It was raining.

The stars would have been visible at this hour had clouds not filled the sky. After waking up at eleven, she stepped off the bed and went down to the guild’s first floor. She walked up to one of the receptionists and asked for Mimiyat. The answer remained the same as earlier.

“Just where is she…,” she murmured. She stood on the guild’s porch, looking up at the dark skies. Several people wearing either raincoats, umbrellas, or even magic passed in front of her. She didn’t need them, she didn’t get sick easily. She could already feel the annoyance of having all that water clinging to her, though.

She let out a heavy sigh, stepping out into the rain. The water immediately drenched her clothing, seeping through the fabric. The properties of the dress itself didn’t change.

I’m lucky this didn’t weigh me down…

She held the end of her skirt, squeezing it to let the water out. It did nothing, getting wet again right after.

“So you can play in the rain, now?” teased an angel that appeared next to her. Atilia glanced at her before karate chopping her in the head.

“OW! What’s that for!?”

“Just feel like it.”

Atilia wandered down the path. She didn’t know where Mimiyat was. She never ran into her during her night trips, but she had a hunch that Mimiyat couldn’t have gone too far.

“You’re looking for someone?” A shadow covered Atilia’s head. Kathy held an umbrella, covering the two of them from the rain. Atilia remained silent.

“Come on, I’ll help. You don’t need to be afraid of relying on me more.”

“No thank you. What will my husband think if he knows his wife keeps relying on another girl?”

“Oh, you know the kind of person he is. He won’t care. You can be the most useless person in the world and he won’t even bat an eye.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to be one.” Atilia pushed Kathy away. Kathy shrugged but continued following her.

“How about a deal? I’ll help you find her, but you’re the one talking to her. That way, you can still be someone great, without having to get sick from searching in the rain.”

“I am going to talk to her. Why do you think I’ll ask someone else to do that?”

“Ah, right.” Kathy threw her arm over Atilia’s shoulder. “My little angel friend found some new buddies. Don’t worry, I’ll help, alright?”

“Urgh… fine…” Atilia answered reluctantly.

Kathy shoved the umbrella into her hand and disappeared. Atilia let out a deep sigh as she continued her walk. The sound of splashing water filled her ear, surrounding her. Water droplets bounced off the surface of her umbrella, dropping from the tips. Her mind began wondering about, thinking of what Mimiyat would be doing as of now. The cold air seeped through her skin. She regretted not buying a jacket earlier, but most shops were closed at this hour.

She lifted her empty left hand and used magic to generate a flame. The little flame danced underneath the rain. It fought to survive against the cold wind. It did what it could, trying its best to warm Atilia up.

Kathy then reappeared underneath the umbrella.

“Found her. She’s cutting wood in the forest west of here. Good luck,” Kathy said with a wide grin before disappearing again. Atilia looked left and right. No one seemed to notice Kathy’s sudden reappearance and disappearance, her presence hidden by the rain.

“... Thanks,” she whispered, turning west to continue on her search. She pulled the umbrella shut, letting the raindrops hit her body. The flames extinguished itself the second the waters touched it. She took a deep breath before pushing her foot down to the ground and took off running.

“Generate, Wind!” she declared. A burst of wind pushed her from behind, even blowing the raindrops toward her back. It was cold, but she ignored it as she zipped past the midnight air, heading straight for the western gate.

* ••

"Are you that bored?" Atilia asked in exasperation at Kathy who reappeared next to her.

"Look, if I have a choice, I would rather be saving the world."

"And you don't have a choice?"

Kathy reacted with a shrug. "Think of me as your convenient quest marker that will help you in your journey to save the world. Oh hero, you are our only hope. Please, lend us your aid." Kathy did some over-the-top gestures, even kneeling next to her. Atilia watched her, a chuckle escaping her lips.

“Hey, you just laughed, didn’t you!? You just did!”

“What? You think I’m not the type that could laugh? Besides, I would really prefer you to not keep helping me."

"I really don't get you. What's wrong with getting some assistance?"

It doesn’t feel nice being helped all the time, not like you'll understand.

“Let’s say I’m not the type that likes to have debts.”

"You don't have to think of repaying me. We're friends, remember?"

"Pretty sure give and take is a part of any relationship, and I'm not giving you anything."

"Not like you're willing to take anything."

Atilia let out another sigh, no longer bothering to reply. She knew Kathy wouldn't leave her, so she shut up, letting the rain drench her.

As they walked deeper into the forest, the rain lightened up. Maybe because the trees covered them, maybe because the wind had pushed the clouds away. Regardless, it didn't make the dirt path any less muddy.

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Atilia didn't have any issue with it, albeit she was forced to slow down to wait for Kathy every couple of seconds.

"How could you walk so quickly?" Kathy asked in the middle of her struggles, the rain dripping onto her head. She tried creating an umbrella before, after seeing how Atilia wasn’t using the one she gave her, but it only got stuck.

"Maybe you should stop teleporting all around the place and start walking."

"If you had agreed to my offer, we'd be next to Mimiyat by now."

"And make her mock me for how easy 'outworlders' have it?"

"At least teleport close to her, then walk."

Atilia shook her head, extending her hand to help Kathy over a fallen log. It reminded her of when she helped Remy.

I wonder if he's still asleep.

"Phew… please let me-"

Atilia turned around, leaving Kathy as she walked deeper.

"Oh, come on!" Kathy complained, yet she followed anyway.

Eventually, they heard the sound of metal smashing against a wood.

"Well… good luck." Kathy tapped on Atilia's shoulder and disappeared.

… why did you come with me, again?

But she didn’t have time to stop and ponder the question. She struggled to understand how Kathy thinks. Since understanding her wouldn’t help with the mission, Atilia decided to forget about it. She approached the sound, being as silent as she could, the rain masking her footsteps. The sound became louder and louder, echoing through the forest, but then it stopped. Atilia emerged from the forest.

Cut-down trees lay on the ground in a large clearing. In the center of the clearing stood the person she was looking for, her arms folded and her blue eyes glaring at her.

"What do you want?" she asked, her tone as cold as the night air.

"Cutting down trees at midnight? You took a quest or something?"

"None of your business."

"Not until you tell me."

"No reason to tell you, though."

Mimiyat readied her double-edge spear and moved closer to a tree. With practiced movements, she struck the tree a handful of times, and the tree collapsed to the ground. She lifted it all on her own and stacked it next to the rest of the branches.

"Not using an ax?"

"I don't need one."

"How much are you making with all this?" Atilia approached the line of trees, examining them.

"Whatever the guild will value them. I'm not doing this for money."

"Training?"

"Not your business."

"Oh? I thought we bonded over that demon raid."

"You must be crazy if you think we got closer after that." Mimiyat snorted. Atilia turned around and leaned back on the logs, Mimiyat watching her.

"You're going to hang around?"

"Umm… yeah? I don't need as much sleep as others."

"Lucky."

"I guess."

"Most of my problems won't exist if I can keep my eyes open."

Mimiyat looked toward another tree, approached it, and cut it down. Her quick moves could rival those chainsaws Atilia had heard about. Whether it was true or not, Atilia wouldn’t be able to prove it. She did handle a couple of lumberjacks before, but they didn’t go into the details of the job.

"Understandable. Being a night owl must be tough."

"Not like you'll understand."

"Yeah, you're right. Never struggled with sleep, so I don't fully understand. Want to know what I do understand?"

Mimiyat stopped, and without turning to Atilia, she spoke, "It's so obvious that you're baiting me. Just say it."

"You have a history with the Urkon Maria."

Mimiyat tensed up. She remained silent, clenching her fist.

"Hit the spot, eh?"

"It’s obvious, I guess. What about it?"

"A port staff confirmed that the Urkon Maria ran aground last year. It disappeared when a team came to retrieve it. Someone you know is onboard."

Mimiyat turned her head, water dripping from her wet hair. She took the tree she just cut and placed it next to Atilia.

"So, what if I know a person onboard?"

Atilia wavered for a brief moment. So far, she had gotten to this point purely on guesswork. It wasn’t a hard thing to tell, based on the information she had on her hands. But now, that job got much harder. She couldn’t let herself waver in front of her, so she spit out her guess, only briefly considering it.

"That person is either dead, or disappeared."

Mimiyat's eyes widened.

Damn, I sure am good at guessing.

Atilia thought about ways of pushing her further, but Mimiyat let out a deep sigh and relented.

"Fine, you're right. After the Urkon Maria ran aground a year ago, my friend that is onboard disappeared not long after, despite being rescued along with the rest of the crew. It's been a long while since I last saw him, and I'm still looking for him. There's a saying from your people, that when a body isn't found, death isn't guaranteed."

"Pfft!"

"Is something funny?"

"No, sorry. I just remembered something else." Atilia decided against telling her of the origin of those words. "How about we help you find him?"

Mimiyat raised her eyebrow. "I've been searching for him all this while and didn't find anything. Now you're going to say that you can, somehow, find him?"

"Two brains are better than one, and we got three."

Atilia could also call Kathy. She really preferred against doing that, but they were dealing with someone's life. It wasn’t the time to be playing ego games. She needed to admit that this time, as unfortunate as it sounded, this ex-angel needed help from her angel friend.

She hated the idea, though. She didn’t want people to think of her as useless. She didn’t want Remy and everyone else to think that she was special just because she could connect to heaven. In truth, she didn’t want to be thought about as just a cellphone, a way to connect to other people. But unfortunately, she couldn’t think of a way to get to Mimiyat’s friend without Kathy’s help.

I wish I had a cheat of my own.

"And in return?"

"In return?"

"You're willing to help me, so you must want something in return."

None. She didn't have anything in mind. If anything, she wanted a cheat that would make her not useless. Something that would turn her into a useful human. Yet, she knew well that Mimiyat couldn’t grant that wish, not that she had anything specific in mind. She would probably be happy with a sword, or any weapon that could help her protect the people she loves.

Yet, she knew that Mimiyat couldn’t provide her with that. If she were to ask her something, it would be something she could give her.

"A… friend?"

Had Remy been here, it would be the thing he asked for. He would help, just for the sake of helping. Kind to a fault.

"A friend? Him?"

"Both you and him, probably."

"Playing the nice girl, huh?"

"Why? Is that so bad of a request?"

"No, it's not.” Mimiyat lifted her eyes, staring deep into her soul. Atilia rose to the challenge, staring back. After their little duel, Mimiyat finally let out a sigh. “Fine, I'll let you help me."

Atilia extended her hand. "Welcome to our team, then."

"Our?"

"Have a problem with that?"

"I couldn't care less," Mimiyat said as she shook Atilia's hand. Atilia helped with the rest of Mimiyat's midnight training, before heading back to Lasabinka.