Seeing the smoke rising in the Soh Merchant Kingdom capital, all of the people involved started to move.

　Not to mention Lacelle and Sheila and the others, they (sic) also gasped when they saw the smoke rising in the sky.

''So it's begun...''

　It was Mattelus who stopped in his tracks.
　The classmates and primary students around him were in a hurry.
　They formed a formation and covered each other.
　Even in team battles, Lacelle was well educated.

　Among them, no one was paying attention to Matelus, the 'number child (numbers)' 83, who was a demon and a 'number child (numbers)'.

''Sorry, guys,''

What?

　My teammates notice.
　But it was slow.
　No one could keep up with Mattelus' reaction speed, which was strengthened by the basic ability of a demon plus Lacelle's training.

　Spinning around, he unleashes his hand blade on the necks of all four of them.
　He reaped consciousness in an instant.

　Looking at his fallen teammate, Mattelus again apologized, "I'm sorry.
　Sitting at the side, he activated the [Scholar (Professor)] magic.

　[Forced Recognition]

　Embedding the perception of "following Mattelus' lead" in his sleeping teammates.
　Once the work was done, he woke his teammates up.

　All four of them stand up, holding their heads.

'I'm sorry, but you're going to have to follow my instructions,'

Yes.
Okay.
What do you want me to do?
I'll follow.

　They become obedient to Mattelus.
　They don't even seem to have any doubts about what they say.

' (Apparently, they succeeded.)

　Make sure the magic is activated perfectly.

'Then you'll have to follow me first.

　Mattelus walks off.
　He was followed by his teammates in the uniform of Chapter 5.
　They proceeded in the opposite direction of the commotion, into an unpopular alleyway.

　The teammates looked somewhat uneasy.
　They asked where they were going, but Mattelus overruled their instructions again, saying, "Shut up and follow me.
　Then his teammates shut up.
　In complete control, Mattels and his team move through the dimness.

　Footsteps approach.
　It's more than one.

　Mattelus and his team stop.
　A deserted alleyway.
　Explosions and screams can be heard in the distance.
　In this situation, the tension grew.

　A girl with a berry-short haircut appears.

　Seeing her appearance, Mattels' teammates' eyes lit up.

''Mucha!

　I tried to call his name, but I couldn't say it aloud.
　Because Mattelus' command of silence continued.

　Mucha stopped in his tracks.

'Materus, you....'

　Mucha looked at Mattelus and narrowed his eyes.

　One of Mattelus' teammates tried to speak up.
　'Help me...' 'Something is wrong...'
　However, he is unable to move by Matels' orders.

　Meanwhile, Mattelus tied his mouth to a straight line.
　He still observed the way Mucha came out.
　The air becomes even firmer.
　A moment later, it seemed as if something like a spark had flown between the two of them.

　But--.

''Mucha, I heard you did well too.

　Mattelus grins.
　Like a demon.........

　Then a student from Chapter 5 appears behind Mucha.
　He is dizzy and wobbly, and his footsteps are faltering.
　There's no life in his eyes either, and he just follows behind Mucha.

''Yes........''

How did you do it?

　When Mattelus asks, Mucha activates the [Seeker (Seeker)] magic.

　[Bright Light]

　It's essentially magic used in dark caves and indoors.
　Musha controlled it with her magic power and flashed it.

''I used this and [Illusion] to hypnotize her.

'Huh.... You can be so dexterous.

'He (Lacelle) taught me that you can manipulate people in this way. This is how you can manipulate people.

As expected of Lasell-senpai........ But he's not too careful. Didn't he consider the possibility that it would be used for a crime?

'If you say so, it's the fact that you left us swimming. That man really thinks we've left the organization.

You're surprisingly good-natured, aren't you, Lacelle? Well...

　Mattelus turned around.
　He exposed his ugly, twisted smile to his teammates.

　They all recognized the look on his face.
　They were dimly aware that they were about to be implicated in a major crime.
　However, they didn't know that it was even within Lacelle's expectations.

''No way.........''
(Mattelus...)
(Mucha-senpai...)
(Senior Lacelle, help me...)

　My head wishes for it, but my body is in the midst of [forced recognition] and I can't move it.
　I couldn't even call for help any longer.

''Well, let's go, shall we?''

Wait, Mattelus.

　The air that had been loose between the two of them, Mucha tightened it again.
　She turned her downcast purple eyes to the dimness.
　Then he heard footsteps.

　The teammates turned around in unison.
　They recognized that Lacelle must have come to help.

　Three men and women emerged from the corner.

　There was no sign of Lacelle there.
　All of them were strangers to each other.
　No, are they really humans?
　You can't believe that they are human, they are clad in a deadly atmosphere.

　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on one.

　One of them advances out.
　Long black hair that stretched to near the waist.
　Black eyes that are as sharp as a blade.
　He wears a black cloak like a nobleman's, and underneath that he wears an equally white formal dress.

　You can tell that he is a person of high rank.
　His grace is different from the other two.
　But the atmosphere of danger was also dangling, unlike the other two.

　I can see that Mattelus and Mucha are nervous.
　The former had sweat on his forehead.
　And his lips trembled.

''I didn't expect........ I didn't expect you to greet us.''


　The Numbered Child (Numbers) 17....