For a giant automaton, Alicia's two bodyguards were machines of extreme agility. They could lighten their legs to the utmost that they hopped between thread-like twigs without causing seizures. A true flair of a Ninshu practitioner. The true quaking came from Alicia herself hugging one automaton's back, dreading the thought of slipping. But the lass chose to keep a stiff upper lip, because after all, who was she, a magicless, to question her automaton's nature as a Ninshu practitioner when others did not? Balancing on a tree branch with one foot was never a hassle for Ninshu artiste than on a string, which was itself not impossible either. Hashomon, Henge, and the rest were actual living testaments. They scampered through branches and trunks as though strolling a path in an evening garden.

They found a scouting shinobi who had tracked down one Binxtrunach from the eastern side beyond the safe zone, and now he was spying on it from afar. When the Magisterium party drew closer, Alicia's gaze immediately intensified towards the scout. He had one eye closed with his right hand, while his left lifted his index and middle fingers to the open air.

Sekai Gan no Jutsu! The World's Eye Technique! Alicia's smile could not be helped. Another piece of magic encyclopaedia trivia manifested in concrete reality. I wonder what kind of World's Eye he's using? Did he see through the eyes of other animals? Or from the eye-shaped strokes on the trees! Should I ask him? But would his focus be compromised if I ask him?

Alicia's mouth was already twitching when the tracker decided to leave his right eye ajar again, and soon after, a grey-crested sparrow perched on his shoulder.

World's Eye of Living Things! The lass's mouth parted again into an open-mouth smile. Scouting using a sparrow, to her, was already a fantastic magical achievement, a euphoria in itself. It was fortunate that her automaton mount did not protest when Alicia's eager hands lightly banged on its armour.

"It's there," reported the tracker, pointing out the jingling bushes. "Approximate perimeter: three akhet."

When one squinted their eyes, one could glimpse a coy beige hide behind the leafy crevices. Faint groans and shreds of flesh could be heard as well.

"Evening is nearing. We have to catch it before it retreats to its lair," Hashomon concluded, already on the same branch as one of Alicia's automatons. "Alicia-san?"

"I'm here!" Alicia waved behind the automaton's back.

"Are you ready to hunt, Alicia-san?"

"Uhm..., well I suppose, Lord General." But when Alicia unfolded her waist bag and found Orb lodged inside, her face suddenly changed.

"Is something amiss?"

"N-no. I'm fine...," Alicia reassured, but then her face conveyed confusion. "So... we cut to the chase? I thought we already had a supply of elixir that prevents Mujino from stalking humans?"

"Taro-dono is taking care of that. That's why he left to part ways with his agency. Don't worry, you'll see the elixir. After all, facing one Mujino with Arcane is barely a challenge, is it not?"

But wielding my might right now was a warrant of catastrophe.

A wry smile and a nod was her response. As smart as a Bixturnach was, it was not smart enough to recognise when to beat a retreat. At least that was what Alicia had experienced. But that should not turn her careless; she still had to be mindful not only of the monster's attacks but also of not letting the hairless creature vanish into thin air.

Do you still see me in doubt, my wielder? Orb chirped.

"Can you assure me we willnae make a mess again, Orb?" she muttered.

Alicia, I never expected chaos with my might at all!

"Then it would be my fault, right?" she whispered. "Oh, Orb, why did I have to agree and follow them? I'm a fool for denying my incompetence—"

"Alicia-san, a shinobi may accustom themselves to lurking on the same tree branch for weeks, but not a Binxtrunach." Hashomon interrupted, blissfully unaware of the baffle caused by Alicia and Orb.

"In a moment, Magic General!" replied the lass while turning her head. Yet, her hand still did not dare to enter the bag.

When her eyes turned back to its side, Orb sang again, Hold me.

"But, Orb..."

You haven't held me since inside the prison. You allowed Tome to take me, only to return me to the bag the following day. Hold me.

In the end, Alicia ventured her hand to creep into the bag, then slowly brought her fingerprints together on the orb's glassy surface.

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Do you recall the misfortune last night when you touched me? When you crushed the arm of an enemy? The one where you destroyed a citizen's house with a pirate's body?

Alicia's nervous breathing sounded heavy. "Too vivid."

Then what else did you feel?

Only upon prolonged contact did Alicia discern subtle vibrations and a comforting warmth coursing through her skin, alleviating her breathlessness and slowing her heartbeat. A true Arcane kiss that she and those dearest to her cherished.

"I'm sorry, Orb," Alicia whispered with remorse.

People are there to aid you. For now, you shan't lose control of me. Remember what you're doing all this for.

Orb was right. All eyes were looking at Alicia. It was too late to be reticent now. She set her jaw, and with a deliberate movement, pulled out her Divine Grace ball mate in its ethereal levitating state.

"We're ready, Magic General!" Alicia faithfully declared.

A crisp nod from Hashomon followed, "Would you like the honour of taking the lead?"

Alicia was actually intrigued. "I need you to surround me and the mujino while I deal with it."

"I and the others will cast sealing magic and set up a perimeter three akhets away."

"The mujino is moving with its prey!" the tracker called out. A signal from Hashomon prompted Alicia to command her two automatons to advance, with him and Henge trailing behind, and the rest scattering to strategic positions.

Before the ground-shattering thud pierced the mujino's eardrums, it had already sniffed out Alicia's presence first. Her and her automaton. At that same moment, thunder screeched, and a blue dome with Kagatsean calligraphies caged the mujino and its prey-to-be. Steams and bubbling pustules began to riddle the hound's hide. The shrew in its jaws granted clemency and limped away to the depths of bushes. When Orb surfaced like a glorified sunrise behind the automaton's mount, the Binxtrunach denied its grace with a hoarse moan. Signs of evolution were near, yet this particular Binxtrunach was the impetuous one; when it sensed shinobis beginning to surround it behind the bushes, it frantically howled in turn. No, it was ignorant of its true potential; it instead streaked straight to Alicia and her automaton!

But about halfway through, an unmanned automaton sprung from the ground and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck. The monster nimbly twisted into a supine position, then rained teeth and angry tentacles down on the automaton's shiny armour. The shiny coating of the automaton's back and chest began to smudge with imperfections, yet its grip held strong.

"Your chance, Alicia!" Hashomon shouted.

With flaring frustration, the Binxtrunach attempted to thrust all its ragged tentacles deep inside the automaton's grip. It succeded; by the combined force of their push, the coils between the fingers, and sheer determination for its life, a slight gap was made. The hound jerked the hand backwards then bolted again towards Alicia at a moment's notice.

The Binxtrunach outmanoeuvred another automaton and climbed to its back to reach pounce on Alicia. The lass was caught by surprise and instinctively threw herself to the concrete soil, but the hound leapt shortly thereafter with tentacles first. One by one, the tentacles attempted to stab Alicia in the face, yet her head reflex soared when threatened, causing them to instead impale her tresses. How the Divine had cursed her, they might as well be the nails of her head. The Binxtrunach's face was almost nose to nose to Alicia's stiff own, snapping its jaw with wild abandon in a bid to rip her cheeks if not for her hands resisting its stout neck for all they were worth. Its successions of irritated screams stung her ears terribly, and Alicia could not rival them. She could not even scream; she lost that ability, only laboured breaths of sheer panic.

But she was yet to be a killing machine because alas, she severed her connection with Orb, who lay right next to her.

It was only seconds. She did not wish to be it one bit. She paid no heed to Orb's urge either. No, she could not risk the Binxtrunach's disappearance nor her own consciousness'. For better or worse, she entrusted her life to her new companions.

And that trust was not in vain. Her automaton swiftly seized the Binxtrunach once more and sent it reeling, only to be pinned down by another automaton afterwards. A lock on the neck and limbs this time. Now the machine dared it to release all of them at once using its tentacles.

"I'm sorry, Orb," Alicia pleaded as soon as she grabbed her ballmate. "Couldnae use yer might without a measure, ye ken that. But now, I can. Let's do it fast and square!"

Her ballmate squealed in agreement. Feeling excitement flood through her body, Alicia pulled the tendrils of energy from Orb until they extended, throwing all that might at both the mujino and the machine that trapped it in a flurry of lightning that endlessly painted space with its branches!

But they did not mean to dot the mujino with scars. Instead, they coalesced into a petite cube that ensconced it.

"Get out of here!" Alicia ordered. All of the automatons retreated to the bushes, while the Binxtrunach? The Arcane wall was scalding and sure. The hound was wailing from even touching it in a fit of tantrum.

"Ye're not going anywhere! Orb, help me!"

Do it, Alicia!

Alicia clenched her eyes hut. Through her steepling fingers, the cube shrunk until it matched the very size and shape of the Binxtrunach.

The Bixturnach was petrified into a grin.

Its foreclaws stopped on a pile of dirt as if pouncing on it. Its tentacles loomed rigid. In the blue veil of the Divine Grace, the first mujino had been caught. A momentary new landmark for the swarming shinobis.

And much to Alicia's delight, the episode she had feared never arrived.

"It worked. My way worked!" The bookworm's satisfied smile bloomed. "We did it, Orb!" she exclaimed as she cradled her favourite orb and danced in circles. She did not forget her companions too. "You did it, too!" she cheered hugging both of her impassive automatons.

The curious Henge drew his knife and began poking the Mujino from its chest, hands, then its head, its navel, and its testicles. The latter was a form of antics following his confidence boost. The monster's body surface was rock solid, emitting a clang as if dead frozen. His cackling laughter elicited giggles and squeals of satisfaction from the other practitioners. A pat on the back and a tousle of hair on the head awaited the little lass who had completed her task well.

Hashomon seemed an outlier amidst the small celebration. How could it not be, he still maintained his dour look—some considered it grim—and his hands remained unwilling to welcome hugs and reciprocate slaps from others. They were still there, still on the sword hilt, still convulsing.

"Good job, Alicia-san." A slight bow was his form of gratitude to the girl. "Henge, call the headquarters. We'll stand guard here until the transport carriage arrives." []