Samira had fallen asleep as soon as she was done showering, and by the time she had woken up, it was almost time to leave Adelheid’s manor. The silver haired beauty gathered everyone up at the front door and escorted them out into the foggy scenery that surrounded the building. Adelheid’s guide cats Crème and Earl Grey flanked the crowd while Espresso covered the back, ensuring no one would stray away from the group. Adelheid lead the group, keeping Samira close behind her.
“We’re still in the safe zone, but my manor has a special little mechanic, so stay snuggled up with one another unless you want to become cute little ghosts,” Adelheid warned with a cheerful voice.
『She really enjoys saying the scariest things with a happy expression…』Samira thought as she looked up at her Warden. As expected, the older woman was calm as she navigated through the thick layers of mist.
A shroud of water coated Samira’s exposed arms. It was cold— colder than what she was used to— and judging at how some others were holding themselves and rubbing at their arms, they weren’t either. Samira looked up towards her Warden. Adelheid kept her eyes glued to the path, but she didn’t hesitate to speak up, “Is there something you needed, Shangri-La? We’re almost out.”
“No…”
“It’s a bit chilly because of the fog, but it’ll warm up in just a moment,” Adelheid promised.
It didn’t take long for the sunlight to begin peaking through the mist. Everyone was greeted by collapsed buildings and ruined streets as soon as they stepped out of the fog. Though there weren’t any corpses out in the open, Samira could see remnants of clothes. A child’s shoe, a chunk of someone’s black tie, and a crumpled purse. All of those were small things that revealed the gravity of the situation.
The crowd knew it was time to go on their own, however, they couldn’t stop themselves from looking at Adelheid. The hope that perhaps she would pity them and continue to help them was evident.
“It’s time for us to part ways,” Adelheid crushed their hope with a simple statement. “If you head north, you’ll be able to find Khachatur’s Tower. It’s quite obvious, so don’t worry about missing it.”
“Are, are you not heading over to the tower?” Someone mustered the courage to ask.
“There’s some personal business I need to finish up.” Adelheid responded, refusing to elaborate any further. Samira doubted the older woman would lie about something like this, and whatever Adelheid considered as personal business was truly limitless.
A few did leave after seeing that it would be pointless to try persuade Adelheid, but most of the crowd didn’t budge. Adelheid rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck, the sound reminiscent to when she crushed the Ephialtes’s skull.
“I’ll watch you until you’ve reached the convenience store at the end of the road,” Adelheid stated. “There’s a limit to what a basic level NPC can do for you.”
A basic level NPC. That’s all Adelheid was for everyone except Samira. That’s what Adelheid decided to be for everyone except Samira. Her obligations towards them were over.
The group could only leave in the direction Adelheid instructed them to go. As promised, Adelheid watched them until they reached the end of the road, where they vanished into the horizon. An exasperated sigh escaped the Warden’s lips.
“Let’s go.” The moment Adelheid turned her attention to Samira, her mood brightened instantaneously.
“Where are we going?” Samira questioned her Warden’s intentions.
“To the east side,” Adelheid chirped, “I have something to pick up.”
#
The pair went to a theatre costume store. Plays were fairly popular in the region Samira lived in, so she had seen a couple of stores, but it was her first time stepping into a costume shop. On the other hand, for Adelheid, this place was like a second home. She made her way into the backroom, where countless costumes were hung on racks and stacked rolls of fabric were. One wall was even filled with various spools of thread and charms.
For a moment, Samira saw Adelheid’s appearance change. Her lavender eyes took on an orange hue while her hair was tied into a loose braid and colored a beautiful shade of auburn.
“Huh?” Samira blinked.
Adelheid’s purple eyes shifted to look directly at her Contractor. “Is there something the matter?”
“No, not really.”
“Are you sure? If there’s something troubling you, it’d be best to tell me. I haven’t mastered the art of mind reading yet.”
“It’s fine, I just thought I saw something.”
Adelheid shrugged her shoulders. “Alright, if you say so, Shangri-La.” She continued to rummage through the drawers until she found a fancy jewelry box. She opened the container, revealing dozens of accessories— from bracelets to earrings— even a few pieces of body jewelry. The silver beauty picked up a pair of pearl earrings and attached them to her ears. “Do you have your ears pierced?”
“I don’t.”
Adelheid grabbed a pair of black cuffs and waved Samira closer. “Show me your ear— either one works.” Samira did as she was told, tilting her head over to let Adelheid access her left ear. The clip-on cuff earrings were adjusted to comfortably sit on Samira’s ear.
“I don’t have magic, but I do have a bit of technology,” Adelheid hummed. “I’ll be by your side most of the time, but it doesn’t hurt to prepare something like this.”
“How do they work?”
「【Black Cuff Earrings】 is a dual component earpiece that was custom made for Adelheid’s disguises. Resembling a set of jewelry, it is also rechargeable through solar power. Waterproof and able to withstand a drop from a skyscraper, it’s a very durable accessory. Connectable to anyone who has one of Adelheid’s communication devices. Recording is also an available option. 」
“Fairy is the code word to turn it on. If you want to turn it off, then you’ll say Corset. You can also tap them to activate it.”
“It says that you can record things— is that video or just audio?”
“You can do both, but video recordings need you to have a device attached to the earrings first. You can store about three minutes of audio though— the magic word is Affogato.”
“Is there anything else I need to know?”
“My lovers have communication devices attached to the system, so you might hear them occasionally, but it should be fine. If they’re too noisy, you can turn the earrings off anyways.”
“Thanks. Was this the only thing we needed from here?”
“I was hoping to find something else, but it’s not here. I must’ve left it somewhere else.”
“If it’s really important, we can go find it first before heading to the tower…”
Adelheid shook her head. “With or without it, it’ll be fine. It’s just a couple of bracelets and rings. Though, if you want anything, grab it.”
“I mean, if there’s something like a backpack or a jacket with zip up pockets…”
『It’d be bad if I lost the bracelet, since I don’t think I’d be able to get another one.』
“I do have some backpacks, but there’s no need to carry extra weight when we don’t have to,” Adelheid said as she began to go through the racks of clothes. “I’ll get you a new jacket. Nothing here will give you a ‘stat boost’ so it’s a temporary outfit change. Got a color preference?”
“Not really.”
Adelheid pulled out a dark magenta windbreaker. “Here; this one has plenty of hidden pockets. It’s a men’s too— so they’re deep pockets.”
Samira put on the jacket and put the bracelet into one of the inner pockets and zipped it up. The pair left the store after Adelheid changed into a pair of white cargo pants and heeled combat boots. The outfit change certainly looked more comfortable compared to the stilettos she had on earlier.
As they walked away from the theatre store, they passed a flower shop and a jewelry store. The windows were smashed in, and merchandise was scattered all over the sidewalk. Flowers were crushed, jewelry was cracked, but there weren’t any human remnants. It was almost as if the corpses had been devoured. Was it the Ephialtes, or something else? Samira’s gaze shifted towards the tattoo on Adelheid’s neck.
“Will I know if any of the Gardens are in the area?” Samira asked.
“Your instincts have been heightened a little since you got your skills, but it’s not exactly enough to detected trained killers,” Adelheid explained. “For someone like me or stronger, they’d have to make their presence known to you. Otherwise, you won’t notice them.”
Adelheid didn’t need to ask Samira why she was asking such a question at such a random time. Even without the visual cues, Adelheid could guess why. The shivers that shot down her spine told her everything she needed to know. Regardless, she suppressed it.
“You know how that person works, so you have nothing to worry about.”
Samira nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah…I was just curious because of the situation.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Adelheid murmured.
Samira’s necklace thrummed softly against her chest.
“You’ll get used to it,” her Warden repeated.
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