Within a spacious underground room, a fierce battle was currently underway.
As the two figures blitzed around the arena exchanging blows, a third sat in a chair at one end of the room, watching with only mild interest. With one leg crossed over the other, Circe nibbled on one of many custard treats from the plate in her lap as her two lieutenants continued duking it out.
Micah was a veritable kicking master by this point, after having prioritized a majority of her training around using her feet to attack opponents in tandem with her scarf. Interestingly however, there was a noticeable increase in her use of punches too—particularly using mana to enhance the physical output of her strikes.
“Haaaaa!!!” The girl brought her fist back as a blue glow surrounded her knuckles mid-dash towards her opponent. Zaheer’s eyes narrowed warily as Micah rushed in, but found his movements restricted as her scarf ends raced to attack his flanks, forcing him to defend. This allowed her to easily seize his arms by the wrists and lift him up slightly, creating the perfect opening for her to close the distance and drive her mana-charged fist into his stomach as hard as she could.
While dispassionately licking her fingers clean of gooey custard, Circe braced the plate in her lap with her free hand as the wind pressure in the room kicked up, throwing her hair around wildly. When the wind calmed, she reached up to smooth her hair back down and turned to see Micah panting a distance away from her target, who stood with a gaping hole in his body that almost immediately closed shut as if it hadn’t been there in the first place.
“I’m impressed. You actually managed to wound me.”
“Haa… Haa… That took… way more mana than I was expecting, but… it was no good, huh…”
With a wave of her hand, an attendant walked over to hand Circe a mug of sweetened milk tea, which had been kept lukewarm so she could drink it quickly. She took several gulps before handing the empty cup back, after which the attendant bowed and walked off to prepare another.
She didn’t usually indulge in this many sweets at once, but it was a necessary venture whenever Zaheer had to fight seriously. The two of them had already been sparring for an hour and a half; testing out various moves to provide Micah with some battle training, but once the two decided to have a genuine mock battle, she had a line of desserts prepared to ensure she wouldn’t burn out in the event that Zaheer used too much of her power.
In any case, though Micah was still rough around the edges, she was becoming quite adept at manipulating her raw mana. She supposed it made sense, considering she was using that person’s power at the end of the day, but it was still rather awe inspiring to see her in action considering how rare those with mana affinities were.
“Now then, I suppose it’s my turn,” Zaheer said. Circe immediately knew what his intention was the moment he extended a palm out.
Ah, so he’s using “that”. This should be interesting.
Micah, however, looked awfully confused as she watched a dark misty substance form above his palm. The gas spread out, encompassing a wider and wider area, and after a few moments it began to dissipate, revealing a long pole that he clutched the shaft of tightly. At one end of the pole was a massive curved blade that completed the weapon’s sinister image.
Yes, it was a scythe. And quite a sizable one at that. It was perfectly suited for Zaheer’s large build, and with practiced motions the man swiped it through the air once, then slammed the non-bladed end against the floor. He gazed at Micah calmly, though his expression revealed how serious he was.
“W-W-What the heck was that?! You can summon a scythe too?!” Micah shouted, jabbing a finger at him accusingly. Circe had to stifle a chuckle with her finger, amused by the reaction.
“I understand that a mere farming implement may seem like an improbable weapon,” he replied. “However, I assure you that it is quite dangerous.”
“Th-That’s not the issue here!” The girl retorted. “How did you do all that swirly dark stuff? Is that like a dark magic power or something?”
“Eh?” Zaheer looked a bit stunned, likely from unexpectedly having to explain something so simple. It was quite an amusingly cute expression for the normally-stoic man to make. “I merely used the spell [Summoning]. Normally you would expend raw mana to summon objects, but [Summoning] is unique in that the process can be made easier by combining it with one’s elemental affinity-”
“Hold on, wait. You can use [Summoning] on more than just living things?” For some reason, that part was what Micah latched onto the most.
“Yes. In fact, the spell has been outlawed for such a use for quite some time. The process of summoning heavily maims organic matter, often with fatal results. As such, it is only legally allowed for use on non-living objects such as weapons and items.”
“Eh?” Now it was Micah’s turn to look stunned. Circe rolled her lips to avoid audibly giggling as the pair continued chatting. “But, that book I read back in Halloway said [Summoning] was meant to be used on creatures.”
“Is that so? It must have been quite an outdated issue. [Summoning] was certainly used for such purposes in the past, however it has now been officially recognized as an impossible method of transport for living creatures.”
“I-I see…” Micah’s gaze fell slightly after hearing that news. She looked like she was thinking deeply about something, and even looked a tad guilty. Whatever for, Circe wondered?
The clearing of a throat on her flank interrupted her thoughts, and as she turned to receive her next cup of milk tea, she was instead surprised to see an envelope being handed to her by an attendant. He then leaned down to whisper something in her ear before bowing lightly and departing. Mildly interested in what was being brought to her attention, she deftly tore away the seal and passed her eyes over the contents of the letter within.
“Now then. I’m going to get serious from this point, Micah. Prepare yourself.”
“Heh, alright sure. Bring it on!”
Micah settled into a battle stance as she prepared to square off against Zaheer once more. After a brief moment of calm, both fighters kicked off the floorboards and rushed at the other, strikes at the ready-
“Okay, that’s enough.” (はいすっとぷ)
A sudden clap and an abrupt voice stopped them in their tracks. Circe calmly walked towards the center of the arena while getting their attention. Zaheer immediately relaxed his posture, and with a flick of his wrist, the entire scythe vanished in another cloud of dark mist.
Micah too stood up straight and deactivated [God’s Blessing], then crossed her arms while raising a brow in Circe’s direction. “What is it? New mission come in or something?”
The woman seemed to ponder on that for a moment. “Well… I suppose you could say that. Wash up and come meet me in the main room in twenty minutes.”
“Uh, alright…” Micah gave her a strange look as Circe turned and left without saying anything more. Perhaps it was a byproduct of her having come to understand her boss a bit more, but the expression on her face was a bit different from her usual smile. She seemed troubled, or maybe just concerned about something. Either way, it felt like something serious had happened, so she said her goodbyes to Zaheer and headed for the shower room that was adjacent to this one.
-----
“First off, I will relay to you the contents of the report I received concerning the investigation into Sawatari Yuu.”
“Huh? H-Has there been progress?!” Micah perked up immediately in her chair upon hearing that. It had been about a year since she had requested Circe’s help in figuring out if her brother was in this world or not. During that time, Circe hadn’t said a word about it except that she was “still looking into some things” every time Micah asked about it, but it seemed she’d finally stumbled across something substantial enough to relay to her.
“Based on the description you gave me, I had some people go around the four nations and search for young boys in your age range that resembled your brother, and a number of people cropped up. Of course, there’s a chance we missed a few in the initial search, but assuming he also reincarnated into a new body the same as you, it’s possible you’ll find him among that group. However, I took into account the age disparity between your body and mind, and also had them investigate young men between the ages of twenty-three to twenty-six to be safe. They’re not quite finished gathering all the data, but as soon as the results come in, I’ll have a lineup of their portfolios made for you to flip through. With luck, you’ll be able to point him out based on characteristics and behavioral patterns that would have carried over from your previous lives, and that will be that.”
“R-Really? What a relief…” Micah let out a sigh, overjoyed at the idea that the day of her reunion with Yuu was getting closer and closer. It wasn’t a sure thing, but she wasn’t such a pessimist that she’d deny the very real possibility of it being true. Even if she wanted to, the smile spreading across her face was impossible to get rid of now that she’d allowed that happy thought to form.
“Now then, with that out of the way, let’s move on to the main subject,” Circe said, bringing her out of her thoughts. She rested her elbows on her desk and laced her fingers together as the serious, business-like expression she typically reserved for mission briefings settled on her face. “Aurelia Brightwind made an attempt to contact you.”
…
…
…Eh?
-----
“So let me get this straight,” Micah started, having taken some time to calm down and process all of what she’d been told. “So you guys intercepted a letter Aurelia tried to mail from here in Regalia all the way to Westra; specifically, to the Church of Nor in Halloway. On top of that, it was addressed to me?”
“That about sums up the situation, yes.”
“But why? I haven’t heard from her since that banquet we met at years ago. Why now of all times?”
“Have you been keeping up with the news by any chance?” Circe asked with a smirk. “Following the Zaothern Forest Incident last year, those who lost their homes from the monster attacks became refugees, and a majority of them had no choice but to be relocated to temporary shelters set up by the Hero Association while they rebuilt everything.”
“Right, I heard about that. Then, does that mean they finished up their repairs?”
“Not completely, but progress was made to the point that some of the refugees have been given permission to be reintegrated back into their former homes. That process will begin sometime within the next couple of months, but before that, a big ceremony is supposed to be held to honor the fallen, pay respects to the bereaved families, and so on and so forth.”
Micah couldn’t help but stare dryly in response to the news. “Uh, what? Isn’t it the Hero Association’s fault things got that bad in the first place? Who the heck would want to grieve with those guys after everything that happened?”
“My thoughts exactly. Which is why I can only assume it’s a strategic move in order to save face with the Zaothern people after their incredible blunder of a relief effort. That’s why they’ve been working nonstop on the repairs all this time, and why they’ll be personally overseeing the reintegration procedure until it’s complete. Every available Hero under their employ will be chipping in, apparently.”
I see… Ellie must be there too, then. It’d be just like her to try and help in any way she can.
Micah cracked a smile at that thought, but it quickly vanished as a question formed in her mind. “But wait, what does this have to do with Aurelia sending me a letter?”
“I’m getting to that. Naturally, since they’re the primary backer of the Hero Association, the Norith Council has to save face with a public show of support too. To that end, most of the Brightwind family departed for Zaoth yesterday morning. Achill, the patriarch and a member of the Norith council, left earlier with some attendants, and he’ll supposedly be delivering a speech on the council’s behalf regarding the incident. What went wrong, how the Hero Association could have done better, et cetera.”
“So in other words, a bunch of nonsense and bullshit to remove some of the hate from them.”
“Precisely. Incidentally though, some Brightwinds weren’t taken along and were instead left behind here in Regalia. Namely, Achill’s son Lennart—who is also a member of the Norith council—as well as Lennart’s own daughter, Aurelia Brightwind. Achill’s granddaughter.”
Seeming more relaxed, Circe leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms beneath her chest. “There might be some others I’m not aware of, but aside from them, there’s basically only a skeleton crew left to look after the estate for however long it takes the rest to conclude their business. They’ll also be helping with the reintegration efforts down there, so I imagine it’s given little Aurelia quite a bit of free time from her normal duties.”
“And that’s why she sent that letter, huh.” Micah mulled over that info. “In that case, I’m guessing it wasn’t related to any important business. A social call, maybe?”
“I’m not quite sure what that means, but it certainly seems to be for pleasure instead of business. To summarize the main points, she wanted to check up on you and apologize for leaving so abruptly last time. She also wanted to apologize for not contacting you earlier, but things had apparently been quite busy for her ever since she returned to Regalia. She then sent her best regards to you and those nuns, mentioned how she hoped you were all doing well, then finished off by saying that she’d like to meet up with you again if possible.”
“Wow. How succinct.”
“That’s the nobility for you. They know better than anyone to keep their correspondences brief and to-the-point. She even used a false signature on the envelope itself, so it seems she was cautious of the possibility that it would be intercepted.”
“And yet, despite that you still went and did it,” Micah said flatly.
“Hmhm, well what good is my information network if it can’t see through such simple deceptions? In any case, there’s a bit more to this story that I need to explain, and once I do, I’ll be assigning you your next mission.”
Micah had nearly forgotten she was even going on a mission with how the conversation had proceeded so far, but now that she’d been reminded, she sat up a bit straighter and listened as Circe continued.
“So then, in addition to the letter, my spies also came across some rather troubling information. A criminal organization that started up in this area recently has been making some suspicious moves. Normally I wouldn’t pay such a thing any mind, but the timing is unnatural since it perfectly coincides with the Brightwinds’ departure.”
Micah gave her a strange look that conveyed that she didn’t understand, so Circe raised a finger to explain. “Think about it for a moment. My organization is quite large and influential, yes? However it’s also publicly disguised as a religious group that worships me—or rather, a goddess made in my image. Naturally, it stands that very few people, including those of other criminal organizations, would know of what lies beneath that veil. Of course there’s always the possibility of information leaks, but I make sure to keep a careful eye on the news channels of the criminal underworld to ensure that such things never go beyond unproven rumors. Now tell me, how do you think that relates to this organization that’s sprung up?”
“Huh? Well…” Micah’s eyes glanced to the side as she gave it some thought, eventually arriving at an answer. “I suppose if they didn’t know about you, other organizations would probably try and set up shop in places that you already have control of.”
“Exactly so. It happens from time to time, especially here in Regalia where business and commerce are quite lucrative. However, there’s another reason why Regalia is important to me, and it’s why I chose it as the most suitable location for my headquarters. Alright, time for a Circe quiz~!” Circe showed a childlike smile and leaned forward to rest her cheek on her hand. “Why is it that I find Regalia the most comfortable place to live? Micah Stronoff, your answer is…?!”
What the heck, why am I being quizzed all of a sudden? Well, if I don’t play along she’ll just start pouting again, so whatever.
Comfort, is it… She’s probably talking about the fact that she can live a comfortable life here without worrying about other criminal groups butting in. In that case, what does Regalia have that other places don’t, I wonder…?
If it was about places that offered a sense of comfort or security, the Hero academy came to mind first. Close to the center of the city there was indeed a school that trained aspiring Heroes to become professionals. Micah didn’t pay it much mind because she wasn’t all that interested in becoming a Hero, but it was certainly something of note because many strong and famous Heroes were employed as staff there. But the existence of a Hero academy didn’t strike her as being enough to deter criminal groups from sticking around. Rather, more than that…
“...The Hero Association HQ?”
“Bingo! Correct answer!” Circe seemed elated, and grinned a bit cheekily as she explained. “Those guys may be next to worthless in the eyes of the public, but they want to protect this place more than anyone. With that in mind, it’s simply a matter of passing along information to them anonymously whenever a new group settles down here, and from there they’ll handle the rest. Since I’ve already situated myself here long ago, it’s quite easy to stay under their radar while ensuring that others aren’t able to do the same.”
“Ahh, I understand. So in other words, your nature as a true scumbag allows you to stay at the top of the hill while mercilessly kicking off anyone else who tries to climb up after you. You know, you’re so committed to the whole ‘being the worst person ever’ schtick that it’s almost admirable, in a weird way.”
“Fufu, thank you for the compliment~ Well, in the end these guys are all heartless criminals, so it’s not like I’m doing the world a disservice by having them removed.”
Micah shook her head with a sigh, not wanting to pursue this any further and start another argument. Instead, she just crossed her arms and tried to get the conversation back on track. “Haa, right. So back to the main topic, this new criminal group normally wouldn’t make you bat an eyelash because you could just snitch on them to the Hero Association, but things are different because it seems like they’re planning to make use of the Brightwinds’ departure for something. Is that right?”
Looking a little exasperated, Circe shook her head and leaned back again. “That’s the gist of it. It would be one thing if they were just trying to expand their operations after settling down here, but the timing is too strange. They arrived a little over a week ago as far as I can tell, and spent most of that time digging their hooks into local businesses. I’ll go into more detail on that in a minute, but around the time the Brightwinds were preparing to leave, the group suddenly went quiet.”
“Quiet? What do you mean, quiet?”
“I mean that they abruptly halted their expansion in Regalia. It’s since started up again, albeit to a lesser degree, but now the bulk of the members seem to be focused on performing shakedowns. Several suspected members have been reported stopping strangers on the streets within walking distance of the Brightwind estate and asking odd questions, or just walking about the area in general. I can’t say for certain due to the lack of information, but the best guess I can come up with to explain their behavior is-”
“They’re searching for something, right?” Micah finished for her, hand to her chin in thought. “Something that has to do with the Brightwinds that they couldn’t get before? But that raises a heck of a lot of questions…”
“‘What could it be?’ ‘How do they know about it?’ ‘Why do the Brightwinds have it?’ These are all valid questions, yes.” Circe nodded her agreement. “But what worries me the most is whether or not they moved to Regalia specifically to acquire it. Like I said, the timing is strangely close to the Brightwinds’ departure. It’s enough for me to believe they were tipped off well in advance and knew to arrive here by this specific time. Organizations like these don’t just pop up out of thin air—they take time and effort, and no small amount of forward planning—to create and maintain. And if they were willing to go this far just to get their hands on something the Brightwinds’ owned…”
“Then it’s worth investigating for ourselves, huh. I see, I think I understand the situation now,” Micah said. Her tone became slightly more serious as she asked, “So, what’s my mission?”
“Infiltrate the Brightwind estate and learn what it is those guys are after. If it’s something you can acquire for yourself, steal it and bring it back here for safe keeping.” Circe’s expression was similarly serious, but faltered a bit in the face of Micah’s suspicious stare. “What’s with that look? I promise, I’m not trying to take advantage of the situation. This is just a temporary measure to ensure they don’t get their hands on it in the worst case scenario. I’ll properly return whatever it is after they’ve been dealt with, okay?”
Micah didn’t buy that crap for a second. If it turned out to be even a little bit valuable, there was no doubt in her mind that the woman would find some excuse or other to keep it for herself. “Yeah, uh-huh… Well anyway, I doubt it’ll be that easy to sneak into the estate of the most well known family in the world, skeleton crew or not. Will I have any backup for this?”
“Of course. We’ll be monitoring the situation from outside, and I’ll have a contact for you to meet up with every so often in order to share what information we’ve learned with each other. This will be a deep cover operation, and as such, you’ll likely be gone for some weeks while you work on your secondary objective that I’ll be assigning you now.”
“Whoa, seriously?” Micah’s eyes widened a bit. “So what, you’re gonna have me infiltrate that criminal group or something? Sounds kinda scary… but also pretty interesting, hehe. When do I start?”
A part of her was feeling excited to experience the life of a spy from the sorts of movies she used to watch in her old life, but as she looked at Circe expectantly, all she received was a flat look. “Uh, what? I’m not sure how you got that idea in your head, but anyone would become immediately suspicious if some little kid showed up trying to join their criminal organization. I’m not telling you to do anything like that, so calm down already.”
“O-Oh… right.” Micah pursed her lips, frowning a bit as a wave of disappointment settled over her. It’s true that she may have forgotten her own physical age for a moment, but it didn’t really soften the blow much as she was forced to deflate from her earlier anticipation. “So then, what’s my secondary objective?”
“Stay at the Brightwind estate under the guise of ‘Micah Stronoff, coming to visit Aurelia Brightwind and play while her family’s out of town’, and use that opportunity to assuage any worries she may have regarding your situation.”
Eh? That’s it?
“Wait, hold on. So you want me to just… hang out with her for a while?”
“I know it may sound unimportant, but remember that Aurelia has already expressed a desire to meet with you. Letters aren’t as likely to work on her as it did with those nuns who can’t afford a round trip, and if we leave this matter unaddressed, it’s entirely possible that she’ll arrange to go to Halloway herself with the free time she has. Needless to say, that would be the worst case scenario.”
Ahh, right… If she went there herself, she’d find out that I got arrested for attacking two Heroes. From there it wouldn’t be hard for her to learn that I never actually served any time, and that not only was there no record of that incident occurring here in Regalia, but everyone directly involved with my transfer to the prison disappeared. If things got to that point, I’m not even sure Circe would be able to cover things up. It’d be game over for me.
“Yeah, it would be. Okay, I understand why it’s important for me to go in there myself. But are we really not going to tell them about the criminal group? Depending on what they’re up to, the Brightwinds could be in danger, right?”
“We can’t tell them,” Circe responded immediately, as if she’d expected that question. Or thought of it herself. “Your top priority should be to prevent Aurelia or anyone else from becoming curious about your past. Use the story we’ve put in place for you to deceive them, and don’t say a word to anyone about what you’re really there for. If someone does a thorough enough background check on you, you’ll be finished. Do you understand?”
“But, what if you sent a-”
“An anonymous tip wouldn’t work either. They’re not likely to believe anything they can’t confirm themselves, and more importantly, it would coincide with your arrival. In order to protect your cover, they can’t have even an inkling of an idea that you aren’t who you say you are. So instead of informing them of the danger, I’ll have my people keeping an eye on things from the outside while we learn as much as we can about the organization, its objectives, and the potential third party that may have brought them here in the first place. At the same time, you’ll act as a bodyguard on the inside in case we’re too late and they attack before we’re ready. Are we clear?”
Micah gave it some thought, but the truth was that Circe had a point. This was actually a pretty dangerous situation all things considered. Not only was there a criminal organization after the Brightwinds for some unknown reason, but Aurelia herself had become an active threat to her cover, such that she also needed to be dealt with immediately.
If it wasn’t for that fact, the best plan would have been to inform the Brightwinds of the danger and work on dismantling the group in the meantime, but this unique set of circumstances killed two- no, three birds with one stone. Not only was the group being investigated from the outside anyway, but in addition Circe got to send someone in to directly protect Aurelia and her family, while also making sure that she doesn’t become suspicious of anything involving Micah all at the same time. It was honestly a well thought out plan.
“Alright, I think I understand the mission parameters in full. When should I start?” she asked.
Rather than answer right away, Circe instead slid a sheet of paper over to her on the desk. “First things first, your reply letter. This is a sample I had made, but if you’d prefer to write your own then feel free to simply use it as a reference for what I’d like you to include.”
“Huh? Wait-” Micah reached over to pick up the paper and inspect it, and, sure enough, it was full of words. No, not just any words; it was a completely fabricated message made in reply to Aurelia’s own letter. But the prose was frighteningly accurate to how she would have written it. And also… “W-What the hell?! You even forged my damn handwriting! How’d you even do that?!”
“Fufu~ In any case, how does it look? Do you feel that it matches your tone and personality? You and Aurelia only knew each other briefly in your childhood, but it’s important to ensure there’s nothing in there that could raise her suspicions.”
“Don’t dodge the question, tell me how you forged my handwriting!”
“Hm, maybe we’ll need to change your wardrobe as well…? I’ve tried to keep your clothes consistent with modern styles, but maybe we should do some last minute research just in case there’s a discrepancy…”
“Hey, I’m asking you how you-”
“Oh! Those summer clothes we bought last year might come in handy. Though you have gotten a bit bigger since then, so maybe they won’t fit you as well. Also, it wouldn’t be a good idea to go shopping right now since that group’s still prowling around. If someone gets captivated by my gorgeous face and ends up remembering me, the mission might be in jeopardy. How troubling…”
“God, egotistical much?! No wait, that’s not the issue here, tell me-”
“Oh well!” Circe clapped her palms together joyfully. “We’ll just cross that bridge when we get there! Let’s head out while preparations for the mission are being finalized. I’ll explain a bit about that group on the way, okay?”
“HEY!!! I know you’re ignoring me on purpose, so cut it out alreadyyyyy!!!”
-----
“Haa…”
Micah let out a sigh, shoulders slouched in slight exhaustion from the strenuous last few days. After going over the mission brief again and again, as well as the plethora of background information regarding persons of interest, her brain was about ready to fry as it struggled to keep it all in her head. It didn’t help that she had to go on another shopping excursion with Circe too, which only tired her out more.
But after soldiering through all of the mission prep, here she was standing before the gates to the massive Brightwind estate. And it really was massive, as Micah estimated the square footage to be about several times larger than Circe’s own estate (the one that she never really uses). It was probably the largest owned property in the city, and the sheer size of the gate alone had her feeling sort of intimidated.
Was she really going to be alright in here? Come to think of it, the Brightwinds were regarded worldwide for producing some of the Circle’s strongest mages, and that held true even in this generation in regards to Aurelia's father and grandfather. Even her older sister, Wilhelmina Brightwind, went on to become one of the Five Legendary Heroes before her disappearance.
If her cover was ever blown to the point that they considered her an enemy… would she even be able to escape at that point? The thought made her shiver a bit, so she decided it was best to never let things get to that point in the first place.
After a while of standing outside with her luggage (clothes, toiletries, etc.), the front doors of the mansion swung open, and a line of servants came marching out in an orderly fashion. Leading the group was an older looking man in a butler outfit, who used a key hanging from his neck to undo some sort of lock that wasn’t visible from her side, before pulling open the gate.
“You are… Miss Micah Stronoff, are you not? Lady Aurelia informed me of your arrival and asked that I prepare a greeting befitting only our most esteemed guests. I do apologize, but with most of the main family absent, this humble gathering was the best I could accomplish. Regardless, I hope it was to your liking.”
The man gave a deep bow, and after a moment the other servants followed suit. Needless to say, Micah wasn’t used to this sort of treatment and could only stand there awkwardly wondering what to do.
“A-Ah, well… I-It’s fine. You uh- you did great! I feel… very welcomed, and stuff,” she managed to stammer out.
The man raised his head followed by the servants again. “You have my thanks. Lady Aurelia awaits you inside. I offered to escort you directly to her room, however she insisted on greeting you herself in the main hall. This may be unbecoming of me to say, but I do believe she seemed rather excited,” the servant added with a small chuckle. Micah couldn’t help but share in that sentiment a bit, amused by the image of Aurelia stressing out over what to wear or how to style her hair.
What does she think this is, a date? Well, I can see why she’d be nervous, since I’m apparently her one and only friend. And it’s not like I’m NOT nervous myself, but still…
While scratching at her cheek with one finger, Micah found herself led through the immaculate gardens and straight towards the front entrance the servants had come through minutes ago. As she came to a stop in front of the huge, well polished double doors, two servants came around her flanks and grasped the handles. With seemingly practiced motions, they pulled them open at the same time, revealing the grand interior within.
It was spacious, even more so than Circe’s hideout. The ceiling was high, and huge windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling lined the walls in a symmetrical pattern. Aside from the windows, intricate designs and expensive looking pieces of art also decorated the area, giving the room an exquisite look that was pleasing to the eyes.
The floor appeared to be made of marble or something similar—though a soft, ornate rug ensured that little of it was left exposed—and the furniture was all of the finest quality if her experience living with Circe was any judge. Sets of large chandeliers hung from the center of the room, lighting up the space with its gentle, unobtrusive glow. The air itself felt nice and welcoming, as if inviting Micah to relax and take it easy.
On either side of the hall towards the far end were a set of grand staircases leading up to the second floor banister, and wide hallways in every which way led into several series of rooms. All in all it seemed extremely easy to get lost in here, even if you knew where you were going. Was all this extra space for guests? Or were the Brightwinds a bigger family than she'd been imagining?
What caught her eye the most, however, was the sight of a figure waiting patiently in the center, clad in a frilly, elegant gown. The distance was great enough that Micah felt like she’d need [God’s Blessing] to make out her finer details, but the distinct red hair and ocean blue eyes were unmistakable.
“...Kuhum.” She coughed into her fist to clear her throat, then began to recite what Micah could only assume was some sort of practiced speech. “Good day, Micah Stronoff. I bid you welcome to-”
“Yo. I see you’re still as shrimpy as ever,” Micah said, cutting her off as she began to walk towards her without restraint.
“Khh…! Y-You-!” Similar to the first time they’d met, her carefree attitude brought about an immediate reaction from her. “I spent a-all of yesterday practicing those lines, over and over to be certain I could say it all in one go without any mistakes, and dh- en you- ow!”
“Eh?” Micah paused after hearing her gasp in pain, then watched as she brought both hands up to her mouth and let out a long whine.
“~~~~~~~!!!”
“Um… are you okay?”
“N-NHO!!! Ah bih mah tunh! Uuu~ ih huurrrss~...”
“..........Pfft!”
Oh crap. Her tongue poked out pitifully from her lips, and tears were actually forming in her eyes too. This girl was just too much. Micah found herself physically turning away to hide the snicker that slipped through her lips, but it ultimately proved futile and a series of small giggles escaped her.
Giggles that failed to go unnoticed, of course. “Hnnnggg…! Yhuu havn chen- ugh,” she started, but seemed to get fed up with something and passed a finger over her wounded tongue. A blue light flickered from her fingertip for just a moment before she sighed and started again. “You haven’t changed a bit, I see. Still the same childish idiot you were at the banquet. Remind me why I invited you again?”
“Aw, c’mon! Weren’t we supposed to catch up and stuff?” Micah’s smile returned as she closed the distance once again, this time coming to a stop once they were face to face. “And for the record, you haven’t changed a bit either. Still as clumsy and short-tempered as always. Your hair’s gotten longer though, hasn’t it?”
“Hmph. W-Well so has yours… You’re taller now, too.”
“Yup.” Just to drive the point home, Micah brought a hand up to the top of her head to measure their heights. “Even taller than you now, it seems.”
“Tch! I-I’m still in my growth spurt, that’s all! In a few more years I’ll be way taller than you, so don’t go getting a big head about it!”
“Hahaha! You really haven’t changed at all, huh?” Ignoring the sour expression on her half-turned face, Micah didn’t hesitate to reach out a hand towards the space between them. Her eyes flickered down to it, and after a moment’s hesitation, up towards Micah’s face to see the sincere smile directed her way.
“Long time no see, Aurelia.”
Aurelia Brightwind seemed a bit stunned, but after a few more moments of deliberation, eventually turned to face Micah fully and reached out her own hand with a small smile. Gently, the two girls’ hands met in the center and connected in a soft handshake that signified the reunion of two childhood friends.
“Y-Yeah… Long time no see… Micah.”
