Volume II: Unforgiving Kingdom
Chapter XXII: Unexpected Ally
Location: Castle Vallera, 18th Floor, Goldenia
"Another reason?"
Returning to the castle's floor, Freesia and the others were questioning Mona about what she meant when she said that besides it being an order from the Queen of Goldenia to capture them, her older sister Mina had another reason for pursuing Ragna and the rest of the group down to the first floor, by herself at that.
"What do you mean 'another reason'?" Freesia asked Mona. "What else could be driving her?"
"Is it because she's worried about your safety?" Predator questioned, her arms folded. "They have no intentions of coming upwards on their own if you ask me. Why would she be concerned about that if you're still up here?"
"I-It's not about me!" Mona answered. "It's... It's about our... old commanding officer. The Sky Knights' captain."
"What about him?" Aglovale asked.
"After we were disbanded and he resigned from the Imperial Army, he went down to the bottom floors." Mona looks around at everyone as she spoke. "He never left the kingdom after that. We've been down there before and he's still there. Mina believes that if she can find him, he'll help us out."
"Why would he stay on the lower floors of all places?" Iska asked in a concerned manner.
"He says that he wants to help the people down there when the Imperial Army can't."
"He's become something of a vigilante then." Alexiel points out.
"Yes ma'am!"
"If he's someone that Mona and her sister seem to know, then there is a chance that he could be a good ally for us to use." Freesia responds.
"Then that is what we should do." Iska speaks out as she walks to the center of everybody. "If I put together everything that we've learned so far, we have five total enemies, four of them all stronger than we can deal with on our own despite our abilities. One of them is a child, and they have the support of several mercenaries including the infamous Chat Noir." The girl starts pacing around back and forth as she continued to speak. "One of our soldiers is already following them to the first floor, a floor where the earthquakes are the most hostile. At the same time, a former member of the Imperial Army who has shown no signs of resenting us I assume, is there as well." Iska giggled. "Perfect. I believe that I know what we can do."
"With all that, you've managed to figure out a plan already?" Juri asked.
"That is correct." Iska holds up one finger. "First and foremost, we will have to lure them away from the first floor as to prevent an easy escape if this goes south, though I'm absolutely positive that it won't. To do that, I propose that we use the young child Vira mentioned. Predator and Mona will make their way down to the first floor together and find Mina." She then points her finger at Mona. "You will find your sister and try to deal with anybody who tries to stop you." Then, she turns and points her finger at Predator. "You on the other hand, will take the child and head back here immediately."
"Wait!" Juri spoke up. "Lady Iska, should we really be involving a child in all of this? I know she's travelling with them but still, she's only a little girl. Couldn't we try to go after somebody else?"
"Considering our past losses, do you think an attempted kidnap would truly work against another one of them?" Iska shakes her head. "I believe that would result in utter failure."
"She's right." Vira said, nodding in agreement. "This tactic may be cheap, but it's the best we have now isn't it? If there was an easier way to do this than to use a child as bait, I would love to hear it. But unfortunately, we're all drawing blanks. This is the best and only solution."
Juri kept quiet. As much as he wanted to keep Goblin Mage out of this, he didn't have any better ideas.
"You may continue, Iska." Freesia says.
"Certainly." Iska continued, holding up two fingers now. "The second part will involve you Mona." The girl in question perked up as Iska spoke. "Once Predator has the girl and has gotten away, I want you and your sister to be the ones to help lure them to exactly where I tell you to."
"Where would that be, ma'am?" Mona asked.
"The eighth floor will do nicely for now. And please refrain from calling me 'ma'am' as well. We'll use the eighth floor to put a stop to them. Mona and Mina will get them to head to the eighth floor in pursuit of Predator where I would like for Lady Alexiel, Juri and his companions, Prime Minister Vira, as well as my liege to lie in wait for them. I would also like that we assemble a few dozen soldiers to also join you on the eighth floor as extra security."
"And the child?" Predator asked.
"Bring her back to the castle. The two of us will be here once they capture our foes on the eighth floor."
"What do you plan to do if all of this fails?" Freesia questions.
Iska holds up three fingers. "Hopefully it won't have to come to this, but should we all work together, then with a hostage in our hands, we should have no problem forcing them to surrender, even if we have to fight if they refuse to come quietly." She then puts down her hand. "But if everything in the first two steps go according to plan, then we shouldn't have to worry about the third thing." Iska bows slightly. "Do you approve of this plan, your Highness?"
Freesia held her head down and folded her arms as she thought for a moment. She knew that this plan would have to work if she wanted to succeed and capture Ragna this time, as well as her life is forfeit if she doesn't succeed. This was the only plan they seemed to have at the moment, and it sounded like it would have no problem working out in their favor based on Iska's explanation. Knowing that her time was short, Freesia had no other choice but to go along with this and hope that this will work in her favor. She looks up and nods her head.
"Very well." She said. "Then this shall be the plan that we will go with. We must act right away."
"As you wish, Your Highness." Iska says.
Soon, Predator, Mona, Juri, Jick, Harper, and Aglovale all left out for the lift at the same time, all of them prepared to head for their stations for this plan. Soon the only ones left on the castle floor were Alexiel, Freesia, and Iska, the latter politely excusing herself from near the two of them.
"...Is there something you wish to say?" Freesia asks the redhead in front of her.
"Don't expect me to apologize for going after him despite you telling me not to." Alexiel answer.
"Ah, yes. That. Normally, I could easily have you thrown into the imperial dungeon for disobeying me. Especially considering that even after that, you still didn't manage to come back victorious."
"I'm not going to let you stop me, Foxblood."
"Excuse me?"
"If you intend to do anything to me for disobeying you such as taking me off this mission to be arrested, then save it. This is something I have to be apart of. I have to be the one to strike him down and I cannot allow anybody to stop me. So then I ask that you save whatever you want to say or do to me until after I have killed him. Because then and only then, I will come quietly."
Alexiel then walked away from Freesia and towards the lift. Once the redhead was gone, Freesia scoffed and looked away.
"If that idiot kills him then...!" Freesia thought to herself. "No... No there's no way that Alexiel will be able to succeed. They clashed again since we last fought them on the eleventh floor, and she was defeated. If he's just as strong or stronger than he was then, he'll at least be able to stay alive long enough for Iska's plan to work. This has to work, and I know it will. I've come too far to die here because of their actions, and I certainly won't let that be the case!"
Freesia turned around and started walking back to inside Castle Vallera.
"Yes... Everything is going perfectly. She'll never be able to kill him, and I'll be able to please Her Excellency."
Location: 1st Floor, Goldenia
Meanwhile, Grena and Feena were both standing up as they were staring down the boy who had brought over Grena's missing motorcycle tire after their crash.
"Where the hell did you manage to find that so easily?" Grena questioned, her chains around her arms.
"I just happened to be around here when all of a sudden I heard someone screaming." The boy answered her. "When I came over, this rolled towards me, and I stumbled across you two after walking around for a little while."
Grena looked back at Feena.
"So he heard your big mouth it seems." She groaned.
"Me?!" Feena exclaimed. "You were screaming too when we started spinning around!"
"I was not! It's not like that was my first crash asshole!"
"Look, worry about that later."
Feena and Grena looked at the boy in front of them with serious looks.
"Why are they so serious all of a sudden?" He thought to himself.
"The tire's mine, yeah." Grena comments. "Is that all you wanted, or are you here to take a shot at arresting us too?"
"I beg your pardon...?"
"I recognize those gauntlets of yours. I've seen some imperial soldiers wearing them before. If you're here to take us in, then we ain't coming quietly especially after coming this far."
"Taking you... Wait a minute..." The boy slowly stared at Feena, who had her right hand ready to aim her crossbow. "I recognize you. You were the one that Her New Highness described when she-"
"Yeah, that's me." Feena cuts him off.
"I see. Very well then."
The boy sets down the motorcycle tire and rolls it over to Grena, who was partially confused with how nice he was being. Grena kept his eyes on him while grabbing the tire with her left hand, and still he didn't make any moves to come at them.
"Um... Thanks...?" She said awkwardly.
"It's nothing, I promise."
"What the hell's your deal?" Feena asks outright. "You know who I am and you know that everyone else above this floor's been after us. Yet here you are, not even making a move to try and get us."
"Precisely." The boy holds his arms behind his head. "It isn't my concern what those on the higher floors do anymore. Nor is it really my concern for the Queen's orders." He looked over at Grena. "For the record, I am actually a former soldier."
"Former, huh..." Grena said. "You're not in the imperial army anymore and you don't care to try and take us on. What's your angle?"
"No tricks, I promise. Neither of you two seem to be a threat here to anybody on the lower floors. There's no reason for me to want to fight you."
"Not a threat to- Wait a minute... I've heard about you!"
"You have?" Feena and the boy both asked.
"Yeah, people don't speak about the lower floors often. But from what I heard from a few of my associates, they've always told me 'be careful is you wanna go stir up shit anywhere on the first floor'. Then they'd go on about this guy down here who everyone calls the 'People's Champion' or something, anytime there's a problem on this floor he's always around to help the people here despite the imperial army rarely ever coming down here." Grena points at the boy. "That you?"
"I didn't realize that people actually talked about me like that higher up..." The boy answered.
"Wait so she's right?!" Feena exclaimed in shock.
"Though I'd prefer if you didn't think of me as someone of that important. I'm not a fan of all the praise."
Feena and Grena looked at each other for a moment.
"He doesn't seem like he's our enemy." Feena said.
"That still doesn't mean that I say we should trust him." Grena replied. "He knows who we are and the reward that awaits him should he try and capture us."
"What's going on?"
Soon, Monika and Goblin Mage walked up behind Feena and Grena, both of them looking at the boy in front of them.
"Who's this?" Monika asked.
"That's right. We haven't given each other proper introductions." The boy said. "My name is Albert. And you three? I don't believe that the announcement gave away your names."
Monika pushes Goblin Mage behind her, her hand hovering near her sword.
"Albert?" She questioned. "Ex-Captain of the Imperial Army's First Royal Guard Unit, also known as the Sky Knights, correct?" She then grabs her sword's hilt, ready to draw if need be. "If you're here to try and arrest us, don't think that just because you're high ranking that we'll go with you quietly."
The boy named Albert simply sighed, seeing that the group wasn't going to talk easily so long as they believed him to be a threat.
"I didn't expect that this would spawn from simply returning that tire..." He said. "Alright then."
The girls were ready as Albert grabbed his sword, expecting to fight. However, none of them were ready as instead of coming at them... Albert tossed his sword on the ground in front of him, along with the small dagger he carried as well. The girls all blinked confusedly as they lowered their guard.
"Ex... Excuse me?" Monika questioned.
"Huh...?" Feena said as she tilted her head.
"The hell are you doing?" Grena asked, raising a brow. "You're actually serious about not fighting us?"
"Not every problem that comes at us has to be solved with a sword." Albert replied to girls. "To tell you the truth, I'd very much like to get to know your little group first. I've been out of the imperial army for a long while now, and as such I've learned that I shouldn't always take their announcements to heart, and immediately believe them. Her Highness may have branded you as criminals and traitors, but I want to hear from you myself. You all seem like genuinely good people at first glance."
The girls were quite surprised by Albert's response. He didn't seem to care about what has been placed on them or the reward that the Queen has offered for anyone who captures them. They didn't immediately lower their guards though as they were still a bit cautious after everything they've been through. Finally a response was issued as Grena suddenly broke out into a laughing fit, walking towards Albert.
"Man, I can't tell if you're just too nice or outright crazy!" She exclaimed, making her way to Albert. She eventually pulled the boy closer to her. "Name's Grena. You seem like a decent guy." She looked back at the rest of the group. "Hey, let's let Albert stay around for bit. I'm pretty sure he's telling the truth."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Monika asks.
"Grena does seem to act like she has some trust in him." Feena replies. "I don't know how much truth there is in what he's saying and doing, but at the very least we should at least give him a chance. Not everyday someone will try to talk to us like this."
Monika nodded and took her hand off her sword.
"Here, why don't we all go inside?" Feena asked. "I'd rather not talk out in the open."
Monika and Goblin Mage walked inside first. Grena lightly tapped Albert on the back, gesturing him to go on as she used her chains to pull in his weapons. Eventually the two of them also walked inside as well with Feena coming in last.
Soon the group was all gathered inside and had properly gotten situated. Albert was standing against a wall next to the door while Grena was sitting at the couch she laid Ragna down on. Feena was sitting down on the floor while Monika stood near an opening that led to another room. Goblin Mage had wandered off into that other room a while ago and was currently walking around the house.
"If I may ask... Who's home is this anyways?" Albert questioned.
"It's mine." Feena answered. "Yeah, I know it's not much, but it doesn't bother me."
"I see. Very well then. So, to start off this conversation, mind if we get back to our introductions? Grena here introduced herself to me when we were walking in."
"Oh, right. You can call me Feena!"
"Monika Weisswind. But just Monika's fine." Monika said.
"And the little girl and the man here?" Albert also asked, concerning Ragna and Goblin Mage.
"This here is Ragna." Monika answered first. "Ever since a little incident happened on the fifth floor, he's been unconscious. His health and body are fine, but he still needs rest."
"And the girl back there..." Feena starts to answer. "That's Mage."
"...Mage?" Albert said confusedly.
"Yep! Mage! That's how she likes to be addressed!"
"Well now that you know who we are, why don't we get to the real conversation?" Grena chimes in. "What's your deal Albert? Why are you so quick to try and not fight us?"
"For starters, the first floor suffers enough as it is." Albert replied. "Between the constant earthquakes and attacks from outsiders along with thieves and criminals from the higher floors looking to stir up trouble, the people here deal with enough. And while the earth knows when to let up on them, the people above don't."
"And since we're not really causing any problems for the people here, we're not your enemy then." Monika said.
"That's right. As much as I would rather not have the title, 'The People's Champion' is accurate. I'm not here acting as an imperial soldier or anything. I'm simply a civilian trying to do what he thinks is right, just, and best for other civilians. Causing a random fight is not what's best for them."
"Honestly, are you sure about that?"
"What do you mean?"
"The imperial army is still most likely to come after us. Once they do, this floor will be in a fight anyway if they catch us here."
"About that. I suppose now is a good time to ask. Why IS the imperial army and even Her Highness after you?"
"Well to start us off, Ragna here." Monika gestures to Ragna. "He's actually a demon. He's from that realm."
"I see... There are demons that look like man after all. I would have never been able to tell that had you not said something. Is that why Her Highness has the imperial army dedicating themselves to pursuing you?"
"It is. For whatever reason, the Queen wants to capture Ragna. Along with that, there's Prime Minister Alexiel we have to worry about. She's been after us as well, but she's dead set on killing Ragna for whatever reason. But when we first ran into them, I was set on trying to help Ragna out instead."
"Oh yeah, I don't think you ever told me why you guys are with him in the first place." Grena spoke up, turning to face Monika and Feena. "I assumed you guys had been falsely accused when I started travelling with ya but if you have other motives, I don't think you ever mentioned them to me. So what's your story? Why are you two with Ragna here?"
"Ragna isn't from Riverbrandt." When Monika said that, Albert and Grena looked surprised. "He came here and awoke with amnesia. But he knows he isn't from here. I want to help him find a way home... And I would also like to go with him as well."
"What for?" Albert asked.
"Travelling outside of Riverbrandt is something that I just have to do, before I die. Even though it's thought to be impossible except for Gods, if I can find a way for Ragna to get home then I have to go with him, even if for only a day. It's a promise that I made to a close friend of mine before she died. It was always our dream, and I promised I'd fulfill it."
"That's very noble of you."
"How sweet." Grena said before turning to Feena. "Alright, what about you?"
"Honestly, at first you could say I didn't have any plans to leave." Feena replied. "Hell, I used to be like the rest of the imperial army at one point. I back-stabbed Ragna and Monika and got the two of them into this hell in the first place. Guilt kept eating me up and I risked my life to stop them from being executed and now I'm trying to escape with them."
"In a way, we're all criminals that escaped a death sentence." Monika points out. "Providing a simple answer to Albert's question, that is why they are after us."
"This all sounds like it spawned from a case of bad luck." Albert responds. "I've worked with Prime Minister Alexiel before. Ever since I've known her she's always had a terrible grudge against the realm of Demons that even I don't have an answer to. Is it right to assume that she initiated a brawl with you from the very beginning?"
"She wanted Ragna dead from the start, yeah." Feena answered.
"Hm... So if I'm putting everything together correctly, this started with Monika wanting to help find a way to get Ragna home. Prime Minister Alexiel went after Ragna the moment she found out that he was a demon. Feena betrayed the two of them, then came back to aid them somewhere along the line. This led to a massive manhunt being organized after the three of you and also led to you meeting Grena, who I assume shares a mutual interest with you guys."
"Nah, I'm just going along for the ride." Grena said. "I fought with Feena once and then decided to come along after these guys saved me for getting my ass arrested again."
"Everything else is accurate though." Monika answered. "That's what got us into this mess."
"It appears to be quite the mess indeed." Albert commented, then turning to look at Ragna. "How long do you suspect that he'll be out for?"
"I haven't the slightest idea."
"What do you plan to do if the imperial army makes it to this place and find him like that?"
"Defend him, hopefully. It's the least that I can too."
"Very well then. But let us hope that we can avoid a battle with them on this floor then."
"What do you mean?"
"I told you earlier, I don't fight for the imperial army. I fight for the people here and to do what I believe is the right thing. I may not have learned that much from our talk but I can see that despite everything you've all been through, you don't want to fight. As such I will not say a word about any of you."
"I'm all for throwing down." Grena chimed in. "But still... Even I have a limit. If you're gonna keep quiet, then we'll be on our best behavior."
"If it means getting a much needed break, then hell yeah You've got my word." Feena also spoke up.
"Yeah, what they said." Monika said. "Hey, Albert? I don't know if you would be able to answer this but, I never understood. Are demons that bad as everyone says they are? Why is it that Goldenia in general seems against them just because they're demons, and not because of how they act or anything?"
Albert looked down as he thought for a moment on how to answer Monika's question. He then looked back up at the girl.
"Well, you're right. I'm probably not the best person for this." He replies. "But, I do know some of Goldenia's history before all of us were born. So that might be helpful."
"Goldenia's history?" Grena asked. "Something happen to make them hate demons?"
"Yeah that would be a great help if you told us about that." Feena commented. "I'm horribly uneducated on any history about this place."
"Very well." Albert replies. "But at the very least, we should wait for your friend Ragna to wake back up. This is probably something that he'd want to hear for himself."
"Go on ahead then."
Everyone suddenly turned to the couch where they saw Ragna laying there with his eyes open, slightly looking over at everyone.
"Ragna!" Monika exclaimed. "You're awake!"
"Yeah, I've been up for a while now." Ragna yawned. "Where the hell are we?"
"At my place." Feena said.
"How long was I out?"
"Not long." Grena answered. "About a few hours."
"In that time we managed to escape from the fifth floor and came down here to rest." Monika said, then gestures to Albert. "We met Albert here, who actually seems to be willing to help us if you still need to rest."
"Oh well that's great. Because I still can't move." Ragna said.
"What do you mean you can't move?" Grena asked.
"I mean that whenever I try to get up, my body doesn't want to move a damn inch. I'm probably gonna be stuck here for a while so I'll appreciate whatever help I can get at the moment. Anyways, you guys were talking about... history, or something?"
"The girls wanted me to explain Goldenia's history." Albert said. "Considering it does involve their connection to demons I figured you would like to hear it as well."
"Fine with me. Go on ahead."
"Alright then."
Monika sat down as the group all gathered close to hear what Albert had to say. The boy in question had also sat down.
"I believe this story takes back about maybe several centuries ago? It goes back to Goldenia's beginnings before it became such a enormous kingdom that it is today. Back then, it was much smaller and simpler. The kingdom was ruled by the Goldenian Royal Family back then, currently under the leadership of Queen Zoe, who had risen to the throne three months after her father's passing. She was only eighteen at the time of becoming Queen. Almost a month later, an invasion struck Goldenia, a horde of demonic creatures. This invasion almost crushed the kingdom in one day."
"How did it survive?" Monika asked.
"The people who could fight and their will to keep going is what eventually led them to victory. But at the cost, many lives were lost. As for the Queen, they say that Her Late Highness Zoe didn't die... But, it is said that she 'turned to gold' after all of this."
"Pardon?" Grena questioned.
"I've never been able to understand that either. But people do say that the statue of her located in the eighteenth floor is actually her own body turned to gold."
"Do you think she did it to herself?" Ragna asked.
"What do you mean?" Feena questioned Ragna.
"Albert said that she mysteriously 'turned to gold' according to this history right? If you asked me, when everyone around her was dying these demons came to kill her next. But before she could die, she used some strange power to turn herself into gold. It's either that or that shit was just something somebody made up on a whim because it sounded cool to them."
"There always is the chance of that." Albert admits. "But I wasn't there myself, so how would I know?"
"Yeah, he's right." Grena said.
"Continuing on, after the demon invasion was stopped, this event became something people remembered even up till now. Goldenia's fall at the hands of demon is something that scared everyone forever. As such, when the kingdom grew, so did its strict policies against demons. As of now, the fear to Ragna is because they fear that it may be the beginning of the end of Goldenia, most likely."
"Has there ever been any other demons here besides me?" Ragna asked.
"Several attacks between then and now have been reported. Some of them involving demons having snuck in through deceitful means. To everyone else, you being here is no different than that. That would be a brief summary of everything that I'm aware of regarding Goldenia's history with demons."
"Do you think there's any way that we can make them see Ragna isn't like these other demons?" Monika asked.
"Yeah right." Grena sighed doubtfully. "The day they'd believe that is the day I believe this woman really turned her own ass into gold. There's a lot of crazy powers and abilities out there, but I doubt that this is one of them." Grena leaned back against the couch. "But besides all of that crap, is that it?"
"Nothing else I can say would be of any use to your situation." Albert replied.
"Well if that's the case, then I'm going back to sleep." Ragna said. "I can't move right now for whatever reason, so I might as well enjoy some rest while I can." Ragna closed his eyes.
"Wait, Ragna!" Monika said. "I-...No, never mind."
"What is it?"
"No, you probably need the rest after all of that. We'll talk later."
"...Alright."
"His body must really be exhausted." Albert said.
"No kidding." Feena commented. "After all that he's had to-"
Feena was interrupted by the rumbling of another earthquake affecting the first floor, startling the group as it caught them off guard.
"I guess the earth's decided 'break time is over' huh?" She said afterwards.
"So much for wanting to repair my bike and go on a test run." Grena sighed, stretching. "Ah well. Yo, Albert."
"What is it?" the man in question responded.
"Wanna show me around the first floor? I don't wanna sit around all day long doing nothing. Not to mention Her Highness hasn't said anything about me, so I can still walk around here freely."
"Well, if you see nothing wrong about this then I suppose that I can show you around for now." Albert looked at the rest of the group. "What about the rest of you? I'm sure that if you come with me I can give the people around here a good word about all of you."
"Will that help any?" Feena asked.
"The people here seem to rely on me a lot. I'm feeling positive that I could convince them to see yourself and Monika here as good people, despite what Her Highness has said about you."
"I'd rather not take that chance." Monika replied. "No need to put yourself out there for our sake. Besides, someone needs to be here to watch over Ragna."
"And I've gotta stay here and take care of Mage." Feena replied as well. "She's still just a kid after all."
"Alright then." Albert said, nodding his head. "My apologies."
"No need to worry about it." Monika replied, smiling.
"With that settled the two of you can stay here and take care of Ragna and the kid." Grena comments. "Albert and I will go out and about for a while." She throws her hands behind her head. "I guess while we're out I could see if we can find something for us to eat."
"That would be great!" Feena exclaimed.
"Alright! Let's roll!"
It wasn't long before Grena made her way outside. Though following the moment she stepped out was another earthquake, making Grena comically stumble before tripping and falling the moment she got outside.
"Goddamn earthquakes..." She groaned as she got back.
Some Time Later. . .
About half an hour or more has passed since Grena and Albert left to walk around town. As they were gone, the others took this as a time to catch a much needed rest. Monika was laying down on her coat which she had spread out across the floor, her hat lying on top of her chest as her hands were behind her head. Feena was sitting on the ground a feet away from her, her hat somewhere behind her as she threw it off somewhere. Goblin Mage was rolling around on the floor in another room, playing with a shiny necklace. Ragna had managed to fall asleep despite the earthquakes and was enjoying some much needed rest.
"Hey, Monika?" Feena started to say. "What are we gonna do once we're out of Goldenia?"
"Well, I'm gonna keep travelling with Ragna." Monika answered. "Just because Goldenia's this strict over Demons doesn't mean that everywhere is going to be like that. There's other kingdoms that we can go to and ask for help. Push comes to shove, there's always going to the realm of Gods or Demons for help as well." Monika turned over to face Feena. "What about you?"
"Eh?"
"What are you and Goblin Mage gonna do once we're out of here? You don't have to follow us you know. You can do whatever you want once you leave here. Are you going to go back to searching for people to help you out with your quest?"
"I. . . I don't know..."
"How come?"
"I could leave with Goblin Mage I guess but... After all of this... Should I just leave you guys alone?"
"I can't be the one to decide that for you. You've worked alone your whole life, and any previous attempts to work with others have backfired haven't they? If you still don't want to stay with us then I won't make you. You have your own goals and we have ours. The same goes for Grena as well. We don't know what she plans to do after all this. She could probably hide with the Mercenary's Guild, or find her own way through Riverbrandt. Most likely, none of our plans for the future have a common goal. There's no real reason for us to stay together as a group, now is there?"
". . .N. . . No..."
"Exactly. Yours and Goblin Mage's goals are for vengeance against something that happened to you years ago. Ragna's goal is to find a way to leave Riverbrandt and head back to his own world. My goals are to find a way to leave Riverbrandt and fulfill a promise that I made. Grena, we don't even know what she plans to do after this. As much as I've enjoyed all our time together as a group despite our previous actions, it's getting about time for us to say 'Goodbye' to each other. Time for us to go our separate ways. Unless you have some other plans, that is."
". . . I don't. I don't have any other plans..."
"As I thought. I've enjoyed this as much as you have-"
"I don't have any plans period..."
Monika blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You're right. The only thing I think about is wanting revenge against goblins for what they did when I was a child... But that's it. You can't call that a plan. I don't know how I'm gonna get there. I don't know what I'm gonna do to make that possible. All I'm doing is just making things harder for myself and harder for Goblin Mage. I haven't been thinking about any of that. I know what I want, but I don't know how I'm going to get what I want. What should I do, Monika? What should I do now?
"...I can't answer that. That's something you have to decided for yourself."
Another earthquake occurred in the middle of Feena's and Monika's conversation. Monika turned away from Feena afterward.
"I'm going to sleep." She said. "Wake me up if something happens."
Feena didn't respond as Monika started to try and get some sleep. The girl only sighed as a response.