tragedy as anything but a complete betrayal of that goodwill." "So in other words..." "We suspect that the perpetrator is humanâ€”and not merely an individual, but a group." The wolf-headed beastman nodded, and behind him, his subordinates did the same. Kaito gulped. The fight against the demons had only just ended. Now there were claims that a tragedy had been carried out by human hands. Could that really be what was happening? Kaito found himself baffled. The beastman before him spoke with a voice full of bloodlust. "Allow me to speak frankly. Depending on the circumstances, we may wish to employ you, the enemy of mankind, as a guest commander. The Church's lauded canon, the Shepherd, La Mules, is no more. But they still possess many other living weapons they call saints. The only ones capable of facing them in a head-to-head battle are the demons." "Do you have any proof humans are behind the killings?" Kaito posed his question in a low voice. But he already had a sense of what their answer was. The wolf-headed swordsman stared back at Kaito. Fury and conviction burned in his golden eyes. That was answer enough. Quietly exhaling, Kaito revised his question. "All right, then. What's your reasoning?" "No kin of ours would have left the corpses in such an appalling state." Kaito frowned, unsatisfied by the beastman's answer. It didn't seem like anything more than an emotionally charged judgment. But the beastman pressed on, assuring him that it wasn't so. "Our sense of morality differs from humanity's. We use the fur, the skin, and the bones of the deceased, and should circumstances permit, we also partake of their flesh. Such an act may be difficult for humans to appreciate, but that is the way we have held funeral rites all the way back to the age of the Forest King. But these corpses were defiled to an extreme degree." He clenched his fists tightly as he spoke. Kaito could practically make out the sound of bones creaking. "The victims had their innards pulled out while they were still alive. Then their entrails were left to rot alongside the bodies. Our people would never do such a thing, not even to a foe. But it wasn't the work of a demi-human, either. We share half our territory with them, but their ethics line up closely with ours." So process of elimination, huh? The culprit wasn't a beastman or a demi-human. That left only one possibility. Kaito cast his gaze downward. From his human perspective, using the body parts of the dead and consuming them sounded plenty sacrilegious. But even in other worlds, different countries had different death rituals. Having completely different races no doubt only made that effect more pronounced. On top of that, beastman fur and skin were considerably more robust and versatile than their human equivalents. They probably had a long history of prospering by using their own bodies as resources. And while Kaito's spiritual sensibilities as a former inhabitant of modern-day Japan made it hard for him to fully comprehend, the expressions on the beastfolk's faces clearly showed just how much of a taboo they considered the mistreatment of those corpses to be. The wolf-headed beastman repeated himself in a voice steeped in hatred. "We have a hard time imagining anyone but a human could have done this." "It could also be someone trying to get you to think that." "Of course. That's precisely why we need your assistance. We must decide on a carefully considered judgment. If this was the act of one of our countrymen, then we must dole out a suitable punishment. And if a human did this, then we must repay their cruelty with blood." The beastman spoke quickly and sternly. Kaito reflexively covered his face with one of his hands. He, Kaito Sena, was the enemy of mankind. It looked like the beastfolk wanted to use his power to secure their territory as well as have him act as a third party who could make calm decisions regarding the tragedy. The burden being placed on him was surprisingly heavy. He heaved an equally heavy sigh as he removed his hand from his face. "Why me, though? I said it before, didn't I? As soon as you get a demon and a contractor involved, don't you think the situation's just gonna take a turn for the worse?" "Sir Kaito, it's not as though we reached out to you based on no information at all. We've heard about the incident with the Earl." "The Earl?" Kaito tilted his head to the side at the unexpected mention of a name from his past. The Earl was a demon who'd bought up children and used them to perform Grand Guignols. Kaito had gotten wrapped up in one of his hellish games, but Neue had protected him, allowing him to narrowly escape with his life. He wouldn't have thought that incident would come up, nor had he thought it would have anything to do with the beastfolk trusting him. As question marks floated across Kaito's face, the beastman elaborated. "Before we came up with our plan to contact you, we obtained some documents that were leaked during the Capital's destruction regarding the battles against the fourteen demons. Within them was a record that was appended after the Kaiser's escape detailing the battle against the Earl. The Torture Princess had given a new testimony about the servant she'd been concealing from the Church." "About me?" Surprised by that information, Kaito opened his eyes wide. As he did, he recalled what Clueless had said. "Elisabeth. You're the one who failed to report having summoned the soul of someone from another world, aren't you?" Elisabeth had concealed someâ€”possibly allâ€”information regarding Kaito from the Church. But after the fight against Clueless, they'd discovered Kaito's existence, and Elisabeth had probably been forced to give a fresh, detailed report on him. Elisabeth had never told him what that report contained. The wolf-headed beastman began talking about its particulars. "It appeared to emphasize the fact that her servant was a Sinless Soul, one who, at the time, didn't deserve to be executed. The report also had information about how you tried to rescue children during the battle against the Earl. It seems you even cut off your own hand to that end." "...Sure, but in the end, the Earl ate them all. I couldn't save a single one of them." "Even so, you fought desperately, making no distinctions between the demi-humans and beastfolk among the human children. That's why we decided it would be worthwhile to take a gamble on you. And our conviction has only deepened upon following you and watching you fight. Forgive me the discourtesy of asking, but you were holding back while facing those human warriors just a moment ago, weren't you?" "I mean, yeah." Kaito nodded frankly. He hadn't adjusted to his power yet. Apparently, it was obvious to anyone who knew what to look for that he'd been going easy on his opponents earlier. The wolf-headed beastman gave a deep nod in reply. "The difference between your strength and theirs was plain to see. It would have been all too easy for you to kill them. You could have even done all manner of cruel, unspeakable things to them. But you chose not to. And you don't give off the thick stench of gold and blood that evildoers do. We've come to the conclusion that you're exactly the person the report made you out to be." "I see. Well, if you guys are fine with it, then I don't have any problems. I'll take you up on your offer. I can't make any promises about the whole temp commander part, but lead on." Kaito gave his answer. Offering no interjections, Hina just wordlessly pressed herself against him. The wolf-headed beastman's golden eyes glittered. He quickly lowered his head and professed his thanks. "Are you quite sure? You have our gratitude and will enjoy our finest hospitality." "I'm gonna say up front that I dunno how useful I'm gonna be. There is something I want to confirm for myself, though... Would you mind leading us to the village where the killings happened? I'm no expert, but there should be stuff I can figure out anyway. Oh, right..." Kaito opened his mouth to speak. His next few words slipped across his lips a little too naturally. A light smile crossed his face as he asked his question. "...Are the bodies from the massacre still where you found them? I wanna have a look at the corpses." His tone was cheerfulâ€”too cheerful for the words he'd just said. A moment later, Kaito was aghast at how callous he'd been, and as expected, the beastfolk scrunched up their faces as well. A pervasive look of repugnance flashed across their eyes. It was then that Kaito realized a certain fact. Man, I really am a demon's contractor. He was, without a doubt, the vessel the Kaiser had acknowledged. The teleportation circle the beastfolk were using was different from those used by humans. The principles behind both methods were identical, but the beastfolk's circle used shavings from dried organs and a powder made from desiccated blood and crushed bone. "It is a magical tool made from the remains of a late mage of ours." The explanation was given by the wolf-headed beastman, whose name was apparently Lute. Apparently, even people who knew nothing about magic could use it to go where they pleased. The downside was that you needed to draw the circle a second time when you wanted to go back to where you came from. And while the tool was convenient, it would no doubt be branded as contraband anywhere in human society. Even possessing such a thing would likely carry a stiff punishment. "The legend of the Saint who carried God within her body is well celebrated in our lands as well. But instead of God, we place more stock in the land and in nature, for they are what foster life. We have escaped Diablo's affections, and we are far removed from the blessings of God as well. While we have the ability to sniff out and analyze magic's dregs, those among us who can properly wield magic are few and far between. Because of that, our mage requested that their remains be used as communal property." "I see, so it's kinda unique." "It gladdens me that you understand." Lute had given his explanation with caution, as though he'd been afraid of incurring Kaito's revulsion. Kaito nodded. If they'd gotten permission from the mage in question, then he had no intention of disparaging their culture. As the two of them talked, Lute's subordinates were hard at work drawing the teleportation circle atop the hill. Before long, the pattern was complete, its form far more geometrical than the kind human mages used. "Please, this way. First, I can lead to you to the village where one of the massacres took place. We were searching for traces the killer left up until this morning, so...the bodies should still be undisturbed." "All right, please do." Lute gestured for Kaito to line up next to him, and so he did. Hina followed beside him. Kaito spontaneously reached behind her back and embraced her, and she leaned in tight to his side. Then Lute drew a scarlet stone from his breast pocket and struck it like flint, pouring a shower of sparks over the places where the shaved organs were piled up high. "Hoh (A rain of gold), hoh (a tempest of flame), hou (the awakening), hoh (has come), hou (now burst into flame)." As he did, flames shot up around the teleportation circle's circumference, and a cloud of red and white sand began billowing forth from its center. The fierce sandstorm blotted out Kaito's and Hina's sight. The two hues blended together in front of their eyes in complex patterns, like a sand painting. The sand