A few hours later.
Inside the apartment.
When Touko, having finished her business, and Ciel, done with her investigation, returned, they saw Naoki sitting on the apartment's sofa. Ayaka had just come out of the bathroom, wearing pajamas and drying her hair.
[Accidentally walking into the room of a young couple who just finished doing something.]
That impression immediately crossed both their minds. It wasn't that they deliberately thought this way, but Naoki and Ayaka's appearance perfectly fit the scenario, especially given Naoki's attitude toward women…
Touko took two steps back. "Naoki, are you so desperate that you brought home a girl you just met?"
"Why would you even think that, Touko?" Naoki shot her an exasperated glance. "Let me introduce you. This is Sajyou Ayaka, my friend from a parallel world. She's Rei's younger sister."
Rei's younger sister?
The younger sister of the maid who followed Naoki in the Train Collection Mystic Eye incident?
Touko's gaze toward her student grew even stranger. A hint of shock also appeared in Ciel's eyes.
"Naoki, you… uh… forget it. As long as you're happy, it's not like this is the first or second time." Touko said.
"I think you need to reflect on your actions, Naoki." Ciel added.
Hearing their sudden and strange remarks, Naoki felt a bit confused, completely unaware of why they said such things.
Unlike Naoki, who was as dense as a block of iron, Ayaka, who already had certain thoughts in her heart, perfectly understood the meaning behind their words.
After giving Naoki a meaningful glance, Ayaka bowed slightly to Touko and Ciel. "Hello. I'm Sajyou Ayaka. Due to an issue with the Wizard Marshal, I've temporarily come to this world from a parallel one. I'll be staying here until I can return. Please guide me."
"You're really a polite kid. I'm Aozaki Touko, a puppeteer. You can just call me Touko."
Honestly, Touko rarely met such well-mannered kids. Besides this Ayaka, only Gray had been like that. The others—whether Naoki or someone like Ryogi Shiki—well, it was partly because Touko herself didn't enjoy befriending others.
"Hello, Miss Ayaka. I'm Ciel, formerly a member of the Church, but now just an ordinary person with nowhere to go, taken in here."
Ciel responded politely as well.
(Ciel… is she a senior from this world?)
Ayaka had heard from Zelretch that in different parallel worlds, there might be people who were the same but not entirely identical. The person before her now might be the same senior she met during high school in her parallel world.
Compared to the Ciel in her memories, the current Ciel seemed more mature. Though her appearance hadn't changed much from her school days, her overall aura was different.
(She has the aura of a warrior who's been through a lot. If she was once part of the Church… she must be an Executor.)
Over the past two years, Ayaka had had some dealings with the Church. She knew a fair bit about Executors and had even interacted with them a few times. Frankly, those were tough experiences, as the Executors never spoke to her kindly.
This was the first time she'd met one she could talk to amicably.
"By the way, Touko, Ciel, you're back, so your business is done?" Naoki asked.
"Yeah, nothing major, just meeting an old friend to reminisce." Touko said, sitting on the sofa and lighting a cigarette. "That Magus's existence is so strange. No matter how much time passes, they don't change. Exactly the same as when they were young. Beowulf hasn't changed either. But for a Phantasmal Species, a few years are probably like a blink of an eye."
She visited the Kuonji residence and then met Beowulf?
Seeing Touko like this, Naoki knew her meeting with the Magus had gone harmoniously.
"What about you, Ciel? Any progress on the Dead Apostle investigation?"
"No specific progress. I could only gather some small clues, like the recent vampire attack incidents."
Since one of the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors had mentioned there was an Ancestor here, Ciel didn't think the vampire rumors were mere gossip. But if it was an Ancestor, after all this time, the impact shouldn't be so minimal.
Back then, Vlov had only appeared for two days and already put the entire Misaki City on edge, even causing numerous casualties afterward. Nero Chaos was the same—almost no one in the hotel survived.
Among the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, aside from those whose locations were already known, the rest were unpredictable. Whenever they appeared somewhere, they caused chaos. It should be the same this time.
Yet, in reality, Misaki City was calm. The vampire rumors remained just that—rumors, mixed with many others, merely one of the city's many urban legends.
"No leads… That's normal. After all, Tatari's nature is different from other Ancestors and doesn't cause constant disturbances." Naoki said.
"Tatari?"
The name from Naoki's mouth made Ciel frown. "Naoki, you know which Ancestor we're dealing with?"
"Though I only found out recently. After we parted ways, I ran into some things."
Naoki explained to Touko and Ciel about being attacked by Tatari disguised as Arthur and about Tatari itself.
After hearing his explanation, both Ciel and Touko showed deep, contemplative expressions.
"A Dead Apostle that doesn't truly exist… and comes from a parallel world. As Rita Rozay-en said, this is a very unique situation."
"It exists as a phenomenon, appearing temporarily in places where rumors gather—this Dead Apostle will be very difficult to handle."
Over the past few years, Ciel had defeated Ancestors before, but that was thanks to sufficient information from the Church and experiences gained from prior victims. Tatari was different. It was an alien Ancestor from a parallel world, one that didn't exist in this world. Or rather, a newly born Ancestor.
To deal with it, they'd have to start from scratch. But its existence was limited to these few days. If they couldn't defeat it now, who knew when they'd get another chance?
"Are you thinking of ways to deal with Tatari?" Naoki asked Ciel. "Your way of thinking hasn't changed, Ciel. No, it's changed a bit, but you still prioritize handling things alone—think about me being here too."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of Tatari—because of a personal grudge."