Fifteen minutes later, on the bottom floors of the marble palace…

The wolf man's team spreads out, searching the floor at a faster pace than before, taking advantage of the absence of guards within. The courtiers are now well aware something is happening, alarmed by the sight of unfamiliar, armed men. Taking them for bandits, they quickly hide in their rooms and wait out the faint sound of fluttering cloth.

In a cautious, yet rushed pace, they push doors open one after another, peering inside. Most are empty, some are simple utility closets holding brooms, buckets, and other cleaning implements for the maids, and some are simply baths, guest, or dining rooms.

「Captain, that's the last one on this floor.」

An owl says as he exits a room right next to the stairs up. The team regroups at the bottom.

「We've wasted enough time here… Let's go, double time it!…」

The wolf nods up the stairs, and jogs up the flight. The team quickly follows, all with their weapons drawn.

「…Maybe Bear had more luck.」

The wolf grumbles under his breath, cautiously watching the next floor as they ascend…

…

At the same time, in the streets of the capital…

The never-ending swarm of starved citizens continues, even long after the first supply wagon was depleted. The officers watch on with tight-lipped grimaces as a second wagon is being rapidly emptied of the supplies meant for a long march, or a prolonged siege. After exchanging a few hushed words with the rest, a senior officer approaches Straf with an uneasy expression on his face.

「…Ahem. Minister, may I have a moment?」

The man conspicuously clears his throat, then asks from over Straf's shoulder.

「Yeeeah?…」

Only briefly glancing at him, Straf quickly returns his eyes back to the crowd.

「We've discussed the current situation, and we've come to a conclusion that if we keep this up, we'll be marching home hungry. If a siege were to happen…」

The senior officer says with a very obviously troubled tone as he watches the soldiers ladle the army's stew into the starving citizens' bowls.

「Yeaaaah… I am keeping that in mind.」

Straf nods, concurring with the officer.

「Then?… We will halt feeding them, soon?」

He asks, somewhat surprised.

「No. I'm saying that I am banking on a few things due to their high probability, and that your opinion has been duly noted, then promptly disregarded. I know what I'm doing.」

With a bored expression on his face, Straf looks at the officer, then adds a shrug of his shoulders.

「Yes sir. Sorry sir.」

The officer nods, unwilling to press the issue further. As he returns to his fellow officers, he helplessly throws his hands up.

「…The cat lady is sure taking a long walk, is she okay?」

Nona remarks as she tries to peek over the crowd in search of someone.

「Nona, it's rude to call her the cat lady.」

With his fists on his hips, Straf looks at her with his mouth aslant and brows lightly furrowed.

「Hm? It is?… But don't you call her a cat all the time?」

She tilts her hatted head, blinking her confused amber eyes at him.

「I call her a cat, because she is one… And with the way she's acting, I can assure you she has no intent to become a cat lady.」

「Huh?…」

Straf replies, turning his head back to the streets and the crowd. Nona's confusion only deepens.

「Don't think about it too hard, just trust me. Call her a cat, not a cat lady…」

He says, then scans the horizon for a cloth hat, only to find none.

「Good question though… Where is Stripe?…」

Straf utters out, rubbing his chin while staring at the palace, deep in thought…

…

Around the same time, in the palace up on the hill, between the bottom and top floors…

While the bear masked man and his team are just beginning to search the floor, the wolf arrives, along with the rest of his team.

「Took you long enough!… Nothing, I assume?」

The bear says as he looks over his shoulder at the wolf, who disperses his team with a few quick waves of his hand, pointing in multiple directions.

「No. A few maids, a gardener, and an overworked cook who fell asleep in one of the guest rooms. I see you had great successes?」

The wolf-masked man approaches the bear, shaking his metal face.

「Hah… They even have a garden?」

The large bear lets out an amused huff, muffled by his mask as they look around.

「…Potted plants. We need to consider the possibility that he took a hidden escape route.」

Tap.

The wolf replies, and the bear forcefully drops his bear-like hand onto his shoulder.

「Not yet. We still haven't searched this floor… You thinking what I'm thinking?」

He shakes his masks, and leans in towards the wolf. The two look at each other in a brief moment of silence.

「…This one ought to be it.」

「Exactly. If we search all the rooms here and come up empty-handed, I'll let you decide whether we call it a day, or risk it and look for this supposed escape route.」

The bear nods in response, and takes his hand off the wolf's cloak-covered shoulder.

「Getting this far, only to fail the whole operation's objective would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Let's go.」

The wolf-masked man replies, and nods his head down the lavish hallway.

《…Who are these people!? They don't sound like guards!… Mercenaries?… Bandits!? Was that bastard actually right!?》

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Hiding behind a sculpted bust on a pedestal, Stripe cautiously peers her golden eyes out from a niche in the wall, when she hears the faint flutter of cloaks grow distant.

《…Whatever the case might be, I'm not going to let them get to him first!》

Taking a quick peek towards both ends of the hallway, she slips out of her cover and runs for a crossing in the hallways, running as silent as possible in her civilian clothing ill-suited for stealth, wearing a provisory mask of uncomfortable and itchy cloth. Despite being tightly wrapped down, her ears twitch on a reflex when she hears a sound in an adjoining hallway.

The fox opens a door, and immediately a shocked gasp comes from within.

Two frightened women and a young boy appear to be completely taken aback by the unexpected visitor, taking a step away from the door as they stare speechless. Though both are young, one of them appears to be too young to be justly called a woman, rather than just a girl. Without a word, only staring at the cloaked man standing in the doorway, the older woman grabs onto the young boy and pulls him away. The fox-masked man takes a step into the room, with the tip of his bastard dagger sticking out of the gap in his cloak.

When the young, black-haired boy notices the dagger, he jumps out in front of the two women. The sudden motion alarms the fox, and his metal mask snaps to him. The boy doesn't take a step further, and only stands in front of the two, spreading his arms. He looks at the cloaked man with a tight-lipped grimace that's very poorly hiding the quite obvious fear in his eyes. Seeing as the boy is merely presenting himself as a waist-high barrier, the fox returns his gaze to the room in general. Just a moment later, a wolf, then a bear join him.

「Girl's room. I doubt he's here…」

The fox remarks, noting the large stuffed bear sitting at a miniature table, a collection of dolls on a shelf, and fancy dresses partially packed into a baggage. He glances at the captains behind him.

「…What do we do with them? Looks like the royal family.」

He adds with a nod of his head at the women and the boy. When the three men look at them, the women huddle closer, pulling the boy back, and the girl appears to be nearing tears. Their status is clear by their clean, new, elegant dresses, the boy's fresh clothing, and most importantly, the fact that they are not starved like the rest of the citizenry. The bear nods his head as he appears to mull over the question. The wolf turns his gaze to the bear, and the two look at each other for another brief moment of silence.

「Now this is quite a pickle, isn't it?… Nothing in the intent regarding them…」

The bear says, nodding his head as he looks at the royal family.

「…That probably means it's our judgment. What do you want to do?」

The wolf asks, glancing at at the large captain beside him.

「…I don't think you'll like what I want to do, the mission considered. I'll let you decide.」

He replies in an unusually gravely, serious tone, before turning his metal face to the women. The wolf nods, thinking.

「…Keep them here until we find him. If they try to flee or someone tries to free them, kill them.」

The wolf says to the fox as he exits the room. The bear follows.

「Got it.」

The fox replies and pushes at the door, leaving only a small gap while he stands in the way inside.

With the rest of the floor searched, most of the two teams reassembles at a neighboring room only a few paces away. With his bastard dagger at the ready, the bear doesn't wait to listen in on the inside, and simply busts into the room. At a first glance, it's a bedroom much larger than the rest, as well as much richer. He walks in, looking around while the wolf and the bull join him. Seeing as the room is already crowded, the two owls stand guard outside.

The bear-masked man peeks behind a folding dressing screen, only to find nothing of interest. The bull points his dagger at a cabinet, and the bear throws it open with his dagger at the ready to pierce the expensive, large-sized robes within. Growing more frustrated and desperate, the three begin to rifle through chests of drawers in search of something vague.

「Tsk…」

The wolf audibly clicks his tongue beneath his mask, swiveling his head around the empty room.

「…Bastard had an escape tunnel somewhere after all, then?」

The bear says as he glances at the quite obviously frustrated wolf.

「…Unbelievable. We got this far, and for nothing?」

Fwap.

The wolf-masked man spreads his hands, lightly flapping his cloak.

「Hey, take it from me, you can't win every time… I even found out losing is fun, sometimes. We did enough, we can pat ourselves on our backs.」

The bear shrugs, and turns for the door with the wolf. The bear holds his gloved hand out, stopping them.

《…What's the hold up!? Leave already!-》

The fat king thinks while watching the steel-edged boots. Sweat flows freely down his plump forehead.

THUD!

「Hrrrrgaaaaaargh!」

「Aaaiiiieeeeeeee!…」

As the bear lets out a roar and flips the bed, throwing it aside with the bull. The fat man who has been hiding beneath it lets out a terrified, high-pitched shriek befitting a woman.

「…No! Don't kill me, please! I'll pay you!」

He quickly screams, throwing his ringed hands out towards the cloaked and masked men when he notices their blades sticking out of their green cloaks. The three quickly exchange a glance.

「…C'mere you little shit.」

The bear growls, and grabs the fat man by his robes, violently pulling him up to his feet.

Thud.

The golden crown unceremoniously falls off his head, and rolls a few paces away. The bull grabs on too, and the two begin dragging him out of the room.

「Please. Please! I have all the money in the kingdom! Just tell me how much you want!-」

「I'll pay you to shut the fuck up. How much?」

The bear cuts in, twisting on the fat king's robes.

「We found him! Regroup! We are leaving! Fox, get back here!-」

Following behind the bear and the bull, when the wolf-masked man crosses the corner with them to make their way back to the stairs, he notices golden eyes staring at him from below.

CLANGGgggggg!…

「Shit!-」「What the fuck?」

The wolf-masked man is sent stumbling backwards into the windows after Stripe springs at him from the corner. He narrowly avoids getting his throat slit by a dagger's slash, placing his own bastard dagger in the way, deflecting the blow to his metal face. His cloak is lightly slashed, and orange sparks fly into the air. Both surprised by the interloper, the bull and the bear let go of the fat king. He loses balance, and falls flat on his face, rumbling the ground slightly.

Not giving the cloaked men a second to recover, Stripe's eyes snap to the bull. She lunges at him, aiming her curving dagger's tip roughly where his throat should be.

Clang-CLANG!

He expertly deflects, then ripostes in the same motion, causing Stripe to back away, glaring at him. The men begin to surround her, and she throws a dagger at the cat-masked man.

Clank!…

With a flick of his wrist, the thrown dagger is sent whirling through the air until it embeds itself in the stucco ceiling. Nearly entirely surrounded, and with the clear path to the king cut off, Stripe turns to run down the hallway. The cloaked men quickly leap into a pursuit, with the dazed wolf and a few others staying behind to guard the rear.

Noticing one of her pursuers draw near, she turns around and slides to a stop. The cat-masked man charges in for an overhead slash.

Fwip!…

「Huh?」

The woman abruptly disappears, causing the cat and the rest of her pursuers to start swiveling their heads.

「What the fuck is-?…」

The bear's voice trails off as he looks around. A mere moment later, his head perks up.

「…Magic! We're dealing with a mage! Watch yourselves!」

He turns around and exclaims, running back to the wolf and the king along with the rest of the pursuers.

Clang!…

The harsh sound of metal on metal comes from down the hall, right where they left the king…