"No, my Supernatural Powers have gotten stronger, but now I have to teleport my clothes with me? Why does life always have to be so twisted?"
"I don't know. How am I supposed to know that?"
As Liana laughed, holding her stomach, Kono Lint's face grew sourer and sourer. Thankfully, the 40th participant who had teleported them returned their clothes, allowing Kono Lint to get dressed and return to the streets.
Kono Lint didn't care about winning; he just wanted the time to pass quickly. Now, all he wanted was to return to the dormitory, pull himself together, and rest.
It had been a terrible experience, but it was finally over.
Or was it just bad memories?
The person who, unbelievably, said they believed in him and smiled brightly.
That trust ultimately led to the successful use of his new ability, even though there was a penalty involved.
Who could it be?
He didn't particularly want to do anything, but it would be nice to know at least that much.
Maybe they could at least be friends.
The hand that briefly held the girl's, no, the boy's hand to teleport them was surprisingly soft.
His fingernails had been bitten ragged due to the tension in the waiting room, but the hand he had held was incredibly soft.
As more strange thoughts flooded Kono Lint's mind, he shook his head roughly, trying to rid himself of those thoughts.
"What's wrong with him?"
Liana backed away a few steps, thinking Kono Lint was losing it.
"Hey, isn't that them?"
Cayer pointed, as if discovering something, and there was a silver-haired individual in a hoop dress who looked like a girl but wasn't.
Only their back was visible, but there was no doubt that it was the 40th participant in that outfit today. Erich nodded his head in agreement.
"That's right."
"Looks like something is going on."
Heinrich furrowed his brow, watching the scene.
The 40th participant, considerably shorter than the giant over 2 meters tall, stood facing him. A group of obviously bad-natured people surrounded them, snickering.
…
…
They were too far away to hear the conversation.
However, it was clear that the giant and his gang were either taunting or threatening the 40th participant.
Everyone realized that the giant had also participated in the cross-dressing competition. His huge frame in a dress had been quite shocking, making it memorable.
Liana smirked.
"Huh, so a bunch of men are bothering a poor, pretty boy?"
Although the wording was odd, making everyone grimace, it was true from a distance.
It was unclear what was going on, but the situation was definitely difficult.
"I guess I'll have to save him."
Just as Liana was about to step in to rescue the clearly troubled, pitiful, and pretty boy…
"Let's just go, shall we?"
"Uh… what?"
The person that had been surrounding the silver-haired boy parted, and he bowed his head to the large man before suddenly going on his way.
No one knew what had happened, but it seemed as if they were just letting him go peacefully. The fact that he even gave a nod of gratitude made it seem like they had done something good for him.
"What a letdown," Liana said, somewhat disappointed that nothing had happened. She watched as the large male student walked away, still keeping an eye on participant number 40.
"Anyway, he's really got a lot of sins, that guy," Liana said, laughing at the situation.
"But I'm really curious about what his major is and what class he's in…"
As Liana spoke, she closed her mouth. The person that seemed to be harassing participant number 40 actually just let him go as if it was a misunderstanding. But Liana waved her hand, looking at something slightly behind him.
"Hey, look at that."
"Where?"
"Over there. Isn't that the person we saw at the competition venue earlier?"
Liana pointed out someone wearing a black robe, quietly following behind participant number 40.
"It does look like it…"
Erich had also been suspicious of the black-robed figure, so he understood what Liana was talking about.
Indeed, the mysterious black-robed figure was following right behind participant number 40. Everyone's expressions turned serious upon hearing Liana's words.
"Isn't that really dangerous?"
The unidentified assailant was following participant number 40. Liana, as well as the other Royal Class students, thought something would happen to him.
"Let's follow them."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
Cayer seemed a bit scared, worried about getting involved in something unnecessary.
"Is now the time to worry about that?"
Surprisingly, it wasn't Liana who said that, but Kono Lint.
——
Someone was tailing him.
And this time, he was sure it wasn't just some simple pervert like the middle-aged man from before.
At the competition venue, everyone had stared at him, but he distinctly remembered the black-robed figure who had been staring intensely from the back.
He had felt uncomfortable, but since there were many others like that, he didn't pay much attention. But now, that same person was following him.
What did he want from him?
He needed to get rid of the dress and remove his makeup, but this strange person was still following him.
He wasn’t closing the distance quickly, but he was definitely narrowing the gap. Although the stalker wouldn't be able to harm him on the main street, he just wanted to get home quickly!
He tried to blend into the crowd on the main street to shake off his pursuer, but the black-robed stalker continued to follow him from a certain distance.
He could have told the guards that a strange person was following him, but he didn't want to get involved in any more trouble.
Why do I have to deal with this? I thought to myself as I entered the alleyway.
I'll shake them off and head back outside the temple. Then I'll return to the dormitory as Reinhardt.
With that in mind, I turned the next corner of the alley.
"!"
"…."
The mysterious figure in a black robe that had been following me was now right in front of me.
This guy is dangerous.
Before I knew it, I was already throwing a punch.
-Whoosh!
But my fist cut through the air, and the robed figure easily dodged my straight punch with just a slight movement of their head.
Their movements were anything but ordinary. Even after my sudden attack, the figure did not retaliate.
"…I only intended to make contact since your business seemed to be finished. I had no intention of attacking you, Reinhardt."
"!"
At those words, it felt like my brain froze.
He knew me.
Nobody else had noticed me.
"Who are you?"
Despite my hostile tone, my opponent remained calm.
"You should have known that the Order would contact you soon."
The Black Order.
They said they'd be in touch soon.
Of all times.
Of all times, it had to be today.
My head felt like it had been hit with a hammer.
No, no…
Why?
Why today?
Not Ellen, nor Bertus, not even Harriet, nor any of my dorm mates knew.
But oddly enough.
I had revealed the fact that I was crossdressing to a mage, who was neither an enemy nor an ally yet and with whom I had to discuss important matters.
"Wh-when did you… see it? Or, how did you know in the first place…?"
"I saw the list of participants. Participant number 40, Reinhardt."
Damn it, they saw that. How did they know I was in the crossdressing contest?
Even if they were from the Black Order and it wasn't a confidential document, could they just rummage through the list and find out about it?
The Black Order mage stared at me from within their black robe.
"So, the thing is… I had my own reasons for…"
I have a story behind this!
I can't explain it properly, but there's a story!
"I have no interest in your personal preferences."
However, instead of respecting my preference, the mage dismissed my words as if they had no interest in such matters.
It's not like that! I had thought of the stalker as someone who wanted to do something strange to me, but in reality, they had no interest in my appearance at all.
I was trying to justify my situation, but they didn't care about it at all.
Still, I thought my credibility would be somewhat diminished by the fact that I, a powerful individual who commands a Lord Vampire, was dressed like this.
"What's important to us isn't how well you pull off crossdressing, but how valuable the information you possess is to us."
Ignoring the fact that I'm dressed like this…
It's strangely hurtful…
Even Ellen isn't this indifferent.
Is the Black Order a group of ultimate indifferent people, or is it just this one…?
I couldn't tell if they had infiltrated the temple easily because of the festival or if it was no big deal to infiltrate the temple in general.
Regardless of my embarrassment and sense of crisis, the Black Order member only said what they had to.
"You said you needed the Order's knowledge, and that you could provide us with information on Cantus Magna. Is that correct?"
"…That's right."
Talking like this was incredibly embarrassing, but since they didn't seem to care, I felt like the weird one.
"What knowledge do you need?"
The deal with the Black Order.
It started at this bizarre timing.
Are they really unrelated to the Gate incident? I don't know. But I have to find a way somehow.
There's no time for jokes or embarrassment.
"I need to know how to open a dimensional gate to another world."
"…"
The member didn't respond to my question. They didn't even ask why I was curious. They just silently stared at me.
"Do you know how?"
"I asked what knowledge you needed, not that I would answer. If you provide valuable information from your side, we will share knowledge of equal value."
"So you're admitting that you have knowledge worth sharing in exchange for that?"
I don't need to know the specific method.
The mere fact that the Black Order could tell me how to open the gate is already evidence for me. If I give them information on Cantus Magna, they'll tell me how to open a dimensional gate to another world. The moment they say that, the Black Order becomes a group capable of causing the Gate incident.
I'm not curious about the method.
I just need to know if you know it or not.
"I can't answer that."
But the Black Order wasn't so accommodating.
"Then the deal is too unfair. Even if I give you information on Cantus Magna, you might not be able to give me the information I want, right? Why should I make a deal like that?"
There's no reason to make a deal where one side suffers a loss. My goal is to confirm what each of us holds.
"Are you certain about the information on Cantus Magna?"
"Well?"
"Is the information not ready yet?"
The member's expression changed slightly. They seemed a bit angry.
"It's similar to not being able to tell me whether your knowledge is ready or not."
"…"
Could this be called a battle of nerves? Neither of us showed any hostility or aggression toward the other.
"We'll discuss this issue further and contact you again."
So this matter can't be decided by this person here either.
"…"
"By then, I hope you have the information on Cantus Magna ready."
"And if it's not ready?"
"I don't think you're the type to play games with us."
In the end, we only learned what each other wanted during this contact, and nothing was actually exchanged. However, the Black Order did not deny knowing about it either. It seemed like there was a glimmer of hope for resolving the Gate incident. My heart was racing like crazy.
Solving this wouldn't resolve all the problems, and there would be other issues to face. But it would be getting over the biggest hurdle. The Black Order didn't seem curious about my intentions; they just seemed willing to trade if both parties were prepared.
"At an appropriate time, I'll come back to you…"
Fzzt! Bang!
"…"
Just as our conversation was about to wrap up, a sudden flash of light flickered in the air and collided with the edge of the agent's right cheek. However, it was blocked instantly by a defensive spell that appeared.
What's going on?
"Pretty boy! Over here!"
Looking back, I saw Liana de Grantz, Kono Lint, and a group of royal-class individuals watching me. Why did they come all the way here? But looking at their desperate expressions, I had a feeling I knew what they were thinking.
Anyway, pretty boy? Why do you keep calling me that?
Liana shouted with a pale face.
"Hurry!"
Liana urgently called out to me. The agent seemed to understand the situation and subtly nodded at me.
Is that a signal to go?
He seemed calm but also quite perceptive.
"Y-yes!"
As I hurriedly fled towards Liana, she grabbed my hand and glared at the agent in the black robe.
"Hey, you! Are you a mage?"
"…"
"I don't know what your plan is, but what kind of mischief are you up to inside the temple? Get lost right now!"
Fzzt! Fzzt!
Sparks flickered near Liana's hair. It was as if she would send a lightning bolt at him if he tried any funny business.
No, don't…
Even if it's you, it's not right to pick a fight with a Black Order agent.
Thankfully,
"Hmm, this is unfortunate."
The Black Order agent suddenly pretended to be a kidnapper and began to back away.
"Then, let's meet again next time, pretty boy."
"…"
That…
Did he just make fun of me?
Whether it was an act or he was teasing me, the agent backed off and disappeared.
Liana, seeing the black robe vanish, looked at me with a worried expression and asked,
"Are you okay? You didn't get hurt, did you?"
"Ah, um… Y-yes… Nothing happened…"
No…
You didn't have to come…
"Phew, that's why I told you to go back inside! What were you doing? Even if you were trying to avoid them, what would you do if you came into an alley like this? Are you an idiot? Where do you live? I'll take you home."
"Ah… No, it's… it's okay."
With Liana's misunderstanding, the incredibly long day finally came to an end.