The Corpse's Origin

"You fought it before?" Luo Yifang hurriedly asked. "Is it being controlled by another necromancer?"

"Sir, we're called necromancers," the silver-haired girl said, cutely furrowing her brow as she corrected him. "Also, no one is controlling that corpse, but it really is connected to me."

Huh? Didn't you just say you'd never summoned any undead? How is this thing connected to you now?

Seemingly noticing Luo Yifang's confusion, the girl said somewhat sheepishly, "It was all that scroll's fault. We had just killed Corpse Fire and were about to return to Rogue Camp when I was teleported into this world. It seems that some of Corpse Fire's power, since it wasn't fully dead, came through as well. Corpse Fire really wasn't strong, but that was only an Abyss Demon's projection. What followed me here seems to be the demon's most fundamental power."

So there had been no mastermind behind the scenes from beginning to end—he had simply been toyed with by a corpse?! Luo Yifang's face darkened. Damn it, this was beyond embarrassing. He had thought he could find some so-called mastermind, but he had just overthought it all. Wouldn't it have been enough to crush that thing to death back then? And now, that corpse was pretty clever too. It knew Luo Yifang was someone it couldn't afford to provoke, so it spent every day playing hide-and-seek in Academy City. Where the hell was Luo Yifang supposed to find it?

"Are you looking for it, sir?" the silver-haired girl asked.

"Yes. It's caused quite a lot of trouble for this city." Luo Yifang nodded and ordered a cup of coffee. "You said you've only been here for a week. How do you already have a coffee shop?"

"Ah, I had nowhere to go back then, so the owner of this shop took me in. One day, while I was hunting Corpse Fire, I fell for its trick and got trapped. By the time I made it back, it was already too late." A trace of sorrow crossed the girl's brow. "She was a very kind old lady, but when I arrived, Corpse Fire had already tortured her until she was barely hanging on. Unfortunately, I was only a necromancer and had no way to heal her. Even after I drove Corpse Fire back with all my strength, she was already on the verge of death."

"You mean this coffee shop was actually hers?" That was way too fantastical. The person who took you in was about to die, so she gave you a whole shop? What kind of logic was that?

"She only told me before she died that I looked a lot like her daughter, who had died long ago. She had always treated me as her long-dead daughter..." The girl sighed. "It's a pity I wasn't, but she was still very good to me. She was the one who taught me how to make coffee..."

Luo Yifang took a sip of the coffee that had been served. It really did taste quite good. "Then why do you still want to return to your own world?"

"This place is indeed countless times safer and more peaceful than Rogue Camp, but I don't belong here." The silver-haired girl shook her head. "Just like how I'm not really the old lady's daughter."

Watching the girl sink into melancholy, Luo Yifang took another sip of coffee and asked Paqi, "Do you have a way to send her back?"

"Any time. Situations like worlds overlapping happen quite often, though they're very rare in worlds with an Observer like you," Paqi replied. "No wonder it said the world line had undergone such a drastic change. Turns out two stowaways slipped in. Oh, right, I received a reply from the [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds]. It says it has investigated the situation and awarded you ten [World Coins]."

Luo Yifang nodded, then said to the girl, "Come to think of it, I haven't asked your name yet. I'll introduce myself first—Luo Yifang, an esper from Academy City."

"Lilith, necromancer." Lilith smiled and gave her name.

"You may not believe me, but I really do have the ability to send you back to your original world." Luo Yifang looked directly into Lilith's eyes and spoke very seriously.

"I believe you, Mr. Luo, but..." Lilith paused. "I can't leave yet. I have to avenge the old lady. That demon must pay for what it did."

"Mm... I understand how you feel. How about this? I'll help you get rid of that demon, and after that, you can decide for yourself whether to stay or leave." Luo Yifang shrugged. Neither the [Book of Ten Thousand Worlds] nor Paqi had said he absolutely had to send people back. It was better to let the girl decide for herself.

"Thank you, Mr. Luo." Lilith smiled her thanks, then lowered her head and rummaged through her things again. She pulled out something resembling a Rubik's Cube. "This is a magic Item that can track the demon's location. But I have one small request."

"Go ahead."

"I want the kill." Lilith stated it slowly and seriously, making it clear that she absolutely had to secure it herself.

"Huh?"

After Lilith made it clear that she wanted to personally finish off Corpse Fire, the comrade from the Abyss, Luo Yifang put on his hat and left the strange coffee shop. "Sigh... This plot really has one twist after another. I can't figure it out at all..."

"Isn't this just a normal multi-series novel plot? You wander around and meet a girl, wander around and meet a girl, wander around..."

"Stop, stop!" Luo Yifang hurriedly cut off Paqi's declaration. "I'm a respectable man. I have no interest in girls."

"Oh? Then who bought another Saber figurine last night?" Paqi gave a dry laugh. "I think you and C Mater would have plenty in common."

Luo Yifang immediately got worked up. "Can an otaku's business be called girls? That's called faith—faith!"

"Enough already. You said that line not long ago." Paqi rolled her eyes. "Go take care of the real business first."

"Fine, fine. I've been sick of the sight of it for a long time anyway." Holding the magical cube that gave off a faint blue glow, Luo Yifang narrowed his eyes. "No wonder it knows Space Magic too. If it's a high-ranking demon from the Abyss, that explains it."

This time, Luo Yifang had no intention of dragging things out. He distorted the light around his body, then directly controlled gravity to fly into the sky and began searching for Corpse Fire.

Not long after Luo Yifang left, a girl wearing a Tokiwadai school uniform flashed past the mouth of the alley. A breeze swept by, lifting a strand of brown hair. Misaka Mikoto watched Luo Yifang disappear into the alley, curiosity in her eyes. "Just what is that guy's ability? Hmm, hmm, hmm... LV.5 abilities are classified files, so I can't look them up. Looks like I'll only know after testing him myself!"