Fantasy Library.

Chapter 403 Open and aboveboard surveillance

The night passed quietly.

As the sky began to lighten and night was about to be banished, the girl who had been lying in bed all night finally woke up slowly.

"What... what is this...?"

Looking at the ceiling, which was similar to her own room, and the unfamiliar bed and bedroom, Akinagisa, who was still a little sleepy and confused, suddenly got up and became completely awake.

"W-Where am I? How did I end up sleeping here? Huh? Wait, what happened...?!"

Akina instinctively clutched the blanket tightly, looking so panicked that she was incoherent.

Before Akinagi could even begin to have any embarrassing thoughts, a familiar voice reached her ears.

"You finally woke up."

Aize sat cross-legged next to the bed, leaning against the wall, as if he had spent the night there. He was stretching and talking to Xiaonagisa.

"Ai... Ai-kun?" Akina Gisa gripped the blanket tighter, still somewhat panicked, and stammered, "Why are you here? Why are we in the same room? Is this some kind of prank? There should be someone else hiding here... holding a prank success sign, right?!"

Obviously, waking up in an unfamiliar room and bed with a man of similar age next to her would be quite a shock for a young girl who hadn't even graduated from junior high school.

"What?" Aize blinked at the panicked Xiaonagisa and said, "Have you forgotten what happened last night?"

“Last...last night?” Akinagisa swallowed hard, her mind going completely blank.

This statement... could it be that something terrible really happened last night?

Moreover, it was with the neighbor who I had only known for a short time?

That kind of thing...don't do it!

With tears welling in her eyes, Akinagisa racked her brains, trying hard to recall what had happened the night before.

I remember that after the club activity ended, it was too late to cook dinner, but Aize kindly invited me to go to a family restaurant near the school and we had dinner there.

After leaving the family restaurant, the two chatted as they walked home, but they ran into each other halfway there...

"Demon clan..."

Akina finally remembered this, and her panicked face began to turn pale.

“It seems you’ve remembered.” Aize had been watching Xiaonagisa’s expression closely. Seeing her face turn pale, he immediately spoke up, saying, “That’s right, we encountered some unruly demons on our way home, and they even gave us a hard time.”

Perhaps recalling that scene, Akatsuki Nagisa's delicate body trembled slightly.

"Then...then I...?"

Akinagi spoke with a very unpleasant expression.

"I see." Aize finally understood and said, "You don't remember anything after that, right?"

Akina nodded slightly, her face pale.

She truly doesn't remember what happened after that.

Upon seeing this, Aize's eyes flickered slightly.

Logically speaking, he should have kept what happened back then a secret to avoid triggering Nagisa's lost memories.

However, this approach only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause.

Therefore, Aize decided to reveal part of the truth.

“Nagisa, you’re not an ordinary person, are you?” Aize said. “Although you may not remember, you actually did something quite extraordinary back then.”

"Huh?" Akina was stunned for a moment, looking completely bewildered. "Me? I did something incredible?"

“That’s right.” Aize nodded and said, “At first, you were afraid of those two unruly demons approaching, but suddenly, you were like a different person. You actually unleashed amazing power and scared those two unruly demons away.”

Aize's words not only stunned Akina Gisa, but also left her dumbfounded.

"I scared those two demons away?" Xiao Nagisa quickly shook her head, looking incredulous. "Impossible, impossible, how could such a thing happen?"

“It’s true.” Aize looked into Xiaonagisa’s eyes, as if to amplify the force of his words, and said, “I witnessed that scene with my own eyes, and I saw what you looked like at that time.”

"At that time, you were like you were possessed by something, and you became completely unlike yourself."

After Aize said that, Akinagisa suddenly fell silent.

"Possession..."

The girl muttered to herself with a complicated expression.

"Could it be..."

As for the Fourth Progenitor, Akatsuki Nagisa had indeed completely forgotten about it.

However, Akatsuki Nagisa did not forget things that were unrelated to the Fourth Progenitor, or things that were related but unimportant and unnecessary.

For example, she used to be a hybrid ability user, possessing not only exceptional psychic abilities but also the ability to see into the past. She remembers helping her grandmother and father with their work for a period of time, using her psychic vision and mediumship abilities to locate buried ruins, deciphering ancient inscriptions that were previously unreadable, and volunteering in archaeology at the request of universities or specialized organizations.

Even though she had forgotten what happened on Gozo, she still remembered the jobs she had done before.

Therefore, Akatsuki Nagisa knew that she was originally an extremely talented shrine maiden with powerful spiritual vision and excellent spiritual medium qualities, thus she could perform complete divine possession and was an outstanding spiritual vessel.

Aize's words immediately reminded Akina Gisa that she might have briefly regained her lost abilities at that time, and that she had been possessed by some being.

Therefore, in Aize's view, he had become a different person and had unleashed an astonishing power that he had never had before.

"Then, I didn't do anything else back then, did I?" Akatsuki asked with some worry and fear, "I didn't do anything too outrageous, did I?"

For some reason, Akatsuki Nagisa was particularly afraid of this.

It was as if she had done something frightening while possessed by some terrifying being.

Fortunately, Aize shook his head.

"Nothing too outrageous happened, after all, I was there at the time and just happened to stop you."

Aize's words stunned Akinagisa once again.

"Ai Jun, you stopped me?"

The girl looked incredulous.

Looking at Akinagisa like this, Aize smiled.

"Speaking of which, I haven't told Nagisa about my true identity yet, have I?"

As he spoke, Aize took out an ID card from his pocket.

"This is my Exorcist Certificate." Aize handed the certificate to Akinagisa and said, "I am an agent of the Lion King Organization and an active national Exorcist Certificate."

Upon hearing this, Akinagi's eyes widened.

"Ai-kun is an attack demon officer?" Akina exclaimed in surprise, "A spy for the Lion King Organization?"

“Yes.” Aize nodded and said, “The Lion King Organization is a special agency established within the National Public Safety Commission. It is dedicated to preventing large-scale magical disasters and terrorist attacks, as well as conducting intelligence gathering and espionage work. It can be traced back to the Takiguchi warriors who protected the palace from vengeful spirits and demons during the Heian period. It is an organization older than the current government.”

"I am a recent graduate of a facility that specializes in training people in this field. After graduation, I obtained the formal qualifications of an Exorcist Officer."

"The reason I came to Itogami Island is because I was assigned by the organization. From now on, I will be stationed here on Itogami Island and will be responsible for handling matters related to Itogami Island."

Aize put away his certificate, smiled at Xiaonagisa, and said something.

"So, don't let my appearance fool you, I'm actually quite capable. Luckily, I was by your side last night, otherwise, who knows what you might have done in that state."

Although Aize's self-disclosure surprised Xiaonagisa, she quickly came to understand and accept it.

A National Exorcist Officer, a graduating Exorcist under a special agency. It's certainly surprising that my neighbor and senior has such an identity and background. However, Akatsuki Nagisa herself is not an ordinary person, and there are National Exorcists Officers like Nanami Nagatsuki residing in Ayakai Academy, so it's not so surprising that it's hard to believe.

"So that's why Ai-kun transferred here?" Akira Nagisa quickly accepted it and said gratefully, "Luckily Ai-kun was here last night, otherwise Nagisa might have made a big mistake."

"Thank you for stopping me, Ai Jun."

Akina's sincere thanks were met with a dismissive wave from Aize.

"I was originally an agent responsible for preventing magical disasters and terrorist attacks. If you hadn't stopped it at that time, you might have committed a magical disaster or terrorist attack. So it was inevitable that I would take action."

Aize said that first, then immediately changed his tone.

"But you, Nagisa, you actually have such dangerous abilities, it's really hard to feel at ease with you."

Akinagi immediately showed a wry smile and a troubled expression.

“I haven’t used that ability for a long time. I lost it four years ago. I didn’t expect it to come back so suddenly. I’m quite at a loss myself.”

Akatsuki Nagisa's expression showed confusion and disappointment, a complex look on her face.

"Are you still able to use that ability?"

Aize asked a question.

“No, I can’t.” Akina shook her head and said, “If you hadn’t brought it up, I would never have known that I could still use that ability.”

“This is a bit troublesome,” Aize said casually. “It seems your situation is somewhat complicated.”

"Here's what we'll do: you'll be working with me for the next while."

"I'll keep an eye on you and see how you can solve this problem. If you get back into that out-of-control state, I'll be there to stop you in time to prevent anything from going wrong."

Hearing this, Akinagisa hesitated for a moment, but considering that she might unknowingly do something irreversible, she agreed to Aize's decision.

Thus, Aize went from being a shadowy figure to an open observer, becoming a legitimate person watching over Akatsuki Nagisa.

(End of this chapter)