You may work until midnight, but being woken up in the middle of the night is a rare occurrence.
Only police, firefighters, or hospital doctors would do that.
If your job involves lives, there's always an emergency, so that's bound to happen.
Unfortunately, the work I did was important, but I was never woken up that late at night.
Why are we talking about this now?
That's because that's what you're going through right now.
You've finally gotten used to this twilight night, and these days, it seems like you have a visitor at the polite, watchful inn.
You're awakened from your shallow slumber by a hint of light above you.
What do you want?
Scratching his head, he sits on the bed, ready to reach for the mineral tree at any time, and points up to the ceiling and calls out to the ceiling.
"It's urgent.
"Ah?
They must have given you a hint on purpose, otherwise the person behind the scenes wouldn't have responded so easily.
The muffled voice coming from the ceiling is probably covering your mouth with a cloth or something to hide your gender and age.
The undead have gotten some troubling information.
"...... geek, you have a zombie or a ghost in your employ?
It's not because I'm too sleepy to think straight.
When I heard the word "undead," the first thing that came to mind was Instructor Fusio.
There are skulls that talk and laugh and cast magic and have emotions too.
Then it's not surprising to see a zombie or two in the back guild.
Well, it's the kind of person who would disappear in a single shot if they entered the church.
"Understand it's a code name. And I told you it was urgent. If you're going to interfere any further, you're going to have to gather the information yourself.
"Yes, and then?
"Forbidden magic tools are being used on the heroes. Some of them have been replaced by inhabitants of our world.
"What?
If that's true, you're in for some serious trouble.
Are you sure?
"I'm talking about possibilities, and the master says the odds are pretty good.
My voice came out of my mouth in a tone so solid that I didn't think I was asleep.
Naturally, the master of the attic grew serious in response.
Can you get the details?
"I am not allowed to speak out of my mouth. But I will send an errand downstairs to the dining room in the morning.
"Okay, what else is there?
"Ah, the brave man who was working with you this time has been captured.
"What?
"It's quite possible, considering that you were working with the undead to the end.
"...... Okay, what else?
That's it, I'll get back to you if there's anything else.
It's as fast as you come, and as fast as you go.
After staring at the ceiling for a while, which has lost all sign of life, I quickly glance down.
What I see is a white wall lit by a bright light.
Not that I want to see it, but because I can't concentrate on my thoughts while I'm looking up.
I was suddenly brought in to talk about something that would make me sleepy, and my mind was busy thinking about my next move.
Amelia's restraint in exchange for a brave man.
This is something that could derail our arrangement.
Did I make the mistake of trying to be quiet?
We knew the opponent would come to the hard line.
But that was on the military side, including the mobilization of troops.
I guess I've been taking my time and working too much: ......
I was trying my best to convince a brave man to go home with me, and the result is this.
I felt a twinge of regret that I hadn't gone faster and more forcefully.
Well...
He clucked one tongue and shook his head to shake off further regret.
There's no point in saying that now.
You can reflect later.
Now is the time to do something about this situation.
Think about it. ...... The situation has gotten worse. No direct damage to me, but it did affect the plan.
Visibly, the other side has no intention of returning the students.
Negotiation, in this case, has been successful in getting them to the table, but it also allows them to postpone their time.
We'll have to change our plans.
We knew from the beginning that it wasn't going to be a matter of a day or two, but if it turns out to be much longer than expected, we have no choice but to reschedule.
There's still a way.
You have to make the best of it.
So, you would have to go to ......
Get up out of bed and open the wooden door a little.
There, they peer discreetly into it and search your gaze.
There's one guard in the building across the street.
Then now would be a good time.
It's a corner room, and we've lied to the neighbors to make sure no one stays there.
You don't have to worry about bugging the building like in Japan.
A magical alert was also put in place when you stayed.
To prepare, you take a small magic stone from your bag and let the magic flow.
A small gray rat will be born in the palm of your hand.
The mouse doesn't try to escape from your palm, but is waiting for you.
I want you to take this to ...... and deliver it to the memoria.
Place the mouse on the desk and pick up a pen by it.
In a few minutes at a time, I wrote the letter briefly on a small piece of special paper and dripped my blood on it.
Then the sheet of paper changes in the blink of an eye.
It's a red berry, one that could be found anywhere in our world.
I'd bring it to the rat's mouth and swallow it without biting it, and then I'd peel off a floorboard in the corner of the room.
Then he slips in and disappears under the floor.
That's all you need to know about Notoria.
There is a lot to do before the morning arrives.
Take out a few magic stones to skip to another place and send them off to a different destination.
Change out of your nightgown and into a suit, shave your beard.
Then clean yourself up and it's almost time for sunrise.
It's time to settle this matter quickly.
Gotta eat.
Fed up with the predictable breakfast that you'll never get a taste for, we head to the dining room where we're meeting.
Side end
Side Amelia
My body hurts.
That was the first sensation I felt in my hazy consciousness.
My whole body ached like a muscle ache and I felt the desire to quietly submerge my dull consciousness rather than move a single fingertip.
Annnnnnnnn!
But when I remembered the memory of Anne being stabbed by the sword just before I lost consciousness, I screamed out impulsively and my body woke up.
On top of that, I pushed my aching body so hard that the pain shot through my entire body, and I fell back under the covers again, curled up like a bun, waiting for the pain to pass.
Where am I?
I blinked a few times to clear my vision and see that I wasn't in my normal quarters.
I blinked a few times to clear my vision, and when I saw something other than the futon, I realized that it wasn't the room in the dormitory where I usually sleep.
There were no windows or anything.
With its brick walls and iron door, I thought it was the kind of room that keeps people locked up.
In fact, you'd be right.
At a glance, I saw a chain around his left leg and a stake at the end of it.
It's obvious he's not being treated as a hero.
"......
In the midst of all the rapid and confusing developments, all I could see was that I was going to be a disaster.
That much was clear to me.
The word "escape" comes to mind and I look around for something.
There's one door, the bed I'm sitting on and a blanket, a dimly lit lamp in the room, a tub with a lid I don't want to imagine what it's for, and what appears to be an air vent that a mouse could fit through.
I wondered if I could escape from there, but my thin frame has its limits.
I thought I could break this door by gathering my magic and punching it, but I had to give up because it looks so solid that it would break my bones first.
You want to dig a hole as promised in the movie, but you don't have the tools to do so, and the area is surrounded by bricks, so there's no place to dig.
To begin with, you can't even move if you don't manage to get this leg chain out of the way.
You try to use your magic to increase your strength, but you'll feel the force leaving and you won't be as strong as usual.
Of course, the chains don't seem to come off either.
If it's difficult to escape on your own, you try to approach the door to call for help, but after thinking about it, you give up on the idea that making a fuss here will only bring in the person who caught you.
And the conclusion that was born after worrying about it was the very reality that there was nothing we could do about it.
...... Ann, are you okay?
I feel like this is a waste of my sleepiness.
This is what I said aloud to myself, but such and such a thing happened.
I know I have to give up on her.
I'm getting tired of repeating the affirmation and denial that it's not true, hoping for that.
I sit upright in bed and bury my face in my lap, regretting that it would have been better if I had just gone to sleep.
"Worrying about other people instead of yourself trapped, funny girl.
"Who!
"Who? Well, that's all I want to hear. I thought there was some kind of noisy chain, and if I listened, I could hear my daughter's voice. And now I'm free. So I thought I'd offer to talk to you. I'd like to introduce myself, if I could strike up a conversation, but unfortunately I don't know who I am. Now, how do I answer your question.
I mumbled to myself and didn't expect an answer.
I look around, but there's no one in this room but me.
I thought there was someone on the other side of the door, but I don't think I'm hearing this voice, somehow.
Was it a ghost? It seems that the owner of the voice was very worried about it, and then he solved it.
Then, daughter, will you decide on my name?
"Huh?
NO, apparently you didn't solve my problem, you forced my problem on me.
Isn't that a good idea, or is that a stray idea?
This is the first time I've been asked to pick a name.
"What?
"What, take it easy!
I'm not troubled, I'm confused. ......
"Well, Mike,
"Hmm, so now I'm Mike. Nice to meet you, daughter, I'm Mike.
"I wonder if it's okay?
Still, is it because you have the guts to make a decision so easily?
I've heard that people can clear their minds after a night's sleep.
But I'm not sure if I'm introducing myself as such, and I'm sure the owner of the voice is suspicious.
But
"So, daughter, what's your name?
"Hmm... Then I'll let you decide, too?
I guess I was more lonely in this space alone than I thought.
I decide to talk to this mysterious voice, but I won't tell you my name just in case.
"Then you're my daughter.
"Well, I need a prettier name.
"Hmm, I don't know what's cute about a pretty name,
"Hmmm, just call me Amy, that's what my friends used to call me!
"Okay, then Amy".
"What?
"Where am I?
"I want to hear it.
What is this guy asking me who is exactly trapped? Ha. This voice makes me wonder if I hit my head when I lost consciousness from the hallucination.
Oh, I'm sorry. It was dark and I couldn't see anything, and I couldn't control my body. The only one who could receive this telepathic communication was you. There were several others, but they seemed to be unconscious for some reason.
"Is there anyone else nearby besides me?
"It's not exactly true that you're there, you can only feel it. You're one of them.
Oh, I don't see it, do I?
"Oh, and in addition to that, it's like I'm stuck in something, I can't move around.
You're with me.
"Hmm, my feeling is that you're caught, and with that, I'd say you're caught in my current situation: ......
"You just realized that!
"Yeah, I'm sure you've never been caught before as far as I can remember, after all.
"I don't have a memory, so what's the point?
"Oh! That's right!
This is not a hallucination.
If it was a hallucination, it's just too sad to have a conversation with such a blurry hallucination.
I see. I was just trying to get help if I wasn't caught.
"Hmm, from what Amy said, you want to get out of there, don't you?
That's right.
"Hmmm, that's something. Alright, if this sounds interesting, I will help you escape.
"Really?
"Oh, I don't know what I can do, but I'm here to help!
Then we'll figure it out together!
"So I guess we should start by finding out where we are. When the door opens, you are in hostile territory, and you need to check your escape route before you are pursued.
I get it!
"I'll tell you what, can you do it?
Can you?
You might be able to rely on me to give you the first idea when you say you don't know.
As I said to Ann recently, this kind of thing is easy to do.
I put my ear against the wall, build up my magic and knock with my hand.
"Houhou, you've got some interesting skills.
You know?
"Hmm, that's a detection using magic waves. Surely, this should give us a clear escape route.
Maybe that's true too.
It's in my own brain to remember, but a clear picture stays in my memory to some extent.
Maybe that's why.
Hey, here.
"Look familiar, or in this case, sound familiar? Is it?'
"Yeah, I know this place.
The map I explored with Ann smoothly overlapped with the map I had explored with her, and I had to start from the continuation.
Now it was just a matter of filling in the missing pieces.
"Well, that's a good start. Have you found a way out, then?
"Yeah, I'm fine.
Where we are now is a room a little off the path taken by the fake classmate.
I've got a good idea of the path that leads to it.
Now let's go back to the beginning. Now it's just a matter of how we're going to get out. What's in question?
"Well, is it heavy duty chains and doors?
I'd like to add that the doorway has a magic spreading mechanism and the chain has a function of releasing excess magic power to the ground. It's probably to prevent the brave men from using their powerful magic power, but oh dear. This is all you've got?
I guess I'm not the only one who thinks that's enough.
If this voice, Mike, is right, that door is immune to magic.
If I tried to use my magic to great effect, these chains would release it like an electrical ground.
The end result will be a powerless me.
But I'm more interested in how you understood what I just said without seeing it.
From the way we've been talking, I'm sure there's a distance between him and me, and I'm trapped and wearing it, and I even noticed after being told.
The person with this voice (?) What the hell kind of person is that?
Despite feeling something unfathomable, you have to rely on this voice to get out.
So let's change your thinking.
"Huh?
The door dissipates magic, the chain releases magic, and in reverse, the door dissipates magic but does not erase it. A chain only releases magic, but it doesn't mean it can't be reversed. Hmmm, I'll give you a technique then.
Amnesia, you don't know who you are, but you have a lot of knowledge.
I'm going to draw a wealth of magic from the end of the chain, let's fill the room and break the door. Specifically, yes, we'll submerge the room in a sea of magic to keep it from dissipating, and then we'll blow the door down. What, I'll support you and you'll be ready in three minutes.
However the idea is pretty amazing.
I'm not sure I can really trust you with it.
But ...
As Mamie said, "A woman has guts! Mike, please!
"You look like you've got a strong mother, Amy. I do. Then let's not waste your energy being the first to do so.