[Fujimoto’s POV]

Ren must be a fool. She thought she could hide from me, huh? I had tasked Minerva to trace her mana, since it was the only thing the bird-brained idiot could do properly. I almost regretted spending my money on her, but her father Jupiter was a valuable resource, and the slave trader insisted I couldn’t have one without the other.

Minerva had traced Ren’s mana to the northeast. She said:

“There’s lingering mana that’s like the traitor girl’s in the north! It went kaboom and everything! We should investigate!”

Going completely by Minerva’s words, my group and I started to journey over to the Hellato Mountain Range. Admittedly, it was not a bad strategy. The snowy mountains were ideal for hiding, and it was a border to the barren Demon Territory. No one would want to brave the snowy peaks nor the wasteland past them.

I was content with my situation. Hunting that worm down was enjoyable for me. So yes, everything was fine until I realized that Ren was not the fool this time; I was. I was a fool for following Minerva’s lead. I realized this when Minerva struck a conversation with me the night of the fourth day into our journey…

--

“Lord Fujimoto! Lord Fujimoto! I’ve got some news for you! I can’t believe I almost forgot to tell you!”

“*sigh* What is it Minerva?”

“Well, Milord, you wanted me to trace the traitor girl’s magic, right? Right?”

“Yes. Have you not been doing that already?”

“Well, I was ruffled because I was enjoying my lunch on my break earlier today. I was chewing down on some nice gyoma beans, because supposedly they boost brain power. So, I was munching on them, right? And I was ruffled so much that I dropped my beans. I was so sad. I picked up every last one of them, and I was sad, and I gave each one a proper sendoff, right? I was saluting them as I threw them away. I was tearing up because I wanted to enjoy them, but they fell out of my hands because I was so ruffled.”

“For the love of everything that is living, Minerva, get to the point.”

“Yes Milord! So, I was wondering what had gotten me so ruffled, since my poor gyoma beans had suffered from it, right? I mean, if you think about, that’s a lot of effort gone to waste. The farmers who grew the beans, and watered them, and then all the merchants who had to get them from the farmers. All the work they had transporting them to the store was really difficult, huh? But all their work was wasted! And my work going to the market to get some to eat was wasted too! My plan to make me super-brained spilt all over the floor! My poor money had been squandered! So, I was angry about whatever had gotten me so ruffled, right?”

“Minerva, there better be a point to this story, or I’ll pluck the fathers off your tail.”

“Ahh, Lord Fujimoto, my tail feathers are precious, please don’t do that! Us Owlkin are hunted for that you know? Somehow that’s a thing even though we’re humanoid!”

“If you want to save your hide get to the point.”

“Yes! So, I searched the mana to see what had made me drop my beans because I was angry, and I shuddered because there was a super-mega-ultra-influx of mana for like a split second. It was like an explosion! So, I looked bit more and saw it came from that weird river town Charronne! At first, I was confused. Maybe some Ferry Maiden had shot something like a huge geyser of water or something, but the explosion had whiffs of the traitor girl’s mana! So, I thought I should let you know so you can help me get revenge for my beans.”

“Minerva… did I hear that correctly? You caught traces of the girl’s mana in the complete opposite direction from which we are heading?”

“Well, yes Milord, I did.”

“Ahahaha… Is that so? What happened to the trace of her magic that was headed this way?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you? It was super similar, but it wasn’t the girl at all. I had confused it. I thought you needed to tackle some other mission, and that’s why we were headed this way.”

“With a group of 15? Minerva, would I need a group of 15? I only have these buffoons with me because the Pope insisted on it while I went to chase the girl! We’re after the girl!”

“Oh, well, I suppose I didn’t know that, huh? Sorry, about that Milord.”

“Minerva, I’m this close from opening up your skull, rearranging your brain, and shoving it back in. So please. Answer me. What exactly was so similar to the girl’s mana that you dragged us all the way out here for?”

“Hmm… what was it? Oh yeah! It was a dragon’s sneeze. I thought we could check it out.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Milord, it was a dragon’s sneeze. Didn’t seem like it covered itself either.”

“Minerva.”

“Yes, Lord Fujimoto?”

“Before I crack open your head, you’re going to lead us to that girl correctly this time, alright?”

“A-Ah, y-yes Milord! Right away, sir! Sorry, sir! Though, I d-do have one question!”

“…Should I even listen? What is it, Minerva?”

“We’ll be getting revenge for my beans, right?”

reversedbackwards

Hello! Here's a random short chapter. It's actually a situation I've had pictured in my head for quite a while, so, although short, it was fun to write. See you in the next (proper) chapter!

I would say I would stop rambling, but that was quite short, wasn't it?