Tale of Discovery

Chapter 106: End of Trip ; Abnormal Unknown ; Leaving

This trip has been rather fun. Especially after Kunou began clinging to me like glue.

She's cute, so I didn't mind it much.

Plus, it was comfortable to play with her tails.

"It's getting late," Yasaka says while looking at the dusky sky.

"Right. I guess it is about time that we returned," I affirm.

Our words seem to disappoint Kunou who's within my arms, as I see her ears slightly drooping.

Moving my head closer to one of her ears, I whisper,

"It's not like this will be the last time."

Kunou jolts in response before moving her head away and turning it to face me.

As I'm about to get up, I sense a presence a few kilometers away.

Normally, my senses wouldn't be this hyperactive, but it's a different case when we're in an isolated area.

Ever since we got here, I've been making full use of my senses to check for any humanoid figures.

Now that one has appeared, I check them out.

Upon using Clairvoyance to do that, I'm surprised to find out that it's a little girl that seems to be about 8 years old.

The girl is wearing a white one-piece dress that reaches her legs. Its color goes well with her golden-colored hair and eyes.

What I find peculiar is that the girl is standing still and staring at nothing in particular.

No matter the circumstances, it's weird for a little girl to be in this place without the company of an adult.

"Yasaka, you and Kunou stay here while I go check something out," I solemnly say.

I check on the girl again using Clairvoyance, however, something happens that sends a shiver down my spine.

She's looking at me.

Wherever I move my sight around her, she moves her head along with it and stares right at me.

All of a sudden, the girl turns her head in a direction and begins to walk.

Checking the direction she's walking to, I find out that she's coming toward us.

This is bad. I can't let her get near Yasaka and Kunou.

In a single second, I appear right in front of the girl. Immediately after I do so, AI's voice resounds within my head.

{WARNING: Abnormal Unknown detected.}

Abnormal Unknown? What's that now?

{They're Unknowns that don't fit into any of the classifications set.}

How screwed am I?

{Threat level: 9.}

What is the maximum threat level?

{Ten.}

So, I'm pretty screwed.

Focusing back on the girl, I see that she's making no movements and just stares into my eyes.

She doesn't seem to be hostile?

"Hello, little lady. Do you mind telling me your name?" I say while preparing for a sudden attack by erecting a barrier using Vector Manipulation and circulating my Holy Essence.

I feel like the way I worded it makes me seem like a predator, but that's not important right now.

"Gula," the girl softly replies.

That's a rather unusual name. Is she a foreigner? She seems like she is. Anyway, there is a little girl in front of me that poses a great threat to me. How do I deal with her?

Resolving myself, I slowly stretch my arm toward her head, prepared in case it suddenly gets cut off.

Fortunately, Gula doesn't move and just watches as my hand reaches her head.

As soon as my hand makes contact with her head, I feel a sudden gust of wind before Gula disappears.

Using my senses, I'm unable to find her within a five-kilometer-radius.

This is my first contact with an Unknown, and it was with an Abnormal one. Whenever I looked into her eyes, an overwhelming sense of emptiness overcame me.

What's queer is that I didn't realize that until Gula was gone.

---

"Let's go back," I say as soon as I'm back at where Yasaka and Kunou are, "It's unsafe to stay here any longer."

Probably sensing the severity of the situation, Yasaka nods her head once before solemnly pulling Kunou along with her as she heads to where I've parked the car we used to get here.

I channel Destruction into my senses and get rid of everything that I've created before catching up with them.

On the way back, Yasaka asked me about what happened back then.

Not willing to disclose too much regarding such matters, I simply told her that I encountered a weird individual.

After quite some time, we finally reach the shrine.

Getting off, I accompany the mother and daughter duo to their home before heading back to the mansion through the gateway in our shrine-house.

Directly after I arrive, I call my Angels and the Codes, apart from Siesta, to an emergency meeting.

I transport us to the Arena before explaining my encounter with Gula.

"What do you think of this?" I ask no one in particular as I look around at everyone sitting at the round table that I've created.

"Are you sure she just disappeared?", Krul inquires after a short while.

"Definitely. I'm sure I didn't sense anything apart from the wind back then."

Due to the lack of information, we aren't able to make proper amends regarding this matter.

Thus, I end the meeting by everyone to immediately make contact with me if they encounter Gula.

---

Opening my eyes, I feel the usual weight on my arms and chest. As I have gotten used to it, I don't pay much attention and just get off from the bed without making much noise and movement.

Then, I use telekinesis to lift Koneko from the bed and place her within my arms.

A few seconds later, she opens her eyes and seems a little confused before realizing what's going on.

Smiling a little, she moves her head close to mine and licks my cheek once.

I place her down on the ground and play with her ears before saying,

"Get prepared. We're leaving for the underworld today, remember?"

In response to my words, Koneko nods her head once before moving to where the closet and taking her uniform out.

I open the door of my room, only to be met with the sight of Kuroka lazily lounging on the sofa.

"Good morning," I greet her.

"Good morning, nya~" she greets back.

For some reason, I can't get used to her usage of "nya" at the end of every sentence. It's not like I dislike it or something, it's just that I'm not familiar with it.