23 Who? Princess?
Italy, Rome
The sun has risen and a new day has begun.
Above the clouds, there was a lone mage flying through the sky at a speed faster than a commercial plane.
*Beep!* *Beep!* *Beep!*
The phone in his pocket vibrated as it let out a continuous yet annoying noise.
"Oh, it's break time." Touma took it out to close the timer for a second before he halted in the air and rapidly descended to the ground.
He used a simple illusion spell to turn himself invisible from ordinary people and rapidly decreased altitude until a city came into his view.
Touma landed on the ground and looked at the signs and the language the pedestrians were talking.
'It seems I am in Italy or Rome to be exact.' Touma thought as he walked in a random direction, deciding to take a stroll while recuperating mana.
He stopped at a coffee shop for a simple breakfast, but then his ears perked up from the news on TV.
"...At 2:34 pm in Oslo, an unexpected earthquake hit the mountains, causing casualties on both tourists and locals alike…"
Touma raised an eyebrow at the TV as he grabbed his food and took a seat.
'Coincidence? A disaster struck the place I was about to visit.' Thought Touma, then he created an illusion barrier around himself so as not to be disturbed, and called up his Grimoire. 'A little peek into the future shouldn't hurt anyone.'
But just as he was about to cast a spell, he felt mana gather in front of him and slowly the figure of a young woman appeared on the seat opposite Touma.
"Good morning, mister mage." She greeted him cheerfully. "I am Alice Louise, a Hime-Miko from Witenagemot and I would need your help in one matter."
'It doesn't look like she has any ill intentions towards me, but I can tell she's someone important, maybe because she's a Hime-Miko? At times like I hate the lack of information!' Touma clicked his tongue as he looked into her green eyes before resuming his meal.
Alice obviously noticed it, but chose to ignore it and proceeded to talk.
"I am really surprised, you know? I am known as the strongest witch in the heavens, but I have never seen anyone with so much magical power who isn't a Campione! Wait, maybe you actually are one and have a concealment authority?" Alice asked jokingly.
"No, I am not (yet). I am just a mage without any affiliation." Said Touma as he finished the last bite. "Besides, what does the strongest witch need my help for?"
"This." Alice pointed her finger at the TV, which showed pictures of the disaster in Oslo. "That was the result of a Heretic God descending into our realm."
Touma's eyes widened in surprise, but then he raised an eyebrow at Alice.
"So you are asking me to kill the Heretic God?"
"No, no. You misunderstand me." Alice quickly denied it while raising both hands. "I would never ask anyone to take on a suicidal task, it would damage my reputation as the strongest witch! My only request is that you help us keep the casualties to a minimum."
"And what about the Heretic God?"
"We will…buy time until one of the Campiones arrives." Alice clenched the tip of her dress in frustration. "Even with my power, it is close to impossible against their authorities."
The atmosphere changed as her previous cheeriness was replaced by serious and frustrated expressions.
"...Close to impossible you say?" Touma chuckled as certain memories flashed in his mind.
"Huh?"
"Listen, even if the chances are close to zero, it will never be zero! So there is always a probability of winning!"
'I can assure you as a veteran gacha player that I am speaking the truth!'
His statement took Alice aback and didn't know how to respond for a few seconds.
"But that's–"
"Straight-up suicide? You're goddamn right!" Touma laughed as he spread his arms open. "But isn't this how they become Campione? Whether by their skills or pure luck, those foolish humans gambled their lives and challenged the Heretic Gods just to emerge victorious in the end!"
At this moment, Touma's Unique Skill [Chosen One] had activated automatically, and with his charisma and luck boosted, Alice had her attention focused completely on him and was listening closely without even noticing.
"That's so…foolish." Alice said after a brief pause.
"I am aware."
"Now I don't know whether you are cheering me up or telling me to kill a Heretic God." Alice sighed, but there was a smile on her face.
"Anyway, I will do it. I will help you out, but I will expect a payment for that."
"I know, I will make sure that you will be rewarded according to your efforts."
"Good." Touma nodded and got up from his seat. "So when do we start?"
Alice smiled.
"Right now."
…
"So what is your name?" Alice asked as they both walked down streets side by side.
"I'm Kami–Sato Kazuma." Touma lied with a straight face, but with Alice's incredible observation skills, it didn't go unnoticed.
"Did you just correct yourself in the middle of a sentence?"
"No."
"Then is Sato Kazuma your real name?"
"No, it isn't."
"Riiight…" Alice rolled her eyes. "But what can you do? I know you are powerful, but I want to know what you're capable of."
"I don't want to say too much, but I am quite confident in my skills whether in battle or support roles, but I would prefer the first scenario."
"And what makes you so confident?"
"You will see it soon." Touma said mysteriously to annoy her, which Alice knew and pouted. "By the way, where are we going?"
"To the meeting place between Copper-Black Cross and Bronze-Black Cross organizations. They are responsible for the magical side of the world so they will discuss how to handle the situation." Alice explained.
"Like the History Compilation Committee?" Asked Touma as he recalled an earlier encounter.
"Yes, they operate similarly but they are fundamentally different." Alice said and halted her steps. "Here, we arrived."
They stopped at the entrance of a luxurious five-star hotel, with many people circulating in and out.
The duo entered the main building and Touma was about to head to the receptionist, but he was stopped by Alice.
"There is no need to do that, we can just head directly to the meeting room. They wouldn't notify the civilians about their super secret meeting." Alice laughed as she guided Touma to the room.
They passed through guests and staff members until they reached a room at the end of the corridor.
"Now push mana into the doorknob and tilt it to the left." Alice instructed while pointing her finger at it.
Then Touma reached his hand to the doorknob and pushed mana into it before tilting it as he was instructed to do.
Suddenly, the door started moving upwards on its own and revealed a secret passage that led to the underground.
"Well, that's interesting." Touma commented and entered with Alice following behind.
The secret passage walls weren't made of cobblestone or illuminated by torches like they were portrayed in movies. It had an expensive red carpet on the floor, and paintings hanging on marble walls among other luxurious decorations.
The duo silently walked in the hallway until they met the security guards who were guarding the door.
They entered a fighting stance once they saw Touma, but stopped themselves upon recognizing Alice.
"Good morning, Princess Alice and her guest. They are inside." The guard said as he opened the doors for them.
'Wait, Alice is a princess?' Touma looked at her in surprise, but Alice stuck her tongue out. 'This little…'
They walked past the doors and saw a massive room with two long tables facing each other on opposite sides, indicating the two rival Mage organizations.
When the duo came into view, the assembly paused and turned their attention to them.
"Good morning, Princess Alice." An old man suddenly rose from his seat and walked towards them before bowing slightly. "Your Excellency has arrived at just the right moment, we were just about to discuss our plans on how to deal with the Heretic God."
Only when the old man finished speaking, did he notice that there was a young man next to Alice, looking at them with a neutral expression.
"And who might this gentleman be?"
"This is a mage I personally recruited for this operation, his name is Sato–"
"My name is Honjou Masayuki, it is a pleasure to meet you all, mages of the Copper- Black Cross and Bronze- Black Cross." Touma cut in and introduced himself while bowing slightly, hiding the grin that threatened to erupt into hysterical laughter.
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There is one chapter ahead on my pat lion (link in my profile) and please throw your kidney stones at me.
