Today is a school day.
　To put it simply, it's the end of school day. I've finished the prescribed number of classes before the exams, and since the grades have been handed out, it's ridiculous to actually go to school.
　It's a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're doing.

　It took less than an hour.

'I shouldn't have come.'

　Ars, who had held back his absent breath, spoke to himself with a melancholy look on his face.

'Yes,'

　Loki is smiling funny behind me. In this way, it's almost as if he's really just a student, and from her point of view, every aspect of his life outside of his duties is new to him.

It's not a good day to be in a bad mood, so why don't we stop going?　And I can do it in my room.
It's okay. You've been up late anyway.

　Before he knew it, Ars looked sideways at the two of them beside him, looking fed up.
　It's like saying they were playing in a nuanced way, but it's true that they weren't sleeping, so Ars couldn't argue with that.

'Alice, fine as usual. You're going home, aren't you? Are you sure you want to be selling oil in this place?
There's no need to rush it because there's still time.

　The group resists the urge to stick their tongues out and head to the lab.

　Tesfia and Alice walked straight past and split up into the girls' dormitory.

　As they entered their own rooms, an alarm sounded at just the right time to inform them of the communication as if they were waiting for it.

　

'Loki, stay tuned.'

　A cautious Loki tried to get off the screen, so I gave him permission to do so without having to. Instead, I let him lock the door.
　The call was not a phone call with the device pressed against his ear, but rather with images of each other on the screen. Even in the face-to-face form of communication, Ars was still the same as usual.

　However, the reason for the bad feeling is that only the Chancellor and some of the military personnel know about this communication line. It could be said that it was only Governor Beric.

'You must leave now.'

　The dumbfounded voice on the LCD was that of an elderly man.

''I beg your pardon. It was the last day of school.''
Hmm, it's good to see you're working so hard.

　I don't think he meant it.
　If he had dropped the unit, I'm sure I would have let him come back without question.

"Loki, you've successfully secured your partner's position, so I guess that means you have one thing to worry about now.

　It's white, Ars thought. The Governor couldn't have been unaware of this, since he had already registered his license as a partner.

　It's a good thing that you're not the only one.
　Of course, he knew that Ars didn't need it, so he had no compulsion to do so.

'What's more?　It's not for confirmation, is it?

　Ars rushed the main issue that should have been finished quickly.

　Wrinkles thickened across the screen. The Governor opened his mouth with a difficult look on his face. It was a sign that he was going to cut to the chase, just as Ars had intended.

'Work.'

　The fact that they took the trouble to contact me means that it was either an important matter and in need of good personnel, or it was a job that only Ars could do.

　As a person who belongs to a time like this, I am disgusted by it. Although he has been placed in the academy, he still can't refuse it as a military servant, Ars.
　Still--''

''I'm busy, sir,''
"Just listen to what it says.

　I didn't want to say no to him to begin with, so I held my tongue, which should have prompted him to go ahead.

"The target is a scholar named Gudma Verkhong.
Are you human?

　Loki was less surprised to learn this. It was something the Governor had talked about just before he became a partner, and it was also a condition.
　Loki had pushed through the impossibility, and if he didn't become a partner, he would push through by dedicating his entire life to serving in the military. He hadn't intended to do that, though.


　The target was a human ... a behind-the-scenes job. Another factor that prevented Ars from being cut off from the military.
　In addition to his absolute power to fend off demons, he was also contracted to eliminate domestic vicious criminals.
　It's not just criminals, there are many cases that are closely related to the military, and those that can't be done openly come around to Ars.

　There is also a security force, but while it is a form of the military, many of its members are non-magicians.
　While the military is responsible for national defense from demons, there is a unit organized to maintain the security of the country. It is divided into an organization commonly known as the [Ji-Gun] and an external threat elimination unit that targets monsters, which is officially known as the [Gai-Gun].
　Even so, the emphasis is placed on the external forces that deal with demons, and it is true that there is a difference in their positioning in terms of implementation. The final decision-making authority is left to the Governor.
　Other than this demon, missions other than this one are basically the responsibility of the army.

　Even so, he must be a serious criminal to the point of burning his hands.

　A photo of his face appeared in the corner of the screen.
　One after the other, a profile is shown.
　He's almost 40 years old, but the picture on the screen shows him in his thirties, probably from that time.
　He is slender, with rimless glasses and short hair, but his face still has the narrow, cunning look typical of academics, and Ars saw a greedy glint in the depths of his eyes.

'I was wanted for the crime of conducting human experimentation, but I was hiding in the clouds and couldn't find his whereabouts for a long time.
And now you're telling me you've got a tail.
"Yeah, he's been collecting kids for some reason.

　I see, Ars was convinced and two questions came to mind. He wondered if that was how he got his footing.

'Why now?'
"I don't know, but I suspect he's been experimenting with it for some time now. I suspect it may have paid off.

　Another question.

So, why me?

　From what I've heard, he's someone you want to deal with as soon as possible. But it would be irksome to take on something so vital with such disdain.

　Beric let out a sigh. It was let out with a face that looked like it had been bitten down by a bitter bug.

''You're still the same.''
Hi.
I can't go public.
So you're saying that when the human testing was discovered, the military handled it privately? If it comes to light now, you can't avoid mentioning it... the point is, you just missed it.
Yeah. I won't make excuses. I had no choice but to do it at the time, but I think I was being careless. Still...

　The Governor is making excuses because he is dealing with Ars. We've known each other a long time.

"We can't afford to bring down the authority of the military right now.
I know.
I won't be a stranger. You'll have to come back to work, too.
..........

　Well said, Ars thought. You're ready to let me come back to work as soon as something happens.
　It's a good thing that you've got a good idea of what you're doing.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.

I've sent you all the information.

　Ars unfolded it on another screen.
　He skimmed through it.

“----!　I understand.
"Thank you. I'll tell you how to do it on the day and time you're supposed to do it, but....

　Ars nodded and nodded his head without asking afterwards.
　It's always the same. He wants me to assassinate him.

　That alone is quite a handful, Ars said with a wicked smile.

'I wish you well.

　And the communication trails off in a flash.

'I didn't expect it,'

　More importantly, Ars looked again at the material he had opened.

(Elemental factor separation, huh?)

How selfish it is.

　Loki said indignantly beside her. She listened in silence, but she seemed to be holding back quite a bit.

'Don't say that, it's not the first time it's happened.
But...
Just in time to owe the Governor a favor. And as a researcher, I'm a little curious about this one.

　To be exact, it's in the research data.


　♢ ♢ ♢


　Alice didn't arrive until it was close to noon.

'Al should have come too,'
I'm only going home for a week and it's a big deal to see me off.

　Alice had gone to her lab after seeing Tesfia off.

　Nevertheless, Ars was savoring the quietness of this quietness.
　It's a good idea to have them do it on their own until the next stage.

"Well, at any rate, it's a good thing that the prancing horse is gone.
Al's mostly a mess, isn't he?

　It's a joke and we both know it, so there's no need to get pissed off.
　Alice was also used to it, and her dismay was deepened.

''No, you're the one who's convenient.
What?

　Ars unrolled his projectile-like equipment.

Loki, I'm sorry, but I need to ask you to leave.
....!

　It was Alice who showed surprise at Ars's words. Loki conveyed his approval with his eyes as if he knew, and left the room.

''..........''

　Alice watched Loki as he cleared his throat and left, as if he had figured something out, but he quickly turned his head back and cowered.

　All Ars had to do was confirm - to proceed with his research.

'I noticed something when I was analyzing the magic. Of course I'm not going to pry into it as contracted, but I just have to report it if I want to continue. If you have a cause or an idea of what's going on, though, it wouldn't hurt to know.

　As expected, I couldn't force him to that extent.
　I hit the virtual projected keyboard and a screen appeared next to Alice, where a string of magic letters was flowing at a terrific rate.
　Around the time tens of thousands of letters passed by, it came to a snapping halt.

''........!

　Even Alice could understand that it was unnatural, even if she didn't know what it meant.

　Ars came to the front of the screen and indicated a line.
　It was blurred, filled in, or blank with letters.

'Inherently, whatever form it takes, magical information is represented by letters and symbols.
'Yeah...'
"As far as this part is concerned, we haven't converted it. So it's reasonable to assume there's a deficiency.

　Not a degradation of the information body, but a deficiency.

Any idea?
..........

　Before I knew it, Alice's gaze was looking down. Her complexion didn't seem to be excellent either.

　I have an idea for Alice.........
　The reason she couldn't open her mouth was not because she had a history of human experimentation, but because it reminded her of her parents.

　Ars isn't so insensitive that he can't see her now either.

'As I said at the beginning, I don't mean to pry.

　It means that if you don't have a clue, you have to let me know.

'The fact that there is a deficiency means that, as a mage.......'

　What Alice spun out of her slightly open mouth with a hint of melancholy was something that threatened the mage's life.

'No, it's nothing to be concerned about. It's not entirely unaffected, though.''
Good.

　Alice shows relief for the moment, but I must reveal the part that is not at all.

As for the lesser effects, the lack of information will affect the duration of the magic. Fortunately, it's old, so there's no obvious difference when compared to others. And as for the deterioration originally, it's not something that can be done with training. But internal information gets denser with age, but in Alice's case, the deficit interferes with her and she can't trace back to earlier information.

　Alice was relieved when I said there wasn't much of a difference between them. It was doubtful that she understood about what happened after that, even if she had heard about it.

''Well, to put it simply, your magic power is young.''

　It's a pretty crappy analogy, but it's not really something to take seriously.

'Young...'

　Only a woman who wasn't young would break out in cheeks at the word.
　But I could say that Alice didn't have to think too much about it, not a little.

　Although she explained it briefly, the reason Ars wasn't in a good mood was because this deficiency was artificial.
　If he lived normally, there would be no such thing as a defect.
　And the fact that Alice has surgical scars on her body is something that was known at the time she had her body scanned.
　That in itself isn't uncommon, but there is something called healing magic in modern medicine.

　What I mean by that is the degree to which it promotes self-healing abilities, but it doesn't leave a mark.

　What's more, unless it's self-declared, you can't see it on the outside.