A Scientific Urban Detective

"No Name!" Just as Lin Wuming was contemplating strategies to deal with Aureolus, Tsuchimikado Maika's voice interrupted his thoughts.

The girl stood before him with a serious expression, her emerald eyes fixed on him: "Wuming, you went to fight the enemy behind my back again!"

"Ah?" Lin Wuming was taken aback. "No, I didn't really have a choice in that situation, did I?"

"Yes." Tsuchimikado Maika didn't dwell on it, but nodded in agreement. "So, we need to think of a solution. Next time we encounter this situation… Wuming, what do you think we should do to solve this problem?"

"If I knew a solution, I wouldn't be racking my brain right now…" Lin Wuming retorted helplessly.

"Wuming-senpai," Misaki Shokuhou suddenly entered the scene, her face serious. "You're being too stubborn!"

"Huh?"

"Not every battle is necessary," Misaki Shokuhou said. "Don't forget your original intention."

Lin Wuming fell silent—indeed, he hadn't intended to start a war with Aureolus from the beginning. Going to Misawa Cram School was just a routine check.

Now… although he had already fought Aureolus, judging from the latter's final actions, he clearly didn't want to continue to entangle himself with Lin Wuming.

As a result, Lin Wuming's initial goal—to reach some tacit understanding and cooperation with Aureolus—had actually been achieved.

Even Aureolus's tampering with his memory was within Lin Wuming's expectations, which was why he had left "self-check" measures in advance.

In other words, the current outcome was completely acceptable to yesterday's Lin Wuming.

The "Misawa Cram School" incident ended here. Next, he just needed to leave it to the magicians and Touma Kamijou to shine.

However, as the sealed memories were restored, and after personally experiencing that battle, Lin Wuming's thoughts inevitably changed.

"Discovering a huge threat but being unable to deal with it… it's really terrible, making me restless," Lin Wuming said with a wry smile.

Lin Wuming realized that the stronger he became, the more he couldn't tolerate this feeling—in a sense, he could perhaps understand Mikoto Misaka's feelings.

"Huh? Why are you suddenly looking at me?" Mikoto Misaka was confused by Lin Wuming's sudden gaze. "But Wuming-senpai, you must take me with you next time you take action!"

Mikoto Misaka's eyes were bright, and she looked eager to try.

For Mikoto Misaka, her hard work and increased strength during this period were precisely so that she could play a role at this time, to be able to fight alongside Wuming-senpai.

She originally thought that their two Level 5s were seriously overpowered, but now, they had encountered a powerful enemy that even Wuming-senpai was helpless against…

—Undoubtedly, this was her time to shine!

"Don't cause trouble. Is this the time for fighting and killing?" Misaki Shokuhou quickly stepped forward and pushed her away. "Wuming-senpai, you must think carefully. That's not an enemy that can be dealt with easily. Nor is it a problem that we have to deal with!"

"Don't worry," Lin Wuming took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm just looking for a way to defeat him for now. As for whether or not to conquer that castle again… I'll at least wait until I'm fully prepared."

"But…" Mikoto Misaka frowned. "According to Wuming-senpai's description, that alchemist doesn't seem to have any particular flaws to exploit, right? As long as he stays in that Misawa Cram School, he's an omnipotent god!"

"Since you know the enemy is so powerful, you still dare to offer yourself up for a challenge?" Misaki Shokuhou looked at her in surprise.

"Sometimes, looking at information alone is meaningless in battle. You have to actually fight to know how to win." Mikoto Misaka crossed her arms and glanced at Misaki Shokuhou beside her. "I really can't explain this to you, who isn't good at fighting in person."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Just stating the truth."

Seeing that a Level 5 civil war was about to break out in the hospital corridor, Lin Wuming quickly stepped forward to stop them.

After separating the two Level 5s who were arguing, Lin Wuming rubbed his forehead and said, "I need to go to Touma Kamijou's ward again…"

"Are you looking for that Index girl?" Mikoto Misaka immediately guessed his intention. "She's the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, a magic expert."

"That's right," Lin Wuming nodded and touched the strand of white hair in front of his forehead. "I also need to ask her about this."

What exactly did Aureolus mean by the "Stigmata" that he exclaimed at the time? How did he get out of the predicament after being hit by "Instant Alchemy"? Is it related to these stubborn white hairs?

"'Stigmata'?" Hearing Lin Wuming's question, Index explained, "In Christianity, 'Stigmata' has multiple interpretations and representations, but if it's in a context directly related to magic… a 'Saint' can in a sense be understood as a 'human bearing the Stigmata'."

The Saints, of whom there are no more than twenty in the whole world, are people who have acquired the power of the Son of God by being similar to the Son of God.

And the "Stigmata" is the most iconic symbol of the Son of God. Therefore, within the "Saint" group, all "traces similar to the Son of God" are collectively referred to as "Stigmata", and are not limited to the fundamentalist "Holy Wounds"—circular wounds appearing on the hands, and bleeding from the eyes or head.

"By releasing the power of the 'Stigmata', a Saint can reach a realm beyond humans," Index said. "If the white hair on Lin Wuming-san's head is also called 'Stigmata', then it must have similar performance, right?"

Lin Wuming nodded thoughtfully, at least confirming one thing—the cancellation of "Instant Alchemy" was indeed related to this strand of white hair! It contains some mysterious power.

"However," Index added, "tracing back to the source, the power source of Lin Wuming-san's white hair should be 'Dragon King's Breath'. Although it also belongs to the power of 'Saint George', strictly speaking, this is not a blessing of protection and healing, but a curse of destruction and killing. Even if it is really activated for some reason, it shouldn't protect you."

"What exactly happened?" Index asked curiously. "Who exactly was the opponent Lin Wuming-san encountered? If I know his magic source, I might be able to deduce why he recognized this magic power as 'Stigmata', and then find a way to solve this problem!"