The Vatican, the Church.
Headquarters of the Burial Agency.
In one of the offices, a young man with black hair seated in a chair received a message from his hands and feet. He looked at the woman in front of him. "The mission failed, Director."
Hearing his words, the woman, whose one eye was covered by long hair, frowned. "Failed? Your hands and feet went but couldn't retrieve the Seventh Holy Scripture and Ciel from the remnants of the Forest of Einnashe? Or were they all destroyed by the Forest?"
"No, when they arrived, the Forest of Einnashe was already annihilated. Ciel and the Seventh Holy Scripture were completely unharmed."
"Then what's the reason for the failure?"
"An unexpected obstacle," The young man—Merem Solomon—said, looking both annoyed and surprised. "Do you remember the incident seven years ago in a city called Misaki City in the island nation of the Far East?"
Seven years ago, the Far East, Misaki City.
Narbareck would never forget that incident, nor could she ever forget it. After all, it was related to the True Ancestor Princess, Arcueid. The Church recorded everything concerning the Princess.
"Are you saying the Princess you're always thinking about interfered?"
If it was the White Princess, then Merem Solomon couldn't be blamed for his failure. Though the Daemon of the Right Leg had power comparable to the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, equivalent to a Phantasmal Species in mythology, that was its limit. Against the White Princess, it might be crushed with a single wave of her hand.
However, Merem Solomon shook his head. "If it was the Princess, it wouldn't have been so bad. The chances of negotiating and making peace with her are higher. But this time, the one who obstructed us wasn't the Princess—it was that Natsukawa Naoki."
"The one who killed the Nineteenth Ancestor?"
"Yes, he seems to be quite fond of Ciel and threatened that if the Church kept targeting her special physique, he'd drop the moon on us—and the terrifying part is, he can actually do it."
Moon Fall.
The greatest miracle ever shown by Arcueid, a grand feat achievable only through Imaginary Manifestation. If that happened, no matter what defensive measures the Church employed, they would ultimately be crushed and obliterated.
Merem Solomon pointed to his eyes. "Through the eyes of the King of Rats, I saw it. That man manifested… a red moon above his head, on par with the Princess. If it was an illusion, its authenticity was too high."
"Fortunately, Ciel returned the Seventh Holy Scripture, and Natsukawa Naoki has no intention of pursuing the matter further. My hands and feet are currently bringing the Seventh Holy Scripture back."
The Seventh Holy Scripture was retrieved, but Ciel wasn't taken?
Narbareck sneered. "That's fine too. After all, the main objective was the Seventh Holy Scripture. Ciel was never a must-have target from the start. Let her live or die on her own out there. Make sure to have your people erase her name."
"Of course, that's nearly done."
Merem Solomon said with a smile. But behind his calm expression, his heart was filled with indescribable emotions.
(That moon was so similar…)
Memories from a thousand years ago surfaced in Merem Solomon's mind. It was the memory of the night he first met the one he revered. Not in terms of appearance, but in impression and atmosphere—it was too similar.
If there was a difference… though both evoked the image of the moon, Naoki had a slight touch of illusion.
(The friend favored by the Princess? Heh…)
Standing up from his chair, Merem Solomon said, "In the future, anything related to Natsukawa Naoki, leave it to me, Director."
"Oh? It's rare for you to volunteer for work. Are you interested in him?"
"You could say that."
(If there's a chance, I'd really like to meet him in person.)
To see what kind of man the Princess he revered so much cherished.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
At the same time, inside the Mystic Eye Collection Train.
Naoki, who had just destroyed the entire Forest of Einnashe and even manifested a falling moon, openly challenging the Church—essentially slapping their face with harsh words—was now being stared at by his maid like a criminal under interrogation.
Feeling Rei's deadly glare, Naoki quickly stepped away from Ciel. "Uh… Rei, can you stop looking at me like that? There's no dirt on my face, right?"
"No, Master. There isn't a speck of dirt on your body. Even if there were, I'd clean it off for you immediately," Rei said with a smile. "It's just that, in the end, it's turned out like this again? Every time a girl faces danger or is in trouble, you reach out to save them—when will you stop this habit of spreading charm and flirting with girls?"
"When have I ever done that?"
Naoki was genuinely confused. The behavior Rei described—he could swear he'd never done it, not even anything close. Flirting with girls? That was something only a smooth talker could do. There was no way he could pull that off!
"Rei, don't recklessly ruin my reputation. Sure, I might be a bit of a nuisance at the Clock Tower, but as a person, I consider myself pretty upright. I haven't done anything unfair to any of you."
"…"
Rei wanted to say that wasn't what she meant, but seeing her master's clueless expression, she felt utterly exasperated.
Never done anything like that?
Forget the others— wasn't Ciel a prime example? And Rei herself was involved too. In another parallel world, she knew exactly everything Ayaka and Naoki had gone through back then.
Though halfway through, Aoko had interfered for no reason.
"Haaah… Anyway, in the future, please be more mindful of your words and actions, Master. Don't do things like today again. Consider it for the sake of our increasingly cramped apartment."
"Why does this have to do with the apartment again?"
"Master… Haaah~~"
Sighing deeply, Rei turned to Ciel. "So, Miss Ciel, what will you do next?"