In Return...

While Ren's weaving his way around the unknown place he's found himself in, back at Plate Town—

"Oh my, even though things like this were within the limits of what I consider to be possible, the situation ending up in my favor is indeed unexpected, even to me..."

Looking around and seeing the several dozens of people huddling inside her bar, it is but natural for Myriel to feel pleased, and dumbstruck.

Although the attack that occurred earlier was on the opposite side of the town, the authorities made the decision to force all residents to either stay indoors or go to the evacuation facilities underground, until the danger has finally been cleared. That is reason why the usually desolate bar that Myriel own has become a place that's flocking with people.

"Everyone~ while this isn't the good time for us to have an enjoyable drink together, seeing your faces full of fear and worry has me feel pain in my chest. That's why to ease your spirits, I decided to give you drinks, free of charge. It's only a glass for each person though, so if you want to have some more then you'll have to pay."

With a snap of her finger, several masked men dressed in suits simultaneously came out from all corners of the bar. At first, the people were startled, thinking that they were being attacked inside the bar, but their eyes opened even more when they saw these mysterious men begin serving out drinks to the evacuees, who were mostly men.

"For those who are haven't eaten yet, we're also offering various kinds of food, though they're just bar food. We have enough stock for everyone, so feel free to ask our hardworking boys should you want to try one," Myriel said to the evacuees.

The evacuees, almost forgetting that they're in the bar due to unforeseen circumstances, gave out their impressions one by one.

"W-What a strange owner..."

"Aren't we, like, a lot of people here? Is it really alright for us to have meals and drinks for free?"

"I've heard some weird rumors about this place, and I honestly didn't believed them at all...guess they were all right all along..."

"How come I never noticed this place at all even though I live nearby? I really need to have my eyes checked immediately..."

Meanwhile, Myriel tried very hard to suppress her grin as her ears pick up waves and waves of positive feedback coming from the men. She calculated, that there's enough people inside her establishment to spread news about her bar to the nearby towns and possibly the entire Narashel. Of course, she can just simply 'rewrite' people's minds into going into her bar, but she prefers not to use her power for such a trivial reason.

BLLAAAAAGGGGGG!!!!!

"—?!!"

In the middle of her attending to the evacuees, the door at the entrance suddenly opened with a bang. Myriel looked over her shoulder and saw a blue-haired little girl, and a beautiful young woman standing just outside the bar.

Their appearance made the evacuees to gasp their breaths but Myriel only smiled at them unfazed, as if she already expected them to arrive all this time.

"My, what a surprise, you two. Coming all the way here despite the dangers outside, surely there must be a huge reason why—"

"...We have no time to joke around, you woman. We need to talk."

"Oh, my. You sure are in a hurry, little girl."

"Apologies for our sudden intrusion, Miss Myriel, but we are currently having a great emergency...and we need your help," Lerish said.

"My help, you say?" Myriel raised her eyebrow upon hearing those words. "But you see, my hands are full right now with ser—"

"...Just come with us already, will you?!" the little girl furiously yelled at her.

Realizing that the scene they're making will raise suspicion to the people watching them, Myriel deeply sighed and said:

"Haaah...I understand. Follow me to my office."

Afterwards, she instructed her subordinates to do the managing of the bar for the meantime. Thankfully she had loads of capable men at her disposal, so she doesn't have to worry about the bar getting chaotic while she's busy.

Even so, it didn't stop her mood from dropping low because of the two girls' 'unexpected' arrival.

-----

"Alright, let's get straight to the point. What do you want from me?"

Immediately after the two girls entered Myriel's office, the lady asked them this question.

Normally, Aoi wouldn't even dare to initiate a conversation with her, saying that she hated her to the core. What happened, that the little girl had no choice to come to her place?

"...Huh? Don't act as if you don't know it already," Aoi replied, answered at Myriel's feigned ignorance.

"Ah, haven't I told you earlier? I'm currently busy at the moment, attending to the evacuees' needs and my business. You can't expect me to be always in the know all the time. State your concerns this instant, or leave immediately."

Hearing that, Lerish—

"Miss Myriel, um...about Ren...he—"

"...Another lewd lady aside from you kidnapped my big brother. Help us in taking him back with your power," Aoi interrupted her from speaking.

'L-Lewd...?!' Lerish unconsciously voiced out her surprise upon hearing Aoi's words. How come she knew any of that?

Also, if that's true, isn't Ren in a greater danger than expected?

"Kidnapped, huh. My, what a shocking incident..." Myriel said in the most monotonous way she could possibly do.

"...See?! There's no way you don't know that at all!" Aoi retorted. "Anyway, although I find it hard in my conscience to come all the way here, you're the only one here that's capable of fast travel. Because if not, how come you're able to manage this place and the one at the capital at the same time?!"

Being a goddess overspecializing solely in killing, Aoi doesn't have any ability that allows her to move from one place to another in a jiffy. Hence, regrettably for her, she had to ask Myriel to bring them to the place where Ren's currently whereabouts.

"Miss Myriel, please...we are asking for your help in this urgent situation," Lerish also tried to persuade her.

"But you see, I don't think I can use my power to help you."

"...Why—?!"

"N-No way..."

Myriel leaned her back further onto her chair, saying:

"Despite me knowing the full details, I cannot do anything to stop that lady from getting that boy. I might be a deity, but I can't just use my powers so recklessly."

Should she wished so, Myriel, the Rewriter, can bend reality to her will anytime. However...

"I'm afraid that by altering the current flow of events—even by a tiny bit—can produce adverse, irreversible effects in the future. I'm afraid that by directly using my powers to save that boy, I'll be putting him in a greater risk not even the three of us can solve."

'I hope you understand my conundrum,' is what her eyes conveyed to the girls. They often see her doing things without a care in the world, but this is the first time they have seen her in such a serious look.

"So it is not possible, even for Miss Myriel..."

"...Uuu..."

Seeing the two girls' face turn gloomy, Myriel's lips—after a few moments—formed a broad smile.

"Girls...I did say that it's impossible for me to use my powers, but it doesn't mean I can't at least provide assistance to you in some other way."

"...R-Really?!"

"Miss Myriel, please tell us..."

'These two, for them to come and seek my help...how cute...'

Muttering those words to herself, Myriel summoned a sheet of paper from thin air and drew a somewhat complex magic circle while it's still floating. The entire process took about 30 seconds, which afterwards she showed the final result to the two.

"...Myriel, what's this?"

"Deity or not, everyone capable of using this world's magic should at least be capable of creating and using diagrams like this one, right? Simply put, it's a portal spell that could bring you to the place where that boy could be found. The accuracy of this is lacking compared to me using my powers, but you'll easily figure the exact location once you get there."

With the portal spell in front of them, the two girls reflexively reached out to grab it with their hands, but—

"Nuh-uh. You think I'll give this to you for free? How naive, you girls."

"...Myriel?! Ah, I knew you're up to something!"

"Please tell us what you want in exchange, Miss Myriel. I may not still be aware of a goddess' needs, but as long as it is within my capacity, I can provide you with the things that you want."

"The things that I want, you say?"

"Yes," Lerish declared. "I swear on my honor as the Princess."

"Very well! That's what I like about people like you," Myriel clapped her hands. "Of course, I won't ask for anything impossible, but—

"...Oh, come on—just say it already," Aoi nagged her.

Although feeling displeased with Aoi's rudeness, Myriel tried her best to conceal it as she raised two fingers and said:

"Ehem. You see, what I want in exchange is..."

-----

Stepping out of Myriel's bar and into the empty streets, the two girls walked together, not minding the sand and dust being blown away by the wind.

With the portal spell—and a spare sheet for the return trip—in their hands, they should be feeling happy now that Myriel agreed to help them to such extent, but instead...

"...Hrrgh! I can't believe it! That woman, how dare her ask me for such a thing?!"

What Myriel asked earlier, in exchange for the portal spell, was:

'Two days. After you have successfully saved Ren, I want to have some alone time with that boy for two days. Just me...and him. That's what I want in exchange for my assistance.'

"...And what's worse, she only wants to spend two days with big brother, just the two of them! She really saw this as a perfect opportunity to try to lay her filthy hands on him! Unforgivable!!!" Aoi spoke while burning in anger, crumpling the sheet of paper in her hands.

"Miss Aoi, please calm down! I understand your feelings, but let us not destroy the only thing that could bring us to where Ren currently is. Please, take a deep breath for a few moments, and think carefully."

As much as Lerish tried to placate Aoi's hot temper, she herself also can't ease the discomfort in her heart. She too wanted to object as she's concerned about Ren's well-being, but considering their position as the one who's asking for help, she can't do anything but accept Myriel's terms, no matter how selfish and inconsiderate that woman's desires are.

"What is more important for us at the moment, is to go there as soon as possible. Letting our emotions get a hold of us will only hamper our movements, and put Ren into greater danger, so let us focus on the objective for the meantime, would that be alright?" Lerish said, her hand gesturing Aoi to give the teleportation spell to her.

Aoi, with her eyebrows still furrowed, then reluctantly handed over the spell to Lerish.

"...I still hate her to the bone though, that Myriel."

"Fufu. As long as it will not affect one's decision-making, holding a little grudge from time to time can be an excellent motivational tool for us to keep moving."

Having cooled down their minds, they immediately went to the top of the building where Ren's presence was last detected, to commence on the spell.

Within the borders of the paper, Myriel wrote several directions for the girls on how to use the teleportation spell, written in both the Ancient Gods' Script, as well as the script the world currently uses. Moreover, the language used for these instructions were concise and the requirements for activation were minimal, allowing even Lerish who cannot use any magic to also be able to use the spell.

"Despite our impressions of her...Miss Myriel really is amazing when it comes to this," Lerish said, having completed the preparations for the spell according to the instructions.

"...Hmph, she wins...but only this time."

Those short remarks aside, they then proceeded to the latter part, which is the activation itself.

To continue, they both need to apply life force into the magic circle, usually by bloodletting. Using one of Lerish's arrowheads, the girls then pricked their fingertips and let blood—or in Aoi's case, ichor—ooze out and drip on the magic circle, not minding the little pain that comes with it.

"Well then...please allow me to take care of the rest, Miss Aoi."

"...Nn. Try not to mess up."

Then, holding the spare sheet of paper in her hands, Lerish began reciting the activation chant, which were written in the ancient language. Though she herself couldn't understand most of the words in the chant, she was able to give their proper pronunciation and intonation—a very important factor for the spell's success.

"The magic circle, it...it is glowing..." Lerish said, panting lightly.

"...It means you did a good job, Lerish. It's rare for me to say this, but you were impressive back there."

"Your generous words mean a lot to me, Miss Aoi."

"...Oh, look—here it comes!"

Immediately, the magic circle drawn on the paper started to grow up to two meters in diameter and transformed into a seemingly endless hole, consuming the paper in the process.

"Will this really lead to where Ren is? I am starting to feel doubtful about the nature of this hole."

"...There is no time left for us to think of 'what-ifs', Lerish," Aoi said, standing on the edge of the hole. "We have to jump down this hole, like, right now."

"P-Pardon?" Lerish's shoulders twitched, her composure starting to crumble. "Did you just say...jump?"

"...That's right. Jump."

"Eh...?"

Aoi, without any warning, then sneakily stood behind Lerish and pushed her, causing her to fall straight into the pitch-black hole.

"Miss Aoi, WHYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!"

"...Oh, come on. That won't kill you, believe me!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—!!!!!"

As she watched Lerish slowly disappear into the void, Aoi suddenly felt a burning sensation in her chest, resulting in her gasping for air.

"...T-This feeling...there's no doubt about it..."

That person.

She knew Aoi's coming, that's why she gave her a taste of what's to come.

"...Not bad, not bad. Even after all these millennia, the killing intent you have for me is still the same as I remembered..."

After taking a deep breath, Aoi jumped down the hole, plunging into the depths like an experienced diver. At that moment everything about her became different: notwithstanding her child form, the aura she emits has become thicker and more 'mature', and her bright blue eyes turned all black.

"...However, mine's not just an intent. I will make your end a certainty—even if I lose my life for it!"