Chapter 33: RPG? Dungeon exploration

Part 1

3rd Person POV

A group of five people sitting under a tree was chatting in a friendly manner.

"Would mind sitting far away from him? Why do you have to stick so close to him?" Suzaku muttered.

Or perhaps not so friendly.

"Haha, it's ok. He does not mind so there is no problem. Why don't you do the same? His other side is wide open. Look, it's pretty windy so he must be feeling cold~" Musashi grinned.

Art had finished eating and remained as a silent spectator along with Tomoe who had a wry smile on her face as she observed the situation unfold.

Nora who was focused on observing something on his hands was oblivious to what was happening. In the meantime, Musashi was leaning on Nora repeatedly played with his hair. Suzaku was close to them but she just glared at Musashi, although the nonchalant words she had muttered made Suzaku ponder for a moment before she did the same as Musashi.

"I am not sure what I should retort first, Musashi's lack of self-restraint, or the boy's lack of reaction, he somehow looks like this amount of skinship is nothing to take notice of. Should I warn my friend about messing with a playboy or I should watch over her as she overcomes this problem later?" Tomoe calmly analyzed.

"Is it really alright? Just look at that foolish black-haired girl, she is no good already. If you let your friend suffer the same fate, there won't be a way to go back." Art commented.

Shaking her head Tomoe put a hand on her forehead.

"That girl always does as she pleases, there was this one time she jumped into a river during a storm to save a kitty. It was absurd beyond measure how she got out of that one on her own, at that time we were so scared since we lost trace of her, but that fool nonchalantly appeared when we were suspecting the worst case, the most annoying thing was that she had such a happy smile, and I am not trying to say that we were not happy." Tomoe narrated. "Everyone was relieved when she appeared, however, the girl did not show any signs of remorse at all, and she only grinned and called us worrywart."

With eyes closed, Tomoe had a complicated expression on her face.

Feeling a bit of pity after hearing the story, Art gently patted Tomoe's back.

"You have it tough huh." Art muttered.

Lowering her hand, Tomoe glared at Musashi.

"That is why she must taste some bitter experiences so she can learn to behave." Tomoe said.

"You guys are being rude, what the heck do you take me for?" Nora muttered in a dumbfounded tone.

Tomoe and Art directed a look of 'I can't believe that you are saying that, have you looked yourself on the mirror?' at Nora (Art had 'his' mask on so it was up to debate what kind of expression 'he' was making).

Closing his mouth, Nora decided to not say anything given that he was covered with a pair of beautiful girls.

Shaking his head, he stopped immediately, the closeness of their bodies made him want to avoid any cliché accidents, although there was no way to prove what would've happened if Art and Tomoe had not been looking at him.

"*Cough* Anyway, I think I found something worth mentioning. However, it is getting late and you two probably have to get back to class." Nora spoke as he tried to stand up.

Failing to do so, Nora thought that Musashi had grabbed him but on a closer look, the one holding him in place was Suzaku who let him go after getting embarrassed when he stared at her.

"We can skip classes, there is no problem. It is a detective job to find the truth." Musashi energetically stood up. "THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH! So we will discover it."

Hearing that Nora got a coughing fit, and Suzaku worriedly patted his back until he calmed down.

"Musashi, you are quoting that novel again? You only read Kuroneko-sensei's works. How about you study for once?" Tomoe lectured.

Pouting, Musashi pointed at Tomoe.

"You have no right to point fingers when you have every single of his books!" Musashi said.

Nora had another coughing fit but he managed to calm down faster than before. Suzaku sent him a concerned gaze but he signaled that everything was fine.

"Whatever the case, let me ask this before proceed." Nora spoke before Tomoe could retort to Musashi. "You two are not regular civilians, am I correct?"

Sharing a look, Musashi and Tomoe nodded.

"You are not even going to hide it huh." Nora scratched his head. "Honestly, I am just doing this as a job so I will do as my employers decide. What do you guys say? Suzaku-san, how do you want to proceed? No, what do you want to do? I will direct you the same question, Art."

"I don't care about them, as long as they don't get in the way they can stay or leave." Art bluntly said.

Instantly replying Art just moved away from Tomoe and stood behind Nora, 'he' did not look like he wanted to give his opinion in the matter anymore.

"*Sigh* I would prefer if you two left and quietly went to classes, but you don't look like you will do that at all. In cases like this, we usually hypnotize civilians or apprehend suspicious individuals. However, both options are out of the question, forget about the first one given that I have doubts you would even be hypnotizable with a regular spell, the second option would be even harder since you are simple people." Suzaku explained. "I would rather have you follow us from a close distance than have you follow us in a sneak manner."

Grinding widely, Musashi stood in front of Nora.

"You heard the boss, nice to join your party. You can call me, Musashi: The beautiful detective!" Musashi winked.

Covering her head with her hands, Tomoe turned her head away.

"Alright, since my employers said so, then it has to be like that. Nice to have you around 'Musashi: The beautiful detective'." Nora muttered. "By the way, Musashi: The beautiful detective, Should I call you Musashi: The beautiful detective-san or maybe Musashi: The beautiful detective-sama? I am not sure what to do."

Tapping his chin with his finger, Nora sent a questing look at Musashi.

The girl in question did not expect to be called like that straightforwardly so she got shy and imitated Tomoe.

"Pffft, I think that you should use Musashi: The beautiful detective-sama, she wants to sound like a great detective after all." Tomoe tried to hold back her laugher.

Even Art had to stifle his laugh at that, but thanks to the mask 'his' expression remained a secret. Suzaku openly giggled, clearly enjoying the embarrassment of Musashi.

"Please stop with that!" Musashi bashfully shouted.

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"Back to the topic, I found something strange on this tree. The leaves have an unnatural color. It is really weird. I examined them and then I took a look at the ground. Only the area around the tree has a different hue." Nora pointed at the ground. "Art, have you used the well over there?"

Shaking 'his' head, the masked 'guy' replied.

"It is not a good idea to do that, I opened the wooden lit it has and it smelled terrible. I could not use that for drinking purposes." Art explained.

Nodding his head, Nora walked to the well and opened removed the wooden lit. Suzaku followed after him and she frowned when the smell came out.

"It smells like rotten fish and it looks filled with trash. That would explain why the tree was like that, its roots must've reached deep into the well and it absorbed the contaminated water. From my position I cannot reach any of the trash, I will inform the school later to have them clean it up." Suzaku said.

The girl wanted to drag Nora away from the smell but he kept staring inside the well.

"Say Musashi: The beautiful detective-sama, what kind of mystery were you investigating?" Nora inquired.

"Ahhhh! Please forget about that! Call me Musashi-chan with a loving tone or I will get angry for making fun of me!" Musashi muttered. "*Sigh* Well, it was said that this well could grant any wishes so one day, a student came here alone to ask for something, unfortunately, she slipped and fell in the well. They never heard about her again, some say that she never actually came here, while others claim she did. The odd thing was that there was never an actual investigation from the police or fuss on the media."

Using an uncharacteristic serious tone, Musashi frowned while explaining.

"Some of the students can still remember that girl, but their memories are faint. The parents disappearing as well made everything so strange." Tomoe added.

"Wouldn't it be easier to assume that the whole family moved out? It would make more sense than what you said." Art retorted.

Shaking her head, Musashi spoke again.

"First the daughter disappeared; the parents were seen at their home during the next day. However, they disappeared the next day. Everything in their house was gone as well. No one in the neighborhood saw any truck that could've been used to move out. Their neighbors were also surprised when they found out about it." Musashi explained.

Choosing to remain silent at that, Art seemed to be thinking about what 'he' just heard.

"Then... Could it...?" Art whispered in an uncertain tone.

"Wait, Nora stop!" Suzaku exclaimed.

Everyone turned around to see how Nora jumped inside the well.

Without any idea how things turned it like that, they got closer to see what was going on.

With a confused expression, Suzaku was peering inside the well.

"He is gone?" Suzaku asked.

Musashi and Tomoe both did the same and they could not see any traces of Nora either.

"Did he get spirited away? The rumors were true!" Musashi muttered while covering her mouth and nose with her hand.

"Stop with the nonsense, the trash there is just an illusion, there is contaminated water here but the levels are pretty low. There is a tunnel over here. Hop in, I will help you to get into the tunnel." Nora shouted from inside the well. "Whatever the case, Art get moving. There is finally a clue."

Without waiting for anyone, Art had jumped inside the well. Following after 'him' was Suzaku.

Sharing a look, Musashi and Tomoe had both remained outside.

"I hate my job." Musashi tearfully muttered before jumping in.

Shaking her head at her friend's nonsense, Tomoe jumped in as well.

Part 2

MC's POV

Putting aside the stench coming from the well that followed us after walking deep into the tunnel, it was wide enough for two of us to walk side by side so it was not too tight in here.

If I had used my ability since the beginning and started to register this whole location, it wouldn't have taken us so long to find this RPG-like secret location. I feel like I found a hidden dungeon. If my gamer guts are right, then we will find some pretty nasty stuff down here. Lowering our guard is not advised, that said, I am not sure how this party will do. Suzaku aside, I am lacking in knowledge regarding the skills of Art, so far, only his ability to control that strange aura is what I know. The last two additions are even worse, their ability to sneak so close to us is proof that they have some good stealth skills, or maybe they are skilled in spells of that kind.

"To think something like this was down here." Suzaku-san muttered with a frown on her face.

Walking beside me, the girl had a flashlight hanging on her neck (provided by me). It was a little distracting how much it bounces when she moves too much, which I cannot deny. She is amazing as expected.

As our vanguard, Musashi-san and Art were on the front, while Tomoe was our rear guard. Putting the slight anxious Art aside ('he' just found something that could lead us to 'his' sister so it is normal to act like that, I wouldn't be any different, no, I am impressed in how 'he' had maintained 'his' cool so far) Musashi and Tomoe naturally took that position without any exchange of words, it looked like an action that the two naturally took, whether it was because planned to do a pincer attack or they were like to lend us a hand was not something I was sure of. Somehow, I got the feeling of being protected though.

"This middle school was founded even before the war, so it has been around for a long time. Many old buildings from around those years had many secret passages for students to take refuge or to run away." Tomoe-san explained. "That said, it seems that this place has been used for some time already. From what we could investigate, the student went missing a couple of years before were came here so there is the chance that..."

Leaving her words unfinished, Tomoe-san shut her mouth. From what said we could infer that the girls who went missing either stumble upon this tunnel and some kind of incident happened to her while trying to leave, or something got in her way causing her to go missing. Either way, unsung my ability I examined the trash at bottom of the tunnel and there was no trace of human remains, with that, we can rule out that she fell and died right there. Whatever the case, we will deal with that when we get to that point. My employer number 2 does not seem like 'he' will stop even if there is danger until the little sister is safe, and employer number 1 is looking for those people too, she already knows the risk after dealing with them once.

"That sounds grim, anyways, if we put that scary explanation aside, this could be considered an adventure of sorts, right?" Musashi spoke in a bright tone. "Regardless of how we found this tunnel, it is a fact that we are bound to find many more surprises so we should take everything in a relaxed manner. Eh, how to say this... relax, relax~ If we get too stiff, we will probably screw up because we are nervous."

A slightly strange way to say it, but I guess it is a piece of good advice. She does not seem like a bad girl, but I wonder why she is coming along.

"I am not trying to have an adventure; this is not a game for me." Art muttered in a low tone.

Jeez, I know that 'he' is quite touchy now, but the girl did it out of goodwill. Her apologetic expression made me feel bad.

"Alright, that is enough. Musashi-san, I am thankful that you are taking your time to advise us, but I think your phrasing was not the best. Art, your situation is clear to me, but you gain nothing by acting like that. The girl is only trying to tell us to remain calm and not get careless." I stepped in. "So, with that said, I don't want you guys to argue. It is counterproductive and it will just distract us."

Art turned in my direction and 'his' displeasure was apparent but I catch a slight nod coming from 'him'. Musashi moved her lip to say a 'thank you' without actually talking. My absurdly good vision in the dark shined there since Suzaku-san had moved the light away from our front.

"Tomoe-san, you seem to know a bit about this kind of secret tunnels, where do you think it would lead us to?" I asked our rear liner.

It was a question with a double intention, one change the slightly awkward mood and the other to hear more about what she knows. From using my ability, I have been looking around and the tunnel seems to extend for a long way. There a many turns and split ways. Unfortunately, they extend in different directions so I have half given up on making a quick mental map; I will need quite a bit of time to do a full one.

"Etto, I only know a tiny bit so please don't expect too much." Tomoe-san said in an eager tone, perhaps catching my intentions. "Sometimes they were made in a tricky manner, instead of a straight path, they made different exits. Sometimes they would even add dead ends to confuse any possible pursuers. We have seen a straight path so far so we might be in luck by finding one of the easiest tunnels to explore."

Hmmm, I wonder what kind of face she will make when she finds out what I saw. I must say that I have a terrible personality since I am kind of looking forward to that; after all, Tomoe-san looks the type to-

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"There was someone who said something about a straight path~ I wonder who that was?" Musashi muttered in a teasing tone.

Receiving not only Musashi-san's stare, but Suzaku-san's and mine as well, and while difficult to distinguish, Art's stare too, Tomoe-san looked left and right in a nervous manner.

"Ehhh, etto, I... well..." Tomoe-san could not find the right words.

Her face was red from shame, she must be feeling anxious because of the stares she is receiving. Is she nervous because she thinks that we might accuse her of giving us the wrong Intel?

Somehow, I get the feeling that her eyes are spinning.

"I'm sowwy." Tomoe-san said in a low whisper.

The girl even bit her tongue. As expected, she is weak to pressure. Once again, I proved that my personality is rotten. Why did I find her expression so cute? To think I started to enjoy bullying girls, what a terrible person I am.

"Ah! I am sorry, I did not want to blame you, it is just... Well, eh... sorry." Musashi said in a remorseful tone.

I also expected this girl to apologize like that. I think with these I managed to prove the kind of relationship I imagined they had, along with small bits of their personalities that I got to learn.

"She did mention that it was a possibility so please go easy on her, we should focus on what we have in front of us. The tunnel branches in three different paths, what do you guys think? We got three options." I spoke aloud.

With everyone's attention on me, Tomoe-san managed to calm down again. She sent me a thankful look which I signaled her that everything was ok.

"I had informed my people about this place and they will soon follow after us, part of them is trying to locate a map, but before I lost the signal a message came in saying that it went missing a couple of years ago. Finding someone who knows the full underground passage will take time given how old it is. Not to mention that most of the staff is made of young people." Suzaku-san explained.

The fact that we got no signal concerns me. Other than that, the missing map does not seem like a coincidence.

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In the end, we left it up to luck, and I did not partake in the decision given my terrible luck. It was a shame that Shirone-chan was not here, if I had left it to her, she would've led us to a treasure chest, even there was no one here. Her luck is superior to mine or Kuroka-chan's.

Just in case, I had been dropping seeds on the ground, with that and a minimal amount of Ki, they grew to be small grass patches. I want to avoid getting lost, the one who caught me doing that was none other than Tomoe-san but she only nodded and gave me a thumbs-up without saying anything else. I happened to notice that she was making scratches on the tunnel walls, so I was not the only one marking the way.

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We continued our walk until we found ourselves in an open space, given the amount of time we spent walking, I would say that we must be under a mountain or maybe the path led us down without us noticing.

Feeling a chill, I used my ability and Ki to detect what was going. The response was not what I expected. The presences were numerous; however, the sizes were minimal compared to human ones. We had found some of those as we walked, and I was involved in an amusing reaction of Suzaku-san when she was surprised, but those things were less worrying than what is coming our way. Too small to notice unless you stare at the ground, rats were making their way here, a great number of them.

"Something is coming." Art warned. "Numerous things are on their way, be prepared to engage."

His senses probably caught the same as mine.

Before Suzaku-san raised her ofudas, I stopped her with a shake of my head. Using fire that much is not good underground, I don't know how good the ventilation is.

"Tomoe, what to do? I forgot to bring my sword with me." Musashi-san spoke to her friend in a flustered tone.

Oh, for the love of...

"Why is that you only think about it now?" Tome-san exasperatedly said.

Ignoring their banter, I walked near the different exits and planted some seeds, by making them grow, I sealed the rats' route. I heard a crushing sound and unwillingly confirmed with my ability that the rats collided with the sealed exits. The sight was gruesome alright, but it was better than fighting them head-on. Grown a pair of branches while trying to give them a particular shape, I managed to make them look similar to wooden swords. Breaking them off, I threw them at the sword users (?).

"You can use these, they are only wooden constructs I hastily made but I think it will be better to have them at hand, uh, why are you guys staring at me like that?" I inquired.

Somehow, even the usually chatty Musashi-san was giving an appraising stare in silence. That girl wouldn't know that I got car ears, would she? She touched me (patted me) all over (my head), if that girl learned about my fluffiness, I would be doomed (blessed?) to be touched for who knows how long.

"I feel like you thought something rude just now." Musashi narrowed her eyes at me.

You are just imagining things.

"So, will you tell me what is this about or will you form a secret society to keep the secret for generations?" I nonchalantly uttered.

"Well, it is just... somehow, the tension is gone. We were able to hear the sounds, those were a large number of rats. Even if we managed to take care of them all, there is no doubt that we would've suffered many injuries." Suzaku-san spoke.

"You dealt with everything easily." Art muttered.

'He' must've taken a liking to the wooden sword since he swung it left and right nonstop.

"You guys are exaggerating, I trust that Suzaku-sa- ok, I did not forget, so don't glare at me. *Cough* Suzaku is someone pretty strong, I know she would've been able to deal with everything perfectly fine, she would've even been able to turn all the rats to cinders in a matter of seconds." I retorted.

The Canon Suzaku was very skilled, and while a few years younger, I know that she has potential, having the Vermillion Bird is not a joking matter, that creature is very strong.

Hmmm, what is this? This sense of unease. What the heck? Dangerous, dangerous, we must leave now. No, we will not make it.

"You can't downgrade your accomplishments; it was splendid how you stopped those creatures in place." Tomoe-san offered words of praise, and while walking closer to the sealed exit, she tapped a few times on the tree and examined my work.

Spreading seeds everywhere around the room, I did my best to be prepared.

"Get over here!" I shouted that to the group while making the seeds germinate into sturdy trees.

Tomoe-san was already near me, but Suzaku-san, Art, and Musashi-san were still standing near our entry point.

Before anyone could move from their spots, a magic circle formed on top of our location. Instantly, it activated and with it, the ceiling came down onto us.

"CAREFUL!"

"GO OVER THERE!"

There were screams, but I was not sure whom they belonged to. I focused on one task, and that was to make the trees save our lives. Unfortunately, it was beyond my abilities to completely stop the ceiling from falling and so-

? POV

Once again, she woke up. It was already tiring to do so. She had lost the will to resist, no; she had lost even the will to resist. After planning an escape for a long time, she had failed. It went well from the beginning, she managed to subdue some of the black-cloaked individuals or maybe she just killed them, at that time things were hectic so she was not sure. Yes, everything went well until one of the high-ranking members of her captives had stopped her. Her gifted strength was useless so the result was obvious. She was caught and harshly punished. It was almost funny how bad her luck was; that man usually did not spend his time here but instead had come to check on the black-cloaked people.

The backlash for her actions cost her dearly. They cut the nerves on her hands and feet. While she was able to recover naturally over time, she will probably not be able to hold a sword or even try to hold a hammer again, not to mention sword dancing. It was a specific punishment, but she understood how they were able to know what would cause her more despair when they told her themselves. They knew about her, so they knew what would cause her to grief more.

Was there any point in resisting anymore?

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"Today, we must try one last time. We stopped the intruders by causing a cave-in, but they probably informed their people about our location. It is just a matter of time."

"It was a good idea to not rely on familiars. Supernatural creatures do not always rely on simple machines; however, it was lucky that they did not detect the alarm we set up."

"Enough, bring the girl. She is almost there, people on the brink of despair are easier to corrupt but don't get confident. She was violent and difficult to control even if we sedate her."

Several voices were speaking, but they sedated her more than the other days, on top of feeling mentally weakened, her body was even more sluggish, she could not even recognize who was speaking.

"Sent those things to take care of any possible survivors… I get the feeling that this time, she will act differently. Lock her room tight, we will observe from outside using the hidden camera."

Her room? Oh, so they did not move her today huh.

Who cares?

She will forget about everything that happened, and she will probably be tormented about losing her ability to forge or hold a sword when she wakes up again. Wait, why would she seek to wake up again, she could just-

"Give her the final doses."

She could feel her mouth being forced open and something being poured into her mouth. It was easier to swallow than to try to vomit what she drank, so she just accepted their actions, and then-

Part 3

MC's POV

I must praise myself here. I transformed into a cat during the whole ceiling falling into me, and it saved me, well, it sort of did. I had thrown myself on the floor to avoid getting crushed, but there was a vicious piece of debris aiming at my crotch and I had not many places to escape so I became a cat.

I could nonchalantly complain since I had confirmed that everyone was safe and sound using my ability, unfortunately, we split up.

"Are you ok, Shiki-san... Huh? A cat?" Tomoe-san asked in a confused tone.

Oh, right.

Turning back, I acted like what I did was not a big deal. However, she still stared at me with a tilted head.

"Your uniform is a bit ragged and beat up, but you seem fine. That is good." I commented after examining her.

Her skirt suffered some damage but she is healthy enough.

Now, the problem is that-

"We are alone here, I can't see the others." Tomoe-san muttered.

Her eyes were filled with concern, and she stared at the pile of debris that stopped us from meeting up.

"They are all ok, I am sure of it. However, we must look for a way to reunite with the others." I spoke.

Revealing my ability aside, I can tell her that much.

Those three are up and arguing already so they must be full of energy. The bad news is that I am not able to hear a word they say from over here. The debris separating us is not a small amount and blocks not only a way to reunite but even our voices.

"Let's leave, whatever the case, it is not safe to remain here when there is nothing that guarantees our safety." I suggested.

That said, there is a rather small space to leave. If we make a way by moving whatever blocks us, it would be possible to advance.

"You are rather calm about this, I thought you might even panic." Tomoe-san muttered. "I was even prepared to console you, but you are even suggesting what to do."

Being spoiled by a middle school girl, that sounds better than going through the trouble to leave, and we could just sit here waiting to be saved. I won't deny that I was a bit tempted; however, Nora-kun won't fall for that. If Yasaka-san had muttered that then Nora-kun might've done it though.

"That sounds very nice, next time I am feeling down I will leave it to you then." I joked.

Examining the area with my clairvoyance, I inwardly sighed in relief when I saw that Suzaku-san's group did not fight each other and were able to agree to leave. Musashi-san looked tired so it probably was up to her that result.

My apologies, I owe you one. I will make it up to you if I remember about it when this is over.

"As expected, you are quite the playboy at your age." Tomoe-san commented.

Different from me, she walked to what looked like our best option to leave. I might be able to pass due to my smaller build, but I am not so sure given her size. Her comment kind of hurt, since when have I been acting like one?

"I think we can leave from this location." Tomoe-san said as she started to move some of the stones blocking our way out.

There is something I am not sure how to say. Now that I think about it, she was pretty calm about my cat transformation, not to mention the fact that she had been able to see me clearly. Nevertheless, there are no light sources here. The flashlights and the likes I had handed over were on Suzaku's group side, or whatever was left of it since there was a crushed one near my feet. To be honest, I can see here red eyes clearly in the dark; they look like stars shining in the night sky.

Shaking my head, I tried to focus on what we had to deal with now. With my search just now, I was able to confirm that no major changes will occur if we move things a bit, that is if we can though.

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"I told you that you would not fit, but you didn't listen." I exasperatedly muttered.

Staring with a blank look at Tomoe-san who got stuck when she tried to pass using a small opening, I was half-assed and half-exasperated. I kind of thought that someone like Musashi-san would do something like that, given the no-good vibes that I could feel from her.

"You called me fat, and I am not fat. You are very rude for calling a maiden like that." Tomoe-san sulkily said.

*Sigh*

"I said 'the space is too small for you to pass, let me who is a child to pass, and I would try to widen the space for you to go through from the other side'". I rebuked.

It was a simple comment, I never said that. I have tact; even I would not mutter something like that... I think.

"Guh." Tomoe-san groaned and lowered her head.

Shaking my head, I wondered if she was usually like this or this was a one-time-only mistake.

"You have a slender figure that many would find attractive, even me so there is no need to worry about your weight, so don't try to do anything like this again, ok?" I gently chided her.

There is a small opening from where my cat self may pass, should I go and push her from behind? I would have to touch many places that I am sure this 'maiden' will complain about.

"Kuh, I knew it, you are the type to attack girls when they are weak." Tomoe-san complained about it with a vexed look. "It is annoying that I was a little happy about it too. However, I think I understand what this child needs, everyone probably spoiled him and never taught him about moderation, at this rate he will become a terrible person when he grows older."

I miss Suzaku-san.

*Sigh*

"I can see that you can fend for yourself, see ya." I waved at her and turned around.

"Waiiit! Do not leave me!" Tomoe-san sad voice called out to me.

Rolling my eyes at the sheer emotion of loneliness that was contained there, I turned around to find a teary-eyed Tomoe-san. I mean, I only planned to tease her for a bit since she was talking nonsense, but now I feel a tiny bit bad that she was so sad about it.

"I will help you so don't cry. I wouldn't actually abandon you, sorry about that." I soothed her.

Calming down, she tried to force her way but she did not budge. It was beyond dangerous to move the debris around her with Tomoe-san in the middle so I could only pull or push. That said, I get the feeling that something will happen when I do that.

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"H-how embarrassing, ah, how embarrassing, to think that Tomoe ended up in that kind of situation, now Tomoe cannot get married *sob*" Tomoe muttered while using her hands to wipe some tears from her face.

Ignoring her monologue, I continued to lead the way after leaving the area where the ceiling fell.

How exaggerated, I might've had to touch some places but there was no lewd feeling about it. She got stuck and pulling her hands did not work, but neither did pulling her legs, so in one last attempt I ended up pushing. It was inevitable that I had to put my hands in some places. Yes, it was certainly inevitable. To begin with, she is the one to blame since she tried to recklessly to pass through that place.

*Sigh*

She gave off a calm and polite expression, but I learned that she can be quite childish, naive and she does not like to be alone from what I saw, not to mention stubborn and easy to tear up... her hips are healthy and soft, but I cannot describe more than that *cough* and I must not under any circumstances say that aloud.

"Relax, it was an unavoidable situation." I tried to soothe her.

"Please, forget about it *sob*" Tomoe-san pleaded in a pitiful tone.

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Shrugging my shoulders, I could only accept her request.

"Consider it done." I replied.

Nevertheless, that memory will be kept and never forgotten.

"Somehow you did not sound very honest *sob*" Tomoe-san muttered. "You need to act in moderation, to touch a maiden body so easily is not good, you know?"

Does she want me to forget or not?

...

...

...

Our guard was raised when we found another wide area where there are multiple exits.

"Should we wait for the others or leave at once?" Tomoe-san commented after looking around the multiple exits or entries to this place.

I would love to say that we should wait for everyone, but I believe that it will be difficult. None of these paths connect to the way Suzaku-san's party used. They are quite a distance away from us already. Besides, right now our worry should be another one.

"Tomoe-san, please stay back." I muttered.

My words confused the girl, but she soon understood me when the vibrations on the ground started to get stronger.

"We should quickly use one of those paths." Tomoe-san suggested.

Nevertheless, the girl was already pulling my hand with an absurd strength that was difficult to believe from her slender arms. She was not using Ki or Magic so it was sheer strength. As expected, she is not your regular gal huh.

When we passed (she dragged me) the path she chose, I threw some seeds that quickly became a tree wall, courtesy of Senjutsu-sensei.

I did not resist and let myself be dragged.

My attention was on the thing causing that vibration. It resembles a bear, but different from the regular one, this one was black with strings of black smoke coming out of it. The movements were slow, but I could not be sure if that was its maximum speed or it was just walking. I could not spot any eyes, but the claws and fangs were unusually long and sharp.

"S...-san."

After arriving at our previous location, it started to sniff (?) or something and it stood on the path blocked by the tree wall. This one cannot see but it relies on the sense of smell huh.

"Shiki-san!" Tomoe-san's voice called out to me.

Huh?

"Yes?" I replied after directing my attention to the girl.

I shouldn't get too absorbed in analyzing the creature, even I want to find a way to defeat them more easily, this is no place to lose my focus.

"I was telling you that you should walk on your own already." Tomoe-san spoke in a displeased tone.

Oh yeah, she has been dragging me since before.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something." I apologized. "By the way, did you manage to feel its presence?"

Shaking her head, she furrowed her eyebrows.

"I only noticed it when you mentioned the vibrations on the ground. It is quite troublesome that it can remain hidden like that." Tomoe-san commented.

Another thing to add to its description then, I did not feel it either, even though the other times there was a terrible feeling when I focused on the presence of those creatures, this time I did not feel a thing.

Scouting the path ahead with my ability, I did not find anything alive so at least we won't get a pincer attack for now.

Just in case, I should leave some obstacles for the creature in case it wants to follow us.

"Do you think we will find another one of those again?" Tomoe-san asked.

"Do you know about flags? I think you raised one just now, and not the good kind of flag, but the black colored one" I retorted.

This girl has some nerve to do such an unlucky thing.

"Eh? What is that flag thing? Did I raise one? When? Why black?" Tomoe-san confusedly muttered.

Shaking my head, I proceed to explain.

"Listen, a flag is a condition in game programming that causes a variable to change." I explained even as we continued to walk. "You can find them in video games, or even in anime or manga."

Raising her hand, Tomoe-san seriously stared at me.

"You may speak, Tomoe-kun." I replied in an amused tone.

This feels kind of like a play of a teacher and his student.

"Shiki-sensei, what are video games?" Tomoe-san used an unusually serious tone.

Do I have to start from there!?

*Sigh*

"Games are..." I started to explain.

Even as I spoke, I continued to build tree walls behind us. Tomoe-san ignored my actions probably because she had seen them before and understood what I was trying to say or rather she might, no, she is really into my explanations, and her eyes are almost shining.

? POV

What was her name again? She could not remember. Different from before, she was able to 'see' what she was doing now. A disgusting feeling could be felt and she was about to lose her mind, but she was scared about what would happen if she let it get to her.

'She' was quietly standing in place in a docile manner.

"Hahaha, she is finally acting as we desire."

Different from those words, 'she' seemed to be silently appraising everyone in the location.

"However, while the damage we inflicted on her was enough to break her mind, it made her unable to wield that sword, will she be of any use like that?"

"Idiot, once we confirm that she will obediently follow our cause, we can fix that. In the worse case, a new pair of arms and legs can be prepared."

A chill went down her spine. What were these people speaking about? Why can't they leave her alone? Torturing her is not enough? Taking what the only things she liked not enough?

Why?

She hates this terrible situation. She just wants to live a simple and quiet life. Nevertheless, they never leave her alone, her 'brothers' and 'sisters' made her life a mess since she can remember, and these people, no, these b*stards caused her pain over and over, that is not something normal humans can do. However, what were regular humans supposed to act? Somehow, she feels like she is forgetting something important. The rage consumes her little by little, but she still tried to remember. Was there anyone who ever showed her any kindness? She cannot remember anymore.

"Do you understand? You are now part of our glorious cause. We will sink this word into chaos together, and show them true despair. Our God will lead us."

It was almost like a whisper, but immersed in her rage, she could hear a voice. It seemed to come from her subconscious. Do not listen to them, do not listen to anyone. It said, and she couldn't help but feel that the words were to her liking. You are alone, and no one is your ally. Part of her felt reluctant to accept that, she could almost form the shape of people on her head, people whom she found familiar, but her rage made her forget about it. So, she began to accept it, the anger dyed her thoughts, and that disgusting feeling from before became more manageable. Since you are alone, there is no need to hold back. Destroy whatever gets in your way.

"She is not saying anything, was this a failure?"

"Nonsense, a failure was when she lost control of herself and started to attack everyone. There were a couple of casualties before she was stopped. However, do not release her yet. We should consider this a half-success; this is not the first time something like this happened so we only need to continue the corruption."

Lightly moving 'her' hands, she found them restrained by chains like before. After accepting the new feeling coursing through 'her' body, she could feel whatever was used to keep her in check was becoming less effective. Bidding her time, 'she' began gathering her strength. By no means had she felt a boost in strength, but rather, this was what she always denied and did not want to accept. Full of anger, she was able to access more of it now.

"Is she trying to escape? I think she just moved."

"Don't be a scared cat, she did not move. It must be your imagination."

Many voices could be heard, but she had stopped paying attention to who they belonged to.

"She is as docile as she could get, look, I will touch her hands and nothing will happen to me-"

Before that man could finish his words, 'she' moved, swinging her arms upwards; she connected a hit on the man's chin. A breaking noise was heard, but she did not stop. It was time to run rampant.

Part 4

MC's POV

"It seems our chat will have to come to an end, I doubt we can avoid those like we did before." I muttered.

"It is regrettable." Tomoe-san spoke in an unwilling tone. "Let's finish here and go back to our chat, I am even more curious about those games you spoke about, Shiki-sensei."

No, please stop with that, it is getting embarrassing.

In front of us, there was one creature.

The same as before, it had no eyes, but this one was not a bear but a boar instead. It looked as tall as me, but it was black all over, and its tusks were sharply pointing our way. They had a strange form that branched as they came out of its mouth, forming a sharpened end pointing at us and one end pointing upwards. I did not feel its presence either so that could be a common trait, and even though I had seen it from far away, I considered it a better option to face this thing instead of the one who started to follow us. The bear one looks more intimidating, or rather, I saw how it destroyed the tree walls rather quickly, and those claws are scary. Were they wild animals caught in the mountains or perhaps they were stolen from a zoo?

Standing in front of Tomoe-san, I prepared to take on that thing. I do not know how strong she really is, but I don't want to use this kind of situation to find out. One wrong move and she could be severely injured.

Pulling some seeds from my pouch, I threw them on the ground and that was enough to catch its attention. The black boar immediately sprinted our way and I reacted by making the seeds germinate into vicious vines that clung onto the boar's front legs, although-

"GIIIIIIiiiiIII."

A short cry from its mouth directed below it destroyed the vines near it. Is that what they call a sound attack?

"Be wary of the shockwave, the sound aside, I believe that the shockwave it caused can knock you out." Tomoe-san exclaimed behind me. "The vines are not a bad idea, but you should not stop when you slow it down, mercilessly use them to wrap it."

Her words were a piece of simple advice on her part, but I already knew that.

Shaking its head left and right, it did it a couple of times while shakily walking forward and backward. However-

"GuIIIIIIIiiiiiiIIIIIII."

Its angry cry resounded and it immediately sprinted this way again.

*Tsk*

Clicking my tongue, I repeated my actions, but this time they were vines of a stronger type.

Without waiting for any absurd power-up from the creature, I ran its way and jumped on its back with extreme care to not get punctured by the sharps tusks the boar tried to pierce me with. The fur on its back is rather tough and sharp. Forming a claw with Ki in my right hand, I brought it down and-

"GuuIIIIuIIIIIIII."

The cries of pain were heard, but I only frowned in response while adding more vines to bind it with my other hand. My claw did not cause deep wounds; in fact, they only shallowly damaged the creature. My earlier vines were poisonous ones that were deadly enough to kill a normal boar 10 times over with the amount of poison it received. Nevertheless, it only lightly affected it.

Getting down from the boar, I stuck my claws on its belly. They managed to pierce deeply this time. Isn't this thing similar to a normal boar in that regard?

Even if I wanted to learn about these creatures, I did not want to torture them so I aimed at the place where I believed the boar's heart would be and crushed it. I had my doubts about this creature being similar on the inside but my worry was unnecessary since it died at once.

How did I know? Well, it dissolved into a muddy liquid and black smoke. Taking my distance, I stayed as far as I could from that. It gave me the chills and my instincts made me want to run as far as possible from it.

I was not the only one that found it difficult to stand since Tomoe-san was also frowning while staring at the muddy liquid is left behind. However, on a closer inspection, there was something else there. It was a… small boar? I wouldn't call it a baby boar but it probably isn't very old. There are wound on its belly and back so it can only be said to be the same boar from before, before transforming into that.

"The changes can vary from species, races, and individuals, but usually you will find remains like these when they are killed. Depending on the level of corruption, the changes the body will suffer might change." Tomoe-san muttered in a calm tone of voice, clearly unperturbed from the spectacle in from of her. "Let me help you clean that off, if you let the contaminated blood from that creature on you, it can cause a large number of ailments. Diseases are the most common reaction, but mutations are also possible."

Taking a handkerchief from one of her skirt's pockets, Tomoe-san gently helped me to wipe the blood off.

"There is not much I can tell you so I can only ask you to leave the topic at that. I know that it is beyond ridiculous to ask you to trust me and that I am not saying anything else for a greater good, but it is outside my authority to make a complementary explanation." Tomoe-san coolly muttered. "Well, it is not like I have such deep knowledge about these creatures either. I am quite new at this, you see?"

Her red eyes stared at me without trying to look away so I could only reluctantly nod, she didn't look like she was lying so there was nothing to do about it.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I thought about what she told me about. I guess that the most important thing to consider is her choice of words, corruption. That word could mean different things, dishonesty, sleaze, fraud, and the list could go on. However, I think that the meaning she was trying to give it here is… altered form, distortion, deformation. Those kinds of words are fitting for what I dealt with today, yesterday, and many years ago. Nevertheless, there are still a large number of things I do not know of, such as the origin of it, or why something like that exists. Well, that is outside my capacity for now. I should focus on knowing that no matter if it is people, normal animals, and even supernatural creatures (I heard from Kaa-san when she explained about that black hound), but the range of beings it can affect is pretty wide.

"It is ok if you don't have the answers for now, but you at least know more than yesterday, right? You should focus on that instead of what you are lacking." Tomoe-san advised me.

Perhaps my silence lasted too long, but she sounded a little concerned. I felt a bit touched, for a stranger she-

"Shiki-sensei, Shiki-sensei! Now, could you continue telling me more about those fighting games?" Tomoe-san eagerly asked.

Forget it; I should've expected that much.

3rd Person POV

With a satisfied expression, Shirone finished bandaging Marion and nodded. They were using one of the destroyed buildings that had an open restaurant to rest and treat the injured.

"Done. Good job, me." Shirone proudly muttered.

Kuroka and she had been given first-aid classes by Nora, however, it was just a brief lesson, and he had given up until they were older. She was not sure why, they both had aced his lesson.

"Shirone-sama, I cannot move my arm like this." Marion wryly smiled.

Shirone saw how to improve Nora's techniques, with her arm injured; Marion would have a hard time moving so the white-haired girl thought of applying a triangular arm sling. However, she did not think that it was safe enough since the arm would still move too much so she added her idea into the mix. By taking a normal bandage, Shirone rolled it around Marion so that the arm was being held in place, and of course, she had been gentle to not hurt the maid, she was a good girl for protecting her and Nora had taught her to be good to those who treat you good.

"Nonsense, this is a masterpiece." Shirone refuted.

When Yasaka had been watching the television drama the other day, there was an episode where the main heroine was restless after an accident and she tried to take off the bandages so maybe this was a similar case.

"You might not take off that unless you want to feel my wrath." Shirone slowly said word by word while raising her tightened fist and shaking it slightly.

With a defeated look, Marion turned her head to the other people present like pleading for help, but she only a warm look from the black-haired woman who was wearing a black kimono with white spider webs around the sleeves, and for the two girls who had a strong resemblance to each other... she got nothing since they avoided her stare and started to whistle while gazing the sky.

One of the maid's mottos was to take care of everything in a befitting manner that did not taint the master reputation, but now she understood how much nonsense were those words about, they did not teach her how to deal with something like this. Just a she felt like crying, Marion noticed that Shirone had directed her eyes at somewhere else with her cat ears standing straight, and a moment later, she felt it. It was faint, but the ground vibrated.

"Doubt. Is there something wrong? Shion-sama." One of the orange-haired girls asked.

"Yuzuru-sama, please stop with the honorifics." Shion replied a little absentminded. "That was a small tremor, extremely faint and hard to notice but it indeed happened, and it came from that direction."

Frowning slightly, Shion looked in the same direction as Shirone; they both stared at the mountains that could be seen from their position. She felt a small pull from several almost invisible threads coming from her sleeve so she tugged them harshly and they did not move again. They were used to bind the survivor of the black-cloaked people who she had left tied in another building nearby.

Following their gaze, and with a nonchalant look, the other orange-haired girl had her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"I can hear the wind whispering to me that if we go there, we will find what we seek." The orange-haired muttered.

"Kaguya-sama, if you continue with that nonsense, I will get upset. Half of the number of times we got lost was because you kept changing the course due to your guts, the whispers of the wind, and the memories of your past life." Shion retorted.

Kaguya awkwardly scratched her cheek and looked the other way.

"Sneer. Boo! Boo! Kaguya got scolded." Yuzuru smiled slightly.

"Yuzuru-sama, remember that the other half was your responsibility when you confidently tried to take us in a completely different direction from your sister just because you wanted to prove that you were a better navigator than her." Shion exasperatedly said.

With her words, Yuzuru apologetically lowered her head, but she caught the smirk that her sister Kaguya gave her. To earn another scolding, she could only glare at her look-alike sister. It was a strange feeling to be angry at someone who looked just like you.

Watching the spectacle from one side, Marion was not sure what to say. She had experience meeting some chaotic individuals in the guild so she knew that in times like these you should act like you saw nothing.

"Shirone-sama, my apologies, but we came here intending to assist Shiki-sama. Do you happen to know where he is?" Shion turned to the small girl and asked.

"He went to play with his friends." Shirone replied in a sulky tone. "He left me with Maid-san while he went to do something called 'work'."

Inwardly smiling wryly at the attitude of the girl, Shion considered her wording.

"Where is that work you mentioned?" Shion questioned in a gentle tone.

"Dunno." Shirone tilted her head.

Sweating slightly, Shion turned her head and looked at Marion for help.

"He met the young lady of the Himejima clan, and they are taking care of some business together. I have no knowledge where he is, but perhaps asking one of the people working with that young lady would be helpful." Marion advised.

Tapping her chin with her finger, Shion thought for a moment about Yasaka's words before leaving.

"Can you tell me exactly what has happened since the three of you left Urakyoto?" Shion asked in a serious tone.

Feeling an intense gaze on her, Marion felt a bit pressured and scared; she couldn't help but remember what the leader of the Youkais had done before.

"It was something that Murmur-sama decided out of the blue, but he..." Marion nervously gulped some saliva before she started to explain.

...

...

...

"His reasons are what Yasaka-sama said, and as you would expect of Saya-sama's child, he swiftly left to deal with the issue on his own. *Sigh*" Shion muttered in an exasperated tone, although a slight smile was on her lips. "Whatever the case, we came here to support him in anything he might need. Kaguya-sama, Yuzuru-sama, both go and locate the Himejima people to talk with them. Do not approach them, just locate them and I will deal with the formalities, understood?" Shion directed her sight at orange-haired girls.

They nodded in response and each of them unfolded a pair of black feathered wings that had appeared on their backs before taking off and flying in a different direction.

The white-haired girl tilted her head at that sight.

"I did not see wrongly at that time." Shirone muttered in a whisper.

*cough*

With a fake cough, Shion cleared her throat.

"Shirone-sama and… Marion-sama. I have to deal with an errand now so I will leave you alone briefly, but do not worry. I will remain nearby so you can just call me if you need me." Shion spoke in a calm tone of voice.

Narrowing her eyes at Marion for a moment, she did not say anything to the maid. Instead, she directed her gaze at one building where the threads coming from her sleeves went to.

Marion did not comment about what those errands could be about, using her healthy arm she stood up with some difficulty and called out.

"Shirone-sama, would you like to eat something in the meantime? I am still lacking, but I should be able to offer you a satisfying meal. My skills have been approved at my guild so you can expect a delicious lunch." Marion spoke after lightly tapping the catgirl's shoulder.

Shirone who was about to call out Shion when she walked away turned her attention to Marion.

"…Will you be ok?" Shirone who was initially excited with shinning eyes asked in a concerned tone after staring at Marion's arm.

Smiling at her concern, Marion gently caressed her hair and lowered herself to be at the same height as the catgirl.

"Fufu, you don't have to worry. I am a maid, and this is nothing for one." Marion winked playfully at Shirone before standing up and going into the restaurant.

The barrier to keep people away from the place was broken after defeating those black-cloaked people, and in their place, Shion had erected a new one so there was no need to worry about unrelated people coming here, in fact, wouldn't the Himejima get here at some point to investigate what was happening? Why would Shion send away those two then? Stopping for a moment, Marion briefly thought about it, but she nodded in understanding when she recalled that Shion had excused herself to deal with an 'errand' after leaving Shirone here.

Tomoe's POV

"Say there, my new pal Tomoe-san." Nora muttered.

"What is it, Shiki-sensei?" Tomoe directed her sight to Nora.

Both had arrived at a similar space to the one that separated the group before, although this one did not look empty since several pieces of furniture were lying around, such as several folding chairs, tables and the was even a blackboard fixed on one of the walls.

The boy and the girl were both standing at what you would call the entrance to such a space, and they were having a nonchalant conversation.

"About what you said before, I can guess that they had countermeasures prepared so they even made this kind of place, to educate the children despite being down here. That much is understandable, I accept that. However, do you think that they also put one of those here?" Nora pointed in front of them.

Following Nora's finger pointing to the front, Tomoe blinked with listless eyes, and then she gazed back at Nora.

"What would be the reason they brought one of those here?" Tomoe asked with a troubled smile.

"In case they got hungry?"

"Wouldn't they become the main dish?"

"Eh, well, how about using it as a motivation during P.E. classes?"

"They would get caught in no time."

"Maybe it was a pet that escaped…"

"School regulations wouldn't allow such a thing."

"How about an experiment that went wrong and it gained a-"

"Shiki-sensei, I know that you want to deny reality by joking around but please face reality. It is glaring at us."

Nora and Tomoe had such a back and forth where Nora offered explanations and Tomoe calmly retorted.

"I had the feeling before that everything had gone way too smooth when I fought before, but to think that it was foreshadowing this." Nora shook his head in a defeated manner.

"Shiki-sensei, I understand your feelings but nitpicking about will not save us the trouble to deal with it." Tomoe retorted.

In front of the nonchalant duo, a boar much bigger than the one before was glaring at the two.

"Is it my idea or it is staring at us angrily?" Nora commented as he pulled his bow with one hand and with the other he took Tomoe's hand to slowly guide her backward.

"*cough* You are the type to attack in any kind of situation huh, I think I told you to act in moderation, although given our circumstances I will leave at that and will not scold you." Tomoe tried to calmly chide Nora for his actions but there was a slight blush on her face. "Now that you mention it, I think I know why, this one looks awfully similar to the one from before, do you think it was this one's child?"

"How can you blush in this kind of situation? Do you have a flower field on your head? Please act in moderation; this is not the time to act like a shy girl." Nora complained. "Wait; is this one of those situations? Being glared like I killed all of my enemy's descendants? Wow, I never thought I would go through something like that."

Now in the tunnel, they were in a safe place, the creature could not fit in the tunnel.

"It is not an act, I am a shy girl!" Tomoe refuted with a pout.

"Yeah, yeah. You are a cute and shy girl." Nora shrugged his shoulders.

Glancing behind him, he widened his eyes for a moment, before clicking his tongue.

"It bothers me that it makes me happy, thank you very much Shiki-sensei!" Tomoe complained (?).

Pulling a quiver of arrows from his pouch, Nora equipped it on his back before pulling one and nocking it on the bow.

"Oni-san is worried about you; a bad man might whisper sweets words to your ear in the future and make you fall." Nora shook his head and directed a worried gaze at Tomoe.

At that moment Tomoe felt the need to retort but held it back.

"Why is it not attacking us?" Tomoe asked with a frown on her face.

"It cannot, that thing is smarter than the last one." Nora muttered. "It missing a leg too so it might be too wary to jump on an enemy that it cannot react fast enough."

Tilting her head, Tomoe could be said to almost have a question mark on top of her head.

"It is missing a leg? Did it fight something even more dangerous?" Tomoe asked.

"…no, there are no signs of a fight in that place. I guess that it willingly gave up on its leg." Nora said in a somber tone.

Curious about it, Tomoe pressed for more details.

"Why would it?" Tomoe questioned.

"The smaller boar was its child, and it had to feed it somehow." Nora replied.

Lowering his bow, he pulled several seeds from his pouch and secured some on the tip of his arrows, he did this process on each of his arrows from the quiver he had on his back.

Tomoe shuddered at his answer.

"Cannibalism? That is…" Tomoe did not continue and instead just sated at the boar.

"They are dangerous; those things can eat each other and get stronger, although in this case, it might be just a mother's instinct to take care of its offspring." Nora said.

Closing his eyes, he grabbed the tip of his arrow and his hand glowed for a moment, seconds later he nocked the arrow and opened his eyes to aim properly after taking the right shooting stance.

Tomoe wanted to praise his stance because it looked rather beautiful in her eyes, but she decided to quietly observe him. Nora seemed to be concentrating and she did not want to distract him. Biting her lips, she wondered if not doing anything was ok. She was feeling reluctant to act now that she got to know the boy more, and despite her bantering by calling him playboy, after talking with him she understood that he was not like that, the boy only spoke his thought more often than he should so he would mutter his thoughts aloud. That being said, she came to like him as a friend, and she was slightly afraid to show him what she was. However, if she fought the creature she would be able to deal with it given her multiple abilities. Nevertheless, Nora might get scared of her and that would mean that they could not be friends again. She can still remember the looks she received when she showed her superhuman strength in front of a group of adults; they were scared of her and called her hurtful things. Will she have to hear hurtful things from him?

"It is nothing personal, but please die." Nora muttered.

While Tomoe was lost in thoughts, Nora shot arrow after arrow.

"GUUUUUiIIIIiiiIIII."

The creature's cries of pain were heard after the arrows hit their target. Aiming at the left eye, he continued to shoot but only the first one pierced the eye, the rest got lodged on the creature's head but did not pierce the skins due to the tough fur, or they were sent flying by the tusks movements.

"Be a good girl and stay here, ok?" Nora said. "I won't take long so we can continue our game chat."

Speaking with a slight smile on his face Nora ran in the direction of the boar which angrily destroyed the chairs around it due to the injury is received. However, a moment later, its cries intensified. The arrows that Nora shot began to grow vines around them and they caused it more pain since one of the arrows was lodged on its eye, although the others made their way around the boar's body and tried to restrain its movement.

Tomoe felt like praising Nora for using that idea, but above all, she recalled his words. He was a good boy, and she feels stupid for hesitating to help him, and that was why she would assist him.

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Author's Notes

Hi there, how are ya?

The chapter is here already so you might have some questions regarding it.

First, let me clarify something. Tomoe and Musashi have the same appearance as the ones from Fate Grand Order, and Kaguya and Yuzuru have the appearance of the ones from Date A Live. Art appearance is something that you all will be surprised and many will be like 'When did you start making that foreshadowing?' so please do not be surprised at that time, I am writing this for you to be aware of that.

I read your comments before and I get that my chapters might be somewhat disappointing lately. I got no excuse for that; I had been trying to set what was going to happen later, although that might sound like excuses. There is also the fact that I focused on building affinity between the members of the group. You might find that boring, but I think it is important for future developments; in particular Tomoe and Musashi will have an interesting role later on. The fight this time was kind of short but I wanted it to be like that, it was mostly a way to show that sometimes Nora can also solve some issues easily instead of always struggling with everything he finds, and a bit of what you would call his methods to fight.

About those tunnels, I think it is an exaggeration on my part the size and everything, but they did exist. Not sure if there were some in schools like that, but bunkers and shelters for people to hide during war and other troubled times have always existed, unfortunately that is common around the world.

Good day to you, and I apologize again.

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