The Necromancer and the Priestess (21)

"Ah... Leon, this is my childhood friend, El," Yin Mei said, with a slightly forced smile. "El, this is Leon. He's been helping me with my magic research..."

El looked Leon up and down. So this was the famous space mage Leon? He remembered - that was right, wasn't he the one that was researching that magic with Celes that caused her to go unconscious? His dislike increased by another degree. No, this sort of frivolous guy wasn't any good... he needed to get rid of him immediately!

El glared at Leon with a pair of sharp eyes, sending a shiver down the man's spine. He immediately became guarded. So these were the eyes of an infamous criminal...!?

No, they were just the eyes of someone eating vinegar without realizing.

"But, this person..." Leon spoke warily, and Yin Mei knew what he was trying to say, seeing the suspicion on his face.

"I-it's my fault!" Yin Mei said, pushing El so that now he was the one who was behind her.

"What?" Even El was slightly confused, the both of the men looking to Yin Mei with startled expressions.

Yin Mei put on an uneasy expression, looking down slightly as she put to use her beautiful face, that pair of watery blue eyes able to evoke all sorts of feelings of pity. "It's because of me that El did all those things... so don't blame him...!"

El was confused. Could it be that Celes was blaming herself all this time? He couldn't let her do something like that. Someone like him didn't deserve...

On the other hand, Leon was also confused. The high priestess... was the reason that the most infamous criminal of the continent committed all the crimes that he did? Could that be possible? But this revelation of their relationship as childhood friends was shocking enough...

Yin Mei chose this moment to raise her eyes, looking to Leon with a pleading gaze.

Leon was thus immediately KO'ed. "... Alright, I'll believe you." He finally said, with slight reluctance. He was still suspicious about this guy, but seeing Yin Mei's expression, he couldn't bring himself to say anymore. It was clear that there was some sort of painful past associated with all this. "But, what about the thing with the demon...?" He pointedly looked at Eve's unconscious figure, implying how they had seemed to know each other.

At first glance, neither El nor Eve looked like demons, and appeared almost identical to humans. Among demons, there were many races, some appearing less human than others - from horns, to scales, to wings and tails, there were a variety of ways that humans distinguished demons from themselves. Aside from appearance, the other way was magic. Demonic magic was slightly different from human magic.

Though, there were ways to disguise someone's magic to make them completely indistinguishable from that of a human, Eve hadn't done that when she was releasing her aura in anger. Due to this, Leon could feel that this person was "not human".

Although he didn't know what demonic magic felt like, he could certainly tell that this person used something fundamentally different from human magic.

If Yin Mei had to describe the difference, then she would say that the magic demons used could be classified into two types. Firstly, an "elemental-less" type of general use magic that has a basis in science, and secondly, hereditary magic, such as the vampire's blood magic to give an example.

For mages, it was quite easy to tell the difference in feel, though it was hard to find the right words to describe just how it felt different.

As a result, Leon could tell that although this girl may look human, she was most certainly a demon.

And with the conversation between them, he could infer... that El, might also be a demon.

Though, in that case, how was it that he was the childhood friend of the high priestess? Wouldn't that be impossible? Since there had not been a demon in the last thousands of years. Even if some demons survived past the closing of the demon gate, cut off from their world and source of power, they would find it hard pressed to survive. After several thousand years, they would be dead, and their descendants no different from human.

Yin Mei looked away at this, not exactly knowing how to answer. The hatred between humans and demons... hm? Actually, since it had been so long since the last opening of the demon bridge, the hatred between demons and humans wasn't actually as strong as it had been in the distant past. So maybe, if she just said the truth, Leon wouldn't mind? She tilted her head, trying to judge just how severe the racism between these two races really was.

"This is because..." Her expression became troubled, not sure what to say.

This sort of troubled expression immediately caused Leon to come up with all sorts of reasons in his head to answer his own question, all equally tragic and epic stories to rival those that the priestesses would come up with during their free time.

"No, there's no need to say anymore." He said, surprising Yin Mei. "I understand. It must be something too difficult to talk about." He continued, and Yin Mei tilted her head in confusion, a multitude of question marks practically written on her face. "I'm sure it's a terrible story...!"

... If you say so. Yin Mei didn't know what happened, but if Leon said so, then sure. She'd accept this result. "I see. That's good." She answered woodenly, before quickly changing the subject. "Let's go back to the camp."

"Ah, but we can't go back with..." Leon looked toward El.

"Oh, there's no issues there," Yin Mei said, and El promptly changed his appearance. His hair turned black, his eyes green, and his height appeared to shrink a little, while his face appeared more gentle and scholarly than before.

Leon let out a voice of admiration. This sort of thorough transformation magic was really hard to do - there weren't even signs of any magic use, very skillful! But, it also sent a shiver up his spine. Skillful, and just as dangerous. No wonder this guy could escape capture for so long! With such skilled transformation magic, there was no way that he could ever get caught.

"Just call him Kiel," Yin Mei said, and Leon blinked.

"Kiel? Why is that name so familiar?" He said, trying to remember.

"Probably because Kiel is a professor at the magic academy," Yin Mei said and Leon gaped. A professor at the magic academy? That prestigious magic academy in the capital?

"This, wait. Could it be that...." Leon trailed off, staring at El.

"Kiel was El's alternate identity while he was residing in the capital," Yin Mei answered, as they walked through the forest.

To think that the greatest criminal of the continent had been hiding under their very noses this entire time...! And as an honorable professor of the great magic academy of all things! Leon felt that his three world views had been destroyed.

"Ah!" Yin Mei suddenly shouted out, stopping in place.

"What is it?" Leon and El asked at the same time, and immediately El glared at Leon, who didn't know what he did wrong.

"I almost forgot about that thing," Yin Mei said, running back to where they had been and picking up Eve's corpse (unconscious body), carrying her back over like a rice sack.

"You should've just left that thing there," El said, his expression one of distaste as he could barely stand to even lay eyes on that girl. She had been such an eyesore during his return to the demon world, that he simply wanted to be rid of her as soon as possible.

"No. She'll be useful," Yin Mei said. She had gone through all that trouble to try out a new magic technique, there's no way she would abandon her experimental subject just like that right?

"What do you plan to do with her?" Leon asked curiously, as they once again continued walking.

"Hum. Something interesting," Yin Mei answered vaguely, and Leon gave a huh sound before falling silent. The awkward silence between the trio continued until they finally reached the camp again.

With Yin Mei and El both disguising El and Eve's demonic aura, the barrier could not sense any difference between them and a human at all, letting the group in smoothly.

They had already been gone for several hours, but surprisingly, Rosella and Kai were still at the place they had left them. They weren't speaking, and were sitting on opposite sides of a campfire, the air between them heavy and awkward. Yin Mei thought that by leaving them alone, they would be able to solve the issues between them, but in the end what had happened? Did it result in the opposite effect? But no, the fate between them shouldn't be that weak that it would so easily break apart, right?

Yin Mei tried to recall her experience in the other worlds, but it had been too varied for her to give a concrete answer. Sometimes, it seemed that the fate of these protagonists were actually weak, and other times, it seemed like as if everything moved in their favor.

So, Yin Mei really didn't know how things would turn out.

"Oh, you guys are finally back..." Kai trailed off, staring at the new addition to their party, and the girl that El was carrying over his shoulder. Along the way, El had taken Eve from Celes - after all, there was no way that he would let her carry that thing the entire way.

"Ah! Master Kiel! Didn't you go overseas to study the magic of the eastern islands?" Rosella exclaimed, startled to see him here.

This whole studying the magic of the eastern islands thing was an excuse that Yin Mei had prepared for Kiel, asking for leave from the magic academy for him, just in case he wanted to use this identity again when he came back. Sigh, the things that she did for this guy! He needed to appreciate her more, instead of running off to the demon world without even saying anything!

She inwardly pouted, but in her heart, had already basically forgiven him. She knew that it would be hard on him if he didn't, but was just upset that he had barely said anything before disappearing. But after all, one look at the pretty face of his, and a person would be unable to stay angry... Damn, that sort of beauty was truly unfair!

Well, Celestina also had that sort of beauty though.

El glanced toward Yin Mei, and then smiled without missing a beat. "Yes, I came back when I received news that the demon bridge had opened."

Kai looked at El up and down. This person... wasn't he the famed Sir Kiel? He had been a very popular topic among the priestesses of the inner sanctum, as he was the high priestess's childhood friend. That meant that that girl really was... his eyes turned to Yin Mei, but still doubted the conclusion that he had come to.

Although the signs seemed to point there, but he still couldn't believe it.

This person, was that same high priestess? That same person who smiled so warmly, who seemed so at peace, as if she wasn't even a part of this world? But now...

He glanced at Rosella, who purposely was not looking at him, instead talking happily with Yin Mei.

As for Yin Mei, she didn't notice anything at all.

"What's wrong with the girl?" Rosella asked curiously. Although she couldn't see the girl's face, she was wearing some high quality clothing, and her silver hair was exceptionally beautiful looking. It made her think of the silver hair of the princess they had rescued before.

"Oh... her? She's just unconscious. You don't need to worry about her. She's someone that Kiel met on his journey to the eastern islands," Yin Mei said, the lies smoothly slipping out of her mouth. She didn't even notice just how good of a liar she had become, her expression indifferent and unblinking with each lie she spoke.

"Oh? She's someone from the eastern islands?" Rosella's eyes sparkled, and she fidgeted, wanting to get a better look. She had never seen someone from the eastern islands before. She had heard that they all had very beautiful and exotic appearances, and that their culture was very different from that of the people of the main continent.

"Maybe you can talk with her later," Yin Mei said. "For now, there's something more important."

"? What is it?" Rosella tilted her head.

"Information on the demon army, of course." Yin Mei smiled.