"Wow~"
No sooner had Akatsuki Nagisa stepped into the airport than she glanced at the scenery around her and let out a delighted gasp.
"Look, Kojou! It's a foreign country! So many foreigners! And all the signs are in foreign languages! It's been forever since I've felt this atmosphere!"
"Well, it is a foreign country... And, technically, we're the foreigners here."
Dragging luggage for two, Akatsuki Kujou muttered under his breath behind his younger sister.
Clutching the freshly exchanged change in her hand, Nagisa dashed towards the shops inside the airport and immediately started haggling using the handful of foreign phrases she knew.
Maybe it was the long flight, but Nagisa was unusually hyper.
"...She's already blended right in. So much energy."
Akatsuki Kujou stifled a yawn, the jet lag making him look weary and sluggish.
A sudden impact struck his shoulder. A short foreign man stumbled forward a few steps, having apparently bumped into Akatsuki by accident.
Nagisa, inside a shop, pointed alertly at the man and shouted, "Kojou, the luggage!"
"...Huh?"
Noticing Nagisa's cries, the man suddenly broke into a run.
And then, for some reason, he was just lying flat on the ground.
A black-haired girl walked past him leisurely. She was a petite girl of oriental descent, even smaller than Kojou and Nagisa, dressed in a frilly dress that made one think of a finely crafted doll.
With a light flick of the parasol in her hand, the luggage slid over to Akatsuki Kujou's feet as if pulled by some invisible force.
"...Ah, thank you."
Akatsuki Kujou picked up the luggage and offered a polite smile.
He wasn't sure what had happened, but his instincts told him this girl had intervened.
"Don't mention it, kid. I helped you on a whim."
Natsuki Minamiya smiled elegantly, looking at the boy before her with keen interest.
Good luck. She'd found her target almost the moment she landed.
"Kujou!"
Nagisa ran over, gasping for breath.
"Relax, I got the luggage back."
Akatsuki Kujou held up the nearly stolen luggage, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Don't be so reckless! What if you got hurt in a place like this?"
"It's fine, really. Besides, someone else helped out."
"Huh? Who helped?"
"Who else... Huh?"
Puzzled, Akatsuki Kujou looked around. The frilly-dressed girl who had been right beside them moments ago had vanished without a trace, as if she'd melted into thin air.
"Nagisa!"
Instead, a familiar man was waving at them from not far away, a short-haired woman standing beside him with a resigned look in her eyes.
"Dad!"
Akatsuki Nagisa looked up at her father, whom she hadn't seen in ages, her voice bright and cheerful.
Lifting his daughter effortlessly onto his shoulders as if she were still a little child, Akatsuki Gajou laughed heartily.
"Whoa, Nagisa! I thought, what's an angel doing in a place like this? Turns out it's my daughter! Was the long flight exhausting? Terrible? Boring?"
"It was okay~ Kojou helped me."
"Huh? Kojou?"
He scanned the area, spotting a familiar-looking kid standing near his daughter.
That face... seemed to be his son.
"Hey, squirt. What are you doing here?"
Gajou Akatsuki asked in a casual tone, sounding confused.
"I came with her. It's not like we could let Nagisa travel alone!"
"Hmm... Alright, then." Gajou Akatsuki settled the petite Nagisa on his shoulder and started walking towards the airport exit. "Come on, I'll tell you all about what I've been up to."
Amidst the crowd not far away, Natsuki Minamiya watched it all unfold.
--+--
"Miss Liana is a vampire from the Warlord's Dominion?!"
Nagisa Akatsuki stared at the short-haired woman, her eyes wide and sparkling.
"Wow, that's amazing! This is my first time talking to someone from the Warlord's Dominion!"
"Um... well... that is?"
Liana looked somewhat flustered by the excited girl. Beside her, Gajou Akatsuki clutched his chest with a wounded expression.
"Is that really more exciting than me getting invited to the Mystic Eye Collection Train?"
"No way Dad could get an invitation."
Nagisa's disbelieving expression sparked his competitive spirit. Gajou Akatsuki tapped his right eye and flashed a proud smile. "See this?"
The eyeball in its socket was faintly glowing.
"A Mystic Eye?!"
Nagisa Akatsuki leaned in close, her little face full of curiosity.
"Dad really got an invitation?"
Then, as if thinking of something, she abruptly changed tack. "But could Dad afford it?"
"Ahem..."
Gajou Akatsuki gave a light cough and turned his face away.
"It's just a basic Mystic Eye. Only boosts intuition and enhances memory a bit. Not expensive at all."
Liana, however, dismantled his boast without hesitation, smoothly bringing the armored vehicle to a stop.
The camp they arrived at was a simple affair, cobbled together from tents and prefab houses. Only a few excavation machines were parked around, with almost no equipment that could be called proper investigative tools.
The large number of guards stationed around made Akatsuki Kujou feel a little tense.
Nagisa Akatsuki, who had been so excited moments before, suddenly fell silent, quietly gazing at the entrance to the ruins.
"You noticed it..."
Gajou Akatsuki's tone grew somewhat somber. "That's the 'Fairy's Coffin' in there. The twelfth 'Kaleid Blood' sleeps inside."
He glanced towards the distant wilderness, made a subtle hand signal to Liana, and got out of the vehicle.
"You two go in and get ready. I've got some things to attend to."
Nagisa Akatsuki possessed an excellent spirit medium constitution. Her abilities would be needed for the upcoming exploration of the ruins.
"Protect your sister."
He patted Akatsuki Kujou's shoulder and walked off in another direction.
The forest was lush and green, but this desolate wilderness was devoid of any animals.
"Come on out."
Gajou Akatsuki looked towards a large tree and spoke in a low voice.
These eyes of his were warning him that someone had come here.
This island was covered in barriers; it shouldn't be so easily discovered.
Did they follow us here...?
He subtly tightened his grip on the gun in his hand, watching the large tree warily.
If a fight broke out, people from the camp would support him immediately.
Then, a faint rustle from behind made him blink.
Behind me.
Gajou Akatsuki seamlessly covered up the flicker of embarrassment on his face and turned around as if nothing had happened.
The one who stood there was a petite person of oriental descent, wearing an extravagant, frilly dress. Despite the broad daylight, she held a parasol.
"That outfit... You're Natsuki Minamiya? The 'Witch of the Void,' specialized in killing demons?"
"I've been commissioned by the 'Ophiuchus' of the Warlord's Dominion to hunt down remnants of the Black Death Emperor Faction."
Natsuki Minamiya gave a slight nod, her gaze casually sweeping the surroundings.
"And that led you here?"
Gajou Akatsuki smirked, putting away the gun in his hand. Against Natsuki Minamiya, a gun was just a toy.
If they could talk things out, there was no need for violence.
"We haven't detected any traces of the Black Death Emperor Faction in the surrounding—"
BOOM—
A massive explosion, like the impact of a giant's hammer striking the earth, rocked the entire island.
"—area."
Gajou Akatsuki's gaze towards the camp sharpened.
"Natsuki-chan, you didn't bring anyone else with you, right?"
"Don't call me 'chan,' Gajou Akatsuki. I came alone."
Powerful barriers laid by Liana surrounded the camp, making it nearly impossible to break through from the outside.
"...So it was broken from the inside?"
A bitter smile appeared on Gajou Akatsuki's face as he raised his gun and started running towards the camp.
"Could you lend a hand, 'Witch of the Void'?"
"My target is in there as well."
Watching the figures beginning to claw their way up from beneath the earth, Natsuki Minamiya gave her parasol a gentle spin.
Space rippled gently around them like water, and their figures vanished from the spot.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.