Herbert looked calm as he prepared to give the answer Aiga had been hoping for.
But just as the answer was about to leave his lips, a look of struggle returned to the old scholar's composed face.
Inside the lining beneath his coat, a gold coin began to flicker faintly.
"Hmm?"
Aiga looked at Herbert in surprise. The multicolored light in its eyes suddenly brightened, and a direct pulse of psychic energy became an invisible spike poised to pierce Herbert's mind.
Buzz!
The gold coin, which had only been flickering faintly, blazed with light.
Even the layers of clothing could not conceal its radiance.
Threads of golden light pierced the lining and coat, shining into Aiga's eyes.
"Interesting!"
That was Aiga's assessment.
It raised a hand and reached toward the old scholar's lining, wanting to see just what kind of item could stop its power.
After all, such things were rare.
Bang!
A faint, muffled report came from the distance, making Aiga jerk backward just as it raised its hand.
Smack!
A small crater appeared in the dirt before it.
"Is this a new gunpowder projectile?"
Aiga glanced at the deformed bullet in the soil, then looked toward the direction it had come from.
Whoosh!
An object Aiga could not identify flew toward it with a piercing whistle.
Instinctively, Aiga backed away, its eyes fixed on the object.
As an expert in using all kinds of tools, Aiga approached unknown objects with extraordinary caution and... curiosity.
Its multicolored eyes studied the object as it reached it in an instant.
It seemed intent on seeing through the object's exterior to uncover its true nature.
Then...
Bang!
Amid the muffled bang, dazzling white light made it cover its eyes and grunt in pain.
The surrounding Nightspawn and Otherkind, who had also been