One of the main magicians asked everyone to gather. They were spread out on the graveyard so she probably wants to tell them something important by gathering them.
"—We made a mistake by plunging straight into the depths of this city. Had we waited for the others on the bridge then things might've turned out differently. I… I shouldn't have given to order to venture further…"
"Who exactly made you the leader? Was it your sole decision or was there a majority vote?" Flora asked while digging in her ear with her pinky.
"Miss Fleridine is a senior member of the Magician's Guild! She has shown time and time again how she's the perfect fit to be a leader if no one else steps up! She had always been in Lady Admeera' shadow until now!"
The other main magician, Pedick interjected.
"I don't give a fuck what fancy titles they give you or what your team thinks of you," Flora shot back, "A leader who tries to show off is just a fool trying to gain everyone's trust which eventually leads them all to death. Especially in a place like this. I'm not one to complain when fighting since I could've fought all those monsters on my own but you have to think about the majority and not just yourselves. Think about how you can lead everyone out of here, not what decisions you should make to show you're a good leader. Showing off is a sign of incompetence. Showing confidence when leading is a sign of your charm. Know the difference."
"T-That's…" the man lowered his head.
'It appears Miss Flora doesn't just have a badmouth but a big heart as well….'
Madilith didn't know Flora cared this much about them.
"You said that you could've fought all those monsters, green hair. Why didn't you stay behind and fight with that demihuman? All while calling lecturing us. The cheek!" the male magician spoke yet again.
Is he trying to do a "gotcha"?
"Stop it, Pedick. Let's not argue any further."
"Tch."
"Let me answer your question, 'Penis' or whatever your name is—I would've done so if not for the fact that most of you are pathetic weaklings and immature yes-men. If you can't handle a horde of that size then you won't be able to handle whatever else is out here, on your own."
"Why are you even here! From our reports, only the students should've been in the dungeon!"
"You're not even denying that you're scared. Whatever. I go where I find strong monsters. Though, I should be a little careful with what I kill. That guy will bite my head off if I act like these kids and go on a killing spree."
'That guy? Does she mean Al?'
"This is a relic tomb so naturally this place would have monsters or guardians and whatnot. If they're protecting artifacts then they must be strong. Monsters inside relic tombs never leave the areas you find them in so I'm free to kill as many of them as I want." Flora then continued, "I'll protect you until we meet up with the others. Just don't make any stupid decisions that will get you all killed."
Flora began walking away.
"Where are you going?" Fleridine asked in confusion.
"Like I said, I'll protect you. I can't do that while sitting here listening to your plan. There might be monsters lurking inside the cathedral. I'll finish them off and create a clear path to that thing protecting the artifacts. Your job is to set up traps and defences for the monsters from outside."
"Ah…"
Magic won't help them detect the Blight Things. In this situation, a warrior's senses might be their only hope.
"I'll get back as quickly as I can manage."
'Miss Flora is like a big sister.'
She's stern but also kind. Madilith had assumed that Flora was just a mean person by heart who insults people left and right.
"See ya." Flora then entered the cathedral with her sword drawn.
"Miss Flora is so cool." Madilith could hear Anais saying that with sparkling eyes.
◇◇◇
Flora closed the door behind her.
She looked down the seemingly never-ending hallway and its many doors. Next to every door was a strange wood-carved sculpture that was shaped like an "L" that was slightly rotated by ninety degrees.
'Hm, maybe those are religious mementos to the god they served? Looks similar to those crosses that priests wear all over Diacree. If those priests saw these then they would think these people are mocking Melis.'
Flora stood in front of one of them.
"I never expected Elves to be the religious type."
She expected that the Elves from other worlds are similar to the ones from her world.
Instead of believing in the gods that created them, they revere the World Tree, its many spirits, and its last remaining Hiisi guardian.
What did these Elves believe in before they perished?
They even built this grand church. Who was it for? Maybe the Soul King forced them to honour him as their god?
Flora continued walking.
She could feel several presences inside the cathedral.
She tapped her sword against the wall as she walked to get their attention.
'These might not be Blight Things but something else. That horde we encountered had little to no presence. I only became aware of them when I laid eyes on them.'
It could be that the Blight Things can freely hide their presences.
Or.
It could be that there are two groups of them in this city: One group being spectre-like entities that naturally have no presence while the others have presences that warriors and magicians can pick up on.
The spectres must be roaming the streets to kill unsuspecting explorers while the other group protects valuable treasure.
Flora came to a stop.
The doors were swung open and multiple monsters jumped out of the rooms, all of them disfigured nightmares.
'All of them have that strange grey energy surrounding their bodies just like the horde we ran into. Yeah, it seems there really are two groups of these things scattered throughout the city. Makes me wonder if they're intelligent or if something placed them in various places strategically.'
Flora got into a stance and took a deep breathe.
Her muscles tensed up.
As someone with no aura to speak of, she could only harness the inner essence within her body to increase her body strength and her sword's power.
Of course, she has traditional martial arts that uses the body as its source of energy and not aura.
The monsters charged at Flora.
She merely swung her sword horizontally.
An arc of wind—so powerful that it ripped the hallway to shreds, even collapsing the roof—was sent flying towards the monsters.
The arc of wind sliced through them like they were butter. The rest were crushed under the power of the shockwave.
Flora turned around silently and continued walking.
"The ones still inside the rooms stopped moving. Do they think I'll let down my guard?"
Flora smirked before pulling back her fist and swinging it towards the roof.
"Huup!"
A powerful shockwave was sent from her fist, completely obliterating the roof and the floor above it.
She could hear several cries and roars before the hallway went silent.
"Alright, how big is this place exactly... If Elves really built this place then they should've used spatial magic to increase the size of the cathedral's interior."
Flora closed her eyes.
Outer Senses. A technique warriors use to merge their presence with the area around them to sense their surroundings.
Flora could see herself in a three dimensional perspective. She was standing in the middle of a dark room.
An imaginary circle of white energy grew from her feet and began expanding.
It became larger than the amount of square meters of the hallway.
'It's like a maze. How many rooms are there…'
"!"
She then felt a great pressure coming from somewhere deep within the cathedral.
She could picture it: a tall skinny albino humanoid creature with a long neck and empty eye sockets. It dragged a large spear across the marbled floor.
Three entities protruded out of its back. All three were elves, judging from their ears. Two of them were clasping their hands as if in prayer and the third reaching its hands up as if trying to embrace something. Their mouths moved but Flora couldn't hear anything.
"There you are."
Flora could feel its strength. It was probably the strongest monster she's ever encountered, the second strongest being she's ever met after her master.
Flora's entire body was trembling with the urge to fight that thing. But she knew that it'll be suicide.
If Arthur and the others were here then they might have a chance.
Her mission is to clear out the other monsters to allow safe passage for the others. There's no time to get caught up in her desires.
Flora stretched.
"Alright! Let's do this!"
Flora bent down and burst through multiple rooms, slaughtering anything that her eyes laid on.
◇◇◇
It's been 12 hours since Flora went inside.
'Is she okay…?' Madilith was getting worried. The cathedral was just as silent as it was before Flora entered.
Anais suddenly plopped down next to Madilith. She sighed heavily.
"What's wrong?" Madilith asked.
"Big brother… I wonder if he's okay…It's been half a day and we still haven't heard anything from them. Blast, I knew we should've taken the other group's transmitter."
This "other group" are the ones currently back at their base. They only had two transmitters because the original plan—when they entered the dungeon—was to go through each floor while attacking together.
There's little need for a third or more transmitters if they knew where to find each other and stuck close together. The second transmitter was supposed to be used for the class that splits up with the rest of the group. They took turns this way.
Madilith responded, "Well, we didn't know that it'd be necessary to split up in the relic tomb…"
"Right… Relic tombs are like dangerous mazes with traps and monsters lurking around places you'd least expect them. Splitting up means certain death for either group. Any person with a brain would know to stay together. Haaah, I hope we get to leave this dungeon before the new year starts. I want to go to the ball and show Big Brother my new dress."
Anais then went "Hey, Madi."
"Yes?"
"About the ball – who are you going with?"
"….."
"I thought you'd ask Al? You had lots of opportunities. Heck, he even showed up in the dungeon!"
"I-I forgot, okay?"
"I would've accepted that excuse had you not avoided him so much! You bump into him at Lumourge so many times during lunch break that I lost count. Evie said that you become so shy that you refuse to make eye contact with him or you run off with some stupid excuse that you need to use the lady's room. This just hurts your chances!"
Well, girls like Madilith are his type. As mentioned before, she long since grew out of that shyness of hers.
Despite what Anais is saying, that was just an act to get his attention.
To be honest, she had grown tired of keeping this up. Maybe it was too much of her to expect Arnold to chase after her? He has so many women to choose from: why would he go come back to her again?
"I-I'll be bolder next time…"
"You better hurry before Big Sis Celeste gets her hands on him. I don't think she'll allow Al to go on with his philandering if he marries her. She probably won't mind about a few flings here and there but not the kind that shifts Al's attention more towards the other girls and not her. She might appear kind on the surface but most of the girls feel intimidated by her when they try to get close to Al."
"Eugh."
Madilith forgot how obsessed that woman is with Arnold. She's the kind of person who'll be able to see through Madilith's act. She'll assume that Madilith is planning something devious by acting like some shy and timid girl.
Naturally Celeste will get rid of Madilith. Celeste doesn't take kindly to people who approach her or her friends with hidden motives. Honestly, no one likes such a person.
The academy has seen several times how dangerous Celeste can be. Getting expelled out of nowhere or having your exam papers go missing is the least that can happen to you. Who knows what else Celeste is capable of.
Everything above is merely speculation. Not everyone actually believes that Celeste was involved. Of course, the timing and convenience of those things happening is suspicious.
"Do you think she'll end up marrying Al instead? Al's relationship with Her Highness Olivia has been rocky from what I remember. The whole academy knows about this."
"Of course she will. I know Big Sis better than anyone. She's told me a lot about her relationship with Al. Ah, but I shouldn't talk so openly about the things she tells me. Sister's code."
Anais crossed her arms and declared: No way am I going to break that.
"Ah, I understand… Uhm, by the way. Why do you call her Big Sis? Aren't you older?"
"Ehh, how should I put this…" Anais cupped her chin in her hand, "Basically Big Sis is the kind of person that you can rely on—like Evie, you know? She's smarter, more capable than me in a lot of things, more knowledgeable about stuff and a better talker than me."
Anais scratched her cheek.
"That's why I call her that. She's my big sis in spirit!"
She then muttered, "She's also taller than me…"
"Anyway! What should we do while waiting for the other group to get here?"
"Shouldn't we stand guard?"
"But it's boooring~ Plus, I've set several traps around the back of the cathedral. Big brother and the others will most likely come through the cemetery like we did."
The cemetery is located on the western area of the cathedral's estate. The church's front gate doesn't connect with the road they used to get here so it's highly likely that Arthur and the others will come this way as well.
"—You two sure look cosy chatting like schoolgirls in a dangerous place like this." Sabrina's voice came from nearby.
"Ah, Sabrina! Come sit with us!" Anais waved at Sabrina.
Sabrina shrugged and went "Okay, okay."
She sat on a nearby tombstone.
"What have you been up to?" asked Anais.
"I brewed some concoctions to protect us from curses. I'm not sure which kinds of curses the Blight Things will give us so I crafted every single one that I knew of. A little warning beforehand: they taste and smell awful but they should protect us to a certain degree."
"How many?"
"53 types."
"Waah, you had enough ingredients for that many?"
"Well, I didn't buy this bottomless magic bag just for show." She patted the leather bag at her side.
"Hmm~ You had enough ingredients for that many potions but you asked me to lend you panties? Why did you forget essentials but not crafting supplies?" Anais spoke loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.
"H-Hey, keep quiet about that! I just forgot to pack some stuff, okay!? It happens to everyone!" Sabrina covered Anais' mouth before she could blurt anything else out.
"Jeez, I get it, I get it~" Anais chuckled.
"…Don't yell that out loud next time… It's hard enough having only two pairs of underwear in the dungeon… What were you two talking about earlier?" asked Sabrina.
"This and that. Oh! I wanted to talk about something else! We might as well talk about that, right? I mean, there's nothing to do down here other than fighting some monsters."
"That?" Sabrina tilted her head.
Anais made a circle with her thumb and index finger. She moved her other hand's pointing finger in and out in a jerking motion.
"Not this again. Anais, does your brother know you're a pervert who gets off on other people's love stories?"
"W-What? That's absurd! I don't!"
"Really? Mind explaining why you ask every single girl in our class that question then? Not just that but I found erotica novels in our dorm room, of which none are mine."
Anais blushed and lowered her head.
"I… I just want to prepare myself for when I do those kinds of things with someone…"
"So, you just want experience then?"
Anais nodded.
Sabrina glanced at Madilith. The two then looked back at Anais.
"Anais, you see…"
"We thought you and Arthur already…"
Anais' face instantly flushed like a tomato.
"Y-You're wrong!"
"But the rumours…"
"And the way you act around him…"
"It's wrong!" Anais covered her mouth after screaming that out. Her loud voice might lead the monsters here. The point of running away was to avoid running into more hordes.
Her shoulders drooped as she lowered her head.
"…To be honest, I really wanted to do all the things lovers do but… something like that could never happen with Arthur…" she stared into the campfire for a few seconds in silence, "…I can remember the first day of my life at the academy. I stood there in front of class with Arthur. We were going to introduce ourselves. He went first. I finished my introduction second but then loudly declared to all the girls that 'Big Brother is mine!'. Everyone laughed while I stood there proudly. People just thought that I loved Arthur so much that I didn't want to let go of him, even when it comes to whoever he falls for or vice versa. I would always meddle in his relationships. It's happened often throughout the years: him accepting some girl's confession and me squandering their romance."
Anais chuckled with her head still lowered, "I made pimples appear all over one girl's face. She couldn't face anyone for the next two weeks. She was too ashamed to even show herself to Arthur. I thought it was hilarious how I ruined their chances with my brother. I… I really loved him, didn't I…? So much so that I would sabotage whatever relationship he had. None of them lasted more than a few months. But… I've opened my eyes since then. The two of us… We could never be together."
Madilith and Sabrina listened in silence.
"I think the only reason I feel this way about him is because he was the only person I could cling to or rely on when we lost everything. To me, my big brother was my everything. I didn't have time to experience the wonders of being a young woman because I was always clinging onto him. I never pursued anyone but Arthur. Now I'm 20 years old with no knowledge of what it feels like to date someone, much less have sex. Maybe I should just accept the next person who confesses to me in the future…"
"Listen, we know what your brother means to you. While it's… uhm, a little weird, we can understand because there was a point where the two of you could only rely on each other. He loves you just as you love him but not like he loves Shirley. You're his sister, the closest bond one could ever hope for. It's a different kind of love, is what I mean."
Madilith then continued after Sabrina.
"It's a good thing you didn't actually throw yourself at him, Anais. Acting on your feelings will only damage your relationship."
Anais lifted her head. This was probably the first time that Madilith had seen a sad expression on Anais' face. She's always either really cheery with a big smile on her face or very pouty about something with puffed up cheeks like a squirrel.
Anais brushed her bangs aside and spoke.
"I'm glad I didn't act on them as well… What am I supposed to do now? Will I forever remain lonely without the ability to love another? Should I… just give up?"
"No, you shouldn't. Like you said: why not start with dating whoever confessed to you at this point? The point of dating is to see where things will go. You might like the guy on the first date and want to continue talking to him until you're certain that he's the one. Well, being a noble and all won't get always you into a monogamous relationship. You'll have to compete with other women. I'm sure you don't want that?"
"I don't know…"
Polygamy has been a standard marriage practice in nobility for centuries. Men of power(or those with enough wealth) can marry as many wives as they want. The opposite is very rare. This practice is common among nobles and rich families but not so much among the working class people.
"Broaden the scope of your search. There are a lot of capable boys among the commoner students. I've dated a few in the past. Forget about money and prestige, though. Most of the commoners in the academy are sponsored by nobility. I recall having to pay for dates on my own on two occasions instead of splitting the bill like I always do. They were great guys, at least."
"Maybe we should let her decide on her own, Sabrina. Do you have any guys in mind, Anais? Being someone who receives ten confessions on average per week, surely one of them caught your eye?"
Sabrina muttered with a chuckle, "It seems someone's upset that she's less popular~"
'I'm not…'
"Uhm…" Anais made a thinking gesture, "…This might sound weird but… I find guys like Al attractive…"
"…"
"…"
"W-What? I-I meant smart and handsome!"
'Why are you flustered?'
It would appear that Anais considered Arnold himself a potential suitor. Of course, Madilith felt a little weird that one of her best friends wanted to pursue someone she still has feelings for.
"Phew, for a minute I thought you meant you liked that scumbag." Sabrina sighed in relief for some reason "God forbid another one of my friends falls for that piece of trash. Not only is he a womanizer, he even beat up your brother!"
"Hey, Al isn't all bad, you know…" Anais tried explaining, "It's just… He had a difficult life when he was younger."
Madilith knew all about his childhood. It's not exactly something that everyone knows. He was the one who told her about the things that he went through as a child.
He only began taking his training seriously after the first attempted assassination at his life. He was bullied by older kids – shoved in bathroom stalls, had trash thrown on him, was beat up when he wouldn't listen to the older kids. But all that changed when he began training.
He became someone feared among even the elder kids. He got revenge on everyone who ever bullied him at knight school. All that power went to his head, just like the power he had as the son of a duke.
Madilith doesn't exactly know what to believe when it comes to the rumours surrounding him. Well, she doesn't really care.
"Let's not talk about that guy any further, alright? Haaa, I don't know about you two but I'm craving for a Chartalobe right now." Sabrina sighed heavily as she looked at her plastic bottle filled with yellowish liquid that she squeezed from fruits.
A "Chartalobe" is a beverage that's popular among the young women in the empire. It has the right amount of sweetness with a tinge of bitterness. It's made from the highest quality chocolate on the market but the beverage itself is fairly cheap. It goes well with cakes and pastries, which are also favourites among the academy students and young people in general.
Lumourge owns the coffee shop that sells these beverages. Students with a yearly "Lumourge Dining Pass" can get stuff on a discount at their other shops.
"Why did you have to remind me about it…" Madilith sulked as well, "I used to buy one every day because I couldn't go a day without that milkshake's sweetness…"
"We'll have to make due with water for now…" Anais smiled wryly as she got up "I'm going to check up on the magic traps I set up. They might've caught something."
"I'll go with you." Madilith stood up.
"What about you, Sabrina?"
"Ah, I'll work on producing some strength and mana boosters since we have enough healing potions for now. Find me in my tent if you need anything. See ya later."
The three of them were just about to part ways before they heard a bloodcurdling scream.
Madilith thought that it was that same creature that appeared in her dreams but this scream sounded like a human's.
"W-What's going on? Hey, you two!" Madilith was confused for a second before she called out to Sabrina and Anais who headed towards that scream.
Not just them, everyone in the group went in the direction where the scream came from with their weapons ready.
Madilith squeezed through them to see what was going on.
"What the hell…"
"H-His skin… It's… peeling off…?"
It's exactly as the second person just said.
One of the main magicians, the one known as Pedick, was writhing in pain on the ground while his skin was being ripped off like paper.
"H-Help me!!! Uaaaaghhh!"