She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (WN)

Mylene, the woman Mira found inside the Graveyard of War Memorials, ancient ruins concealed by a facility of warehouses managed by the Melville Trading Corporation as a front. Considering the circumstances, it made sense to consider her one of Chimera Clauzen’s Heads, which led to her capture. But apparently they had been wrong.

It turned out she was no Head, not to mention she was not a member to begin with.

Her limbs tied and wearing only underwear, she answered anything Mira and Sasori asked. She was an apprentice alchemist.

When asked what she was doing inside those ruins, she replied her mentor sent her to retrieve some materials. As to whether she knew what those black bones were, 「I know that. Ancient bones amass magic power!」 Or at least that was what her mentor told her.

About her coat, a Shadow Spirit Arm, it was a present from her mentor. Did she know what kind of power her coat had? She was told it would protect her from danger, but she had never been in a dangerous situation, until that night, so she did not really know for sure. But considering she had gotten captured so easily she muttered 「That useless coat」 with a sigh.

The more they questioned her, the more her mentor sounded suspicious. That drove the following questions to involve whoever that was.

They asked what her mentor was doing with those Black Mist Stones. They were being infused into sand and different types of metals. Black Mist Stones were a rather unique ingredient, so they needed to go through the hands of an alchemist or their effects would not get transferred.

The finished product would get stained black, covered by a thin layer of that particular black mist. Her mentor said it could be used for really powerful weapons. The finished ingredients were then sold to the Melville Trading Corporation in exchange for exorbitant amounts of money.

The next questions were more specific. They asked if she knew who those buried bodies were in the ruins, and she replied that her mentor told her they were people that lived long long ago.

Sasori examined her face attentively while she replied and concluded she was unaware of the existence of demons. After that Sasori asked more specific questions which any Head should know, and from the replies she concluded the chances of Mylene being a Head were extremely low.

Every so often Mira also asked a few questions of her own. Like what food she liked, which part she washed first when bathing, if she had a crush, her three sizes, and other questions that crossed the sexual harrassment line. But Mylene answered honestly to anything she was asked.

「It seems she knows nothing about Chimera.」

With most of the questioning done, Mira scratched her chin while she announced the conclusion formed by gathering all her answers. Sasori also agreed with her.

「Umm, what is that Chimera you keep talking about?」

Mylene looked slightly more comfortable now that her interrogation was over, so she ventured to ask a question herself. She had obvious reasons to want to know that, considering they were the reason she had been captured to begin with.

「You see, there’s this group that calls themselves Chimera Clauzen that…」

Sasori’s eyes were cold with anger as she told Mylene in short words all the atrocities committed by Chimera Clauzen.

「Who… who would do anything so cruel?! And I was helping them..?」

Hearing about Chimera Clauzen’s truth, Mylene looked terribly indignated, while also being baffled at the fact she had been supporting such a vile group of people. For a while Mylene seemed to talk with herself, reminiscing about a time a spirit helped her as a child. Then sounding regretful knowing her mentor was working to harm those gentle creatures.

She looked honestly pained, even to Mira and Sasori, showing she truly had known nothing all that time. At the same time, they were certain that whoever her mentor was, they were directly supporting Chimera.

「We suspect your mentor might be involved with Chimera. Could you tell us where they are?」

Mira knelt down until her eyes were at the same height as Mylene and asked with a soft voice.

Hearing that her mentor might have ties with Chimera Clauzen, a thought she had refused to allow in her mind, Mylene shuddered. But after a short moment she seemed to decide something and looked straight into Mira’s eyes.

「There’s a large mansion in the northeast suburbs of the city. It has a big garden with all sorts of plants in it, you can’t miss it.」

After that she said that if there was anything she could help with, she would do it. Sasori replied that she could simply tell them everything she knew, and that until everything was done she would have to remain tied up. Even if she did not know about Chimera, she had still been a helper, and there was a small probability that everything she had said and done was an act. No matter how good they were at reading people, it was unwise to trust someone so quickly until all suspicion was cleared.

Mylene understood that and agreed to those terms.

They had Mylene mark the exact location in a map, then left Hebi to take care of her while Mira and Sasori went to look for that mansion where Mylene’s mentor lived. It was late at night, but they did not know where Chimera had eyes, so they activated Complete Suppression and jumped from roof to roof heading to the outskirts of the city.

Sasori had the ability to run on walls and ceilings, so she had little issue traversing like that, and Mira had her sage arts to help her. Surprisingly enough Worthramble was also able to keep up with the two, showing he was not a high level spirit for nothing.

It was way past midnight, so unlike the commercial district that never slept, the outskirts were silent and shrouded in darkness. But on the other hand, stars that had been invisible from the city were shining brightly. The houses built out there had their own lights, dimly shining through closed windows. While the commercial district was brightly lit with the fire of spirits, the lights here were all common lamps.

From time to time they would hear the call from a wild animal, followed by a distant reply from a distance away. There was hardly any traffic out there, only the occasional drunkards with reddened faces mumbling to themselves, tottering and shouting loudly randomly.

「That’s it over there.」