Troubles Everywhere

***Lyra's P.O.V***

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I heard some weird noises from outside, and that made me shiver in fear.

The fact that Gale's voice couldn't be heard anymore—and that there seems to be several people heading this way, made me sweat profusely.

"Lyra, let's hide," Alt-nii covered my mouth and silently cast his magic.

"With this, they shouldn't be able to detect our presence," Alt-nii explained.

His [Void] attribute really lives up to its name, enabling him to erase anything into a void.

"Ohh~? It's empty?"

An unknown woman's voice could be heard.

Wait, who are you?!

Luckily enough, the closet's door is shuttered, so we can take a little peek outside, but since it's dark here inside, they shouldn't be able to see what's inside. Not to mention, with Alt-nii's presence erasing spell, we should be safe.

Please, just go... Go away...

I can't figure out this woman's intention. Did she come here to steal? Why us? Because we look like a wealthy merchant?

Or could it be that she knows who we truly are, and for some kind of reason, is targeting us?

But... what for?

No matter how hard I tried to recall everything, there is no clue on who might have a grudge or motive against Hartmann family. Dad never told me anything—but that's to be expected. After all, I am just a four-year-old girl.

"Could you be hiding under the bed?" The woman walked closer to the beds.

I held my breath. She wasted no time and walked very quickly—seems like she's also afraid that time is running.

"Peek-a-boo!" She exclaimed as she looked under the bed.

"Aww, wrong guess, eh?"

...We are not playing peek-a-boo or hide and seek here, but the way she said all that feels like she's thinking that we're playing a game...

She started to examine every nook and cranny... and lastly, she turned... this way! Yes, there is only one place left that she hasn't checked—perhaps she put the closet down at her "to-check list" since she thought we wouldn't be hiding in a very-easy-to-guess spot, a spot that is commonly used when one plays hide and seek.

"Ohhh, you children must be in the closet, then! Don't worry, let's play with big sister!"

"!!" I contained my voice—wait, it should be okay as long as Alt-nii's spell is cast.

The closet door is opened—and I can clearly see the figure standing in front of me. She is just a few inches away from me!!

She is wearing a tight black outfit from the tip of her head to the tip of her toes. She's wearing a black mask that only lets her eyes be seen. I can see that the other intruders are wearing the same get-ups as her. Her brown eyes are full of killing intent though—definitely not the kind of person that would ask us to play with her. But because of her mask, I can't identify her at all—not even her approximate age.

Her eyes widened as she examined every corner in the closet, and then she turned away after she realized she couldn't find us there.

Is it over?

Was it a success?

Just as when I was about to sigh in relief...

"...Oi, you, bring me that," the woman dropped her 'playful' tone, and demanded the other two people something in a conceited manner. Seems like her position is superior from the other two.

One of her underlings quickly handed over a round object to the woman—and from her eyes, I could understand that it was exactly what she needed.

In other words... It's something disadvantageous to us...?

The woman turned over back to us, smirked as she carried that round object with the color that reminded me of a grey cloud—just before a big rain.

"That's...!!"

Alt-nii raised his voice right when we got a better look at the object the woman is holding.

The issue right now is not about how Alt-nii carelessly raised his voice. He certainly has erased our presence, along with our voices, from the intruders. However, I am concerned by his surprised voice—just what on earth is that woman carrying?

The fact that Alt-nii seemed to be surprised and raised his voice indicated that he knows what item it is, and what it could do in this situation.

Before I can even ask Alt-nii, the woman dropped that round object with such a powerful impact—that smoke filled the room in an instant.

I reflexively closed my eyes and put my hands over my nose and mouth—as Alt-nii also has retracted his hand from my mouth and covered his own nose and mouth. Sadly, since we inhaled a bit of the smoke, we coughed. The intruders seem to be fine as they are also wearing masks that cover their noses and mouths—I believe that the masks have some kind of smoke filtering function.

When the smoke subsides, I'm looking nervously at the three black figures standing in front of us—what's even more shocking, they seem to be making proper eye contacts with us!

That item just now, could it be that it dispelled our presence erasing magic?!

...moreover, how could they enter our room, unnoticed by the other people, despite all the noises they made?!

"Found you~!" The woman's eerie voice echoed within the room. Her eyes which reflected our figures seem to be very ecstatic.

This woman... something is wrong with her mind. I'm sure of it—she appears to be quite psychotic for me. Or is it just because I am her prey?

Somehow, this family vacation in Chinosato city—one that I hoped to be a peaceful, normal vacation, ended up in me and my big brother in this kind of dangerous predicament.

I closed my eyes to calm myself down a little bit.

Back then, I didn't even want to live, but that god ignorantly forced me to reincarnate. Now, I have regained back my will to live... god, you aren't going to ignorantly force me to die with this kind of situation, right?