue eyes, and judging from what I saw, she was unlikely to have been lying. Yes, there was a likelihood that she was lying. However, I was a mage, someone used to seeing rat-faced scum constantly lie through their teeth, so I had trust that I wasn't wrong.

As I sat there like a statue, Akiha asked, "Do you have any other questions, Mister Freedan?" To be honest, there wasn't.

Ah, there was one.

"Knowing that I'm related to him, are you not concerned that I'll try and steal him from you?" I asked. It was a slightly light-hearted question, and I said it with a tone that seemed to be more of a joke.

Akiha gave a beautiful smile. "I feel as though you're not the kind of person to do that, Mister Freedan," she answered. She continued, "Besides… since he's legally not an adult yet, he can't escape the country, so I should be able to track him down." Her smile was still there, despite the threatening words I heard.

"I only want what is good for Shiki, Miss Akiha," I subconsciously made an attempt to appease her. "Ah, speaking of what's good… I've heard that you took his phone?" I asked. She nodded in response. "That's not good at all, Miss Akiha. Phones are extremely useful, and you can trust my word on that; after all, I used to avoid technology as well."

"They have useful sources of information with just quick search, and they allow for near-instantaneous communication regardless of time and place." She was listening to my words with a focused gaze. Actually, there was another useful thing for it: "Also, you can attach tracking devices on them, so if they are ever lost, you can use it to find them." Yes, that was a very useful feature. It seemed that Akiha was now convinced. "It's like a mystic code," I blabbed.

"So like magic?" She asked seriously— Wait, she knew what mystic codes were? I supposed that I should have expected it. After all, expecting the clan head of a family of demon-blooded people to not be wary of other supernatural things was foolish.

However, I didn't question her knowledge as she had asked as if magic was just normally mundane things like the weather. "More like magecraft rather than true magi—" I blabbed once more. It seemed like my mouth was like Arihiko's; I wasn't shutting up.

"Wait…" she muttered. "You're a mage?" She asked. So she did know about us. She furrowed her eyebrows, and I even saw Kohaku shift her posture to be ready for a confrontation in the corner of my peripheral vision.

"Don't worry. 'The reason is not malicious,' Miss Akiha," I copied her earlier words, hoping that she wasn't a hypocrite.

She gave a slight frown, but an innocent smile that I had given her made her… frown even more. "Just like how I trust you in spite of having demon-blood, please trust me in spite of me being a magus." She sighed, and I was thankful that she let it go easily.

"..." She paused. "Anyways, phones…" She said with an air of contemplation, and almost as if her earlier suspicions were gone, she returned to her earlier thoughts — the phone. "I'll let Shiki use it, but that's only if I can track him," she declared.

I — Aiden 'Freedan Liberia' Api — was great at many things. It seemed that I was even a wonderful persuader.

"Wait, Miss Akiha. I don't think Shiki will accept that," Kohaku interjected. She slowly approached Akiha as she spoke.

What would Shiki not like about that? He could use his smartphone again, so everything was all well and good, right? "Of course he wouldn't," Akiha said. She looked at me and observed my confusion. "But still, explain why," Akiha demanded. Akiha knew what Kohaku meant, but she asked Kohaku for me to understand. Kohaku cleared her throat, and she explained, "Mister Shiki would consider it as a breach of his privacy if he were to be tracked, Mister Liberia."

That didn't make sense. What part of that was a breach in his privacy?

I thought deeply about it, yet even after careful consideration of Shiki's personality, I saw no reason for him to reject the chance for him to be allowed use of his smartphone. To be honest, Shiki was actually quite fortunate, when compared to me; I couldn't head outside of my family estate, and my room had plenty of security cameras to make sure that no outsider mage family kidnapped me.

"Kohaku, give my older brother's phone back to him once we get a tracking device on it," Akiha ordered, and Kohaku nodded. I then drank some of the tea that the maid had served just a minute ago. The tea was refined, exquisite even; it was bitter, but also sweet — the flavours were complex, yet every single flavour was pronounced.

I savoured the heat of the tea in my mouth before I swallowed it. It was easily the best tea I've had since I came to Japan. However, I've tasted better; nothing could beat the wonderful taste of the tea served by the servants of Lady Barthomeloi back in England. Still, it deserved praise. "This is quite good," I said, my lips curling up.

"Ahem… The tea was wonderful, but I have to go," I said, standing up. I had nothing else that I had to do here. I've already eaten dinner with them, had a conversation with Akiha, and I enjoyed Kohaku's tea — the most important part was obviously the tea. Though, jesting aside, I genuinely had no reason to stay, so it was best for me to head back home.

"It is understandable, Mister Freedan," Akiha sympathised. She turned to Kohaku, "Kohaku, please escort him to the outside of the mansion."

"Yes, Miss Akiha," she obeyed her employer. "Follow me, Mister Liberia." Quickly, she walked over to me, and she escorted me outside of the living room to the lobby. And as I walked over to the door outside of the mansion, I heard a series of footsteps from the floor above me, and when I turned around, I saw Shiki. He waved his arms as a sign of goodbye. I did the same.

Our farewells weren't wordless, however. The both of us simultaneously said our 'goodbyes', and I finally exited.

Once I took a few steps outside, I felt an unpleasant sensation, a horrible feeling of cold. From what it felt like, it was around five degrees centigrade. Thankfully, the clothes that I was wearing were mystic codes, so I was still warm and snug. The reason that I even felt the chilly wind was because my face was exposed.

Also, mystic codes — in simplest terms — could be considered magical items. My stylish, dashing choice of outfits were there for practical reasons: all of them were worn for protection, and they all were conceptually built to keep what was out from the inside — and to keep what was inside from going outside.

I chose to wear them because I knew that going to the Tohno estate was dangerous, and Akiha earlier was about to give my clothing a reason for use that wasn't just for looking beautiful.

As I slowly walked towards my vehicle, I looked up towards the sky and gazed at the moon; there was only a thin streak of it that was illuminated, and from what I could assume — it was the first day of the waxing crescent in the Lunar Cycle. A soft breeze passed by as I looked up, and the cold wind whistled past my face. "It's way too cold…" I muttered under my breath, and a fog formed as I sighed. Deciding that the chill was far too unbearable, I quickly jogged towards my car, and I drove it to the gate.

Unlike earlier, the gate opened itself automatically. "Have a pleasant rest of your evening, Mister Liberia," Kohaku said through a speaker. I did not respond, as it was likely that it sent out voice messages, but did not receive them. Though, even if it sent and received voice messages, I wouldn't have replied; Kohaku only said that out of courtesy.

As I slowly drove past through the twists and turns, a dog barked and sprinted on the sidewalk with great speed. It was almost as if it was running away from something. I ignored the loud animal and kept my eyes on the road, and just around twenty metres away, a white-haired man with a refined, yet barbaric furskin coat walked on the same sidewalk, as if he was following the dog.

I aimlessly gazed at him more and more. With every passing second, I could feel a burning, stinging sensation of bloodlust emanating from myself. I knew what this feeling meant; it was my instincts as someone with the blood of the Nanaya clan that coursed through my veins. The instinctual will to kill those who weren't human. However, it was watered down, and since my family only sought out Dead Apostles to hunt, it was only Dead Apostles that I genuinely felt the bloodlust for, so I knew that this man was one.

Normally, I would have ignored it. My agreement with Ciel would have only been with Dead Apostles and Undead near my home, but this was different, the Tohno estate was just a hundred metres from here. Out of pure instinct, red eyes like ruby turned into blue eyes like aquamarine, casting a faint glow.

I immediately parked my car way further away, to the side. I grabbed five ripped pages of the bible scattered around my outfits, and I took a deep breath. The image of a hammer striking down activated my Magic Circuits. I remembered how Ciel made the Black Key she gave me yesterday, and I turned the five pages of the bible into five Black Keys.

"Temper!" I yelled out. My magic circuits activated, producing excess heat. I reinforced my whole body. I reinforced the elasticity of my tendons, reinforced my muscle's ability to contract and relax, reinforced the cushioning of my ligaments, and lastly, I reinforced my bones' hardness and toughness.

I took a deep breath, and I exited the car. However, before I did fight the Dead Apostle, I pointed my arm to the sky, and I began my incantation, "Enveloping heat encompasses dunes of sand… Yearning flames burn the land… Fireworks!" As I started my Aria, I used my Odic force to jumpstart the spell, but I used the surrounding mana to power it, turning it into a ball of golden flame. The spherically shaped flames then shot out to the sky, and it flew to around two hundred metres above from where I stood, and it blew up once it reached that height. Hopefully, Ciel would be able to notice it and come to help me.

I took a deep breath, and I prepared for the battle. I looked over to him, and sure as it was, he had a filthy crimson silhouette, and unlike Ciel's aura, the deep red encompassed every single part of him. I held the Black Keys exactly like how Ciel held hers, and I threw all five of them at the same time. They whistled through the air at a speed of a hundred metres per second, and in just half a second, they struck. I aimed for the heart and head, but I was only able to hit his torso.

Almost immediately, he looked back, and from what I could see, a scowl painted the expression on his face. He said something in Russian, and in a single step, a single leap, he jumped high into the air, and he dove down to where I was, with a gigantic cleaver in his hands. It took him less than two seconds for him to cross a span of fifty metres towards me, but I reacted in the blink of an eye. I hopped to a nearby wall, planted my feet, and as I prepared to leap, six pages of the bible became five Black Keys. I performed the sequence at such speed that by the time that I was able to throw four, I was still preparing to leap towards him.

"Hyaaa—!" I yelled as I performed a Nanaya technique. Before he could even land to where I originally was, I had already thrown four Black Keys to where he was going to land. The air whistled as the Black Keys brushed past the wind at their earlier speed of a hundred metres per second. However, even though I had thrown the Black Keys a fifth of a second ago, with the high-speed movement techniques of the Nanaya arts, I overtook the Black Keys, and I reached the Dead Apostle sooner than the Black Keys that I had thrown.

I used a single page per Black Key, but I had used two pages to construct a special one. That special Black Key was being held onto with my right hand, shaped into a two-handed sword rather than the lengthy dirks of traditional Black Keys. It would take one-tenths of a second for him to land, one-fifths of a second for me to strike him with my newly formed sword, and one-thirds of a second for the projectiles to reach him.

CLANG!

I swung my sword as fast as I could, yet he casually blocked it with his machete. "W—" I tried to ask something, but before I could voice out a single syllable, a spark of orange flames burst from his other hand. I covered my face with the sleeves of my overcoat as I quickly dashed back. In half a second, I was twenty metres back.

I took another deep breath, giving my muscles the oxygen that they desperately needed, and I briefly took a look at my overcoat's sleeves. They were mostly fine, however, there was some charring on the surface. It was surprising, in less than a moment's contact with his flames, my overcoat was charring? My overcoat was a mystic code designed to be durable, for it to even take damage meant that if it wasn't for my timely dodge, my skin would have melted just making contact with it.

"Why do you bother me, Executor?" The red silhouette asked with a hoarse voice, now speaking in a language that I understood. He continued, "I must say… it is impressive for you to sniff me out so soon… Truly, you are befitting of being dogs of the church." This man was dangerous, and from what he said, he wasn't a Dead Apostle that had long been here in Souya. I needed more information…

"Tell me, Dead Apostle, what is your name?" He kept his eyes trained towards me, quietly thinking to himself.

He responded, "I have no name to give you." He raised his arm up, and in just a moment three flames formed into hands. They glowed brightly, illuminating the night, and they were hot enough for me to easily feel the heat that released from them. I was twenty metres back.

As he prepared his attacks, I was thinking of one simple thought: how to get him away from the Tohno estate.

I turned the two-handed sword back into paper, and I turned them into two separate Black Keys. His raised arms aimed down towards me, and I crouched down. The very next moment, I was already behind him, and I tried to throw the two Black Keys point-blank. However, before the dirks left my hand, two flaming hands flew towards me, seeking to incinerate me to ashes.

I planted my feet on the ground once more, and I avoided the hands. Once I was able to steer clear of the dangerous flames, I gazed at the sight in front of me, and my eyes went wide with shock.

We were standing on concrete — a material that only started melting at temperatures above one thousand degrees Celsius — so why was it that the place where I was standing just moments ago turn into a puddle of molten goop!?

My magic circuits produced more heat as I prepared for a spell. "Flaming Lance!" I used the spell that I had just started learning yesterday. Four lances rapidly formed as the air around me cooled. Then I added, "Fire converges to a point!" The four lances became a single one. However, they didn't fly off towards the man. The aria that I developed yesterday didn't take into account when I sent them off as projectiles.

Magecraft required self-hypnosis to properly function, so the aria was required to have them work. That fact was most apparent on new spells. Though, there was a simple solution. "Flaming Lance, fire!" The single spell traversed at speeds that broke the sound barrier. Using my family's Thaumaturgic Attribute: Consumption, I performed an A-ranked spell with the aria length of a C-ranked spell, and I fired it off. It had the destructive capability of blowing through a house, so this was more than able to damage the man.

It was a spell that was sure to damage the Dead Apostle, but the lance was unable to reach its target. No, it dissipated before it could even come close to the Dead Apostle.

"Huh?" I muttered out in shock. My spell dissipated as if it never existed. "What happened? Answer me, Dead Apostle!" I screamed at my opponent.

"Thank you… for the warmth," he said to me in gratitude, as if my spell was a pleasant gift. His answer made no sense, but what if his magecraft was similar to mine, where he absorbed the heat of the air to further enhance his spells.

I joked, "If you're so thankful, then leave this place." I continued, but this time, I yelled angrily, "You have nothing to find here!" At this point, I was merely pleading. Knowing that one of my more powerful spells was completely ineffective wasn't giving me any hope.

"If you wish… Executor." My eyebrows raised at his response. That was surprising; Dead Apostles were egotistical, and they preyed on humans, even hunting them for sport at times. This situation was far too weird.

"Is that so?" I asked rhetorically.

"Your flames have momentarily satisfied my need for warmth, so I'm showing you my gratitude," he answered. He further elaborated, "As long as you don't attack me, anyway." It sounded far too good to be true; he knew that he had the advantage, so why was he following my request? "And so, I ask you this: Shall we stop this confrontation?" 

DO I CHOOSE: [As long as you stop and never come here again,] or [No deal, Dead Apostle. You're just trying to trick me.]

I thought deeply about my choice, and I prayed that he kept his word. "As long as you stop and never come here again," I hoped for the best. The Dead Apostle gave a small nod, before he leaped away to the direction of the city. "Those are some people dead," I whispered to myself. However, it wasn't my problem. That was far away from the Tohno Estate and my home, so I had no reason to help those people.

I looked in the direction of where the white-haired Dead Apostle went, to the bright lights of cityscapes five kilometres away. "I should head back home…" I muttered to myself, running back to my car.

I opened the door to my house, and as I entered, I saw Alice sleeping on the couch with a book on hand. The book was titled 'An in-depth analysis of the Digestive System.' I nudged my little sister to wake her up, "You should be sleeping in your room, Alice." She did not wake up. I sighed, and I gently scooped her up, carefully walking to her room. I carefully turned the doorknob, and I put her on her bed. I whispered to her, "Good night, Alice."

After that, I walked through a few hallways, and I entered my workshop. I quickly went towards the Black Key that Ciel gave me yesterday, and I used my Pure Eyes in conjunction with my Structural Analysis to 'see' the history of the weapon. It was how I even learned to make Black Keys from pages of the Holy Bible in the first place.

I carefully placed it on both the palms of my hand, and I began the arduous process of absorbing the 'memories' of the object. This time, I was using Structural Analysis to absorb the 'skill' on how it was used. If I had only absorbed two more days' worth of memories, I would have been able to properly aim my earlier Black Keys — the ones I made — towards his head and heart.

"Huh… I didn't know that they could immobilise someone by striking the Black Keys in the shadow of potential opponents…" That was a golden find. Though, considering that the immobilisation lasted just a second — from the 'memories' that it was used for — it wasn't exactly foolproof. Still, I was thankful for the fact that I had requested an old Black Key rather than a fresh, brand-new one.

A new Black Key didn't have the 'memories.' That's why I requested from Ciel yesterday for an old one; so that I could absorb the 'memories' of it. If Ciel had given me a brand-new Black Key yesterday, then I wouldn't have even been able to throw Black Keys properly.

After around two more hours of absorbing the 'memories,' I concluded that it was time to sleep. It was far, far too late at night; it was now eleven in the evening.