Chapter 137: ~Chapter 49~ Part 3

"… and that's why I literally can't go around patrolling with you today," I explained in a low, neutral voice, just like how you would describe something to a child, and just as expected, Mountain Girl let out a disappointed huff.

"Then how are we to track down and slay the horrid creatures of the—?"

"Please, stop," I pleaded to her with my palms raised. "It's cold out here, I'm having a migraine, and I just want to go home. I promise I'll hunt with you once I feel better, so just let it go this one time, okay?"

I kid you not, she actually puffed up her cheeks like she was a chipmunk. I admit that, if Judy, Elly, or even Snowy was doing the same, I would've probably found it super-adorable, but since it was our resident annoying monster-huntress, I could only groan in response.

At last, after spending nearly half a minute staring at me in silence, she let her shoulders slack a little and she told me, "Very well. We shall go and scour the rotten underbelly of the city for the trails and tracks of the vile fiends of the underworld! All alone!" After saying her piece, she dramatically turned on her heel and took a few steps away from me, only to stop, turn back, and declare in a sulky voice, "We are going to unearth the greater fiend, and then we massacre it, and then we drench the streets with its lifeblood, and you're going to miss it, and you're going to be sorry!"

"Um… Good luck?"

"Onikiri wants you to know that you are the worst and a prepubescent penis."

"A prepubescent what now?" I muttered in response to her unusual insult, but instead of answering me, she let out another huff and dashed away, leaving me all alone in the park. For a moment I couldn't decide if I should shake my head or let out a groan, but in the end I decided not to waste my time on either of those options, and instead I quickly made my way over to the closest (and inexplicably clean) public toilet in the park, I hid myself in one of the stalls, and quickly Phased back home.

"Welcome back!" I was immediately greeted by Snowy as I appeared in the living room. I still remembered how she would freak out every time I appeared in front of her, but by this point she was totally used to it. Humans (or in this case, Abyssals) are really adaptable creatures, I supposed.

Anyhow, she quickly bounced over to my side and helped me slip out of my coat, and I belatedly realized that this time she wasn't wearing her maid outfit. Instead, she was sporting a pretty stylish ensemble including a puffy white blouse, a black skirt, stockings, and even some simple jewelry in the form of a bracelet and a thin silver necklace. I was actually a little baffled by that for a moment, but then my poor, over-exerted brain finally managed to connect the dots and I remembered that she told me in the morning that she was invited over to Angie's place for a movie night and a sleepover.

I checked the clock, and it was a little before six in the evening, so I told her, "Shouldn't you get going soon?"

"I already called a cab," she answered in an upbeat voice as she left the room with my coat in hand, and when she returned empty-handed she added, "It should be here soon."

"Good," I said with a nod. "You know the rules, right?"

My sister gave me a determined expression and told me, while counting on her fingers, "Be a good guest, be respectful to her parents, don't do anything Judy would be mad about, and… um…"

She seemed to forget the most important part, so I gently patted the top of her head and said, "… and have fun."

"Right, that's the one," she murmured with a smile, and I couldn't help but tousle her hair even harder for a moment.

"Awawa! Don't! You're going to make my hair all ruffled!" I stifled a chuckle and stopped messing with her hair, just in time to hear the horns of a car from the driveway, which immediately perked her up. "My cab is here!"

"Nice timing," I said as a used my now free hand to rub my chin. "What would've happened if I came home a little later though?"

"I would've waited for you, obviously," Snowy told me with a twinkle in her eyes as she headed to the entryway. I followed after her and watched as she put on her boots and her coat in record time, then, after making sure she got everything, she beamed at me and gave me a small wave. "I'm off!"

"Have fun." I waved back, and five seconds later she was already in the cab.

The moment she left, I let out a groan worthy of the history books as my shoulders involuntarily drooped. I didn't want to make her worry, so I toughed it out in front of her, but I was already feeling worse than the last time I over-exerted myself with the enchantments. I didn't know if it was because mucking with the curse and the core and what have you the way I did was just that much more exhausting, or because I haven't fully recovered from the previous stunt, but either way, at the moment I felt sick and tired like a three-legged workhorse.

Since there was nothing to do in the entryway, I went back into the living room and contemplated the idea of just sitting down on my comfy chair and putting my brain in standby mode. It was a tempting idea, but not a particularly productive one, so I shook it off and forced my legs to carry me up the stairs and into my room.

When I arrived, I immediately fell onto my bed and spread out on my back. It made me feel just a tiny bit better, though even that was a small mercy. Serves me right for trying to do something nice for someone else, huh?

…

Oh, who am I kidding? No matter how I sliced things, I had to admit that I was a little proud of myself. Maybe not even just a 'little'. I mean, I was sick as a dog because of it at the moment, but I did more or less cure my girlfriend's mother of a debilitating curse. That probably earned me a ton of brownie points, and Emese's attitude became noticeably warmer towards me... maybe even a bit too much to be honest. I couldn't help but wonder; were all Draconians this emotional, or was it just this family in particular?

I didn't dwell on the question for long, as it was obviously a moot one, considering that my sample size of 'Draconian families' was exactly one. Speaking of sample sizes, I forced my body into a sitting position, and after taking a few slow breaths I dragged myself over to my PC.

To be perfectly honest, I really wasn't in the mood to take notes, but I figured doing so was as good as any other method for taking my mind off the fact that I was sick as a politician allergic to dishonesty. As such I turned on the machine, limbered up my fingers a little, and once the desktop loaded in, I opened up the usual files and browser tabs.

When I paused for a brief moment while I considered where I should start, my attention was grabbed by the public chat room of the hub flashing with a series of notifications. I'm not going to lie, I was a little apprehensive of joining in, but the more I thought about it, the more tempting the button looked in my eyes. I mean, when it came to these guys, it was about as likely to find something amusing as it was to run into an absolutely brain-numbing discussion, but after the poker party this afternoon, I was still in the mood for a bit of gambling. I ultimately pressed the button, and it opened up a new window with lines upon lines of text already in the logs.

"Morosemoose: Hello, Admin."

"Morosemoose: It's been a while."

The <Admin joined the room> notification barely showed up, yet I was immediately greeted by Moose. I reflexively wrote 'good evening', but then I remembered my cover story and quickly corrected myself.

"Admin: Good day, and yes, it's been a while."

"Admin: Where have you been?"

"Morosemoose: Mostly work. It's been a busy week in the office."

"Admin: I can imagine, though I don't really want to."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: HEY, IT'S ADMIN! HI!! (￣▽￣)ノ"

"Admin: Hello. I should have known you'd be online as well."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: I HAVE A LOT OF FREE TIME BEFORE THE EXAM PERIOD STARTS! (─‿‿─)"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: MORE IMPORTANTLY! ADMIIIIIN!!! (☆ω☆)"

I waited for a few seconds, as I was under the impression that he had something else to say, but when there was only radio silence, I decided to respond first.

"Admin: Yes?"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: I THOUGHT ABOUT THE MEANING OF LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING, AND DECIDED TO BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF LOVE!!!! (≧◡≦) ♡"

"Morosemoose: ... I think you lost me there. What exactly are you two talking about?"

"Admin: Ninja has a crush, but she has a scary grandfather."

"Morosemoose: Oh."

"Morosemoose: I'm still lost, I'm afraid..."

"Admin: Don't worry, it's nothing important."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!?! ( : ౦ ‸ ౦ : )"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: I'M SUPER-DUPER SERIOUS, YOU KNOW!?!? (>_<)"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: I DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT SOCIETY THINKS, EVEN IF IT'S A FORBIDDEN LOVE!!! I'M LIKE A MODERN DAY ROMEO!!! ♡＼(￣▽￣)／♡"

"Morosemoose: You know that the play ended with both Romeo and Juliet dying, right?"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: ARGH!!!"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: WHY ARE YOU GUYS SO MEAN?!?! (＃`Д´)"

"Admin: We are just teasing you."

"Morosemoose: That's right. I mean, putting the drama aside, just how forbidden can this love be?"

"Admin: He's crushing on the Critias Arch-mage's granddaughter."

"Morosemoose: Oh."

"Morosemoose: Well then, it was nice knowing you. I'll make sure to send some flowers for your funeral."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: *SOB-SOB* o(〒﹏〒)o"

"Admin: How about we put teasing ninja aside for a moment?"

"Admin: What were you guys chatting about before I logged in?"

"Morosemoose: Can't you just scroll up and see it for yourself?"

"Admin: TL;DR."

"Morosemoose: Fair enough."

"Morosemoose: I was just giving a warning to ninja."

"Admin: A warning about what?"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: AAAAAA!!! THAT'S RIGHT!!! THE KNIGHTS ARE COMING!!! (((＞＜)))"

That gave me a long pause, but then I quickly typed in:

"Admin: Can I get a slightly less dramatic explanation, please?"

"Morosemoose: I'll do it."

"Morosemoose: You asked me to keep an eye out for any suspicious movements regarding the Oathbreakers."

"Morosemoose: In the last couple of weeks, there have been a number of attacks on their strongholds in Europe and in the East."

"Morosemoose: Both sides only suffered minor casualties, yet all of their cells had gone underground."

"Morosemoose: The last report before they went dark said that they would be moving their forces to Critias for some kind of operation."

"Morosemoose: Since I knew ninja lived on the island, I told him to be careful."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME! THEY MUST BE AFTER THE SCARY DRAGON PEOPLE IN THE CAPITAL!!"

"Morosemoose: Do you have anyone you're not afraid of?"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: HEY! SCARY THINGS ARE SCARY!! ＼(º □ º l|l)/ "

"Admin: That's a little unexpected. Are we sure they are moving in on the Dracis family?"

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"Morosemoose: Can't say for sure, but it's the most conservative assumption we can make based on the little information we have."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: YEAH!! THOSE GUYS HAVE A HATE BONER THE SIZE OF A QUANTUM LEAP AGAINST THE DRAGON GUYS!!! (￢_￢)"

"Morosemoose: A quantum leap is actually really tiny."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: STOP NITPICKING, MOOSE!! YOU ARE MAKING ME LOOK BAD IN FRONT OF THE BOSS MAN!!1! (＃`Д´)"

"Admin: Please stop fighting, you two. This could be serious."

"Admin: Critias is already a powder keg. Throwing the Oathbreakers into that might lead to an incident that will make Cardhouse look like small potatoes in comparison."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: GOT IT, BOSS MAN! I WILL BE TOTES SERIOUS NOW!!! (☆ω☆)"

"Admin: In that case, can I rely on you to gather intel on-site?"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: DO I HAVE TO??? (￣︿￣)"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: NO, WAIT!! I COULD TOTALLY ASK THE INFO BROKER FOR THAT! THIS MIGHT WORK OUT GREAT! (❤ω❤)"

"Morosemoose: How so?"

"Admin: He probably wants to have an excuse to stay in contact with him."

"Admin: So that he would have more chances to meet with his crush."

"Morosemoose: ... Is ninja crushing on the information broker?"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: NOOO!! STOP TEASING ME!! ( ` ω ´ )"

"Morosemoose: We will stop when it stops being funny."

"Admin: On a more serious note, I would prefer if you didn't rely on the Chimera slayer too much."

"Morosemoose: Wait."

"Morosemoose: The chimera slayer of Critias is your informant? I thought you were allergic to scary people."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: HE'S NOT SCARY!!... WELL, MAYBE A LITTLE, BUT HE IS ALSO REALLY COOL, AND HE HAS THESE COOL PIERCING EYES AND HE IS ALSO REALLY COOL!!"

"Morosemoose: ... Are you sure you are not crushing on him?"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: MOOOOOOOOSE!!1!!ONE! (＃`Д´)"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: JUST YOU WAIT! ON THE DAY OF THE NEXT OFFLINE MEETING, I'M TOTALLY GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!! (＃`Д´)"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: I KNOW KUNG FU AND STUFF!!! (＃`Д´)"

"Morosemoose: If I had boots, I would be quaking in them right now."

I really wanted to ask how (and why) these alleged elite Celestial field agents were having offline meetings, but considering what I recently learned about the Knights, I figured this question was be so low on my priority list it should be right next to dinosaur bones.

"Admin: Moose, where can I find the reports about the recent developments involving the Oathbreakers?"

"Morosemoose: I'll send the list over in a PM later."

"Admin: Good man."

"Admin: As for you, ninja, I want you to keep an ear out and write regular reports."

"Admin: Also, I'm going to send a circular to all the assets on Critias and tell them to forward their reports to you for screening."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: HOLD ON!!"

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: DOES THAT MEAN THAT I'M PROMOTED TO FIELD SUPERVISOR?!? (*°▽°*)"

"Admin: Informally. Do it well, and I will put in a couple of good words for you and we'll make it official."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: YAAAAAAY!!! I LOVE YOU, BOSS MAN!!! YOU ARE THE BEST!! ＼(≧▽≦)／"

"Morosemoose: So now you are crushing on Admin? How fickle of you."

"W1NG3D N1NJ4: MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!!!!!! ٩(╬ʘ益ʘ╬)۶"

It was at this point that I decided to leave the bickering duo to their own devices and instead I minimized the tab and leaned back in my seat. Once I felt suitably collected, I reached out to my phone and the desk and dialed my assistant.

"Hi, Chief. Do you feel any better?"

"Thank you for the question, but my malaise is the least of our problems at the moment."

"Did something happen?"

"Not yet," I stated, after which I shared with her the short version of what I just learned from the Hubbites. She listened to my explanation until the end, without a word, and as the finisher I asked her, "What's your opinion?"

"It sounds like foreshadowing."

I let a tired groan escape my lips and reiterated my previous question, because apparently I wasn't clear enough the first time.

"I didn't ask in narrative terms, but whether we should warn Abram ahead of time."

"No, you asked for my opinion," she retorted with a huff. "I gave you that."

"... Okay, then let's hear that first, and then I would like to hear your advice on the second question."

"Certainly," she told me a smidgen smugly before she immediately adopted her usual, dry mannerism and expounded, "I believe that your interference with the Sentai arc caused the narrative to start the next arc early."

"Don't you mean 'our' interference?"

"You were the one who insisted on avoiding the genre shift, you were the one who undermined Robatto, and you were the one who magically hacked the transformation devices," Judy countered in rapid succession, then after a self-satisfied huff she finished with, "As such, I wash my hands of this whole affair."

"You can't really. You are my assistant, so you are liable for any unforeseen consequences caused by our actions as much as I am. It says so in our contract."

"What contract?"

"The one where you agreed to all that. Did you think employment at our company was all sandwiches and no responsibility?"

"I don't like that. Can we change the contract?"

"Sure. Do you have the funds to pay back all the sandwiches you earned so far, with interest, plus the contract breach penalty and the legal fees?"

"Why would I have to? I never heard of any of this."

"In that case, my young lady, you should learn to read the fine print at the bottom. Insert villainous laughter here."

"Oh, the humanity. Woe is me. My current level of distress is at least three standard deviations away from normal."

"Insert continued villainous laughter here."

"… On second thought, can I pay you in kisses?"

"What is the current exchange rate on those?"

"I have no idea."

"Then come up to my office tomorrow, and we will discuss the terms."

"Okay." There were several long seconds of silence on the line, and then she told me, in her normal voice, "If you can joke around like this, I guess you must feel a little better."

"Oh, that? Nah, I still feel so deep under the weather I should be inside the Earth's crust. It's just that talking to you and hearing your voice makes me a little happy, and it helps me to ignore it."

Another short bout of radio silence ensued, and then my assistant softly told me, "That was unusually sweet of you. I'll take it."

"You're welcome," I answered as I couldn't help grinning, even though it was pointless to do so on the phone. With that, I considered our tangent over, so I cleared my throat and asked, "Seriously though, what do you think we should do with the info about the knights?"

"If you ask me, you should—"

It was right at this moment that I suddenly picked up a strange, unfamiliar sound. It was kind of like marching band music or an anthem of some sort.

"Ooookay, this is weird. I have to put it down, Dormouse. I'll call you back."

I didn't wait for her answer; instead I quickly cut the call and rose to my unsteady feet in search of the source of the sound. I didn't have to look for long, as I quickly found it in the form of the old brick phone on the shelf at the back of my room. After I changed phones and carriers, I held onto the old one and kept it charged, just in case my theoretical parents or the like attempted to contact me. Which was apparently happening just now.

Odd and slightly disconcerting as it was, I still reached out towards the device, undid the simple key-lock, and checked the caller-ID. Surprise-surprise, it belonged to the only unknown number in my old contact list, and the one I cheekily renamed to 'Mystery Number X' on the very first day. I had attempted to call it a couple of times in the past, but I always got the stock 'The number you are attempting to call is not in service' automated reply, so it more or less completely slipped my mind as of late.

I had a feeling that this call was fairly significant, so I took a deep breath in preparation and then pushed the little green button and raised the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

There was a momentary buzz on the line, followed by silence, but just as I was about to call out again, there was a soft sound on the other side followed by the voice of a man, as deep as the Mariana trench and huskier than an entire dog-sled combined.

"The time has come, brother."

He only said that single, insanely foreboding line, and then he immediately cut the line. I blinked in surprise as I slowly pulled the phone away from my face, and then I whispered, with all the eloquence I could muster at the time:

"Well… fuck me that was ominous..."

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