So if you've noticed, I've changed the way I spell out my chapter numbers in the titles. They used to be stuff like 'First' instead of '1st'. But then I realized now that I'm getting close to reaching the 100th chapter of this fanfic, it would be a real pain to have to spell that out in letters in the title. Thus I have decided to change that and so all future chapter titles going forward are not going to have the numbers spelled out in letters. Hope that doesn't bother you guys who've been reading this fanfic from the beginning.

98th Spell: Solved Mysteries

After Haru took the magnifying glass from Shō, he examined his chest. Indeed, there was a faint white circle around his swollen red dragonfly mark.

"How come I've never noticed that before?" wondered Haru. "I've been looking at this mark all my life."

"It's only noticeable to those who recognize Magic Circles when they see them," Shō said. "But since you're a novice to magic, you couldn't have seen it even if you were trying to look for it."

Feeling insulted, Haru glared at Shō. "Why do you have to be so mean? Since I first arrived, you've always treated me harshly. It's why I almost believed you were helping Warumo in combination with all the suspicious things my friends and I saw you doing."

"Oh really?" Shō said, looking slightly bemused. "What kinds of things did you witness that made me seem suspect to you?"

"Well, during the Quidditch Exhibition Match, Rui saw you holding your Kurami Sword and looking down at me," Haru said. "That was around the time I heard Warumo's voice and he made me point my wand at the Japanese Prime Minister of Magic. He wanted me to kill him, so I threw myself down the stairs to stop myself."

"I wasn't staring at you," Shō claimed. "But I did see Popuri-dono staring intensely at you from behind a tree near the seats further up. Then when you tripped, I assumed someone had cast a spell to make you do that and was about to use my Kurami Sword instead of the wand I use for class. I found Popuri's presence odd considering he was supposed to be down in the cove tending to the injured Quidditch players, which added to my suspicion of him."

"What about the time I saw you in the hallway looking straight at me?"

"Again, I wasn't looking at you. I was staring at Popuri, who was hiding behind one of the wooden pillars at the end of the hallway looking at you. But then when I realized you noticed me, I went away thinking you were going to ask me about the slime you saw on my sleeve."

"Then you don't deny going into the storage house to get past Nuru, let alone antagonizing that Oni on Mount Ōe?"

Shō sighed. "I had no intention of putting you kids in danger. All I wanted was an excuse to get everyone back to the school sooner so I could check the storage house to see if anyone broke in. Unfortunately, Nuru wasn't in a good mood and that's why she attacked me which only confirmed to me that someone had already tried to break in. Were you the one?"

Embarrassed, Haru nodded. "I didn't mean to. Daichi's ghost lured me out there. Then Hikari was present, and we saw Bambō so we hid in the storage house to not get caught by him."

"I see. Then Warumo must have used the Onyrō Curse to make you get the Jinsei Stone for him. And that's why he followed close behind you and your friends."

Haru didn't like the idea that Warumo basically tricked him and his friends into finding the stone, though he didn't want to deviate from the conversation because he still wanted answers. "But what about when I was acting weird during the play? Hikari said she saw you staring at me like you were casting a spell, and that's why she cast the Raincloud Jinx on you."

"So she's the reason I was embarrassed during that disaster you call a play," Shō said bluntly. "If you must know, I was trying to counter whatever spell was making you act strangely. But I guess your female friend's little prank did the trick, considering you returned to normal."

Though Haru was still uncomfortable about calling Hikari his friend, he decided not to argue with Shō about it considering everything Hikari had done for him. So he left the Healers' Wing without asking further questions to Shō. But when he came to the hallway near the courtyard, he realized he forgot to ask about the confrontation between her and Ryosei Maki.

"Ryuji-kun."

Freezing in place, Haru looked to his left and saw Maki-sensei standing near the entrance to the courtyard. He looked more grumpy than usual, with his pale arms folded into the sleeves of his dark-blue yukata.

"Yes, Maki-sensei?" Haru said.

"I understand that you confronted Warumo-uragi down in the cavern beneath the storage house last night," Ryosei said.

Haru couldn't believe what Ryosei said. "Where did you get that information?"

"A simple Eavesdropping Charm was all it took for me to overhear what you and Domeki-sama talked about in the Healers' Wing," Ryosei explained. "Then after hearing Shō-sensei's side of the story, I can firmly clear her from the list of suspects."

"Suspects? What are you talking about?"

This made Ryosei reach into his yukata and pull out a white Hikagi Sword. "I'm an undercover Kōsen agent. Have been for many years, largely to keep an eye on Dōmeki-sama since she seems determined to take down Warumo-uragi herself. Then when the break-in at Gaikin Bank happened, I was assigned to keep track of the Jinsei Stone in case it got stolen here. But after I witnessed Shō enter the storage house, this made me very suspicious of her leading to a confrontation during New Year's which you saw."

Haru froze in place, unsure of how to answer.

"I happened to see Shō putting a package together with a Namahage Cape inside, and figured she must have sent it to you. How else could you have walked about the school at night without getting caught initially?"

"That Namahage Cape belonged to my birthmother, so why would Shō-sensei send me such a gift?"

"For as bitter as she is towards you, she actually cares about you more than you think."

"Why?"

"Because you're all that remains of her departed friend Kiku."

Thinking back to what Popuri said about Kiku and Shō being friends, Haru couldn't think of a counterargument. "So why are you telling me you're an undercover agent? Do you plan to take me in because of my connection to Warumo?"

To be continued…