Westcott's mood was downright foul.
As someone who also understood Spirits and conducted research on them, he had mentally prepared himself for Mobius' progress to outpace his own. But he never expected this 'outpacing' to be by such a staggering margin.
"Isaac?"
The moment she stepped through the door, Ellen saw his stormy expression. "Is there anything you need me to do?" she asked with concern.
"The progress of the Sister's research is far too slow," Westcott stated, not looking up from his desk. "At this rate, we've lost even the capital to play a game against Mobius."
Sitting in his chair, he racked his brain for any salvage operation he could mount right now, only to realize with a jolt that in the current situation, he seemed to be at his wit's end.
About those claims from Mobius—'there are ways other than killing Spirits,' 'every time a Spirit is killed, the next generation becomes stronger'—he only half-believed them.
Westcott knew Mobius wouldn't spout complete nonsense, but that bit about 'ways other than killing'? He didn't buy a word of it.
Or rather, his interpretation was different from others'.
Some might think Mobius wanted peaceful coexistence with the Spirits, but Westcott was convinced Mobius had simply mastered a more sophisticated method of using them than he had. That's why she was trying to stop others from hunting and capturing Spirits.
She definitely wanted to keep all the Spirits firmly in Schicksal's grasp. And as a worthy opponent, whatever Mobius aimed to achieve, Westcott had no intention of letting her succeed.
But... as evidenced by his current headache, Westcott's research on Spirits had hit a wall. Trying to capture another Spirit right under Schicksal's nose was like trying to scale the heavens.
He had to find a way to break the deadlock. Something like finding a Spirit before Schicksal did and capturing it, or achieving a breakthrough in the Sister's research in a short timeframe.
But these weren't things one could just will into happening. Luck played a major role.
"Let's set that aside for now. What did your investigation turn up?"
Since he couldn't solve it immediately, there was no point wasting brainpower on it. Rubbing the space between his brows, he changed the subject.
"Right. According to the intelligence division's report, the central figure in Ratatoskr's collaboration with Schicksal is Itsuka Kotori."
Ellen handed the documents in her hand to Westcott.
"She was present at yesterday's meeting—that red-haired girl who didn't look very old. Currently, she's in her third year of middle school."
Westcott recalled her. A stranger accompanying Elliot. At the time, he'd simply assumed she was a Wizard like them, which explained her youthful appearance.
But from Ellen's tone, that didn't seem to be the case.
After skimming through the documents, a look of keen interest crossed Westcott's face.
"A survivor of the Great Fire in Tengu City five years ago. Joined Ratatoskr shortly thereafter, and rose rapidly through the ranks within five years."
This situation was clearly abnormal. As an old acquaintance, Westcott didn't believe for a second that Elliot would just let some girl climb to such a position of real authority so quickly, no matter how pitiable her past.
"She also has an older sister, Itsuka Shiori..."
Seeing the next page, Westcott's eyebrows knitted together again.
Ellen wasn't surprised by his reaction.
"Hah."
Soon, Westcott let out a short laugh. He finally understood why Schicksal had suddenly shifted its focus to this tiny corner of the world.
A girl who looked exactly like Takamiya Shinji, the one he had killed years ago. Her younger sister was the person in charge of Ratatoskr's collaboration with Schicksal. A survivor of the Tengu City fire.
Others might not think much of it, but whether it was Westcott, Ellen, or even Elliot, none of them could fail to connect these dots.
"Bring that Itsuka Shiori to me. There must be no mistakes in this operation."
Without a moment's hesitation, Westcott issued the order. "We can't cause too big a stir. Can I entrust this to you, Ellen?"
"Of course. But I doubt Schicksal will be completely unprepared for this."
Ellen raised a reasonable concern. "On this matter, Takamiya Mana might also become an obstacle."
"She's been... emotionally preoccupied these past few days."
Westcott hadn't understood why Mana had become so withdrawn after returning, but now he had an inkling. "We don't need her for this mission. Treat it as a covert operation."
"Understood."
Ellen nodded.
She didn't believe this mission would fail.
After all, in this world, aside from Durandal, Ellen didn't think anyone had the ability to defeat her.
Not even that Rita, even if she had fully mastered her Territory.
Sure, Rita's Territory was stronger, but she was ultimately a Valkyrie, not a Wizard. Her utilization efficiency couldn't possibly match Ellen's.
Besides, Ellen couldn't imagine Schicksal deploying Durandal and Rita specifically to protect one Itsuka Shiori.
First, none of them were idle.
Second, Durandal providing protection? How would that be any different from putting Shiori under a giant spotlight for all to see?
If Durandal didn't go, others would just think that as family of Itsuka Kotori, Shiori might know something about the Ratatoskr-Schicksal collaboration. At most, they'd apply some pressure or offer inducements.
But if Durandal showed up, anyone with a brain would start overthinking and resort to more drastic measures.
This was also why, despite her headache over the situation, Kotori hadn't treated it as an unsolvable crisis and forbidden Shiori from going out.
From Kotori's perspective, Shiori was only being targeted to pry information because of her connection to Kotori herself.
At worst, some foolhardy group might try to capture and interrogate Shiori, but it wouldn't be life-threatening. So Kotori's stance was that protecting Shiori from these people was sufficient.
With dedicated guardians, those guys would also tone down their actions.
However, no matter how thoroughly Kotori considered things, due to the information gap, she never imagined that DEM would deploy the world's strongest Wizard against a mere 'family member of a high-ranking official.'
"The study trip for Raizen High School is about to begin. That will be our perfect opportunity."
With a clear target, Westcott regained his composed, confident demeanor.
He understood that even capturing Itsuka Shiori likely wouldn't lead to any major progress on his end. But it didn't matter. As long as it could hinder Schicksal's development, that would count as a success.
Feeling he had scored a point, Westcott remained blissfully unaware that in Mobius's (Black Amber's) eyes, Shiori's existence was utterly insignificant.
--+--
Meanwhile, on the other side, Shiori was experiencing a long-lost sense of solace.
Exchanging lunches with her new friend, gazing at the black-haired girl's gentle, lovely smile, Shiori felt as if transported to another lifetime.
What she had loved most were those warm meal times with her little sister back then—receiving Kotori's admiring gaze, affirmation of her cooking skills, and basking in that incredibly heartwarming smile.
But now... Kotori's 'little sister mode' was becoming rarer and rarer.
These past few days, the comforting routine had vanished completely. And Tohka? Don't even mention her. If Tohka wasn't raising her blood pressure, it was only because she was trying her best to hold back.
Looking at the cutlet the other girl offered, Shiori was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes.
"Seele... could you be an angel...?"
Black Amber: '...I feel a strong urge to stab someone.'
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.