Saving the Mirif Sisters (1)

‘Mirif, she’s a little late.’

Academy Central Park, during the morning break.

I was waiting for Mirif in the Central Park, as I usually do on the day we meet each week, but today, Mirif hadn’t shown her face at all.

Considering she always arrived before me and waited for me whenever we usually met like this, this situation was quite unexpected.

Even after waiting for about 30 minutes, thinking she might be late due to unavoidable circumstances, Mirif didn’t appear at the meeting spot, so naturally, questions arose in my mind.

‘Is her priestess work keeping her busy…?’

Every time I met her recently, she did look a little tired. I often heard that she always spent her personal time at the Church, treating other students, even without this.

Since it’s something she likes to do, I didn’t particularly stop her, but doing it to the point of exhaustion is a different matter.

Moreover, recently, she seemed to be taking Pharmacy Department classes from a professor named Bell… or something. To be honest, it wasn’t a workload a single person could handle.

‘Surely she didn’t suddenly collapse from exhaustion on the way here, did she?’

I probably believe it wouldn’t be that bad. Still, Mirif used to be an adventurer; could she really not take care of herself?

Still, to confirm why she hadn’t appeared, I decided to head to the Academy Church. If she happened to be treating students there, I’d just take a quick look and sneak back.

Thinking that, I visited the Academy Church briefly, but today, the church’s atmosphere was somehow more chaotic than usual.

“Hasn’t Sister returned yet…?”

“No. Since she left yesterday morning, she hasn’t….”

“Wait, first, treat the patient hospitalized in room 2….”

“……?”

What is this atmosphere?

Aside from everyone looking busy, the overall atmosphere was ambiguous.

A chaotic atmosphere, as if a serious problem had occurred, yet they couldn’t be sure if it was serious or not.

The thought briefly crossed my mind that it might be related to Mirif, but it probably wasn’t.

‘Mirif isn’t even a character who appears in the main story. Even if an incident occurred, there’s no way she’d get involved.’

It’s similar to the principle that Lizzie, Lady August, who even influences the Academy Commercial District, hardly got involved in any incidents, despite her actions.

Characters who didn’t appear in the original story, or those who didn’t exit when their time came, don’t usually get involved in any significant incidents, unless they really want to get involved and force their way in.

Therefore, even though I thought in my heart that it had nothing to do with Mirif….

‘I’m a little uneasy.’

For some unknown reason, my instinctive gut feeling told me so.

And from my experience so far, I know that if I foolishly ignore such instincts, the outcome won’t be good.

“Excuse me, I have a question….”

“Yes?”

“Could I ask if Priestess Mirif is here? We were supposed to meet today, but she didn’t show up at the meeting spot, so I was wondering if she was busy….”

“Mirif… are you perhaps referring to Sister Mirif Aurelia-Niel from the first year?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

…It’s probably correct. I forgot Mirif’s full name, but as far as I know, there are no other priestesses named Mirif in the first year.

The priestess who heard my story made a slightly serious expression and cautiously told me about her whereabouts.

“Sister Mirif… has not returned since she went out yesterday morning.”

“……Yes?”

“We too are looking for her because she suddenly disappeared. Are you perhaps a friend of Sister Mirif?”

“…Yes, I am.”

…Suddenly disappeared? Hasn’t returned since she went out yesterday morning?

Just this statement alone made it clear that she was involved in something not good.

It was unimaginable that such a diligent girl would suddenly disappear without telling anyone. And as a priestess, she wouldn’t suddenly get a boyfriend and do something impulsive like a one-night stand.

What I occasionally heard from Mirif recently about a professor named Bell or something was a bit suspicious, but it might be too much of a leap to suspect based on just that.

About a year ago, I made a strange assumption for no reason and made a wrong judgment, so I needed to think and judge carefully.

“What is your name?”

“…It’s Lilith Rosewood-Blackwood.”

“When Sister returns, I will convey your message.”

“Yes….”

It goes without saying, I couldn’t just wait indefinitely for the church people to search.

Even when the Hero was attending the Academy, Luminor Academy was a place where evil conspiracies or dangerous incidents occurred once or twice a month.

…Even if the Hero’s Party graduated, I might not be able to feel completely at ease.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

For that reason, the Mirif Rescue Squad was somehow formed on the spot.

For now, as an emergency measure, I gathered as many acquaintances as possible within the Academy. Everyone who could be used as a force, whether they were helpful or not.

…Unfortunately, most of the reliable members had graduated last year, so the party ended up feeling a bit disorganized.

“Lilith-senpai’s friend has been kidnapped! I swear on the honor of our tribe, I will definitely punish such a heinous scoundrel!”

“Oh, it’s not confirmed that she’s been kidnapped yet. It just means it’s a possibility given the circumstances.”

“But if Lady Rosewood says so, there must be a reason for it. Agnes-yang also said that Lady Rosewood sometimes displays a similar intuition to the Hero-nim.”

“H-however, this time, it’s a situation I really can’t be sure about. Even asking Prince Antonio-nim for help was truly just in case….”

“It’s fine. I’ve received a lot of help from Lady Rosewood myself, so I can lend my strength for this much anytime.”

“I-I’m not really moving for any reward, so you don’t have to worry about it…? I-if you really want to repay the favor, it would be nice if you could casually and naturally mention me to Harold-ssi….”

“…Princess-nim, you can go inside, you know.”

“There’s no need to be shy, Lilith-yang…? I also know that now is the moment my unique magic and Kate’s combat power are most needed….”

…I have a Whispering Leaf, so I don’t particularly need Mezlen’s unique magic.

As for Kate’s combat power, it would practically be used to protect Mezlen, so it wouldn’t have much meaning. To be honest, it was practically a zero-sum force.

Antonio’s personal combat power wasn’t bad, and he even had his escort (name unknown), so I requested him thinking he’d be somewhat helpful, but as luck would have it, Mezlen was also stuck in the VIP Room, so I ended up dragging her along as a bonus.

As for Lilia… well, she’s a bit foolish, but she’s strong and kind, so she’ll definitely be helpful.

‘The member composition is a bit unstable.’

Normally, instead of this ragtag group, I could have called Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot (+ Harem Trio) and Agnes.

I can only hope that the crisis that befell Mirif is nothing serious.