Rental Magica Volume 1: Chapter 1

Chapter 1

1

Well then, let us begin a story of magic.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"

Iba Itsuki screamed, and, injured--fainted.

Falling on his bottom in an alleyway late at night, the pain coursed through him. A polyethylene bucket next to him tipped over, and his school uniform pants were splashed with kitchen waste.

"Ah... ah... ah... ah..."

However, Itsuki hardly noticed it, and instead was looking up with a dazed expression, pressing the eye patch over his right eye against his face.

He was a boy who looked a little younger than his actual age.

As if to display his personality, his hair was short, and it wasn't dyed or gelled. Even though it was a holiday, he still wore his school uniform. The one exception to his bland appearance was the eye patch covering his right eye like a pirate. Though for a young boy to wear it, it came off looking kind of humorous.

Now, though this boy was pressing his eye patch, he had a serious reason.

In his left eye, he couldn't see anything.

If someone looked around, they wouldn't see anything to be afraid of. They wouldn't see anything but the shadow of a young boy in a dark alleyway.

If they were a normal human.

"..."

However, Itsuki could see something with his right eye.

Straight through the palm of his hand pressing against his patch, he could see them clearly.

--Red eyes.

The blazing red eyes glared at Itsuki from three meters above him. In all, there were six eyes--two on each head.

It was a fearsome, massive, three-headed dog.

It was several times taller than Itsuki, had black, stiff, starchy skin, and eyes that burned red like Hell--not to mention three heads that spread across the whole width of the alleyway. Each one had a terribly devilish gravity to it, as if looking at one would cause your soul to be snatched away.

--Evidently, it matched the reference documents to a T.

"... A-ah, um..."

"GARAAAAAAAA"

Burning hot breath emanated from the right and left heads. With just the passing wind of that breath, all of Itsuki's hairs stood on end. If it were any hotter, he'd be burned to a crisp.

Naturally.

It was like a fusion of its ancient ancestor who guarded the gates of the underworld and the Black Dog that strode through Europe. According to the numbers in the reference documents, its breath's max temperature was somewhere around two or three thousand degrees. No matter what, any human would be turned to ash in an instant. Magical beasts were such things.

However, if it were a human with a magical eye we're talking about here, perhaps there was one method of resistance...

Immediately after.

Itsuki waved his outstretched hands in front of his face with all his might.

"No, um, I, I don't really taste good!"

With all of the desperation of a grade schooler being extorted by a middle schooler, Itsuki vigorously shook his head.

... Correction.

As a matter of fact, he had no way of resisting at all.

"GRYYYYIII?"

"JRYYYYIII?"

"ZRYYYIIII!"

The three heads examined Itsuki from several angles.

It looked like they were arguing over which one would get to eat him. Or maybe they were just trying to decide how to cook him.

"Uh, uh, ahahaha...!" Itsuki let out a dry voice. Responding keenly to his voice, the three heads violently bared their fangs.

They laughed.

With a twisting sound, something cold grabbed onto Itsuki's back.

"Awaawaawwawaa!"

As he let out a scream of unknown significance, he flailed his arms and legs about.

At the same time, the demon dog jumped.

It was unbelievably nimble. Even though it seemed to rub against the walls of the narrow alleyway just by walking, it jumped straight up and landed behind Itsuki.

"Wh-whaaaa?"

His eye was like a dinner plate.

He didn't have time to be astonished. Within a moment, Itsuki's field of vision was enveloped in pure red.

That was, a pure red, burning, terrible-smelling...

chin.

--Lick!

"..."

--Lick, lick, lick, lick...

".................................................................................. Huh?"

He opened his eyelid.

With his vision awash in sticky saliva, the demon dog panted and wagged its tail. He seemed to be so happy he couldn't bear it, and with all the eagerness he could muster in one lifetime, wagged his tail.

"Wawawawawa!"

The three heads, with feverish energy, licked Itsuki's face over and over.

From behind, he heard a jolly voice.

"Oh, as expected of you, president, being seen first to arrive."

"--Hey, Nekoyashiki-san."

Itsuki, covered in slobber, turned around. He saw a young man holding a folding fan.

He was a head taller than Itsuki. He had bleached white hair and long, thin eyes that stretched to the bridge of his nose. He was a figure befitting of the word "beautiful." However, his Heian-period style haori and folding fan destroyed any notion of beauty about him.

And also, just as his name implied, they were protruding from his haori here and there.

"... Meow"

"Meorw"

"Mrrow"

"Me~oww"

Exactly four cats, white, spotted, black, and calico.

"Mmyes yes yes. I was a bit caught up with feeding these children, so I ended up coming late. Cats are good, they are. Treasures of humanity. Treasures of earth. No, no, space, space-time, no, the treasures of alaya-vijnana they are! A thousand gold pieces for a cat is stingy; as for myself, Nekoyashiki Ren, ten thousand, no, a hundred million!"

"... Uh, rather than discuss cats... what the heck is with this dog!?"

The demon dog's rough tongue engulfed almost all of Itsuki.

On the other hand, the man dripping with cats placed his folding fan against his mouth and mysteriously tilted his neck to the side.

"Hm? What is this? You did see, it said he likes people, right?"

"Likes... people?"

That kind of went without saying. Rather, does he like people, or does he like to eat people?

"Oh, President. Looks like you skimmed over the reference docs once again. This time is a pet search?"

"P-pet?" Itsuki parroted involuntarily.

"A subspecies of descendants, be that as it may, it makes an ideal familiar. Since it ran away during a walk, it looks like we've finished our request, haven't we?"

"..."

Itsuki said nothing.

However, there was a visible change in the demon dog.

"GRYYYYYY?"

Suddenly letting go of Ituski, it let out a howl, wary of the man and the cats. It then heaved its body around.

"My my, Ultros-san!"

It had incredible walking ability.

Ultros rushed through the alleyway in one movement, faster than Nekoyashiki could even shout.

"--Cleanse, purify--"

This time, a lisping, but cool and clear voice was heard in the alleyway.

"Cleanse, purify. Among weaved pattern of rock and cloud, blade of the wise great god, disperse all misfortune, the Buddha in Heaven--"

An evergreen branch adorned with white cuts of paper--a tamagushi--shook in the darkness. As it wove, the demon dog jumped far back, returning to where Itsuki stood. It then hung its head and made a whimpering noise, as if it had been discovered partaking in mischief by its master.

"Huh?"

Itsuki blinked.

At the other side of the alleyway, a girl with pigtails stood. Actually, she looked only about eight, and rather than just a girl, she should still be called a little girl.

Her clothes looked a bit like Ren's.

She wore a pure, white, crane design chihaya and a crimson hakama. --That is to say, a miko's outfit. She had a red schoolbag on her back, and she had apparently come directly from school.

"Enough, Nekoyashiki-san. Didn't you hear that this one gets timid when it senses other monsters' spell power?"

Puffing out her cheeks, the little girl stood with her arms akimbo.

She had said her name was Katsuragi Mikan. A third year elementary school student, she was a worker-under-contract in the Shintou department. That is to say, this was her part-time job.

"Ahaha. An honest mistake."

With that, the young man called Nekoyashiki Ren laughed in a relaxed manner. He was the acting senior managing director and head of the Onmyoudou department. He was said to be the main force behind and ahead of <Astral>.

"Well then, shall we leave the last part to our president?"

"Eh, me?"

Itsuki's eyes were still spinning. Nekoyashiki handed him three seals. Complicated symbols danced across the surfaces of the Japanese papers. If you showed them to someone even slightly versed in calligraphy, their eyes might have popped open wide in amazement. However, Itsuki's eye was already wide open regardless.

"So, you've gotta stick them to its heads. If I go any closer, it'll get scared and run."

"..."

Itsuki held his breath.

He looked around several times at Nekoyashiki and the demon dog. He thought of trying to ask Mikan to do it, but she was on the other side of the dog.

"U-under... understood."

With a completely pale face, he nodded like a doll.

"Good luck, president onii-chan," Mikan said, smiling.

"Ah... ahahaha." Itsuki let out a dry laugh as he came closer and closer to Ultros.

"GRYYYYYYYY?"

"I-i-i-it's alright. I won't hurt you..."

Pat.

The first one.

With that, the left head fell dimly, and comfortably fell asleep.

"JRYYYYYYYYYY."

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I'm not doing anything... just sticking some seals here..."

Pat.

The second one.

"ZRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?"

"...!!!"

Right as he affixed the third one, Itsuki lost consciousness. For real this time.

"O, onii-chan, president onii-chan?"

"Me~eorw?"

Itsuki felt as though voices were calling him from far off.

Bye bye. See you later. Thank you.

2

"...!!!"

Itsuki opened his eye.

For a moment, he didn't know where he was.

He looked around. It was red.

He was in the classroom at sunset.

One of his classmates was looking at him with a tired face.

"Hey, Ibaitsu?"

Yamada tried calling him from the seat next to him. Yamada was the goban-faced "hope" of the physics club. Incidentally, he was called the "hope" because he had won the physics club fighting game tournament during the new student welcoming ceremony without a single loss.

"Of course, you finally wake up after sleeping straight from the beginning of first period to the end of supplementary lessons. Have you ever considered that you might be possessed or something?"

"... Wow... I was out of it for that long?"

"Yeah, you were making some amusing moans all through class. No one felt like touching you." Yamada goggled his sanpaku eyes at Itsuki. "You were talking about a three-headed monster dog or something. Did you wander out at night after watching a horror film? Something like 'Terror! Flying Killer Tomato V.S. Ed Wood?'"

"I don't think there was a dog in that one."

"Forget about it. You always faint during horror films anyway."

"... Isn't that natural? They are kind of scary..."

"Heh, I still remember you swooning during 'Nobita's Great Underworld Adventure.'"

"Ack!"

Oh, the trauma.

Ever since elementary school, every time he went out, he ended up in some unfavorable situation. Just half a month after he entered this school, the whole class knew he was a scaredy-cat thanks to Yamada. Even the neighboring classes knew him as "The Guy Who Fainted from Watching Doraemon."

"Keheheheh!" After laughing like a demon for a while, Yamada asked, "So, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"... You know, you've looked a little funny since last week."

Yamada lowered his eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"F-funny?"

"Yeah. You're normally out cold, but recently, you've been doing it a lot more. Have you taken up some kind of weird part-time job or something?"

"... Mm... sort of..."

Giving an ambiguous laugh, Itsuki rubbed his cheek.

"Well, whatever. I thought you were gonna go with Kusakabe's uncle to America, weren't you?"

"I can't do that. I've got to hold the house down here, and I don't want to cause him that much trouble..."

"Well it's too late for that now. And after you guys had been living together for several years..."

"Well, just go with what's logical, I guess."

Yamada sighed at Itsuki's words.

"Man, you're a good guy in a weird place. I don't really much care about that, but at least visit us once in a while. Your big sis's always telling you to show your face more."

"Yeah, thanks," Itsuki said meekly.

Yamada dropped his shoulders tiredly. However, he suddenly tilted his neck.

"Oh yeah, I heard from your sis. --You're father's case has been wrapped up, has it? A lawyer sent some kind of letter. So they found your dad after all?"

"Uh..."

Seeing that Itsuki was having trouble putting his thoughts into words, Yamada tapped the back of his neck.

"Hm, I guess that was asking too much. Well, if you really want to know, then just call your sister."

Yamada was totally shameless.

Itsuki shook his head, giving a wry smile.

"It's okay, I don't really mind. Since it's already been seven years since he went missing, I've just thought of him as dead."

"... I see. That bad, huh?"

"I really don't have any feelings about it, though. I've been living with Kusakabe since before he went missing, after all."

"Yeah, you've really got nothing to complain about there... Man, if I could live with Yuuka-chan..."

"Hush, lolicon."

"You shut up, greenhorn!"

As they were conversing, Itsuki's cell phone started rumbling in his pocket.

When he saw the caller ID, his heart jumped.

"Ack!"

"Hm? What's wrong? Go out if you need to."

"Y-yeah..."

Gulping down a huge gob of saliva, he pressed the talk button.

The moment he did...

"Oh, president!"

"Huh?"

Yamada's ears perked up.

"Hey... Nekoyashiki-san, what is it?"

"Along with the succession operations I told you about, we've got a new worker coming in. Can you swing about here tomorrow, president?"

"Uh, yes... I understand, but..."

"Also, I need you to sign the documents confirming the capture and return of Ultros the other day."

"Y-yes... Understood. Well, see you later."

As he cut the call, just as he expected, Yamada was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Ibaitsu... did someone just call you... 'president?'"

"N-no... it was just a wrong number."

"And you answered it?"

"That's, uh... s-sorry. I have to go home now!"

"Wait up, Ibaitsu!"

Standing up in a panic, Itsuki grabbed his schoolbag and ran away.

When he left the classroom, it was already evening.

People who have disappeared are dealt with as dead persons after seven years according to the law.

Iba Itsuki knew this because of a particular letter he had received.

"Oh... it's about dad."

On a pretty white envelope that seemed like it would be a waste to throw out, "Regarding the Inheritance of Iba Tsukasa's Assets" was written.

Though it was kind of cold of him, Itsuki hadn't even thought about his father until receiving the letter. Since he had gone missing a long time ago, when Itsuki was still too small to remember, he had been given to his uncle and his uncle's wife to be taken care of. As they had treated him just like family, he pretty much considered them to be as such.

Itsuki's uncle had raised him perfectly well.

He gave both Itsuki and his real daughter, Yuuka, the same amount of affection, and even though he knew that Itsuki could see things like ghosts and monsters, he didn't fear him or give him any flack for it even once. Rather, saying it was for self-defense, he gathered lots of reference and information books for him. To Itsuki, who was often chased by monsters because of his weak appearance, the reason he was able to live for so long was thanks to his uncle.

--As a result, aside from the occasional bouts of fear and bullying, Iba Itsuki led a decidedly peaceful and average life.

But now...

For the first time, Itsuki resented his father and uncle a little bit.

That's not to say that such resentment was undeserved. After all, there must have been a reason why he was given to his uncle. When the letter came, he refrained from speaking about it to his uncle, who was now in America, out of concern over the issue.

However, it was still totally unexpected.

... Man, uncle, you're no fair! Itsuki lamented in his heart. To think that dad was president of some magician company, and uncle didn't even say anything about it! Not once!

Not to mention that he would have to succeed his father as president once he died!

After eating ramen for dinner on the way home, Itsuki stopped in the nearby park and made a phone call.

"[Good morning]... oh, Itsuki nii-san? What's wrong?"

It was Yuuka. Thanks to the time difference, her voice was sleepy. It couldn't be helped. Nine in the evening in Japan was still early morning in New York.

"Um--hey, is uncle there?"

"He's on a business trip. He flew off somewhere to the Great Lakes. He hasn't been calling regularly either, so mom is pretty mad."

"I see..."

"Hey, hey, when are you coming to visit, onii-san?"

He heard the sound of rubbing against a blanket on the other end of the line. It seemed like Yuuka had just gotten out of bed.

"It's no use until summer break. High school is too much, right now."

"I wish you could come to school here..."

"Don't say silly things. I'm not so good with English, unlike you."

"You'll get used to it in just a month!" she assured him cheerfully. There was quite a difference between their mental capabilities that Itsuki wished she would consider.

"... Yeah, yeah... Say, Yuuka, have you ever heard anything about some company called <Astral>?" he tried asking suddenly.

"Huh? What?"

A puzzled voice returned to him. But from then, Yuuka's tone turned serious.

"Onii-san--did you see something again?"

Ack!

Bull's-eye.

"N-no, it's not anything like that...!"

"Reeeally?"

"Yeah. Well, I'm going to go. International calls are expensive!"

"Talk to you soon, then!"

Cutting the connection, Itsuki took a deep breath. Yuuka was pretty perceptive. If he talked to her any further, he'd definitely get found out.

"... Of course I can't tell her I've been made into a company president..."

Itsuki had a distant look on his face.

He sat on the swings, kicking the ground back and forth weakly.

Ruminating over the conversation at the mansion the week before, Itsuki heaved a sigh.

--The mansion.

That was the bureau of the magician dispatch company <Astral>.

It was a very small mansion, hidden among several other buildings, and you wouldn't be able to notice it unless you knew about it. After receiving the letter about his inheritance, Nekoyashiki gave him a big nod and handed him several different documents.

There was a transfer of management contract, an inheritance rights contract, and several other papers with difficult-looking contents, but that wasn't the problem itself. He was a bit uncertain about his father's form and past, which he was just getting to know for the first time.

However, when he was handed the business card, everything turned around.

On a slip of paper embossed with a crystal watermark, the title, "Nekoyashiki Ren - Onmyoudou Department Head" was written, along with the following in sepia-colored letters:

<Magician Dispatch Company ・ Astral

--We rent out magicians to meet your needs>

"..."

Itsuki simply sat speechless for several seconds.

"... Um, what exactly is this?"

"Can you read? We support customers with magicians from all around the world, versed in magic arts from kokkurisan to voodoo, to fulfill their requests. Though, we're a bit shorthanded right now."

Smiling, Nekoyashiki fluttered his folding fan.

"So, I want you to succeed the position of president of this company."

"President-san, president-san~!"

Itsuki's eye became a dot.

"--Hey, wait a second! I'm a high school student! I don't remember anything about my father at all, and what exactly does 'magician dispatch' entail?!"

"It's not a problem. So long as there's a guardian, even a high school student can manage a company."

Holding a teacup in his hand, Nekoyashiki gave a flawless business smile and nodded. If he weren't covered from head to toe in cats, he could pass as an exemplary model of a businessman.

"But why do I have to inherit anything?! Why don't you become president, Nekoyashiki-san? I'll sign whatever contracts or anything I need to in order to pass it on to you."

"The fetters of industry don't really appeal to me."

Nekoyashiki gave a cheap smile.

"We got an order from the <Organization>; the head of the association--that is, the position of president--is recommended to go to a blood relative. If we ignore what they say, we can't do business, and tomorrow we'll all be wandering the streets."

"Bankruptcy? Restructuring? Bad debt?" Mikan said in a worried voice, looking up at Itsuki.

Then, the cats began to exert wordless pressure. Itsuki couldn't find the words to go against their adorableness.

"Uh, um..."

No words.

The floor under his feet began to rumble with a strange moan. If he refused rashly, the floor would surely break open and unleash some kind of horrible monster.

"I... I can't use magic or anything..."

"Don't worry about it. It will be enough for now if you simply sign and stamp here."

Nekoyashiki smiled and nodded.

Itsuki's methods of escape were vanishing one by one.

Suddenly, Mikan grabbed the armrest of the sofa. Latching onto it with her small hands, she made her mouth into a へ shape.

"..."

Wordlessness.

"..."

Silence.

"..."

Stillness.

Itsuki finally cracked.

"Al... alright..."

He gave the slightest nod.

"That's wonderful, president!"

"Onii-chan's a president~!"

""""Meowowow! Meeeow!""""

Cheers came from all sides of the office.

Washed away by the sound of the cheers, Itsuki was crushed by despair.

"... A-------h..."

Heaving a huge sigh, Itsuki unsteadily hit his forehead against the swing's chain. Sinking his head down, he looked like an old man on the verge of death.

This is bad! This is really bad!

No matter how he looked at it, it was bad. By some kind of mistake, the class fool had somehow become the president of a magician company. Even more of a mystery was his employees.

"Along with Mikan and I, our board director, Hazel, is off touring Europe, and we've got a new employee coming in soon. We've also got three or so freelancers helping us out part-time."

Was what Nekoyashiki had said.

Since then, ten days had passed. Furthermore, in the days leading up to today, he had gotten involved in a monster capture. Going home with heavy steps, it was natural for him to take a stop in the park.

It was a small park.

It was near his house, and he would run away here often ever since kindergarten. It was in an air pocket of the school district, so almost no one came through. Occasionally, he would hide in the earthen pipe tucked away in the shadow of a tree and finally be able to sleep soundly.

"Even if I hide, nothing will change..."

He looked irresolutely at the earthen pipe. He struggled over deciding whether he would really hide in it. Even if he went to America like Yuuka said, it wasn't likely that Nekoyashiki would give up on him.

--But, at a time like this, the earthen pipe was a place where he could ball up his misfortune.

After heaving his fifty-sixth sigh, Itsuki got up from the swing.

Ping!

Suddenly, it felt as though a hot iron pipe had impaled itself into his right eye.

"--gh!"

It was just a hallucination, right?

Right?

Actually, it was a sensation of approaching death. Heck, it felt like death itself. Something had turned the park into a veritable hell in just a moment.

... He couldn't turn around.

No matter what happened, he couldn't turn around.

But he did. And there...

"You are the president of <Astral>, yes?"

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Itsuki jumped upon hearing the voice from behind him.

There shouldn't have been anyone else in the park. There were only two entrances, and he hadn't seen anything pass through them.

Nonetheless, a girl stood before him.

Like destiny, like a nightmare, she was chuckling.

"...ah."

Itsuki couldn't speak. Stuck on his bottom, he simply flapped his mouth open and closed.

"My my..."

At his appearance, the girl smiled from ear to ear.

"Excuse me, but I did not want to intrude on your home, so I invoked a reading to link me directly to your location. --First, at least look me in the eyes. I am called Adelicia ・ Lenn ・ Mathers. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

Grabbing the hem of her pure black dress, she made an elegant curtsey.

She looked as though she had been pulled straight out of a western painting. She was beautiful.

Even in the night, her hair was a brilliant gold color, and it was set into vertical curls. Her strong, green eyes looked down at Itsuki. Here and there, complicated patterns of gold and silver thread adorned her dress. She seemed to be about the same age as Itsuki.

"...You... you are..."

As Itsuki struggled to retain cognition of his speech, the girl smiled and waited.

However, her smile collapsed upon hearing his next sentence.

"... Reading? Are you an employee of <Astral> too? Then, you're the new employee who I was told would come to teach me?"

"No."

The girl's--Adelicia's--cheeks quickly turned a rosy crimson.

At the same time, another nasty pressure stabbed into Itsuki's right eye.

Aah!

With that pain, he knew.

This was spell power.

The origin of all these mysteries, the great "power" itself. That demon dog had been captured thanks to spell power, and this girl was emitting it without even invoking any spells.

"How dare you! To call me an employee of <Astral>...!"

Itsuki's skin began to go numb little by little, and Adelicia's spell power began to swirl. Underneath his eye patch, Itsuki's right eye seemed about ready to explode.

"Uh... Did I say something wrong?"

"--!"

"Uwa!"

Seeing the girl's face freeze, Itsuki grasped his eye patch quickly.

"It can't be... you don't even know?" Adelicia asked in a too-gentle gentle voice.

"... Huh?"

"Are you telling me that you do not know the name Adelicia ・ Lenn ・ Mathers?"

Itsuki's right eye--and his throat--hurt.

When he gulped, the gob of saliva felt like a stone.

... If he answered carelessly, he felt that he would definitely die. He felt the touch of death through his individual hairs, creeping into the pieces of his soul. Thinking only of that feeling, he was like a poor little animal about to be eaten.

Feeling his heart thumping loudly, he desperately shook his head vertically.

"Y-yes..."

"... Hmph. I see."

Adelicia's eyes grew dead cold.

"The president of <Astral>, when he hears the name "Mathers"... does not know who that is?"

I only just became the president!

"..."

The girl glared at Itsuki, who simply nodded, unable to say a thing. He felt as if he were a frog being stared down by a snake.

"You aren't lying, are you...? Are you really Iba Itsuki?"

"Y-yes, I am, but..."

His words caught in his throat, Itsuki looked back up at the girl before his eyes.

Her fearsome spell power hadn't changed. However, the ghastliness about it had slightly diminished.

Between the two of them, there was a tired feeling.

"--It is okay. It seems I have not made a mistake in reaching you, president of <Astral>."

Throwing back her golden hair, Adelicia let out a small sigh. She seemed to make all of her movements separately.

Slowly walking forward, she moved to Itsuki's side.

With all the pomp of a queen, she made an order to him.

"--Withdraw from the next offer."

"Off...er?"

Itsuki boggled his eye at her.

He was utterly uninformed about anything, at all.

Nekoyashiki-san, you said I would just have to sign and stamp, and everything would be fine!

"Uh... sure..."

"Wonderful. If that is the case, then there is a way."

Saying this, the girl pulled out a piece of paper from somewhere in her dress.

It was piece of parchment.

It was also kind of ominous-looking. The rough surface seemed to have veins of poison running through it, and the red letters scrawled across it looked sort of like human blood.

"Uh... um... this is..."

"Did you not just make your decision? If you do not understand my words, then we can negotiate this with the <Organization>. Everything will be fine with just one signature."

Adelicia smiled.

It was a florid smile, but it made Itsuki feel a cold sweat.

"Sign...?"

"Yes, if you just pull out of the next job, everything will be fine."

She spoke in a whisper that could well have been that of Mephistopheles, who had stolen the soul of a philosopher.

However, Itsuki hesitated in taking the quill and parchment held out to him by Adelicia.

"What is the matter?"

"Nothing, it's just..."

Stiffening his face, Itsuki laughed ambiguously. As expected, he had no decision making skills as president.

Unable to judge his appearance, Adelicia gave a single nod.

"If that is the case, allow me to lend you a hand."

"Huh?"

"--Come forth, Botis. Wise earl supporting sixty armies--"

A shrieking snake appeared in Adelicia's hand in a flash.

"U, uwa--!"

Before Itsuki, who had begun to shout, the snake's eyes twinkled brightly.

In an instant, Itsuki's voice was buried in his throat, and his body became petrified like stone.

"Now, let us continue."

... Hunh?

His body began to move on its own.

With empty eyes, Itsuki took the quill and parchment, and his body followed what Adelicia said.

Huh--!? This isn't good!

His body neglecting his conscience, he took the quill and touched it to the parchment.

"... Yes."

A smile bloomed across Adelicia's face like a flower.

But then...

"That's as far as you go."

A third cold voice fell.

Yes--it fell to the ground.

3

Something sliced through the darkness of the night.

With a swift gust, the parchment ripped in half. As the pieces danced through the air, they caught fire and burned to ash.

"Uwah!"

Itsuki reflexively waved his hand. Right as the parchment was destroyed, he regained control of his body.

"--Mistletoe Spear."

Picking up the small twig thrown at her feet, Adelicia looked up at the sky.

"Honami!"

In that night sky, another character had appeared, floating.

She sat sitting horizontally on an old broom with her back to the moon. Her chestnut-colored hair was tied into a ribbon. She wore a surprisingly large pointed hat. Her fingers were wrapped around a twisted oak rod.

--Yes, she had the appearance of a witch straight out of a fairytale.

However, the one thing about her different from a regular witch was that she was wearing a sailor uniform. It was surprising to see an innocent girl of about fifteen or sixteen wearing a pointed hat and a dark cape.

And though it was unrelated to the situation, Itsuki thought she was pretty.

If Adelicia was a magnificent jewel, then this girl was a single, painstakingly raised, blue rose. She didn't have the brilliance of a gemstone, but her figure was unparalleled. She wasn't a sure winner, but there was no counting her out of the race just yet.

"Aren't you overdoing things a bit, Addie? --I think summoning one of the seventy two demons is going a bit too far."

From behind her thin-rimmed glasses, her Ice Blue Eyes smiled.

"Do not act overly-familiar with me, calling me by such a name!"

Adelicia waved her hand widely.

She took on a violent composure, as if all her elegance up to this point was a lie.

Anger flared up in her eyes. She seemed to be looking at an irreconcilable enemy.

"I have already explained, but the next <Night> is of rank, according to the <Organization>. It is no time for <Astral> to open its curtains!"

"Okay." The girl called Honami gave a disinterested assent. "But still, for a rank, <Goetia>'s youngest leader in history came all the way out to this far-east back country?"

"That is none of your business. I take on the work that I wish to do. That is all."

"Well then, I suggest you stop taking passes at our president."

Honami shrugged.

Itsuki, watching from the side, could tell how much Adelicia was vested in whatever she was talking about. The pain in his right eye that he had forgotten about suddenly returned in full force.

Even so, the witch on the broom lightly brushed Adelicia's words off.

With that, he could tell that this person was at the same level or higher than Adelicia.

...gh

Finally realizing what was going on, Itsuki held his breath.

Does this mean... that this is a magician showdown!?

And of course, he was wide open in the center of it. Not only was his life at risk, his soul was too.

However, he couldn't escape.

The spell power in Adelicia began to amass in far greater amounts than it had up until now. Once that power exploded, a magical battle of unimaginable proportions would begin.

Itsuki felt as though a drill was drilling through his eye patch straight into his right eye.

More than the pain, though--he felt a horrible sensation that something was encroaching upon his eye, as if it were being invaded.

Finally, the park itself seemed to turn into an alternate world--

"... Let us stop this. Tonight is not the time or place for this," Adelicia said, lowering her arm. "Since we are contracted to the same work, we will unfortunately be in conflict. There is when we shall weigh our relative merits."

"Whatever."

"--!"

Adelicia bit her lip at Honami's blunt response.

However, immediately turning her neck,

"Come forth, Bathin. Powerful duke supporting thirty armies--" she chanted.

That instant, a pale phantom horse was summoned to her side. Then, as the night wind blew through the park, Adelicia's figure disappeared.

"A Solomon demon that transports people instantly? There's quite a crowd of them, aren't there?"

Giving a small sigh, Honami looked down at the park.

"This little spell power probably won't disappear quick. What was she planning to do if that turned into spell wave pollution...?"

Pushing up her hat while making a troubled face, she threw four thin twigs at each corner of the park.

"Ah..."

Itsuki raised his voice.

The pain in his right eye disappeared in a flash. The spell power that remained in the park had just been wiped out with a cleansing ritual.

"That'll do it, probably."

The witch on the broom dusted off her hands.

She then lowered her gaze to Itsuki.

"Is your right eye alright?"

"Ah... ah, yeah."

Since it looked like she had been worried for him, he nodded quickly. No a bit of pain had remained.

"I see. That's great, then," she said nonchalantly. She slowly floated down and stood in front of Itsuki.

Standing right in front of him, the witch seemed even lovelier. Her chestnut hair mixed with the color of her eyes was probably because she was of mixed race.

Blood began to well up in Itsuki's head.

Walking up to him to the point that he could feel her breath, the witch held out a hand to Itsuki's cheek.

"Uwah!"

"You're bleeding."

She wiped a white finger below his eye patch. It was soft, pleasant, and smelled good.

She slid the finger softly across his eye patch.

"..."

The witch's eyes grew slightly narrow.

"Wh-what is it?"

"--Nothing. It's pretty sensitive, so you could have lost your eyesight from that spell power. Be careful. Also, take this. Nekoyashiki-san asked me to give it to you."

She pressed a small badge into Itsuki's hand. From the silver mirror decorated with a pentagram, it seemed to be a company badge.

"A company badge... so, I'm guessing you're an <Astral> employee?"

Not responding to his question, Honami turned her broom diagonally. It should have fallen over, but it floated in the air merrily while supporting the witch's petite body.

"--Honami ・ Takase ・ Ambler."

"Huh?"

"That's my name. We'll get to know each other for real tomorrow. Don't get seen going home like this, okay?--president."

Smiling faintly, the witch's shape flew off somewhere into the sky.

The badge in Itsuki's hand sparkled, reflecting the light of the moon.

4

The next day.

Itsuki examined the badge as he sat at his desk in the classroom. He was, of course, unable to sleep at all last night, and ended up going to school early.

I wonder if there's really no way to get out of this...

Itsuki began to worry again.

He felt almost disembodied. In regard to the demon dog incident and the park the night before, he felt as though he had died and come back to life. He had been involved in supernatural happenings before, but nothing to the degree of what was happening now.

No, there's only one way.

Holding onto the badge, he ran his hand across his eye patch.

--He thought of when he had to start wearing it.

He didn't remember very well, but it was probably around kindergarten. He had been chased by a monster, and he took a hit that inflicted a huge wound to the point that he could have lost his right eye. His right eye was in a stupor for a week, and eventually became unable to withstand light, requiring the application of an eye patch.

... Though I can still see monsters with it, even though the patch is over it...

Itsuki sighed. No matter what he thought, it was bad luck that he couldn't sell back. Rather, they were having a bargain on hemorrhages.

He knocked the badge on his desk, and it rang like a wind chime.

... I wonder if that girl's going to be at the office today... he suddenly thought, becoming glum again.

Nekoyashiki had told him to come to the office after school. However, wasn't that just stepping deeper into the swamp? At this point, the best he could come up with was calling Yuuka and flying off to America.

"--What's that badge?" Yamada asked from behind him.

"Ack! Uh, it's nothing..."

Flustered, Itsuki waved his right hand. He had apparently been thinking to himself for a while. When he looked around, he saw the usual boisterousness that occurred before homeroom.

Cutting through two or three meaningless conversations, the bell signaling the start of class rang.

The door rattled.

"--"

... Itsuki was frozen solid, right down to his individual brain cells.

Contrary to his reaction, cheers began to echo across the classroom. Eighty percent of the male students and all of the female students were speechless, their eyes popping out.

It was because the homeroom teacher was leading in an unfamiliar girl.

No... correction.

There were two girls.

"Uh--... I don't know if you've all heard or not, but these two transfer students will be joining our class from today onward. First, give a self introduction."

Itsuki didn't hear the teacher's sleepy voice at all. It was probably because his ears wanted to refuse what he was hearing.

"I am called Adelicia ・ Lenn ・ Mathers. I will only be here for a few months, but for now, it is a pleasure to meet you all."

"I'm Honami ・ Takase ・ Ambler. Nice to meet you guys."

Among the applause sailing through the room, Itsuki could clearly hear the sound of something shatter.

It was the sound of his peaceful life being smashed and scattered across the floor.

*

Scene change.

Later that evening, a single man stepped into a certain park.

It was the park where Itsuki had first seen Honami and Adelicia the night before. There were no children left in the park, and against the backdrop of the deep crimson sky, the rusty swing swayed in the wind forlornly.

"--Looks like this is the place after all."

The man slackened his blank face.

He was a hard man to judge with one look. His delicate looks gave him to be in his twenties, and he wore a business suit with no peculiarities. He was about medium height--the length of his nose, the thickness of his lips, the size of his eyebrows, the deepness of his eyes--they all seemed to be about average.

It was as if his characteristics completely shut down any attempt to characterize him.

There was one thing that didn't follow the rule, and that was the L-shaped wires he held in each hand.

The two parallel wires occasionally twitched left or right, and the man followed their direction precisely as if he were being remote-controlled.

This was the magical art of dowsing.

It used a person's subconscious to find hidden treasure or a source of water. It was one of the old magical arts well known in England.

"Yes, yes."

Nodding, the man stopped as the wires crossed each other between the jungle gym and the monkey bars.

As he did, the man touched a red pen to his tongue and made a memo on his small map.

It was a municipal map. It was a 1/300,000 scale reduced map with several X marks and small annotations scrawled across it.

"--Spell wave pollution class six to seven. It looks like someone tried to clean it up, but it seems to have revived afterward. The Ray Line waves are all according to the calculations. The <Night> is near. Now, the undertakers..."

Folding up his map, the man took out a notepad.

He let out a sigh.

"<Goetia> and... <Astral>. There are a couple of nostalgic names, eh?"

He seemed to be enjoying himself.

Even so, his eyes did not laugh in the slightest. Only his lips stretched to both sides of his face. It looked almost as if his mouth was a slash wound.

The man's red, unpleasant shadow seemed to contaminate the ground of the park.