Hi, all! We meet again.
And now it is time to officially begin the first filler arc, starring Meru/Rose, Sheep, and Team Foresight. Sit back and enjoy the ride. At least I sincerely hope so.
Cliffhanger warning, by the way. See you again in the afterword.
[X][X][X]
First Day, 06:17
It was one fine morning in Arwintar. Like in any other cities, the civilians were already up and about, preparing to begin their day. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, and everyone pretty much expected this day to go like their usual days.
That kind of thoughts didn't apply to this group of six people, though.
The Foresight Team, consisting of four workers and two extra members, were walking towards a destination with Mithril Rank plates displayed on their chests. All of them had various degrees of worry and nervousness towards the job they were about to take.
Hekkeran, the acting leader of the group, examined the adventurer plate on him thoroughly over and over again as he walked. He also had done the same to the plates belonging to others. He had found nothing unusual about their plates. Arche had not detected any traces of magic on them either. It was as if all of the plates they had were totally genuine.
"Listen up, everyone. There's no going back at this point. I hope all of you are ready for this"
Everyone else nodded. They had already prepared an escape plan just in case, but there were a lot of unknown factors which could turn everything into a mess. Therefore, they would try their absolute best to avoid that scenario.
They soon arrived at their destination; A grand mansion located within the district of conglomerates which pretty much was only beaten by The Emperor's castle in terms of looks. This mansion was the private property of Rossaur Ratenoir ever since years ago, though this was not the same mansion he had had before the purge. Looking at the grandiose of the mansion, nobody would believe that Rossaur Ratenoir had lived as a poor man even once.
There were two private guards stationed at the front gate of the mansion. The group boldly walked straight to the guards. Naturally, one of the guards responded.
"Halt! What is your business here?"
"Here"
Hekkeran took out a sheet of paper and showed it to the guard. The guard took the paper and read it briefly. The paper was a copy of the job contract provided by the guildmaster.
"So you are the adventurers. Go in then"
The guard then returned the paper to Hekkeran and opened the gate.
"Thank you"
Hekkeran said that as the group walked through the gate. The other guard led them through the garden to the front door or the mansion. The guard opened the door, revealing the spacious interior with regal furnishings. All six of the group were quite astonished by the view that they didn't notice a butler standing by.
"These are the adventurers the boss is looking to hire"
The butler nodded as the guard informed him. The guard left the place afterwards, returning to his position at the front gate.
"Welcome to the residence of Rossaur Ratenoir, adventurers. Let me show you the way"
The group followed the butler to a nearby room which was quite apparent to be the guest room. There were enough seats for more than ten people there, all were seemingly expensive furniture.
"Sit down anywhere you like. I will inform the master. Would you like some drink?"
"Ah, no. We're good"
"Alright then"
The butler then left the room. None of the group seemed to dare sitting on the luxurious seat, so they just stood still. It didn't take long until someone came.
BANG!
The door opened violently, putting everyone in the group into alert stance with their hands ready to draw their weapon. The one who opened the door was a man about as tall as Roberdyck, but slightly more slender. The man's hair was grey from old age and some wrinkles were visible on his face, but he radiated an aura which screamed that he was still not too old yet. The man had a monocle over his left eye, and his clothing was befitting of a rich man in the empire. The butler from before was standing beside him.
"What the hell are you all standing there for!? Those seats are not just for show! Sit down!"
The man shouted with loud and heavy voice, which staggered pretty much everyone there.
"Ah, sorry, Sir. I just thought it wouldn't be appropriate to dirty your..."
"Cut the talk and sit down!"
The man entered the room and immediately sat down on one of the seats. He sat in a lax manner which would have been absolutely rude anywhere else, with his feet on the center table. Everyone else reluctantly sat down in the most polite manner they could, while also being careful not to accidentally break or rip something with their equipment. The seats felt really comfortable, living up their grand looks, but the atmosphere was still too unsettling for the comfort to matter.
The old man examined each and everyone of the group from his seat. The gaze from his eyes felt quite unsettling, and Hekkeran was quite worried he would immediately find out that they were not real adventurers.
"Two guys and four girls. Quite a composition you have there!"
The old man laughed after saying that. Hekkeran naturally didn't say anything about the fact that the composition was like that because of the two extra girl members.
"Let's get to the point! Like the job description says, I'm expecting a guest who will come in three days! Your job is to patrol the mansion and make sure everything is secure!"
From his recent speech, it was easy to conclude that this man was Rossaur Ratenoir, the group's client as adventurers, and also the group's target as workers.
Rossaur then repositioned himself into a more normal sitting position and put several sheets of paper on the table.
"Further details are there! If you have questions ask my butler Lavitz!"
Without giving the group any chance to reply, Rossaur stood up and hurriedly walked away from the room. The butler remained in the room as he closed the door.
"As you may know already, my name is Lavitz. If you have any questions, I will answer with the best of my knowledge"
Hekkeran acknowledged with a slight nod, and then he proceeded to read the papers alongside the rest of the group. Basically, the group was assigned to patrol both the garden and the inside of the mansion all day long, therefore splitting shifts was recommended. In the day when the guest would come, the group would shift their role into the guest's bodyguards for the rest of their job period, which would end once the guest went home. Food and place to sleep would be provided as necessary during the job period.
The sheets of paper also included a copy of the mansion's floor plan complete with markings on private areas which they were not allowed to come to, thus it was easier for the group to plan their patrol routes. It would take some time to plan the routes due to the size of the mansion and the garden. Therefore Hekkeran asked a question.
"Sir Lavitz, when do we officially begin our work?"
"As soon as you are ready. Preferably before lunch time. Also, you can call me just by name"
"I see"
Hekkeran then looked at the other members of his group.
"So, what do you guys think? We can split into three groups of two switching every 8 hours, or two groups of three switching every 12 hours"
"Three groups of two. No question"
Imina's immediate reply made every other Foresight members thinking, and none of them took long to understand the reason. By dividing into three groups, the two not on active duty would have plenty of time to rest as necessary and also try scouring information about possible lead to accomplish their undercover mission. The downside was that the combat capability of each group would be rather low in the case they encountered hostiles and the other groups may not be able to reach them quickly.
That downside would be mitigated by using the other configuration of two trios, but in that case it would be more difficult to make progress in their undercover mission since there would be only three people with 12 hours of free time instead of four potential people with 16 hours, still without taking into account that a large portion of the free time would be used to have the necessary sleep. Also, with three groups it would be easier to circulate info within the team as a whole.
"I see, others?"
Hekkeran looked at Arche and Roberdyck who immediately nodded, signifying their agreement. He also looked at Sheep and Rose even though they had no say on this matter. This was to make them look as equals to the eyes of onlookers, in this particular case was the butler Lavitz. This way of behavior had been agreed upon beforehand, so Sheep and Rose just nodded the same way as Arche and Roberdyck.
"I see that everyone agreed. Three groups of two then. Now, about how we will split..."
Hekkeran fell into deep thought about how the team should split. With two personnels per group, the combat capability would be limited. Also, putting Sheep and Rose in the same group would be out of question because the fact still remained that they were outsiders whom he could not fully trust yet.
Right now, Foresight consisted of two melee fighters and two ranged fighters. It was common knowledge to have a balanced group so that each member could cover the weakness of another, therefore each group should have one melee and one ranged. However, right now they had two outsiders and both of them were ranged, with Sheep using a bow and Rose using arcane magic. This meant the group as a whole had two melee and four ranged, and at this rate one group would have to risk it and be consisted of two ranged fighters. Rose was equipped with two simple short swords as she had requested, so there was a chance she was also a capable melee fighter, but there was no telling how capable she was in that matter.
Hekkeran didn't want to waste too much time, so he made a decision quickly.
"First group will be me and Imina. Second group will be Rose and Roberdyck. Sheep and Arche will be the third group"
"It's not like I disagree, but is there a reason for this setup?"
"You see, Arche. You and Sheep make the best pair, in combat I mean"
The actual reason for that pairing was for Arche to be able to maintain the illusion magic on Sheep as necessary. It would be very bad if the spells expired and Arche was not nearby to reapply them.
"Oh, I see"
Thankfully, Arche seemed to understand the intent behind the pairing.
"Next, Roberdyck and Rose. I don't mean to offend, but Rose is currently the weakest link in the team in terms of combat, so I want Roberdyck who is our best tanker to assist Rose and provide cover as necessary"
"Alright, that makes sense"
Roberdyck said that while nodding. Actually, with her capability in casting destructive elemental spells, Rose could very well be a lot stronger than Arche. However, he had to take into account the fact that right now Lavitz was listening to their meeting and might report his findings to Rossaur later. With this somewhat false info the team would have a hidden surprise in their sleeves.
"That leaves me and Imina, so no question about that"
Everyone nodded, and with that the party was set. Hekkeran then stood up and approached Lavitz.
"We are almost ready to begin work, but before that we would like to ask a few questions"
"I will answer your questions with the best of my knowledge"
"Is Sir Rossaur under some kind of threat? I feel that we need to know what to expect"
"Master Rossaur has had several attempts on his well-being over the past years, so he is always under threat. I have no specific knowledge about this, but the coming guest will make a very important deal and some people out there might feel threatened"
"Where do we sleep? I believe the group for night shifts should rest for now to prepare"
"Then allow me to lead you there"
The group then followed Lavitz outside the mansion to a small hut located at one corner of the mansion's garden. The hut was made from wood and its size was about equal to your average village house. Inside the hut was fairly clean and furnished, and there were enough beds for everyone. The mansion was just a stone's throw from the hut, and there was a door which could be used to enter the mansion right there.
"Right there is the side entrance of the mansion. Master Rossaur trusted me to lend you the spare key of that door. Be sure to lock the door again whenever you go past it"
Lavitz then presented a plain-looking key and gave it to Hekkeran.
"Food and drink will be delivered to this hut three times a day. Is there anything else you need?"
"None for now"
"Then I shall take my leave. If you need something, you can find me inside the mansion"
Lavitz then bowed and left the place. Right now, the group was effectively alone, so it seemed to be a good time to talk about the more sensitive topic. However, letting their guard down would never be a good idea.
"Arche, Imina"
Hekkeran looked at Arche and Imina, and made a simple gesture with his head, signaling them to check the surroundings and see if they were being watched, either directly or through some scrying magic. Both of them nodded, signifying that they understood and so they began scanning around. The rest of the group kept themselves silent as the two did their work
It took just three minutes until both of them showed a relieved face.
"I sense no scrying magic or such around"
"We're clear. We can talk all we want"
"Alright then. Let's sit together and have a quick meeting"
As instructed by Hekkeran, all six of the group sat on the available seats, either chairs or the beds. Hekkeran then began speaking after seeing that everyone else were ready.
"So, what do you guys think so far?"
"Well, if you ask me, the job seems simple enough"
Imina replied, though it was clear that she felt something strange.
"Indeed, but something feels strange"
Roberdyck said that with his arms folded.
"They are too trusting..."
"Right. You have a point, Sheep"
Indeed, the way their job was presented, and the fact that now they were left alone to their devices without any kind of surveillance was weird. It should have been common sense that whenever you hire some strangers to do something for you, they should not be fully trusted from day one like what had just happened. Even though the group was supposed to be a team of Mithril Rank adventurers, anyone with enough common sense would keep them under watch to make sure they would do their job properly, at least for the first day.
"What could be the reason?"
Roberdyck spoke the question out, which nobody had a definite answer for.
"I don't think it's because he really trusts us, is it?"
Everyone made a slight nod, agreeing with Arche's remarks.
"Definitely not that. Someone who could rise from rags to riches like him wouldn't trust anyone easily. Something is really fishy here"
"It seems that they don't care whatever we do here, don't you think?"
"Yeah, Imina. I have a hunch, but I can't prove that of course"
"Tell us anyway. We're still clear as far as I can see"
Hekkeran then looked around a bit and lowered his stance, giving a hand gesture for everyone else to come closer. Once everyone were close enough, he whispered to everyone else.
"We might have been set up as pawns for some kind of conspiracy"
"Whoa, that's quite a bomb you dropped there, Leader"
"But it actually sounds plausible... though I hope you're wrong this time"
Roberdyck and Arche looked pretty worried as they said their opinions.
"S-Should we back out?"
Rose asked the question, showing her worry. Hekkeran gave an answer immediately.
"No, we're already too far into this. Backing out will raise suspicion on us and complicates things in the future"
"So, what should we do?"
Now it was Sheep who asked, with a cold face expression and somewhat unpleasant tone.
"We play dumb and do our patrol job as instructed, while keeping our eyes open to any information we can get in the meantime"
"Alright, but one thing..."
Sheep then looked at Roberdyck with quite a death glare. There was no actual malice coming from her, but it was still pretty intimidating.
"You better keep her safe"
"Y-Yeah, leave it to me!"
Roberdyck replied with a confident tone after recovering from his slight shock. Hekkeran knew Roberdyck would keep his words since it was common knowledge for the team that Roberdyck held a high sense of justice and honor. If he said he would keep Rose safe, he would do it with all his might. Nevertheless, it was something he must do anyway since displeasing Sheep would be a very bad idea.
"Right, I just remembered that we still haven't decided on which group on which shift"
Hekkeran tried to divert the topic a little. It didn't take long to decide that Hekkeran and Imina would take the night shift since Imina's abilities as a Ranger would compensate the lack of illumination at night without using magic. Roberdyck and Rose would take the morning shift, and finally Arche and Sheep would take the afternoon shift.
"Let's survey the area until lunch time, and then we will officially begin our job"
Everyone nodded, and then they all began walking around the garden and the inside of the mansion. They compared the map they had with the actual place, and they found that the map was sufficiently accurate. The areas marked as forbidden were mostly at the second floor, so they pretty much only need to patrol the corridors there. For the first floor, they would have to enter a lot of rooms such as the kitchen and storage room.
The survey went without a hitch, and the group officially began their job as patrolling security guards. Due to the time, it was Roberdyck and Rose who went first while the others went back to the hut. Since Hekkeran and Imina would be active throughout the night, taking a nap now would be a good idea. However, there were still a few things he had to plan for before that.
[X][X][X]
Second Day, 14:50
Nearby the hut where the team stayed, there was a wooden bench placed right under a large, lush tree. The bench was wide enough for three persons to sit comfortably. With the sunny weather, relaxing on the bench would be a bliss.
Right now, there were two girls sitting on the bench. One of them seemed to be unpleasantly anxious while the other felt uneasy with that behavior of her partner. They were waiting for the time to switch with the currently active group, which was Rose-Roberdyck group.
"Uhh, Sheep, can we... talk?"
"What is it... Arche?"
"Are you still worried? About Rose I mean"
"Isn't that obvious...?"
"Indeed, and to be honest... you remind me of myself when I got worried over my little sisters"
Sheep seemed slightly surprised hearing that.
"...You have sisters?"
"Yes. Twins. Come to think about it, we still don't know each other well. Would you like us to talk more, about ourselves?"
Sheep didn't say anything in response. She just stared at Arche with a confused look. It took a little while until she uttered one word.
"Why...?"
"I just feel that I want to know more about you. We didn't talk much other than about the job yesterday, but seeing you worried about Rose all the time like that made me believe that you are actually a good person"
"You can't make a judgement from a single point, you know..."
"Which is the reason why I want to know you more"
Hearing what Arche just said, Sheep was silent for a few seconds before she let out a little smile.
"Heh, you have a point. Ask me anything then"
Arche felt delighted with Sheep's response. She then immediately asked away.
"I'm sorry about this, but... What are you actually, Sheep?"
Sheep was silent. Her expression didn't change much, but it was visible that the question felt unpleasant for her.
"I won't force you if you don't want to talk about it"
"Well, try guessing first"
"Uhh, a demon from a far away land? I don't know much about it"
Sheep just smiled hearing that. Her smile was not exactly a pleasant one.
"I used to be human"
Arche was quite surprised hearing that. She had never heard about a human turning demon before.
"W-What? How? Why?"
"I was abducted by this bastard, Luther. He had an experiment project of fusing the essence of creatures into humans to create strong warriors under his bidding. In my case, a dragon"
What Sheep had just said was a giant bombshell drop for Arche. She had never heard of such crazy experiment happening anywhere, and it was naturally hard to believe. But seeing the overwhelming strength Sheep had, she pretty much had to take it as truth.
"I somehow escaped from his grasp, but I was already no longer human by then"
"Sheep, I'm sorry..."
"You don't need to feel sorry for me. Luther is now dead. He won't be a bother anymore"
Sheep let out a sigh as she said it, which made Arche felt uneasy.
"Did you... kill him?"
"It was not me, but can we talk about something else?"
Sheep seemed pretty bothered with the ongoing topic, and Arche just realized that
"Ah, right. Sorry..."
"Still, I have to thank you"
"What?"
Sheep now displayed a warm smile to Arche's confusion.
"Your illusion magic, they made me remember how I looked like when I was still human. The look I have forgotten over the years. So yeah... Thank you, Arche"
Arche was speechless hearing what Sheep had just said. She had casted those spells merely for business purposes, but it turned out that the spells had a much more significant meaning. She had a sudden feeling of accomplishment, but she didn't celebrate it. To be exact, she couldn't. It was because the accidental accomplishment she had just made was too emotional for her to handle. As the result, Arche leaked a drop of tears.
"Ah, Arche? What's the matter?"
Arche quickly wiped her tears off.
"Sorry, Sheep. I was just so happy for you"
"Oh..."
"Anyway, Sheep. Why are you here on this land? Your outfit doesn't look anything like any outfit from around here, so I suppose you came from far away. You had a purpose before meeting Rose, didn't you?"
Sheep was silent for a few seconds before she replied.
"I was looking for someone"
"Who?"
"My shepperd"
"What...?"
Sheep sighed a little bit hearing Arche's confused remark.
"My missing brother"
Arche got surprised by the answer.
"You have a brother?"
"I have three. Two younger, and one older. I'm the only girl"
"Sounds quite hard"
Arche's remark came from her imagining a life of being the only girl in the middle of male siblings. Depending on the parents, the love and care on them would have been likely to become unbalanced in favor of either gender. But in either case, the sole girl would get the short end of the stick. If she was the unfavorite, there's no question about that. On the other hand, if she was the loved one, she would likely become the target of envy from her brothers.
"Not really. We are all close. But, can we just leave it at that? I have put that objective aside for now anyway"
"Alright, if you say so"
Arche actually wanted to know more, but she didn't want to push too far. She had just learned a lot about Sheep already anyway, which was a big leap. Before this, Sheep had always been cold and silent, talking to the team only when necessary. Seeing her talking about herself like this felt refreshing for Arche, and she began to see Sheep in a new light.
"By the way, Sheep. You don't need to worry too much about Rose. Roberdyck will protect her with all his might in the case something bad happens"
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yeah, he might look like that, but he loves children, in a good way. It's not like we're treating Rose like a child after she showed her powers back then, but Roberdyck is probably seeing her in the same light as those orphanage kids he has been caring for"
"Wait, what?"
Sheep looked genuinely surprised. Arche noticed it and quickly assumed that Sheep had been thinking of Foresight team as a bunch of money-seeking mercenaries, which was actually true. However, she still didn't know yet about the depth beyond that description. Therefore, Arche wanted to try and see if she could make Sheep see them in a new light, just like how Sheep had made Arche do that.
"We might be workers, but each of us has a reason for seeking money. Roberdyck in particular, he donated most of his cut to orphanages across the city. Hekkeran and Imina, they are lovers, so I assume they are saving up for their old age. As for me..."
Arche stopped speaking. She didn't really want to talk about the problem in her family, so she hesitated for a moment.
"I have a little problem in my house, and I hope to overcome it with the money I get"
"Oh..."
"Let's just put that aside. I... don't really want to talk about it"
"Tell me about your sisters then, if you would"
"Sure. Like I said before, they are twins. Ureirika and Kuuderika, we have a large age gap so they are still small"
"How large?"
"Ten years at least. I unfortunately lost my birth record so..."
"Are they... cute?"
"Yes, of course! They are the cutest, most adorable sisters I've ever had!"
"Do they look like you?"
"If you ask me, yes I think. We have similar hair and eyes"
"So... you're cute?"
"Wha...?"
Arche just realized that she had been tricked into indirectly saying that she was cute. Arche's face turned red from embarrassment, while Sheep just giggled.
"Oh, come on, Sheep!"
Despite what had just happened, Arche felt happy seeing the change in Sheep's behaviour. It was clear for her that Sheep had just begun to trust her more, with her cracking out a small joke like that.
"By the way, Sheep"
"Hmm?"
"Why are you called Sheep? It doesn't sound like a real name if you ask me"
"Well, back home everyone called me that thanks to this hat. I kinda got used to it"
"Figures. Would you tell me your actual name?"
"Hmm... Nah. I prefer this simple, one syllable nickname"
"If you say so, alright"
Arche and Sheep continued their idle chat for a few more minutes, and then the two members of the active group came. Both Sheep and Arche noticed them as Roberdyck waved his hand.
"It's time to switch"
"Right. So, did you find anything out of the ordinary?"
"Nothing in particular. We checked every room along our patrol route and we also had some talks with a few staffs like the gardener, cook, and maid. Everything was just like any normal day"
"Alright, leave it to us now. Have a nice rest"
While Arche and Roberdyck conversed, Sheep approached Rose, and after just a few seconds of silence she smiled and gave Rose a gentle head rub.
"Good work, Rose"
"Uhh... Thanks, but... would you not do that? It's... embarrassing"
Rose blushed as she said it. Without realizing it themselves, Arche and Roberdyck had been looking at the scene with their mouths slightly agape. It was when Sheep glanced at them that they finally noticed their doing, and so they quickly averted their eyes.
"A-Anyway, it's our turn. So let's go, Sheep"
"Alright"
Sheep released her hand from Rose's head as she said that.
"Be careful..."
"Don't worry, Rose. We will be fine"
Roberdyck then gave the borrowed key to Arche, and the group went away to do their shift.
[X][X][X]
Second Day, 19:05
The hut where Team Foresight stayed during the job had a magic illumination system put in place. It could be switched on and off by simply voicing out the order to do so. However, the magic didn't discriminate the person saying it, and it was also quite sensitive. Thus, sometimes accidental switching could happen, which was just a minor annoyance but still annoying regardless.
Right now, the four people not on active duty were sitting around a simple rectangular table under the illumination. They were having dinner provided by the mansion staff which would have been an ordinary meal course for the mansion residents, but for Foresight team the meal was above their standards.
"So far, we found nothing unusual"
Hekkeran broke the silence by giving a remark on the progress of their undercover mission. He still had to be careful in talking since this time Arche was not around to detect scrying magic.
"Isn't it good, though?"
Roberdyck replied. Hekkeran wasn't sure if he understood the meaning of the remark and just playing along, or he really didn't catch the drift.
Hekkeran decided to continue conversing carefully anyway, hoping that either Roberdyck or Imina would catch the actual meaning.
"Not really. We might get less pay if we end up doing nothing, right?"
"You have a point, but still... We searched pretty much every nook and cranny whenever possible. If there's nothing, what can we do?"
Imina's reply was spot on. There had been no evidence found for both aspects of their current job.
"Probably need to search more carefully. We never know what kind of preparation stuffs perpetrators have already planted in the mansion, if those exists in the first place"
Roberdyck folded his arms hearing Hekkeran's words.
"If those exists, I hope they didn't put it in that child's room"
"What? Who? What child?"
"Well, at noon, we saw a little girl, about five or six years old, alone at the second floor hallway. She was... very beautiful for her age. Her blonde hair looked silky smooth, and her round green eyes glimmered like stars. She wore an expensive looking dress and she was hugging a small doll which somewhat looked like herself. I suppose she is Rossaur's grandchild or such. She's too young to be his daughter"
"...Did you talk to her?"
"No, she just briefly looked at us with straight face and went away into a room which is a forbidden area in the map, so we just continued patrolling"
"Hmm..."
Hekkeran fell into deep thought. He had never heard of Rossaur having a grandchild, or any known living relatives. Rossaur had a wife, but as far as information goes, he never had any offspring. Also, his wife disappeared after the purge. There were rumors saying that the wife ran away from home and never returned, but rumors being rumors, there were no confirmation at all.
"Try talking to her if you see her again. That is, if you're curious"
"Worth a try. Maybe she can give us some useful info"
"Nobody knows for sure"
The group then continued their dinner while having some idle chat about trivial things. There were still several hours left until the time to switch, so Hekkeran went to the bedroom to have a quick snooze.
Later that night, several minutes before the time agreed upon for switching, Hekkeran and Imina were waiting while sitting on the bench under the tree near the hut. The surroundings were dark all around, but the client was generous enough to provide them several of a magic item which could act as a light source at night like this. It was pretty much the same as pocket [Continual Light] which could last for hours. Imina could see in the dark as a Ranger though, and having a light source would give their position away to the enemy, but any hostiles who intended to sneak into the mansion in the dead of night would prepare some kind of dark vision anyway, so it would likely be pointless to literally keep himself in the dark.
Several minutes passed.
"They're late"
"It's still within range. Let's wait a little longer"
In order to make the loop of their patrol routes less predictable, Hekkeran had instructed other groups to make random turns once in a while, including going back to a place they had just gone to recently. As the result, completing the route and returning to the meeting point might ended up taking longer than planned. So being slightly late was expected for any group.
However, more and more minutes passed by. Arche and Sheep, none of the two had returned yet. At this point, both Hekkeran and Imina began to assume the worse.
[X][X][X]
Second Day, 23:27
"Uhh..."
Arche felt really uncomfortable as she slowly regained her consciousness. She usually never slept with all her adventure attire on. She also didn't remember falling asleep sitting on the floor while leaning to a hard wall. Her eyelids felt too heavy to open, so she tried raising her hand to rub her eyes.
But she couldn't.
Something kept her arms held behind her back. Not only that. She also couldn't move her legs apart. This was the point her eyes snapped open, her consciousness fully returned to her in shock.
She was all tied up inside what seemed like a prison cell, which was illuminated with dim magic light.
Her wrists were tied together with what felt like steel manacles behind her back. The same also applied to her legs, which were shackled together at the ankle parts of her boots. On top of that, a single steel manacle had been put around her neck with a short chain tethering it to the wall, effectively preventing her to move anywhere.
"S-Someone! Help!"
Arche yelled for help, even though deep inside she knew it would be futile. She just thought that she had to try anything to make something happen, and with her limbs restrained, yelling was her only option.
And then she realized, that someone had been watching her all this time from right behind the barred door of the cell.
It was a little girl, about the same age as Arche's little sisters. Her blonde hair looked silky smooth and her green eyes were staring at Arche with a total lack of expression. The doll in the girl's embrace was quite a likeness of her. Through her talent of being able to see magic aura, Arche could see a quite overwhelming aura coming out from the mysterious little girl.
Whoever, or whatever this girl was, she was dangerous...
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
Just to make it clear, their agreed upon times to change shifts are 7:00, 15:00, and 23:00
I'm not good at this, but for once I'm going to 'reply' to the comments of the previous chapter.
DanielSilverjay: It was my pleasure. Thank you for reading my side hobby.
rmarcano: As usual, I still can't fathom your message.
MajorShipper:
Yeah, it was a little short, but I believed going straight to the point would be the way to go.
I admit that I waited too long to reveal that backstory of Ryu. So yeah, thanks for reminding me.
Well, I hope you will find the coming arc of them enjoyable.
MadDan: Well, I don't need to repeat our chat, do I? XD
Vatsal: Thanks. I feel honored. I will try my best to keep the streak going.
UndeadLord: Well, yeah. There will be a lot of things happening in this arc. And yes, Nazarick will return to the spotlight eventually.
Narwastu: Thanks. I do admit that the first few chapters feel quite 'meh' if I look at them again.
See you again later!
