Sion Eltnam Atlasia felt a bit disappointed.
["Go to Misaki City and kill Zepia Eltnam Oberon"]—that was the instruction from the headmaster of the Atlas Institute, who was also her adoptive father.
Honestly, when she heard this instruction, Sion wondered if her adoptive father had gone mad. If he wanted to kill himself, wouldn't it be easier to slit his own throat? Why send her all the way to Japan, a desert in the world of magecraft?
In fact, Sion had asked him directly. In response, Zepia gave her a vague, cryptic answer: ["Just go, and you'll understand."]
And so, Sion was half-forced to leave the Atlas Institute.
Truthfully, Sion didn't mind the trip. She enjoyed hiding in her workshop, researching Magecraft and seeking ways to prevent the world's destruction. But she also knew that constantly locking herself away wasn't good. Coming out to the outside world like this and receiving new information might spark fresh inspiration.
So, she wasn't opposed to the journey.
But—
"Suddenly ordering me to kill you… At least consider the difference in our strength, Headmaster. How am I supposed to kill you?"
Sitting in a fast-food restaurant while biting into a burger, Sion absentmindedly twirled a pen in her hand.
Zepia Eltnam Atlasia was a remarkable Magus and a powerful one. He had been a Dead Apostle for over five hundred years. In terms of the Clock Tower's rankings, if he wanted, he could achieve the rank of Grand.
While modern Magus often stood no chance against Servants, if the comparison was limited to modern Magus, Zepia was undoubtedly at the top tier. After all, before becoming a Dead Apostle, he was already the headmaster of the Atlas Institute. And in the five hundred years since becoming a Dead Apostle, he had accumulated countless tactics.
In contrast, Sion, a new-generation Magus in her early twenties, though called a genius at the Atlas Institute and appointed as the next headmaster at a young age, how could she possibly stand against a Dead Apostle over five hundred years old? Just surviving would require risking her life.
Thus, Sion remained pessimistic about this mission.
However, it wasn't all bad news. At the very least, before she came, Zepia had told her about someone she could work with.
"Natsukawa Naoki."
Sion looked out the window across the street, toward Naoki, who was feeding Arcueid.
He was the person Zepia said she could collaborate with. Since the Atlas Institute was almost entirely isolated from the outside world, while not completely cut off from information, it wasn't exactly up-to-date either. Sion had only heard of Naoki for the first time, and her knowledge of him was limited to what Zepia had provided.
["Immense combat strength." "a reliable man." "possibly the strongest being in the modern era"]—overall, the evaluation was quite high, but only in terms of combat prowess.
After arriving in the outside world and gathering information along the way, Sion learned other things about Naoki.
They were almost entirely different from Zepia's evaluation.
A playboy close to a Lord in the Department of Botany, a Casanova with messy relationships with women, a rough man from the Department of Spiritual Evocation, the biggest sugar daddy in the Clock Tower… Basically, the information was utterly absurd, especially about his personal life—Naoki was like a wild stallion.
Of course, Sion knew this information was exaggerated. No matter how ridiculous, it couldn't be that extreme. Circulating information was bound to be flavored with the personal opinions of those spreading it. That was normal.
But at the very least, the fact that Naoki was a flirt who played around with multiple women had to be true; otherwise, the rumors wouldn't be so bizarre.
Those were Sion's thoughts before she actually met Naoki.
Today was her second day in Misaki City. After staying at a hotel last night, she had planned to thoroughly investigate the city's situation. However, before she could start her investigation, she unexpectedly ran into Naoki and the two girls with him on the street. Following her instincts, Sion immediately changed her plans for the day to observing Naoki.
As for the results…
"The Headmaster's evaluation isn't wrong, but the evaluations from other Magus are spot-on."
Sion didn't know the girl named Ayaka, but she knew Arcueid. After all, Arcueid was a celebrity in the underworld. Few among the three major organizations didn't know of this True Ancestor princess.
Being so close to that princess while simultaneously flirting with another girl—Naoki seemed very experienced, even relaxed. When feeding her, he didn't hesitate at all, as if he did it often.
"Suddenly, I don't want to ask for his help anymore."
Sion slumped onto the table. She felt that if she approached them, she'd get swept up in it too. Though she admitted she also wanted to interact with the handsome, blond, blue-eyed prince with a gentle personality.
Pushing Naoki out of her mind, Sion shifted her gaze and quickly finished her fast food. "That means I'll have to handle it myself? Using this should be effective, right?"
She touched something in her pocket and let out a soft sigh. Standing up, Sion walked toward the door.
It was getting dark—it was time to go out and investigate. As a natural vampire, Sion loved being active at night. She felt a hundred times more energized.
Just as she headed toward the door, someone walked in from outside.
It was a very tall, burly man, his entire body wrapped in black clothing. But what didn't match his physique was his extremely pale skin, as if he hadn't seen sunlight in ages.
When the man appeared in the restaurant, the atmosphere in the entire place turned strange. Perhaps because his aura was so cold, the customers who saw him couldn't help but fall silent.
Sion was the same.
But unlike the others, who were silenced by the oddity and uniqueness, Sion's reason for freezing wasn't the unique aura the man exuded. It was because she caught a very familiar scent.
It was a scent that no vampire could lack. And on the man before her, that scent was overwhelmingly strong. Even if someone were thrown into a large pool and soaked for months, their scent wouldn't be as potent as his.
"The scent… of blood."