"I am... the culprit behind the exousia stone... I-I-I... a-also wounded... Kyosuke-san..."
Slowly, tears of guilt fell from her eyes, clenching her teeth in an attempt to silence her sobbing.
Normally, the third council member, Oinamu Stella would have immediately resorted to guiding the culprit to the judge. However, she feels differently about this. She vividly remembered Ayumi's first state when she was first brought up.
Face full of bruises, and from the body's magic circulation, it's easy to guess that even the body was severely wounded.
Stella looked at Ayumi with great pity, feeling a huge wave of sadness flooding her heart.
This is not a case of typical smuggling. This is being done by forcing others to do things, and Ayumi right now, seems to be a victim.
She thought to herself. Then, she gently patted Ayumi on the head, rubbing it. With teary eyes, Ayumi looked at her, confused...
"I'm not yet convinced that you're the real culprit behind this." She calmly said in a comforting voice.
"W-What...?" Ayumi turned her gaze towards Ryo, who looked at her with emotionless eyes. His eyes look dead and serious, yet there's no space for anger or hate.
"Why are you looking at me?" Kyosuke said.
"N-N-Nothing... I-I apologize... f-for uhm...h-h-h-hurting-" However, midway through Ayumi's speech, Ryo cuts him off.
"I know you're not the victim, so your apology isn't the one I needed. Tell the council, who is behind all this...?" He asked, leaning forward with a straight face as he did.
She lowered her gaze to the ground. A monetary silence reigned in between all of them.
"An oppressor, will weaken its target, rendering them emotionally, mentally, and physically weak. The fear instilled within that person will haunt them for years. This may not be the first time the person behind this has done this, Ayumi. This is a chance to break that continuous cycle." Stella said, determined, and serious. "Do not worry, the eight seats of the student council are with you, with our full support." She smiled ever so warmly as she stood up, and gently held Ayumi's hands.
A feeling of trust swirled around Ayumi's chest. She let go of Stella's hand and took a deep breath.
"W-Well... Upon coming here... I didn't have a lot of friends... The weak person I am... I have been prone to bullying... ever since middle school... Then... here... I thought I'd be safe... But then..." She stopped for a moment... " H-Hanzo... Jin."
She stopped her words, as she only lowered her head. The blurred and faded memories of her being stomped on by others resurfaced in her heart. It aches, awfully, and intensely. It is as though her own chest is closing up on her.
"Is the stone with him? Where is he now?"
"I-I don't know where he is... B-But... the stone is with him."
"That's all I need to know. I'm sorry If I prompted you to speak of such awful experiences." Stella gently enveloped her in a warm embrace, as she continued rubbing her head like a mother consoling a crying child.
Ryo looked at this and was reminded of his mother, being the kindest person on this earth.
"The council will take care of this. For now, I'll have Fujimoto Kyouko watch over you, and be your temporary guardian for the day, okay?"
"O-Okay..."
Stella let go of Ayumi, smiling before she turned around and signaled Ryo to walk out of the room. The both of them opened the door and left the room. Outside waiting were Ryujin and Kyouko.
"Stella-Senpai..." Kyouko spoke nervously, and worriedly.
"Do not worry. She is fine. Kyouko,"
"Y-Yes?"
"I want you to look over Ayumi for the day. I'm going to find the real culprit of this issue. Ryujin, do tell Yukime about this."
"Got it."
"As for you, Kyosuke-san, please come with me for a while."
Ryo affirmed as the both of them began walking towards the elevator. Stella pressed the button for the seventh floor.
After a short while, the elevator door opened, revealing a dimly-lit hallway. In this hallway, were numerous red doors that each had a different sign embedded in them. Upon reaching the door at the end, Stella turned to the door and entered a passcode through a hologram.
Then, the door automatically opened. Inside was a room, filled with closed, black monitors all around. Everywhere you look, there is a monitor.
"What is this... place?" Ryo asked in surprise.
"This is, in traditional terms, the "Logbook" of the whole school." She proceeded to walk up to a certain monitor, and with a single sway from her hand, it automatically opened and detected her identity.
Then, at an amusing rate, she began typing through a hologram keyboard so rapidly, that Ryo was almost unable to keep up with the movements of her fingers.
"One of hell a typing speed. Anyway, what am I here for?" He asked.
"Based on Kyouko's words, you are a fire-based magician, right?" Stella asked while still typing, not removing her eyes from the monitor.
"I am."
"Then, the council needs your help." At that moment, Stella pressed the enter button. Now flashing in the monitor, are the personal details of a certain someone.
Hanzo Jin.
It displayed every type of information gathered on him. It's almost basically his birth certificate.
His face was calm, yet smug. Black hair accompanies his dead, black eyes.
"Hanzo Jin. A first-year student, situated in Class E. A user of... dark-type of magic..." Stella frowns upon reading Jin's information. "You are a fire-user, am I right? I want you to help us."
"Is it negotiable...?"
"It is not. Currently, the fire users within the council aren't present. One is at an overseas meeting, while another one is in another town."
Stella absorbed all the information on the monitor through her hand. Afterward, she closed the monitor and looked at Ryo with a serious gaze.
"That girl is a victim of being manipulated. Your fire abilities could track an exousia stone's scent, and this may be a chance to put a stop to this."
Ryo pondered for a moment. A battle of decision fights within his mind. A feeling of the need to help urges him to, while on the other side, the feeling of not wanting to face trouble brawls the other.
But eventually, with a firm, "Okay, I'll do it.", He agreed, putting a smile on Stella's face.
"However, after this, I want nothing to do with troubles anymore," Ryo added.
"Your wish will be granted."
"Alright, let's get to work."
They walked outside and toward where Ryujin had recently found the girl.
An intense, powerful smell greeted them, a metallic smell akin to rotting meat, almost enough to make Stella throw up
"The awful reek of that exousia stone still lingers," Stella said in disgust as she covered her nose with a handkerchief from her pocket. However, on the other hand, Ryo remained stoic, unaware of the intense stink of the stone.
"I don't smell anything though," Ryo said in confusion.
"I have a heightened sense of everything, from hearing to seeing, so there are some things that only I could sense." She replied. "Let's continue walking." She added.
Despite the unbearable stench of that intense scent, Stella continued on. At some point, they stopped near a tree.
"You can use your fire ability now."
Ryo extends out his hands, his palms facing up. Then, upon exerting some force, he manifested a bright, orange flame right in the middle of his hand.
"Now, as time passes, your fire will burn the lingering scent of the exousia stone," Stella said.
"How does that even work?"
"I'm not so sure about the science behind it. As far as I know, it has something to do with the intense energy from the stone, and fire is the only proven type to work. However, this process was already done a few years ago."
After a few minutes, the fire began dancing in a swirl upwards. Then, it slowly burned through a wavey line of scent, revealing the tracks of the exousia stone. They looked at each other, and as if they had telepathic abilities, they nodded, following before the burning scent track.
After following it, it unexpectedly led into...
"Inside the hotel...?" Ryo murmured.
Stella suddenly summoned a wooden twig, and using that, she extinguished the flame burning the scent track.
"That's all that's needed. Kyosuke-san, please investigate inside, and tell me if there is something suspicious around. I can't go inside, otherwise, the culprit would be alarmed."
"Alright then."
"I'll be watching from the CCTV. Good luck."
Stella promptly turned around and went back to the council hotel. Meanwhile, Ryo entered the main building.