I signaled to Carpy for his observations, but he returned negative. He couldn't sense any foreign interference inside Anika.

"We need a place for lie her down!" I called out, and everyone gave me strange looks. It felt as if they all knew something that I didn't. Except for Agon, who seemed even more confused than me.

Normally, I disliked being left in the dark, but I wasn't worried about that at the moment. Instead, I hurriedly carried Anika to my room and laid her on the bed.

Placing my hand on her head, I activated Perfect Me in an attempt to uncover what was wrong. Her blood pressure was abnormally high, especially for an exorcist. When Ord was involved, humans reached supernatural levels where not only their strength increased, but the power of their organs as well. The liver could process things faster, and were more resilient to poison. However, there were also drawbacks. Normal medicine had to be taken in higher dosages to be effective unless one was a Master with enough bodily control to slow down his liver.

From what I could gather, her heart had started beating far too fast, causing an influx of blood to flow to her head, resulting in her passing out. Normally, this kind of thing would lead to a heart attack, but when Ord was added to the equation, things operated under a different logic.

She should have been able to control her Ord enough to prevent this from happening. It was basic knowledge.

At least I could be certain that it wasn't some kind of mental interference. Otherwise, the 'thing' that the Raion Clan was hiding would have already intervened. Although it could already be in this room, and the only one who could see it was currently unconscious.

Suddenly, the window opened, and Agon peered in with despairing eyes. He took one look at her before wailing out, "Ahhhh! Anika is dead!"

I flinched, but before he could give the patient a heart attack, a blast of water burst from the ground and tossed him aside. Carpy was considerate enough to close the window with tendrils of water as Agon continued to bawl.

Anika’s eyes fluttered open at the commotion. Her cheeks were tinted red as she shifted nervously under the sheets, timidly meeting my gaze. "N-Nice weather, isn't it?"

As soon as those words left her mouth, an embarrassing memory emerged unbidden in my mind as I realized what the problem was. Ah, so that was it. She really deserved a bonk for making me worry this much. How could she entertain such thoughts about me? We barely knew each other. She shouldn't have been affected so much by a passing crush.

"We need to prepare for our journey," I stated impassively, keeping my emotions from my voice.

She nodded weakly.

"You should rest for now," I reassured her before exiting the room. However, as soon as I closed the door, I rubbed my weary eyes and sighed.

Was I beginning to regret joining this team for the mission? Well, to some extent.

But I had little other choice. Something unknown had occurred, and when faced with a problem, throwing Agon at it and hoping for the best seemed like the smartest option. However, Agon had a talent for creating problems and enemies out of thin air, so I needed to be there to prevent him from doing anything foolish.

Our mission involved investigating the golden pyramid where the nine-tailed fox was sealed. The sensory exorcists had detected an unusual disturbance in the surrounding Ord. This was something I had no idea about, so getting the main cast involved sounded like the logical thing to do.

Regardless of any adolescent feelings Anika might have for me, she needed to set them aside. This had the potential to escalate into another world-threatening event. While the nine-tailed fox was as formidable as Yamata No Orochi, the latter was merely a drunkard. On the other hand, Tamae No Mae harbored different ambitions; she was cunning and capable of assassinating special exorcists without ever being detected.

The nine-tailed fox was essentially Sei's grandmother, and Sei possessed one of the most versatile special abilities among exorcists. However, when it came to the nine-tailed fox, she was the epitome of versatility—a master of all trades.

In the original story, she had initially caused minimal chaos, only wreaking havoc when she found a vessel to possess for more than a minute. However, eventually, she discovered her true body, and... well...

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Is everything alright?" Sei inquired as I stepped out into the yard and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I’m just pondering some things," I nodded.

"It seems like you've grown stronger since we last met," Sei remarked.

I shrugged. "You could say that, although not as much as I had hoped for."

…

Since I had to leave for an unknown period while bringing Carpy with me, I needed to ensure that my subordinates were prepared. I appointed Miku as the interim leader since she was the only one capable of handling a middle-class demon. With her ability to manifest arrows made of Ord with incredible piercing and explosive power, she could even eliminate high-class demons if her ability hit its mark. She had proven her prowess by defeating the leech demon during the Expert Exam, a feat the rest of us struggled with.

However, without Carpy's constant presence, some daring demons might attempt to trespass into my territory. But, for now, there was nothing I could do about it.

Unexpectedly, a carriage appeared in the distance and stopped in front of my hut. Princess Wisteria and her attendant Yara emerged, with the princess donning an unusually striking crimson red dress that suited her well. Despite her typically awkward demeanor, she possessed a captivating beauty.

Sei's gaze narrowed upon seeing her, but his guarded expression quickly transformed into a smile. "It's a pleasure to see you here, Princess Wisteria."

Wisteria gracefully bowed in response. "Likewise, Abe of the Seimei Clan. It has been quite some time since we last crossed paths, over a decade, I believe."

Her voice carried a gentle and soothing tone, and she seemed to embody the ideal image of a dignified princess. One would never guess that she was the same weeb, shut-in princess I knew.

After some mundane conversation, Wisteria greeted everyone, impeccably playing her role. Eventually, Anika joined us, holding a glass of water. "Apologies for the delay. It won't happen again."

She glanced at Wisteria and furrowed her brow. "Who is she?"

Sei responded with a touch of sarcasm, "That's the princess. I’d thought, being a member of the Four Great Clans, you would be familiar with the royal family."

However, Anika seemed unperturbed by his remark, attempting a smile that came off slightly askew. "Oh? So what is your relationship with Kon?"

"Kon?" Wisteria's smile wavered for an instant before swiftly recovering. "He is my fiancé."

The glass in Anika's hand shattered, drawing blood from the palm of her hand. Nevertheless, she maintained a strained smile and spoke, "I apologize, I’ve been very stressed lately and it’s really getting to me."

Ah, shit, an emotionally unstable exorcist is usually a dangerous one.

Strings materialized around her hand as she calmly plucked the shards of glass from her palm. Anika's power overshadowed that of her original version, however she was nowhere near as mentally mature as she would have been.

Wis remained composed, nodding in acknowledgment. "I have come to convey my respect and gratitude to you all for your work as distinguished exorcists. You are the ones who protect us. Nok, thank you for everything. Have a safe journey."

She rode away, and Sei turned at me, raising a questioning brow. "Why did she call you Nok?"

"Just a nickname."

"Already at the stage of using nicknames, huh?" Anika mumbled as she stared blankly at the ground in front of her.

Sei shrugged and offered a word of caution to me. "Be careful, Princess Wisteria is mysterious. Her ambitions and desires remain unknown to most."

She was quite the weeb princess—her ambitions and desires were actually very straightforward.

Leaning closer, Sei whispered, "She talks about ‘Kon’ as if you two are different people. Be cautious with your actions."

He was right. Upon my return, I should reveal everything to her—about being Kon and my need for her to become the ruler of the country. Perhaps I could use the excuse that my demon had glimpses of the future.

Ah, damn, it would surely damage the relationship we had built so far. It would be painful, but necessary.

Agon, Sei, Anika, and I walked toward a distant shore away from the city to avoid alarming the town with Carpy’s appearance.

"Why are we here?" Agon asked absentmindedly, picking his nose.

"To meet Carpy."

"Who's that?"

Had he already forgotten about Carpy? Well, I should have expected as much from him. "My fish demon."

"Ohhh! The cool snake demon!"

"It's not a snake, it's an elongated fish demon."

My attempts to convince him fell short, and I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. Arguing with Agon was futile; he would only drag me down to his level, where he had the advantage and could overcome anything I threw at him with bullheaded ignorance.

"Carpy, come out." It felt cooler to call out over the sea rather than send an Ord signal.

My heart quickened with anticipation, eager to witness Carpy's transformation.

In that moment, the water surged, as if the sea itself was parting, forming a colossal wave that rose into a towering mass of frothy water.