Something's wrong.
The moment she stepped into the dining suite, Asagi Aiba sensed it immediately. She shifted her feet lightly, planning to turn and leave before anyone noticed her arrival.
"Oh, Miss Weaver, since you're here, why didn't you say a word? Come, sit down, sit down."
A gruff voice cut off her retreat. An elderly Therianthrope in a black military uniform stood, waving her over.
Glancing around the suite—empty except for a few Therianthropes—and noting several others in the hallway had already locked onto her, Asagi Aiba paused. After a moment's thought, she didn't flee. Instead, she silently turned and walked over to the Therianthrope's table to sit.
"What's the meaning of this?"
"Don't worry about it, Weaver. It's just a little insurance for our transaction."
Knowing exactly what she meant, Gardos laughed heartily, telling her not to concern herself.
"Miss Weaver, since you arranged this meeting, I assume you've brought the spell codes we agreed upon?"
"They're ready, but… you've brought what we agreed upon, haven't you?"
Suppressing a rising sense of foreboding, Asagi Aiba forced a smile.
"Don't worry, don't worry, Weaver. We of the Black Death Emperor Front are men of our word. We just need to inspect the goods first."
After a moment of silence, she scanned the Therianthropes surrounding her and nodded.
"You're right. Here's what you requested. It's already programmed with the combing ritual and the integration system. You can call it up or press directly.
I've given you what you wanted—what about what I'm owed?"
She pulled out a black crystal stone, directly asking about her payment.
"Miss Weaver, don't worry. The item you want has skyrocketed in price recently. It'll take us a few more days to acquire it."
You actually dare to double-cross me!
Asagi Aiba's face twisted in surprise. She hadn't expected this—she had even chosen the Mitsugoshi Company restaurant in the city center as the meeting place, yet Gardos dared to pull a fast one.
A surge of impulse to act flared inside her, but glancing at the Therianthropes surrounding her, she shamefully held back.
"Hah, in that case, I'll be going now. As for my payment… Gardos-san, please send it another day."
A wise person doesn't take an immediate loss. Once back, she'd first report the Black Death Emperor Front's base on Itogami Island to Natsuki-chan, then file a complaint against Netheril's referral service.
With a bright smile, having mentally mapped out her fallback, Asagi Aiba stood and prepared to leave.
"Um… Gardos-san, what are you—"
Looking at the two Therianthropes blocking her, she turned back, fingers absentmindedly tapping her pocket.
Fiddling with the black crystal without looking at her, Gardos laughed lightly.
"Ahaha, Miss Weaver, I'm grateful for your trust, but… I can't quite trust you humans…"
Setting the crystal aside, he seemed to force a gentle smile. Yet the murderous aura radiating from him made the attempt at warmth utterly ineffective.
"So I'd like to ask you, Miss Weaver, to come with us. I have a friend skilled in magic. Once they confirm this item is safe, I'll immediately send someone to escort you back."
"Aren't you worried this will draw the Island Guard's attention?"
Asagi Aiba's expression remained calm. Though her words were threatening, she had secretly prepared an escape and discreetly glanced at the black crystal.
If she were double-crossed, revenge was an option. But if taken out of the city and stripped of even minimal protection, her fate was uncertain.
And as for Gardos' promise to release her after inspecting the crystal—she could forget that. The crystal she gave them was faulty; she had deliberately scrambled several spells inside.
"You can rest assured, Miss Weaver. Most of the Island Guard has been held by our people on the other side, giving us plenty of time to inspect it.
By the way, Miss Weaver, you can stop your AI from sending messages—the signal here has blocked them."
Leaning back with a confident air, Gardos flashed a sinister smile and leisurely pulled a device from his pocket.
"Yes, Miss, I'm indeed unable to send messages to the outside."
A mechanical voice from her pocket confirmed his words.
"A Netheril military jammer! You've teamed up with Netheril to betray me!"
Seeing the device, Asagi Aiba lost her composure and couldn't help but scream.
She didn't care about the Black Death Emperor Front—terrorists were always dangerous but manageable. But if Netheril was targeting her, that was a serious problem. She'd be lucky if the Itogami Island authorities didn't pack her up overnight and deliver her directly.
"Miss Weaver, please don't misunderstand. I bought this jammer from Netheril's black market. I obtained your information through legitimate channels from Netheril. This has nothing to do with Netheril…"
Noticing the expression on a nearby Therianthrope—as if they'd heard juicy gossip—Gardos hurried to clarify. If his underlings spread this, it could damage Netheril's black market reputation, a serious issue since arms deals accounted for most of Netheril's external revenue.
"BOOM!"
Before Gardos could finish speaking, a violent explosion tore through the spot where Asagi Aiba was standing. The intense heat and shockwave instantly injured the nearest Therianthropes. At the same time, a black smoke rose from nowhere, rapidly engulfing the entire dining hall.
Amid the black smoke, Asagi Aiba covered her mouth and nose. Thanks to a peculiar spell, she could see through the darkness. Using the fog to obscure her movements, she dashed toward the dining hall.
"Young Miss, I advise you to follow them."
"Huh? Mogwai, are you broken? Do you even know what you're saying?"
The mechanical voice from her pocket, carrying shocking information, made Asagi Aiba unable to resist snapping back even as she fled, questioning whether Mogwai had gone haywire.
"I'm serious, Miss. If you don't stop, you'll truly be in mortal danger."
"Shut up! I'll have you remanufactured when we get back. It's going with them that puts my life at risk!"
She hadn't expected the AI she raised, at this critical moment, not only to fail at sending information but also to try to persuade her to surrender. In a fit of rage, she shot back.
"Thud, thud, thud…"
She raced down the restaurant corridor, and just as she reached the lobby, ready to dash out, her steps froze.
"I surrender!"
Facing the burly man before her—his body radiating a murderous aura and his face full of battle intent—and sensing the terrifying presence that made the air feel thick and viscous, Asagi Aiba followed her instinct for survival. Without hesitation, she raised both hands in surrender.
She's going to die. One strike from him would kill her.
Seeing her surrender so quickly, the man's eager expression flickered with surprise, then quickly turned to annoyance.
"Cough, cough, cough. I truly must thank Grendel-san this time. She's a bit cunning; if not for Grendel-san, she really would have gotten away."
Gardos' voice, choked by the smoke, came from behind. Soon, he emerged from the black cloud, leading a group of Therianthropes.
"I'm just really annoyed. Such an interesting power, and yet she surrendered so quickly."
He'd noticed!
Asagi Aiba, still with her hands raised and head bowed, suddenly trembled. Her eyes flickered wildly, and her breathing grew heavier.
"Grendel is joking. She's just a spellcaster—at best, she has some special talent. How could she compare to you, the legendary Evil Dragon? We'd better leave quickly; the Island Guard is on its way. We made quite a racket just now."
"Let's go, let's go. When we get back, I'm definitely going to have a fight with that Dahāka guy. I'm really pissed off."
Fortunately, Gardos didn't pay much attention to what Grendel meant by the "interesting power." Grendel had only sensed a hint through his own strength and hadn't investigated further.
Sighing in relief, Asagi Aiba opened her eyes to see a Therianthrope approach with shackles, gesturing for her to put them on herself, while the others donned police uniforms.
This bizarre sight made Asagi Aiba's lips twitch. After a brief pause, she glanced at the burly man named Grendel. Noticing he still had his magical powerlocked onto her, she wisely took the shackles and put them on.
Following Gardos out of the restaurant, she felt the strange stares of the crowd that had gathered after the explosion. At that moment, Asagi Aiba wished she were dead.
Hiding in an alleyway, watching Asagi Aiba walk with the Therianthropes, Cid stroked his chin. Without turning, he reached back with his right hand and tapped the wall.
"Have you changed your clothes yet?"
"Give me a little more time. The clothes you bought are a bit small, so I'm working on it. If there's anything, just say the word—I'm listening."
From the corner behind him, a weak yet resolute voice spoke through gritted teeth.
"I think I spotted the people who kidnapped Yukina Himeragi."
"What! Where?"
A figure darted from the corner behind, shoving Cid aside to look around.
"Yes, it's them! They might not be the exact same group, but they're definitely working together."
Speaking with absolute certainty, having confirmed these people were accomplices of those encountered earlier, Sayaka Kirasaka turned to speak but found Cid looking at her strangely.
In that instant, Sayaka Kirasaka seemed to recall something; she froze, her head stiffly following Cid's gaze.
Her slender figure was outlined by thin clothing; faint traces of blood or bruises marked the large patches of exposed, delicate skin, yet this did nothing to diminish her allure. The large "slime" had burst free from her coat, revealing generous skin—half-hidden, half-exposed—making her look all the more enticing.
Her body trembled violently, and a deep blush spread across her cheeks and exposed fair skin. She stiffly lifted her head along the path she had followed, meeting Cid's strange gaze.
"You jerk!"
She instinctively reached out to slash at Cid with her sword, but seemed to change her mind midway. Instead of swinging, she clenched her fist and lunged at him. Her frail body, however, couldn't manage the motion, and she lost her balance, collapsing directly onto Cid.
"You're in such poor shape—you really shouldn't get so worked up."
Lifting Sayaka Kirasaka by the collar and guiding her to the corner, Cid urged her on, but she just crouched there, hugging her knees, tears glistening in her eyes as she muttered to herself.
Seeing this, Cid sighed helplessly and patted her shoulder to offer comfort.
"Don't take what happened earlier too seriously. Just do your best—you still have a lot of room to grow."
"!!!"
Sayaka Kirasaka shot her head up, staring at him in astonishment, mouth slightly open, a finger pointed at herself.
"Me? Do my best?"
"Yeah…"
Cid nodded.
"Give it your all. You're not on Beta's level yet."
"Who's Beta?"
"The elf writer who was there when we met last time."
"Are you close with her?"
"Pretty close."
"I'm going to kill you, you scumbag!"
Summoning strength from somewhere, Sayaka Kirasaka leaped and tackled Cid, clutching his neck with both hands. Unfortunately, her frail body remained too weak to do any real harm.
"Alright, now that you're conscious, hurry back and get dressed. Don't you still need to save Yukina?"
Lying on the ground, glancing sideways as most of the Therianthropes boarded the vehicle, Cid patted Sayaka Kirasaka's hand in reminder.
As he stood to leave, she grabbed him again. Cid frowned and turned back.
"H-help me."
Her head was bowed low, lips bitten, face flushed deep red.
"?"
"Help me pull it up—I don't have the strength."
Her voice was barely audible, tinged with shame and despair. At that moment, Sayaka Kirasaka wanted to die, but thinking of Yukina Himeragi and the dwindling time, she held back her tears.
This was the kind of problem Epsilon would never face.
Glancing at the large "slime" on her body, Cid's eye twitched. Muttering a curse under his breath, he realized time was running short and acted immediately.
After a few quick adjustments, Sayaka Kirasaka straightened her clothes. Even though they were on their way to rescue Yukina Himeragi, her face remained etched with despair, her eyes vacant as if still recovering from a severe shock.
Seeing how shaken she was, Cid decided to give her a moment. He hoisted her onto his back, cast a light-refraction invisibility barrier over both of them, and leapt toward the vehicle carrying the Therianthropes.
"Tell me, how are we going to explain this to Yukina?"
On the way, Sayaka Kirasaka seemed to have regained some composure and asked softly.
"It's no big deal. Why do we need to explain?"
"Hah, I forgot you're a jerk."
Sayaka Kirasaka shook her head self-deprecatingly.