Audrey

"Is this what it was like watching me train with the sword?" I asked while watching Lydia calmly shoot arrows at an innocent tree in the forest. It had been a few days since the incident at the guild. The rank exams continued the next day, and after taking the written portion, all we could do was wait for the results. In the meantime, we decided to take a break from quests and take some time for some actual training.

"Am I improving that quickly?" My girlfriend asked while pulling another arrow from her hip and smoothly nocking it on the string of her bow. I admired the way her body moved as she drew the weapon back with a relaxed breath, then the arrow sailed into her target. The newest projectile joined a tight circle of other arrows lodged into the tree trunk.

"Well… I never actually saw you practice in the village since you were always on those hunts, but compared to a few days ago, I'd say it's like you're a different person." I said as my eyes tracked her hand grabbing yet another arrow. Her hip quiver was just about empty, so I stood up and stretched.

"The power of divinity is not to be underestimated." I quipped to Aurora as I waited for Lydia to finish her round.

"I'm not sure why it surprises you, considering your own growth… But I suppose things like that are harder to recognize from the inside." My goddess said with a wry smile.

Once I heard the familiar dull noise of my girlfriend's last arrow, I quickly moved to pluck the shafts from the tree. Once I gathered them all in a bundle, I dropped them toward the ground. A shimmering ring of yellow magic appears beneath them, and the arrows disappear into it, only to slide perfectly back into Lydia's quiver.

"Did you break anything this time?" I teased, remembering the sacrifices made so she could practice her short-range teleportation.

"I haven't broken any since yesterday!" She defended with a pout. Despite her words, she pulled the quiver around her body to count. "See? No casualties this time!"

I moved closer to her and pulled her against me by the waist. "My princess is so cool…" I whispered as I leaned in for a kiss. The embrace lasted a minute before she pushed me away with a playful glare.

"Don't distract me! Even if it is a welcome one!" She said, and I raised my hands in surrender.

"My bad. I just can't help it when you look so hot."

"Mother would be horrified to hear you speak like that," Lydia mumbled as she took her shooting stance, and I stepped behind her to get out of the way. "You should stop spending time with Bernard and his party… You'll pick up bad habits."

"We're adventurers, so it's fine!" I replied as she began another round of target practice. "We should make an effort to blend in so we don't draw attention, right?" We kept running into 'Shining Wind' at the guild, and had spent more than one dinner together.

"..." She didn't say anything for a moment as she released another shot. "I'd agree… but I know you, and that's not why you're doing it."

"It is pretty fun, you should try it!" I said, unbothered by her astute judgement of my character.

"I refuse." Her immediate rejection made me pout.

"But I want you to compliment me like we hear at the bar!" I draped myself over her, interrupting her next shot. I lowered my voice and brought my lips to her ear. "Won't you do it for me, my Lydia?" My needy tone had the desired effect.

"T-That's not fair, Audrey." I watched goosebumps run down her arms, and her cheeks flushed slightly as her face turned away from me. It was apparent her base desire was fighting against her royal pride, and I couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Even while we're alone?" I doubled down on my attack and watched as her resistance crumbled like sand.

"F-Fine! I do think you're very… S-Sexy." She bit her lip in embarrassment before shrugging me off. "There! I said it, happy now?!"

"The delivery was a little stiff, but I'll take it!" I said with a grin, then gave her space to practice once again.

"Audrey…" My girlfriend sighed. "Go stand in front of the tree."

"No thanks," I replied instantly.

"Maybe Lydia's right… Those men are not good influences on you." Aurora said with exasperation.

"And Leah was?"

"... I'll leave it be, I suppose." My goddess's backpedaling made me laugh even more.

"I'm going to go practice over here for a while," I told my girlfriend over my shoulder as I left the clearing we were in.

"Alright, please don't redraw the map." I waved at her before disappearing into the shadows. Over the last few days, I hadn't just been sitting around watching. I've been doing a bit more work with my stella, and now…

"I'm finally learning my first night magic spell!" I hummed excitedly to my goddess as I looked for a secluded and open place to practice.

"Don't get your hopes up… It won't be anything too powerful."

I emerged in a clearing that was slightly bigger than the one I'd left Lydia in, and clapped my hands together excitedly.

"Alright! Let's do this!"

"Audrey. Night magic isn't something to take lightly. Please treat this seriously."

"Sorry. I will." Being scolded made me lose a bit of enthusiasm, but I knew she was right. I took a few deep breaths and composed myself, then, knowing she could sense my feelings, waited for her to start.

"This first magic is called 'Veil'." My goddess began. "It creates a fog over the intended area and suppresses the senses of anyone inside, excluding those with adequate divine power."

"Sounds amazing! But won't that be a bit hard to practice without a living target?" I asked.

"Well… That is true, but what's important is understanding how to control the area of affect and potency. There are also plenty of animals in this forest."

"I don't know how I feel about that…" But even as I complained, I began to circulate my stella.

"As long as you don't overdo it, there are no permanent effects on the target. Let's start with basic control first." She said.

I closed my eyes to focus on visualizing the image Aurora painted for me, and extended my hands in front of me. Slowly, I moved my stella to my hands, mixing with just a little mana to help control the output.

I thought back to my lessons with Mr. Tressum. Fog… Fog… I vaguely remembered it had something to do with temperature and moisture, but the technical stuff always gave me a headache. Whatever… Cloud on the ground!

My goddess snickered at me as I let the magic pour from my hands and opened my eyes to see… purple. My senses weren't being affected, but I could barely see because of how dense I made it.

"That's a bit much, my guardian," Aurora said between stifled giggles.

Slowly, I thinned out the cloud until it became wisps of fog as intended. The purple mist floated through the clearing and sparkled slightly in the sunlight.

"It's kind of pretty," I observed as I began to test my control over it. The magic was surprisingly easy, and I shaped and whirled it around the clearing. After a few minutes of doing that, I let it aimlessly float again.

"I thought you said all night magic is powerful… This seems very useful, just not what I was expecting." I said, but before my goddess could respond, I caught a glimpse of movement across the clearing, and a small bunny with black and white fur emerged. The adorable creature sniffed the air with caution, but I happened to be downwind of it, so it hadn't noticed me standing completely still so far away.

Since normal animals lacked magical ability, it didn't sense the fog either, and took a few tentative steps into it… Then collapsed onto its side. I rushed over to it in a panic because I hadn't mentally prepared myself to test 'Veil' yet. Let alone on something so cute!

When I knelt next to the small creature, its black, beady eyes were frozen open, and its body was completely stiff. I scooped it in my arms and pushed the night magic away from it.

"As I was about to say… If you don't limit the power, it does more than just affect the senses. It can stop bodily functions entirely." Aurora murmured as the bunny started to twitch and breathe again. I could also feel its little heartbeat against my arms as I cradled the animal. The poor creature panicked at first as I held it, but the warmth of my holy magic seemed to calm it down again.

"It's okay, little bunny." I cooed as I ran my fingers through its luxurious fur. "I'm sorry for scaring you… I'd be scared too if I suddenly found myself in the arms of a giant."

The bunny relaxed, and its eyes closed in contentment as I petted it. "That was scary! I'd never forgive myself for killing something so innocent!"

"With more practice, you'll learn to control the exact power, and even target specific people and senses. Though I do agree the little bunny should be spared." Aurora said warmly, and I couldn't help but nod in agreement as I dispersed the debilitating fog from the area.

"Do you think I could convince Lydia to keep him?" I ventured as I sat on a log and played with the bunny's fur some more.

"I doubt it. But I suppose you could always ask…" She didn't sound confident it would go well, but I resolved myself to at least try. After relaxing for a bit more, I stood, still holding the bunny that had fallen asleep at this point.

"Alright! Teach me something else!" I pleaded.

"I don't know…" Aurora's hesitation was evident, but I really wanted to learn more.

"Please?" I gave her the best puppy-dog eyes I could muster across our bond, and heard her sigh in resignation.

"Fine. I'll teach you something with a bit more power, but you have to promise to be careful." My goddess always saw right through me, and I was grateful for her indulgence as I agreed emphatically.

"This one is called 'Starfall' and will definitely have more… Immediate impact during large-scale fights."

"Sounds like something that would have been useful on the frontline," I observed.

"Yes, but you wouldn't have been able to use it without your artifact… Otherwise, I would have taught it to you already." She said before continuing. "Have you seen a shooting star before?"

I nodded, having made more than a few wishes while stuck in the Rose mansion.

"What you want to do is focus your stella into the sky above, and visualize a star coming down to strike you're enemies." I followed her instructions and raised a hand above my head. I would've used both, but I was still cradling the fluffball in the other.

"Carefully, Audrey. This is incredibly powerful offensive magic. Eventually, you'll be able to call forth whole storms, but please limit it to just one." Aurora was practically begging me, and it made me feel a little bad for causing a literal goddess so much stress.

"I know, don't worry… I've always listened to you!" I tried to reassure her, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Then, I felt my divinity surge from my extended hand into the air.

"On second thought—!" I heard her say something, but fell silent as a thin streak of light descended from the sky at high speed. "Wait! Slow it down, Audrey!" She shouted in a panic.

"I can't…" I said sheepishly as I watched the light move quickly toward the earth. "It started so fast, I accidentally lost the mana connection."

"I should've expected it to go like this… you'll want to protect the bunny," Aurora said tiredly as the light disappeared into the trees in front of me. Before I could respond, A blinding explosion engulfed the area.

***

Lydia

I watched with a wry smile as Audrey melted into the shadows and left the clearing.

"She's definitely going to cause trouble somehow…" I murmured to Azure as I began another round of target practice.

"You have so little faith in Audy…" My goddess responded with humor.

"That's not true. I have plenty of faith in her." The bow thrummed against my hand as I let another arrow loose. "I just also get this feeling… Maybe it's women's intuition? At the very least, I have faith in Audrey's ability to attract trouble."

"That somehow sounds romantic…" Azure said with a laugh.

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"It is." I quickly shot the last of my arrows in succession. "My beautiful girlfriend aside… I'd like to learn some more light magic."

"That's fine, but I think it'd be better for you to master teleportation first. It's an honest-to-me miracle that you didn't rip yourself in half the first time."

"How dark…" I muttered as I took a step to retrieve my arrows, then paused. I pointed my hand toward the tree and focused my magic. I'd been making Audrey take the arrows out of the tree before I teleported them. But if I could be precise enough…

I felt the connection, then heard the arrows clatter into my quiver… Along with a small circle of wood from the tree.

"Guess I should practice," I stated matter-of-factly as Azure giggled in my head. I adjusted the quiver on my hip so I could remove the unwanted weight, and sighed as I pulled out two halves of a broken arrow.

"Don't let it get to you, Dia." My goddess comforted me.

"I won't, but that doesn't mean it isn't frustrating."

I continued to shoot rounds of arrows and used my light magic to retrieve them, and after another hour, I decided it was time to head back to town. Audrey hadn't returned yet, but I could sense her magic not too far away, so I quickly unstrung my bow and strapped it to my back.

As I moved out of the clearing, A bright streak of light in the sky caught my attention, and I felt a massive swell of power coming from my girlfriend's location. I watched the light, which was clearly visible even with the sun out, careen behind the tree line.

"She didn't…" I groaned, and a moment later, I stumbled and caught myself on a nearby tree as the ground shook violently. There was an incredible flash of light, then everything went still.

"Azure?" I asked.

"Sis says Audy is just fine…" My goddess responded, her tone somewhere between humor and exasperation. "You were absolutely right to be worried, huh?"

I just shook my head and continued walking calmly until I found myself standing on the edge of a crater nearly a hundred feet in diameter. The trees all around it were blown to the ground, but there didn't seem to be any fire or continuing damage.

A bubble of swirling purple and blue was in front of me, and the magic dissipated a few seconds later. My redhead stood there, and even from behind, I knew there was a dumbfounded look on her face.

"Oh… Lydia is going to lecture me, little bunny." She said to herself quietly.

"Why would I do that?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest. My voice made her jump, and she turned around in a panic.

"L-Lydia… my love! W-what brings you out here today…?" I just gave her a stern glare until she stopped talking and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"I would assume so," I said, and walked toward her. It was then that I noticed the animal in her arms as she held it up and hid her face behind it like a shield. How cute… I mean, cowardly!

"Wait! Before you start, just think about how sad it would be to wake up such a cute bunny!" She said desperately, but what my lovely girlfriend failed to account for was that it was already awake.

"How and why are you holding a bunny?" I asked, trying not to fawn over the adorable creature as it stared at me in place of Audrey.

"I accidentally knocked it out with magic earlier… So I healed it and now we're friends." After she explained, I nodded, then held my arms out.

"Give it to me."

"But–"

"Audrey, you just blew a hole in the forest, so I suggest you give me the fluffball."

"Yes, Ma'am." I took the creature from my girlfriend, and having sensed the use of holy magic, did the same thing to make it comfortable in my arms as I made Audrey sit on her knees. I petted the bunny as I sat on a fallen log and launched into my scolding, and by the time I was done, it was asleep once again.

When I finally let Audrey stand up, she wobbled on her numb legs and joined me on the makeshift bench.

"Isn't it the cutest?" She cooed as her fingers joined mine in the little animal's fur.

"It is." I hummed happily in agreement.

"So… Can we keep it?"

"As a pet? You can't be serious, Audrey." I replied with a frown.

"Why not?! I've never had a pet before, don't you think it would be fun?" The longing in her voice was evident, and it was something I could relate to. I had wanted a pet growing up as well… Not that I'd ever asked for one. My parents would've gotten me a dog or something in a heartbeat had they known, but it was a lot of responsibility that Leah had talked me out of.

"I understand how you feel… and this little bunny is certainly adorable," I said, and I saw her smile grow before I cut her off. "But, that doesn't change the fact that you'd be taking it away from its home, right? Plus, we're adventurers… and it's small and defenseless. Can you confidently say you could take care of and protect it?"

"I…" she started, then paused and bit her lip. I watched her sapphire eyes waver with uncertainty before she sighed. "Probably not."

"Then it's best to say goodbye now, right?" I urged her and handed the bunny back. It woke up as she raised it to her face and nuzzled it with her cheek. Then, she set it down on the snow-covered ground.

"Goodbye, little bunny," she said with teary eyes as the animal hopped away slowly. It stopped and turned to look at us one last time, its little nose and whiskers twitching, then disappeared into the foliage.

I smiled sadly as Audrey wiped at her eyes, but then she stood up and clenched her fists in determination.

"Alright, so bunnies are probably out of the question, but what about something stronger?" Her rebound was so quick that it caught me by surprise.

"I suppose?" I said, then immediately regretted it as she cheered to herself.

"Yay! I'm going to find us the best pet adventurers could ask for!" She clapped excitedly and grabbed my hand, pulling us into the shadows. "Do you think there are pet shops in Oylutz?"

"You just love setting yourself up, huh?" Azure teased in my head as we flew through the darkness, but I just smiled gently and looked at my girlfriend's smile.

"Well… I can't deny it. But if it makes her happy, I'll manage." But that didn't mean I let her take on any random pet, and I was already preparing the criteria I'd make her meet if she actually planned on getting us another companion.

"We need to go to the guild first. Lynn said they'd have the exam results up by the end of today, remember?" I reminded Audrey.

"Okay~!"

***

"Is this right?" I asked with a frown after we got to the guild. Audrey and I were staring at the posted results, and we had both been shocked after finding our names.

"It is." A gruff voice came from behind us, and we turned to see the guildmaster. He was a little scary while interrogating us after the incident, but now his gaze appraised us calmly.

"I hope you'll excuse my disbelief, guildmaster Zarek. It's just… We were only hoping for D-Rank…" I said, keeping my tone respectful.

"The guild has its reasons." The man said. "Reasons I can explain if you wouldn't mind sparing some time?"

Audrey and I shared a quick glance, then nodded and followed him to his office. We were also surprised to find Bernard and the rest of 'Shining Wind' already inside. Two of the men gave up their seats to us, and we sat after thanking them.

"We saw the board, congratulations on C-rank!" Bernard said with excitement, a sentiment echoed by the other members of his party.

"Thank you!" Audrey replied happily. "Honestly, we were just wanting D-rank, but I won't complain."

"I will." I cut in, staring down the guildmaster. My blunt words killed the lively atmosphere, but it was apparent the guild was after something. Do they know about us? I couldn't help but tense at the thought, already formulating an escape plan.

"Please calm down, Miss Lydia," the guildmaster said, raising his hands placatingly. "While I do still have plenty of questions regarding what happened before… this isn't about that."

"Then please enlighten us." I relaxed slightly, but kept myself on alert.

"Straight to the point, hm?" He said, leaning forward with narrowed eyes and resting his clasped hands together on the desk. "The guild is putting together a special quest, and we'd like the two of you to participate."

My eyes widened in surprise, but I composed myself immediately. "Why us? We've only been adventurers for a few weeks." Unfortunately, I couldn't claim we weren't strong anymore… Not after what happened. But that didn't change how trustworthy we were.

"We've been observing the two of you for the last few days." He admitted casually. "You are both honest young women, treat everyone with respect, and are always willing to help others in need. And if the reports from your proctors are anything to go by… quite the actresses."

"Excuse me?" I was in total shock and looked at Audrey, but she shook her head with a frown. She never sensed them either? That means they likely only followed us around town… We would have definitely noticed them out in the forest, and it was a relief that they hadn't witnessed our practices.

"Miss Audrey's power is already obvious. But the proctor that you fought, Miss Lydia, made it clear he thought you were holding back as well."

"That's—" I started, but he raised a hand and cut me off.

"Whether or not it's true is irrelevant. Combat abilities aside, it's your disposition that makes you qualified. This quest requires us to send people undercover as members of the nobility. In case you haven't realized, adventurers aren't exactly known for their manners."

I gritted my teeth in frustration.

"You can take the princess out of the castle… but not out of the girl," Azure said with a laugh, which I ignored.

The guildmaster must've taken my silence as a sign to continue. "Not to mention, the two of you have no reputation, and look very easy to underestimate."

"Sounds to me like the guild is sorely lacking in adventurers." I retorted sharply. Guildmaster Zarek just smiled wryly.

"You're not too far off the mark. Oylutz is a much smaller branch compared to others across the continent."

We just stared at each other until I sighed in resignation and fully relaxed into the chair. There was no way out of this other than disappearing completely, which would mean the end of our adventuring career.

"Fine," I said. "Give us the details then."

"I knew you'd come around." he reached into a drawer and retrieved a large folder before handing it to us. "Since the Empire conquered the last of the continent three years ago, a mysterious group calling themselves the resistance has appeared."

My heart began to race as I looked through the documents. A resistance? Could it be…? Yet, the hope I had faded as I actually read the reports.

"Illegal sales of contraband and the trafficking of human and animal cargo?" I mumbled. My brothers and attendants would never be a part of something so vile.

"This criminal organization has expanded across the continent, and while the emperor himself doesn't seem to care, there are plenty of local nobles and institutions this has become a problem for." The guildmaster explained, and I noticed that Bernard and his party had hardly reacted beyond scowls.

"I take it Audrey and I aren't the only ones taking this on?" I asked.

"Of course not, I'm not that reckless." The man scoffed. "This is a large-scale operation with guilds from across the continent deploying adventurers to different locations simultaneously," he gestured to the other men in the room. "You'll be accompanied by the newly A-rank 'Shining Wind' and—"

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted him, and in walked a particular black-haired woman who earned an immediate glare from me.

"Sorry, I'm late!" Cassandra laughed as she entered. Don't tell me…

"It's fine, sit down." The guildmaster ordered. "I was just filling the girls in."

"I see. Seems we'll get to hang out some more!" Cass said to Audrey and me.

"I'm looking forward to it!" Audrey said with a grin. "Let's spar some more on the way!" The two had already reconciled, but that didn't mean I liked the older woman.

"You don't even know where we're going yet!" I said, shooting my girlfriend down. "And don't think I've forgiven you, Cassandra."

"I wouldn't dream of it," she said with a calm smile.

Guildmaster Zarek cleared his throat to cut through the bickering. "All of you in this room will be our contribution to the operation. Unfortunately, we can't afford to send anyone else. Our stock of high-ranking adventurers is already low, especially with Cassandra being demoted to B-rank."

We all raised an eyebrow at that as Cass scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Temporarily! I'll be back on top with the next round of exams."

"Serves you right," I mumbled, which earned me an elbow in the side from my girlfriend.

"Be nice, Lydia. She didn't mean to hurt me." Audrey whispered so the others wouldn't hear.

"Whether she meant to or not doesn't matter, just that she did." I quietly replied.

The guildmaster once again cleared his throat, this time with a lot more annoyance. "May I finish?" He clearly wasn't asking.

Once we all fell quiet again, I handed the folder back to him at his request, and Lynn conveniently entered the room with a stack of papers in hand as guildmaster Zarek finished his explanation.

"In a week, you'll be meeting up with adventurers from two other guilds in Grunde to infiltrate a black market auction of rare animals. It's an event frequented by many corrupt nobles and wealthy commoners, and the goal is to identify and capture the ringleaders. Please memorize them and then burn these papers once you're done." We all took a sheet from Lynn, which outlined each person's role in this operation, along with the meeting time and place for the other groups.

Audrey and I would go over it later, so I handed mine to my girlfriend and watched her secretly slip it into her pocket dimension.

"That's all for now. If you have any questions, please come see me on your own time." The guildmaster finished, then promptly kicked us out of his office.

"Well, I don't know how to feel about this development," I muttered as we entered back into the main guild hall as a group.

"I wouldn't worry too much," Bernard said with a shrug. "This is my first time on a special quest, but I've heard they pay incredibly well. Plus, it looks like the role the two of you have won't be too dangerous."

"You're only saying that because you don't know us very well," I stated simply. "Trouble might as well be our best friend, especially Audrey's."

"How mean!" Audrey said, her cheeks puffing with air, yet she knew just what I meant because she didn't object.

"We shouldn't talk about it here, just in case. If anything comes up, we can always find a discreet place to meet up." Cassandra said with a pleasant smile as she turned to leave with a wave over her shoulder. "See you girls later!"

I watched her leave, but didn't return her farewell like Audrey did. I really don't like her.

After that, we bid goodbye to the men as well and headed back to the inn. Once we stepped into our room, it was my turn to collapse face-down onto the bed with a long sigh.

"Lydia…" Audrey said, her hand rubbing my back softly. "Are you alright?"

"Why is every day all or nothing? I swear…" I murmured into the mattress, then sat up to remove my hunting gear. Once we were both changed, I lay back down on the bed, holding the pillow beneath my chin. I felt the bed sink as Audrey climbed on top of me and sat on my lower back. "Audrey… What are you doing?" I asked.

"Giving you a massage! I heard at the guild it helps relieve stress!" she said happily as her hands began to knead gently into my muscles.

I closed my eyes and hummed in appreciation as I focused on the feel of her movements. "Good idea, especially considering you were the main source of my stress today."

"I already apologized!" She complained cutely, but didn't stop the massage. "Consider this an extension of that."

"Hm… Good idea. Though I might fall asleep like this, so give me the debrief." I said, and a moment later, a small shadow deposited the paper we had received into my hands. A bubble of water appeared around the bed as well, no doubt from Audrey's soundproofing of our conversation.

After scanning it with my eyes, I explained the plan to Audrey. "They want us to pretend to be a noble's daughter and her servants to get an invitation to this auction… Hmpf! Right there!" I had to pause when Audrey hit a particularly good spot on my back, then continued. "You and Cassandra will act as my attendants, and the 'Shining Wind' will stay out of sight until we're led to the location. Then we'll stay on stand-by until the other undercover adventurers locate the main culprits…" I buried my face in the pillow for a moment to stifle another gasp of pleasure. After that, I scanned the rest of the document a second time, then threw it back into Audrey's shadows.

"Sounds like we're playing backup more than anything else…" Audrey said in thought while her hands moved. "I don't feel like we're the only ones who could've done that."

"No, but we're probably the best ones to blend in. With an operation like this, it's better to have multiple backup plans. Any number of things could go wrong. Plus, this could be a good opportunity for us…"

"Do you think the others are involved?" My girlfriend asked.

"No, not in something like this… At least I hope not." I said. But anything could've happened during these three years we weren't here… What are you all doing right now? Even if it's just the slightest chance or connection, I wanted to try everything to find them.

We had a week until this quest started, and thinking about it like this would just drive me crazy. I let myself grow tired as I focused on Audrey's hands instead, and when she was done, we snuck under the covers to rest another night.

***

Grunde: That same night

"P-Please! I already told you everything!" A man begged, bleeding on the ground in a dark alleyway.

"Everything except the location." Stormy brown eyes glared at him from beneath the woman's hood. She raised a hand, and there was a slight breeze as her magic activated, then the man gasped for breath desperately as the air was ripped from his lungs. "Tell me."

The man just nodded, unable to speak without air, so his assailant released her spell, and he gasped with relief.

"T-The old opera house… in the basement… That's where the auctions are held…" he coughed out.

"Thank you for your cooperation." The hooded woman turned away, but right as the man felt relief at being spared, an invisible wind blade cut his throat, and he collapsed to the ground, dead.

"You don't even understand… yet you dare use our name for your twisted ambitions. Disgusting," she spat out. She left the alleyway, calmly walking through the darkness until she found another figure hiding away on the rooftops. She rode on the wind and landed gently beside them.

"Did you get what we needed?" the other woman asked, only a few strands of sky-blue hair peaking from beneath her hood.

"I did—the auction is in two weeks, beneath the opera house. Let's return to the others. It's about time we took care of these imposters."

As the wind picked up and carried the two women out of the city, the one with sky-blue hair spoke up.

"Isaac said they'd come back again."

"He's been saying that for the last three years… If it was true…" The brown-eyed woman paused and removed her hood, freeing her long, dark brown hair. It was braided in a style she used to do for the person she considered a little sister. The other woman also pulled off her hood, letting her sky-blue hair loose as well. "I've long lost hope," the brown-haired one said after a long breath.

"You know that's not what they would have wanted."

"Then I would love nothing more than for my ladies to come scold me for it."

With that, they fell into silence, ending a conversation they've had on repeat since they lost everything they knew, and flew into the night.

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