Thinking that the moonlight floating in the darkness is beautiful, I headed straight home.
"Eh, we're having group dismissal today?"
"Ah, Souta went to play dodge during lunch break so you didn't know. There'll probably be an explanation during fifth period, but it seems someone went missing in the neighboring city yesterday. So there might be suspicious people in the area, and classes will be shortened by one hour."
"Lucky, right? We can go home early today. Hey, hey, why don't we all play games at my house after school?"
From an elementary student's perspective, it's natural to focus only on school classes being reduced by one hour. However, with a missing person in the nearby city, we received quite a stern talk from the teacher. Since parents are apparently being contacted by phone, children's outings will probably be prohibited. The shoulders of the friend who was excited about playing games dropped disappointedly.
If I didn't know anything, I probably would have been excited like everyone else, though inappropriately. But knowing this is that world, the word "missing" sends chills down my spine. There's a possibility it's a human-caused incident. But there's also a possibility it's an underworld incident. Every time such incidents occur, I find myself wishing from the bottom of my heart that it's a human-caused incident.
"...Should I stay quietly at home today?"
If it's an underworld incident, the crime would be committed at night. If it's fallen angels or terrorist organizations, they'd kill or kidnap the target and that would be the end. If it's church purification, they'd cover it up before the surface world notices, so this line is thin. What's most frightening here is stray devils. Devils are active at night. Night is hunting time for them. Missing persons might appear consecutively.
My daily routine of patrolling - this was for Sacred Gear training, building my physical strength, and investigating whether underworld matters were occurring near me. In that case, shouldn't I properly conduct today's patrol? I have such feelings, but fear swirls in my chest about what to do if it's really underworld-related. I couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.
First, I can't fight. It's not a level of being anxious about my Sacred Gear's strength - I don't have the resolve to fight. I've tried many things with my Sacred Gear's ability against inorganic objects. But I've never tried my Sacred Gear on living things. From my partner's thoughts, it seems I could target living things with my current ability. But even so, I couldn't bring myself to try it. I don't have the resolve to kill living things, let alone the resolve to hurt them.
My patrolling is ultimately just to protect my own peace of mind. If I'm scared, I should just quietly hold my breath and keep hiding. Fortunately, with my Sacred Gear, I might be able to just run away.
"But is it okay to keep holing up like this? First of all, it's impossible to stay shut up at home starting tomorrow. In that case, even if I can't do anything myself, wouldn't it be better to at least confirm the safety of my immediate area?"
What do you think? I direct my consciousness to my partner, shrunk to about keychain size. For me, who can't consult with anyone, only my partner is reliable. Of course, this guy doesn't talk, and I can only vaguely sense thought-like things. Still, whenever I became anxious, I always ended up talking to this guy.
Naturally, the Sacred Gear shows no reaction to my words. It doesn't speak or move. But a few seconds later, I felt like crimson light flashed for just a moment in my head. Like it was telling me "I'm by your side." It might be my imagination though.
While gripping such a mentally handsome partner, I decided in my heart to first research the progress of the missing person case online when I get home. If it's human-caused, there might be something known about it.
"Hey, Kuramoto. Let's play soccer during tomorrow's mid-break. Help me gather members together."
"You're talking about playing again? Tomorrow's third period is PE, so we have to change into gym clothes. There won't be time to play."
"Gah, I forgot. Then lunch break. We'll meet during lunch break!"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
I laughed at the usual conversation with classmates who share the same route home, and naturally made the promise "See you tomorrow!" Waving lightly to my friends, I headed straight home. While envying everyone who naturally thinks there will be a tomorrow, I wish more than anything that it will be so. I don't want anyone to destroy what's normal for me.
"Ah, welcome home Souta. You had group dismissal today, right? How nostalgic."
"Sis, I'm home. High school got out earlier."
"Mine ended at noon. Elementary students are at the age where they want to play, but refrain from going out until the incident is resolved. Since you're a student, study properly or something."
"That's exactly the right words for the sister who was hanging her head after midterm exams..."
"...I-I'll work hard for finals."
Sorry, that was a landmine for my sister.
"Mom and Dad seem to be coming home early too, so dinner will probably be early. I'm thinking of taking a bath first, but what about you, Souta?"
"Let's see. Then I'll go in after you, sis. Let me know when you're out."
"Got it. Also, accidentally falling asleep or listening to music with earphones and not hearing - none of that, okay?"
"Roger."
Since my sister entered middle school, I got my own room at the same time, making it easier to go on night patrols. Also, dozing off and listening to music are standard excuses for when I'm not in my room. Thanks to this, my sister has come to be exasperated with me.
Returning to my room, I turned on the computer and tidied up my school bag while it was starting up. Then I researched whether anything was known about the missing person incident. In the end, all I learned was the missing person's name and the last confirmed location. I'd never heard of either the name or the location. Just in case, I looked up a map of the last confirmed location and at least checked it out.
"...This is near the port I was thinking of going to today."
There's a place with many warehouses lined up there, and that area apparently has no people around. So I thought it would be good for leisurely looking at the sea. But thinking about it now, wouldn't this be a bad place for something to lurk? It might have been investigated during the day, but if the opponent is supernatural, hiding from ordinary people would be trivial.
My throat gulped. The possibility of nothing being there is higher. I might be worrying too much. ...Even if there is something, it might immediately go to another location. But what if that thing heads toward this town? What if it starts using this town's residents as prey? What if even the simple promise of "see you tomorrow" can't be kept?
"...Should I at least check, just check?"
Spending time until the incident is resolved in this state would be too much for me. In that case, I want some proof that would let me feel even a little relieved, like "See, it was just unnecessary worry." It would be bad if there really is something and I'm discovered, but I think I can confirm without being noticed with my Sacred Gear's ability. It's scary, but rather than continuing to worry "maybe something is there," just knowing "nothing is there" would be mentally easier.
First, let me go around the city. If there's nothing, I'll just peek at the place where the incident supposedly happened and the port I was planning to go to tonight. When checking, I'll make sure 'Sacred Gear, presence, and appearance' can't be sensed, just in case. Since I don't have magical power, this should work. I don't know about high-level supernaturals, but if they're high-level, I don't think they'd make such a blunder that the surface world would notice. They'd cover it up before it spreads. Before the public gets stirred up like this.
"Souta~ You can go next~"
"Ah, okay. Got it."
Responding to my sister's voice and the light knock on the door, I'll take a bath and refresh myself for now. I'll eat dinner, tell them I'm going to bed early today, and then - I'll try going outside. Even if there's something there, I'll hide and run away. If there is something, there's nothing I can do about it, so in that case I might try sneaking into a church invisibly and leaving a letter about the incident, or if it's a stray devil, though it's scary, I might talk to the devils in Kuoh Town and ask them to subjugate it.
"It'll definitely be okay, right?"
I'm weak. Both in body and heart. But I don't want to regret anything. There's little I can do, but maybe my actions could save someone's life. I won't be reckless. I won't be rash. I'll only do what I can.
Gripping the Sacred Gear in my pocket tightly and breathing deeply, I opened my room door and first moved my feet forward to take a bath.