"Minamiya-nee still isn't back…"
"Could something have happened?"
It was already past eleven at night, yet Minamiya Natsuki still hadn't returned—nor had she sent any message. On normal days she was home by nine at the latest, even when she had a mission.
"Sensei, you're strong with space, right? Can't you stabilize it?" Himeragi Yukina asked, eyeing Shichen, who was casually watching TV.
Ever since they'd come home he'd sat on the sofa like nothing was wrong, not the least bit worried about Natsuki—even now. To Yukina, that felt off; she knew how much Shichen cared about her.
"Shichen, you're not actually planning something, are you?" La Folia asked suddenly, recalling what Natsuki had said the previous night.
Shichen's unprompted kindness last night—was that because he had a scheme?
"La Folia, what do you mean?" Yukina looked at her, puzzled.
"Last night Natsuki-nee said Shichen seemed to be plotting something."
"Eh? So the situation on Itogami right now—did the Sensei do this?" Yukina blurted.
"As if. I didn't do anything," Shichen said with a smile.
"It wasn't the Sensei? Good," Yukina breathed out.
"So you trust Shichen that much, huh?"
"Oh? You don't trust me?" Shichen shot back at La Folia.
"It's not that. I do trust you—but I also understand that when you 'do nothing,' that's when you're doing something."
"La Folia, what do you mean?" Kirasaka Sayaka asked, confused.
"How can you two be this slow? All that jealousy is melting your brains," La Folia sighed, unceremonious.
"W—we are not jealous!" Sayaka denied at once.
"Exactly!" Yukina chimed in.
Their faces flushed; they could deny it, but both knew they'd been a bit too jealous lately.
"Hehe~ silly can be cute," Shichen said, smoothing things over.
"Sensei! We're not silly."
"Yeah!"
"So you do like silly girls, Shichen? Speaking of—Sayaka's silly and easy to fool," La Folia teased.
"I am not silly! And I'm not easy to fool!"
"Then how did Shichen steal your heart so fast?"
"I…" Sayaka sneaked a guilty glance at Yukina—only to be met with a frosty look.
"Sensei, what did La Folia mean?" Yukina, unhappy, steered them back on topic.
"Alright, she's right. Me doing nothing is still doing something," Shichen said plainly.
"That sounds… roundabout."
"Simple enough: someone's going to move against Natsuki, and I intend to allow it."
"Eh?" Yukina finally put it together, startled.
"You mean you're going to let people go after Minamiya-sensei? Don't you like her?"
"Because I do like her, I'm letting them," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"Natsuki won't let me free her."
"Free her?" Yukina still didn't get it.
"I have an idea," La Folia said. "Shichen—you mean the Prison Barrier, right?"
The Prison Barrier: a sealed, otherworldly space, an eternal place of exile, a time maze with no exit.
"Prison Barrier—wasn't that just an urban legend?" Yukina asked.
"No, it exists. You just can't see it," Shichen said, shaking his head.
"So the Sensei means the Prison Barrier… is connected to Minamiya-sensei?"
"Mm. Natsuki is its warden."
The Prison Barrier is an artificial otherworld created using the dragon-vein power that flows through the demon special zone. Its existence is invisible—even the council members who created it don't know its exact location—but it's real, and somewhere within Itogami City.
Not even the island administration can pinpoint the extradimensional prison, nor say who sends convicts into it or how. The answer floated up at once.
"So it is related to Minamiya-sensei?" Yukina repeated.
"Mm. Natsuki is the warden," Shichen nodded. As the Witch of the Void, she is the warden, the gatekeeper, the door, and the key. Essentially, "Prison Barrier" is the name of the magic used to seal heinous magi-criminals, and she's the only one who can invoke it.
Because the Prison Barrier is sustained by Natsuki's magic, her true body remains within it at all times.
A "witch" is a woman who makes a pact with a demon; by becoming a demon's retainer and guardian, she wields power equal to high-ranking demons—magic beyond even top human mages. But a pact has a price. For Natsuki, that price is to keep that vast, empty prison sealed forever—alone—until death. A curse, much like that of a Primogenitor.
It was part of why she took Shichen in at first—she and he are the same kind.
"Natsuki's true body has always been inside the Prison Barrier. She's lived there for ten years now—never once set foot outside. She's always been alone," Shichen said evenly.
"Wait, that's too strange. Isn't she around all the time? We saw her yesterday," Sayaka protested.
"I'm guessing Natsuki-nee is using an avatar?" La Folia asked Shichen.
"Exactly. The Natsuki you see is a phantom her true self created—a dream woven by a lonely girl trapped there."
"A p—phantom… that can't… No—if it's her…" Yukina corrected herself. Remembering Natsuki's identity and skill—a tangible avatar passing for an ordinary person was child's play for her. It also explained why Natsuki never seemed to age.
"So the people targeting Minamiya-sensei want to release the Prison Barrier's inmates?" Yukina asked. The legend said the Prison Barrier held magi-criminals; if the barrier was real, so was the prison.
"More or less."
"'More or less'?"
"Destroying Natsuki's phantom does nothing—unless you unseal the barrier and bring her true body back to this world. The prisoners are trapped in her dream; destroy her, and they're freed."
"Then Minamiya-sensei is in danger! Sensei, how can you… Wait—don't tell me—" Yukina stopped mid-sentence as she realized what Shichen meant.
"That's right. I intend to let them free Natsuki—bring her back."
"Sensei…" Yukina was at a loss. She didn't think he was wrong—in fact, he was right. Natsuki, alone and sealed, was pitiful. But if she was freed—what about the prisoners? They were unforgivable monsters.
"Yukina, I know what you're worried about. Did you forget who I am?"
"Who you are… Ah!"
"I'm the impossible Fifth Primogenitor. When the time comes, I'll deal with all of them."
"No wonder you're letting it happen," Yukina sighed.
"I'll even help them," he added.
"Eh—?"
"Shichen, question. With your power, you could just pull Natsuki-nee out, right? Why not do it yourself? Isn't she in danger with others hunting her?" La Folia asked.
"I can get her out easily—even if it's the Demon, I can handle it. But Natsuki won't come," Shichen said, spreading his hands.
"Won't? Why?"
"I don't know. So this is all I can do."
"Makes sense…"
"And don't worry about her safety. I said I'd 'help' them—that means I'll be watching. I won't let them harm her," Shichen said with a mild smile and cold eyes. "Tokoyogi Yūma—hurry up and come."
"Eh? Tokoyogi Yūma? Kojō-senpai's friend?"
"That's the one."
~~~
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