In the forest, a girl named Frey continued her training, focusing on gathering magic between her hands, her eyes tightly closed, completely unaware of anyone hiding around.
Under these circumstances, Yaya, Charl, and Sigmund kept their eyes on Rozen.
"Why are you so sure that the 'Cannibal Candy' won't stop the attacks?" Charl asked, perplexed, a sentiment shared by Yaya and Sigmund.
In their minds, the 'Cannibal Candy' was a random murderer, akin to Jack the Ripper, without any specific targets, wreaking havoc without discretion.
Since the last encounter where Rozen repelled the assailant, almost apprehending him, shouldn't the opponent be afraid and cease the attacks, disappearing completely? Why was Rozen so sure the assailant would strike again?
Actually, the reason was quite simple.
"Why would the 'Cannibal Candy,' possessing the strength of 'Thirteen,' target and hunt down students weaker than himself and destroy their automatons?" Rozen replied with a counter-question, raising an important issue.
This caught all three of them off guard.
Seeing their reactions, Rozen smirked.
"You surely haven't considered the 'motivation,' have you?"
Indeed.
No one had thought about why the 'Cannibal Candy' would randomly murder some students, far below his own strength, and destroy their automatons.
While others might attack fellow students within the academy to eliminate rivals or settle grudges, the 'Cannibal Candy' attacked weaker students indiscriminately. It clearly wasn't to eliminate competitors or settle any kind of enmity.
If so, what was this person's motivation?
"Is it just for the pleasure of killing?" Rozen shrugged. "I don't think so."
If the assailant were merely a serial killer seeking enjoyment from murder, they could target insignificant people outside the academy. There was no need to attack students from various backgrounds in this prestigious institution, offending so many influential forces, as well as the academy itself.
Unless...
"The assailant must have a reason to carry out these attacks within this academy."
Rozen pointed this out.
So, what was the assailant's true goal?
"It's simple," Rozen said. "Think about it carefully. What disappears after each attack?"
This question immediately caught everyone's attention.
"Students!" Yaya answered.
Yes.
During the assaults by the 'Cannibal Candy,' the students who operated automatons disappeared.
However, there was something else that vanished as well.
"Could it be referring to the magic circuits of those automatons?" Sigmund pondered and provided this answer.
"That's right." Rozen affirmed these two answers and continued, "The magic circuits of both the students and their automatons vanish. The students go missing, and the automatons get devoured. This leads to certain speculations."
After learning about the actions of the 'Cannibal Candy,' Rozen had many conjectures.
One of them was regarding the assailant's motive.
"If my guess is correct, the reason for the students' disappearance is that the 'Cannibal Candy' hides them."
Rozen explained.
"Disappearance and death are two completely different outcomes. If it's a disappearance, the sponsors behind these students might assume they couldn't handle the academy's demanding courses and ran away. If it's the latter, the corporations, institutions, and even military forces capable of being sponsors will undoubtedly intervene and pose a threat to the 'Cannibal Candy'."
Given this, the assailant needed to conceal the individuals, no matter the method.
"And deliberately devouring the magic circuits of the automatons, the reason shouldn't be merely to satisfy hunger or a morbid curiosity, right?" Rozen spoke with a cold, mocking tone.
"If my speculations are correct, then these magic circuits might be the 'Cannibal Candy's' true objective."
Rozen inferred.
At this, Yaya, Charl, and Sigmund were momentarily taken aback.
"The magic circuits are the 'Cannibal Candy's' true objective?"
How could this be so certain?
The faces of the people present exchanged glances.
Seeing this, Rozen calmly continued.
"Don't you remember the divination we just performed?"
'On a moonless, lightless night, the fangs of the demon shall gnaw upon the pearl hound, to strengthen oneself.'
When this divination content came out, what most people noticed was the front part, 'in the moonless, lightless night, the fangs of the demon gnaw upon the pearl hound.'
However, what Rozen noticed was the latter part.
"'To strengthen oneself.'"
Rozen spoke calmly.
"If we add this part, along with our confirmed target of the assailant's attacks, then the content of the divination becomes, 'In a moonless, lightless night, the entity known as the 'Cannibal Candy' emerges to attack the automaton hound of a pearl-coloured young girl, to strengthen oneself.' Isn't it something like that?"
Once this was said, the expressions of everyone changed.
Evidently, at this point, everyone understood what Rozen was trying to convey.
"According to Hinowa's divination, the entity named the 'Cannibal Candy' desires not the students, but the magic circuits within the automata of the students."
"The reason for the attack is to use them to strengthen oneself."
"And then, in all the previous attack incidents, eventually, the magic circuits of the automatons would be devoured."
"Putting all this information together, we can easily deduce, can't we?"
Rozen scanned everyone's faces one by one.
"This 'Cannibal Candy' possesses some means to enhance oneself by utilizing magic circuits."
This was Rozen's speculation.
"So, why is the other party so intent on becoming stronger?" Rozen sarcastically chuckled.
"To go to such lengths within this academy, isn't it to win at the Night Party and ultimately ascend to the throne of the Wiseman?"
Therefore, before the Night Party begins, the assailant won't stop the attacks.
Hence, the reason for targeting students within this academy is because it has the highest number of automatons and the most excellent magic circuits.
"Everyone thinks 'Cannibal Candy' is just a random murderer, but they aren't aimless killings within the academy," Rozen said calmly.
"In the end, the other party is resorting to any means necessary to achieve their goal."
That's the situation.
Upon hearing Rozen's words, the reactions of the three present were varied.
Yaya bit her lip, her face filled with indignation.
Sigmund remained silent and sighed in the end.
As for Charl, she tightly clenched her hand, her eyes burning with anger.
"Unforgivable."
Charl managed to squeeze out these words through gritted teeth.
"Absolutely unforgivable!"
This statement was clearly heard by everyone.
At this moment, everyone saw the anger in Charl's eyes.
"Miss Charl?" Yaya was somewhat surprised.
"Charl," Sigmund sighed.
Only Rozen, after looking steadily at Charl for a while, turned and looked at Frey.
However, Rozen's voice sounded.
"Indeed, for you, this 'Cannibal Candy' is an unforgivable presence, isn't it?"
This abrupt statement came from Rozen, leaving everyone astonished once again.
"What do you mean?" Charl glared at Rozen, speaking in a frustrated manner, "Don't act like you understand me!"
"Of course, I understand you."
Rozen glanced at Charl and spoke like this.
"Do you think, under the circumstance where I knew 'Cannibal Candy' possesses strength at the level of the 'Thirteen,' I wouldn't have investigated the current 'Thirteen' even if it meant finding out about him?"
Rozen's words were spoken casually, leaving Charl slightly wide-eyed and speechless.
But that's the way it is, isn't it?
Since it was known that 'Cannibal Candy' is at the level of the 'Thirteen,' to find him, Rozen naturally first investigated the information about the 'Thirteen' within the academy.
Therefore, as early as last night, Rozen had already contacted Karyusai Shouko through the phone to obtain all the information about the current 'Thirteen.'
Of course, this information included details about Charl.
"Thanks to this, I also know about your situation."
Rozen didn't look at Charl and spoke in a detached tone.
"I know why the Belew family fell."
At these words, Charl's delicate face twitched slightly, and she lowered her head, hiding her expression beneath her bangs.
In this situation, Rozen began to explain.
"Once, the Belew family was not only a noble bestowed with the Unicorn Badge by Her Majesty but also a prestigious machinart family renowned in England."
It is said that the history of the Belew family can be traced back 120 years, not considered ancient among magic families. However, the founder of the Belew family was a skilled Spirit Tamer, capable of forming contracts with creatures known as Spirits in the natural magical world, thus wielding the power of Spirits and manipulating natural phenomena.
Although automaton gradually gained popularity since that time, the ancient 'Spirits Taming Arts' was still passed down, much like the 'Onmyoudou.' Both had familiars that could be directly manipulated, and thus, even now, they were still practiced.
As a proficient user of the 'Spirits Taming Arts,' the first Count Belew had once defeated a Dragon residing in a magical mountain and tamed it for her service.
For this achievement, the first Belew Count was ennobled, and generations to come achieved great feats with the help of the magical dragon, eventually establishing the family's current reputation.
"The so-called magical dragon is actually a dragon-shaped automaton," Rozen said, turning his gaze to the small dragon beside him. "That would be you, Sigmund?"
Rozen's words were met with Sigmund's silence, which was essentially an acknowledgment.
In other words, Sigmund was an inherited automaton within the Belew family, similar to Hokuto, serving as the guardian of the family.
Charl inherited this magical dragon, enabling her to stand firm at the sixth position even in an academy gathering talents from around the world, thanks to its formidable power.
The heads of the Belew family always possessed outstanding abilities. In comparison to the Wiseman, they probably wouldn't fall too short, especially the previous owner of Sigmund, Charl's father and the contemporary Belew Count. He was not only an excellent automaton user but also a renowned automaton craftsman.
The Belew residence housed numerous automatons, living together like family.
However...
"One day, a highly distinguished young man visited the Belew family as a guest."
Rozen calmly narrated this event.
"It was said that the young man was injured due to an attack by an automaton shaped like a dog from the Belew family."
These words made Charl shiver involuntarily.
However, Rozen continued.
"Because of this incident, Count Belew faced severe condemnation from the royal family. His title was revoked, his territory confiscated, even those automatons that were like family were dismantled, and his assets frozen, plunging the Belew family into utter despair."
As a result, the Belew family found it difficult to sustain their livelihood, and Count Belew could not secure any work within England. He had to go to France as an automaton craftsman, seeking employment.
Soon after, the Count disappeared without a trace, leaving only Charl, her mother, and her sister missing, leaving Charl alone in the boarding school.
In the end, due to inability to pay the school fees, Charl was expelled from the boarding school.
In this way, only Sigmund remained by Charl's side.
Fortunately, where there's a will, there's a way. Despite the Belew family's grave crime, they were still a prestigious machinart family. For the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart, which valued strength more than public opinion, they were a talent that would be accepted no matter what.
Thus, Charl became eligible for a scholarship and entered this prestigious academy.
Since that time, Charl began to have a dream.
"To revive the Belew family, find my parents and sister, and return to the days when we were a happy and joyous family."
Rozen sighed.
"For this, you wish to become the Wiseman."
By becoming the Wiseman, the nation would undoubtedly value Charl, pardon her family's crimes, help find her relatives, and restore the family's former glory.
"I've heard that you're currently using scholarship funds to gradually buy back the hearts of those automatons you once considered as family," Rozen remarked.
He finally looked at Charl.
"And the reason you can't forgive the 'Cannibal Candy' is because, in his pursuit of the Wiseman position, he continuously took the lives of automatons. For you, who seek to reclaim the hearts of automatons you see as family to become the Wiseman, he's an unforgivable nemesis."
It was precisely for this reason that Charl was so eager to discover the identity of the 'Cannibal Candy.'
Not out of fear of being attacked by the 'Cannibal Candy,' but because she couldn't forgive his actions.
The direct reason why Charl was so concerned about the 'Cannibal Candy' was this.
Therefore, Rozen had to tell Charl.
"Give up on dealing with the 'Cannibal Candy.'"
Rozen stated this plainly.
"Otherwise, your dream will surely be destroyed."
ความคิดเห็นย่อย
คุณลักษณะความคิดเห็นย่อหน้าอยู่ในขณะนี้บนเว็บ! เลื่อนเมาส์ไปที่ย่อหน้าใดก็ได้แล้วคลิกไอคอนเพื่อเพิ่มความคิดเห็นของคุณ
นอกจากนี้คุณสามารถปิด / เปิดได้ตลอดเวลาในการตั้งค่า
เข้าใจแล้ว