Test Subject

"Did you really have to do that?" Kisuke asked after they got away from the cafe.

While grinning, Loki replied, "I also need insurance myself. Though I didn't really expect that you're actually annoyed by her."

"Annoyed?" Ais asked in confusion.

"You felt it right? The moment you looked into her eyes. You also noticed that everyone around also felt the same as you."

Recalling the feelings she got, Ais nodded at Loki.

"However, this guy here felt annoyed instead."

Finally understanding what she meant, Ais looked at Kisuke in admiration.

"It's nothing impressive. I just hate anything that influences my mind." Kisuke downplayed his ability while also changing the topic, "Anyway, another annoying eye landed on me."

Patting his shoulder, Loki tried to comfort him, "Revealing yourself to her now is better because she still underestimates you. Just give her the wrong impressions like what you're doing to me."

Smiling, Kisuke answered, "I wonder what you're talking about~?"

Changing the topic once again, Loki asked, "Anyway, are the two of you on a date?"

"Yep~. But we're just unlucky enough to choose a cafe that some Goddesses would coincidentally visit. However, thanks to that, I also figured that something out of the ordinary would also happen in today's festival."

"Oh? Do you also get it? True. That bitch might be cooking something up, but I can't help but think that there's something else."

Kisuke's expression became serious when he heard Loki's words, "Is this perhaps the intuition of the Trickster Goddess?"

Sniggering, Loki replied, "You could call it that."

"I see. Then see you around." Kisuke and Yoruichi then suddenly changed their direction, separating from the two.

Not minding their actions, Loki just said to their leaving backs, "Our Familia would surely get involved in an incident in the future."

"The first term, right? I'll give you the information that we'll be able to gather, but don't count on that." Kisuke replied without turning his back.

"That's enough." Loki then dragged Ais in the opposite direction.

Once they got away from the crowd, Yoruichi asked, "What should we do now? Loki just dug a hole for you on her side."

"Not a problem. I would have done the same if I'm in her position. It's just that we have to adjust our plans for a bit as this will also make the supplies from the Loki Familia arrive faster."

"What about that Freya? It seems like she's not an easy person to deal with."

"It's fine. Her intentions are easier to read than Loki's. With that, I also planned to follow her. Go back to the girls first. Make sure they're safe." Kisuke instructed. Yoruichi and he knew that a commotion would happen today and wanted the girl's identities safe because they might have to use their true powers in the crowd and that isn't ideal for now.

After their goodbye kisses, Yoruichi immediately left to join the other girls while Kisuke went into a dark alley and left with a brown cloak and plain white mask without any holes in it. By blending his Ki with the surrounding and being one with the world, Kisuke was able to walk through the streets without him being detected. As long as he doesn't get too close to someone strong or focus his attention on someone too much, no one would be able to detect him.

Going back to the cafe, Freya already left. However, her lingering aura is still detectable so he carefully and quietly followed it. It took him about an hour to track her and this led him to the colosseum that the main event of the MonsterPhilia is supposed to happen in. By now, people are already panicking as monsters that are to be used in the taming show apparently escaped and are now roaming around.

Kisuke ignored the monsters and went inside the storage unit and only found cages and intoxicated Ganesha Familia members. Freya is nowhere to be found, however, he did notice the high level of that charming aura lingering around and came into a conclusion, 'I knew that she would be able to control people with her charm if she unleashed it after talking with her today, but I didn't think it would also be effective on monsters that don't have a complete soul. Looks like I have to create some countermeasures against this.'

Kisuke left the colosseum and followed Freya's aura and 20 minutes later, Kisuke found her on a tower in Daedalus Street, overlooking something, 'She sure does like towers.'

Looking towards the direction she is watching, Kisuke found a familiar white-haired young Adventurer, 'Bell Cranel...'

Bell Cranel just started adventuring and is a member of the Miach Familia. Kisuke and Bell only met in the Hostess of Fertility and haven't even talked with each other, however, he knew him due to the fact that Sona, Aika, and Koneko frequents in Miach Familia to buy their potions and would sometimes meet him, 'I see... So he's the one that caught this peeping lady's attention. I guess that's understandable as he has a very rare pure soul.'

Currently, Bell, along with another friend, Syr, is being chased by an Orc. Although the Orc can't keep up with them, sooner or later, the Orc would catch up because they can't match its stamina. But either way, Kisuke doesn't intend to help because he believes that Bell is perfectly capable of dealing with that monster.

And just as he predicted, the Orc caught up with them and it seems that the Orc's target is only Syr. Knowing that they can't escape anymore, Bell had no choice but to face the monster to protect Syr.

Although Bell could keep up with its movements, he can only nick its skin with his dagger, 'Oh, come on. You're fast enough to get its eyes and you'll be able to escape!' Kisuke, however, can only feel frustration as he watches him fight. Bell's physical parameters don't match his skills and techniques. It was like he's watching Ichigo all over again, but this time, Bell doesn't have Ichigo's battle instinct that improves the longer he fights.

'At this rate, both of them are really going to die.' Kisuke then looked towards the peeping lady who seems to be enjoying the show, 'Is this her goal? Or maybe she just doesn't care about the result?'

While contemplating if he should help, Kisuke suddenly recalled something, 'Right! I still have that prototype Sacred Gear in the form of a knife which I made even before the one I made for mom.'

Pulling out a nondescript knife from his inventory, Kisuke wrote a note and attached it on the knife with a string before throwing it towards Bell, gracing his cheek before it landed on the pavement in front of him.

This action immediately caught Freya's attention and looked towards the origin of the knife and saw a cloak and masked figure waving at her before disappearing from her sight in an instant. Freya was shocked that she didn't notice that someone was following her and frowned deeply when the stalker disappeared.

On Bell's side, he was surprised that something just went flying beside his face and a knife appearing in front of him. However, the situation doesn't allow him to think much and immediately grabbed the knife as his knife was already reduced into pieces.

After he got the knife, Bell created a bit of a distance between him and the Orc while dragging Syr with him. While at it, he also went through the note that says,

"Hello there, young Adventurer~! It's dangerous to go alone! Take this! This dagger would augment your basic abilities and is sharp enough to match your abilities. And whenever it breaks, it also restores itself after some time. Convenient, right?

From the Otherworldly Merchant~!

P.S. Only you can use this properly."

The knife that Kisuke gave Bell is just a simple strengthening gear but it has two of the Sacred Gear's features. The first one is an automatic restoration. While it can't be taken inside the body, it still has self-repair capabilities. The second one is only the host of the Sacred Gear could use it and it would still grow along with its host. If Bell is lucky, the spiritual particles inside the Sacred Gear would develop its own rudimentary intelligence and assist him in the future.

Not intending to watch the end result, Kisuke immediately left the scene thinking that he found a test subject.

Editors:

Alexander

28th00

Garan