“Hecate! You know where my phone is?”

“It’s next to the television where you left it.”

“Thank you~!”

Narumi skipped past the girl in a black dress sweeping an already perfectly clean floor.

“Wait, why aren’t you freaking out, Narumi?”

“Ehhh… Do I have to?”

What kind of answer is that, Hecate thought. Both Narumi and Katja have been going on with their lives like nothing happened, and it was driving her crazy. It’s like she was the only one in that house who was paying attention and worrying about what matters the most.

“It’s been more than a week since Carol vanished! Do you really think she’s gonna return if we don’t go looking for her?” Hecate posed dramatically with a broom in hand. “Shadows are covering our everyday lives. If nothing changes, it won’t be long until we succumb to darkness.”

“Not really… It’s pretty bright outside. I think it’s almost summer, right?” Narumi tilted her head in response to Hecate’s exaggerations. “Also, is Carol missing again? I thought she was with Iroha, and… Hasn’t she been answering our messages?”

“Yes, she’s answering, but that doesn’t mean everything’s fine. What’s taking her so long to come home? It’s not normal.” When faced with Narumi’s spaciness, Hecate had to be a little more objective.

“I’ll leave it to you to figure it out. If you want me to help look for her, just say the word.” Narumi waved with her phone and sat on the couch. “She answered one of my calls yesterday. That means she’s alive, right? She said… *Yawn.*” Narumi laid down and started scrolling on her phone. “She said I shouldn’t tell you when she answered because she wasn’t ready to talk yet.” … “Ah!”

“Are you serious?!” Hecate rapidly approached the couch. “She answered one of your calls!? This is a tragedy! And why didn’t she want you to tell me?”

“She probably didn’t want to worry you… Or maybe she thought you’d get angry. Kinda like that…”

“I’m only angry she left without properly explaining herself! Why didn’t you tell me she answered your call right away?”

“I mean… She told me not to tell you.”

“This is absurd…” Hecate slumped her shoulders.

“Don’t be upset, Hecate.” Narumi looked up at Hecate with a reassuring smile. “Summer’s around the corner, so just think of this as her taking an early vacation. Everything’s fine, and she will come back soon enough.”

“Without us? What part of her going on a vacation with Iroha without us is supposed to be fine? The ties we share are much stronger than that.”

Narumi didn’t immediately respond, but then she furrowed her brow when she realized the implications. “Yeah… That pisses me off somehow… I wanna go to the beach and have fun too! How dare she fool around without u-”

“That’s not what I meant…” Hecate interrupted Narumi, who looked at her blankly.

“Why are you two acting like she really went on a vacation?” The dorm’s entrance doors opened, and a new voice chimed in. “In her first messages, she said she was training with Iroha. As long as nothing bad happens to them, I don’t think we need to concern ourselves with anything.”

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

“Doesn’t it bother you, Katja? It’s been more than a week. I can’t remember the last time we’ve been apart for that long.”

“No, it doesn’t bother me. I’m just really curious and hopeful.” Hecate reacted to Katja’s choice of words. It wasn’t often that Katja expressed those kinds of emotions.

“Curious and hopeful? That’s a strange thing to say.”

“Carol’s training with Iroha, so there’s a chance she may learn Iroha’s secret to growing so fast. If everything works out, I may be able to put together a new plan to make you and Narumi even stronger!”

“More training?!” Narumi complained. “I don’t wanna train more! You do it.”

“Me training is pointless.” Katja shook her head. “A sword doesn’t get stronger based on the number of times it is swung. I’m merely a weapon, so it’s the same for me.” That’s the same explanation Katja always used. Narumi was ready to yell that it was just an excuse but she knew better.

“So it’s about training… That’s what’s got you excited. I should have seen that coming.” Hecate let out a sigh.

“With some luck, we may be able to get both of them Matching Weapons.”

“Are you sure? Carol’s been training for that for a long time, so I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic, but is Iroha ready? It’s a big strain on the body. Can she handle one so soon?” Hecate’s expression became very serious.

“We’ll have to wait and see. If they can’t handle it, then it’s out of the question. But it is a fact that Iroha’s roughly on our level without one. I can’t even imagine how strong she’s gonna be with a Matching Weapon.”

“And can we trust her with that much power? I think we should be more careful. Who knows what might happen because of secrets.”

Katja thought, then nodded quietly. “We’ll have to be careful, but it’s not Iroha herself that we have to worry about.” Hecate understood what Katja meant and agreed. “There’s no doubt anymore that she’s on our side.”

----------------------------------------

“That’s a cloak… Could it be…?” I was lying on my belly on the rooftop of a building near the Alchemists’ Guild when I saw someone with a hood on the alley next to it.

“A demon! I finally found them!” They might get away at this rate! That’s not good. Has anyone seen me? I don’t think so… Okay, I can do this.

With Agility Burst, I jumped across the street from one roof to the other. If whoever’s wearing that cloak is really a demon, I can get straight to Ririna by following them! I hope… I kept my head down and peeked down to the street without making a sound.

The cloaked figure blended with the crowds in larger streets and spent most of their time going through dark alleyways. I would have definitely lost them if I was on the ground, so staying on roofs was the right call. It also makes me harder to spot. Maybe? In my experience, it’s easy to forget to pay attention to things from above in games.

After some minutes, we had moved into a dense residential area where the common population lived. It was surprisingly well kept compared to what I was expecting. It’s just… simple and run-down? I think that’s how I’d describe it. It’s not like the streets near the guilds or the castle with beautiful pavements and lots of decorations, but it’s not bad either. I think I’m just too used to seeing these places being filled with misery in anime…

My target stopped in front of a basic house made of wood and stone. The door opened shorty after knocking, and the figure went inside. “Is that their hideout? I found it!” Is Ririna in there? By the time I noticed, I was already on top of the building. I climbed down while holding onto the wall. Crap! My skirt’s gonna flip like this! Ugh… No one’s supposed to see me, and nothing’s visible from below. It’s just for a second.

I was in the awkward position of being upside down on the wall with a hand trying to hold my skirt. I climbed down until I was able to look into a window. “Just like I thought…” Inside was a small room with two people. One was the cloaked person from before, and the other was a green-haired man with an uneven pair of horns. “Demons…”

They weren’t the only ones there. Other demons entered and left the room, but I didn’t see Ririna anywhere. Is she in another room? Either way, I don’t have any time to waste! “…” Time to start a massacre!

“They were looking for Ririna. Philip just confirmed our suspicion from the other day.” I had my sword drawn and was about to break through the window when I suddenly heard Ririna’s name. The cloaked man removed his hood and started talking to his friend. “The soldiers mentioned her name, meaning the princess is probably looking for her now.”

“Ririna? Who the hell is that?” The green-haired demon asked.

“She’s the alchemist in the mansion. The girl that’s under Armand’s custody. How do you not know this?” Ririna’s in a mansion? This isn’t a mansion, is it? I took a look at the worn-out walls to make sure, and damn right! This isn’t a mansion! She’s not here then?

“Oh. She’s that human… Of course I don’t know. Why would I bother remembering a human’s name? Ahahahahahha!”

They also mentioned Armand again. Wasn’t he supposed to be just a merchant? Is he leading the demons somehow? Damn him… He’s gonna pay once I find him…

“She’s not just another human. She’s the whole reason why we’re here. She possesses the skill of removal that Armand has been looking for this whole time.” The green-haired demon heard the explanation and waved it off nonchalantly.

“Whatever. Just tell me when it’s time to get to work already. I just wanna burn this city down already.” Burn? They’re gonna burn down the capital? “You know, Armand truly is wise. Who’d wanna work for Tarthrus or some other boring ass company when you could be out here fucking up human cities? Not me, that’s for sure. Once we get our promotions, I’m gonna start my own company and rise up to the top. Bet not even Armand’s gonna see it coming.” Tarthrus…? I feel like that’s a name I’ve heard before… From the game? More importantly, are they really gonna burn down the capital? That’s really bad news!

“Be patient. Our job as distractions will come soon enough. Once the ritual at the mansion begins, you’ll be able to cause as much chaos as you want. You can also forget about your idea since you’ll probably die during the chaos.”

“Nah, the princess’s dumb, so she’ll send her troops after the other team. Or I can just kill whoever she sends after us. Got nothing to lose.”

Distractions…? Ritual at the mansion… What does this all mean? Wasn’t Ririna supposedly in some mansion as well? The ritual is probably related to Ririna somehow. That means the mansion is our main target!

I gave up on the idea of attacking them and rushed back to the rooftop. If I work with Bea to find which mansion they’re talking about, it’s just a matter of time before we can wrap everything up. The only thing she needed was the location of their real base before she could send out her elite troops! This is it! The final piece of the puzzle! Everything’s about to change!

I gotta get back to Bea as soon as possible!