Chapter 54: Cerberus's Little Magic
Kanzaki Kaori looked at the white-haired beauty in pajamas before her, and she began to doubt her entire life, her faith, and the mythology she had studied for years.
This person—this cute, energetic girl with fluffy ears and a tail that wagged at Mach speed—was the Hellhound? The guardian of the underworld?
Where are the three heads? Where is the fire? Where is the terrifying aura that makes souls tremble?
Never mind her prestige; her mere appearance didn't even resemble a dog much, let alone a monster. She looked more like a cosplayer at a sleepover.
Ren smiled, seemingly used to this reaction. "Cerberus, there's something I want to ask you. It's about a magical curse."
Cerberus's ears twitched, and she bounced on her heels. "Mhm! Master, tell me! I'll tell you anything I know! Is it a food curse? Does it make food disappear?"
Ren chuckled and briefly recounted the situation with Index—the "Perfect Memory" curse, the church's claim about brain capacity, and the annual memory wipe.
Cerberus listened, her head tilting to the side like a curious puppy. When Ren finished, she glanced at Kanzaki Kaori, sniffing the air around the Saint.
Then she turned to Ren and said, "Master, Master, Master! Why don't you go find Lucifer? If it's Lucifer, there would be a special effect! She loves dramatic entrances!"
Ren was momentarily stunned. "Why Lucifer?"
Kanzaki Kaori was also surprised. She leaned forward slightly.
Cerberus said very matter-of-factly, counting on her fingers. "Because Lucifer is a Demon King! The CEO of Hell! The 'demon' in that title doesn't just mean a devil; it also means magic power! She has authority over curses. If it were Lucifer, she might just directly absorb that protective magic like a snack! Slurp! Gone!"
Kanzaki Kaori's mouth twitched. That was, after all, a specially placed, high-level magic of the Anglican Church. A "Collar" designed to suppress a library of 103,000 grimoires. Symbolically, there should be some procedure! Chantings! Rituals! Holy water!
It would just be absorbed directly?! Like a snack?! Was our Church's ultimate seal that insignificant to a true demon?!
Ren nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed. The power of gods and demons is often defined by hierarchy. I believe the name 'Lucifer' holds weight across many dimensions, not just here."
Kanzaki Kaori nodded slowly. The logic was sound, even if the reality was humiliating for her organization.
Ren looked back at Cerberus. "But Lucifer is sleeping, and she hates being woken up for work. Cerberus, if it were you, could you solve it? You are the Guardian, after all."
Cerberus puffed out her chest proudly. "Yes, I can! It's very simple! It's just a defensive magic! I can smell the structure from here—it stinks of old parchment and fear. I don't even need to go myself! That human!"
She pointed a finger at Kanzaki.
Kanzaki looked up at Cerberus, startled. "Me?"
Cerberus made a swiping motion with her finger in the air, tracing a glowing red rune that lingered for a second before vanishing into Kanzaki's right hand.
"It's done! I transferred a little bit of my 'Lock-Breaker' authority to you. When the time comes, just place your hand on that girl's head! Like a headpat! Good girl!"
Kanzaki Kaori looked at her hand. It felt warm, tingling with a strange, dark energy. She quickly asked, "Will that break the magic?!"
"No, no, no!" Cerberus shook her head, her ears flopping. "Breaking the magic wouldn't be good for her. It would trigger the alarms. She'd be targeted by the bad guys in robes. This magic is like having a cover. A blanket!"
She mimed covering something. "It wraps the source of the magic—the curse itself—and isolates it. Then it has nothing to do with your friend's brain. No matter how it acts up or tries to trigger a 'headache', it'll be useless. It will shout into the void! After all, I can feel from you that the strength on your side isn't very powerful compared to Hell."
(I didn't say Demon God~, Cerberus added mentally. She wasn't stupid enough to provoke the truly big guns of that universe, but standard church magic? Easy.)
Kanzaki Kaori was stunned by the casual dismissal of her world's power levels. Then she asked confusedly, "Miss Cerberus, I really want to know one thing: is it really impossible for her head to explode from memory overload?"
Cerberus laughed, a barking sound. She shook her head and said with a smile, "Of course not! Just look at Lucifer! Not to mention how many forbidden magic books she read when she was an Archangel—billions of years of divine knowledge!—she also read plenty of forbidden tomes even as a demon! It's not just hundreds of thousands anymore! It's infinite!"
She leaned in close to Kanzaki's face. "And Lucifer didn't become stupid. Well... mostly not stupid. She still buys useless things online."
"And I've only heard that the more you read, the more knowledgeable you become. I've never heard of anyone exploding from it. Knowledge isn't gunpowder!"
Kanzaki Kaori nodded, feeling a massive weight lift off her shoulders. The logic of a Hellhound and an other-worldly scientist combined was overwhelming.
Then, her warrior instincts kicked in. She needed to be sure. She asked confusedly, "Madam Cerberus, are you really the legendary Hellhound? The one who guards the gates?"
"Yes, yes, yes! There's only one Cerberus! And that's me! The cutest one!"
Kanzaki Kaori thought for a moment. She shifted her stance. Her hand moved to the hilt of her nodachi, 'Seven Heaven Seven Swords'.
Ren was about to say something to stop her, but it was too late.
Shing!
Kanzaki moved with the speed of a Saint—faster than the eye could track. She unleashed a wire attack using her 'Nanasen' technique, intending to test the girl's reflexes. It wasn't a lethal strike, but it was fast enough to cut steel.
However, before the attack could even fully deploy—
Snap.
Cerberus casually grabbed at the air in front of her.
Kanzaki Kaori's expression changed from focused to horrified. Her wires... stopped.
Cerberus was holding the seven steel wires between her fingers as if they were pieces of stray yarn. She hadn't even looked. She scratched her head with her other hand and said, "This little toy isn't bad... It's shiny. Although it can't hurt me, it wouldn't be good if it hurt Master! You should be careful with sharp things indoors!"
As Cerberus spoke, she flicked her wrist. A wave of force traveled down the wires.
Kanzaki felt a massive impact. She was pushed back two steps, her boots skidding on the floor.
Cerberus smiled innocently. "Such a small toy can't hurt me. Since I can smell you don't have ill intentions—just curiosity—I won't bite. Master, Master, Master! Are you okay? Did the wind scare you?"
Ren stood behind the counter, completely unbothered. He shook his head and flicked a finger, sending a loose steel wire that had drifted near him back toward Kanzaki. It landed gently in her sheath.
Then he said with a smile, "Miss Kanzaki Kaori, I don't think such a test is necessary. We run a restaurant, not a dojo. Besides, I wouldn't gain anything by deceiving you, would I?"
Kanzaki Kaori sheathed her sword with a click. She took a deep breath and bowed low—a full, 90-degree apology.
"My apologies, Shopkeeper, and Miss Cerberus. I was rude. I was just... I needed to confirm your strength. If you are strong enough to defend yourself, then your words carry weight. As this is no small matter involving my friend's life."
Ren chuckled and said, "Don't worry, it'll be fine. I understand the paranoia of a warrior. Even if people from the church come looking for her afterward, it doesn't matter. You can have your friend stay at the Shop temporarily. We have spare rooms, and she can go back after the storm passes."
Cerberus also clapped her hands and said with a smile, "That's right, that's right, that's right! And if you bring her here, we can give her a shielding magic! A stealth buff! So in the eyes of the church's tracking spells, she's already dead or vanished! That would be perfect! We can feed her lots of food!"
Kanzaki Kaori nodded, feeling tears prick her eyes again. "Thank you, Shopkeeper, and Miss Cerberus. If it really comes to that, I will bring that child. You have given me hope."
Ren said with a smile, "No problem. This Restaurant always welcomes every guest, and even more so guests with stories."
Kanzaki Kaori smiled, a genuine, relieved smile that transformed her usually stern face. "Thank you. Then, Shopkeeper, I'll head back now. There's only an hour left before the deadline..."
"Mhm. I wish you all the best. Trust in your hand."
"Mhm!"
Kanzaki Kaori turned to leave, her long ponytail swaying. She reached for the door handle, then suddenly froze. She remembered something important.
"Shopkeeper! I haven't paid yet! I ate your food and took up your time!"
She fumbled for her wallet. "How much do I owe? The Chazuke, the tea, the consultation...?"
"Five hundred."
"Huh?" Kanzaki blinked. "Five hundred... dollars?"
"Yen."
"Five hundred yen?! That cheap?!"
Kanzaki Kaori was a little startled. To eat such delicious, mana-restoring food at this price, and a cup of magical flower tea that alone would cost a fortune in alchemy shops... plus the magical blessing from a Hellhound... this was practically charity!
Ren sat in his chair, reopening his book. He said softly, "This question... because, there's no reason. I charge what I want. This is my domain. Here, you can exchange stories for food. I personally feel that everyone who comes here is very suitable to be a friend, so it's naturally a 'friendship price'."
"Shopkeeper..." Kanzaki placed a 500 yen coin on the counter with reverence. "Here's the money. I will repay this favor."
After speaking, she turned and left through the glowing door.
As Kanzaki Kaori left the warm restaurant and stepped back into the rainy, cold streets of Academy City in her own world, the transition was jarring.
She stood in an alleyway. A tall man with red hair and a barcode tattoo under his eye walked over from the shadows. He was smoking a cigarette.
"Where did you go?" Stiyl Magnus asked, his voice rough. "You disappeared for five minutes. I thought you abandoned the mission."
"To eat," Kanzaki replied simply, clutching her right hand.
Stiyl raised an eyebrow. "To eat? Now? You have nerves of steel, Saint."
"Let's go," Kanzaki said, her voice firm. "There's only an hour left."
"Stiyl," she added as she walked past him, her boots splashing in a puddle. "I think we might have been deceived by the church. About everything."
Stiyl froze. He dropped his cigarette. "What did you say?"
"Don't ask anything for now; leave the rest to me. I have a solution. If it doesn't work... then we can complete the ritual instantly. But I will not let it end like that without trying."
Stiyl glanced at Kanzaki Kaori's back. He saw the tension in her shoulders was gone. He saw a strange confidence. He said nothing, lighting another cigarette, and continued to walk forward behind her. But his silence at that moment was the best trust he could show in his partner.
Kanzaki Kaori breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at her right hand, where the faint red rune from Cerberus still glowed invisibly against her skin.
She looked up at the dark sky of Academy City.
"The church..." she whispered, her eyes hardening. "If you lied to us... I will shatter you."
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