About twenty-two days have passed since we arrived in Hovsgaerden.
Since the day when Daica made up her mind to come to the capital with me,
I've practically learned how to read without needing help anymore. When I
was reincarnated into this world I somehow already know all the vocabulary,
so reading the words out loud in my mind allows me to understand every
word.
In this time, I also learned some common knowledge, such as that a week
in this nation consists of fourteen days. It roughly corresponds to the moon
phase, also called a fortnight - separated by either waning or waxing. The
first set of seven days are each named after a celestial body in the night sky
visible to the naked eye, and for the second set, they are repeated with a
different prefix.
Two such fortnights make up a month, simply called 'moon'. Those moons
are named after their gods, but I didn't pay too much attention to their names
since they are too complicated. One of them is Belys, the Lady of Brilliance,
though - whose purported scriptures I got from Arcelia.
Finally, an overall of thirteen months is one year. If my high school math
skills don't fail me, that means a year has three-hundred and sixty-four days.
That's just one day less than what I'm used to. And three years to return to the
demon castle means only three days less time than three Earth years.
Our party has stayed split up for most of the time since I started learning to
read the language, only meeting during meals. Because Kamii would never
leave my side, I haven't been able to go to the church and do work as a healer
there - since they don't allow cursed people inside their so-called pure and
sacred halls.
I'd rather not take money from them, if they ignore the plight of corrupted
beings like this. Well, unlike the churches of the world I'm from, this one
here apparently isn't a charity but a purely spiritual institution that takes itself
too seriously.
Instead, I set up a small corner in the guild hall, where I would use the spell
Arcelia taught me to provide healing to adventurers. It actually didn't take much to convince Ingrid to give me permission; I visited her just at the right
time, when she had suffered a paper-cut. Holding her hand gently and casting
my light magic was enough to persuade her.
When I grinned at her afterward, she hit me over the head with a stack of
documents and said 'you're ten years too early to etc. etc.' or something like
that.
But through this little job of mine, I now actually earn enough to pay the
rent for the room we're staying in, as well as all our meals - but just barely.
There's nothing left over to set aside for the journey ahead, let alone to buy
new clothes and equipment. Neither Kamii nor Daica has been earning
money over that time, and I told the latter to keep her savings, so I need to be
the adult here and provide for the family.
In either case, with this, I started integrating into life among humans rather
well. Rolan praised me for the fact that I could make a living on my own -
making no real secret of how I must have been hurting the party funds by
being a freeloader and even taking on two more alongside me.
I've also started to read the book that Arcelia gave me. Well, it's just like
the holy scriptures of some prim and proper religion. It begins with a genesis
story - which I skipped. Then there's the mention of a prophet - which I
skipped, too. A section has a moral compass, which I bookmarked since it
might become useful for future reference, to understand the values by which
humans of this world live.
And then there's the list of light magic spells and their incantations. Some
have really vague effects, such as 'granting vitality', 'strengthening the mind'
and 'increasing resistance to the dark arts'. I would interpret the last one to be
a buff to dark magic resistance, but I don't know how this world's resistances
work. I doubt it's a game of rock-paper-scissors of elements since that only
exists in video games. Reality is quite a bit more complex than that.
But there are also some really useful-sounding ones, like 'Libera Animar'.
Apparently, it's a very simple incantation that's used on corpses to make sure
they don't turn undead. Furthermore, it can also be chanted against the most
basic types of the undead, such as zombies and skeletons, to free their souls
and turn their bodies to ash.
First things first, there are undead in this world. I inadvertently looked at
Senka when I got to that part. And it even mentions types of undead, which
implies that there must be the weak rabble kind and powerful ones like liches.
Secondly, it seems like the people of this world have figured out the secrets
of the human soul, something my previous world couldn't, even with all the
scientific knowledge they possessed. I guess magic allows for a broader view
of things?
Thirdly, magic does indeed use a language that's about as different as from
the everyday spoken one English does from Japanese.
In the book, there's another spell that caught my eye. It has a three-word
incantation, 'Hasta de Lumin', which summons a spear of light to strike one's
enemies. It doesn't specify how big or how fast it would be, or how powerful
it is. Guess I'll have to try it out eventually.
Ultimately, I don't discover any mention of a mana system or the likes, so I
guess this means the magic of this world doesn't use it. That also means
whoever has access to knowledge of the most powerful spells is at a clear
advantage - and those who can chant quickly, too. Isn't that quite unbalanced
and unfair?
In other words, Luna's magic seems quite powerful, but her cast speed is
way too low. She should level a little more and put some points into that. In
other words, practice to speak faster in the arcane magic language.
"Mahkotoh?" As always, it's Kamii who pulls me out of my thoughts and
back into the present.
"Hm?" I make and turn to her.
"Waiting." She points with her giant pincer and the men standing in line to
be healed by me flinch at her gesture. The cursed arm is of a bright red and
has an appearance that suggests violence and pain. Even without the stigma
of curses, people would feel uneasy when being pointed at by such a
dangerous-looking thing.
"Oh, sorry." I look up to the customer at the front and find that it's the same
guy that came by this morning. This time, he has a small cut on the back of
his hand, which doesn't even seem to need any medical attention, let alone
healing magic.
It's the typical pattern. Since I would be considered quite beautiful by this
world's standards - women here aren't usually this fair-skinned and slender,
and their hair is much rougher than mine - the men are coming to be coddled
by me. I've already shot down a few who tried to court me, too.
The second one in line is Arni, the ranger who was on perimeter watch
with his party during the raid on the slave base. There's a bleeding streak across his forearm, which is most likely the result of a snapped bowstring.
But it's already happened three times in the past five days, so I can't help but
feel that he's doing it on purpose.
"Arni, what will your wife say about coming to visit me all the time?" I
deliberately use a seductive tone, and he goes pale.
"H-how do you know about my wife?" He never told me himself, but I
heard from other adventurers gossiping, that this guy has a wife and an eightyear-old daughter.
"Hehe, she got you there, Arni." Another guy in line speaks in a gleeful
tone, and everyone begins to laugh. I allow myself to join in on the lighthearted fun, never forgetting that any of those could try to kill me anytime if
they knew I was a demon. Maou-mama's teachings continue to echo in my
mind in regards to human nature.
But I'd prefer they never found out so that these days can continue for the
time being. I'm not too keen on seeing their smiling faces of trust change to
hatred when they learn about my secret; when they base their opinion about
me on my race rather than who I really am.
When I finish up the line that has formed since the morning and find that
nobody else is coming at the moment, I stretch my arms and yawn. It's not
like this job is particularly tiring, but sitting around all day gets boring
quickly. Kamii is always by my side, but Daica has been running some
errands for Ingrid the past two days, as well as setting up a workshop in one
of the guild's empty storerooms. She's preparing to create ointments and
potions for the guild store since the regular supplier seems to have gone out
of business after a fire devastated his warehouse and all the stocks inside it.
In other words, she will begin contributing to the family quite soon, which
only leaves the little dark elf as a freeloader. Not that I would make her work,
though.
Since I have some time now, I go and take a look at the quest board. It's
basically just window-shopping since I can't take on any job without the full
party around; it would be suspicious if I were to succeed in a subjugation
quest with just Daica and Kamii. And I don't want to do any of the boringsounding escort quests or the clichéd gathering quests.
The majority of posted notes are of the latter two types anyway. They're
about guarding merchants on their ways to nearby towns and cities or following around a herbalist as they go into the forest to procure rare
ingredients. Generally, there aren't many subjugation quests available, since
corruption isn't as widespread as one might think and there are no such things
as giant supernatural monsters like the ones found on the Dark Continent. If
it's normal wild animals, they can be taken care of by local hunters.
By the way, the obligatory lost pet retrieval quests exist, too. That's a staple
of any beginner adventurer's job, huh?
The interesting part is that there are no difficulty levels specifically written
out on any of them, unlike in fantasy game quest systems. Everyone is to
judge their own abilities to see whether they're capable of doing it or not.
Today, a rather large quest is posted on the center of the board. Not just its
size but its name immediately catches my eye: Annual Cemetery Clearing.
And there's something like a difficulty level for it, too; it says that only an
experienced party with enchanted weapons, preferably including a fire mage,
should attempt this quest. At least a hundred undead are expected.
Wait, isn't that the perfect opportunity to test these light magic spells?
Coincidence? I think not!
"Ignis." I mutter, and a tiny flame appears in my palm. I cup it so nobody
else sees what I'm doing since I shouldn't openly show off magic capabilities
that I haven't officially learned; I know the incantation from hearing Luna
speaking it. In case the light magic I only learned from the book fails, I can
still use some fire. I grasp the flame, and it's extinguished without burning my
skin.
"Anything caught your eye, missy?" I hear Gram's voice from behind me
and turn around. He and the bard seem to have returned from whatever job
they were working on, but the others aren't back, yet.
"I'm really interested in this Annual Cemetery Clearing request." I'll see if I
can move these two to come along as an alibi; I can always act like I need
their help, and then we could retreat, if it gets too dangerous for just the
human me.
"Ah, it's that time again, huh? I hear it's quite dangerous." He laughs
nervously and looks at the posted quest.
It actually sounds like the first dungeon one is sent to in action RPGs. The
bosses in those kinds of games are always just a slightly stronger version of
the mobs that run around the map, and it can be completed with the basic
equipment and only the starter skill. Is something like that really considered difficult for humans?
I might just be getting ahead of myself with game knowledge here, though.
"Do you think we could do it with just the three of us?" I look up to the big
man to gauge his opinion of the bard. I think he's quite useless in battle since
he's just an average ranger who uses a crossbow with pretty long reload
times, rather than a proper fantasy world bard. Although he has a pretty good
singing voice and plays the lute well, there's no hint of his songs being able to
give buffs or the likes.
"I don't think so. We don't have anyone who can decisively strike them
down. Both the leader and Runa aren't here, after all." Gram scratches his
chin and points at the quest requirements, specifically the part about needing
a fire mage.
Fufufu, you have a cleric right here though!
"You forget I can use light magic, and the Scripture of Belys has taught me
spells to combat the undead with." I hold up the small book Arcelia gave me.
"Haha, don't overestimate yourself, missy." Laughing, the big man waves
my argument off. Ah, of course, he would react this way. "You only just
started on this path less than a moon ago. It took Runa many years to achieve
her level of mastery, and that girl has frightening talent."
Fair enough. It means he needs a demonstration then.
"Hasta de Lumin!" I chant out loud, and light gathers above me, shaping
itself into an oblong, spear-like form. Gram's eyes widen at the sight.
It worked!
Wait, what do I do with this now? How do I fire it? Maybe I need to grab it
and physically throw it? No, that doesn't seem right. Even the double fire
affinity mage didn't actually touch his balls of fire and only gestured with his
palm. Must be like people with telekinetic powers who point their fingers to
focus better.
So, I do the same, pointing my hand and willing it to move in a specific
direction. Luckily, there's a perfect target: An actual target board, hanging at
one end of the guild hall, which appears to be used for playing darts.
With a thought, I let go of the spirit spear. It shoots through the air, faster
than Gram's eyes can follow, and hits the target dead center. The whole board
is blasted into pieces, and a small sizzling crater is left in the stone wall
behind it. Everyone in the guild hall spins their heads around upon hearing
the explosion and stare with their mouths open, alternating their gazes between the wall and me.
What's with this destructive power, oi! This only requires three words to
chant! Luna's laser spell has a much longer incantation, but it feels like the
power is on a similar level.
But for now, I need to put on a poker-face.
"I believe I'm not overestimating myself." I think that might have been too
haughty. This is the first time I cast that spell, after all. Thus, I quickly
change my approach and look at Gram with upturned eyes; I'm sure this will
melt anyone's heart. "Come on, let's try this request."
"Well, the leader and Runa are going to return soon, so we could just go
with them..." He avoids my gaze and turns away shyly. That means it was
effective!
"Actually, the leader and Runa will retire to the tavern after their request
today, since they need to leave for the next one very early tomorrow." The
bard has been listening all this time and finally decides to join the
conversation.
"Ah..." Staring at the bard with an expression that suggests the latter spoke
too much, Gram sighs. He knew about it, huh? Basically, he was trying to
find an excuse not to go on this quest.
"The big man is actually afraid of the undead." The bard reveals casually
and grins mischievously.
What, really?
I spin around to look at Gram in disbelief, and he averts his gaze while
scratching his nose in embarrassment. Well, at least it's not associated with a
past trauma, or his reaction would have been different.
"He was told many stories in his childhood and has never faced those fears.
There are not many opportunities normally, and we have usually been absent
during the season when the annual clearing takes place." Shrugging, the bard
explains the reason for the big man's fear.
"The clearing usually takes at least two groups to complete. It's not
something we could finish on our own within the day." Even now, the big
man still tries to wiggle his way out. I have a feeling that we could do it when
we use my powerful magic.
"Let's go!" I say with resolution and pull the quest off the board, to bring it
to the front desk. I'm taking the position of the leader during the actual
leader's absence since neither Gram nor the bard seems to be the decisive type.
"Excuse me, but we cannot let a beginner take this dangerous request." The
receptionist knows that I'm only a newbie, so it's only natural that she
wouldn't let me do this quest. But did she not see my magic just now? Do I
have to demonstrate it to her again?
"Everyone!" Ingrid's voice echoes through the guild hall, and all heads turn
to its source. She's standing in the gallery, looking down into the main hall
with an alarmed expression. When she has everybody's attention, she begins
to explain. "I got word from the capital. The alliance army was wiped out.
Third Prince Ulterius and Queen Lillian are dead."
Oh, if those two are who I think they are, then those are pretty old news.
"Just like last time, the demon queen has announced a retaliatory strike
through the ancient transportation network. We have to suspend any further
requests and call back everyone." Her voice has a grim undertone, as she
announces her decision.
Wait, no, don't do that! I was just about to go do the Annual Cemetery
Clearing quest!
"Their forces could strike anywhere." The bard mutters with a thoughtful
expression. It actually seems like this is a tense situation. I couldn't even
imagine what it would be like if Maou-mama were to suddenly appear at the
gates of this city and decide to attack. I mean, everyone here is so weak
compared to even me, and I'm sure she's far more powerful than I am.
Either way, this is the scenario Rolan subconsciously wished for, when he
talked about his plans for the future. Now that the alliance army was wiped
out, he still has a shot at taking down the demon queen.
Rejoice, Rolan Helt. Your wish will finally come true.
The guild is on high alert, and more and more people begin to gather in the
main hall as the news spread among the adventurers and spill into the city
itself. Gram and the bard left to get Rolan and Luna. In the meantime, Ingrid
returned inside her office to prepare for her official announcement.
I doubt this city will be so lucky to see the armies of my mother coming
through here. I mean, while it may be a city, it's nowhere near the size of the
demon capital. There's absolutely no reason for her to strike such a remote
place in retaliation when the capital still stands. But if she did come here, I
don't know what I should do at that time.
"Hm..." I look down at Senka and hug her tight. I lower my mouth to her
ear and whisper as quietly as possible since I don't want to risk anyone else
overhearing our conversation. "What should we do, if my mother comes
here?"
She already knows that I'm the demon queen's child, so she understands it
when I put things that way. Kamii is listening as well, but I haven't told her
that I'm a demon, yet. I'll leave that for a more opportune timing than right
now.
"That's up to you. You have a deadline for returning to the castle, not
returning to her side." She replies without moving her lips, and I see Kamii
watching us. I put a finger to my lips to signal her that she shouldn't react to
our conversation too obviously, and she nods. Such a good girl~
But Senka is right. I doubt Maou-mama would lose against the humans
here, so I don't think I'll have to rally to her side at that time. I should just run
away with the current party to keep up appearances; after all, I still want to
see more of the human world and attend the magic academy in the capital.
"I doubt she will, though. There are many better transportation network
points in this world where she could strike. And the thing is, she will most
likely not come herself." Senka brings up this fair point. She's right, why
would Maou-mama come here, of all places?
"Mahkotoh?" Kamii suddenly makes, and I turn to her, to find that she's
giving me a jealous look because I'm cuddling with Senka so closely. She's
been doing this quite a lot when I would lose myself in conversation with the
doll girl. But this time, there's also unease in her eyes. Our hectic
surroundings are signaling to her that something bad is going on.
"Everything's alright, Kamii." I pet her hair, and she snuggles into my side.
"I'm here for you."
Soon, the entire guild hall is filled with people who have been called back.
Among them, I spot the ones that were around for the slavers' hideout raid,
including Inga's, Arni's and Halfdan's parties. I'm with my own party, of
whom everybody has assembled now. The gathered people are anxiously
waiting for Ingrid to explain the situation in greater detail.
Finally, she comes out of her room on the second floor and stands on the
gallery where everyone can see her. An aide is by her side, carrying a small
stack of documents that must contain some of the information she's going to
share with everyone now.
"I received a message through the Guild Network that a single survivor
from the alliance army returned to Pontis Daemonis. He had been tortured for
more than a moon, and then set free with a message carved into his flesh." In
a grave tone, she picks up a sheet of paper from the stack and reads from it
while speaking. "The message announced that the demon army would
perform a retaliatory strike within a set period of time. According to the time
it took for this message to reach here, we have calculated that the deadline
will pass sometime within this waxing fortnight."
Nervous murmurs grow loud in the hall, and I can see many scared faces.
"I don't think the demon army will hit us here, but just in case, I want
everyone to prepare for an attack." Raising her volume to regain the
audience's attention, Ingrid speaks with a firm and reassuring voice.
"The alliance army numbered six hundred thousand... and they were
completely wiped out?"
"If an army that large couldn't win, what can this little town hope to
achieve?"
"Would the demon queen attack Hovsgaerden? We're a much smaller city
than the capital."
"There's no hope for survival if they really come here..."
Whispers among the people grow louder, and I can make out some of the
things they say. And it seems so can Ingrid, as she scratches her head with a
difficult expression. She seems to share their sentiment in regards to just how
hopeless it would be if an army capable of destroying over half a million
humans soldiers were to invade. However, she still has to fulfill her duty as
the guild master.
"I'm not telling you to stand against the demon army. I want you to speak
to the townsfolk and tell them to be ready for an evacuation. In case the
demon army does show up anywhere near here, we'll have to make a run for
the capital." Elaborating on what she meant by preparations, Ingrid lays out
her plan. It makes a lot more sense than trying to defend this city against
what will most likely be an overwhelmingly huge army.
"But the capital is over two hundred leagues from here. That's a journey of
one moon!" A male voice exclaims among the gathered people. Senka taught
me the measurement system in this world, and I know roughly the conversion
to kilometers. A distance of two hundred leagues is around four hundred sixty
kilometers. That's about the length of the Tokaido, the Edo period express road between Kyoto and present-day Tokyo.
"If the demon army were on our heels, it would turn into a death march." A
female's voice agrees with the man's complaint. Well, it would be a really
short death march, because I know for a fact that many demons have better
stamina than humans and could just run them down.
But we planned on going to the capital anyway, and only now do I hear
how far away it is. I wouldn't have ever dreamed of walking that distance in
my previous life, even though I ran full marathons on a regular basis. Then
again, with my current body, it should be a piece of cake
"In either case, nobody is to leave the city on requests that take longer than
a day. We have to wait until the time limit is up before we can lift the state of
emergency. The city watch will remain on high alert, and the gates will be
closed at night." I think the situation is now beginning to sink in because a
blanket of despair is slowly descending on the gathered people.
I hear some still whisper about the alliance army's numbers and how
impossible it would be to fight the demons that could crush them.
Considering there are only a hundred thousand inhabitants in Hovsgaerden it
makes sense for them to be so fearful.
"Everyone here is aware that we aren't a strict organization like the lord's
army, so these aren't orders... think of this as a request. Yes, this will be
treated as a continuous request from the guild, with the survival of our people
as the payment." Ingrid makes it clear that she can't order anyone to remain in
the city. All the adventurers could just run away on their own and hide in a
forest until things blow over. But she's hoping that they won't just abandon
their fellow citizens. "I trust you will make the right choice. Dismissed."
Way to go to motivate them. I think it was able to sway the majority of
people, as they visibly regain their composure. However, others look like
they just want to run away as quickly as possible. Well, cowards are useless
anyway, so it'd be better if they weren't around when the situation does turn
dire. Those are the ones most likely to mess up a formation or give in to
betrayal.
"This isn't the first time, right?" I turn to Gram and ask. His expression is
filled with grim determination at the prospect of having to defend the
common people on a march towards the capital. While he's not entirely
fearless, as I learned just earlier, I know that he's not someone who would
ever run away. Rolan, Luna and even the bard are the same.
"Yes, but this is the first expedition since two decades ago when Emperor
Lucianus IV personally led an army to the Demon Continent. I was still a
little boy when I heard about it. Back then, everyone was paying close
attention to the progress reports from the front lines." The big man goes down
memory lane and begins to relate the past.
According to the reports at the time the previous emperor, Lucianus IV,
first established the city of Pontis Daemonis on the Demon Continent, to act
as a bridgehead for the invasion. Using it as a staging ground, he was able to
take almost the entire eastern half of the Demon Continent in just a year.
Today, it remains the only city on the Demon Continent still being held by
human forces, and it has weathered many sieges throughout the years.
Ultimately, Lucianus IV faced the previous demon king on the Fields of
Huwinn, and slay him. Yet, it was not enough to cut off the snake's head, as
the demon army overwhelmed the emperor's guards and killed him.
"At the time he brought three hundred thousand soldiers, of whom fewer
than half made it back." Gram finishes and puts the numbers of this latest
army in perspective. Now, the shock and despair I can feel in the people
around me make a lot more sense. Not only was there twice the amount of
soldiers, but it was completely wiped out rather than just routed. And the
demon queen didn't even die.
"The next summer, the currently reigning demon queen came to power. As
her first act, she sent an army of two hundred thousand demons through the
old transportation network, to take revenge for the death of the previous
demon king. Back then, the Khurut Sultanate bore the full brunt of their
invasion." The bard takes over explaining. He brings up a new name, which
sounds like a nation with a culture completely different from this one's. "The
sultanate had no relations to Emperor Lucianus IV's expedition but was still
attacked indiscriminately. It showed the world clearly that the current demon
queen is unpredictable and incredibly dangerous."
Why do I get the feeling that Maou-mama just messed up the transportation
spell's destination and decided to roll with it? For some reason, I think that's
actually exactly what happened. The image of her sticking out a tongue with
a feigned innocent smile makes me want to bop her over the head in my
mind.
"Does this setback mean that the next expedition will be in another twenty
summers?" I ask with a frown, hiding the fact that I'm trying to gauge the human forces in this world behind a facade of worry.
"No, this expedition was far from all of the empire's current military
strength. However, the morale of all allied nations will be abysmal for the
time being, I fear." Speaking in a reflective manner, the bard replies to my
question. "Emperor Lucianus V will have to lead the next expedition
personally, or there will not be another one within the decade."
"I see..." That means humanity is still going strong. Let's see how hard
Maou-mama's hammer will fall this time, first; then we can talk about this
again. She may accidentally invade the capital of the Empire of Terminus and
wipe it out completely, or something like that.
"Hm, what do you have there?" Rolan bows down to take a closer look at
Kamii. As expected, she quickly hides behind me and gazes up to the leader
with a cautious expression. Even though she should be used to him and the
others in the party by now, she still behaves like this when they talk to her
directly.
"Heh, she still doesn't like you, leader." Gram squats down and brings
himself onto eye-level with Kamii, before stretching a hand towards her. "It's
the request for the Annual Cemetery Clearing, isn't it?"
The little dark elf has become more familiarized with the big man than with
anybody else in the party since he's around more often. She hands him the
piece of paper I tore from the quest board earlier but remains careful.
"Oh right, now that we're all here, we can just do it together." I clap my
hands in joy and take the reins of the conversation before Rolan can adjourn
the party meeting once again. While looking at me strangely, he takes the
notice from Gram, before scanning through it quickly.
"Wait, isn't this a pretty dangerous one?" Rolan looks up from it with an
eyebrow raised. I have a sense of déjà vu from those words.
"The missy said she can use light magic now, and that it should be easy
with that." The big man points at the wall where my magic left a lasting
mark. "Well, she did throw a spear of light and obliterated the target that's
always been hanging there."
"... the target?" The leader's face goes pale as he looks over to where only
the small crater remains.
"That was Ingrid's." Luna delivers the explanation, her already white skin
becoming even whiter.
"Huh?" I look between the two and then where the target once hung. "W-was it something important?"
"I don't know." Shrugging, Gram replies.
"Yes, it-" Before Rolan can continue, Ingrid's voice echoes through the
guild hall and interrupts him.
"Hey, where did my target go?" She sounds furious.
"Yeah, let's do the cemetery clearing!" Rolan grabs Luna's hand and makes
a run for it. Gram and the bard react immediately and follow right after them.
For a moment, I'm dumbfounded. Then I hear somebody's voice in the
crowd, saying something along the lines of 'I saw Miss Marcott shoot some
magic at it, and it exploded'.
He ratted me out!
"Let's get out of here!" I pull Kamii along and dash out of the guild hall,
after the leader. On the way out, I wonder where Daica is right now, and hope
that she isn't returning soon after we leave; otherwise, she'll be at the mercy
of Ingrid's anger.