The story turns back to the moment Ramiel first infiltrated the Monster City of Ket Nya.
This was a settlement brazenly built by monsters. But in the end, they were merely beasts. Ramiel had expected a squalid slum, unworthy of even being compared to the human cities ruled by her master. That was, however—
(What in the world is this...?)
She was quickly forced to realize the truth was the exact opposite.
The streets and architecture were identical to those of a great human metropolis. There was a butcher, a fishmonger, a tavern, and even a well-appointed clothier.
The townscape was truly indistinguishable from that of the human race. In fact, she suspected its scale and prosperity rivaled any major city on Lemuria.
(Monsters building a civilization this advanced? What kind of sick joke is this?!)
Intelligent life in the Mortal Realm was broadly divided into two categories.
The first was the human race, blessed by the divine protection of the gods belonging to the Light who represented the heavens.
The gods of Light had chosen creatures that had evolved from monkeys—beings that were crude and lacking in both intellect and ability—and specially bestowed wisdom upon them. Utilizing that wisdom, the human race had built and advanced civilization.
Any human races other than this primary stock were merely subspecies, born from the careless dalliances of non-divine beings.
Among them, only the demon race was unique: a hybrid of the human race and gods of the Dark, such as evil gods. Their very existence was defiled, and many among Ramiel's peers harbored a profound revulsion toward them.
Yet even the demon race fell under the broader umbrella of humanity. Monsters, on the other hand, with very few exceptions, were merely novel life forms created when the gods altered animals, fish, and plants. In short, they were fundamentally lower creatures that had never been granted wisdom in the first place. It was utterly inconceivable that such monsters—unlike the demon race—could construct an advanced civilization on par with that of the human race.
(And yet, this city is standing right before my eyes... Does that mean...)
Just as her thoughts became tangled in a labyrinth of confusion, she collided head-on with someone.
"Ouch..."
Falling onto her backside, she hastily looked up. A freckled boy, his long black hair partially veiling the upper half of his face, turned toward her.
"Sorry. Are you all right?"
He held out his right hand to Ramiel.
"...No."
Refusing to take it, she scrambled to her feet and dropped her center of gravity to put distance between them.
Naturally, taking a monster's hand was out of the question, but what unsettled her far more was the sheer impossibility of the situation.
(That's bizarre... I shouldn't have sensed any presence ahead of me...)
No matter how trivial the local rabble might be, she was still treading on enemy soil. Ramiel had maintained her high-ranking concealment skill, [Cloak of Invisibility], at all times. It erased her presence entirely while allowing her to constantly perceive everything within a fixed radius of her Territory. According to her skill's awareness, there should not have been any presence in front of her. Even if, by some stretch of the imagination, she had blundered and failed to notice him because she was lost in thought, [Cloak of Invisibility] was still supposed to be active. How on earth had this boy noticed her?
(No, that's not it either.)
Judging by the way the surrounding crowd was staring at her, her [Cloak of Invisibility] had clearly been Canceled.
(Did this guy Cancel it? A monster?)
That was utterly impossible. Ramiel's [Cloak of Invisibility] was a high-ranking skill. It existed on a completely different plane from the bottom-tier abilities wielded by mortals. It was something that could never be Canceled even if heaven and earth were turned upside down. Had she deactivated it by mistake, then?
Or could it be that her initial assumption—that this boy was a monster—was wrong to begin with?
Like Ramiel and the other angels, the boy had pure white wings sprouting from his back. However, certain monsters shared a similar appearance, making it impossible to judge by looks alone.
(Could he be...?!)
Try as she might, she could not sense even a faint trace of presence from the freckled boy before her. She had never encountered such a cold, completely erased aura even in the Heavenly Realm. A mere monster could never carry themselves like this. In that case, there was only one possible conclusion.
"You were ordered to investigate this place, just like me, weren't you?!"
The moment she planted her left hand on her hip and pointed her right index finger at him, her vision warped. In the next instant, she found herself swept into a dim back alley, cradled in the arms of the freckled boy.
"Huh? Wha—?"
Before she could process what had happened, her eyes darting around in utter bewilderment, the freckled boy set her down on the ground and covered his face with his right hand.
"Give me a break. Trouble right out of the gate, huh..." he muttered.
His movements just now—she hadn't even been able to register them. Without a doubt, he was far stronger than she was. There was no way a monster could possess such overwhelming power. That meant he, too, was a high angel operating under Lord Ares's command.
"Y-You're here investigating this place on Lord Ares's orders, aren't you?"
At Ramiel's question, the freckled boy touched his chin, murmuring in a voice so faint it was barely audible.
(Ares... as in the Holy God of War? Is this another...)
He looked back up at her.
"That's right. I'm operating undercover in this city under certain orders. So stay out of my way."
Having delivered that blunt dismissal, he turned to walk away.
Lord Ares had never mentioned this boy to her. Why would he dispatch another intelligence operative without informing her? If Lord Ares didn't trust her, he wouldn't have assigned her to this mission in the first place. As frustrating as it was to admit, Lord Ares had likely concluded that handling this assignment was beyond her abilities alone. If that was the case—
"I know who you are now. I'm coming with you. That won't be a problem, right?"
"Huh? You've got to be kidding! Absolutely not!"
Faced with his immediate refusal, she pressed on.
"Lord Ares must have ordered you to cooperate with me. If you refuse, I'll return and report it as such. Are you fine with that?"
The freckled boy looked thoroughly exasperated for a moment, but after letting out a deep sigh, he finally yielded.
"Fine. But for the time being, you follow my lead. Understood?"
He laid out the condition with a stern look.