It took a little doing to get Amanda to allow the children to leave so that she could give her mission report, but eventually, it was just Klimt and Amanda alone.

"So, you ran into our newest additions in the Haunt itself. I didn't realize that was where they had been sneaking off to." Klimt said as Amanda explained the circumstances surrounding her first running into Fran and Art.

Taking down a B-rank Colossal Giant in a single hit? She used [Air Jump]? That was supposed to be a skill restricted to the Sky Knight job. How did she have it?

"Amanda, could I ask you something? If you came across a Homunculus child, would your 'Guardian of Children' title classify it as a child?" Klimt asked.

"Huh? That was a little random, but a child is a child, the conditions around one's birth doesn't change that." Amanda said, giving Klimt a confused look. "Is this about Art, because she isn't a Homunculus?"

"No, it's about both of them. Homunculus is the only thing I can think of to explain their strength and Fran's wide variety of magic and skills. It simply isn't natural for a beastkin." Klimt explained, laying his theory out.

"...Klimt, I can personally assure you that Fran is a naturally born Black Catkin child." Amanda said.

"I thought you said that a Homunculus would still turn up in your vision as a child."

"That's true. But I knew Fran's parents, they introduced me to her before... they died." Amanda said, her usual pushy demeaner defleating as she admitted it. "Fran was only a baby at the time, so she wouldn't remember."

"Is that so." Klimt said, scratching his chin. "Based on your behavior, I'm guessing that one or both of her parents were once a part of your orphanage, and considering Fran's age, her parents would have been among your first group of kids." Amanda nodded sadly. "If that is the case, then how in the world is she so… strong?"

"She's strong?" Amanda asked, sounding surprised.

"You couldn't tell? You were just saying how she cut down a giant." Klimt said, seeming dumbfounded with the woman.

"Well… yes, but I couldn't ever sense any strength from her." Amanda said, she crossed her arms and seemed to be thinking about it hard. "I guess it didn't really occur to me."

"Yes, the 'Magus Killer' job of hers is a dangerous one for people like you." Klimt said as he thought back to his findings after digging into the origins of the job. An extremely rare job class that requires one to develop two rarely obtained skills among humans, [Mana Drain] and [Magic Barrier]. "It grants a [Magic Concealment] skill which can hide the user's magic. Unless she is actively casting, it is impossible to sense her through [Magic Detection]."

With how high her [Magic Detection] skill was, Amanda had a tendency to use it in place of [Appraisal] to determine just how powerful an individual was. Actually, almost all of the most powerful magic users put a lot of faith in their [Magic Detection] skill. Fran being able to hide her magical energy made her as difficult for Amanda to read her as the [Appraisal Block] skill made things for Klimt.

"Dangerous? Aren't you being a bit paranoid? Honestly Klimt, she is just a child." Amanda said, scolding the older elf.

"It is my job to be paranoid when a child appears out of nowhere with a magic sword, and treats Donna like a punching bag. Not only that, she has both the Demon Slayer and Dragon Slayer titles. She… isn't normal." Klimt said, starting to rub his eyes. "And the only thing we know about her is that she says she was trained by 'Archer'."

"Archer?" Amanda said, froaning. "Are you talking about that spirit that was with them?"

Klimt bolted up in his seat, exhaustion leaving him as his eyes widened. "He is a spirit!? You saw him!?"

"Well, sort of. I fought with him in the Demon Wolf Plains while Fran and Art were… running away from me." Amanda said a little miserably. Klimt could understand why they would try to run, considering what he had seen just moments before. Amanda was acting oddly, even for her. She was usually more calm and just really pushy. "I didn't really 'see' him, because he maintained a [Darkest Veil] spell up through the entire length of our fight. But from what I could sense, he was definitely a spirit. His body was entirely made out of magic energy and after the fight was over, he lost his corporeal form, just like any other spirit."

"You fought against him? What is your assessment of him?" Klimt asked, listening carefully.

"His physical strength was only on the lower side of a B-rank Adventurer, but I've never seen anyone so skilled with weapons. Even while dividing his focus to keep up the [Darkest Veil] he was still able to deflect my every attack. He talked about my [Divine Whip Arts] as if they were a joke. I pushed myself as hard as I dared, but it still wasn't enough for me to actually beat him." Amanda said, reaching into her bag and retrieving her whip. Klimt appraised the item, finding that it was only just hanging on, its 1000 durability reduced to just 15. "In the end, the two of us were around even, with me being too fast for him to catch, but him being too skilled for me to get around his blocks and parries. The fight only ended when he exhausted himself and couldn't remain stable."

"...Weapons. Are you telling me that he has a human form?"

"That's right. It was small, about child sized, but he was definitely not a child." Amanda said. "At first, I thought he might have been Umbra, because of the [Darkness Magic], but he claimed to be a Nameless Spirit and only 50 years old. The only reason he came to mind when you said Archer was because he was first shooting at me with a bow. He was so skilled with it that he could read the air currents of my wind spells and shoot through them."

"He talked…?"

"He was using a kind of telepathy. I was surprised by how fluent he was."

An Ether Attributed Spirit. A Young Ether Attributed Spirit capable of taking on a human form, but who didn't seem to be a Supreme-Class Spirit. One that was skilled enough with weapons to fight against Amanda. Klimt was left in a state of awe, wishing that he could see such a being with his own eyes.

So, Fran really does have a Guardian Spirit capable of taking down a Moonlight Dragon in her name. As a Spirit, it was very unlikely that Archer had any connections with any existing human nation. The only question was his own disposition. Considering he was taking care of a pair of young girls, he didn't seem evil, but it was still best to get Amanda's opinion on the matter.

"Do you think he is benevolent?"

"I'd say so. He only attacked me knowing that my [Grace of the Spirits] would protect me from death, and only because he thought I might be a threat to Fran and Art." Amanda insisted.

"I see. This is a load off my mind. I no longer have to worry about Archer's machinations, though I will admit, I would very much like to see this spirit for myself someday." Klimt said as he relaxed in his seat. "I think we are done here, if you would like to step out… Ah, but next time, don't force others to go through a death march just because you want to check on…" The door was slamming before the Guild Master could even finish. "She really does just do whatever she wants."

Neither he nor Amanda had noticed the small metal marble in the corner dissolve as Archer allowed the [Transformed] [Body Split] body to fade away, its mission accomplished.

Amanda moved through the halls of the Guild, hoping she would be able to catch up to Fran again. Feeling a need to make sure she was safe. But as she got closer to the front entrance, she slowed down, as she heard Art and Nell's voices. Amanda concealed her presence and slowly approached, peeking around the edge of the door.

"What is with that crazy lady!? I understand that Fran is cute but she acts like she wants to kidnap her!" Art said before shoving an entire pancake into her mouth. Fran was sitting next to her, also with her cheeks stuff with food.

Cute…

"You'll have to forgive her." Nell said with a small chuckle. "Amanda might be a little weird, but she isn't a bad person. She is called by many the 'Mother of Demon Children', because of everything she had done to help unfortunate children. She's been running an orphanage since she was young in order to help children who have lost their families. People with the Appraisal skill can attest to the fact that she had the 'Guardian of Children' title, proof that the Gods have seen her actions and approve of them. I'm sure that she really just worries about the two of you. Adventuring is dangerous business, and you are awfully young. I'm sure she will ease up once she sees how strong the two of you are."

Amanda winced. She knew that her friend was trying to defend her, but she wished that she wouldn't have mentioned her title. Not to Fran, of all people.

Everyone always talked about her title, saying that it was the gods rewarding her for her hard work, but that had never been how Amanda herself had seen it. As useful as the title was, it had always felt like the gods were damning her with false praise. Like they gave it to her to remind her what she had done. It was the only logical reason she could think of for them to reward were with it, when there were others who were more deserving, who didn't live with her crimes.

When they were young, Fran's parents, Kinan and Framia, had wanted to become Adventurers, so that they could pursue the dream of evolution. But the two of them lacked talent, and Amanda could see nothing but death awaiting them, so she did everything she could to stop them. She refused to train them, and pilled work on them when they tried to train by themselves. She belittled their dream, saying that it was impossible, telling them that they were too weak. Good as her intentions had been, she had bullied them, and when they had had enough, they left. They ran away from the orphanage to become adventurers on their own.

She tried to beg them to come back, but they wouldn't. Then she tried to assist them, but they refused her help. They cut off all contact with her. Amanda had been convinced that they had hated her. They had been her children, and she had pushed them to this.

Trying to escape the guilt of what she had done, Amanda threw herself at her work and training, nearly dying more than once do to exhaustion.

Even while running her orphanages all across the country, Amanda trained herself so hard that despite her nature as a Half-Elf decreasing her rate of growth, she managed to grow from being a Rank-C to a Rank-A in just five years. It was around that time that she received the 'Guardian of Children' title. It had felt like a vicious mockery from the gods.

She didn't let up until one day, eleven years back, Kinan and Framia returned to visit with their baby girl. Amanda had been so relieved to find out that they didn't hate her, and had cried when they had asked her to be little Fran's Godmother. It was only after that that she allowed herself to rest once again. To take advantage of the wealth that she had gathered as an Adventurer to hire more hands to help with taking care of the orphanages, so that she didn't carry the burden almost entirely on her own shoulders.

But even so, she never felt like she was truly deserving of her title, and while she put on a strong front, she fell into a depression after Kinan and Framia died and their daughter disappeared. Having failed her duties as the girl's godmother, she felt even more ashamed.

She wanted to go to her, to grab onto her and never let go. She wanted to lock her away in a tower, far away from anything that could hurt her, to stop her from marching to her death, the same way her parents had.

[You wouldn't be able to stop her even if you tried.] Amanda stiffened in surprise as Archer's voice came to her. [Don't be too surprised, when you think so loudly, of course I will take notice. Even without a contract between us, I can still hear you if I focus. Even if it sounds like it is coming over a great distance.]

(How… long have you been listening?) Amanda thought hard, trusting that Archer would hear it. She could actually feel him sending the message into her mind. She would have noticed him monitoring her before, if she had been paying attention, and she could block it, if she wished.

[Since your conversation with the Old Elf. You sure were quick to squeal about me, and here I was having so much fun watching him pace around his office in fits of paranoid.]

(Then you know what the relationship between me and Fran is.)

[You're her godmother, but at the moment, you feel too ashamed to tell her.] Archer said simply, Amanda nodded her head, even though she didn't know if the Spirit could see it. She couldn't sense him anywhere. [Frankly, you're being stupid. Everyone has things they regret, but simply sulking about it won't fix anything, nor while trying to sabotage her or control her. Regardless, what you try, Fran will never give up, and your actions have already startled the two of them and placed them on guard against you.]

(I wasn't there for her. I don't have the right to call myself her godmother. Besides, I've already messed up. Like you said, she's already building up a wall against me.)

[If you want to make friends with those two, it isn't that hard. At least, not for someone like you.] Archer said, surprising Amanda.

(What? How?)

The Mother of Demon Children, Amanda.

The Hundredblade Swordsman, Forrund.

The Dragon Eater, Fermus.

The Dragon Genicider, Gamud.

The Annihilator, Jean Dovy.

Five names belonging to five people who's combine reputation made the Kingdom of Kranzel seemingly unconquerable, even without an S-rank individual or a god weapon that their disposal, as each one of them possessed the kind of abilities capable of bringing small countries to their knees, even if the country in question could field dozens of individuals of the B-rank or even one or two A-ranks.

Opening up a little to Amanda and letting her get close to his master was a risk, however the potential of getting a powerful ally was there. Amanda could be the same for Fran as Rin and Rani had been for Hakuno. Someone who would watch her back and fight the type of battles that she was not prepared for, perhaps even a mentor for the lifestyle of an Adventurer and this world in general, teaching her things that Archer would not know.

Besides, Archer could sympathize with her self-flagellation over the perceived failure towards her purpose.

The possible benefits outweighed the risks, and so, Archer let Amanda in on the second most sure fire way to endear oneself to Fran and Art, right behind baking them a cake.

"Hello again you two." Amanda said, making both Fran and Art bolt up in their seats before jumping over the table and attempting to use Ms. Flannel as a human shield. Archer had to stop himself from laughing, seeing the pair staring out from behind their chosen shield, eyes full of suspicion.

"Amanda! How many times have I said not to mask your presence when you are coming up behind people!?" Flannel shouted, though the pout on her face made it seem like she wasn't actually very angry.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to scare them." Amanda said still all smiles. "Let me make it up to you. I hear that the two of you enjoy training. Well, how would you like to spar with me?"

Glasses fell to the ground and shattered as many of the Adventurers who had been around since Fran and Art's arrival looked horrified at the thought of Fran, Art and Amanda all fighting together. Though the suggestion instantly caused all suspicion and fear to disappear from Fran and Art's faces. "Really?" "Really?" The two asked together, Art's eyes shining while Fran's ears started to twitch.

"...So cute… I mean, of course!" Amanda said, smiling back.

Excited by the chance to fight against one of the strongest people in the country. Those two girls really were battle junkies.