Melona's on recon, and Michel kind of intrudes into Catt's daily life?
Enjoy!
***
Beyond the dim passage, a vast courtyard spread out, covered in green. A large tree grew at its center, with Echidna and Irma around its base.
The moment she saw them, Melona changed her appearance, blending into the background, and held her breath.
[Neither of them has noticed me so far. Nothing wrong with listening to their conversation, for Elina’s sake too.]
“Teacher, was that true?”
“What was?”
She listlessly replied to Irma’s question.
“About you releasing Michel.”
“Were you worried about it?”
Irma nodded.
“It was too much for me.”
Her teacher’s reply made her stare in wonder.To obtain that flute, she had even brought the Kouma Ninja from Hinomoto, and now she was just giving it up so unceremoniously? The surprise was written all over the assassin’s face.
“Want me to be brutally honest? That thing is a drug.”
“A drug?”
A magic flute with the power to recover indefinitely. As long as a Beautiful Fighter was able to kiss it, she could keep fighting forever. Someone with infinite physical strength and unending resilience couldn’t be defeated.
The flute owner’s victories were assured.
“That’s why I wanted to try it for a while. That Alleyne chick must have heard somewhere, ‘cos she came calling me a kidnapper. Having to fight her would be a pain, so I decided to release him.”
Alleyne’s strength was evenly matched with Echidna’s.
“I don’t think the millennial virgin will figure out what I meant.”
Melona kept listening to the conversation between the two, having killed off her presence. She knew only of one person going by ‘Alleyne’ who the wild elf would avoid fighting.
[If she’s the same person the rumors say, we can assume Michel’s safe now.
This is enough info to tell Elina. I guess we’ll need to leave to track down Alleyne now.
Looks like I can have some more fun travelling for a while.]
“And, that’s as much as you can hear.”
With those words, the elf casually threw the knife she kept by her thigh.
(Eh?)
Melona was completely struck by surprise. The knife had stabbed her body.
(Did she notice me? Still, heh, it’s just a knife.)
With her presence still erased, she shifted her body, trying to phase through the weapon.
However, a certain phenomenon started before she could move. A cold air overflowed from the knife, freezing her body.
(Wha? Whyy?)
Her body froze with a panicked expression on her face, turning into a weirdly-shaped ice statue.
***
“You’re lacking practice.”
“My apologies.”
“Well, it’s fine.”
As Irma humbled herself, the mercenary glanced at the frozen Melona.
[Elina shows some promise.]
As far as Echidna was concerned, if Elina had given up and gone back home back then, if she had just up and abandoned Michel, the elf wouldn’t have given her a second glance; the Vance would have been just one of many Beautiful Fighters.
But, Elina hadn’t given up. After losing her attendant, she had gotten hold of a new one, and had captured Irma; making it so far was worthy of appreciation.
That was why she had allowed her to enter her cave.
“Drive out the li’l ladies, with moderation.”
Irma gave a deep bow at Echidna’s words.
***
“Sorry to bother you.”
“It’s no bother at all.”
Rana gave a broad smile, and invited Michel to the guest room.
“This is for some visitors who come at times. It might be a bit dusty, though.”
It was a room prepared with furniture equal or better than that of a small inn’s room: a simple but clean bed, and a table with chairs.
“It’s okay if you stay here until they come pick you up.”
[Michel is free because I found the amulet. I’m glad I was useful.]
“Let me express my gratitude then. Thanks.”
Rana became embarrassed at the other’s words.
[Sure, I found the amulet, but it was Alleyne and mom who acted.]
“If you want to thank someone, thank mom.”
“Yeah, I’ve already thanked Miss Cattleya and Miss Alleyne enou—…”
Michel’s body stiffened halfway through his sentence.
“What’s wrong?”
“My flute? Where’s my flute?”
The stranded boy patted himself, searching for his belongings.
“Hm… ah…”
Unable to endure, Michel let out a few moans, and collapsed, as if exhausted.
“Eh?”
Rana tried to reach out to him, but he couldn’t make it in time.
“Don’t… that’s…”
With barely a whisper, Michel fell down wearily onto the bed.
***
Unable to resist her urges, Cattleya blew on the flute.
No sound came out of it. However, a pleasant sensation ran through her whole body, as her fatigue all but vanished. The exhaustion she had felt after going to rescue Michel had disappeared in an instant.
“What happened?”
Her lips gently let the instrument; its shape had changed.
[This shape is like…]
“Mom! This is bad!”
Rana’s scream pulled her back from her reverie.
“W-What’s wrong?”
“Michel fell down. He was saying something about a flute...”
She quietly put away the flute inside her cleavage, and headed to the guest room on the second floor. There, she saw the new boy collapsed on the bed.
The mother quickly got beside him, and gently placed her hand against his neck.
[There’s a pulse.]
His cheeks were flushed a bit, but he didn’t have a fever.
[Maybe the exhaustion hit him all at once.]
“It will be alright, let’s let him sleep at ease.”
With a gentle smile towards her son, she quietly hugged the flute so it wouldn’t be seen.
“Mom?”
Seeing how his mother was looking at the newcomer, Rana made a puzzled expression.
It was a look he had never seen before from her, different from the earnest face she had when in the forge or the gentle face she usually showed him.
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