A Scientific Urban Detective

“But those intelligence reports don't matter, anyway, we don't need to deal with Lin Wuming,” Stiyl said, shaking the cigarette in his mouth, completely unconcerned. “As long as he doesn't get in the way, who cares if he's really crippled or just pretending…”

“However,” Kanzaki Kaori said, a hint of doubt in her voice, “you saw the duel just now, with the strength he displayed… I think it would be better if we contacted him – didn't you say that Chairman Aleister suggested the same thing?”

“Isn't it natural for a Level 5 to possess this level of strength? What's so surprising now?” Stiyl didn't pay much attention to it, but he didn't deny Kanzaki Kaori's suggestion.

Just as she said – Chairman Aleister had suggested it too.

It was impossible to hide the fact that a magician had infiltrated the science side's stronghold from Chairman Aleister – unless they were planning to cause trouble.

But Stiyl and Kanzaki Kaori, who belonged to the Anglican Church, had a good relationship with Academy City, so naturally, they wouldn't do anything to harm their relationship.

The moment he entered Academy City, Stiyl, as an "envoy," directly visited and met Chairman Aleister.

He specifically explained the purpose of their trip and requested Chairman Aleister's support – which was basically not to interfere and ruin their plans.

Obviously, the Archbishop had already given prior notice, so Stiyl's visit didn't encounter any obstacles or difficulties.

The only thing – before leaving, the strange person suspended in the tank gave a "small personal suggestion."

– If you don't mind, say hello to Lin Wuming before you do anything, it might save you a lot of trouble.

However, Stiyl didn't take these words to heart.

Of course, he knew who Lin Wuming was, the eighth Level 5 esper in Academy City, the top combat power on the science side.

Regardless of his position, Stiyl, as a magician, was unwilling to get involved with Academy City's Level 5 espers – whether as a "friend" or as an "enemy."

After all, from a larger perspective, magic and science were in a state of confrontation.

The fact that the Anglican Church, as a major force on the magic side, had formed an alliance with Academy City, the leader of the science side, made the situation even more delicate. In this case, doing less was better, and doing nothing was best, avoiding unnecessary complications was the most sensible approach.

Tonight, the initial purpose of Stiyl and Kanzaki Kaori's special visit to watch the duel was just "not wanting to miss Academy City's famous performance," and to collect combat information between Level 5s by the way.

It was just killing time.

After all, the person they were waiting for hadn't arrived yet, and they were idle anyway.

“Where is that child?” Kanzaki Kaori asked, remembering the main business.

While speaking, she didn't forget to continue observing the situation at the duel arena, mainly Lin Wuming's actions.

Because the two magicians were located five kilometers away from the duel arena, they didn't have to worry about being discovered.

Stiyl had no interest in continuing to observe. He put away his magic, turned his back to the duel arena, leaned against the railing on the edge of the roof, and looked up at the night sky with a cigarette in his mouth.

“It will probably take another three days to land?” Stiyl recalled the schedule. “After all, the speed of a cruise ship is much slower than our plane.”

“Three days…” Kanzaki Kaori showed a worried expression.

“Don't worry, our people are escorting her the entire way, there shouldn't be any problems,” Stiyl said. “Moreover, that child is very alert and agile herself, and she has the 'Mobile Church' protecting her. Unless something happens to her, she won't die even if she encounters a shipwreck.”

“Something happens to her? It's possible she'll faint from hunger,” Kanzaki Kaori said. “Does she have enough money on her?”

“I told you, someone is escorting her the entire way, don't worry,” Stiyl said, but in reality, he scratched his head with a worried look.

– Recalling that child's past actions, this was indeed a problem.

“Okay, okay,” seeing her partner like this, Kanzaki Kaori turned around to comfort him. “You said it yourself, we have to trust our companions.”

“I hope so…” Stiyl sighed.

“Speaking of…” Kanzaki Kaori seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly asked, “Why come here – why cross half the globe to lure that child to this city? Strictly speaking, this city belongs to the enemy camp, right?”

This was also a question that had been bothering Kanzaki Kaori for the past few days.

“Don't talk nonsense here, we and Academy City are friendly allies,” Stiyl corrected.

“I know, but after all, this is the science side's stronghold, right?” Kanzaki Kaori insisted.

“That's why I can't let you meet the Chairman…” Stiyl clicked his tongue. “Well, it's not hard to understand, actually, precisely because this is the science side's stronghold, we can minimize the interference from other magic forces and successfully complete the ritual.”

Stiyl spat out the cigarette that had burned out, the cigarette butt bursting into a small flame in the air, completely burning to ashes.

Relighting a new cigarette, he continued, “Those who need to be excluded even include our own people – you know, there are always some people who naively think they can save that child. To avoid such fools and foolish acts again, we must complete the ritual in the core of this enemy camp this year!”

After saying that, a long silence enveloped the rooftop.

Because both of them knew very well that Kanzaki Kaori, and Stiyl himself who had said these words, were the "fools" in the previous statement.

“Tsk!” Seeming to find it boring, Stiyl abruptly extinguished the cigarette he had just lit. “Espers are too weird, I should still find a chance to meet this 'Hero' – when doing business in a foreign place, you always have to greet the local snake.”

Kanzaki Kaori raised her eyebrows. “Did you sense something? Why did you suddenly change your mind?”

“Nothing,” Stiyl shrugged. “My magic doesn't include divination. It's just… I've decided to listen to the Chairman's suggestion.”

Kanzaki Kaori nodded, not saying anything more.

She was already inclined to contact Lin Wuming, and the "magician's intuition" was always something to be valued.

Stiyl's specialty, Rune magic, was inextricably linked to the "divination" system of magic at its source; therefore, although Stiyl was not a magician who specialized in divination, his spiritual intuition was often very accurate.

“Ah, crap!” Stiyl suddenly turned his head, looking in the direction of the duel arena just now.

However, since he had already deactivated his magic, he couldn't see the scene five kilometers away at all.

On the other hand, Kanzaki Kaori, because she had been observing all along, saw it the first time – Lin Wuming looked up in this direction.

The two's gazes seemed to have met…

“He found us,” Kanzaki Kaori said.

However, she wasn't flustered – tonight's duel didn't prohibit spectators from watching, they were just a little far away.

Lightly tapping her toes, Kanzaki Kaori lightly jumped onto the railing, bowing slightly in that direction as a greeting.

“As expected of a Level 5 esper, he can find us even from this far away,” Stiyl clicked his tongue.

At the same time, on the other side, Lin Wuming also leaned forward slightly in his wheelchair, as a return greeting to the magicians over here.