Everyone turned to Korwen when he called for attention.

"I believe you all were told already the gist of what is happening, so I won't repeat those things. I want to have a short rundown of who participates and the available equipment."

Korwen held up a document and looked around first.

"Then, let's start with the Destroyer Mercs, since you are so eager I am sure you got a few men, right?"
"Ha! You can bet! We got five of our best fuckers! We'll make them squeal so much they won't be able to stand tomorrow morning!"
"You shouldn't let the church hear that. They don't look kindly upon gay relationships."
"Ha?! Bastard, of course, I mean the girls! Do you have a de—"

Without anyone noticing Wanda appeared behind him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You sound quite energetic, maybe we should have you let loose a bit first."

Oh, he crumbled down to the floor.

"N, n, no, everything is okay. We got five men, yes, five men. All fine!"

Korwen held his head as if he had to endure a headache. Maybe he actually had one. He called the next one and continued. It wasn't particularly interesting so I instead watched the people that had come.

Most of them looked like hoodlums in bad equipment. Or rather, they gave the feeling that they were bandits. Quite a few of them were glancing over at us with unsavoury eyes. It made me shiver. I never knew this kind of gaze could feel so unpleasant.

"I really don't want to be left alone with these people."
"You don't have to worry, you'll stay with the Dragon Knights. Some of their women volunteered to protect you and Wanda also told us she'd stay with you. You'll be fine."

Lily tried to reassure me but I was still a bit anxious.

"With the current plan, you won't be seeing much of them if at all. Once you send in the dolls you'll retreat and stay in the rear. There are even some abandoned buildings around where you can wait."
"Nn... I hope so."

With a loud clap, Korwen drew everyone's attention again. He was apparently done with confirming everything.

"Then, let's get a move on. As long as everyone knows roughly what to do, then that's fine. Make a ruckus, how you do it is your thing, okay?"

And with that, Korwen dismissed everyone.

"That's... all? He only asked how many men everyone has?"
"Yes. There's not much meaning in anything more, these people wouldn't conform to any plan anyway. But that's also making them a good distraction since nobody knows what they'll try," explained Lily.
"I just hope they don't get in our way..."
"That's why Korwen asked for their numbers, so he knows how many men he has to send minimum to keep control. These are mostly small-scale bands, they can't compete against a large group like the Dragon Knights."
"Were these people really necessary then?"
"It's because of the church. The more work we can let these people do, the less likely the church will come to complain to them later. It's also insurance in case there are more enemies than we might expect."

Did it really work like that?

I reluctantly left Karen's lap and we headed outside. Whoever made a ruckus earlier was gone now as well.

"Nn... So, what should we do now?"
"Mr Korwen told me we should get some basic equipment for you. Things like a lamp. After that, you're going to accompany Mr Jockson and the other Dragon Knights.  There wasn't anything else, I think."

That was straightforward enough.

"Hey, Karen, why are you so polite to those old men?" asked Lily.
"Well... They are helping us, right? The least I can do is be polite, then."
"And yet you aren't polite to me."

Lily pouted and poked Karen's sides.

"You should be nice to me, too! It's unfair!"
"Stop poking me! Why are you even surprised? If you want me to be polite then act like someone who deserves it!"
"But I do! I helped you so much! I managed to get you so much help so surely I deserve some respect!"

At this rate, Lily would throw a tantrum. Wasn't she old enough to have some restraint?

"Well, you did help us. Okay. Then, Miss Lily, may I trouble you to bring the lamp and other things for Yumi?"

Lily smiled satisfied at Karen's overly polite request.

"Leave it to me!"

And dashed away.

"Lily, are you really fine with that..."
"Let's leave her, Yumi."
"You're quite mean to her, did something happen?"
"No, she just got on my nerves the entire time."
Isn't that exactly what I mean by 'something happened?'
"But now I got you back, so it's all good!"

Karen hugged me from behind. We didn't see each other since morning, so I was quite happy, as well. But we were still in the middle of the mercenary camp, basically in public, so it was just a tad embarrassing. That I could see three certain girls watching from the corner of my eye wasn't improving the situation.

"Oh? Those girls are the ones from earlier, aren't they?"

Apparently, Karen spotted them, too.

"Nn. They are."

The three girls realised that they were found out, so they approached slowly. They were glancing at Karen as if she was a suspicious person. Especially Maya. She was pretty much glaring. Karen didn't seem to notice anything, though.

"You three took care of Yumi, didn't you? Thank you for that."

She smiled at them. Emily and Sele returned a bright smile but Maya instead ignored her and stepped forward to grab my arm.

"Remember your promise, okay?"
"Nn? Nn... I will."

A bit bewildered I nodded. Seeing me agree she smiled as well now.

"Yumi! Yumi! Come back and play with us again! Yes?"

Emily shoved Maya away to come to me.

"Emily, calm down."
"But! I still have to show her so many things!"
Please spare me.
"You can do that when they are back."
No, please don't. I do not understand the appeal of random stones and shells.

It was adorable how Maya chastised Emily. In the meantime, Sele walked around them and latched onto Karen and me.

"You were... Sele, right? Thank you for playing with Yumi."

Karen rubbed Sele's head. Sele squinted her eyes a bit like a cat.

"Ah! Unfair! Let me in too!"

And so Emily latched unto us as well. Maya, apparently not wanting to be left out, joined without a moment's hesitation.
So now I was being hugged by Karen and additionally surrounded by these overly energetic children. It was becoming slightly warm. A bit too warm.

"I'm happy you became friends with her, but we have to go now, okay? We'll come back, so don't worry."

Karen saved me with a timely interjection. They were a bit reluctant but they all let go without making a fuss.
Sele pulled on my arm again.

"... Later..."
"Nn. Later."

It was adorable so I couldn't help myself. I had to rub her head just like Karen did.
We said goodbye to the three and they all left.

"Such good girls, it's nice you made some friends, right?"
"Well..."
"Ehehe, you have to take good care of them as the oldest one."
"... Stop teasing me."
"Be careful, Karen, they might take her away from you," commented a third person.

With impeccable timing as always, Lily returned, carrying a metal lantern.

"I don't think I have to worry about things like that, Lily."
"Oh? Are you sure? I saw how Yumi came to the meeting holding hands with one of them."
Lily! There's no need to tell her those things, is there?
"Oh? So Yumi has been taking good care of them. That is great to hear."

Fortunately or unfortunately, Karen didn't particularly mind that. It wouldn't have hurt her to be even a bit jealous, right?

"How boring. Oh well, here you go, Yumi."

With those words, she handed me the lantern. There was a small transparent stone inside, nothing else.

"How does this work?"
"You insert some mana and it starts to glow."

Another one of those stones. Why couldn't there be some regular non-magic lanterns?

"Why do you look so disgusted, Yumi?"
"... No particular reason, Sis."
"Really?"
"Yes. Lily, put some mana in, please."
"Can't you do that yourself?"
"It will explode."
"Huh?"
"It will explode."
"... No, I understood it the first time. Why would it explode?"
"Because these stones clearly have an issue with me."
"... No, I don't think that's right."
"It is."

Lily turned to Karen seeking help.

"Well, Yumi... can't you try it at least?"
"Do you want me to blind everyone now?"
"... No."

I was, obviously, thinking of the greater good here. Blinding the surroundings now would be everything but smart. I was definitely not refusing to do it because I had grown to hate these stones. Really.

"Well, whatever. Just ask that guard guy or someone else later. Or Wanda. They can keep running for a while but not that long."
"... Nn... Guess I will do that."
"... You could just learn how to do it yourself, you know."
"I tried."
"... Try harder."

Lily shrugged her shoulders and instead checked her equipment.

"Karen, Yumi, you should ready yourselves, too. Do you have everything?"
"Nn. I only need the dolls we left at the field."
"Ah, those are actually already here. I told Korwen earlier to send someone to fetch them. Ask the guy who is in charge."

Then there should be nothing else I was missing but I was nervous. Incredibly so.

"Ah, right. You should take this, too."

Lily handed me a small bag. Looking inside I saw a rather big mana crystal. It was more than three times the size of any of the other crystals I had seen so far.

"Lily, this is..."
"Insurance. Keep it a bit hidden, I'm sure you can use it in some way to protect yourself in an emergency, right? Just, like, blow everyone away! I doubt you could even use all that mana anyway, but better safe than sorry, right?"
"... Nn. Thank you."

She was probably just way too overprotective, but I was still thankful for it, so I kept quiet.

"Then, if everything is done, we'll see you later!"

And she left. Karen rubbed my head one more time and then let me go as well.

"I'll see you later. Be careful, okay? I'll introduce you to your other sister then!"
"Nn, looking forward to it."

And then they were both gone... I had to go as well.

I looked around at the various people preparing to find Merim. Some way off I found him chatting with Wanda.

"Merim, Wanda."
"Oh, the kid is here."
"That's great. We'll be going soon before the sun hits the horizon."
"Lily said you have the dolls?"
"Yes, we do. They are in the crate over there. There was a rather peculiar one, though..."
"Peculiar? In what way."
"It tried to attack me."
Scary. Why would one of the dolls attack Merim?

Slightly confused I walked over to the crate. Inside were the dozens of dolls I made together with Lily.

"Hya?!"
"Kid, what happened?"

Something jumped out from between the dolls into my arms. The sudden action took me completely by surprise. I looked at the thing in my arms and sure enough, it was another one of the dolls. I was fairly certain that I knew this doll... After thinking for a moment, I realised something.

When... did I lose sight of this doll? Wasn't I carrying it when we came here?!

I had forgotten about the doll and somehow it reappeared with all the other dolls for now.

When did you disappear? Was it at the time with the bath? Probably then, right? But how did you get here?
"Kid? Is everything okay?"
"Nn. I was just surprised."
"That doll..."
Well then, how do I explain this one...
"... That magic can do things like this."
"... Nn."

It was great that I didn't have to explain it, but somehow it felt wrong. Was it really okay, to leave this unquestioned?

Meanwhile, Merim had a strained smile and kept a suspicious distance from the crate and the doll. I was curious why he kept his distance, but at that moment a group of women came over, all equipped for battle. One of them, probably their leader, approached Wanda.

"Ms Wanda, we're all ready!"
"That's good, we'll move out any moment, so no running off now. Also, get me someone to move those crates."
"Understood!"

The woman saluted and walked away.

"Kid, do you have everything? Now is your last chance."
"Nn. I am sure I got everything if Merim took along the crossbow from the practice range."
"Ah, yes! I did bring it, it's also in the crate."

I didn't see it, though. I checked again and after some digging, I found a bag below the dolls. Pulling it out I confirmed that the crossbow was in there. Additionally, a small quiver with bolts was there, as well.

"Nn... Should I carry it around, or should I keep it in the bag for now..."

I turned to Wanda, wondering what to do.

"Hmm, usually you want to carry it and have it ready, but it would be suspicious if you walked around with a crossbow out, so let's keep it in the bag for now."
"Nn. Understood."

I returned the bag with the crossbow as well as the doll to the crate. I saw some bulky men approach. They saluted to Merim and then carried away the crate.

"Well then, let's get a move on. Kid, stay close to me."
"Nn."

---

Around fifteen minutes later we were back in the slums. I didn't know where the destination was but according to Wanda and Merim, we were already close. Apparently, there were multiple entrances and one of them was pretty close.
The number of people involved had become astonishing. Around 60 or 70 mercenaries, a third of those from the Dragon Knights.
And then the slum residents. Wanda only gave me a vague smile when I asked about it, so I didn't know how many were involved, but it must have been quite a number.
Nonetheless, I was really nervous. Incredibly nervous.

"By the way, kid, there's something I want to ask you."
"Nn? What is it?"

I turned towards Wanda, who had a surprisingly serious expression right now.

"Kid, have you ever killed a person?"
"Wha—"

I froze. What did she say? Did I hear that right, the thing she asked just now?

"Mhm, as expected. Judging from that expression, you didn't. I hope you know, that, whether directly or indirectly, your actions, and Karen's as well, will spell death for many people tonight, right?"
"..."
"In any case, you shouldn't eat anything for now. Ah, but make sure you drink enough. And please use a window or a far-off corner if your stomach acts up."

How... How could she speak of this so nonchalant? As if it had nothing to do with her.

"Kid, if you intend to survive, then you will have to go through this. And this won't be the last time, either."
"What do you... mean with that?"
"I heard about the offer from Lily. Frankly, I recommend you take them up on that offer. But if you do, then it is certain that you will not just fight some thugs but stand on the battlefield at some point. It might be dangerous, but it is still a safer place than the slums, as ironic as it sounds."
"So you are saying that I should kill others for money?"

Was she serious? Safe a time like this, when there was someone we had to save, I had no intention of fighting just for money.

"No, I am telling you to do it for your own survival. Why do you think I work in the slums and not the city? A lone woman without a guarantor or guardian trying to find work? The only place they would direct you to would be the brothel. I get by, working in the slums but it is far from easy."
"Guarantor? Guardian? What do you mean?"
"What, you don't know? A woman without either a family or a husband cannot take work in this country. Well, the brothel is an exception to this."
Ahh... So it's like that...

No emancipation of women. No women's rights. They just didn't exist. I had only seen the slums, an effectively lawless zone, so it wasn't apparent that this had been the case. I never knew.

"Well, you are cute, so if you are lucky some rich guy might take you in as a servant even with dubious backgrounds. Or you try to fish yourself a husband. Your options, and Karen's as well, are fairly limited. You can, of course, return to the slums and live with the scraps of food you salvage. But I can assure you, your life won't be a long one."
"... So you are suggesting that we instead become mercenaries?"
"If you have another option, do enlighten me. Mercenaries come in various forms but bands like the Dragon Knights or the Black Guards, which Lily belonged to, do not particularly care about your gender. As long as you bring the skills and attitude, they'll take you. They are also relatively safe to work with. Honestly, for you and Karen, that offer is a godsend. If you want to live a halfway normal life, that is."
"... But what about our magic, can't we find work with that?"
"And who would take a no-name magician? Can you even do something that is useful for general labour? They would just raise their eyebrows in suspicion and turn you away. Magicians are rare, but they are also dangerous. They will look twice before hiring you. And that's just if you aren't unlucky enough to just get kidnapped. A little magician girl from the slums? Nobody will miss her, after all. You would just repeat Miria's fate."
"Miria?"
"Karen's sister. You didn't know her name?"
"I didn't..."

Wanda's words weren't cruel, she just told me the facts as they were. If I had more time, if I had more knowledge of this world, I might have been able to think of a different option. But I couldn't.

"Seriously, you and Karen, you aren't even really related, yet you are both so similar in this aspect. Both so serious yet naive."
"You talked about this with Karen?"
"I did. For her, it will be even more important. I do not know in what state Miria is, but beyond a doubt, Karen will have to take care of her. And joining a large band of mercenaries does come with benefits. Did you see their women's quarters?"
"I did. Only for short but it left quite the impression."

That impression was the bath, but I didn't have to mention that detail, not right now.

"It's their holy land. They get to kick out all the men. And there are always women around that can take care of the girl in Karen's absence."
"..."

Was this really the answer? Was this what we had to do for our own survival? I just couldn't accept it so easily.

"You still don't seem convinced, huh? Well, you should talk about it with Karen later and decide then. Just keep in mind, you do not have many options, and an offer like that won't come your way so quickly again. At least not from someone as trustworthy as Korwen."
"... I understand. I will keep it in mind."
"And with that over, there is one thing that needs to be done now."

Wanda stopped in her tracks and pointed at a large abandoned building some ways off.

"Before we sent in those dolls to cause some huge ruckus, we have to take out the guards in the immediate vicinity. So get your crossbow ready."
"Eh?"
"Didn't you hear me? Get that crossbow ready. Or is it a decoration?"

Of course, it wasn't a decoration, I practised with it, but that was for self-defence. Not to actively attack someone. Not to mention I barely practised for a few hours. There was no way I would be of any reasonable help, was there?

Someone tapped my shoulder. Upon turning around I could see Merim with a strained smile, holding the bag with the crossbow and the quiver.

"It may not be my place to say this, but you shouldn't think too much about this. Being a mercenary is not an easy life, either, but it certainly beats the streets."

I stared at the bag in his hands. After a short pause, Merim continued.

"I can see you are a rather clever girl. You surely know how difficult it is, living in the slums, right? Due to that, there are many that are trying to make a living by becoming mercenaries. If they are successful, they might have a chance at living a life where they don't have to fear starvation every day or succumbing to diseases and plagues."

He stopped for a moment, then looked up at the darkening, crimson sky. In just a few minutes, the sun would be gone.

"Unfortunately, most of them do not know how to live outside of the slums. They treat everyone with suspicion, mistrust and disdain. They live in a world where only the strongest survive. The strong take everything, the weak lose everything. Someone like that, cannot become a decent mercenary."

Returning his gaze towards me, Merim gave a weak smile.

"And that's why, Korwen didn't only extend the offer to Lily, but also to you. You are naive and soft. You barely doubted or mistrusted us, just because Lily introduced us. And yet, you live in the slums? A normal girl would be complaining, crying, and throwing a tantrum, a child from the slums would be mistrusting and arrogant or begging, and yet you are determined to see this through, without showing either. It makes you doubt whether you are truly just a child."

I wasn't really a child, so that might have something to do with that.

"Hey, Yumi, why are you doing all this?"
"Huh? To, err, help Sis."
"And why do you help her?"
"Because she's important to me."
"Important... is it. Shouldn't one protect the ones who are important?"
"Yes, of course..."
"Then, you should do so. Protect her!"

Merim's tone turned serious.

"If you don't, you may lose her one day. If you do not protect her, if you are not determined to do so, then you should cut your bonds now."
"Wha—!"
"If you don't want that, then steel your resolve, and do everything you can, to protect her. Don't leave it to others, but do it yourself!"

He pushed the crossbow into my hands.

"Decide, now. Whether you want to be the one who protects her or be the one who has to be protected."

The one to protect, or the one to be protected.

"Is... sn'... I..."
"I can't hear you!"
"... ob...us..."
"Stop mumbling!"
"Isn't it obvious I want to protect her?!"

I strengthened my grip around the crossbow. I felt something warm on my head, probably Merim's hand.

"Then protect her! Do it!"
"I will!"
"... Are you a little boy bothered about his first love, or what?"

Apparently, Wanda could not comprehend what just happened. I don't think I was ever in love before, so, yes, this was my first time. Because she was important to me, the first person who found me, cared for me and laughed with me in this world.

"Now then, Yumi! Show us your determination!"
"Nn!"

Wanda sighed as if she saw something unbelievable.

"Are you two idiots? Ah, whatever. Kid, are you ready?"
"Nn, I am. Probably."
"So, do you think you can actually shoot someone?"
"..."

No, that was a completely different matter. No matter what they were telling me, that was definitely not something I could just do out of nowhere. But I understood one thing. I couldn't run from this. Whether it was now or sometime later, it wouldn't matter. No, it did matter. If I ran away now, I might regret it later.

"I... I will... try..."
"Well, that's at least something."

Wanda turned towards the building.

"There's only one entrance into the building, we don't know where exactly the entrance to the hideout from there is, but it is most likely some underground passage. Might even be the sewers. There's at most two guards inside, more would draw too much attention to the building."

But how could we incapacitate both guards? I couldn't quite imagine how that was supposed to work.

"Kid, whenever you see one of the guards, shoot at him. If you hit him, that's optimal, but don't worry about missing, okay?"

I was rather sure I would have completely different worries other than actually missing the guard right now.

"I... I understand..."

I readied the crossbow, pulling the string back and inserting the bolt.

"Yumi, if you are still worried, just keep in mind, why you are doing this."
"... Nn."

To help Karen and save her sister. That was my goal. And those people... They were the ones doing atrocious things, torturing others, using them in human experiments. I... shouldn't feel sorry for them.

I could see a guard walking past the window. That meant he would pass the next one soon. I only had one attempt at this. I could feel my heart beating and how my breathing got rougher. My hands were shaking. And yet, something calmed me. Something was telling me, that it was going to be fine.

"Yumi?"
"Kid, is something wrong?"

I stared at the crossbow. It was a weapon to kill. That was its purpose. But the one to do it would still be a person... I couldn't even hold it without shaking from the thought. It was overwhelming me.

But... why the crossbow?

"Wanda, the idea is to get rid of the guards, right?"
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"Then there's no need to do it with the crossbow, right?"
"Huh? Well, it's not but how would you do it without?"

I walked over to the crate with the dolls. Some of the mercenary women looked curiously at what I was doing.

"With them."

I picked up the doll with the mana egg.

"But aren't they just moving dolls?"
"Nn. Lily told me before, fear is a powerful weapon. And I am sure, it is possible for them to do it."

I took out the mana crystal from this morning, not the one Lily gave me before departing. I drained a sizeable amount of mana from it and transferred it to the doll. If I did this, I was sure, something would happen. It was a similar feeling to the previous times when my instincts told me what to do.

When I was done, the doll still looked outwardly the same, but it was a lot more energetic. It jumped out of my arms, landing on the ground with a graceful somersault.

"Can you do it?"

The doll bowed, like a butler. It was probably an affirmation.

"Good, take the others along after I give them mana, okay?"

I turned towards the crate. Giving each doll mana and a new soul one at a time would take too long. I could still feel remnants of the mana from earlier, so it might be enough to just recharge them. I again drained the crystal of a decent amount of mana and spread it out like a net, catching the dolls in the crate. After a few seconds, they all stirred.

"What the hell is happening..."

I could hear Merim muttering from behind. The dolls, all alive, in a way, crawled out of the crate and lined up behind the doll with the mana crystal. Once they were all lined up, they saluted in unison.

"I am depending on you, okay? Go."

And they marched towards the building. Slowly.

"Yumi, what is that? I was told you can use dolls to a degree to scare them, but that's a lot more than I expected."

Merim came over with a look of utter disbelief. Wanda seemed just as surprised.

"Kid, that's quite interesting. I thought the walking disaster lost even more of the few remaining screws in her head, but this might actually work."
"Well, at least I don't want to be attacked by a marching group of dolls in the middle of the night. Even if they are slow."
"Yes, it would be a traumatic experience if you were. Even if they are slow."
"Could you please stop calling them slow? They are doing their best."

Their legs were just short, so they took a while, okay? There was no need to bully them.

Still, could they please hurry up? We're waiting...

The dolls had walked around three fourth of the distance already, so it wouldn't take much longer.
With bated breath we watched them approach the building. When they stood right in front of it, they spread out and crawled in through the various windows and other openings in the walls.
Then they were gone. It was silent.

"... And now?"
"Even if you ask me, I don't know?"
"Let's wait a few minutes. If nothing happened, we'll just charge in. The others are waiting for our signal."
"Nn."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Hey, kid. How do the dolls even fight? They just have some wooden arms, no real hands, and they have no weapons, right?"
"... I don't know?"

That was a good question. In fact, it was an incredibly good one. But the dolls said, or rather motioned, to me that it would be fine. So I had to believe in them. Who else but me would do it?

And so we waited around two or three minutes until we heard a scream. And then it was silent again.

"Okay, I don't care anymore, let's check what happened."

Wanda grabbed me by the scruff and dragged me along.

"Wanda, I can walk myself, there's no need to drag me."
"You shouldn't run away."
"I won't."

I really wouldn't. Probably.

Merim followed us and the other mercenaries from the Dragon Knights did so as well. The hoodlum mercenaries were spread around, apparently. Maybe they didn't want to get involved with each other. We reached the door of the building and Wanda entered without a moment of hesitation. For someone unarmed, that was quite brave.

"There's nobody here..."

Just as she said, the building was empty. She let go of me and walked around, entering the various rooms.

"Wanda, Yumi. I found it."

After a minute Merim called for us, so we followed his voice into a small room. There was a ladder going underground. And in front of the entrance was...

"Excuse me."

I walked out of the room, towards a window. At that moment, I was indeed glad I didn't eat dinner yet. It would have been wasted now. I leaned out and relieved myself of my stomach contents.

In front of the entrance on the ground was the corpse of a man. His mouth foaming, his eyes morphed into bloody holes, his throat bulging unnaturally and a wooden stick sticking out of his mouth.

"That answers how they do it. Definitely not a way I want to die. Kid, you are quite scary."

It wasn't me who was scary, but the dolls. But, those dolls belonged to me. I made them and I ordered them. That meant... I had killed a man. I had killed a person. I had...

"Kid! Calm down!"

Something warm pressed into my face and my vision went dark.

"Calm down! Take deep breaths! Did you hear me? Take a deep breath, breathe in and then out!"

Without noticing, I had been short of breath and collapsed onto the floor. My breathing had become erratic. I was hyperventilating.

"Don't think of anything, only concentrate on breathing for now!"

I followed her advice, I took a deep breath and then breathed it out, slowly.

"Yes, just like that. Repeat that. Breathe in, breathe out. Do it slowly!"

I concentrated on breathing for now. I didn't know for how long I did, but it felt like an eternity. Then, my vision returned and I could see Wanda staring into my face.

"Calmed down?"
"Nn... I'm sorry."
"Don't sweat it, the first time is like that for everyone."
"Is that so..."
"Yes, the first time I nearly fainted, I threw up in the middle of a fight. That nearly killed me."
"Haa..."

Wanda let go of me and smiled gently.

"Kid, I know it's hard, but let's move on, okay?"
"Nn."

Bracing myself, I peeked into the room again, but the corpse was gone. Merim was also nowhere to be found.

"Merim and everyone else already went ahead. The other mercenaries moved as well. We didn't see any of the dolls yet so they are probably further inside."
"Nn."

There was only a bloody spot left on the ground. I shuddered, but I couldn't let it overwhelm me.

"Give me one minute, I'll send the signal for the infiltration group, and then let's join them."
"Nn. Understood."

Wanda took out a small solid stick with a string attached to it. She held it out of the window and pulled the string. With a small popping sound, I could see something shoot out of it into the sky. It reminded me of some kind of fireworks cracker.

"Okay, that's done. Then, let's move on."

And so, we descended down into their lair.