She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (WN)
chapter-256-1

「Hmm… so the outlet is somewhere down there?」

Thanks to Pegasus’ speed, Mira quickly reached the place Anlutine had mentioned.

It was a large river that ran next to Haxthausen, dividing the plains into two. The outlet of the pipeways was somewhere within the river, and according to Anlutine, he would come out shortly.

「This spot should be good enough…」

Mira was wearing her camouflage mantle, happy that she was able to put it to use so soon. She also had her gas mask and night vision goggles, and kept her body lying on the ground as she waited.

That spot was slightly distant from the city, and it was a cloudy night, so there was hardly any light there. That made her camouflage all the more effective, making her practically invisible.

On top of that, she did not have to be tense about the wait, as Anlutine could tell her exactly when Fuzzy Dice would be there. That eased her nerves and allowed her to focus entirely on carrying out her ambush plan.

On top of her night vision goggles, she also had Life Sensing active, letting her follow targets in the dark with even more ease than the goggles allowed.

Additionally, she had a Magic Bomb Sealing Stone in her hand, which was small like a pebble that could get lost in an instant in the darkness of the night. But its power was by no means small, as Mira had Refined it specifically to use it that night.

‘Ah, he just dove in, he’ll be out there any moment now!’

Anlutine’s last update arrived. Since the outlet was inside of the river, Fuzzy Dice had to dive into the water and swim through the pipe to get out, and that would only take a short time.

Mira raised her body slightly and held her hand with the Magic Bomb Sealing Stone ready to throw, while continuously scanning the water with Life Sensing.

(There!)

Dense terrain could obstruct the readings of Life Sensing, but water had nearly no effect, so Mira could clearly see the figure that appeared in the river.

That had to be Fuzzy Dice, swimming out of the pipe and slowly coming out the surface, which made Mira’s hand grip the Magic Bomb Sealing Stone harder.

Eventually, he reached the surface and swam over to the shoreline.

He was currently around twenty meters away from Mira, and as she watched she noticed a sudden flux of mana. That was common when spellcasters got ready to use an ability, so Mira watched carefully to see what would happen.

(Oh, he’s just drying his clothes.)

The figure was using Concept Magic in the same way as Mira would to dry her hair. That gave Mira the assurance she needed to act. There would be no better chance, as spellcasters could not use any spells while using Concept Magic.

As soon as the figure faced away, Mira sprang on her feet and threw the Magic Bomb Sealing Stone. The small rock flew through the darkness of the night, and while Mira’s aim was slightly off, it still burst near the figure.

That produced a thunderous sound and a blinding flash of light. The Magic Bomb Sealing Stone she had used had a similar effect to a flashbang.

There was a slight groan right after, at which point Mira took an Arresting Cloth and rushed forward. Not even Fuzzy Dice would be able to keep a clear mind in such a situation, as even Mira had tested them on herself the night before and had suffered their effect.

Now, she was five meters away, it would take her less than a second to reach him, and her night vision goggles gave her a clear picture of the target.

He looked like an ordinary man, wearing regular clothes. There were no distinctive features to him, to the point that it would be nearly impossible to describe him. But that also told Mira that she really was dealing with Fuzzy Dice.

(It’s the end for you!)

The Magic Bomb Sealing Stone had worked perfectly, as Fuzzy Dice staggered to regain his bearings. So Mira spread her Arresting Cloth and lunged forward. And then something unexpected happened.

「What?!」

Her body stopped moving all of a sudden.

「Damn you! Was that Gravekeeper Spider’s Web Barrier? Such an underhanded move…」

Looking around, she saw she was restrained by black spiderwebs, which had appeared all around Fuzzy Dice, and tangled around her body when she stepped in.

「Well, that actually took me by surprise.」

That also gave Fuzzy Dice enough time to recover, and he turned around to look at Mira impressed.

「I didn’t expect the special forces to be here already…」

Fuzzy Dice chuckled when he saw Mira’s attire, before taking off her gas mask, night vision goggles, and Arresting Cloth. Then he added, 「This is the first time someone got this far.」

Then he held the Arresting Cloth and moved closer to Mira. Not even someone with Mira’s skill could break free from Arresting Cloth, and she was already restrained by the spiderwebs so much that she could only barely move her fingers.

「Wait, I’d like to ask something first, is that alright?」

With a strained face, Mira tried talking to Fuzzy Dice, who stopped moving for a moment.

「What is it? Would it happen to involve a certain orphanage hidden within a remote forest?」 He quickly recognized what Mira wanted to ask.

「Yes, that’s exactly it. So you really were listening in to my conversation with the detective.」

Considering what happened in the Spellcasters’ Union earlier, and his current response, he really had been listening in to all of the detective’s conversations with Mira.

Mira had suspected that was the case, so it did not come as much of a shock, and instead it saved her the time to explain. But she still wanted an answer.

「That will depend on the reason you’re searching for it.」

Fuzzy Dice replied as he stared into Mira’s eyes attentively. He was carefully examining her, making sure that whatever reply she gave was the truth.

(Well, that makes sense. No one would give a straight answer without knowing that.)

Sharing that information would allow them to amicably end that confrontation, as long as Mira gave a good reason that convinced Fuzzy Dice.

There were plenty of orphanages helping children all over the world, so the fact that Mira was searching for specifically that one stood out. Especially if Fuzzy Dice was directly connected to it.

So he would never give a reply unless he obtained a satisfying reason.

But Mira could not possibly give a proper reply. Even if she tried to play it off by saying that she heard a friend might be there, Fuzzy Dice would simply ask who that friend was.

As much as she would need to give a proper reason as to why she was searching for the orphanage, she could not simply reveal that she believed Artesia might be the founder. That was considered a state secret of Arkite, and Mira could not talk about it to someone she barely knew.

So there was only one possible option for Mira.

She would have to return to her original plan, capturing Fuzzy Dice and forcing him to talk. There were no other ways she could think of, so she moved into action before it was too late.

「The reason is… secret!」 She glared back at Fuzzy Dice as she replied, while opening up her hand and closing her eyes.