Chapter 102: Investigating an issue
Petra and Frederica were going about their day, gathering supplies all the while Subaru and the others were heading over to meet up with the other royal candidates.
While in town, Frederica had tasked Petra to gather some different ingredients for them to start cooking for dinner for Emilia and the others once they were done with their business in the castle.
Although they are aware that the Organization XIII might attack at any point, they also trust their part of the plan as they were tasked to be in the city, surveying for any possible sightings of Witch Cultist or Organization members while keeping their distance and not drawing any kinds of suspicion.
As Petra Leyte was walking around the few stores, grabbing a few ingredients Frederica-sama had tasked her to get in the capital to gather specific supplies that Frederica had task her, she was prepared to investigate more in the capital to find either witch cultist or Organization member while attempting to be in stealth mode.
Though after having bought a few ingredients, she was starting to feel down.
'How am I supposed to find either group...even if I do, I'll get hurt if they catch me...what can I do?'
She thought on how although she's confident in her ability to sneak around, she knows that the two groups are way more than maybe she could handle and if she were caught...well, it wouldn't be the best thing to happen.
As she continued to think how she can be useful for Sora, Subaru, and all those that are constantly placing their lives in the line to make the world better, her dream eater had suddenly appeared in front of her.
"...!" She was indeed surprised at first since her dream eater suddenly appeared from a small ball of light that had surrounded a small area.
This did caught attention from others around her, making her feel a bit embarrassed since all the attention is turned towards her and her dream eater.
Her stealth mode had definitely been taken away thanks to this and before she had the chance to slightly scold her dream eater for appearing in such a manner, she noticed that something was off.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Petra asked, seeing that her dream eater was acting oddly strange.
By strangely, it appeared on its own without her commanding the meow wow dream eater variation
"Is everything okay?" Petra asked her dream eater, seeing that it suddenly summoned out of thin air on it's on, it started jumping all around.
Seeing this at first made her curious if her dream eater was hungry at first before seeing that the jumping indicated more that it was trying to get her attention.
Once the dream eater knew that it succeeded in getting her attention, the Meow wow dream eater started to run right towards a random hallway that was a bit suspicious.
She was hesitant for a second before remembering that she has a role to play to help Subaru and Emilia in finding either the Organization XIII or the Witch's Cult.
As she began to follow her dream eater, a thought crossed her mind and that was the ingredients she was holding onto.
She knows that going back to the inn they were sleeping in would take too long while going right now would also mean that the ingredients could hold her back since she can't waste the food either.
She weighed her options and chose to just take the ingredients with her and if things get dangerous, she'll just have to leave it behind to avoid it holding her back.
So, as Petra with all her strength started to run right behind her dream eater, she was able to catch up though she also was looking at her surroundings, having a bad feeling on this hallway.
After passing by a few buildings, the dream eater halted which prompted the little maid to halt as well.
She looked around and didn't notice anything off at first, which prompted her to turn towards her dream eater.
Before she asked it why they had stopped, she noticed her dream eater sniffing around, having caught something.
She remained still and just watched as the dream eater was looking for something.
After a few seconds of investigating, the dream eater began to run towards a different direction once again.
"W-Wait!"
Petra followed behind while holding the ingredients she had on hand with a tight grip, wanting to avoid any of the ingredients from falling off the bags she had.
While she had once again followed behind her dream eater, a part of her was reminded of the day she had received the Meow Wow dream eater from the keyblade master, Sora.
Before going to the Roswaal Mansion and becoming a maid to serve alongside Frederica, Rem, Ram, and Naoko, her and her friends from Arlem village would play with their given dream eaters and would train them to face one another's respective dream eater.
Although her along with all of the girls didn't partake this as much as the boys would, she did note that there were always two dream eaters that were the strongest, hers which was the Meow Wow, and the Komory Bat type dream eater, a batlike creature that was in charge of taking care of the boy named Lucas.
When the two dream eaters fought each other, they were a lot closer in strength compared to others.
Although hers didn't win all the time in these little fun skirmishes, she can tell that she had a strong dream eater.
That made her confident that she can rely on her dream eater to protect her, which also made her want to do other things than what the boys would do with their dream eaters.
Thinking back to those days right now was very warming if not helpful for her right now when she's feeling fear and uncertainty with the situation of trying to find any information on either threat while also avoiding putting herself in any danger.
She ran behind her dream eater for a moment more before she noticed that her dream eater was leading her towards the church of the capital.
"The church? Why here?"
She was a bit uncertain as to why her dream eater would lead them here at first, since the last time she was here was a month ago when she was tasked with Ram, Beatrice, and Subaru to accompany Melty, Salum, Pooka, and Tiga to meet up with their friend in the divine dragon church, the secretary named Sakura Element.
When she had visited in order for Melty Pristis to keep up with her nun duties, they met the friend Tiga and Pooka were speaking about to the group when they were with them after the events of Vollachia.
From what she recalled from the meeting, Sakura seemed like a woman that was always tired.
One month ago:
Petra Leyte, Ram, and Natsuki Subaru were tasked by Emilia to accompany Tiga, Salum, Pooka, and Melty to the capital in order for Melty to have a chance to do her nun duties in the divine dragon church since she was still faithful to the church, despite how she along with her brother and faithful guardian had pledge themselves to the Emilia camp after the events of Vollachia Empire.
Under normal circumstances, Garfiel Tinsel or Otto Suwen would be the ones to accompany Ram since Subaru isn't one to usually separate himself from Emilia though since he wanted to find Sora in the capital to speak to him about an ability he had been trying to unlock on his own with no success.
Garfiel wanted to stay and help Otto since he was beyond stress with the paperwork he had as the internal affairs for the Emilia Camp.
Seeing the opportunity to go to the capital, he entrusted the protection of his future wife to his parents and his three fellow knight friends.
Since Subaru is going to the capital, that means as the contracted spirit, Beatrice doesn't want to be apart from her contractor, especially after how long apart they were last time they were apart.
Right on the journey to the capital, Subaru was on the front along with Beatrice and Petra, who wished to speak with the two while Ram was with the others.
As they were assisting Patrasche in leading them towards the capital, Petra turned towards Subaru to ask him:
"What made you want to join us, Subaru-sama?"
"I was hoping to speak with Sora."
"More like learn from him, I suppose." Beatrice added her comment, which Petra noted and prompted to follow that up with a question for Emilia's knight:
"What are you hoping to learn from Sora-sama?"
"A little trick I've been trying to implement, summoning."
"Summoning?" Petra asked with a hint of curiosity. "Summon what exactly? Like with the dream eater Sora-sama gave my friends and I?"
"Something like that." Subaru said with a smile as he summoned his first keyblade, Starlight. Petra is always amazed when she sees either Sora or Subaru summon their keyblades.
"So cool!"
"Yeah...honestly, it's still cooler when Sora does it."
"Don't sell yourself short, I suppose. Yours is cool as well." Beatrice spoke with confidence, disliking how Subaru sometimes sell himself short when compared to Sora. Subaru just scratched the back of his head when hearing what Beako had said, feeling comfort.
"Thanks, Beako."
As Subaru smiled and had his keyblade disappear, the conversation shifted to Sora.
"I wonder how Sora-sama is doing."
"I'm not too worried, Sora can handle himself."
"Indeed. The Keyblade Master is more than capable of handling himself."
"Especially to someone like Priscilla-sama." Petra added, having heard enough to know that she's a fierce woman not to trifle with. Subaru nodded to this, agreeing with that comment though he still wished that he didn't decide to go with Priscilla and her camp since it still felt that they are going to have to face him to assure Emilia wins the royal selection.
"I can see you are worried for the Keyblade Master being in an enemy faction. I understand the worry, however we can still win without him, in fact." Beatrice spoke with a confident expression, knowing that they alone can succeed without Sora. Both Subaru and Petra found what Beatrice had said motivating and cute.
Subaru patted his contracted spirit's head all the while Petra giggled at this wholesome scene.
The three continued to speak about mundane things before arriving to the capital, with Subaru being on the lookout for his master.
While they were on the way towards the direction of the divine dragon church, Petra went to the back as she wanted to see if Ram needed any assistance with Tiga and the others.
As she ended up inside the wagon, she could tell that Melty seemed oddly nervous.
"Is everything's okay?"
Melty turned towards Petra's direction, caught off guard by her sudden appearance which prompted her to quickly change expressions.
"Yes. I'm doing well, thanks for asking, Petra-chan."
As Melty gave a heartwarming smile towards the little maid, Petra just smiled back though at the back of her mind, she was able to feel that something's off here. Tiga smiled at Petra and just patted her head, appreciating that she's worried for Melty.
"Don't worry about Melty, little Petra-chan. Salum and I are here to protect her and you from anything bad."
Petra was odd about this sudden attitude from Tiga though she can tell that he was being genuine when saying those words.
She accepted the head pats before she sat next to Ram, noticing that her fellow maid boss was looking at Melty, Tiga, and Salum with a blank expression.
She didn't think much of it and just sat next to her with a serious expression, wanting to remain professional.
After a few minutes, the wagon had stopped which indicated that they had arrived at the church.
Petra and Ram got out first before assisting Melty in getting off with Pooka, Salum, and Tiga being able to get off on their own.
Subaru and Beatrice got off and prepared to head into town to look for Sora only for Ram to say:
"Barasu, where do you think you are going?"
"I'll just, be back in a bit. I—"
"You are not going anywhere." She spoke in a sharp tone. "I'm in charge of this operation and you are not allowed to slack off until Melty-sama as finished her duties for the day."
"B-But—"
"That's an order."
Although Subaru would want to argue with Ram about letting him go and find Sora, he also knows that he can't just abandon the task he was given on protecting Ram, Petra, Melty, Tiga, and Salum should any Organization members, Witch cultist, or any that try to do harm to them.
He just sighed in an annoyed manner before saying:
"Fine, you win."
"Hmph."
Ram turned towards Melty and was by her side as she led her into the church with the others following behind the two.
Once inside the church, Subaru and Petra were a bit amazed since this was the first time either of them had stepped into the divine dragon church.
Petra didn't realize just how beautiful the inside was all the while Subaru was impressed by the interior design.
"What do you think?" Tiga asked, seeing that Subaru and Petra were observing the interior of the divine dragon church. "Impressed by what you see?"
"Yes!" Petra spoke out as she wanted to explore more of the divine dragon church all the while Subaru crossed his arms as he regained into a more serious mannerism. Tiga caught on to that, prompting him to ask:
"No need to feel embarrassed, you can admire the workplace Melty works at."
"No, it's not that. It's just...not exactly a person that would be in a church..."
"What does that mean—?"
"Just forget it!" Subaru shouted before he and Beatrice went to assist Ram with whatever is needed.
As the two were walking away, Petra followed behind as she also wants to see what she can do to help Ram.
As the three reach Melty and Ram in a room where a table's at, they see a tall woman who wore a tight skirt, had pale skin, red eyes, and purple hair.
This was Petra's first time meeting this woman as well as the tall woman first meeting the little maid.
"Oh, what's your name?"
"Petra Leyte, Maid of Roswaal L Mathers. What's your name?" Petra asks after bowing in respect to what seems to be an important woman.
The woman, before answering, first yawn as her face gave the impression that she was exhausted before she responded to her question with:
"Apologies, I haven't slept in a good while. My name is Sakura Element. Aren't you a little young to be a maid?"
"I want to help out Emilia-sama!" Petra spoke with conviction, wanting to show her determination.
This impressed Sakura, prompting her to pat Petra's head before turning towards Subaru, being the second person that had her interest.
"The keyblade wielder and knight of Emilia, the silver haired half elf. Welcome to the Divine Dragon Church. Happy to have you here." As she finished speaking, she began to yawn again, looking more exhausted than she was a few seconds ago.
"Sorry, Sorry."
"It's all good. Beako and I are willing to help out anyway we can make Melty's workload a lot easy."
Beatrice only nodded in agreement to what her contractor had said, also wishing to help a fellow member of the Emilia camp.
Sakura smiled before thinking on what they could assist Melty for a moment before coming up with:
"You could assist in maintaining the church grounds. Melty and the other nuns would appreciate the assistance in maintaining the church clean."
"What about you? How can we help you?" Petra said, wishing to help the sleepy lady.
Sakura smiled at this kindness and thought to herself how Petra could help out differently from Subaru, Ram, and Beatrice.
Once she had something in mind, she turned back to Petra to answer her question with:
"You can assist me with some of the paperwork."
"Alright!"
Although paperwork alone isn't fun, she is curious what kind of paperwork those in the divine dragon church would deal with.
As she went to assist Sakura with her tasks, that was how her day went with the next day having her and Ram assist with cooking for the banquet the church was hosting.
This was the most fun she had though something that had her attention was Melty looking unhappy when her and Tiga, who also looked unhappy, were going to speak with Sakura in her office.
She wasn't the only one that noticed their expressions but also Ram, though both kept their opinions to themselves on the matter.
Right as the last day of being there in the capital, Subaru attempted to look for Sora in the capital only to be berated by Ram once again and ended up doing the harder tasks.
On this last day, she paid close attention to the way Melty acted when they were packing up to return back to the mansion with the other members of the Emilia camp.
She observed from a corner where she wouldn't be spotted from Melty or the others.
Once the door to Sakura's office had opened, she paid close attention to all of their expressions.
At first, it didn't seem like anything was out of the ordinary though she did notice that Melty was looking strained, even if it was barely noticeable.
Sakura looked with a sharp expression, almost like she was angry a moment ago.
This made her think that something had happened though not wanting to cause trouble, she would have to keep it to herself.
When she gets the chance, she'll rely on this information to Frederica.
She was tempted to ask Melty if everything was really alright though she doubted she was going to tell her what had happened.
Present:
Petra Leyte had recalled those few days, how beautiful the interior of the church was, how kind hearted the nuns were with her and what she learned from them in terms of prayers and faith.
Although she had a good relationship with Sakura Element, not finding her a bad person from her personal experience with her though she felt there was always something wrong when she thinks of her and Melty in the same room.
Since her dream eater was pointing at the direction of the church, she has a feeling that either the Organization XIII or the Witch's cult groups she's looking for could be hiding out in the church.
She was nervous since she's on her own right now with the only defense being her dream eater, she knew that if she doesn't gather the courage to investigate, the opportunity might be lost.
'I'm not afraid. I want to help Emilia-sama!'
She nodded at herself and quickly started to make her way towards the church, with the first action being heading to the back of the building to sneak in.
Right as she was on a corner of the building, she looked at the back of the church and noticed that there were a few royal guards walking the perimeter.
This made things complicated since she can't move around as fast and efficient if she's holding all the ingredients, however she can't just leave them behind since it'll not only be a waste of money but also, it'll be a waste of food if it got onto the floor.
She was struggling to make another move though her mind had focused on her dream eater, noticing the Meow Wow dream eater approaching her.
She looked at her dream eater for a moment before coming up with an idea.
She looked around for a moment in search for rope, and once she manages to find it, she grabs it and with luck, she ties the ingredients onto her dream eater's back before asking her dream eater:
"Can you take these to Frederica-neesama? I'll make sure to not get caught."
The Dream Eater did look hesitant to leave Petra alone though after a few seconds after giving a hesitant look, the dream eater licked her right cheek before heading off with the ingredients to find Frederica.
Petra wasn't worried on her dream eater finding Frederica since the two have been acquainted before and Frederica had taught her dream eater some tricks in case it needed to protect her if she were alone with nobody else to save her.
The only thing that might be worrisome for Petra Leyte is how Frederica would react to seeing her dream eater with all the ingredients she had gotten.
Regardless, she's now feeling more confident that she can gather information from whichever group she notices in the church first.
She waits a moment for the guards to look away from the direction she's at before quickly taking the opportunity to enter the church through the back side.
Once inside, Petra observed her surroundings and could tell that it wasn't as busy as last time.
This wasn't surprising since they had arrived a month ago during the busier times of the month, which is a benefit for her right now since she can sneak around with a little ease.
She moved around in a crouch position, feeling a bit of awkwardness at first before focusing on paying close attention to her surroundings in order to not get caught.
As she noticed the two doors that were slightly open, prompting her to think back on what these doors led to from her limited time in the church.
She observed the door design and realized that one leads into the meeting room with the other leading into the kitchen.
Since she knows that there's at least one person always in the kitchen, it's probably a safe bet to go through the meeting room.
The only problem with this path would be if the meeting room is busy for whatever reason.
As she was approaching the door, she slightly opened it in order to get a good look inside.
Upon looking inside the meeting room, she saw nobody inside as well as hearing nothing in there.
This gave her some confidence that she won't be caught by going through the meeting room to reach closer to Sakura's office room.
If there's one place that can help confirm the witch's cult or the Organization having control of the church, Sakura's room would hold the answer.
Right before she entered the room, she had this sense of danger that had caused her to hesitate to fully open the door.
'It'll be okay, I can do this.' Petra told herself this to avoid feeling overwhelmed with fear.
As she opened the door a little more in order for her to enter the meeting room, she saw that she's in luck since there wasn't anybody inside.
This made her go into the room and to slowly move the door to a nearly close position to have it exactly like how it was to draw away suspicion.
Once inside, she moved slowly across the room all the while observing her surroundings.
As she was getting to the middle of the room, she started to hear voices from the direction she came from, prompting her to quickly move towards the other side of the room.
Right before she could reach the door that leads to the Sanctuary of the church, she can feel that whoever is speaking in the other door is not only getting louder but closer.
This forced her to look around for a place to hide, with the only area she could within the few seconds she had was under the table.
Right as she manages to be under the table, she hears the door open with two people speaking. They are unfamiliar with them since she doesn't recognize their voices, however, she was able to hear their conversation.
"Sakura-sama won't be pleased if everything isn't in order."
"I know, but isn't it a bit early to start preparing for the Divine Dragon festival? The day of the pack between the Divine Dragon and the late royal family isn't until—"
"I know! But Sakura-sama insist that we get all the preparations started now."
"Hm. It seems odd that she'd insist on this holiday out of all of them. It's probably because Melty-chan isn't here."
"That's right. Ever since she had joined that woman, things have been rather different."
"We are picking up her duties after all...I'm curious how she managed so many things all on her own."
"She was indeed a unique girl."
The two nuns left the meeting room in the direction Petra was heading towards, alerting her that the church was indeed busy.
Although this would be a problem, hearing that they are working on the Divine Dragon festival made her feel that she won't have to deal with that many people since they would be mostly in the Sanctuary of the church.
This would mean that she just needs to avoid that specific area if she wishes to not get caught by the people of the church.
She waits a moment after the two nuns had left the room before continuing to head towards the door she was heading towards.
Once moving onto the next room, she quickly looked around to see where's a hiding place before deciding to move and hide behind a box that was near the wall to her right side.
As she hid behind this box, she realizes that perhaps this wasn't a good idea since the box itself could be moved by whoever had left it there.
Regardless, she remained steadfast in case she needs to make a run for it.
While she looked around, she saw that although there were a few nuns and workers in the area, they were all too busy with their tasks and a good distance for her to continue to sneak around undetected, so long as she doesn't make unwanted attention.
She looked at her surroundings once again before leaving her hiding spot and to head towards the pews.
As she was using the pews to remain hidden, she continued to slowly make her way towards Sakura's office room.
While she was walking in the direction of her destination, she took the opportunity to also look around for any signs for either the Organization or the Witch's Cult.
Once she was close to the room, she noticed that someone was opening the door from the inside which caused her to quickly go in between the pews to avoid being caught.
While she hid there, she slowly pokes her head out to see who was coming out of Sakura's office to see that it was interestingly not Sakura Element herself but a worker.
At first nothing seemed out of the ordinary though she did notice that there were some odd-looking bugs standing on his shoulder.
It was off, though she chalked it up to the worker probably liking bugs.
She watched as the worker left Sakura's office room wide open, giving her the opportunity to just head straight in without the risk of being caught should someone look at the direction and see the door slowly opening.
She observed her surroundings once again before making her way towards Sakura's office as swiftly as possible.
Once she had managed to reach the office, she looked inside first to see if there was anybody inside before deciding her next course of action.
Upon seeing in the few seconds she had that there wasn't anybody in the office, she took the opportunity to move deep into said office and hide underneath the table as she waited for a moment to make sure that nobody's coming in.
After three minutes of waiting, someone had closed the door, which made Petra's heart race a bit since she's unsure if someone's in the room with her.
She waited a few more minutes to hear the room, trying to determine if one of the nuns or one of the workers are in the room, doing whatever task they had been tasked in Sakura's office room.
Once waiting long enough to confirm for herself that there's nobody inside the office aside from her, she immediately started to look around for any indication of witch cult or Organization activities.
While she looked around the room, she did notice some paperwork on top of the desk Sakura was using.
Although she didn't view her as a threat, she was kinda curious what kind of paperwork she was dealing with this time.
As she went to peek at the paperwork, she was surprised that it contained a list of things for the divine dragon festival.
Although this isn't really surprising in terms of how Sakura is in charge of the festival, it's seeing how much the supplies cost.
She's starting to understand what kind of stress Sakura Element was dealing with, especially when all the stuff coming in might be more than the workers and the nuns can handle.
Right as she was about to move onto a different location only to notice a note fall off the desk as she was trying to move the papers away.
She grabbed the note and was going to put it back with the stack of papers only to notice something off in the note itself. She wasn't able to read it though the writing gave her a bad feeling.
'What does this say?'
She was curious but also felt that something in this writing is important.
Before she had a chance to put the note away, she heard someone approaching which prompted her to look around for another hiding spot since she knows that if it's Sakura herself coming in, the desk wouldn't be the best place to hide.
She looked around the room quickly before noticing some boxes close together that might make for an okay hideout, assuming the person coming in doesn't go for the boxes.
As she runs towards the pile of boxes, she moves them around in order to create a hiding spot for herself.
Once she was in hiding, she heard the door open. She holds her breath and tries to hear what this person that's entered the room is up to.
She can hear the person grabbing some papers, probably from the desk, though it seemed like it was frantic movement.
This prompted her to listen closely as she can overheard this feminine voice say:
"Where is it?"
As this person was looking around for something, Petra's curiosity overcame her which prompted her to peek out to see who the person was.
She was thinking that it was likely Sakura though to her surprise it was a nun. This nun from the looks of it seemed nervous, searching for something.
She continued to look all around the desk before realizing that what she was looking for wasn't there.
"Not good, not good at all. She won't be happy about this."
As the nun's face went pale upon speaking to herself, she began to pray for a moment before quickly leaving the room.
As the door to the office closed, Petra slowly got out of the hiding spot she was in, worried for the nun since she looked like she was in trouble.
Thinking on how the nun was looking all over the desk, Petra pulled out the note that she took from the desk.
'I wonder if this was what she was looking for...'
Petra relooked at the note, still not being able to read what it says, but she figures that what the nun was looking for the note she's currently holding.
She placed it on her uniform for safe keep all the while she prepared to escape the church, seeing that there's nothing that can really tell her that this place is a possible hideout for either the Organization or the Witch's Cult.
Though right as she was thinking of a plan to leave, a thought popped into her mind.
'Wait, but why did he lead me here?'
She crossed her arms and thought on how her dream eater was intent on having her be at the church.
She had assumed that it was because of a possible witch cult or Organization activity though upon investigating, she isn't sure.
She knows her dream eater is aware of what she's looking for due to their connection, prompting her to perhaps rethink on leaving just yet.
She thinks on the building once again, trying to recall from the previous visit if there was anything out of the ordinary.
From what she can once again recall, she was mainly in this office assisting Sakura with paperwork and would occasionally assist Subaru, Ram, and Melty with some chores around the church.
Even during that time nothing seemed like something was off at the time.
She continued to think though after a minute of backtracking, she started to explore the office as swiftly and quietly as possible, thinking perhaps there's a secret room or something here.
As she moved things around carefully, she noticed something off about one of the walls.
Right before she had the chance to move the bookshelf, she heard someone speaking right by the entrance to the office she's in, prompting her to run back to her previous hideout.
As she hid back, the door was kicked open which nearly cause Petra to give herself away from being scared by how loud that was though she just barely controlled herself.
As the person had opened the door in such a harsh way, she can hear what seems to be Sakura's voice in an annoyed and slightly aggressive tone,
"I told you I left it on the desk, unless you think it walked on its own."
"N-No madam, I-I just couldn't find it."
"Right." Sakura spoke with an annoyed tone as she goes to investigate her desk though upon her moving a few papers around, she realizes that it is missing.
There was a moment of silence before Sakura's voice said:
"Well then, it seems like it's missing."
"..."
Sakura sighed before telling the nun that's with her:
"Leave. Return to cleaning up the place."
"Y-Yes Sakura-sama."
As the nun leaves, Sakura seems to be on her own in her thoughts from what Petra can glance from her hiding spot though she went back into hiding as it seemed like Sakura moved her head towards her direction.
As she was holding her breath, uncertain if Sakura had spotted her, the room fell into silence before Sakura seemed to be moving some things from her desk.
After a moment, she started walking which caused Petra to slightly panic since she can hear the footsteps getting louder in her direction.
Right as it seemed like she was about to get caught, she heard a voice speak to Sakura in a exhausted like tone:
"Sakura-sama...w-we have a situation."
"What is it?" She spoke in a blank tone. The person that spoke responded a few seconds later with:
"One of the boxes broke and there's now all sorts of food that's gone bad."
Sakura sighed with annoyance at this since having food be ruined is a problem she doesn't want to deal with at the moment.
"I'll take care of it." Sakura says this as she leaves the room along with the one who gave her the message of the situation.
As she had left the room, Petra immediately knew that she needed to leave while she had a chance...though this also brings a chance to push further in her investigation.
She turned back to the bookshelf that had what seemed to be something in the wall, looking odd.
She moved the bookshelf as quietly and as quickly as she possibly could before taking a better look at the wall.
From what she found was just a drawing, an art of the divine dragon.
It makes sense since this is the church of the divine dragon though what did have her attention was the red crystal that was in the art, right on the dragon's eye.
This was a very interesting choice though she felt that there's meaning behind this red crystal on the divine dragon which prompted her to try and reach for the crystal.
Here goal was to tap on the crystal though upon touching the crystal with her index finger, the red crystal fell from the painting and onto the ground.
'Oh no!'
She wasn't trying to do this and was trying to reach for the red crystal only for her attention to turn towards the art as the divine dragon's eye started to glow.
This had her attention until the sudden noise of something moving had caused her to fall on her back.
As she was on the ground, the wall started to move which was making a small amount of noise, prompting her to go hide for a moment as the wall was making noise.
Lucky for her, the noise wasn't loud enough to attract attention from those outside the room.
After a brief moment, the noise from the wall stopped which prompted Petra to quickly investigate.
As she goes to check the wall again, she noticed that there was a secret path, prompting her to quickly try to move the bookshelf just enough for her to fit in order to enter the secret passageway.
Right before heading into the passageway, she moved the bookshelf as best she could to how it was before noticing the red crystal on the ground.
She picked it up and placed it back onto the painting of the divine dragon and saw that it started to cause the wall to move again back into place.
She moved out of the way and watched as her entrance and possible exit had been closed off now.
As she was blocked off, she was scared at first since she doesn't know what she's dealing with at the moment.
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, calming her heart down since she was feeling a bit overwhelmed.
While calming her heart down, she started to think about how everyone in the Emilia camp would handle the current situation, with mainly how Sora and Subaru wouldn't be afraid to go on their own into this passageway though it's mostly because they have the power to handle themselves.
In her case, she's just a child and a simple maid with minimal yang magic usage with the assistance of Frederica and Ram.
Although she could summon her dream eater should she find herself in trouble, she also knows that her dream eater is not strong enough should say take on an Organization member appear or a strong witch cultists.
Despite this, she wishes to help Emilia and the others anyway she can, especially now since she's aware of the attack coming to the capital.
Motivated by this, she slowly moved into the secret passageway, prepared to summon her dream eater should the need arise.
While Petra continued her investigation, Subaru and his small group entered the temple, an uneasy feeling remained over him ever since he came back from the last loop.
Though, the last time he and Beatrice were here, they had assisted Melty, Ram, and Petra in assisting over the church chores and supporting on Melty's nun duties.
Yet, stepping into any church always felt off to Subaru due to his lack of faith in deities. For him, it was less about divine belief and more about fate.
Still, none of that mattered now at the moment, since his thoughts were at the moment preoccupied with a fragment from one of the failed loops.
("This wasn't how Mother would've wanted things to go...but, it was indeed fun for me.")
Subaru crossed his arms, her voice replaying in his mind. It wasn't that he recognized the voice, but how she was there, in the Witch's Cult for mentioning the word "Mother".
This all brings into question on a lot of things. The first was the mention of "Mother," a term he along with the other Emilia Camp members only heard from Meili and Elsa use in reference to Capella.
What was her connection to "Mother"?
The second, far more pressing question, was whether Sakura Element was involved with the Witch's Cult.
It was the only explanation that made sense since her sudden appearance in that failed loop felt deliberate and abrupt, as if she's pulling strings from the shadows.
Subaru's gaze flicked across the sanctuary of the church, where he caught sight of Sakura.
'Could she be capable of doing that? Is she even her?' He questioned as he narrowed his eyes on a possible thought, what if Sakura Element that he's seeing was an imposter?
That could be the case since surely Melty, Salum, Tiga, or Pooka would have noticed and warned the Emilia camp by now if something was up with her or if she's not herself...though then again, that brings a lot more questions if this Sakura is an imposter:
Were they somehow forced into silence? Could they be complicit? The thought sent a shiver down his spine, but he shook it off.
'No, that's ridiculous. They wouldn't betray us, not after everything that had happened in Vollachia with that one winged asshole.'
Even as he dismissed the darker possibilities, Subaru couldn't shake the unease gnawing at him.
Something about Sakura wasn't right, and he was determined to uncover the truth before it was too late.
With the Organization having recruited Todd Fang into their mist, and the Witch's cult having Replica Riku and apparently a new cultist by the name of Wolf, it would be very bad for him and his camp if Melty, Salum, Tiga, and Pooka were aligned with Capella this whole time.
"Is everything okay?" Beatrice questioned, being able to tell that something has bothered her contractor.
"Y-Yeah. I'm alright, but we should keep our guards up."
Beatrice nodded as she understood that Subaru was cautious on the church. Garfiel heard what his captain and step brother had said, prompting him to bump his fists together while commenting on what he had said:
"Aight, don't ya worry. Whatever happens, I'll keep ya'll safe."
As Garfiel spoke with confidence, Subaru nodded at him before turning towards Sakura, seeing her approach them in a tired expression.
"Good day to you three. I wasn't expecting any visitors, let alone those from the Emilia camp."
"Apologies for our intrusion, things have been a bit chaotic and we were hoping to stop by for a bit. Perhaps you might need some assistance."
"Oh, that's so kind. Things have been a bit chaotic here, however it's nothing we can't handle."
As Sakura said this, one of the workers collapsed to the ground with a box filled with decorations.
Sakura shook her head in disappointment as this was the worst time to have happened after trying to reassure Subaru and his group that everything was going well.
"Honestly, I don't know what to do with them."
Subaru's mind churned as he observed the workers, especially the one that fell a moment ago.
Subaru couldn't help but notice the same tired, lifeless eyes that Sakura had.
It wasn't just the worker and Sakura but even the nuns, everyone that he can see in the part of the church he, Beatrice, and Garfiel are standing at.
All workers, nuns, and Sakura Element bore the same fatigued expression, a dullness that was impossible to ignore.
His thoughts began to drift back towards the previous loop, recalling the moment he'd seen Sakura.
In that memory, she was active, her face devoid of the weariness he was seeing right now.
The contrast was stark, almost as if the Sakura before him was putting on a façade.
'Could this all be an act?' Subaru wondered, trying to figure out this delema as well as figuring the possible reasons for Sakura to be acting so tired right now while when with Wolf and Replica Riku, she acted different.
As he kept thinking, he also thought back to moments ago when Sakura spotted them, noticing that she was a bit surprised by their arrival.
That expression had told him that there was no way she could have anticipated his arrival here, not unless someone had tipped her off.
His mind flashed to Wolf and Replica Riku, their attack in the previous two loops with their coordinated chaos they'd caused and the timing of all five royal candidates in the same room was too perfect.
All of this was as if someone knew all five royal candidates were gathering, to which considering that the mention of "Mother" by the previous loop Sakura Element gives away that Capella and her gospel are involved in that matter, explaining Wolf and Replica Riku's attack being so effectively in both failed loops.
"Is something the matter?" Sakura's kind and concerned voice broke through his thoughts, catching Subaru off guard.
He turned towards Garfiel and Beatrice, noticing that they were both watching him intently, their own concern evident.
They must have noticed how deep in thought he'd been.
"Apologies," Subaru responded, "I've just got a lot on my mind."
"There's no need to apologize," Sakura replied, her voice soothing. "Perhaps coming here was fated. A prayer might help with whatever troubles you."
Subaru hesitated, his skepticism flickering beneath the surface.
There was something disarming about Sakura's offer, yet he couldn't fully trust it.
Still, he thought for a moment, weighing his options before accepting Sakura's offer, thinking that perhaps he just needs a moment to think in order to formulate a plan.
Though right as he along with Garfiel and Beatrice were approaching the alter, Garfiel paused for a moment as he sensed something was off. Subaru, Beatrice, and Sakura all three noticed this, which prompted Subaru to ask:
"You okay?"
"..." Garfiel continued to look at the ceiling, seemingly ignoring his captain for a moment before he got into his fighting stance while telling his captain and Beatrice:
"Oi! Someone's comin'!"
The two nodded at what the shield of the sanctuary before getting in front of Sakura to protect her from whatever's coming.
After a few seconds of getting in front of her, Subaru's mind had some hesitation for a brief second since they probably shouldn't be protecting a likely witch cultist though this didn't matter when the ceiling of the church exploded, revealing Wolf as he jumps down right in front of Garfiel Tinsel.
The pieces of the building heading right towards the four of them were blocked off when Subaru summoned his Rebirth keyblade and used Reflect to create a barrier to protect them.
As the ceiling was revealing the light from the sky, another figure jumped down from the top of the church and landed right next to Wolf, this being Replica Riku.
As the two were standing in front of Subaru, Garfiel, Beatrice, and Sakura, The Shield of Sanctuary smiled as he smacked his fists together while saying:
"Guess it's my lucky day, I get t'take on th'bastard th't attacked my cap'n back at th'mansion!"
As Garfiel was speaking with confidence and excitement, Wolf swapped his serious mask for his smile one all the while responding to the demi human boy's comment with:
"You are quite a lively boy!"
"Tsk. Not th'word I'd use."
Right as a fight was about to break out, Subaru turned towards Sakura to tell her:
"Get you and your people to safety, we got this covered."
Sakura just nodded before attempting to pass by Wolf and Replica Riku only for Wolf to not only turn towards her but to also immediately charge right at her.
Subaru and the others were in shock as Wolf grabs Sakura's face. Subaru immediately grabbed Beatrice's hand as he shouted to Garfiel:
"Stop him!"
Garfiel nodded and quickly charged right towards Wolf's direction, though right as he did this, Replica Riku prepared to intercept only for him to see one purple projectile past right by his face.
This prompted him to create a dark barrier, allowing him to block off the purple projectiles that were created by the duo of Natsuki Subaru and Beatrice.
As the two had gotten the attention of the sin archbishop of pride, Garfiel reached Wolf and was successful in landed a strong punch onto his opponent's stomach area which had caused him to let go of Sakura.
He turned towards her to check on her, seeing that she was still conscious though looking extremely weak.
"Go!" Garfiel said as he turned towards his opponent and began to throw a barrage of punches. As he did this, Subaru yelled at Garfiel:
"Don't let him grab you or you'll be out in seconds!"
"Ya got it, cap'n!"
With that warning being given, Garfiel changed his strategy in an instant as he punched the ground and grabbed the concrete in order to use as a weapon and to have a shield from being grabbed by Wolf.
As he did this with both his hands, he returned to going on the offensive, only this time using concrete to assist in providing defense for himself and a stronger offense.
While Garfiel Tinsel was providing some pressure on his opponent, Replica Riku gave Subaru a look of hatred, unhappy that he had nearly gotten him.
The second that his dark barrier went away, he moved extremely fast that he appeared right in front of both Subaru and Beatrice in a blink of an eye, preparing to swing his weapon at the pair.
The two were anticipating this and had used their ability of E*M*M in order for any attack to never be able to land on the pair. When Pride had swung his sword, he noticed his attack didn't do anything.
This left him open for Subaru to make a counterattack using the authority of sloth, Invisible Providence.
As his unseen hand was shot out of his chest, he managed to land a powerful uppercut onto Replica Riku, sending him flying off onto a wall.
Subaru and Beatrice stopped using their ability of E*M*M as Beatrice prepared another yin magic attack while Subaru used formchange from his Rebirth keyblade to have his sage attire once again, preparing a defense once their opponent gets back up to try another attack.
With his defenses up and Beatrice having the offense of theirs ready, Subaru couldn't help but have a confident smile as he thought to himself:
'Not exactly the outcome I expected to happen when I arrived here, however at this moment we have the upper hand.'
He and Beatrice watched as Replica Riku slowly got back up, having an intense dark aura around him flare up as he gave the two a look of pure anger.
Right as his sword started to glow, he began to charge swiftly at Subaru first, viewing him as the biggest threat between the two.
Right as he was approaching Subaru, the keyblade wielder quickly activated the wrath authority, Canis Majoris in order to increase the strength of his body as he moves his keyblade and his shadows to clash with Replica Riku's sword attack.
As the two were in an intense blade lock, Beatrice took this chance to attack with her yin magic while the opportunity had presented itself.
Right as the yin projectiles were about to hit the Sin Archbishop of Pride, he pushed Subaru back as he created a dark fireball with his right hand to counter Beatrice's attack.
As his dark fireball was able to protect him from getting hit, he quickly teleported right behind Subaru in an attempt to strike him down only for the shadows from Subaru's mage attire were able to protect him though barely.
Subaru sensed this and quickly went for another counterattack, swinging his keyblade as fast as he could with the boost of his wrath authority.
This boost did allowed Subaru to nearly land a hit on Pride though he was still just a tad bit fast enough to avoid said attack.
As he did this, he noticed Beatrice was on her own, preparing what it seems to be summoning more projectiles.
Replica Riku turned to try an attack her only to be surprised when a sudden dark smoke covered the little spirit girl before the smoke reached him, blocking his senses.
This allowed Subaru to land another hit onto Pride with his Rebirth keyblade.
Once he managed land this hit, he used his shadows to send him flying and crashing onto another wall of the church.
As he crashed, the smoke went away as he quickly went right by Beatrice's side to protect her as well as wanting to stand right by her side as they are still facing Sin Archbishop of Pride as a duo.
The two looked like Pride slowly got back up with his dark aura having intensified more than before.
"I won't...lose to you!" The Sin Archbishop of Pride shouted as he prepared to attack Natsuki Subaru and Beatrice. The two looked with confidence as they prepared themselves to counter whatever Pride throws at them.
"We won't lose to someone like you." Subaru says as he wanted to make a response to Replica Riku's words before continuing their battle with him.
'This time, we will win!'
Author's note:
I apologies for how long this chapter took to finish up. Having been monetized on youtube (channel is GreenWarrior291), school, work, and the other stories kept me from finishing up this chapter at a fast pace though I want to make it clear, I'm not abandoning any of the stories and they will reach their conclusions with this story being almost at the half way point of this arc with for sure the next arc being the final arc.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well as Happy early New Year's, may 2025 be an amazing year for everyone.