"It's all because of that bespectacled priest! He made me so hungry I couldn't eat my fill! Just now my stomach was rumbling again, so I went out and bought some food to bring back," Nicola said, holding up the packaged food in her hand.

Then, as if recalling something else, she continued, "Oh right, on my way back, I ran into Cyra. She was rushing out all excited. That rascal pretended not to recognize me and ignored me completely. But I grabbed her and asked what was going on. Guess what she said to me?"

"What did she say?" I was puzzled to hear this. I had just seen Cyra in the changing room earlier and thought she had gone back to her room to sleep after her shower. I didn't expect her to have gone out again.

"She glared at me arrogantly and scolded, 'You've got the wrong person! I don't know you, don't disturb my sleep!' Then she shook me off and rushed out of the hotel by herself."

Nicola opened the packaging and guzzled down a mouthful of soup as she complained, "If you ask me, I think something's wrong with her brain! If my hands weren't full with food, I would have given her a good beating for being so darn annoying!"

"She really said that?"

I found it very strange too. Recalling Cyra's earlier attitude towards me, things seemed even fishier now.

"Could she be sleepwalking again?" I suddenly recalled the bizarre scene I had witnessed in Makalan City one night - Cyra staring intently at the mirror with strange behavior, also wandering out by herself, and ending up collapsed on the street. Nicola was the one who had carried her back. This current situation seemed quite similar. Moreover, Nicola and I had clearly seen Cyra fast asleep before she went out earlier.

"Sleepwalking? She's been sleeping quite normally the past few nights. Why would it start again all of a sudden?" Nicola clearly hadn't considered this possibility before. My reminder made her seem rather skeptical.

"Besides, do people even know they're dreaming when sleepwalking? And didn't she seem fully conscious and articulate just now? Are you sure you didn't get something wrong?"

"If it's not sleepwalking, then what else could it be? Or could being an angel make her prone to sleep disorders like multiple personalities?" I was totally confused and started guessing wildly. There were definitely many puzzling things about this incident, but I couldn't think of any other explanation besides sleepwalking.

"I'm not very clear if that happens to angels, but I have seen a case of drastically different personalities before..." Nicola tapped her fingers on the table, seemingly deep in thought as she spoke.

"Remember that incident where I fell into the water in the Dark Continent? Although you don't remember it yourself, I witnessed everything from start to end - after you emerged from the water, your condition was clearly not normal!"

"Oh right! I have zero recollection about what happened in that state. After I regained consciousness, I only remembered having an irrelevant dream. Didn't the same thing happen to Cyra? What kind of dream did she have again?"

It suddenly dawned upon me. How could I have missed this link!

I could say I went on a rampage without inhibitions while in that unconscious state, becoming exceptionally formidable. I even leveled up after the incident! So could what's happening to Cyra now be similar to my experience back then of reaching the threshold for leveling up?

"Cyra's dream was quite nonsensical...something about turning back into a man and living it up night after night..." At this point, Nicola hesitated and changed the subject.

"While that may not be an issue, if we allow her to wander around aimlessly in such a state, won't it cause problems?"

"Let's go find her and bring her back!" I couldn't sit still anymore. Recalling the high death toll I had inflicted on magical creatures back then, anything could happen even with ordinary humans around if things got out of hand. This was no joking matter!

Of course Nicola wouldn't stay behind in the room by herself. She decided to come along with me.

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"Where could that rascal have gone?"

Standing outside the hotel gazing at the streets lined with people coming and going, I felt a headache coming on. Ever since we left Edenmere, Cyra had done nothing but cause trouble for us. And now she was still making a ruckus even after arriving in the Holy City.

According to the contingency plan we came up with, Nicola and I decided to split up to cover more ground searching for traces of Cyra in the vicinity.

Apart from scouring the streets, I weaved in and out of the shops, eateries and various entertainment outlets like bars that were still open in the neighborhood. Even with lower human traffic at night, after combing through every alley, there was still no sign of Cyra after traversing the length and breadth of the city.

"Any luck at your end?"

About an hour later, I returned to the hotel entrance alone. One look at Nicola standing there by herself was enough to tell me the outcome even without asking.

"Strange, she didn't pass out in the streets this time?"

Nicola spread her hands helplessly and glanced at the now deserted streets behind me, failing to stifle a yawn.

"Let it go, no point searching anymore! Just now I circled overhead but didn't hear of any mishaps happening. If Cyra has regained consciousness, she should be able to make her way back herself."

I nodded. "Hopefully that's the case..."

I really couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. Flying the whole day had already exhausted me. At this rate, I'd be the one ending up unconscious on the pavement first!

"Hold on!"

Just as I was about to enter my room after unlocking the door, it suddenly dawned on me to check on the room next door.

"Could she have made it back on her own?"

Not having a key to enter, Nicola and I flew in through the third floor window into Cyra's room. Indeed, there she was out like a light on her large bed, in the exact same position we last saw when leaving the room earlier, almost as if nothing had happened at all.

Except for a True Church membership application form lying on the table...

"She really did go out after all! Don't tell me she already signed her name on it?"

Spotting traces of ink below the application form on the table, I hastily grabbed and scrutinized it, feeling my eyebrows knotting together.

"What kind of bogus name is this?"

"Cysper?" Nicola leaned over for a look and couldn't help laughing.

"Haha, could it be this rascal has finally decided to change her name? Cyrus - Cysper...they both start with 'Cy' after all..."

"Let's not get sidetracked! Don't you find this very strange?" I glared at her to refocus the issue.

"Unlike last time, Cyra somehow made it back herself this round. Her condition seems different from mine! She doesn't appear to have unfurled her wings even once, let alone changed their color. And despite two such episodes, we still haven't seen her level up. Something is clearly amiss here, right?"

"What if she already leveled up without us knowing?" Dying to turn in for the night, Nicola couldn't muster any more enthusiasm to keep discussing this.

"Why don't we ask her tomorrow? I'm totally bushed now! It's so late already..."

"I guess so!" Feeling equally spent, I had to reluctantly shelve my doubts for the time being and wait till the next day to probe further.

...

"Feliciana, Nicola, wake up! Let's head into town together and submit the introductory letter to the church!"

The next morning, we were jolted awake by Cyra banging loudly on our doors.

"How rude!" Covering her ears, a very irritated Nicola crawled out of bed to yank the door open. Cyra barged in breezily like a gust of wind, waving the letter of introduction in her hand.

"Why are you two so lazy, always waking up later than me? How can you ever accomplish anything great this way? Still need me to do the wake-up call..."

Seeing us stare at her in unison, she promptly clammed up in embarrassment.

"How did you sleep last night?" I asked with a smile. Beaming brightly as angels do in the day, she seemed quite spirited.

"I guess...alright?" Puzzled by my intent, Cyra thought for a bit before replying vaguely.

"Did you have any dreams?" Nicola chimed in with the questioning as planned to get to the bottom of things, since this rogue had delivered herself to our doorstep.

"Huh? How did you know about that?!"

Cyra was shocked to hear this, sizing us up suspiciously again. Clearly our demeanor signaled something was amiss. She could only laugh awkwardly while asking,

"I didn't...sleepwalk again, did I?"

"At least you're self-aware!" I rolled my eyes impatiently and explained,

"But Nicola and I surmise you weren't sleepwalking per se. Instead, it's more like an alternate personality was in control roaming around."

"Another persona? Did I do anything bad after falling asleep last night?"

Now totally confused, Cyra glanced down at herself anxiously and asked.

"Nothing terrible happened, but first show us your wings!"

Seeing her response, Nicola decided to first confirm if this rascal had leveled up before deciding the next steps.

Still two wings as expected!

"Just what exactly is going on here?"

With Cyra failing to advance in rank, I was utterly stumped. My own experience didn't seem fully applicable to explain her case.

"Hold on, leveling up may be more challenging for her! We can monitor for another night and draw conclusions later, or even actively engage her alternate personality!"

Nicola still inclined towards her initial conjecture - that Cyra's condition mirrored my leveling up process.

"But her other persona may not necessarily surface at night while she's asleep! The past two instances were already days apart!" I countered.

"Can you two make some sense please! What exactly did I get up to last night?!"

No longer able to curb her curiosity, Cyra indignantly interjected at high volume as she folded her wings back in.