CHAPTER 134: THE SHADOW OF THE ULTIMATE SPECIES PART 1
The stories that we have heard reminded me of a certain girl I met just the other day in River’s End.
Because Iris’s characteristics matched the stories that we heard from the villagers perfectly.
Of course, it was pretty rash and irresponsible to just assume that Iris equaled the Devil based on those stories alone, but……
There was that uncomfortable feeling that I felt when I was right next to Iris at that time. And it was something that I couldn’t possibly ignore here.
She might have looked like a normal girl on the outside, but……
For some reason, I felt that what was residing inside of her was an alien, foreign entity. Something with clear murderous intentions and sharp fangs to make those intentions come true.
Now that I was thinking about it, there was no way that Iris was actually someone normal. She was way too quirky and mysterious for that.
But what kind of coincidence was that even supposed to be?
But even so, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the other possibilities and……
「Say…… Rein?」
「Hm? What is it?」
「What’s going on? What’s this look on your face? Did something happen?」
Kanade raised her eyebrows at me, as if trying to display that she was worried about me because of that expression I just made.
「Umm, well…… you see……」
「Did you manage to figure something out, Rein?」
Cell asked me that without a moment of hesitation.
She was truly sharp, I’ll give her that.
She must have seen the change in my expression and came to a conclusion that was onto something here.
But the real question here is: whatever am I going to do about that fact?
If I give them the information that is not properly confirmed, this might only serve to become a source of confusion down the line.
However, if the information about Iris is going to be important, leaving it out could lead to potentially catastrophic and irreversible results.
「Umm, well, this might be completely unrelated to the Emergency Request’s case. But still, just to be on the safe side, I think it might be important for you to know……」
After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to tell Kanade and Cell about Iris.
There was a chance that I might confuse them with that information, but still……
I decided that this outcome was going to be potentially better than that if I chose to remain silent about her.
「…… And that’s more or less what happened.」
So I told them both about my brief encounter with Iris.
「Hmm, I see…… A girl that you happened to meet at night at River’s End, huh?
「Nyaah…… Rein, I can’t believe that this is what you were into when you went out on your own like that…… Unyah……」
Cell nodded her head quietly, and Kanade, for some reason, gave me a really sad and reproachful look.
Kanade, please calm down and don’t misunderstand. It’s not like that, so you have nothing to worry about here.
So why are you acting as if I went and did something completely unforgivable? Because this is a serious matter here.
「So, what do you think?」
I asked Cell after a brief moment of silence.
「Hmm, let’s see…… Judging purely from what I have heard from you, it doesn’t really have to mean anything. For all that we know, you just ran into some random girl who just so happens to match the physical description of the Devil. It’s just that…… The timing of this encounter seems to be way too good. Especially with you becoming aware of it right now.」
「…… I see.」
「Or at the very least…… that’s what I would normally say.」
Cell cut off my words right away there, and then paused for a moment, as if to gather her thoughts.
A moment later, she opened her mouth to speak.
「I think that this lead is worth looking into in greater detail.」
「…… Does that mean you believe me?」
「Honestly, we want to get as many pieces of valuable information as we possibly can. And since we do not have all that many clues to begin with, I’m willing to take the slightest chance of us identifying the Devil’s identity. And besides……
「Besides……?」
「Since you are the one saying this, Rein, then I think I can believe you to a certain extent.」
「Rein…… How did you manage to win Cell’s trust so quickly, hm? Nyaah…… I knew it, it’s just like always. You seem to attract women of all ages and races to you without even realizing it.」
No, seriously now, Kanade? Why are you glaring at me like that?
「Fufu, please calm down, Kanade. Everything’s fine.」
Cell smiled slightly at Kanade, who for some reason seems to be in an extremely bad mood.
「It’s not like I decided to trust Rein because of his personality, you know? We have only known each other for a couple of days, and went on a single journey together thus far. So such a short time is not nearly long enough to form a bond of trust with someone.」
「Nya, nyah? Then why?」
「I have decided to trust in Rein’s power, not his character.」
This time around, Cell smiled at us quite genuinely..
「With the several members of the Ultimate Species at his side, and those members calling him their Master, I know that your power and abilities are genuine, Rein. And since you think that we need to be wary of that Iris person, then that’s what I am going to be inclined to believe. That’s how it is.」
「Hmm, I see, nya…… Hmm, yeah! I’m glad that Rein got recognized for his power and abilities, but I feel like we are talking about quite the different things here, and it really is starting to get on my nerves for some reason……」
Hm? Getting on your nerves? Why would Kanade even feel the need to be like that?
I knew it, for some reason, Kanade seemed to act really strange those past couple of days.
「Fufu.」
Cel gave us a small smile while she giggled earnestly, as if she understood what Kanade was thinking right now.
「Please don’t worry. It’s simply that I have complete faith in your Master’s power. It’s not that I’m trying to mess with you or to lay my hands on it myself.」
「Nya, nya, nya, nyah!? W-What are you talking about, nyah……!? I certainly have no idea what that something might be, nya!!!」
「I mean, I think that what you are feeling is all very clear to those around you. However, it would seem that you have little to no luck with getting your point across……」
「Yeah, you can say that again……」
「I don’t know if there is anything that I can do here, but I will try to support you in any way I can.」
「Oh wow…… Thank you so much! You’re such a good person, Cell!」
I don’t know what exactly happened here just now, but for the time being, I guess that those two managed to become friends?
