Chivalry of a Dark Knight [Batman x Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry]

CH3: Judgment and Punishment (prt 4)

Inside an office sat a man by his desk with a woman standing next to him, both their gazes were fixed on the news broadcast on the overhead screen in front of them. The man was tall with a slender build and had long brown, yet whitening, hair tied into a ponytail. Despite his age, he had a rather youthful and attractive face that was complimented by a pair of circular rimmed glasses.

"Astonishing...simply astonishing." he breathed out.

The woman, who had neck length dark blue hair that fanned out, pointed when the camera footage zoomed into the figure that swung with the grapple line.

"Professor, that uniform and emblem; it seems to match..."

The man interrupted with a nod.

"It matches Nishimori's description exactly. Yes, I've noticed. How fascinating. To think he'd find himself here of all places. But the question is, did he bring it with him?"

"How should we proceed?" the woman asked.

The man rested his chin upon his interlocked hands with his elbows on his desk as his brow crinkled with heavy thought.

"He can't be far from the area." he finally said. "Alert our field agents and instruct them to find him but only to observe from a distance. And also outfit them with our best Data-cams so they can stream it to our workstations."

"The Data-cams, sir?"

"It might be unnecessary but based on what Nishimori told us, I have a theory. Well, more like a hunch considering the low probability. It's best we be prepared for anything."

"Understood, professor."

The woman was about to depart when the professor suddenly called to her.

"Once more thing Maya, can you contact Kyomon Academy and let them know I'll be canceling my lecture?"

Maya turned and nodded with a small smile.

"Of course. But if I may Sir, what should we do about Kazamatsuri-sama? He has been asking a lot of questions lately."

The professor "hmmed" and pondered for a moment before giving a warm smile.

"There's no need to fret. Kazamatsuri-san and I have known each other for a long time. You let me handle him."

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The sun was close to setting and although the skies were getting darker, it was still vibrant with hues of orange and pink. It would seem that things were winding down at the entrance to the shopping mall as the police finished taking statements from Ikki and the other three Mage-knights in training. The four of them later discussed, filled-in some blanks, and concluded that it was the mysterious caped crusader that took down most of Bishou's men.

"Very Interesting." mused Nagi. "At first I thought maybe he was part of another organization but it seems as though he was acting completely on his own."

Stella, now redressed completely, rubbed her shoulders a little.

"Frankly, he kinda gives me the creeps but still..."

She thought back to when he draped her with his cape and his last words to Bishou. He acted noble and heroic, there was no way he had any sinister intentions, right?

"I just wonder who's under that mask anyway. You think maybe he was a Blazer?"

Shizuku shook her head.

"Doubtful, I didn't sense any magic from him, although..."

"Although what?" asked Stella.

Shizuku's adeptness over magic didn't stop at her incredible mana control, it even extended to being able sense the tiniest magic output so her opponents wouldn't be able to surprise her. But she certainly was surprised about the man in the strange outfit. It was fleeting but when Batman battled Bishou, she sensed a sudden spike in magic but just like that it was gone the next second. She wasn't sure if she imagined it.