Chapter: 49. Acquaintances
On that day, Tianyu avoided detection and arrived at the rooftop of the teaching building where she had agreed to meet Nagino.
As soon as she opened the iron door, a white figure standing on the railing caught her eye.
Its snow-white feathers were pristine, and its crimson eyes, even under the brilliant sunlight, seemed to reflect an unusual brilliance.
“…Lord Garuda, why are you here?”
Tianyu was momentarily taken aback, but quickly adjusted her mindset.
She hadn’t seen this contract beast, which had always been by her brother’s side, since the day she and Nagino recognized each other.
As her brother’s contract beast, it should have been by her side at all times.
However, in the days since Nagino had arrived at Ark Academy, Tianyu had not seen its presence.
At this moment, its appearance made Tianyu vaguely sense an ominous premonition of an impending crisis.
“Long time no see.” Garuda displayed a surprisingly human-like action, resembling a pure white dove.
“I was just a bit worried about my master.”
“Worried…? Is it about the attack on my brother last night?”
As soon as Tianyu finished her question, she vaguely felt something was off.
Not to mention her brother’s strength as a savior, the key point was that Garuda, who had been by his side during the attack, was nowhere to be found.
—The barrier formed by the storm…
Tianyu seemed to recall an important clue.
She had assumed that it was Nagino who saved Kazuko, but then she realized that when she arrived at the scene as it unfolded, she had witnessed the moment the storm barrier disappeared.
With a little reflection, she could deduce that this was one of the abilities Garuda demonstrated.
—In other words, Lord Garuda must know who attacked my brother and Kazuko yesterday…
Before Garuda had a chance to respond to Tianyu’s question, the iron door of the teaching building’s rooftop was pushed open again.
The newcomer was Nagino, who had arrived a bit late.
“…Master, are you alright?” Garuda’s gaze passed over Tianyu and fell on Nagino.
“Ah, I’m fine!” The latter gave a thumbs-up gesture to Garuda.
“Brother, what happened?”
Only Tianyu wore a face full of confusion in that moment.
—What just happened that worried Garuda?
—Could it be that Garuda was concerned about her brother revealing his identity as a monster tamer to Ark Academy?
Thinking of this, Tianyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
By habit, Nagino was supposed to officially engage with the teacher today. According to Tianyu’s intel, Nagino’s mentor was no ordinary person, but someone formerly at the highest level of ability—ACE.
—Well, even though her brother now seemed like a little girl that inspires trust, after all, she was once a savior; hiding herself in front of a former ACE…
“Although she probably has seen through the fact that I have a contract beast, I still played the role of the obedient girl perfectly in front of her!” Nagino proudly communicated to Garuda.
“Eh? Expo—exposed?” Nagino’s voice interrupted Tianyu’s thoughts, and she replied with surprise.
“Ah, but I didn’t show any flaws in my lady-like demeanor, so there’s really nothing to worry about!”
“Brother, aren’t you focused on the wrong details!?”
“Is that so? Since you didn’t give yourself away, I’m relieved.” Unexpectedly, Garuda seemed genuinely relieved, nodding.
“Even Lord Garuda—!?”
“Tianyu, what’s wrong? You’ve been acting strangely since just now.”
“That’s my line!? Why are my brother and Lord Garuda so calm?” Tianyu couldn’t help but unleash a torrent of complaints.
“Since brother revealed her identity as a monster tamer to the teacher, shouldn’t we be a bit more panicked here?”
“Even with you saying that… the other party is ACE, you know?” In response to Tianyu’s questioning, Nagino revealed a look of difficulty.
“Indeed, it’s clearly too forced to hide the reality of having a contract beast in front of Maria.” Garuda also agreed with Nagino’s remark.
Tianyu sensed new clues from Garuda’s attitude.
“Even Lord Garuda is saying this… does that mean brother knows Teacher Maria?” After she asked, Tianyu realized she had asked a foolish question.
Since her brother was a savior in a past life, how could she not know the famous former ACE Blood Crow, who had been active around the world battling fantasy monsters over ten years ago?
—Perhaps their relationship is more than ordinary…
With this thought, Tianyu recalled her previous thoughts.
“…Well, I can’t say we don’t know each other at all.” As Nagino responded, she inadvertently glanced at Garuda.
The latter met her gaze with its red bean-like eyes.
Tianyu sensed the tacit understanding between the person and the bird before deciding to set aside her curiosity for the moment and instead asked another question that had been bothering her since earlier.
“By the way, Lord Garuda, was it you who intervened during the attack yesterday to save my brother and Classmate Nishikawa Kazuko?”
In response to Tianyu’s inquiry.
Garuda initially tilted its head in a curious manner and then nodded like a real pigeon.
Its actions made Tianyu notice something odd.
Clearly, while Garuda outwardly appeared as a pigeon from the start, its every action displayed a very human side, even making Tianyu misinterpret for a moment that a mini-human stood before her.
However, in response to her question.
It wore an expression that seemed harmless, with a face saying “Though I know you have a lot of questions, I’m just a pigeon, and I’m sorry I can’t answer your questions.”
But since the words had already been spoken.
Tianyu decided to press on despite her hesitations.
“…Then, Lord Garuda, do you know who attacked my brother and Classmate Nishikawa Kazuko at the scene yesterday?”
Since Garuda was present at the scene.
If Garuda had defended against the attack and saved both of them, then surely Garuda must have seen the assailant’s appearance.
Initially, Tianyu merely wanted to obtain information about the assailant’s appearance from Garuda to help her organize the intelligence network for thorough investigations.
However, Garuda’s reaction was beyond Tianyu’s expectations.
“I… well, if I said I didn’t know them, that would be a bit forced.”
Under Nagino’s watchful gaze, Garuda began to speak slowly.
“Eh?”
Tianyu was a bit surprised.
—Not only did it see the assailant’s appearance, but it actually recognized them?
Thinking of this, Tianyu turned to look at Nagino.
The latter, like Garuda, silently averted her gaze.
