Standing on the street lamp, Lancer looked down at the doves and Takatsuki Sen below, or rather, the 'One-Eyed Owl.'
The first thing he did after returning to this world was to check the time. However, what puzzled him was that only over two years had passed since he left. He recalled that four years had passed when he returned to the Empire last time. Logically speaking, the time in this world should have been longer, right?
However, existence is the greatest truth. Lancer was not a scientist or a curious mage. He temporarily categorized it as the time flow rate being different across various worlds and stopped thinking about it. After all, what was happening now was more important than what had already occurred. It was only when he was preparing to look for Kureo Mado or Kotaro Amon that he discovered an unexpected situation.
An autograph session was being held in a certain square, and the host of the session was none other than Takatsuki Sen.
To the people of this world, the so-called 'Takatsuki Sen' was an author who had recently risen to prominence in the past few years. She was loved by many young people for her unique perspective and clean, concise writing style. However, Lancer knew her true identity: the One-Eyed Owl.
Lancer understanding of this world came from the plot he had watched before, and the plot revealed that there were two Owls: the manager of Anteiku and the woman in front of him, who were father and daughter.
If it were his former self, his first reaction upon seeing her would be to run, as when he first arrived in this world, even with a Quinque, he could only barely fight an S-rank Ghoul. Defeating an SS-rank was basically impossible, let alone an SSS-rank Kakuja—that would be suicide. But—he was different now!
Lancer goal was to resolve the issue of 'Ghouls' existing in this world. For this goal, he was willing to let the Anteiku group, who did not actively attack humans, go. He even took the initiative to connect them to cooperate with the CCG, all to divide the high-end combat power of the Ghouls, which was a disguised way of strengthening the CCG. However, he would absolutely not forgive the Owl who personally killed the wife of his 'mentor,' Kureo Mado!
Fearing that his gaze would be discovered by the opponent, he turned and left immediately after confirming the number of people in the autograph queue. After climbing to the top of an office building, he directly used his newly acquired ability to transform into a — Raven.
Yes, Lancer hesitated again and again but finally chose 'Night Raven' as the target of his shapeshifting.
He briefly checked and found that the more powerful the animal, the more 'Magic (Bloodlust)' was required for transformation, and the shorter the duration. Powerful birds like the Goshawk, Falcon, Vulture, and Frigatebird could probably only be maintained for a few minutes with his current strength.
However, smaller birds were also excluded one by one by Lancer due to their flight speed, ability, or being relatively rare. In the end, it was the 'Raven,' a bird many people disliked, that remained.
It wasn't a large bird, so it consumed less magic, allowing him to maintain the transformation for a relatively long time. Although it was a small bird, its ability value was quite good among birds of the same size. Furthermore, the city was not lacking in 'crow'-like birds, so it wouldn't attract too much attention from people.
As for the 'Raven' representing death and being somewhat ominous?
For him, a disciple of the Queen of the Land of Shadows, it didn't matter at all. He even thought it was quite fitting for his identity.
Even so, Lancer still did not directly approach or monitor Takatsuki Sen because, in Lancer view, the opponent should be the BOSS of this world. No matter how careful he was, it wouldn't be excessive. So, he used his 'Riding' skill and the information recorded in Medivh's book "Druids and Beasts" to tame several passing doves to temporarily act as his eyes, while he monitored those doves. He figured that with this layering, it should be harder for the opponent to realize they were being monitored.
Time passed by continuously, and Lancer would fly back up to the building to recover when his magic power was more than half depleted. When he returned to the street lamp for the third time, the sun in the sky was gradually setting, and Takatsuki Sen smiled as she greeted her editor and left the square.
'It's finally starting!'
Somewhat excited, Lancer directly ordered those few doves to hang behind Takatsuki Sen, while he cautiously followed. Just like that, the opponent gradually left the crowd and entered a small alley, but right at that moment, he suddenly felt that the few doves he had sent to track Takatsuki Sen had all lost contact simultaneously.
'Did the opponent discover me?'
When he flapped his wings and flew into the alley, he saw Takatsuki Sen, wearing glasses, holding a headless dove corpse in her hand.
"Oh my~ I kept feeling like someone was staring at me during the autograph session. I thought it was a new type of drone, but I didn't expect it to actually be a dove? Could it be that I'm just being paranoid?"
After flipping the dove corpse in her hand a few times and confirming that it was indeed a real dove, Takatsuki Sen let out a helpless sigh.
But right at that moment, she suddenly flashed to the side—
"Bang!!"
Accompanied by splashing earth and stone, a crimson spear struck the ground beneath her feet, but this was not the end. That spear actually directly lunged towards her from under the ground.
"Clatter~!"
Crushed stones flew, and the blood-colored spear grazed past her cheek, sweeping up several strands of green hair...
In the brightly lit hall, dozens of displays flashed with various data, but no one paid much attention. After all, the data was too complex, and when really needed, specially organized data would be presented on the screens. Most of them were busy with their own affairs, but right at this moment—
"Section Chief! A resident has reported that there seems to have been an explosion near an abandoned factory in the Anteiku area."
A middle-aged man stood up and reported loudly, while Kureo Mado, who was sitting in the front row with his eyes closed to rest, was stunned for a moment.
"Are there any Investigators nearby? Did an Investigator from our section get into a fight with a Ghoul?"
"There are no Investigators nearby!"
Hearing this, Kureo Mado couldn't help but frown and let out a clicking sound that only he could hear.
'Tsk~'
"It looks like those monsters are hunting their own kind again, but why didn't they report it to us this time? Send the nearest small team to the scene, but don't enter rashly. I'll have the mobile team go to support them!"
"Yes!"
After giving the order, Kureo Mado continued to rest with his eyes closed, but in reality, countless thoughts were flashing through his mind at that moment.
Since the cooperation with the 'Owl' over two years ago, the so-called publicly recognized 'Anteiku Area' had appeared in Ward 20. Ghoul predation was prohibited in this area, and once it occurred, it would be directly suppressed by the 'Owl,' the 'Devil Ape,' and the 'Black Doberman.'
It must be said that because of these three notorious Ghouls, very few incidents occurred in the 'Anteiku Area.' However, there were always some desperate people or simply those with abnormal minds who would do things to provoke. In Kureo Mado's opinion, this time it was likely Ghouls from other areas causing trouble again, right?
Although he hated those man-eating monsters, he knew that it was precisely because of them that the bizarre existence of the 'Anteiku Area' could appear in Ward 20. But it was precisely because of this that he was even more unhappy. After all, understanding is one thing, but it is only understanding. In his view, there would inevitably be a day when he would personally suppress the 'Owl,' even if it meant risking his own life.
'I hope this day comes soon. After all, I don't know how much longer my body can support me in battle...'