When I was a child, I read a lot of books. The teachers were annoyed by my constant queries and outbursts and sent me to the library as punishment. I read, and read, and read, and before I knew it, I had read every book in the library. Books about dragons, about schemers, about bandits, and much, much more. Tyrants from the southwest, storms that conjure up insanity, a Demon Lord that commanded poison, a Hero who had no limits… is it me or have I found all those in my life already?

"Yes, you did. Now continue, I want to hear the punchline."

"Anything for you, Mel." There was always one thing that fascinated me the most in the library. It was a story about a man wearing clothes like that of another world, whose aura caused even the strongest wills to tremble. He did not speak, yet you would know why he approached you. They called him The Man In The Pinstripe Suit.

"That was not funny, nor random. Do you have a cold, Madeleine?"

"Umm… no, but you can keep your face this close. I like it."

"If you expect me to get embarrassed, I won't."

"That's good. It means you won't go away."

"Ahem." We heard a cough from across the cafe table. Currently, Mel and I are at a cafe to meet with someone who snuck a letter under our letter. I was hoping we would have a secret rendezvous with a rogue princess, but unfortunately, it's just Maxine, Sorceress Extraordinaire. "That is not my title."

"I think it's catchy. Don't you think so too, Mel?"

"Extraordinaire is a bit of a mouthful. By the way, where's the waitress? I want to order a sandwich." Mel rose a bit above her chair, eyeing around and looking for someone. For some reason, the employees seem to be in the back, and there are no customers.

"You two are very careless, even with current events."

"Hmm… maybe Sorceress Supreme."

"I'm pretty sure that's copyrighted. As for our carelessness, that's just how Madeleine is."

"And you?"

"Well, this is a light-hearted story, you know. I've got to fit in, and things can't get too dark."

"I see. Among the tragedies that fill this world, I am glad to know some outliers exist. Now, let us get to business."

"Ooh… business. I don't know anything about business."

"No worries, maid. I called for the two of you because of the current situation regarding Sacred Power holders and a task I have been hired for."

"Is it related to the kidnappings?"

"You wouldn't happen to have had a run-in with them recently?"

"They kidnapped a bunch of our… friends? What's our relationship with them, Madeleine?"

"Merida's our boss, May and Mila are pets, Mari is the overpowered daughter I didn't know I wanted, Myka is a concubine, and the rest are friends. Except for the Chaos Storm, she can be the other overpowered daughter I didn't know I wanted."

"There you have it."

"That was… informative."

"I changed my mind on Merry. She's my tea mate."

Maxine put her hand into a hole that popped out of nowhere and grabbed out a crown, which she put on the table. "This is the Puppeteer's Crown, an item that recently appeared on the black market."

"Ooh, the black market. Hey Mel, did you know the weapons the bouncers use there were made by Christie?"

"Let me guess, it's because she's from Hamblin."

"Damn straight."

"I would appreciate it if the off-topic swerves were kept to a minimum. We do not have much time."

"Fine, Madeleine, sit and be quiet, okay."

"Aye aye, captain!"

"As I was saying, the Puppeteer's Crown is an item that allows the wearer to control the minds of others, and it recently appeared on the black market. I will not bore you two with details, but my employer managed to use it to track down the culprits behind the recent string of Sacred Power holder kidnappings."

"Which is where we come in, huh. The Sacred Power experts. Unfortunately, most of our staff has been kidnapped by the people you're hunting for, and I doubt me and Madeleine have enough firepower."

"Worry not, for I will be going along as well. We should be able to attack from a distance using a combination of the maid's and my magic, as well as your archery. We merely have to take out bandits, as we are not attacking their main base."

"What will we be attacking then?"

She waved her over the table, creating a map of the world. She double tapped on the Garwet Kingdom, then again on Davidstown, then lastly on the forest behind our now burnt-down mansion. "There is a bandit camp here. Right now, they are holding three Sacred Power holders. We will be rescuing them whilst taking the leader of this camp, who would have connections to the mastermind. Any questions?"

"Why are they keeping the holders at some random bandit camp?"

"The mastermind wants to ensure their merchandise stays within their grasp. Keeping too many Sacred Power holders in one place is asking for trouble, but three is manageable."

"Any idea who the holders are?"

"One was a commoner who was in town, noted for playing around with cards at all times, no details, although my informant did mention that it felt like the commoner just appeared out of nowhere. She may be merely a noble in disguise. The second is a mercenary for hire called Michelle, known for being quite aggressive, both in combat and language."

"Michelle? That sounds familiar… where have I heard about it?"

"Hamblin, I bet you."

"Probably. So who's the last one?"

"Your friend Mimi."

"Well, that settles it. We're going in, Mel."

"For Mimi?"

"No, for Michelle."

"Oh."

"Of course I meant for Mimi. I like to touch her ears."

"Her ears are pretty soft."

"I like Myka's more, though."

"I know. By the way, Maxine, can Madeleine touch the crown? Consider it part of the payment."

"Merely touching it? I assume it is equivalent to letting her look in a holder's eyes, but for items."

"Also corpses, according to her."

"It was a skeleton with no shadow."

"She may touch it."

"Madeleine, touch the crown, but no taking, okay."

"Aye aye, captain!" I touched the crown.

"So, with that done, shall we depart?"

"I'm always ready to go."

"I want to get a sandwich first."

Item profile: The Puppeteer's Crown

Sacred power: Mind Control

Sacred Power holder used: Lor Pupa

Description: A silver crown ordained with ruby jewels that gives the wearer the ability to control the minds of others. When a live Sacred Power holder is sacrificed to imbue an item with their Sacred Power, the Sacred Power is fully integrated into it. However, when a Sacred Power holder's corpse is used, a lesser version of their Sacred Power is imbued due to a lacking amount of the Sacred Power's energy. The Puppeteer's Crown is an example of this, as the material used, Lor Pupa, was the holder of Control, which allowed him to control anything he wanted. Mind Control, on the other hand, is a lesser version. Due to Lor's incompetence in using his Sacred Power, no one can tell the difference. When an item holding a Sacred Power is destroyed, the Sacred Power contained within re-enters the typical Sacred Power cycle, being able to be given to people directly.

Chapter namesake: Come With Me Now by KONGOS

pojlk

This chapter made me realise making every chapter name a music reference is stupidly hard. I'm still going to do it, but man, this story is much more effort than I thought it'd be.

On a Side Note, 10k views. I was going to say some stuff, but I have no idea what to say, so I guess I'll just say thanks for reading so far, and I hope y'all stick around for the... let me just math... 937 chapters we have left. Oh god... that's a lot. I've got nothing else to say.