"What? You're saying Lin Wuming doesn't know Magic, but is currently learning?" Sherry Cromwell frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the answer. "That's quite different from the information we received."
Kanzaki Kaori herself had an expression of disbelief: "I'm not sure what the information said, but based on my actual contact with Lin Wuming, he indeed shows no signs of mastering or using Magic, and with his strength and status, there's no reason for him to go out of his way to learn Magic, right?"
So earlier today, when she learned from Hu Feng Toumi that "Lin Wuming has the intention of learning Magic," Kanzaki Kaori felt extremely confused and couldn't believe it.
"Hmm..." Sherry Cromwell pondered, pinching her chin. "It seems necessary to meet that Lin Wuming in person before making a Judgment."
"That's not difficult," Kanzaki Kaori didn't doubt her, and instead felt that an investigation task should be this rigorous. "Then let's arrange to meet him later... Just ask Hu Feng."
Looking at the blonde girl practicing with a bat not far away, Sherry Cromwell couldn't help but ask, "I wanted to ask earlier, what's with that girl? She's an Esper, right?"
"That's right," Kanzaki Kaori nodded. "It's just that I've been guiding her in Kendo practice recently."
"Just Kendo? No Magic?" Sherry Cromwell asked with some concern.
"Of course it doesn't include Magic," Kanzaki Kaori shook her head. "You know, Espers can't learn Magic..."
As she spoke, Kanzaki Kaori suddenly thought that her companion in front of her was a senior who had joined the Necessary Evil Church twenty years ago, so perhaps Sherry Cromwell might know something about the experiment Motoharu Tsuchimikado mentioned?
But before Kanzaki Kaori could ask, Sherry Cromwell spoke first: "Speaking of which, where is Motoharu Tsuchimikado? Could it be that he's protecting Index?"
"Motoharu Tsuchimikado has his own matters..." Kanzaki Kaori explained. "Huh? Protecting Index? Why do you say that? Index has her own Guardian now."
Sherry Cromwell scratched her somewhat disheveled blonde hair and said as if bothered, "I heard some news when I came in – it seems someone is planning to harm Index and that 'Imagine Breaker,' so I was wondering if Motoharu Tsuchimikado had already received the news and gone to protect them."
Kanzaki Kaori turned pale with fright upon hearing this: "How did I not know... No, where did you get the news? Is the information reliable?"
"Who knows?" Sherry Cromwell shrugged, looking indifferent. "Protecting those two isn't my task, so I just happened to hear some unofficial news and haven't investigated or verified it."
Kanzaki Kaori smiled bitterly, feeling helpless. She knew very well that Magicians were all individuals with distinct personalities, or to put it more bluntly, the "extremely selfish" type, so it was almost impossible to expect beings like Magicians to possess virtues like "selfless dedication."
And Sherry Cromwell was even more of the indifferent type, so she couldn't expect too much. The fact that she was willing to share the information was already out of consideration for a companion, and she couldn't ask for more.
Upon learning of this urgent situation, Kanzaki Kaori could no longer stay. After quickly saying goodbye to Hu Feng Toumi, she hurried away. She had to rush to Kamijou Touma's apartment to investigate and prevent a possible attack.
After all, Motoharu Tsuchimikado wasn't reliable in such matters.
—Even if I rush there now, I probably won't find them, right?
Watching Kanzaki Kaori's departing figure, Sherry Cromwell slightly adjusted her Gothic dress – she wore this gorgeous gown as everyday wear in an extremely extravagant manner, which resulted in noticeable wear and dirt on the hem and cuffs.
But she didn't care. Instead, she directly took out a white wax crayon from her pocket, squatted down, and started writing and drawing on the ground, completely unconcerned about the hem dragging on the ground and getting dirty.
After a while, finally feeling satisfied, Sherry Cromwell clapped her hands and stood up.
"Hey, your name is Hu Feng Toumi, right?" She then turned to look at the girl beside her.
Although Kanzaki Kaori had left, Hu Feng Toumi continued her practice.
"You have a good relationship with Lin Wuming?" Sherry Cromwell continued.
"That's right." Hu Feng Toumi stopped her movements and looked directly at her.
"That's good," Sherry Cromwell nodded. "So what you told Shinkanzaki earlier, that Lin Wuming doesn't know Magic, is really true?"
"Why are you suddenly interested in this?" Hu Feng Toumi questioned.
"Because of my personal reasons," Sherry Cromwell smiled. "This is very important to me, so I must confirm it."
"If you don't believe my words, why bother asking again?" Hu Feng Toumi snorted coldly. "Just go directly to Lin Wuming to confirm it."
"Don't worry, I will go." Sherry Cromwell still smiled.
Hu Feng Toumi suddenly found the other party's smile very annoying. She felt like she was lying and had ulterior motives.
Just then, she heard her phone ring suddenly.
An email sent directly from the Disciplinary Committee Headquarters – a "Special Alert Declaration," requiring all Judgment members to take action immediately and search the entire city for an intruder.
And at the end of the email, a photo of the intruder was specifically attached – it was the frame captured by the surveillance camera at the "gate."
Due to limited material, the intruder's face was actually not clearly visible in the photo.
However, the most obvious features such as blonde hair, dark brown skin, and the Gothic style gown were still recognizable.
"Heh." Hu Feng Toumi sneered and glanced up at the woman in front of her.
"Oh dear, have I been exposed?" Sherry Cromwell still said calmly. "It's a bit faster than expected, the reaction speed of Academy City. I thought I was being cautious enough, but I didn't expect to be captured in a single moment? The surveillance technology of the science side is unexpectedly reliable."
—This woman, can she see my phone screen?
Hu Feng Toumi felt something and flicked out the Acupuncture she had just held in her hand behind her.
Pfft!
She did feel like she had hit something.
Quickly turning her head to glance behind her, Hu Feng Toumi saw a ping-pong ball-sized eye floating diagonally above and behind her, looking eerie and terrifying.
However, an Acupuncture was now stuck directly in the center of the pupil, and the heavily damaged large eye was gradually collapsing.
