Well, it can't be... Count Alessandro di Cagliostro, is that really the same person...?

　Nissae was shocked by the unexpected name of the person that Yuto uttered, but she still doubted the authenticity of the information.

''Yes........if this is the case, he's someone who is as dangerous as Surt's sword. But no way, it's hard to believe that he's alive.

　Shima also responded to Nisasae's words with a look of disbelief, not completely believing them at the moment. Mizuho and Marion were still not quite on the same page with the seriousness that Nisasae and the others were showing, but when they heard the name of Surt's sword, their expressions tightened.
　Especially for Marion, as a party targeted by that person, the urge to ask a lot of questions arose.

''Um.........Oomine-sama. That Count Cagliostro.......is he the person of the "necklace incident" in early modern France?　"in the fraud case involving Queen Marie Antoinette.

　At Marion's question, Hisae and Shima looked at each other for a moment, and when Hisae nodded, Shima looked forward with a divine face.

''That's right. Whether it's the real thing or not, I'm pretty sure it's that person.''

'No!　Someone who's over two hundred years old!

　Both Mizuho and Akira opened their eyes wide at the exchange and Yuto patted his left shoulder.
　Shima looked around at Marion and the others.......................and opened her mouth.

''This is classified information held by the agency. Information that is disclosed only to those directly under the agency..............or rather, it is something like education and knowledge. Marion-san and the others who know the Sword of Surt know that the agency has many enemies. Some of them have abilities that don't belong to the agency that have powers and ideas that can't be ignored.......

....

'A person named Cagliostro is someone who is on the list of people with that dangerous idea of ability. Although, as something that was already dead, that information was much less important.

''The gifted...?　History tells us he's just a mountaineer...

'I have information in the agency that this Cagliostro person is said to have developed a rather dangerous technique called séance. It's said to have gotten a number of people involved in it.

　Marion and the others listened to what Shima had to say.
　Yuto's eyes sharpened as he heard of the dangerous jutsu beside them.

''What kind of dangerous jutsu was it?''

　Mizuho asks a question, and Hisae replies.

'Actually, we don't know exactly what it was... but apparently it wasn't a seance, it was supposedly invoking something inhuman.

'You mean ... a summoning technique of some sort?　And the fact that it involved numerous people...

'Apparently or not. According to the description, it was a public display of the existence of the extraterrestrial it was a jutsu aimed at blending in and coexisting with the extraterrestrial in general life. The fact that it involved a large number of people is said to have been a part of the art, and yes, it surprised people at the time, and it seemed to have developed into something like a religion.

"....co-exist?　What does that... mean?　What kind of abilities do you have...?

　Marion raised a shapely eyebrow.

''I don't know. If it's a summoning technique, there's always a price to pay, such as spiritual power and magic power. You can't make an outsider exist permanently in that sense... it could be that you showed an outsider with whom you made a contract, but even then, you'd have to leave the contractor and fit in with the general public...'' ...It's too much of an impossibility, and neither of them can be linked to coexistence.

....

　All the time, Yuto listens in silence, squinting his eyes.

(Coexistence........)

Just what kind of powers do you have?　Speaking of which, there was a description. Apparently, Cagliostro was an alchemist. And his mistress, a woman called Lorenza is said to have been a sorcerer....

'A sorcerer!　Then ... this curse, too.

'It's almost a connection, but I don't have enough information to make a definitive statement. As Marion mentioned earlier, this story is over two hundred years old, there's no way we're living in a normal world. Because of that, the secrecy of this information has been reduced. It's just...

　Nissae exchanged a glance with Shima and looked at Mizuho, Marion, and Yuto.

''There's also the matter of Surt's sword. Somehow Lokiarum, the head of Surt's sword, and Niesbeck, his apprentice, existed for over a hundred years, retaining their abilities.

....!

　Mizuho and Marion make their faces tighten. The great enemy in Miremar, Surt's sword abilities are the ones who put themselves in a difficult fight. Things have changed since Yuto came to support them, but if Yuto hadn't been dispatched, and other people of ability had been dispatched, they might not be here now.

'It's possible that there's a secret art out there that even the agency doesn't know about. If this man, Cagliostro, also has it in his possession...

　Yuto listened to the story in silence. Then, he thought of the Lokiarum that he had fought off with Millimer, Mizgard, in his mind.

That jutsu........I've seen it several times in the demon world. It's a technique used by the demon gods that existed in various places when they were using humans. I don't know how it works, but I had experienced it a few times in the demon world, so I didn't question it in that battle with Lokiarum. But Surt's sword didn't seem to be being used by anyone. No, that's not the point. (Does that mean that the existence of that jutsu is not well known in this world?

　When Yuto thought that far...................A dangerous feeling of foreboding began to cover his entire body.

　It's an unexplained technique. And if so, what are they?　No way!　The one who has access to the demonic world...

　Yuto's eyes grew steely.
　Mizuho and Marion noticed the change in Yuto's eyes. And although the two of them showed an uneasy expression, Mizuho quickly pulled back and Marion couldn't hide her uneasy face as she stared at Yuto.
　From their reactions, both Hisae and Shima moved their eyes to Yuto.
　Yuto noticed their gazes and hurriedly released his steely eyes.

''Ah, Omine, so what happened to Cagliostro after that?''

According to the agency, he was killed.

....

'The one that's been handed down on the surface says he died in prison... but the fact is that he died in a capacity to obey the French royal family. That's.........

　Nisae looked at Marion, and Marion looked back at her, her gaze quizzically at Nisae.

'The line of gifted people who supported the darker side of the royal family... to the Orléans. They're also known as the back Orleanians to distinguish them from the front.

　Marion is surprised to hear the name of a family that is unexpectedly related to her own bloodline as well.

'All of this information also comes from the Orléans behind the scenes. At the time, at the suggestion of the secret Orléans, who saw Cagliostro as dangerous, the French royal family first lost their reputation by involving him in a necklace affair that he had nothing to do with. In doing so, they spread the word that all of Cagliostro's tricks were bogus. On top of that, the backdoor Orléans' ability to make him...

They said they killed him...

　When Yuto said that, Hisae shook her head.

'Actually, there's a continuation to this story. If you say you killed him, then you can't put Cagliostro in the agency's secret information for the agency's dangerous person designation because of the information provided by the back Orleans family. Given that I'm sure they did push him, but I'm assuming that Cagliostro's death was never fully confirmed. In fact, the current backdoor Orleanians say the same thing. However, that was already over 200 years ago. That's why we were surprised when that name came out of your mouth, Doudou-kun.

....

And given the example of Surt's sword, it's honestly a creepy story that I can't deny.

　Nissae puts a hand to her chin as if to sort out the situation.

'Just so you know, as I've said many times before, even if Surt's sword survived for a hundred years, this time it's more than twice that many years. Now it's more realistic to assume that it's either disinformation ... or someone who's trying to trick Cagliostro, or something else.

....

　Yuto rather thought that this enemy was Cagliostro himself, because of this story of Nisasae. No, it was Gaston who had seen the person himself, there was no doubt about it.
　 As for having to abduct Marion, I don't know yet.

'We'll investigate as much as we can, too. At any rate, it is an unshakeable fact that the Dark Night Leopard has been reckless it would be uncomfortable if we didn't give the Dark Night Leopard a hard time. So don't worry, Marion-san, I won't let anything happen to you.

...Yes, thank you.

Of course!　I will never allow you to try to mess with Marion!

　Marion smiled at Mizuho's strong words. Seeing that, Hisae's cheeks relaxed as well.

''Oh, I forgot to ask you something important. ''Mizuho-chan,''

What is it?

Were there any special people in the raid?

　Mizuho and Marion, including Akara, turned serious at Nissae's question. Because there was a member of the group who was not only special, but had a super-class ability.
　A person who was known as a dead bird, a person with such an ability that he had put dirt on the former head of the Huang family, a prestigious family of gifted people, and had even wounded the young [Tenkou], the highest rank set by the current agency, Rank SS Wang Shungao, with a hand injury.

''And what do you mean by special?''

　Mizuho, who is a bad liar, responds with a slightly twitchy voice.



'What?　How, I don't know.......Marion!

'Yes!　Hey, I don't know. I've never seen a Sendo user before either. But why?　Lord Omine.

''This time, we got recognition votes from the people with Dark Night Leopard abilities that we captured, too. Moreover, he didn't die this time. Suddenly, they're reporting that he threw up in his mouth. It doesn't look like he's fully conscious yet, so we'll interrogate him later.

　It was when Yuto applied Senki to the war-weary Dark Night's Leopard abilities and knocked them out. Moreover, he had heard from Mizuho before that the jutsu contained in the recognition slips may have been broken by the Xianqi, and it may have come out of their bodies, so he sent an intense ki to them so that it could be transmitted throughout their bodies.
　Yuto made a thoughtful face and then opened his mouth.

''I don't know if it's a Sendo user, but there was an ability among the enemies that specialized in close combat. That's the guy who fought me. I was confident in my physical skills as well, but he was a pretty tough one... and I couldn't defeat him.

"!

　Mizuho and Marion were surprised when Masato himself started to tell them what he had been trying so desperately to hide for Yuto's sake.
　Ming Liang's eyes widened for a moment but calmly listened to what Yuto said.

''Doudou-kun can you tell me more about that story?''

　Hisae and Shima look at Yuto.

''Yes, that guy's body language was not just a thing. Come to think of it.......I didn't feel any spiritual or magical power. If there is a sacred path user, then it must be that guy.

　Shima observed Yuto's expression as if he was trying to price his expression while trying to keep a low profile from beside Hisae.

''Hmm ... it's possible. As I recall, Doudou-kun's bodily skills are graded A. If it was against a simple close-combat type person with abilities, you could go toe-to-toe with some pretty serious guys.......

　Then Ming Liang interrupted him.

I was watching and it looked like you and I were almost on par with each other. I see that you got an A in bodywork. No wonder he was ranked D. It was hard to believe that he was a D fighter. Wow, it was really helpful that he was there. Perhaps, but the enemy must have thought that it would be difficult to abduct Marion with us as spirit users. That's probably why they brought a close combat type ability, which is not good for spirit users, right?

　Hisae and Shima nodded, thinking that what Akera said made sense.

'Now that I think about it, that's probably why we've placed the teleporter in place. To teleport that able-bodied person that Doudou-kun was dealing with to our close proximity while keeping an eye on the timing....... If you think of it that way, it's not a bad idea as a strategy to get into the spirit user's pocket.

　This analysis, including Meira's speculation, was not far off, even if it wasn't correct. In fact, Hyakugan had incorporated its teleporter-to-teleporter, exhalation user's ability to work with the teleporter as a strategy. But there was a crucial and deliberate oversight in this story.
　It was the ability of the sacred path user Yan Shizui, who had the two names of the dead bird.......and by extension, the ability of Doudou Yuto.
　When Yuto looked in Ming Liang's direction, his cheeks loosened slightly and he quickly returned it.

''That's where the strategy was accidentally blocked because of the fact that you met head on with me, who has the ability to be called a close-combat specialist, right there....... I'm rank D, so they must have thought it wouldn't have much of an effect on me even though I was there. Come to think of it, it looked like the enemy was in a very hurry. That might be the reason.

　Nissae nodded widely in agreement.

''No spiritual power, no magic power... it's very likely that that guy is a Sacred Dao user.

　Nissae shifted her gaze to Shima and then back to Yuto again.

''But then I'm wondering why the Sendo user is fighting alongside the enemy. Because it is very likely that that Dark Night No Leopard's recognition slip was disrupted in its efficacy by Xianqi to reveal itself. So, if they were aiming for that and gave Senki to an ability that belonged to the Dark Night No Leopards, it contradicts what they are doing. This is clearly a betrayal of the Dark Night Leopard. It is certain to cause evidence to be left behind, which will lead to an unnecessary conflict with the agency.

'I think you're right about that, Hisae. That's what stuck in my mind, too. So I asked him why he did such a thing as leaving a recognition slip. I wondered if there was another wizard with a different agenda, although it was highly unlikely, that is to say, a wizard who was using the disturbance to antagonize the agency and China.

So... how did it go?

''He ... he didn't deny it, he smiled and said he was only asked to abduct Marion-san. Honestly, I don't know what he was thinking and laughing about. This is ... in my opinion, but I'm pretty sure that guy had his recognition vote exposed.

　Despite saying this, Yuto is aware of the situation that Stopwater is in. Gaston reports that the children of the house where Stopwater has holed up are being held hostage. But we can't tell you the source of that information. Therefore, he had to carefully guide the conversation.
　Hisae crossed her legs and Shima put her hand on her chin as if she were contemplating.

'What do you think, Shima?'

''Honestly, I don't know what to make of this... But hermits and daoists are said to be a group of people who have no interest in the floating world. And they are said to be hedonistic, unencumbered by anything, and free spirits.... It is hard to imagine that such people would take up the request of the Dark Night's Leopard. In that sense, I understand what you're talking about, Doudou-kun. But in the end, I still don't know what you are thinking about.......

Hmm....

　It was difficult for Nisasae to infer anything from this story of Yuto too. But as if to gather her thoughts, Hisae was trying to come up with some kind of decision based on the current situation and the stories that came from each of them.

'Omine-san, can I make a suggestion for a moment?'

Yeah?　What?　It's okay, Dudu.

'I think there are two things we have to do as an agency right now. The first is to fight off the attackers who are believed to have targeted Marion-san. The second is to deal with the curse. We know that the Chinese are doing this in both cases, so it is necessary for the agencies to show a tough response to this. How we respond will change the way other organizations and people of ability look at the agency. Laxity is bad for the institution's credibility.

　Nisae nodded. In terms of content, it's no different from what I'm saying earlier. Originally, I had intended to do so.

''So what's there.......there are people who happen to be involved in these two incidents.

...Yeah?

　Hisae and Shima frowned.
　Mizuho and Marion turned to look at Yuto as if they were huffy at Yuto's words.

''It's ... it's us, as it should be said. And all of us are also abilities belonging to the agency, and besides, Mizuho and Marion are the future aces of the agency, having obtained rank A at a young age.

Mr. Du Du what are you trying to say?

As for this case, could you leave the matter of retribution against the Chinese... no, the Dark Night Leopard to us?

Eh!

No, I'm happy to make the first move. If it's too much for us, I'll be asking for backup right away.

''Du Du, I've heard from Mizuho and I understand how you guys feel, but I can't nod to that. It's true that I was going to submit a request about the curse. But things have changed after this attack. It's creepy that we're not sure of our objective, but the agency is going to do everything it can to help. We can't do this half-heartedly, we need to show that we've done it thoroughly.

'Yes, that's right. We must be thorough. But if we can retaliate while giving the impression that we have some power left over, rather than having the Japanese Section think that it was a retaliation with all its might, then we can show the power of the institution and not expose our cards. And most of all, this would have a different impact on those who would be watching the situation.

....!

　Hisae's expression tightens.
　What Yuto says may be true, but I don't think Mizuho and the others can do such a thing on their own. And if we are going to do it, we should go all out. It's a fool's errand to bring in forces one after another.

''That's true, but it won't do us any good if we fail or something happens to you guys. ''Du Du, you shouldn't take the Dark Night's Leopard so lightly, right?　The Dark Night's Leopard is an excellent unit of abilities belonging to a great power. I know how good you guys are, but you shouldn't think that you youngsters can handle it on your own.

　It can be said that the story of Nissae is a natural one. Although the full extent of the Dark Night's leopard is not known, there are a number of rank B class people in the institution who are known to belong to the ability alone.
　As expected, Nisae tries to dismiss this suggestion of Yuto, but Yuto doesn't give up and continues to talk.

''No, Omine-san, I have an idea.

　Hisae honestly thought that further discussion would be useless, but she decided to listen to Yuto for the last time.

''Tell me,''

''This time, the Dark Night's Leopard has made a huge poka, leaving behind the smoking gun of a recognition slip. And we also know that it is most likely the work of a Sacred Way user.

....

''Furthermore, among the attackers this time, there was a Sacred Daoist messenger hired by the Dark Night Leopard. As I said before, considering that the use of a Sacred Dao user is rare, I think it is reasonable to assume that this guy was made to leave evidence of this. And that's the purpose of it, but I can tell you one thing for sure.

　Hisae, who had been listening as if she hadn't been listening up to this point, became interested in what Yuto was saying and focused on her eyes.

''What's that?''

''As Omine-san mentioned, it's a war between the agency and the dark night leopard. There is no doubt about this. Then why?　Here's the problem.

"...what do you think?

''My thoughts are that this Immortal Daoist user is forcibly hired by the Dark Night's Leopard against his will?　This is what it is called. Perhaps, though, this Sacred Way user wants the agency to crush the Dark Night's Leopard. He is forced to obey the Dark Night Leopard, and it is difficult for him to disobey it. So, you must move the agency, a powerful enemy, and hit the Dark Night Leopard. If you think of it as a reason for the agency to make a move to do so, then the matter of this recognition vote can be explained.

....

They must still be in Japan. If I can first check out that Sacred Daoist user and find out why he's following the Dark Night's Leopards, I can get him on our side. No, even if that's not possible, we can devote a large portion of the enemy's forces to it. If this works, we alone should be able to counter the Dark Night Leopard in the way we fight.

　When Nisae finished listening to Yuto's story, she looked at Yuto's face. Yuto's story has some points to listen to. But that doesn't necessarily mean that Yuto and the others will be able to fight off the Dark Night's Leopard.
　What's more, Yuto's story is well done as a story. But it's too good to be true. Hisae could tell that he was speaking a little too judgmentally.
　So, is that coming from an assumption that is common in young boys?　It also felt different to Hisae. This boy wouldn't be the type to be intoxicated by his own fantasies like that.
　He laughed with Kanji as a certain idea came to his mind in Nisasae.

(This boy's basis for that story... let's try it out.)

Mr. Du Du....

Yes, sir.

You're on to something, aren't you?　Well, not all of them, but you do have some solid information, don't you?　As for trying to hide it, I'm not going to pursue that right now. Just make sure you're sure, or make that clear. Otherwise, I'm not going to accept your proposal.

　Giggling, Yuto looked at Hisae's eyes.
　Mizuho, Marion, and Akera also seemed to be surprised by what Hisae was saying. Mizuho and the others didn't know that Yuto was getting such information either.
　Yuto was desperately trying to guide them so that they wouldn't know the source of the information, but the experienced Hisae could see through that, and he was inwardly upset, but thinking about how to respond.
　When I began to think that it was better to cut off the shiranigans than to force myself to tell people that I had a source of information here, and even to be suspected of having an outsider to the contract, I felt a tremendous pressure from a certain direction and hurriedly turned my attention to that direction.
　And there it was.........
　Mizuho, who has a strong gleam in her eye, and Marion, who has formed the shape of a smile, are focused on us.
　And the two of them send what they're thinking with just their expressions like an auditory hallucination into Yuto's brain.

"What are you doing in secret, even to us.......I wonder?　Hmmm, nice nerve."
"Yuto-san you're trying to do something on your own again... right?　Huh."

"Ha!

　Yuto subconsciously turned his body upside down.
　His own body, exposed to the gaze of the two men, started to tremble in small increments and did not stop.

''Dou Dou-kun?　What's going on?

'Ha!　Yes, sir!　Actually, a friend of mine did the research!　The swallow stopper said they're taking hostages!

What?　Swallow the water shut off?　Hostages?

　

''Stop the water!　A dead bird's water stoppage!　No way!

'Oh....'

　Thus ... things started to happen.