Kirin reached for a biscuit from a marble plate on a foot-tall table.

They had been seated on short couches arranged in a square, in a sitting room so massive that echoes could have bounced eternally had there not been a saturation of furniture.

By the distant walls stood varnished cabinets and book-chucked shelves. Dead bushes collected dust as they sat in marble vases on wooden end tables. From a glass false ceiling, a chandelier of purple crystals dangled with arm-length orange lamps.

Lord Atri was bending forward, pouring green liquid from a kettle to a tea cup. He waited to fill it to about half, allowed a few more drips, then put the kettle back on a tray, lifted the cup by holding the platelet beneath it, and offered to Alia. "Take this rosadonis brew. Nothing better to relax with. It's alright to slacken up in the meantime. You will be greatly remunerated even for the time you spend waiting."

Alia glanced at the cup, then at the man's eyes, and finally opened her palms that had long been clenched to suppress her arms from shaking.

"Now, like I mentioned..." Lord Atri leaned back and rested his hands on his thighs. "The God of Biology will be joining you on your journey down the Iron Stomps Dungeon. The anomalous ograor we've discovered has peaked the god's interest and he's hoping to see it for himself before it's exterminated."

"The God of Biology, huh?" Faolan itched his chin. "Just like my father, King Galiguth has always drooled over extreme leaps in evolution. Unlike the God of Beasts though, King Galiguth isn't really one to force anything."

"Do you know him well?" Kirin blinked twice, conservatively chewing the biscuit in his mouth.

"Not particularly well, no. But I did meet him a couple of times. He's my uncle, and he used to visit Cernunnos occasionally. I know much that he usually acts with reason, is even-tempered, and likes everything understood."

"Sounding good!" Kirin clapped biscuit crumbs off his palms. "See, the last god we met didn't really have the nicest of helloes. And the only other god I know's a God of War. It would be refreshing to meet one who's all for peace, love, and plants, for once."

"You've only met two gods?" asked Faolan.

Onyx's forehead crumpled, as though he had just heard something incorrect. But instead of addressing whatever it was, he turned to Lord Atri to ask, "About when would he be here?"

Lord Atri tilted to a side to catch sight of a standing clock near a maid. "My guess is tomorrow noon. It would be odd for the king to be travelling now."

Onyx and Faolan gave each other a glance.

Judging from how they reacted, it was clear they realized the same. A deadline has been set for finding Alia's sister.

"Hmm. Excuse me, lords and ladies." Lord Atri clung onto his couch's armrest to help himself stand. "I shall actually look into the matter. I've already asked the staff to prepare your individual chambers. Whenever you're ready, simply ask that you be guided."

Four maidens on standby bowed as Lord Atri passed to the doorway.

Faolan wore a charming smile, then cleared his throat as he kept the alluring expression whilst addressing the maids. "Is it okay if you give the four of us a moment?"

Two of the maidens squealed.

"Bertha! Ann!" hissed one of the four. "He means the four of 'them'. Leave. Now."

"Oh..." The squealers lowered their heads and looked as far from Faolan as doable. "Yes... Mistress Donabella," they murmured, taking brisk, short steps to head out.

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Faolan held his smile up till the door was closed, then flipped to leader mode as he leaned towards the team to instruct, "Tomorrow morning, we have until. Once out, follow the ladies to your rooms. Get changed, out of your armor and into anything that won't give you away, sneaking out with Alia's sister. If any of us bumps to any of us, separate immediately. We need to cover as much of the mansion at once as possible. Before King Galiguth arrives, we should already have finished the rescue. Whoever succeeds, let the rest of the party know. Discreetly. We'll pick up Alia's sister on our way back home. Understood?"

Alia and Onyx nodded, both's eyes flaming with determination.

Kirin grinned. "Clear as air."

***

One by one, the party slipped out of the sitting room.

Onyx first. Though it was Alia who was dying most to start the search, even she agreed that Onyx was the least suspicious to want to leave first. Since he usually just was impatient.

Next left Kirin, following a maiden who gave him an eyeroll as they started walking away.

Before getting far, Kirin twisted to give Aila a final assuring nod, hoping to have said, "It'll be alright. We'll find her."

Though the trap never really said those words, the fairy understood quickly and returned a nod equivalent of "Yes, we will."

***

Not too long after, Bertha or Ann, whichever she was, had apparently pulled through her exasperation over the inability to guide either of the party's men, and gave Kirin a pleasant bow while in front of a door that couldn't have been anything other than the entrance to the trap's assigned chamber.

Inside, Kirin hurried to get himself changed. Parked anything of metal and slid into a pastel green, tiered dress.

As pretty and proud of his dress he was, Kirin didn't have time to show off or properly groom himself. He immediately flew through the hallways as a bat, silently scanned rooms, and studiously kept his ears perked for even the slightest call for help.

Soon, evening shadowed heaven. Clocks struck past seven o' clock, about three or four hours since they started searching.

A whole three or four hours...

...before Kirin realized he had not the slightest clue what Alia's sister looked like.

"Gah!" Kirin transformed to his human self in a random hallway without windows. "I can't believe I forgot to ask! I could go look for somebody now, but it'll be too embarrassing. What would they say? That I've been sightseeing the whole time? Onyx would probably accuse me of canoodling with some random monster in the forest. The heck do I do? I haven't seen a single lady with the same hair color as Alia. What if she looks completely different?"

"Umm. Sorry to disturb!" A maroon-haired lady in a merlot evening gown emerged seemingly from thin air, arms outstretched to reach for Kirin's dress." Your chest ruffles are flattened. Let me fix them for you."

"Oh no, no wait! Sorry! You don't have to do that!"

The lady smiled, proceeding with tugging on the ruffles. "You look tired. What are you searching for?"

Kirin gulped. For a good second, it looked as if the lady's bust and both walls either side of them were gonna mush him to a pancake. "N-Nothing in particular. I'm just finding my way around, hoping to bump in to my party. I haven't seen them since afternoon. Ha... haha..."

"Aha. Come with me, for a bit." The lady went behind Kirin, held his shoulders, and pushed him lightly to face a mirror in the wall. "So... do you prefer he or she?"

"Do I... what?" Kirin's reflection asked, giving back a look as confused as his.

"Ah, forgive me. I should have asked the question more clearly. I'm curious about both now though." The lady started running her fingers through the trap's hair, untangling locks and tidying floating strands. "Do you prefer being referred to as he or she? Are you attracted to males or females?"

"You know I'm...?"

"Mhmm." She gave a knowing smile at Kirin through the mirror.

"Well... I don't... really have a preference. If people like you can tell, I'm fine with being called a he. But being called a she flatters me."

"She it is. And?"

"And... I'm very attracted to guys..."

The lady pinched Kirin's cheeks. "You're probably single. But you don't seem to ever have shortage of blood from your face. I take it you're attracted to a man in your circle of friends? Does he know?"

"I'm not--!" Kirin flushed red. "Let go! If you restrict the vessels in there, my face'll explode!"

The lady giggled and patted Kirin's head. "Who are you looking for, Miss?"

Kirin massaged his face and waited for his blush to fade. "You're probably too clever for someone like me. But you feel nice so I'm gonna let you know and ask for help. Do you... happen to know of a servant girl with lavender or light purple hair? A fairy? Does anyone like that work here?"

The lady gracefully shook her head. "If I did, I would chain my husband for two whole weeks and refuse to feed him food. My sister's dream is to be the proudest healer in all of the universe. I can't be having her here to slack. She's better off with your party where she can practice her talents and adventure to learn more."

Kirin's reflection slowly slid his eyeballs to study the lady.

Tucking a strand of her own hair, the lady offered another kind smile that narrowed her eyes to match that of Alia's. "There, there! You're all fixed up!"