Three days later, Principal Morifuji gathers up all the students and announces that in less than two weeks time, we of the Tokyo Branch be having a joint training with the Kyoto branch. As Assaf-sensei has predicted, majority of the students don’t look surprised.

Principal Morifuji also tells us that just because the joint training is coming up, it does not give us an excuse to slack off on our missions. After the brief announcement, we were dismissed.

On our way back to our respective classrooms, I hear a lot of students discussing about the upcoming joint training.

‘Hey hey, if it’s the Kyoto branch, that person will definitely be there, right?’

‘Of course she will. She’s a student council president too, just like our Morifuji-senpai.’

‘I wonder if she’ll be declaring her rivalry against Morifuji-senpai again like last year?’

‘I sure hope so. I watched the video of the declaration last year, and I laughed so hard I had trouble breathing!’

‘Oh, you too? So did I! I was so loud I received noise complaints!’

‘I wonder what will she do this year?’

‘Well, whatever it is, it definitely won’t be disappointing!’

Yup. Rather than the joint training, everyone is talking about her. It’s a shame I already knew what she’ll be doing, so I can’t laugh until I get stomachache like the first time I watched it.

Either way, now’s not the time to get distracted, since we’ll be busy as always. It’s lessons, lessons, and more lessons.

I don’t feel like attending classes today, so I look through the request list on my phone to search for random requests. One request in particular caught my attention.

A pair of couple claim that their daughter has gone missing for a week now. For some reason, they’re relying on us instead of the police when this kind of job falls under their jurisdiction.

There’s another odd thing about this request. Whoever that accepts this mission must come to the client’s house and conduct the search alone. This is kind of fishy, so I decide to accept it.

Naturally, my girls want to come along when they heard that I took on a mission, but they gave up after I told them about the peculiar condition that the clients imposed. After I assure them that I will contact them if something went wrong, I head for the clients’ house.

My clients are Mr and Mrs Yamagata, a pair of husband and wife who work in the pharmaceutical industry. I’ve seen them being interviewed several times by news reporters in the past. Their business is so successful that their company, the Yamagata Pharmacy, is known throughout the entire world.

The couple are currently living at a huge mansion in an area resided by rich people together with their daughter Amaya. They are often portrayed as a perfect family, where the parents are a loving couple, and the two of them are seen to be treasuring their daughter above anything else.

Reality can be disappointing at times.

After I ring the doorbell, a housekeeper comes out and asks me for my business. I told her that I'm here for the request. she then goes inside the mansion to convey my message. When she comes tou again, I was let into the mansion. When I go inside, the Yamagatas are already sitting at one side of a sofa made of expensive-looking leather, probably even more expensive than the ones Sakuya has in her room. I sit down opposite them, and the housekeeper serves me tea.

Not five seconds after I sit down, both of them start to rant hysterically about all the lessons that their daughter have missed, the social party that they could not attend because of her absence, and they can’t even show their faces outside for fear of being asked of their daughter’s whereabouts. They didn’t even bother to introduce themselves, or even ask for my name.

They’re often speaking at the same time, so I have a hard time in listening to what they’re saying. They know this too, and every once in a while they would pause their rant just so they could stop the other from being the louder one.

‘FATHER, CAN’T YOU SEE THAT I’M TRYING TO TALK TO HIM? WOULD YOU BE SO KIND TO TONE DOWN A BIT?’ Mrs Yamagata shrieks at the top of her lungs.

‘WELL MOTHER, PERHAPS YOU COULD WAIT UNTIL I’M FINISHED!’ Mr Yamagata shouts with a voice that doesn’t lose to his wife. ‘ONCE AGAIN, YOU SEEM TO FORGET THAT I’M THE ONE IN CHARGE HERE!’

‘YOU’RE IN CHARGE? HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO REMIND YOU THAT YOUR DREAM TO BUILD A PHARMACY EMPIRE WOULD HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT A PIPE DREAM IF IT WASN’T FOR MY FAMILY’S DONATIONS?’

‘OF COURSE I REMEMBER! I WOULDN’T HAVE MARRIED YOU OTHERWISE!’

Even with the pauses and the interruptions, they somehow manage to finish their rant. By the time they’re done, the two of them are out of breath, and my ears are ringing from listening to all those shouting. If this is how it’s always like in this household, it’s real miracle that they didn’t shout each other deaf.

They’ve ranted for around thirty minutes. Throughout the ranting, I didn’t hear them mention the well-being of their daughter, or anything related to her. It was all related to their reputation, the future of their company, all them, them, them.

Oh silly me. They did mentioned about her welfare. When they talked about how she had been taking lessons on business, investments, and all kinds of lessons so that she will grow up to be the ideal daughter that they always wanted.

You can’t find such loving parents anywhere else.

Now that they’re finally done with their ranting, I could finally start with the questioning.

‘So, when was the last time you saw her? And where?’

‘How should I remember? We always had better things to do.’ Mr Yamagata says.

‘Our driver Takekawa was the last one to see her.’ Mrs Yamagata tells me.

‘Former driver.’ her husband corrects her. ‘We fired him after he couldn’t find Amaya, remember?’

‘Oh, right. That incompetent fool.’

‘Next question. Why didn’t you go to the police?’

‘The police? Are you insane? If words got out that she has gone missing, our reputation would be tarnished!’ Mr Yamagata shouts.

‘We can’t have that stupid girl ruin our credibility!’ Mrs Yamagata adds angrily.

So that’s why they’re keeping this incident a secret from the police. They care about their petty reputation more than their flesh and blood.

‘That reminds me. You’re absolutely forbidden to tell anyone that she has disappeared, got it? Not even to your colleagues!’

‘You have my word.’

I decide to cut the questioning short, since it’s certain at this point that asking them anything would be a total waste of time. Before I bid them an insincere good night, I ask them for her photo. They forbid me from taking it, since there’s a possibility that I might drop it, so I had to make do with taking a glance and make do with my memory.

While I’m being guided to the front door by the housekeeper, I ask her to guide me to the servants’ quarters instead. I figure that I have a better chance of getting answers if I question the people who work here.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Most of the servants are too terrified of their employers to cooperate, and only two of them are willing to answer any questions I have for them: Tagawa-san the middle-aged housekeeper who brought me here and Ishido-san the elderly chef.

Currently, all of us are inside Tagawa-san’s room. She’s the only one among the servants who have a room of her own.

‘Before we start, are you sure this is a safe spot to talk? I don’t want to get you two into trouble.’

‘There’s no need to worry.’ Tagawa-san assures me. ‘Our master and mistress would never come near this part of the house.’

‘She’s right. I’m pretty sure they would rather walk to their company than going near living quarters inhabited by peasants.’ Ishido-san says.

‘Ishido-san, isn’t peasants is a bit too much?’ Tagawa-san chides lightly.

‘I guess you’re right. My bad.’ Ishido-san apologizes while chuckling.

Both of them are laughing, but I don’t sense that they’re joking at all. All of the servants here have my deepest respect and utmost sympathy.

‘How’s Amaya-san coping with her parents?’ I start by asking.

‘You could probably guess by how her parents act, but it’s not good at all. They’re constantly forcing her to put on a facade that their family is very caring towards each other when the reality is the polar opposite of that.’ Tagawa-san answers. ‘Not to mention all those lessons she has to take after school. She’s not allowed to have any sort of free time all to herself, not allowed to have a hobby, not even friends.’

‘That girl is strong. Very strong.’ Ishido-san continues. ‘I’ve heard similar stories lots of times, and most of them ended with the child either going insane from the sheer pressure, or running away from their home. There are even some cases where they committed suicide.’

Honestly, I can’t blame these kids. If I have parents who want to take control of literally everything I do, I would off myself too.

‘Her parents mentioned that the former driver Takekawa-san was the last person who saw her. Do you know the whole story?’

Ishido-san offers to begin the story.

‘It’s a simple story, really. One day, Takekawa was driving ojou home as usual. When they passed by a park, ojou suddenly told Takekawa to drive the car into the park, since she had the urge to… well, pick flowers. Takekawa obliged without a second thought, little would he know that it ultimately costed his career.’

‘After ojou got out, Takekawa waits for her to come back while reading a newspaper. Thirty minutes have passed, but ojou never came back. That made Takekawa panic, and he risked going into the girl’s toilet to search for her. Naturally, he failed to find her.’

Tagawa-san took over from here.

‘I was there when Takekawa-san delivered the bad news to her parents. Their first reaction was “What do you mean she’s gone? We have a party to attend tonight! What are we suppose to tell them?”’ she shakes her head in disgust.

‘So, Amaya-san just disappeared into thin air? Just like that?’

‘Well, if she somehow left the park, people would definitely have saw her, right? It was dusk, after all.’

‘Any chance of those people just minding their own business?’

Tagawa-san shakes her head. ‘None. Like her parents, ojou-sama is well known around the area, and people are used to seeing her travelling around in a car. There’s no way people would just leave her alone.’

‘Was Amaya-san acting strange prior to her disappearance?’

‘Not at all.’ Tagawa-san answers. ‘She was the same as usual. Facing any hardship thrown by her parents without any sort of complaints or change of expressions.’

‘It’s either that or she got very good at acting.’ Ishido-san says.

Tagawa-san doesn’t dismiss the possibility. ‘True. I doubt anyone can take constant abuse without showing a single hint of resentment.’

‘Still, there’s no way she could have left the park all by herself.’ I point out. ‘So she must have had help.’

‘If you’re implying that one of us servants did it, you can banish the thought.’ Ishido-san says. ‘All of us adore ojou. We really do. The thing is, our desire to keep our job is much stronger than our love towards her, as sad as it sounds.’

‘Besides, ojou-sama has never approached us for favors. She can’t even come here due to her parents’ strict orders.’ Tagawa-san adds.

‘And I quote “you must know your place as someone who has a high social status, and not associate yourself with those of lower standings.”’ Ishido-san says bitterly.

‘If it wasn’t any of you servants, then it’s probably someone that none of you know of.’ I conclude.

I threw out the possibility that she was kidnapped. If she was, someone would definitely ask for a ransom. Her parents didn’t mention anything about it.

‘But, how is that possible?’ Tagawa-san asks me. ‘There’s no way she could have asked for help. She doesn’t own a cellphone, and she was never alone. Not at school, and certainly not when she’s at home.’

‘Not even when she’s in her own bedroom?’ I ask.

The two of them stare at me.

‘It’s the only place where she’s has complete privacy, right?’

‘I…I guess. Would you like to go to her room?’

‘Yes, please.’

For a rich young lady, Amaya-san’s room is as plain as it gets. Each and every one of her furniture are of simple design, and there’s no decoration whatsoever.

‘Wow, if I didn’t know better, I thought I’ve walked into another servant’s room. No offense.’

‘None taken. As for the room, she only thinks of it as somewhere she sleeps, so she never bothered to decorate it. Besides, her parents might pester her again if she shows too much individuality.’

I begin to search for clues without messing up the room too much. Tagawa-san and Ishido-san help out as well.

I don’t think Amaya-san is stupid enough to keep a diary, but I search through her bookshelves anyway. You never know what you might find.

‘Nothing here.’ Ishido-san announces after he look through the wardrobe.

‘Same here.’ I say to them.

Tagawa-san, on the other hand, manages to find something. She was searching through the drawer, and she found a home-made bookmark with a pressed flower inside it.

‘I wonder where did she get the flower from?’ Tagawa-san thinks out loud. ‘This wasn’t in our garden.’

‘Maybe she found it on her way back here?’ I suggest.

‘That’s impossible. Her parents have specifically told all her drivers that she is to return home the moment school’s over, and no detours are ever allowed. Besides, I was always there to welcome her home. If she picked up a flower from somewhere, I would definitely know.’

‘An adolescent girl secretly hiding a flower of unknown source. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Ishido-san asks.

We’re probably thinking the same thing.

‘This is bad. If her parents found out…’

‘Can I trust the two of you to keep this a secret?’ I ask. ‘I don’t want the situation to become even more complicated.’

‘Of course.’

‘I’ll take it to my grave if I have to.’

‘Thank you. For now, I guess I’ll go to the park where she was last seen.’

Tagawa-san gives me the direction to the park, and I manage to arrive without getting lost. I head straight for the toilet. There, I take out my phone and turn on the app that allows me to scan for magic traces.

The app is installed to every phone owned by students of the Academy, courtesy of the Research Department. According to them, even magic traces that are one months old could still be traced.

Man, the Royal Blade Academy is full of talented people.

Anyway, I scan the area around the toilet and was soon rewarded with magic traces. The trail begins at inside the girl’s toilet and leads me outside the park.

Based on the traces scanned by the app, there’s only one perpetrator. And the app is so advanced that it could even trace out his/her body size. He/She is had both his/her hands behind him/her, so I assume that Amaya-san was being piggybacked.

After walking for quite a while, I’m starting to head towards an abandoned factory. As I was going inside the entrance, I switch off the app and keep my phone inside my pocket.

The reason? There’s someone standing right behind me.

‘May I help you?’ a male voice asks me.

I turn around slowly and find myself looking at a man who looks like he’s in his twenties.

I don’t know how he got behind me, but there he is now.

‘Hey there, I’m looking for someone. A high school girl? Long, black hair? Rich-girl looking?’

He shakes his head. ‘Nope. Doesn’t ring a bell.’

‘Uh-huh. Look, I’m not going to force her to go back to her awful parents. I just want to talk to her, okay?’

He looks at me silently, probably accessing whether I’m telling the truth. It was quite a while before he speaks again.

‘...Do you mean it?’

‘I’ll try to convince her to go back, but ultimately, it’s up to her. What do you say?’

‘I guess that’s good enough for me.’

He leads me to a huge warehouse where the previous owner has stored lots of machinery. Based on their rustiness, they’ve probably been here for a long time.

Amaya-san gets up from a wooden bench when she saw me coming in with the man. She’s wearing casual clothes, even though she went missing when she was going back to her house from her school.

Right next to her, there’s a torchlight, some can foods, few bottles of water, some daily necessities, even a futon. A freaking futon. Inside an abandoned factory.

She glares at the man. ‘Why did you bring him here?’

He shrugs. ‘He said he just wants to talk, and he won’t force you to go back.’

‘And you believed him?’

‘He called your parents awful. I’d say he’s trustworthy.’

She looks at me like she found a new friend. ‘Did you really?’

‘Not to sound offensive, but calling them “awful” is an understatement.’

‘I couldn’t agree more. Alright, I’ll listen to what you have to say.’

She sits down on the bench once again. The man sits down cross-legged on the floor. I follow suit.

‘Let’s start with some self-introduction. I’m Yamagata Amaya, although you probably know it already.’

‘Just call me Greg.’ the man says simply.

‘I’m Kagenashi Akira.’

‘Kagenashi-kun, is it? I see that you’re a student from the Royal Blade Academy. Did my parents explain to you why they asked for your help instead of the police?’

‘They said they don’t want words of your disappearance being made public.’

She furrows her eyebrow. ‘Figures. They only care about their stupid reputations. Never me. I’m getting so sick of this.’

‘Um, before we go further, can I get something out of my system?’ I plead. ‘It’s been bothering me for a while now.’

‘Sure, go ahead.’

‘Thank you.’

I look at Greg. He stares back at me.

‘Greg-san, you’re a Destroyer, aren’t you?’