Chapter 389 - What Was Taken
In my talk with the Anastasia Union, there was no information that felt particularly useful for us; I ended up being the one providing most of it. After all, these guys didn't even know their own headquarters had been attacked. Naturally, they didn't know we'd fought the Scion's faction in the warehouse district either.
I suppose they were only just starting to get organized after the chaos. With the factions split as they were, their sense of coordination was low.
"Contact the main house immediately!"
"Comms are too slow. I'm going there myself to hear from the executives and the Madam!"
"Tch! To think they were hit at the same time!"
"It's war! War!"
A surprise attack after splitting the enemy. It was a textbook move that worked perfectly. But as I thought earlier, the objective was unclear. If they wanted to, they could have inflicted far more casualties on the Union. Yet they withdrew without doing so. It was the same at the Academy and seemingly the same at headquarters.
Since killing members wasn't the goal, this wasn't an attempt to weaken the Union's numbers. Thus, it differed from the schemes of the Empire or outside forces trying to weaken Berriza and start a war.
What did it mean? Was this the work of another faction entirely, using the chaos to achieve some other goal? Was I overthinking it? Well, there's no point in a woman like me, whose brain is made of muscle, thinking about it. I'll leave the analysis to Leila and the others.
"Sister, there's no point in staying here."
"Right. Doesn't look like they're in the mood to talk anymore. Let's head out. What are you doing?"
"...I'll head back to the dorm once I hear how things are at the main house."
She didn't care about the Scion's faction, but she had people she was close to at the main house. She was worried.
"Got it. Harriet, stay with the little sister. Valeria, let's go."
"Yes."
The people here weren't in any state to pay attention to us anymore. They were rushing to prepare for the fight they'd been handed. But fighting an unknown enemy wasn't easy; they didn't even know where to find them yet.
The attack on the Academy wasn't irrelevant to us either, so I couldn't just treat it as someone else's problem. Not knowing the objective was unsettling, and I wanted to find out who the attackers were at all costs.
"...This is Violante. President, could you come to the chapel?"
"This is Shino-ue. I'm on my way."
I wonder if they found something. I left the security post and headed toward Roberta and Violante's location. Valeria and I walked through the Academy grounds while maintaining a wide alert, arriving at the chapel. Its grand appearance had a profound, heavy quality that made one think it was far too much just for students.
This place must have been built around the same time as the main building; the Romanesque architecture gave off a powerful sense of history. St. Emeralda's history went back over five hundred years, so the chapel must have been just as old.
"The church at night is a bit eerie."
"Yeah, it has quite the atmosphere."
It would likely be a major tourist attraction if it were anywhere else, but unfortunately, this was on the Academy grounds. No one could enter without being affiliated or having permission. However, as someone with no interest in religious history or architecture, the first thing I noticed was the age. Every time I passed by, I felt like a sense of desolation clung to the place. Very few students actually visited the chapel; I heard the majority of users were members of the choir during their activities.
Time flows on, and the era is changing from the old days when the Church reigned supreme through undead hunting. Even an Academy carrying the name of St. Emeralda and being affiliated with the Church can't escape the flow of time.
I opened the closed doors and stepped into the space filled with the glow of light magic. Roberta and Violante were investigating near the statue of the goddess at the far end; they looked toward us as we approached.
"Did you find anything?"
I scanned the area for any oddities as I walked toward them.
"Well... I'm certain someone entered this place, but there are no specific traces."
"Nothing's broken, and there's almost no mana residue. There isn't really anything here besides this goddess statue, anyway. What could they have wanted? Do you have any ideas, Yukari-san?"
Hmm, they're asking me? As Roberta said, the only notable things in the chapel were the statue and the tapestries hanging from the ceiling. Other than that, there were just rows of pews and the magic items that maintained the building. As far as I could sense, there were no hidden rooms or passages.
"At least it doesn't look like they used magic or tools recently. Could they have set a trap?"
"We thought so too, so we've been checking the pews and the statue... but we haven't found anything. The existing magic items don't seem suspicious, either."
Surely they didn't just stop by to pray. If you were going to hide something in this chapel, it would be the pews or the statue. The tapestries are... wait.
"Valeria, what do you think of that pattern? The leaf part on the top right."
"...Is that the pattern from earlier? The one on the scrap?"
Yes. Exactly as I remembered. The pattern on the clothing of the mysterious attackers was identical to part of the pattern on that tapestry. Based on the mana remaining on the scrap, it was likely an ancient engraved spell. Our Charlotte would have known what it was just by looking at it.
Does that mean the attackers were church-affiliated? That makes even less sense. Maybe they were just hitmen who happened to be followers of the goddess.
"What are you talking about?"
I told Roberta and Violante about the fragment of cloth and the pattern on the tapestry.
"A mysterious attacker and the chapel tapestry... We can't immediately say what the engraving means."
"For now, let's wait until we have more info. Heidi and the others might find something and come back."
"We might also get information from the Anastasia Union."
The attack on headquarters seemed significant, so there should be clues there too. I could expect info via the little sister. And there was a chance that Heidi, who had chased the attackers, had found something decisive.
"...This is Heidi. Leila-san, can you hear me?"
How timely. We all looked at each other and listened silently to the comms of the two who weren't here.
"This is Leila. Did you catch them?"
"Well... I failed. They gave me the slip! They were moving as if they expected to be followed. They used the complex streets of Berriza, decoys, and splitting up—they must have hidden passages and safe houses prepared! I've told the others to keep looking for now, but it's likely impossible to catch them now."
One of our hopes was lost early on. However, this told us something. The mysterious attackers were undoubtedly an organization that knew Berriza intimately. It would be difficult for an outside force that had just arrived to deceive Heidi and her team using the complex streets. Our Intelligence Bureau is world-class; I don't believe they'd fall behind in tracking and escape techniques. Thus, the enemy must be a group that treated Berriza as their own backyard. We lost because of their superior preparation—their escape routes and safe points.
"...Leila here. Understood. Heidi, try pretending to withdraw once to see if you can draw them out. If that doesn't work, pull everyone back and return to monitoring the Union headquarters."
"Understood. I'll be careful."
The enemy had attacked the Union and successfully escaped. They wouldn't let their guard down until the very end. They had combat power, and their stealth skills were considerable. These were a very troublesome bunch. Seriously, another pain in the neck.
"President, what's the move?"
"I was thinking... the Union is going to put their full effort into investigating this, right?"
"Sister, let's let them do it and we'll take a break."
"Yeah, exactly. They're locals and have the numbers; we don't need to struggle ourselves."
"I guess that's true... Roberta, let's go get Sigurdnot and Harriet."
I didn't leave it entirely to them; I had Leila and Heidi continue their search to some extent. But I expected the Union would solve it on their own anyway. I decided not to overthink it.
The attack on the Academy hadn't been made public, so the next day started normally with students arriving for class. Things proceeded peacefully as long as it was light out. Once classes were over, I decided to visit the chapel again.
We hadn't found anything the night before, but then again, we didn't know much about the place. It was better to ask someone who knew the chapel if anything was odd, though I didn't expect much. I walked toward the chapel with heavy steps, dressed in my 'refined' style but still wearing my fierce eyepatch.
"Today is the choir activity day. Perfect."
I could tell there were many people inside before even entering. Since almost no students visit to pray, it had to be the choir. I entered the silent chapel to find a sister and some students in a commotion.
"A-Ah, you're Evilbanshee-sensei."
There was no one at this school who didn't know me, with my aggressive and unique style. Even if we'd never spoken. Every eye in the room was on me, wondering why I'd shown up at a place I rarely visited.
"What's the fuss?"
I asked the sister who seemed to be leading the choir. I wanted to know if anything had changed since yesterday. If nothing had happened, they'd be singing, but they were clearly upset. Something must have happened.
"Well, you see... the Goddess's pendant..."
"Pendant?"
"The Goddess statue in this chapel has had a pendant around its neck for a very long time. It has somehow gone missing..."
I see. If they simply stole it, no magical traces would remain. That was it. But if it was a valuable artifact, it might be unrelated to last night's attackers.
"The work of a petty thief. So it was stolen."
"To think someone would steal from her..."
"How much was it worth?"
I doubted something truly valuable would be left out in the open, but this was an incredibly wealthy school, and the chapel was only accessible to those affiliated. It wouldn't be strange for something valuable to be lying around.
"I believe it had value as a historical relic, but likely not as jewelry. It was quite rusted."
"Rust? Do you remember specifically what it looked like? I want a photo or a drawing if you have one."
It was just a hunch, but I'd bet the mysterious group's target was that pendant. I didn't think an ordinary thief would go after something rusted.
"I believe there's a photo in the records room. Please wait here."
"I'll go with you. After that, tell the Headmistress that the pendant is gone and that I'm investigating."
There was something to this. My gut told me that rusted pendant was an important clue. While the choir students looked on, fearful of the criminal element, I went to the records room with the sister. Looking at the photo there, my bad feeling intensified.
The design on the pendant head looked familiar. It was only natural since it hung from the goddess statue, but it matched the pattern on the chapel tapestry. In other words, it was likely an engraved spell. Maybe the pendant was some kind of magic tool. Something valuable enough for someone to steal.
This alone wasn't enough. I needed to know what happened at the Union headquarters. The attack last night had meaning. It wasn't just a pointless act of picking a fight and running away.
I returned to my room in the dorm, changed into my coat and outdoor gear, and suppressed my anticipation. I made sure my equipment was set, told Valeria and the others I was going out, and boarded the armored vehicle.
"This is Shino-ue. Gradena, get ready to head out."
"Gradena here. Where are we raiding in the middle of the day?"
"We're heading to the Anastasia Union headquarters. Not for a raid, though."
"What? After last night? They'll think we're raiding them even if we aren't!"
If the Scion's faction was there, that might be true.
"If a fight is the only way to get them to talk, then a raid is fine. Just get ready."
"Now we're talking!"
Her reply was enthusiastic. I didn't think it would come to blows, though. They shouldn't be in the mood for games, either. I met up with Gradena and the others in front of the hotel and headed for the Union headquarters.