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Natsuya’s eyes flashed with an indescribable light.
“I’m talking about if the enemy… no, if her master thought about the possibility that she may lose and be taken captive and cast such a spell in order to prevent any information leaking out. It’s just a possibility.”
Seiji remained silent for a few moments.
“I think that this possibility is quite high.”
Considering what type of person the enemy seemed to be, this was quite a logical thing to assume.
“I also feel the same way,” Natsuya agreed. “The first possibility can mostly be eliminated, so I believe it to be either the second or the third. And it’s quite difficult to determine what it really is. So, we should consider it as the third, which would be the most difficult situation.”
Natsuya took another sip of tea.
“Assuming that Shika’s situation is the third possibility, it means that in order to help her regain her memory, we will need to dispel the spell cast upon her as well as helping to heal her injured soul. Finally, we need to guide her spiritually, so she can recover her memory.”
“Three steps…”
“And the most difficult step is to dispel the enemy’s spell.” Natsuya paused before continuing, “Spells that can erase people’s memories… actually aren’t all that uncommon, but most of them are rather simple spells. Those are easy to discern and quite easy to cancel out.
“While treating her and sealing her powers as a Spirit-branded Retainer, I scanned her thoroughly and failed to detect such a spell. This means that the memory-loss spell cast upon her must be hidden quite deeply.
“Oh… there’s still one more possibility: the spell could be a permanent one which wiped out her memory forever… but I feel that this possibility is quite low.
“Spirit-branded Retainers aren’t their contractors’ puppets. Anyone sane wouldn’t accept such a spell being cast upon them… And Shika Kagura’s situation is rather unique. Even if she was being forced or tricked in some way, I doubt the enemy would dare to use such a spell on her.”
Seiji nodded in understanding.
A spell that caused someone to lose their memories forever wasn’t all that different from killing that person. Doing such a thing to the ‘Reaper’s Curse’ was akin to suicide.
So, this must be a type of spell that was hidden quite deeply.
If it really existed, that is.
While it seemed quite probable, it hadn’t been confirmed yet, so it was only a possibility. That’s why the first thing they needed to do was…
“If you do a deeper investigation, would you be able to confirm it?” Seiji looked directly at Natsuya.
Natsuya gazed back into his eyes.
“Yes, but… it’s highly likely to cause her some harm.”
Seiji furrowed his brows.
“However, if someone is willing to take the risk, the harm to her can be avoided.”
Seiji slowly began to fold his arms.
“If it’s not a spell that can be detected on her body, then it must have been cast on her soul… or more accurately speaking, within one of her soul’s layers,” Natsuya explained while keeping her gaze fixed on Seiji.
“According to the current knowledge we Yin Yang Masters possess, the soul isn’t a simple mass of energy at all. In fact, its structure is even more complex than our physical bodies. I won’t go into the details, but simply speaking, souls have seven layers to them.”
“As far as I know, even the strongest Yin Yang Masters of today can only cast spells affecting up to the fourth layer of a person’s soul. That is the upper limit.”
“Anyone whose spell can affect the soul’s third layer is already at grandmaster-level… and our enemy definitely isn’t at such a high level.”
“If he or she was, then all they would have to do is crush you with their overwhelming strength instead of using schemes, right?” Seiji interrupted.
“…More accurately speaking, this duel wouldn’t even take place.” Natsuya didn’t deny his question; instead she took it into another direction.
“The enemy’s spell is located somewhere in between the soul’s first layer or the surface of the second layer.”
“Is this also within your powers?”
“I… can’t… I’m not good at this type of spell, but I know how to check for them.”
Natsuya lowered her head and took another sip of tea.
“If I investigate Shika Kagura’s soul directly, she might receive some additional damage to her soul since she’s already injured.”
“But… if there’s someone who she trusts and is close to, someone who’s willing to become… an intermediary, then I’ll be able to investigate her soul without causing any harm to her.”
Seiji blinked. “This seems like a perfect job for me.”
“You’re indeed the perfect person to do it… no, you’re the only person that can do it, Haruta-kun.” Natsuya sighed as she looked back up at him.
“Is there any danger to being this intermediary?” Seiji had a calm expression.
“If everything works successfully, nothing will happen, but if things aren’t successful… the worst situation would be that your own soul would sustain damage.”
“If my soul is damaged… will I die?”
“No.” Natsuya’s tone was firm. “I’d stop my investigation spell the moment things start to go wrong, or you yourself can also stop it at any time, so that you won’t receive too much damage.”
“That’s fine, then.” Seiji was decisive about it as he unfolded his arms. “Let’s just do it like that… make use of me!”
Natsuya paused in surprise.
“You… agree to it just like this?”
“Are there any other choices for me to consider?”
“Er… no, I meant…”
She was talking about his soul potentially being damaged! Although it might not happen, just the possibility meant that he should have been hesitant!
“Aren’t you going to ask for more details? What it means for your soul to be damaged, what will happen, will you recover… questions like that?”
“I do want to know, but no matter if I know or not, my answer will be the same.”
‘It’s fine as long as I won’t die from it. If I don’t die, I can always load. If I can load… I have nothing to be afraid of!’
Seiji was filled with confidence due to his cheat.
But to Natsuya, his firm and decisive attitude seemed… so cool.
The scion with long, silky black hair felt her heart skip a beat as she looked at his handsome face.
She expected that he would hesitate at least a little, or at the very minimum, ask about the possible aftereffects of having his soul damaged.
She never expected that he was decisive to such an extent; he didn’t seem to be worrying about anything at all!
Just… like an idiot.
But he was so cool! This… bravery and resolution resembled foolishness so closely.
Natsuya was shocked to her core and definitely moved.
Her face was burning up slightly.
Her heartbeat increased rapidly.
Just like… the time before.
Silence temporarily fell in the room.
“President?” Seiji broke the silence.
“Er… Eh?” Natsuya finally regained her composure.
“I’ve agreed to become the intermediary, so what next?”
‘Young missus, why were you in a daze just now?’
“After that… it’s…” Natsuya hurriedly averted her gaze and lowered her head to drink some more tea in an effort to conceal her emotions.
However, there was no more tea in her cup.
This made her feel even more awkward.
“I need to make some preparations… after they’re finished, we can begin the investigation.” She pretended to drink some non-existent tea as she put all her effort in trying to speak calmly.
Seiji nodded.
“Do I need to do anything on my end? Will we begin tonight or tomorrow?”
Natsuya tried her best to regain control of her emotions as she considered Seiji’s question.
“Tomorrow. I’ll prepare for it tonight, and it also gives Shika one more night to rest. As for you… all you need to do is mentally prepare yourself; nothing else will be necessary.”
“Ok, got it.”
Seiji sipped on some more tea.
…
Seiji returned to Shika’s room after the conversation with Natsuya ended.
After he entered, he noticed that she was still sitting in front of her desk and energetically drawing.
Before he even reached her side, she already heard his footsteps and turned around with a delighted expression on her face.
“Brother~”
“Are you done drawing?”
“Not yet. Hey, you’re not allowed to come over here! No peeking!”
Seiji chuckled as he stopped in his tracks.
“Alright, I’ll wait here for a little bit.”
“Yep, it’s almost done!”
Shika turned back around and continued to draw while hunched over the table.
Seiji sat down on a chair beside the bed as he watched her slim back.
Her beautiful face was smiling, and there was a serious look in her eyes as she drew. She seemed so innocent and cute.
Seiji merely watched in silence without thinking anything.
“I’m done drawing!”
Shika put down her drawing pencil and looked over her sketch with satisfaction before closing the sketchbook.
She then turned towards Seiji and brought the sketchbook over to him while hopping and skipping.
“Close your eyes, Brother.”
Smiling, Seiji did what she asked and closed his eyes.
“Ta-da! You can open them now!”
Seiji opened his eyes.
He was startled by the drawing displayed in front of him.
This drawing was… something completely unexpected.