AKM Act 11-6
Act 11-6: Terrifying Smile
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
Part 1
「Uhm, wait a second? I've never seen you before, may I ask for your name?」
Kuroki was strolling with Kyouka and Mitsuami when someone called out to them.
When he turned to the direction of the voice, he saw women dressed in flashy clothes were approaching from ahead of them.
When Kuroki tried to pass them, the other party called out.
The one who called out to them was the woman who had been walking at the front of the group.
From the atmosphere, Kuroki guessed that she was probably the leader of the group.
Kuroki observed the woman.
She was clearly no ordinary magician.
Normally, magician wore loose robes.
Both men and women typically wear long robes in dark colors, covering their skin, and they wear the pointed hats that was the characteristic of magicians.
However, the attire of the group of women and the group behind her had a lot of exposure.
She wore black robe, similar to other magicians, but her robe exposed a lot of her skin, revealing her cleavage. The slit in her robe reached up to her waist, and it seemed as though her legs, and even half of her hips, were visible.
She likely wasn't wearing underwear either, and a gust of wind would undoubtedly lead to a rather chaotic situation.
And that woman looked at Kyouka.
It seemed that she lost interest in Kuroki with a glance.
（Whoa... She wore a really bold outfit. But more importantly, this smell? Is this scent magic? I've smelled this scent somewhere before... Ah, it's the fragrance used to disguise as a human! If that's the case, then she must be...）
Kuroki looked at the woman's incense.
Hanging there was a small incense burner, emitting a mysterious scent magic.
At that moment, he felt Kyouka secretly pinched his arm.
When he turned at her, he saw Kyouka pouting at him.
It seems she mistook him ogling on the woman's waist.
「Of course, it's natural that you wouldn't recognize our faces. This is our first time here, after all. But before asking for our names, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?」
Kyouka spoke with rather stern voice.
「E-Excuse me, Kyouka-sama! This personage is the sage, Sabina-sama!」
Mitsuami who stood behind Kyouka hurriedly stepped forward to explain.
（Sage? She's a sage too?）
Kuroki was really surprised.
Aside from Chiyuki, there was three other sages that Kuroki met in the past.
Totona's disciple, Kepler the golden sage and Magius the great sage.
He also met Ruga's disciple, Gadfes the wandering sage.
The other three had different air compared to Sabina.
However, he knew that he couldn't judge her by appearance.
In the first place, she might not even be a human.
Her appearance seemed human, but there was a chance she was merely hiding her true appearance.
There was also a possibility that she belongs to a race with strong magical power.
「Yes, if this is your first time here, it's understandable that you don't know about me. I am Sabina, known as the Bewitching Sage.」
Sabina introduced her name.
Her expression was stiff.
It seemed that she was judging Kyouka as being rude toward the sage.
The others standing behind her were also the same, casting stern looks at Kyouka.
As a side note, the people standing behind her were dressed in the same revealing outfits, just like Sabina.
「My name is Kyouka. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sage Sabina.」
Kyouka then introduced her name.
However, simply stating her name didn't clarify who Kyouka was.
Sabina, having only heard the other party's name, seemed to hesitate, unsure of how to respond.
「Sabina-sama. Kyouka-sama is the little sister of hero Reiji-sama, and she came with Black-haired Sage Chiyuki-sama a while ago.」
「!?」
Upon hearing Mitsuami's explanation, Sabina's expression shifted to one of surprise.
「Oh? Is that so? I see, so you're the little sister of that hero. I understand now. But then, who are you? You seem to be a magician in Saria. And could you also tell me about the person standing next to you?」
Sabina smiled and looked at Kyouka and Kuroki with an amused expression.
「I am Madia, a disciple of the master Gotoku. I always wear my hair in braids, so I'm called Mitsuami. The person standing next to Kyouka-sama is also a companion of the hero, and his name is Kuroki-sama.」
Mitsuami introduced herself.
「I see, Kyouka-dono and Kuroki-dono. Heh, please forgive my earlier rudeness. I'd like to befriend you both. How about it? Would you allow me to accompany you?」
Sabina revealed a bewitching smile as she spoke.
Kuroki felt that her bewitching smile looked evil for some reason.
◆
Katakake was still working at the reception as usual.
「Haah, no one coming as usual...」
After Chijirege and Kyouka left, no one else came to read in the library.
That’s why he rested his head on the desk, facing to the side.
At that moment, he caught a presence had entered the library.
Katakake quickly lifts his head.
「Eh?」
Upon seeing the person who entered, Katakake let out a dumbfounded voice.
「Um, Kyouka-san should be here, but where could she be?」
The one who came was Chiyuki.
Upon seeing Chiyuki enter the library, Katakake's heart began to race.
（It's Chiyuki-sama. Wow, she really is beautiful...）
To Katakake, Chiyuki was an object of admiration.
The reason being she was one of few magicians who possess both brain and beauty.
Basically, many female magicians didn't care much about their appearance, so his admiration was understandable, in fact Sabina and her female disciples were exceptions.
Sabina was also a beauty, but Chiyuki possessed a purity that the former didn’t have.
At first glance, Katakake was drawn to her and even wanted to get closer.
However, she was the comrade of the hero.
She was someone out of reach, and all Katakake could do was watch her from afar.
Although it was unintentional, Katakake ended up causing trouble for her.
He didn't know what kind of face to make when he saw her.
「My deepest apologies.」
Katakake bowed his head.
There was no reply from Chiyuki.
Katakake raised his head.
Chiyuki was looking at him with a surprised expression.
「Uhm, is something the matter? I don't think you've committed some kind of mistake though.」
「Ah, um, Master Tarabos... I mean, I apologize for the trouble caused by Tarabos!」
「Oh, I see. Don't worry about it, I’m not bothered. You didn’t know anything, after all.」
Chiyuki waved her hand, saying she wasn’t bothered by that incident caused by Tarabos.
「Yes, I do have no involvement in that incident. However, it’s still true that I ended up being involved, even if it was unknowingly.」
It was Katakake who brought Chiyuki to meet Tarabos in the library back then.
And he still regretted that matter even to this day.
Naturally, Katakake had no idea of Tarabos's true intentions.
Even so, the fact remained that he had unknowingly been involved, and Katakake felt the need to apologize.
「Geez, I don't really mind about something that can be dismissed as coincidence. Rather, do you know where Kyouka-san is? She should be in the library a while ago right?」
Chiyuki asked again.
「Kyouka-sama isn't in the library. She went to meet the Great Sage to ask for permission to enter the Forbidden Archive.」
「Huh? The Forbidden Archive? How does Kyouka-san even know about the Forbidden Archive? I only just found out about it myself!」
Chiyuki was tilting her head in confusion.
Katakake didn't know, but Chiyuki had come to the library to read books about the Forbidden Archive.
Books about the Forbidden Archive were kept in the restricted section, which could be freely accessed by those of master rank or higher.
Chiyuki had learnt about this while having tea with the Magius and the others.
After having tea with Magius and the others, and a brief meeting with Gotoku's disciples, Chiyuki came to the library, curious about Kyouka's situation.
「Yes, I believe you also know that person, Chiyuki-sama. They met at this reception desk and that seemed to be the impetus for her to take an interest in the Forbidden Archive.」
「What do you mean? I’m not really following this. And what do you mean by saying I know them? Who are you talking about?」
「Uhm.」
Katakake stopped for a moment.
Kuroki was supposed to be the hero's comrade.
Only now did he realize that Kyouka's reaction from a while ago clearly indicated that she met Kuroki by mere coincidence.
Kuroki was clearly acting separately from Chiyuki and the others.
At this moment, Katakake felt like he just got enlightenment.
The reason neither Chiyuki nor Kyouka knew about the Forbidden Archive that Kuroki could access might be because he had been acting separately and they hadn’t been in frequent contact.
「I'm referring to Kuroki-dono. You also know about him, Chiyuki-sama.」
The moment Katakake said those words.
Chiyuki's expression darkened at once.
「Hey, can you tell me more about that?」
Chiyuki revealed an amusing smile as she asked that question.
A chill ran down Katakake's spine the moment he saw her smile.