Fortunately, I had sent a Hummingbird message right away, allowing me to reunite with Cento and Sien without much delay. At that moment, Tre was in the middle of being scolded by Cento.
"...Tre-neesama, I've told you this countless times, but why do you keep erasing your magic power and disappearing? Slipping past the magic power detection of both Sien and myself requires a considerable level of concealment technique."
"I’m not trying to erase it, though..." Tre replied, tilting her head in confusion. "Besides, I'm not even that good at fine-tuning my magic power."
While watching Cento’s exasperated expression and Tre’s puzzled reaction, I spoke to Sien, who was standing next to me.
"Does she really erase her presence and vanish?"
"Yes, every single time for some reason," Sien sighed. "And remember, Cento and I are her guards, so we never take our eyes off Tre-neesama. While many high-ranking demons use magic to expand their field of vision to three hundred sixty degrees, Cento and I are no exception. Even with our backs turned, we should be able to see exactly what she’s doing... or so we thought."
"Wait..."
"It was the same this time. It’s as if she times it perfectly—a pedestrian walks by, and the very instant our line of sight is broken for a fraction of a second, she's gone. Her stealth after she disappears is incredible, too. In a plaza this size, Cento and I have enough detection capability to pinpoint a tiny insect, and because of her history, we’re constantly scanning with every method at our disposal. Yet somehow, she slips through it all."
"Isn't she just doing it on purpose at this point?" I asked.
"I’d love to suspect that, but it really doesn't seem like she’s doing it consciously."
Cento and Sien were both high-ranking Count-class powerhouses. Normally, there was no way they would lose track of Tre, whose abilities were otherwise no different from an ordinary person’s. Even if they did lose her, they should have been able to find her in an instant.
Yet, the fact that they managed to get separated so often meant she was bypassing detection that shouldn't miss a single bug. Was she some kind of natural-born spy?
"Maybe she should just lean into it and develop that talent," I suggested.
"She can't do it if she tries to do it on purpose," Sien lamented.
"Hmm, so she's just troublesome without being useful... Well, that’s quite the predicament."
From the perspective of those around her, her sudden vanishings were a major headache, but since she couldn't control the ability, it was hard to put to any practical use. It was a talent specialized entirely for getting lost. Cento and Sien understood that Tre wasn't doing it out of malice, but since it was unconscious, taking countermeasures was almost impossible.
As I was lost in thought, Alice suddenly materialized with an exasperated look on her face.
"According to Alice-chan's professional appraisal, Tre has a natural talent for Recognition Inhibition Magic. If she could actually polish it, she’d reach my level."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. Much like your Sympathy Magic, it activates on its own without her needing to be conscious of it. The initial break in line of sight might have been a coincidence, but the reason these two couldn't find you even though you were just at a nearby stall was because her Recognition Inhibition had already kicked in."
"Wait, if she could master that... wait, did you say 'if she could polish it'?"
"If Tre tries to do it consciously, she can't use even basic Recognition Inhibition at all. It’s at a level where even Kuro-san gave up on trying to teach her. She really can only use it subconsciously."
Recognition Inhibition on par with Alice... meaning a concealment powerful enough to deceive even the Six Kings. Yet, it couldn't be triggered at will. She really was a professional at getting lost.
"That’s why Kuro-san gave Tre a special accessory to keep track of her movements. The necklace you received, Kaito-san, is the same model... That’s why she’s so unnervingly good at keeping tabs on you."
"I see..."
So this necklace was originally designed as an Anti-Tre measure.
"Can't Cento and Sien use those accessories to find her?" I asked.
"Not a chance. It’s built to bypass every form of interference, which means it requires magic technique on par with Kuro-san's just to operate. If the performance were lowered enough for others to use it, it wouldn't be able to catch Tre at all. Since a level of Recognition Inhibition on par with mine triggers spontaneously, it’s practically impossible for Cento and Sien to avoid losing sight of her, no matter how strong they are. Tre is a genius at getting lost."
"What a terrifying thing to be a genius at," I muttered.
"And since Tre-neesama truly doesn't mean any harm," Sien added, "it makes it even harder to stay mad at her."
I could only agree with Sien’s sentiment. Together, we stood there watching Cento continue her lecture, while Tre looked on with clueless, innocent eyes.
Serious-senpai: "If you think about it, the fact that Kuro had to go to the trouble of making a custom accessory just to find her... it means even she might lose track of Tre if she isn't careful. She’s way too gifted at being a lost child."
???: "She vanishes so completely that it’s almost like she was never there. Cento and Sien really have their work cut out for them."