The day after the conference, Claire-sama and I visited Tred-sensei .
Our purpose was of course to learn how to contact the apostle .
âJust in case let me ask⊠why do you want to meet the apostle?â
Tred-sensei was a cautious person .
He mustâve been opposed to us getting involved with the apostle without a good reason .
Thus, he asked about why we wanted to meet the apostle .
âAt yesterdayâs conference the existence of the demon queen came to light . The threat is so big even Dorothea felt the sense of crisis . We have to learn more about the demon queen . â
âTred-sensei, if you had that knowledge weâd ask, but we thought that the apostle would know a lot more . â
â⊠I see . â
Tred-sensei nodded like he was convinced .
âI also heard about the demon queen for the first time yesterday . Iâm sorry I canât help you two . â
âThen, we have no choice but to ask the apostle after all . â
âThatâs right . But, I wouldnât personally recommend it . I think the apostle acts according different sense of values than humans . â
âDifferent sense of values, you say?â
Claire-sama repeated as though she was asking for the explanation .
âEven the apostle themselves said that they arenât human, but there are numerous mysteries about their existence . For example, the apostle didnât care about the life or death of a person . â
Tred-sensei couldnât conceal the bitterness leaking from his words .
âHas something happened?â
â⊠I started getting monitored by the apostle around the same time I lost my daughter . I sensed great power in the apostle . The apostle introduced themselves as a part of the Spirit God, so I begged them to bring my daughter back to life . â
It seemed like Tred-sensei would do anything for that .
âAnd what happened then?â
âThey didnât help me in any way . The apostle said my daughterâs life didnât matter . I couldnât understand what they meant, but they also said that the same thing will repeat anywayâŠâ
As always, the apostle liked suggestive lines .
âThere are some cruel things spoken about me . â
I got startled .
Before hearing these words, neither I nor Claire-sama or Tred-sensei could sense that presence at all .
âApostleâŠ!â
âHi, Tred Magick . So you thought of me that way . I apologize for that time . I didnât realize you were grieving so much . But, itâs prohibited to revive a human who has died . â
The one speaking with a smiling face was an unfamiliar nun .
Apparently, the people the apostle could use were not limited to Lily-sama .
I had no idea how it worked though, if it was possession or something else .
Anyway, it was one thing when it was Lily-sama, but a mere nun who didnât appear particularly trained sneaking up to us without a sound drew my attention .
I wondered if the apostle can increase the possessed targetâs physical and magic ability .
If there was such a skill, weâd love to be taught it .
âJust when we needed you . Apostle, we have something to ask you . â
âOh, Claire François . What is it?â
âDo you know anything about the demon queen?â
When Claire-sama asked, the apostle answered while still smiling .
âOf course I do . Sheâs our enemy . â
âDoes our refer to the spirit church?â
âNo, Claire François . In this case, our includes you, Rei Taylor, and the whole humanity . â
The apostle continued .
âThe demon queen is the enemy that you, humanity, should defeat . And sheâs also the enemy of ours, the spirit church . The interests of both parties coincide . We will spare no effort to cooperate with you . â
The apostle smiled with their usual grin .
⊠Shady .
âThen please give us information about the demon queen . We have no knowledge about the adversary weâre supposed to fight . â
âI apologize, but with my authority, I canât tell you anything at this time . â
â! D-Did you not just say that you will spare no effort to cooperate with us!?â
âYes, Iâm sorry, but even so, I canât do what I canât do, Claire François . â
Even though Claire-sama pressured them, the apostle evaded .
âThisââ!â
âPlease calm down, Claire-sama . If you canât do it, please get us in touch with your superiors . â
âAt present thatâs also impossible . â
âAt present, right?â
âYes, at present . â
Then there was a possibility theyâd act as an intermediary in the future .
I didnât know when that would be though .
âHowever⊠letâs see, if I could make one suggestionâââ
âThen what?â
âClaire François, Rei Taylor, please flirt a lot . â
â⊠Hah?â
I couldnât believe my ears .
What?
âStop joking!â
âIâm not joking . Iâm deadly serious . Thereâs nothing else that you need to do in the battle with the demon queen . â
Claire-sama grew angry, but it really seemed that the apostle was serious .
What was that about?
âNaturally, flirting with Claire-sama is what I want, but how is that related to the battle with the demon queen?â
âI canât reveal that much yet . However, you two flirting is really important to the battle with the demon queen . â
âSo that means you have no intention of explaining . â
âWe also have various circumstances going on . And then⊠letâs see, donât worry about what the demon queen says . â
The apostle again said something with a deeper meaning .
âDonât worry about the demon queenâs circumstances and just defeat her . If you for whatever
reason listen too much, you will get deceived, okay?â
âBeing told that only makes me want to carefully talk with the demon queen more though . â
âIs that fine, Rei Taylor? That conversation might come at the cost of Claire Françoisâs life though?â
â⊠You are good at managing me . As expected of somebody who controls the world from the shadows . â
âThank you for the compliment . However, we donât control the world, we only adjust it . Weâre humanityâs allies . â
âI wonder . â
What the apostle was saying might not have been all lie, but I thought it wasnât all true either .
âFlirting though⊠Thereâs no way we can do it at that time . â
âEven if I tell you that the success of defending against this attack depends on you?â
âGuhâŠâ
It seemed that the apostle also knew how to manage Claire-sama, not just me .
âItâs not something particularly difficult . You two flirt whenever thereâs an opportunity to . â
âDonât say something so silly!â
âEh?â
âEh?â
âEh?â
The three of us exchanged glances .
Well, I was aware of it, so I couldnât strongly deny what the apostle said .
âTred Magick . Negotiate with Sein Baur and Dor François to make time for Claire François and Rei Taylor . â
âI⊠donât have a right to decline, do I?â
âIs there any need to decline? Youâll be able to contribute to humanity, you know? Besides, it will also fulfil Emily Magickâs dying wish, right?â
â⊠I wish you wouldnât talk about my daughter like you knew her . â
Emily-san seemed to be Tred-senseiâs late daughter .
âAnd so, Iâll help to set it up, so Claire François, Rei Taylor, please flirt as much as you can . â
âFor the sake of humanity,â leaving these words, the apostle left .