Walking in the Question and Answer System of Heroic Spirits

That guy, Yad, has caused way too much trouble.

Rin Tohsaka: "Even if you hear strange noises, you can't just barge into a girl's room."

Kenneth: "This is outrageous! They really think no Tom, Dick, or Harry cares about El-Melloi."

Weber: "In the end, it's all because the teacher left behind a huge debt before he died."

Kenneth: "Are you an idiot?! Do you think they'd let the opportunity to annex the El-Melloi faction pass up even without those debts?!"

Chapter 179: Tracking, Attack

【"Yeah?"】

Mick suddenly stretched his hand to the side, his fingertips forming a kind of seal that covered the entire room.

Those are not symbols commonly used by European magicians, but rather mantras from the esoteric tradition of Eastern Buddhism.

Reines: "What are you planning to do?"

"We need to set up a barrier first, because it wouldn't be surprising if someone were eavesdropping."

Mick bowed exaggeratedly and said, "As you can see, my magic is a unique branch of Tantric Buddhism, mixed with various other elements due to my unfortunate family background."

"Now that I've revealed my background, can you believe me a little more?"

Reines: "...So, you're going to talk about something that can't be heard by others?"

[Mick: "Haha, that's it."]

That smile looks so fake.

[Then, Mick quietly explained why he had come.]

He was a spy, commissioned by a powerful figure from a certain faction to infiltrate this social gathering in order to investigate.

He's now revealing his identity to seek out Reines in order to collaborate.

The goal of this collaboration was actually to dismantle Izeluma.

Rin Tohsaka: "Spy? Even this kind of profession has appeared?"

The Conqueror: "It's just a small matter, but you've made it so complicated."

Kenneth: "So, as they say, the rivalry between magician families is very intense."

Koles: "He harbors malice towards Izeluma, could he be the murderer!"

Danic: "It's not that simple. The question itself hasn't even appeared yet."

Reines: "Are you confessing to being the murderer?"

"No, it's just a coincidence, a complete coincidence. I never imagined the Golden Princess would die like that."

Mick feigned frustration, saying, "However, once a coincidence occurs, it becomes part of the inevitability. The Golden Princess's death is a fact, and we can only proceed based on this premise."

Reines: "What is your purpose?"

[Mick: "Purpose? Didn't we just mention it?"]

[Reines: "You Jigmalionists should always remain neutral. Whether the democratic Baruyeleta is rendered powerless or not is irrelevant to you."]

"Haha, I knew I couldn't fool them."

[Mick cleared his throat and said, "Actually, I want to get my hands on a cursed artifact, an item that contains the blood of a certain fantasy species..."]

[Cursed objects, also known as cursed bodies, although there are several names, generally refer to items that possess magical catalysts.]

Powerful cursed artifacts are used at the core of Mystic Codes and spells, determining their form. However, in modern times, with the continuous decline of all mysticism, the quality of cursed artifacts acquired by magicians has steadily decreased.

[For high-quality cursed items, it's not uncommon for them to be traded for astronomical prices, and their reserves are even equivalent to the authority of a powerful faction.]

The Trimmau was able to be established because of the central cursed artifact, the Moon Spirit Essence Fluid.

Koles: "He's not talking about Siegfried's linden leaf, is he?"

Danic: "That should be correct."

Shizi Jieli: "Siegfried's Bodhi leaf accidentally stuck to Siegfried's back when he killed the evil dragon Fafnir and bathed in its blood, leaving a flaw in his back."

Weber: "I see. The Bodhi leaf with Fafnir's blood is indeed not only a sacred relic, but also a rare and high-quality spell object."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "It's Bodhi Leaf again. It seems this case is closely related to Bodhi Leaf."

"I refuse."

Reines interrupted him directly.

[Mick: "Hey, hey, it'd be better to listen a few more sentences before you refuse."]

Reines: "Because I can't stand it if you say 'You know too much.'"

Kenneth: "It seems Reines has finally learned her lesson."

Sora: "You learn from your mistakes, after all, we just stumbled."

"Haha, so cautious."

Mick smiled wryly. "Fine, I won't force you, nor do I believe you'll go and reveal my true colors."

Reines: "Hmph, because doing so is tantamount to admitting that we are indeed the murderers."

They're murder suspects now; if they went to tell people, "A spy suddenly approached me and confessed," nobody would believe them.

【"Goodbye."】

The dark-skinned man turned and left, but his attitude seemed to imply that he would receive a different answer next time they met.

After the uninvited guest left, Reines told Trimmau to guard the door, and then, exhausted, she fell asleep.

So much has happened; it's truly exhausting for her.

Indeed, these things should have been left for my elder brother to worry about.

Ilya: "This guy's attitude is really annoying."

Rin Tohsaka: "They looked like they had the other person completely under their thumb."

Kiritsugu Emiya: "You have to be extra careful when dealing with spies like this. You might get betrayed if you're not careful."

Danic: "Indeed."

[After an unknown amount of time, Reines stretched and woke up.]

[A good night's sleep did have its benefits; it instantly cleared her muddled mind.]

Reines immediately thought of a place where there might be a clue, and led Gray to the back entrance of the Moon Tower, the same place they had entered that morning.

The two women carefully observed the ground around them, parting the grass to search for evidence, while constantly watching their step to avoid accidentally trampling on clues.

"Bingo!"

Reines quickly found what she was looking for: footprints that didn't belong to them.

[Almost no one would intentionally use the back door; they only came here because of the Golden Princess's instructions, so these footprints might be traces of the murderer.]

[After examining the footprints, Trimmau confirmed that there were more than ten different types of footprints, including those of the Golden Princess.]

Reines then instructed them to begin tracking.

[This kind of graphic recognition and statistical analysis was Trimmau's forte, but because the method of tracking footprints was too classical, Reines had completely forgotten it.]

Conversely, the murderer might also be just like her.

Weber: "Indeed, when attention is focused on concealing one's magic, it is easy to overlook these basic issues."

Ilya: "But this Mercury Maid is really all-rounder, it seems like there's nothing she can't do."

Solai: "Yes, Weber is indeed skilled, able to modify the Moon Essence Liquid to this extent."

Kenneth: "..."

He decided that starting tomorrow, he would upgrade and modify the Moon Marrow Elixir, making it even more powerful than the Trimmau in the video.

As a teacher, how can I lose to my students?

[Trimmau transformed into his liquid form and immediately swam deeper into the forest, with Reines and Gray quickly following behind.]

But as she chased after them, Reines discovered that the surroundings had become shrouded in thick fog.

Although fog is normal in the lakeside area, Reines sensed something was amiss.

When she tried to call out to Trimmau, she found that Trimmau had disappeared, and her magical connection with Trimmau had been severed.

Not only that, Grey, who was behind them, had also disappeared.

[Reines: "A barrier?"]

Ilya: "It's a common plot in movies."

Kenneth: "Sigh, I just praised her, how come she fell for it so quickly?"

Weber: "That was too rash. We should have discovered the problem earlier."

Shishikatsu Kairi: "Being able to sever the connection between the costume and myself, it seems that this barrier is not as simple as an ordinary illusion array."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "But who would set up such a large barrier in the forest? The Izeluma family?"

Just as Reines was pondering how to escape, a whooshing sound rang out behind her, and a gust of wind swept past her head.