As a Ninja, All I Want Is to Live Off Others in the Type-Moon World

"How are you so good at this?" Luvia held her curled hair in her hands, her face full of disbelief.

In her eyes, a handsome young man like Higashino Kanade with such extraordinary strength clearly looked like he had been born into wealth. Why was he so good at doing servant work instead?

"Practice makes perfect."

Higashino Kanade could not help recalling the time he had trained with Tsunade. Though he had been her disciple, he had also been half her caretaker. Not only did he have to look after Tsunade's daily needs, but he also occasionally had to sneak her past Shizune's defenses so she could gamble. Even Tsunade had once joked that if Higashino Kanade stopped being a ninja, he could become her secretary.

Unfortunately, Higashino Kanade had not lived to see that day. Madara-sama had handed him his death flag.

Higashino Kanade's expression turned desolate, and his dim amber eyes were especially pitiful.

Luvia understood that Higashino Kanade had remembered something unpleasant and hurriedly changed the subject. "Who do you think the murderer is?"

"Hmm... Jirobou Seigen Shitou or Orlok." After a brief silence, Higashino Kanade gave his answer.

"Why do you think that? Isn't Lord El-Melloi II suspicious too?" Luvia was surprised by Higashino Kanade's answer.

In truth, Higashino Kanade had used the process of elimination. Nine people had come, and two had died.

He and Luvia were ruled out first. They simply had no time to commit the crime.

Waver and Grea were ruled out. They were the protagonists, so they could not possibly be murderers.

Fliyou was ruled out. He was just a coward who bullied the weak and feared the strong. He was no match for Heine at all.

That only left Jirobou Seigen Shitou and Orlok.

"Waver is impossible. The culprit should be one of those two, or both of them."

"Seeing how confident you are, I'll trust you for now."

Luvia brushed her hair aside like an elegant white swan. Her composed tone seemed to say, "I'm your master, so I'm doing you a favor."

Higashino Kanade did not notice Luvia's little scheme. As a magical layman, he had been doomed to have nothing to do with this deduction from the moment he arrived. Thus, he placed his hopes of learning the truth on Waver and Luvia.

"Luvia, what do you plan to do next?"

"I haven't decided yet, but we can investigate the entire castle first. We might find a secret room or something. Perhaps it contains a magical beast, or clues left behind by Gryphon."

"Fine. I'll walk around with you."

"Why do you sound so unwilling?" Luvia's brows furrowed slightly, dissatisfied with Higashino Kanade's perfunctory attitude.

In Luvia's understanding of the world, once she had paid, she was the boss. Since Higashino Kanade had been hired by her, he should at least show an obedient attitude, even if it was fake. That was why she had kept subtly emphasizing that she was his master.

Yet Higashino Kanade was like some old rascal who took money without working. Not only did he refuse to fawn over her like a lapdog, he often made her angry too. He was absolutely infuriating!

What Luvia did not know was that in the ninja world, the relationship between ninja and employer was very equal. Sometimes, employers even held ninjas in great awe because of their immense power. Higashino Kanade's "disobedience" was not directed at her specifically; it was simply a habit he had developed during his past missions.

"If you don't have any ideas, I'm planning to ask Waver about the situation. Maybe he has a new perspective." Higashino Kanade answered honestly. Of course, he noticed Luvia's dissatisfaction, so he deliberately explained, "I don't have anything against you. I just think it would be better for everyone if we solve the case sooner."

Bullshit! You do have something against me! You're still hung up on Waver! How am I worse than Waver?!

Luvia, furious that she had spent money yet could not enjoy being treated like the boss, stood up and pointed at Higashino Kanade with an arm even whiter than snow. "I'll prove myself and tame you. Just watch me!"

???

Tame me? Do you think I'm an animal?

P.S.: Second update.

The Castle's Secret Room

In the end, Higashino Kanade still followed behind Luvia, watching curiously as she wandered around the castle holding a magic tool that looked like a compass.

According to Luvia, this compass-like magic tool could detect the density of mana. Places with a high concentration of mana generally contained traps or secret rooms protected by bounded fields.

Higashino Kanade thought over her words, then suddenly understood. "Oh, you should've said so earlier. I'll help you."

Sharingan, activate!

A strange double-tomoe Sharingan appeared, adding a touch of sinister charm to Higashino Kanade's already handsome face. In an instant, all the mana contained within the castle entered his sight.

"Over here."

Higashino Kanade pointed to a corner of the wall. Looking at the compass needle twisting wildly, Luvia asked in shock, "You actually have Mystic Eyes too!"

"More or less. My Sharingan can perceive the flow of mana. There's more mana gathering at that point. I don't know if it's what you're looking for."

Seeing Higashino Kanade casually point out places that might contain traps or bounded fields, Luvia suddenly felt that the magic tool in her hand was no longer appealing.

She had hurriedly made this magic tool herself. It could only vaguely detect places with high concentrations of mana and could not pinpoint them accurately.

Luvia was not a magus skilled in detection. She had considered asking Fliyou, the astrologer, for help, but after considering that Higashino Kanade did not like Fliyou, she abandoned the idea.

Now, it seemed that all her preparations had been somewhat unnecessary. She had worked so hard for nothing.

"This Uchiha certainly has plenty of tricks. What a treasure." Luvia casually tossed the magic tool into a trash bin, her eyes gaining a trace of greed as she looked at Higashino Kanade, like a hunter eyeing prey.

The Edelfelt Family had always been devoted to collecting treasures from the world of magecraft. These treasures did not refer solely to objects, but also to people with exceptional talent. Higashino Kanade already possessed the qualifications to be taken into the Edelfelt Family's collection, and Luvia had even begun considering whether she should have him sign a long-term contract after the incident was over.

With Higashino Kanade's x-ray cheat helping her, Luvia's work progressed very quickly. Basically, whenever Higashino Kanade pointed to a location, Luvia would break the magecraft remaining there.

After finding nothing in ten locations, Higashino Kanade led Luvia to a wine cellar.

"A lot of mana is gathered here, and it covers a wide area. It should be an important bounded field." Higashino Kanade pointed at the wall beside the many massive wine barrels.

Luvia's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly told Higashino Kanade to move all the barrels away.

Once only the wall remained, Luvia reached out and lightly touched it. The next second, she quickly pulled her hand back as if struck by an electric current.

"What a powerful bounded field. It can't even be compared to the ones we encountered earlier. Uchiha, let's join forces and break it!" Luvia looked exceptionally excited, as though what she sought lay behind the wall.

"How do we join forces?" Magical layman Higashino Kanade raised his hand to ask.

"Huh? You don't even know that much common sense? Obviously, we use powerful magecraft together and break it." Luvia raised her brows in confusion, apparently unable to understand Higashino Kanade's question.

"Ahem." Higashino Kanade coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment, then asked, "Would an attack that isn't magecraft work?"

An almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of Luvia's lips. Her guess had indeed been right. The techniques Uchiha used were not magecraft, but another kind of ability that did not require mana. Perhaps it was a superpower, or perhaps something else.

"Against this sort of protective bounded field, physical attacks would theoretically work as well. You only need to break the wall. But considering the strength of a magical barrier, only a rocket launcher could barely destroy it."

Luvia stood to one side and made a "please" gesture, clearly wanting to watch Higashino Kanade perform.

"If you don't want others to find out, you should set up some soundproofing magecraft first." Higashino Kanade made the suggestion in a relaxed tone.

After Luvia finished setting up the soundproofing magecraft, Higashino Kanade held out his right hand, and a blue sphere gradually formed.

Luvia stared intently at the blue sphere, seemingly trying to analyze it. But unlike the blue sphere she had seen the night before, this one was much larger.

Big Ball Rasengan!

Higashino Kanade pressed the oversized sphere against the wall. In the next instant, the surging vortex-like airflow made Luvia's clothes flap violently, her golden hair whipping about so fiercely that she had to shield her eyes with both hands against the raging gale.

The heavy stone wall wrapped in a magical barrier was like paper before that blow. The moment the wall came into contact with the Rasengan, it was directly pulverized. A huge hole with a radius of one meter gradually formed, and the entire room shook.

"So this is Uchiha's miraculous power? Its might is truly astonishing." Luvia was stunned by the scene. She had tested how sturdy this barrier was herself. Without considerable preparation and a large number of gems, she could not have broken it at all. Yet the young man before her had done so with such ease. It was truly hard to believe.

Higashino Kanade looked into the shattered, deep hole. Sure enough, there was a pitch-black passage inside.

Luvia stepped forward and tossed out a gemstone. The gem floated in midair, radiating dazzling light in the darkness and illuminating the black passage as brightly as day.

"Every magus's Mage's Workshop must have one or two secret passages, either for escape or to connect to rooms used for experiments. This is a basic requirement for magi."

As they walked, Luvia explained things to Higashino Kanade. She had already realized that he was a layman who had never come into contact with magecraft, so she automatically took on the role of guide.

After walking for a while, the two arrived at a huge circular hollow. Spiral stone staircases lined both sides of the wall. It was difficult to imagine that Adra Castle hid such an enormous secret chamber.

Luvia's expression became excited. She proactively grabbed Higashino Kanade's hand and hurried onward, seemingly unable to wait to see what lay in the room below.

But when they truly reached the room beneath, Luvia's excited expression froze. It was replaced by deep shock and confusion.

The smell of blood. The entire room was filled with a thick bloody stench.

This was undoubtedly a room used for research. One side held bookshelves filled with incomprehensible books and various organs soaked in formalin. Judging by their shapes and sizes, they undoubtedly belonged to humans.

In the center of the room sat a huge stone slab resembling an operating table. It was covered in dried bloodstains and knife marks of varying depths. At a glance, it gave the impression of a slaughterhouse.

What made their scalps tingle was that, because of the owner's interests, the room was also carved with angel statues. Yet beneath the eyes of those supposedly sacred angels ran dried trails of blood, a horrifying sight that made the place feel like hell surrounded by fallen angels.

"I've seen quite a few magi's laboratories, but this is the first one I've seen filled with such a nauseating bloody stench." Luvia gave her evaluation with an ugly expression, seemingly disgusted by the sight before her.

P.S.: Third update.

Waver's Information

"Looks like Gryphon wasn't a good person either."

Higashino Kanade picked up a bottle containing an organ soaked in formalin and asked the system in his mind, System, can this be recycled?

It can. This is an organ belonging to a magus and falls within this system's recycling range.

"Looks like I've made a small fortune."

Looking at the organs and books filling the shelves, Higashino Kanade estimated that there were at least a hundred of them. He thought about finding an opportunity to recycle them all.

"Uchiha, come look at this."

Luvia seemed to have discovered something and hurriedly called Higashino Kanade over.

When Higashino Kanade came over, he saw Luvia holding something resembling a notebook. As she flipped through it, she said, "This should be Gryphon's experiment journal. It has the names of the test subjects and the experimental processes."

Higashino Kanade leaned closer. The small notebook was filled page after page with red crosses. He was confused by what he saw, while Luvia's face grew increasingly grim.

"This is outrageous!"

Luvia slammed the notebook onto the table, making the entire wooden table creak under the strain.

"What's wrong?" Higashino Kanade asked in confusion.

"This is all a scam! There is no such thing as Gryphon's inheritance! The so-called restorer is fake! We were all lured here!" Luvia's chest rose and fell violently with anger, her large breasts trembling like soft water balloons.

Seeing Luvia like this, Higashino Kanade understood that the situation was quite bad.

"Gryphon was never a restorer. He was a fraud! He used the title of restorer to trick countless hopeful magi into coming here, then subjected them to inhumane experiments. Out of several hundred people, only a handful survived."

"All the failures died. Those who survived thought Gryphon's surgery had succeeded, so they went out and spread his name everywhere. That was how he gained his reputation as a restorer."

Higashino Kanade nodded thoughtfully. So that was where all these magus organ specimens had come from. This Gryphon was basically a low-budget Type-Moon version of Orochimaru.

Higashino Kanade took the notebook and rapidly flipped through it. Under the effect of the Sharingan, he could memorize the contents of each page in less than a second.

By reading through the notes Gryphon had left behind, Higashino Kanade gained a rough understanding of the surgery Gryphon claimed could restore Mage Crests.

Mage Crests were equivalent to human organs. Once they aged or were severely damaged, they could not be repaired. Gryphon's method of restoration was to transplant another person's Mage Crest into the surgical recipient, filling in damaged Mage Crests or replacing aged ones.

However, transplanting Mage Crests would inevitably cause severe rejection. If the donor and recipient were related by blood, it was manageable. But without a blood relation, the surgical recipient would face intense and agonizing rejection, with an extremely high chance of death. That was why so many names in the notebook had been crossed out.

The tiny fraction of chosen ones who survived believed Gryphon's surgery had succeeded. Filled with gratitude, they promoted him for free.

That was the truth of the "restorer" Gryphon.

"Look here."

Higashino Kanade pointed to a page in the notebook. Unlike the others, that page did not have a red cross. The name on it was one Higashino Kanade knew well: Jirobou Seigen Shitou.

"It was him!"

Luvia's mouth fell open in shock. She had never imagined that Jirobou Seigen Shitou had been one of Gryphon's surviving test subjects. Why had he come to Adra Castle? Why was he pretending not to know anything?

After thinking for a while, Luvia muttered, "I don't know why, but there's a high chance he's the murderer. I'll use my own method to find the culprit."

"What are you planning to do?"

"I'll use my magecraft to seize control of Gryphon's Mage's Workshop, find the magical beast hiding in Stripped City, then use the Mage's Workshop's firepower to capture it and see what connection it has to Jirobou Seigen Shitou!"

Luvia slammed her fist onto the table. Her powerful presence made her seem like a Valkyrie from myth, brave and full of fighting spirit!

"Although I don't know what method you plan to use to seize Gryphon's Mage's Workshop, I doubt Gryphon spent so many years building it only for you to take it so easily."

Although Luvia's powerful presence inspired an inexplicable confidence, Higashino Kanade had the feeling that she would be like her distant relative in Japan and let everyone down at a crucial moment.

"Hahaha, Uchiha, you still underestimate me too much. I truly can't compare to you in combat ability, but I'm very confident in my magecraft. After all, I'm a genius."

Luvia confidently raised her head, exposing her snow-white slender neck. She looked as proud as a white swan.

"Let's hope so," Higashino Kanade muttered in a voice only he could hear.

"Let's go. Taking control of this Mage's Workshop will require plenty of preparation. Protect me during that time."