Chapter 374

【After leaving the Department of Sealing Designation far behind, the Second took something out of his coat pocket.】

【This was what he had just discovered inside Karger's corpse. It was a very thin, small metal piece with carvings that looked like characters on the surface, seemingly letters and numbers.】

【The Second: "During the battle last night, Karger created a metal cage. He probably used the same magecraft to make a metal piece with a message written on it inside his own body at the moment of death, because magecraft is easiest to Matsuwanko Matsuwanko Take effect inside one's own body."】

【"This string of characters is mostly left for me. Mages who can't even perform spirit invocation well but will flip corpses over are at most just me."】

【Gray: "However, could this be..."】

【The Second: "Yes, this is an address."】

Rin Tohsaka: "Still can't trust that fox woman, huh."】

Waver: "It's better to be cautious at this time."】

Caules: "But since it's an address left by Karger before he died, it seems there should be some clues hidden there; after all, this guy had been preparing for two months."】

Waver: "I hope the clues are still there, and that they are useful."】

【Gray: "Then, shouldn't we notify Miss Adashino about this?"】

【The Second: "The Department of Law may not be trustworthy. Also, even if this is a message for me, I don't know what intention it was left with."】

【"Thinking of the worst, after going there, I might not only encounter Heartless, but also Faker. Since this risk cannot be ignored, I cannot Matsuwanko Matsuwanko Take Flat and Svin with me."】

【Gray: "I thought Teacher had already resigned himself to dragging students into the water."】

【The Second: "How is that possible? Although sometimes a life-and-death crisis is unavoidable, that is always in terms of the result. Situations that can be avoided, I will of course avoid."】

【Gray: "However, Teacher will Matsuwanko Matsuwanko Take me with you, right?"】

【The Second sighed: "If you weren't there, I might die."】

【Hearing this, Add was the first to laugh: "Iheeheeheehee, the feeling of being relied upon isn't bad!"】

【Gray: "... es, it's not bad."】

【Her answer made Add fall into silence for a moment, then immediately burst into loud laughter.】

【"Yes, that's right! It's not bad! Of course it's not bad! Heeheehee, you've learned how to talk back beautifully, Crybaby Gray!"】

Iskandar: "Hahaha, kid, this won't do; how can you always rely on your apprentice for protection?"】

Waver: "You want to persuade me to train my muscles again."】

Iskandar: "Kid, your body is just too weak; training it will really be good for you."】

Waver: "Uh... we'll see."】

Iskandar: "Geez, I have to think of a way to supervise you properly."】

【Meanwhile, the city of the Modern Magecraft Department—Slur, the library.】

【"Hmm... as expected, it won't go through."】

【Reines put down the phone and shook her head helplessly.】

【Flat: "Still can't contact the Professor?"】

【Reines: "Unfortunately."】

【The Department of Sealing Designation is a secret organization after all; it probably has a protective net that cuts off signals.】

【Or perhaps, the Second is not in a convenient position to answer the phone right now, so he turned it off.】

【There's no help for it; they have to busy themselves.】

【While having to process the piled-up documents from start to finish, they also have to be careful not to be discovered by others; it's really too troublesome.】

【"... here are indeed omissions."】

【After finishing, Reines couldn't help but frown at the results of the plan.】

【Heartless did it too cleanly; if it weren't for meeting Touko Aozaki, they probably wouldn't even know the news that his students were survivors of the labyrinth.】

Kayneth: "Why did Heartless erase all the information about his disciples? Could it be to cover up some secret?"】

Waver: "Very likely, and this secret is also related to Albion."】

Seeing this now, I increasingly feel that these disciples of Heartless don't seem to be simple characters.】

It really is 'not of the same family, not entering the same house'.】

【Reines: "After obtaining so much information, a few more investigation methods have been added. By the way, in a modern society that accurately records things, it is very difficult to erase human traces, even in the world of mages. Since we know the number of disciples and their subsequent situations, there are various clues to trace."】

【Svin: "They were a five-person team, one is missing, two are unaffiliated mages, and two entered the Department of Sealing Designation?"】

【Reines: "That's the one. About a dozen years ago, the team of survivors at the time became Heartless's disciples. Locking onto that period, some discrepancies in amounts can be found in the account books of the Modern Magecraft Department. I originally thought that money was off-the-books funds from Lord Norwich, but if that were the case, that old man should have been spending money everywhere more blatantly."】

【Svin: "Could that be smuggling income from Albion?"】

【Reines: "Hmm, I hope to further investigate the timing, the cursed bodies, and the flow of money from this part. Theoretical integration aside, Flat, your intuition is also very accurate, right? Let me look forward to your performance partnering with Svin, who is good at handling numbers."】

【Flat: "I see~! I understand! Then Doggy, let's use Easter eggs to fuse this week!"】

【At this moment, Svin was staring blankly at the skylight.】

【Flat: "Hmm? What's wrong, Doggy?"】

【"... just feel like there's a strange smell outside."】

【Svin sniffed and frowned: "Am I overthinking it?"】

【Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the street outside.】

【Touko Aozaki raised her hand to catch a mechanical mayfly and said: "Oh my, that was close. I should have been completely silent and odorless. Hmm, does this mean he didn't smell a scent? Geez, the students there are really hard to deal with; I really want to complain to them and tell them not to make me too happy."】

【"Although according to conventional methods, one should retreat temporarily at this time. That said, this is indeed the beginning. There isn't much time left until the Grand Resolution. Although I feel sorry for El-Melloi II, let me investigate for a while longer."】

Kayneth: "Touko Aozaki! This woman is actually following in secret!"】

Shishigou Kairi: "It seems she is also very curious about this case."】

【On the other Reverse Reverse Reverse Reverse Side, the Second and Gray had also arrived at the location on the metal piece.】

【This is near Belsize Park, where there are relatively few people.】

【The two walked quickly and suddenly found that there were fewer and fewer people around, just like yesterday.】

【Gray: "Teacher."】

【The Second: "Hmm, it's some kind of barrier. It's just that there is no magical power operating; it's a modern magecraft barrier that only appeals to human psychology. I see, as expected of the previous department head of Modern Magecraft. Although it is essentially the same as the barrier I set up on Druid Street, the technique is quite refined."】

【He said this, having already confirmed that the person who set the barrier was Heartless.】

【A few minutes later, they found an old wooden hut deep in the overlapping paths; this was the address Karger had left.】

【Pushing the door open, the inside was plain, but there was a striking staircase on the floor.】

【The Second and Gray looked at each other and walked down vigilantly; what hit them was the rich aroma of wine.】

【Below this, it was a wine cellar.】

Rin Tohsaka: "Is this place the one where Heartless was hiding at the beginning?"】

Waver: "Hmm, it's highly likely."】

Kayneth: "Hmph, Karger actually knew Heartless's hiding place; it seems the connection between them never broke."】

Shishigou Kairi: "Or rather, Karger was also guarding against Heartless, it's just a pity he didn't guard against him in the end."】

【The stairs were very long, and it took the Second and Gray a long time to reach the bottom.】

【Gray cautiously took the lead, pushed the door open, and quickly slipped in, but there was no one inside.】

【Several empty wine barrels were placed here, along with an experimental table covered with experimental equipment.】

【"It seems this is Heartless's workshop..."】

【The Second lit a cigar, the firelight illuminating the complex shape made of a large amount of paper and string hanging on the wall in the back.】

【"Affinity diagram..."】

【Gray recognized this familiar thing at a glance.】

【The Second: "He did it on purpose. Because he had enough time to deal with these so we wouldn't find them... This means he deliberately left things here, as if saying to me: 'If you can solve it, then solve it'."】

【Or perhaps: 'Once you solve it, you're finished'.】

Waver: "Heartless knew I would come, which proves he knew Karger's actions like the back of his hand."】

Shishigou Kairi: "He really is a dangerous man."】

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "This affinity diagram he left behind is probably a battle post, or—"】

Kayneth: "... nail that can be driven into the opponent's heart."】

After all, the final showdown is about to begin.】

【"Since he left such a clear message, it won't be too troublesome to interpret."】

【The Second seemed unconcerned and directly pulled out a notebook and a fountain pen from his bosom to start analyzing.】

【A moment later, he groaned.】

【"What's listed here are all magecraft techniques for Sealing Designation..."】