Mikihiko finished confirming Leo's condition using an array of traditional tools—some, like the paper charms inscribed with ink in a distinguished hand, even Tatsuya was seeing for the first time. Having done so, Mikihiko made no attempt to hide his astonishment. In fact, it likely didn't even occur to him to hide it.
"How should I put this… I thought Tatsuya was absurd, but Leo, are you really human…?"
"Hey now, that's quite the greeting."
If it were a joke, Leo might have laughed it off. But hearing it muttered with such profound sincerity made it impossible to dismiss. Leo was clearly offended. Yet Mikihiko was so overwhelmed by his own surprise that he didn't care—or perhaps, didn't even notice.
"No, I mean… how are you even awake? With this much vitality devoured, an average magician would have collapsed and remained in a coma."
"Leaving aside what 'vitality' actually is for a moment, can you tell how much I lost?"
Tatsuya asked with a look that feigned impression. Mikihiko, looking rather pleased with himself, nodded. Tatsuya's expression was an act, but there was no way Mikihiko could see through it; he had been completely taken in. Only Miyuki noticed the manipulation.
"The Astral Body takes the same shape as the physical body. Since the size of the vessel is fixed, I can roughly estimate how much vitality it originally held and how much has been depleted. The amount of vitality remaining in Leo right now is so low that a normal human wouldn't be able to stay awake—let alone maintain consciousness. To be able to sit up and talk in this state… the performance specs of his physical body must be extraordinarily high."
To Mikihiko, it was a casual observation. But the phrase "high performance specs" gouged deep into Leo's heart—Leo, who carried the genes of a modified "Fortified" human designed for performance enhancement.
"Yeah, well. My body is custom-made. So, in the end, I should understand that the reason I lost my strength is because this masked woman ate my vitality?"
Leo suppressed the turmoil rising in his chest as he asked. The only one who could understand the depths of Leo's mind was Tatsuya, who had undergone similar tampering. However, since Tatsuya's own heart was not permitted to waver for more than a flash, he could offer sympathy, but not empathy.
"I believe so. But…"
"But?"
"…If she can drain vitality just by touching you during a fistfight, there should be no need to take blood. I don't know how she takes blood without leaving a wound… but why is this Parasite going to the extra trouble of stealing blood at all?"
"Excuse me. Visiting hours are over."
Just as Mikihiko was about to sink into thought, a nurse entered the room. With visiting hours at an end, there was nothing to be done; the five of them left the hospital room.
Notably, Erika remained behind, claiming she had business with her brother Toshikazu.
"That's right—Mikihiko."
"Hmm?"
Called suddenly while chatting with Mizuki, Mikihiko turned his face toward Tatsuya with a puzzled look. Seeing Miyuki and Honoka flanking Tatsuya—not linking arms, but standing close enough to do so—Mikihiko felt a twinge of jealousy.
"There's something I forgot to ask earlier."
To be precise, Tatsuya hadn't asked earlier because he was wary of listening devices, but it would have been difficult for anyone—let alone Mikihiko—to read such dangerous underlying circumstances from his current tone.
"What is it?"
"These things—demons, evil spirits, Parasites—do they appear frequently?"
"Wh-!? Cough, cough… No, they rarely appear. The probability of a practitioner encountering a true demonic spirit is… let's see… within a single school of magic, maybe once in ten generations. On a global scale, it's at the level of happening once a century, if that."
"But this Vampire incident is the work of a 'true demonic spirit,' isn't it?"
"I believe so."
"Do you think it's a coincidence?"
At Tatsuya's question, Mikihiko returned a heavily cautious answer.
"I won't say the possibility of coincidence is zero… but as history approaches the modern era, confirmed cases of demonic spirits are undeniably decreasing. I cannot believe that this incident occurred without some cause."
"I see."
At Mikihiko's answer, Tatsuya merely murmured acknowledgment and spoke no further.
Once Tatsuya and the others had left and he confirmed that Kaya had returned to the room, Leo collapsed onto the bed as if his strings had been cut. Erika, knowing the circumstances, honestly praised Leo and offered a gentle smile.
Perhaps reassured by her expression, Leo let go of his consciousness and fell asleep.
"Um, Erika-san… will my brother really be okay?"
"He will be fine. We have the best doctors known to the Chiba family treating him. Though, it might be difficult for a sister who isn't a magician to understand—"
Erika noticed the slight tremble that ran through Kaya's body at her words, but no words of comfort left her lips.
"Well then, I'm going to go see my brother."
Erika gave Kaya a formal, perfunctory bow and left the hospital room.
"Young miss, don't you think you should have gone a little easier on her?"
The moment she entered the room where the surveillance was taking place, Inagaki addressed her.
"I have no intention of demanding she start liking magicians. Whether it's a parent or a sibling, what's scary is scary. In that case, I'll simply interact with her based on that understanding. More importantly… you heard the conversation earlier, didn't you?"
Erika's eldest brother, who had been leaning heavily against the backrest with his hands clasped behind his head, roughly tore the headphones from his ears and sat up.
"It was quite an interesting discussion. So, assuming their conjecture is correct, Erika, what will you do?"
"Whether they're right or wrong is irrelevant in this case. Even if it was only for a short time, that guy is a disciple who passed through the Chiba gates. And since I personally instructed him in the techniques, you could say he's my first disciple. There is no way I can stay silent when my disciple has been done in."
"That's a rather unromantic reason."
"I'm fine with it being unromantic."
"So it's not Saijou-kun, but the second son of the Yoshida clan you're after?"
At the probing question from her 'idiot brother,' the urge to punch him became overwhelming. Sensing her murderous intent, both Toshikazu and Inagaki instinctively took several steps away from her.
That was how terrifying Erika's killing intent was.
(Author's Note: Lack of self-awareness is a terrifying thing...)
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