As they entered the building, the two men huddled behind Diego, walking nervously while the latter was completely casual.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. The building has been exorcised. The look is just creepy due to the lack of maintenance.'' Diego spread his hand, showing how it's completely fine.
"I-I'm not afraid." Yuri Kimura stuttered while inching closer to his back, making Diego helpless.
"S-Same here." The police officer was doing the same but this time, holding a baton shakily.
Diego almost groaned seeing these old men afraid of ghosts, even when they hadn't encountered it.
Human imagination is really something.
They moved around the building while following Diego and after a few minutes, there was no strange noise or shadows moving around, they finally gave a sigh of relief.
"Diego-sama, you're right, we haven't found any ghosts." Yuri Kimura looked around in amazement.
"I already told you this before, the job is done so obviously, there won't be any ghosts." Diego said with a hint of pride.
After talking for some time, the three left the building and Diego started packing his things.
Unbeknownst to him, a girl wearing glasses was watching his every move.
Seeing him drive away with his car, Ayaka Sajyou narrowed her eyes and muttered, "Diego Seijuro, isn't that the transfer student back then? He was absent for some time due to an accident but now…"
Remembering that thrilling event, Ayaka shuddered, "So he was the one dealing with the problems these past month. What a magus." She sighed in admiration.
She had never someone dispatching powerful wraiths that fast, even her teacher, a monarch wouldn't be able to do it.
Though using Lord El-Melloi II as a reference is a bit bad, he was still a pretty good magus.
"I have to tell my sister to be careful when she goes out at night." Ayaka groaned and walked away, the job is already done so there's no point in staying.
Still, Fuyuki City is becoming more dangerous nowadays.
—
Diego closed the shop pretty early this time, why? Because he already finished a big commission, so there's no point in working hard for the rest of the day.
Work and rest balance exist for a reason.
After closing the office, Diego wandered around the city from noon to afternoon. He wanted to ask Issei but he was training and since it's the weekends, he also wants to rest, leaving him alone to explore.
Diego didn't mind this and after hours of wandering around, he went to a famous chinese restaurant near the Emiya residence where spicy food was a specialty.
"What's your spiciest dish, boss?" He asked the man behind the counter who laughed and asked back.
"You'll have to be more specific about that." The boss was pretty confident at his dish and that all of them just had the right spiciness for customers.
Diego thought for a moment, looking at the menu above the counter for something.
"Hmm, if you want, I could suggest something to you." As he was searching, he heard a deep voice behind him and to his surprise it was a man wearing a priest outfit, looking at him with a smile.
He has that strong figure and hollow looking eyes, though unlike Sakura, this man seemed more… happy?
"Um… sure?"
"Father Kirei! It's good to see you. The usual mapo tofu?" The boss seemed to know him and asked with enthusiasm.
"Yes and can you give him the same as well?" Father Kirei smiled.
"Of course! Two mapo tofus coming right up." After saying that, the boss went to work and Diego and Kirei sat at the same table.
Kirei was just looking at him with a smile while Diego was just staring blankly. This was very awkward for him, he sat down first but this guy followed him.
It also didn't help that he was smiling with those empty eyes, as if he was happy with this awkwardness.
No one spoke and the two seemed like they were having a staring contest until two bowls of mapo tofu were put down .
"Enjoy." After the boss left, the priest immediately dipped his spoon and started eating, with a clear enjoyment on his face. When he started sweating, he slowly loosened his clothes, showing his upper chest while wiping the sweat on his forehead.
Diego was not interested in seeing this so he started digging in as well. To his surprise, the mapo tofu was hot and spicy but not unpleasant to the point he needed to drink water and cool himself, it was delicious and something that he'll come back for.
The two ate in silence before the priest first finished his followed by Diego. After putting the bowl aside, he looked at the priest who was sweating but smiling, and said a word of thanks.
"That was a very great suggestion, I'll definitely come back for another."
"That's good to hear." The priest fixed his clothes and replied, "Can I know your name?"
"Diego Seijuro, a student." Diego pondered for a moment before introducing himself. As for why he didn't reveal he was an exorcist? Isn't it obvious? This guy is a priest!
Who knows if he'll get busted out for using catholic theme exorcism.
"Diego Seijuro? You're a very interesting person."
"Okay? Thanks I guess…?" Diego was startled by those words.
"Perhaps you will find it strange but it shows what kind of person you are."
"Kirei-san, right? What exactly do you want to say?" Diego frowned as he listened to this guy, he doesn't like when people act like they have already figured him out.
"Seijuro-kun, do you feel happy?"
Diego was surprised about that question but he still answered, "Of course I am, life is good and I may have some troubles but it's not something I have a problem with."
"I see," Kirei nodded, this time his expression turned serious, "Then why does it feel like you're restraining yourself?"
"I'm sorry?" Diego couldn't believe what he's hearing, is this priest sick in the head.
Kirei looked at him for a moment before standing up, "I apologize, it seems that I was mistaken but," He looked at him in the eye and said, "Seijuro-kun, nothing comes right from denying who you are, all of it begins in accepting what kind of person who we truly are, if we can't do something like that, then happiness can never reach your hands."
Diego frowned at that remark and asked, "What exactly do you mean by that, do you know me?"
"I don't. It's my first time meeting you but I know a kindred spirit when I see one." Kirei gave a dark chuckle before putting some money on the table and walking away.
"It was a nice meal. I hope we can do it again next time, Seijuro-kun."
After seeing him leave, Diego muttered under his breath, "I hope we never do it again." He put money on the table and left as well.
As for what that priest said, it's better to just ignore it, there's some priest or shamans that likes to act mysterious in order to live up to their supernatural persona and he has already met a lot of them in his past life.
Still, what did he mean by true nature?
—-
After leaving the store, Diego walked around the crowded streets of Shinto. The nightlife of this place, despite the previous bombing a few years ago, has started to regain its former light after years of recovery.
Despite not fully recovered, it was still crowded, the weekends always makes this place full at night.
As he was walking, his vision cracked again, making him hold his head in pain. He tried shaking it off but the sensation wouldn't leave.
'This is strange, it usually leaves after a few moments.' He sat on a bench, waiting for the cracks to disappear but nothing happened, it was still there.
He looked around and saw the crowd full of lines in their body, they had different numbers of lines, some had 12 while others 24, the others had 8 but one thing he can see is that, the older the person, the more lines they have.
Diego narrowed his now red colored eyes and found a peculiar person whose death line was compressed to his chest. He subconsciously stood up and tried approaching the person and the more he got closer, the number of lines became visible.
50? No, 60? Not 60 but 70! The amount of lines as if covering his body was increasing the more he got closer but then, the person suddenly moved away, walking away from the crowd.
Diego followed him, his expression becoming more blank as he went away from the crowd.
After a few minutes of tailing, the man stopped in a graveyard, bawling and vomiting? Diego can't see properly due to the amount of lines he's seeing, not just from the person but from everywhere!
He approached the man and as he was a few meters away, he heard groans everywhere and to his "surprise" zombie-like creatures started approaching him, there were about 14 of them.
The man he was following also turned around, his sclera red and his mouth open, as if wanting to say something but all he hears are incoherent words.
The dead surrounded him, before pouncing at the same time.
—-
"A Dead Apostle in this place? But it's not Roa…" A blonde girl frowned as she looked at the blood stains in the ground.
When identifying beings like Dead Apostles or Ghouls, it's easy to spot them via scent, the rotting flesh and soul are very conspicuous and therefore, very easy to separate them from normal humans.
The blonde girl followed the scent which led her to a graveyard.
Her red pupils looked around, trying to find something, then her nose twitched.
Blood?
She entered the graveyard and saw a man standing there, there was no blood in his clothes or hands but corpses of the dead were dismembered around him, he was just standing there with his head bowed, as if he hadn't noticed her.
"Hey, you. Have you ever seen other people here?" She approached him but when she came close, a flash of light passed and the feeling of something weird passed through her body and before she knew it, she was laying on the ground.
She tried getting up but she felt something wet in her face.
Blood? What is blood doing here? She hasn't attacked anyone.
Why isn't she feeling hungry? Wither her current state, blood being shoved to her face arouses her impulses.
As she was thinking, the feeling of sensation left her body and she looked at blood flowing in the ground once again.
'I see… no wonder, I didn't feel hungry. This was my blood.'
Then the world turned black.
—-
A man with black hair and red eyes was sitting behind a table, looking at the woman who had an annoyed expression on her face.
She has maroon hair, wearing white robe and brown boots, holding a crop in her hand, her eyes flashing fiercely and her teeth grinding to each other as time passess.
If other magus saw this, they would be frightened, the Vice Director of the Clocktower has a weird temper, people are afraid of making her displeased let alone angry.
"Lorelei, it's not even a month and you're already frustrated just because your call wasn't answered?" The man said calmly, not fazed by the Queen of the modern magus' anger.
"Director Brishisan, this is not a joking matter, a Bathomeloi talent suddenly vanished and hasn't replied to my message, do you know how shameful this is for our family?" Lorelei Barthomeloi put down her hand and answered with a glare, seemingly unafraid of the Director in front of her despite his high position.
"Or maybe you're using the phone wrong?"
"Director!" If other people were to joke like this in front of her, Lorelei would have pulled their tongue out but there are three exceptions and the Director in front of her was obviously one of them.
"Alright fine, I won't joke anymore but my point still stands, Diego Barthomeloi is a young talent that has the potential to become a Monarch like Kayneth Archibald back then, why would he run away? As a magus, he's very dedicated, as a hunter, he's even more so, can't you have a little bit of faith?"
Diego Barthomeloi is a prodigy from the Barthomeloi family, even among their members, he's one of a kind, if he was born before Lorelei, perhaps he would have their family crest but even without it, he's already terrifying as he is.
High quantity and quality of magic circuits, mastery of their Thaumaturgical - Almighty and has a rainbow rank Mystic Eyes that made him very sought by Atlas, combined with his mastery of magecraft, Diego Barthomeloi has everything.
So why does Lorelei need to worry? Any young magus would die having his status, do you really need to doubt someone just because of suspicion?
"And have you forgotten? Diego Barthomeloi was supposed to be put in a Sealing Designation. If it wasn't for your protection, he would probably be rotting underground. Knowing this, why would he run away from your family?" Brishisan sighed, not understanding Lorelei's worries.
It's like Lorelei was treating him as a child, doesn't she understand that if Diego ever tried to run away, the Clocktower would have a legitimate reason to imprison him?
"Of course I know that but you don't understand—!"
"Understand what? That you don't trust him?"
Lorelei's face turned dark hearing that.
"Director, this is family matters, please refrain from speaking."
Brishisan just raised his hand in surrender, not intending to argue anymore, "Look, if you're really eager to see him, then dispatch your troops and find him, or maybe, try calling again until he answers."
Lorelei Barthomeloi didn't reply and just left the office with a displeased look on her face.
"This is what happens when you forcibly control family members, it never ends well." Brishisan sighed and laid down in the chair.
What a troublesome family of perfectionists. And here he was thinking that separating from the Wandering Sea was a great choice.
But it seems no matter the era, stubborn people will always exist.
---
A/N; I'll set up an update schedule. It'll be at Tuesday and Thursday, it could be more but that's the gist of it, 2 chapters a week. As for why, I'm also chasing some of my fics' updates so I hope you understand.
PS. I have sinus issues which proves to be a headache while writing so I need to rest from time to time.