The Midnight Disappearance

“I am asking just in case, but there is no chance the Demon King is actually in this village, right?”

If that were the case, it would be a total disaster. At my blatant expression of dread, Azrael let out a muffled chuckle.

“It is alright. He won’t be here.”

“Because the direction your sword points is different?”

“That, too.”

“Then what else is there?”

Azrael shrugged. He didn’t give a specific answer. Was it just a gut feeling? I let out a long sigh.

“No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t bring myself to trust that sword of yours.”

“The sword might feel hurt by that. It’s quite a capable fellow.”

“Still, from where I’m standing, it doesn’t look any different from a regular sword.”

“You will find out soon enough.”

At those words, I couldn’t help but pout. Well, I suppose so. Even if the sword remains silent when someone who looks like the Demon King’s summoner is in the same village, I’m sure it’ll be incredibly powerful when it’s time to deal with the Demon King himself. That’s why it’s hanging from Azrael’s waist, after all. Even if it’s currently useless until we actually meet the Demon King. Even if, right now, it has no function other than being a sharp piece of metal.

I was quite seriously worried about the person atop the clock tower. That was, until ten o’clock at night, when the warmth of the village scattered and vanished like a mirage.

“……Eh?”

What is this? Even Cinderella managed to hold out until the stroke of midnight.

It happened while I was blankly watching the people in a place that looked like an ordinary village just moments ago scatter like mist. Azrael grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside a building. After glancing at him for a moment, I looked back outside. People were still disappearing, enveloped in light.

Their expressions were all different. Some were gripped by terror, some looked resigned. Some were astonished, and others seemed to have fainted. However, none of them could make a sound. It was because they were no longer human. Their human bodies and warmth had already vanished.

It was a spine-chilling sight. The night market, which had been full of people, was filled with silence in just a few minutes. The only things maintaining their original state were the street lamps.

“Prince…….”

After staring at the empty street for a long time, I eventually turned my head toward Azrael behind me. Azrael was staring fixedly at something, his index finger pressed against his lips. There was no “shh” sound, but the gesture was clear.

I slowly turned my head, following his gaze. He was looking at the top of the clock tower. Come to think of it, there was a person up there. That was the only spot where a figure still remained. The person was sitting there silently in the same posture as before. But the next moment, the figure stood up on two feet.

“What are they doing……?”

Azrael asked in a low voice. He was still focused on the person atop the clock tower, not even blinking. He seemed unaware that he had even voiced a question. I debated whether I should answer him or not.

But before my internal debate could go on, the person swung their hands and drew several magic circles. Was it attack magic? It was too far to tell by sight alone. We weren’t at a distance where incantations could be heard either. Azrael’s body tensed with anticipation. He looked ready to spring forward at any second. However, I held out an arm to block him. If that person used magic from atop the tower, Azrael, a close-range combatant, would be at an overwhelming disadvantage.

However, the figure’s magic merely extinguished all the street lamps. As soon as they confirmed the lights were out, they vanished using a ‘Return’ spell. The distinct light of teleportation flashed brightly atop the tower before fading away.

“……It seems they didn’t notice us?”

“……It appears so.”

Azrael and I let out sighs of relief simultaneously. Though the meaning behind our sighs was likely different. Azrael was probably relieved that a battle didn’t start while the party was scattered, whereas I was relieved that I hadn’t lost my thick pile of free experience points. ……Looking at it this way, I seem like a cold-hearted person. So what? There was no fight, and my free experience is safe.

“Let’s head back to the clock tower for now, Prince.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

“Prince, you always say ‘Yes, let’s do that’ in these situations.”

“I can hardly say ‘No, I don’t want to,’ can I?”

“True, but isn’t there any variety?”

On the way back to the clock tower, I teased Azrael for no reason. Instead of answering, Azrael pinched and pulled my cheek. Ouch.

Everyone thinks alike. I thought idly as I watched the party members gather at the clock tower. Their reactions varied. Some, like John, couldn’t hide their tension, while others, like Raphael, approached with a nonchalant wave. Well, Raphael is a weirdo, so he’s an exception; most of the others looked quite sick to their stomachs.

“Why do you all look like you’re about to throw up?”

“How could our stomachs be fine after seeing such a sight?”

“Such a sight?”

I briefly retraced my memories to see what kind of sight they meant. The impact of that person on the tower was so great that my earlier memories were relatively buried.

“Ah, right. That did happen.”

The people disappearing like mirages while gripped by shock, terror, and panic……. I suppose it would be quite a shocking sight for NPCs. I answered rather casually.

“Master Andrealphus, are you alright after seeing that?”

“Uh, not particularly? It’s not like it was a bloody scene or anything.”

“Is there something wrong with your nerves……?”

The only response I could give to that was a shrug. How could I be genuinely horrified by a bunch of graphics disappearing in a flash of light? They weren’t NPCs I had high intimacy with, they weren’t people I saw often, and it’s not like they were even ‘real’ NPCs to begin with. People appearing like mirages and disappearing like mirages is a classic trope; regardless of their expressions, it wasn’t that surprising. Though it was a bit unexpected.

“What does my reaction matter? Everyone, tell me what you saw and heard first.”

I attempted to extract information from everyone, almost like I was shaking them down. They all obediently began to pour out various stories. John started first. He mentioned he had been with Simon and continued lightly.

“The night market was very crowded. The food was all surprisingly delicious. The public order wasn’t bad either. There wasn’t a single pickpocket.”

“Since you were the pickpocket, there was at least one.”

“Give the money back then.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. Anything else?”

I quickly backed down at John’s cold response. John hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“Did you see the person on top of the clock tower?”

“Ah, yes.”

“That person sat in the same posture, watching the people for over two hours.”

Man, that’s creepy. I furrowed my brows deeply. John and Simon nodded in agreement.

“It’s strange. It didn’t look like they were looking at anything in particular, but they stayed in that position the whole time.”

“It’s impressive you even realized it was a person.”

“At first, I thought it was a statue. But then I remembered there was nothing like that when we first entered the clock tower. So I figured it must be a person.”

Whoa.

I rubbed the goosebumps on my arms. That’s eerie. I hadn’t thought to look at the roof of the tower before entering, but come to think of it, we would have been in big trouble if that person had been up there then.

“Are you sure that person wasn’t there when we entered the tower?”

“Yes.”

His gaze seemed to say, ‘You’re probably the only one who would enter without checking that.’ How cold.

“Simon, nothing to add? If not, I’m moving to the next group.”

“Not exactly, but something is bothering me.”

“What is it?”

“I feel like there were an unusual number of people at night. Considering the size of this village, it shouldn’t be large enough to be that crowded, yet there was a huge night market and people were packed together.”

“Oh…….”

That sounds like information that’s useless yet somehow feels important…….

“Well, just a feeling.”

“Got it.”

I should have read more mystery novels. Or at least played more mystery games. Characters like Sherlock Holmes would figure out the whole truth from just this kind of info. I felt a belated regret. But so what? What’s late is late, and if my head is lacking, my body just has to work harder. Even if info is a bit short, if I keep banging my head against the quest, I’ll clear it eventually. I shook my head and called the next people.

It was Judas and Raphael. Just as Raphael was about to speak, Judas stepped in front of him.

“I will speak.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if I spoke?”

“No, it would not.”

It’s not like they’re announcing a marriage; what does it matter who speaks? I answered dismissively.

“Anyone, just talk.”

“It seems there is no one ruling this place.”

“Eh?”

What was that about? My eyes went wide.