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Adding Two and Two Together

"Haaah...I've said it once and I'll say this again. This bastard's speech, and this convention as a whole, is boring as hell."

Acting fidgety on his seat, Saku has been itching to leave the venue and go back to Pop's place instead ever since the day's activities has begun. Unable to hold back, he nudged his sister Saki, who's already sleeping while resting her head on his shoulder.

"Hey Saki, wake up..."

"Hmm? Big Bro...has the speech ended already?" she spoke in a dreamlike state.

"Not yet," Saku shook his head. He whispered, 'Listen, I'm planning to go outside. Do you want to go with me?'

"Nn," Saki nodded.

Being the youngest participants at the convention it's only natural for them to feel out of place, and even uncomfortable, while interacting with their fellow men of trade that are twice, thrice, or even four times their age. Seating near the exit, the two easily slipped their way out of the convention hall, at he time when the speaker who's a veteran of the industry just finished halfway of his tedious and monotonous speech.

"Big Bro, we managed to save ourselves from dying due to extreme boredom!" Saki giggled as she stretched her arms up.

"Yeah. We've been attending this event for years already--all this time it feels like all of this is just a huge pain in the neck."

Attending the convention takes time, effort, and most especially, money. However, there isn't much innovation coming from their peers, and the number of customers coming every month remain almost the same. Saku realized that attending future events are an inefficient way to promote their inn, and might even hurt them in the long run.

"Asire from that, it feels bad that the time we should've been using to help Ren save the princess is wasted on things like this."

"Brother Ren..." Saki muttered with a downcast face.

While walking along the corridor, they heard gossips coming from a small room. The two hid behind the door, pressing their ears against the wooden surface.

'Weh? Who told you that?! Is...that true?'

'Yeah. One of my relatives work inside the royal palace, so naturally she'll get to know confidential things like that.'

Saki gasped, 'Palace? Then that means--'

'Shh. Just listen, Saki.'

Meanwhile, the two people inside the room continued with their gossip. 'That's...kind of way too sudden. I never once believed any of the rumors about the princess getting married, and now they're planning to have the ceremony tomorrow? Wouldn't that be too hectic for everyone?!'

'I know, right? I also didn't believed what my relative said to me at first but knowing how rich and powerful nobles are, preparing for a huge wedding in a very short period of time is possible. I also think they'll seek manpower from outsiders, so we need to prepare.'

'Yes, I'll go tell my friends now about it.'

When the door opened and the two people went out of the room, Saku and Saki pretended they just stopped there at the same moment. Shortly after seeing them leave, the siblings huddled inside the room, trying to suppress their shock from the things they overheard.

"W-What are we going to do now, Big Bro? If that rumor is true, then tomorrow... "

Saku bit his lip as he tried to make a grasp of the situation. 'Is it just me, or I'm smelling something fishy over there?' he pondered. 'It feels like someone is telling the higher ups to double-time everything...'

"Big Bro..."

He closed his eyes for a moment to make up his mind, and said, "We need to inform Ren about this immediately."

-----

Meeting the person himself has been an unpleasant experience so far for me, to be honest.

Again and again, I am not an aggressive type of person. Rather, I prefer waiting for them to harass me or my friends first, then I attack afterwards to make it clear that what I'm doing from that point onwards is self-defense. The encounter I had with that person just now exemplifies that methodology.

However, this time I can't think of a way to pull off that 'self-defense' I've been talking about. Extemporization, as always, has been a friend of mine during these times, but the brain power required to think of a plan from scratch is quite headache-inducing, to say in the least.

And right now, I'm having a deep thought while walking alongside Aoi on a narrow street.

"...Don't worry, big brother! I promise, if I see that man again I'll make sure to kill him right in front of you!" Aoi said, trying to cheer me up.

"Err...thanks, but I would rather like it if you don't say it out loud in front of other people."

"...But big brother?!" Aoi looked at me with a worried look on her face. "I can't stand seeing you get looked down upon by other people. When I saw you just grin at him without saying anything, my chest felt very tight...and painful."

Seeing her like that made me think of my actions so far. Actually I didn't mind taking one for the team all the time but if it hurts my loved ones more than it benefits them, that's the time to recollect and make amends.

Kneeling in front of her, I said: "I promise too, Aoi, I'll be a bit more aggressive from now on."

"...Nn. Aggressive is good."

While taking a short rest, we saw a small white bird gracefully flying in the sky. At first we ignored it, until it started flying in circles above our heads.

"...What kind of a creature was that, big brother?"

"I don't know, it's my first time seeing a bird like that."

After circling a few times the bird then slowly descended in a downward spiral, until it landed right on my palm.

"A paper bird?"

"...Hrgh...it must've come from that woman," Aoi started to show suspicions towards the object.

Who, Myriel? Well, that might be a possibility.

After readying ourselves, I carefully unfolded the paper bird, and--

Written on a special type of paper, the letter reads:

{If this letter reaches you, please be assured that I am still alive and well. As of the time I'm writing this, however, I am locked inside my room with no way to escape...}

This letter...is from Miss Lerish?!

{In spite of that, I am aware of the rumors circling among the city's residents lately. Some of them I can confidently refute, others not quite--but there's one thing that is true:

I...am already betrothed to someone.

Please do believe however that I am in no way accepting the fact that I'm about to be married off to someone of dubious character and morality. Political marriages exist for a reason, but the current situation isn't motivated by anything that is political. It is a very complicated matter, and I might run out of ink if I tell you the whole story.

Thus, sounding as absurd and shameless as it might be, this damsel is indeed in distress. Still, just as what you told me before, I'll make use of everything I have to help you--and ultimately save myself--during these trying times...}

She must've been to desperate that she had to write this letter and send it to me. However, it also seems like she's starting to get a grip of herself now, as her determination to overcome her struggles is very evident.

{The figures drawn below are the rough floor plan of the whole palace, as well as all the potential venues for the wedding ceremony that will happen most certainly by tomorrow. Those places must've been heavily guarded by now, but I will think of a way for you to get in...}

And lo, she did also included a few details about each place like location, size, and even the blind spots of each venue. Where did she managed to get all these information from, I wonder?

{To conclude, it has been an honor for me to be able to enter everyone's lives, even for a short time. I...am, and always will be, indebted to the people who showed me what it feels to be free. Whatever the outcome might be, you'll always remain in my heart...}

Signed, Lerish Relia Narashel.

"...Hmm?" Aoi noticed something and said, "big brother, what's that written behind the letter?"

"Behind?" I quickly flipped the letter and saw a note written in very small fonts and blurry text at the bottom part of the opposite side. I squinted my eyes for a moment, then:

{Be careful...he...not...human.}

Hmm...?

"YYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH?!!!!"

At the same time, we heard a loud scream coming from somewhere. Aoi and I reflexively rushed to the source, until we reached a closed vacant space at the corner of the street.

The moment we arrived--

"W...W-What in the..."

In the desolate corner of the street a young woman was found lifelessly hanging by a thick rope tied around her neck. The young woman was about twenty years of age, with fair skin and appealing features, but marred with bruises and cuts around her body. Her hands still held a small dagger, showing that she desperately tried to free herself until she succumbed.

The worst part, however, is that her eyes are gone. All that remained are her eye sockets: a dark void, with blood still flowing from it.

"...Big brother, look!" Aoi pointed her finger at the strange smear on the wall behind the woman. She closely inpected it, and said, "It's still wet to the touch, and the consistency closely resembles that of blood."

"Was it from the woman?"

Aoi shook her head. "...I'm certain this is the blood of the perpetrator, but--"

'Don't tell me, this...' her eyes widened all of a sudden. She then used her power to create a dark flame on her finger, and let it run on a small blood sample in her other hand. The flames turned purple instantly after it touched the unknown person's blood. I also checked the dagger in the woman's hand using the same method, and it gave the same results.

"..Ichor."

"Uh...come again?"

When the dark flames disappeared Aoi spoke, "...This liquid, isn't just blood...but ichor."

Ichor? I think I've heard of that term somewhere. Think, think...

"...Ichor...is the liquid of immortality," she explained. "Instead of blood, ichor flows in the veins of gods, just like me."

"Then the killer isn't a human but a god, is that what you're trying to say?" I looked at her in disbelief.

Aoi only nodded. That revelation caused the atmosphere around her to become heavier, her dark aura slowly leaking out.

A god.

Lately, the gods we've met all acted according to their whims. And just lke in Plate Town, there is also an immortal being--perhaps even a group of them--lurking around this city.

But who? How can we know who among them is the one who did this--

{...Not...human.}

--?!

Clutching Aoi's hand, I said: "Aoi, we should get out of here!"

"...Eh? Is there something going on right now, big brother?!"

"Nothing yet, but I'm feeling bad vibes from this. Let's go before anyone could see us."

Taking a small sample of ichor with me, we hurriedly left the place. We're not even able to report the crime to the authorities, as doing so would cost us so much time if we got ourselves implicated in the incident.

Please forgive us, whoever you are. Don't worry, you shall soon have the justice you deserve.

-----

Carrying Aoi on my back, I ran towards the venue where the Rainens should be right now but we're surprised to see them on the way.

"Haaah, hah...where in the world did you go to?! I think my legs are about to fall off..." Saku panted as he spoke, his knees visibly shaking.

"You left the convention early?! But why?"

"We want to tell you something, Brother Ren! ASAP, as you call it!" Saki said.

Judging from the fatigue from their faces, they must've looked for us around the city for a while now.

"Okay. I also have something to tell you guys, so let's go somewhere where we could talk without anyone hearing us," I said to them.

-----

Near the river's south side there's a small man-made lake where people can rent boats. Fortunately there's no other customers at the moment, so we decided to rent a boat and have our meeting in the middle of the lake.

"So it's official. We're the princess' last hope now," Saku sighed as he row the boat with a paddle.

"...So does that mean her life lies in our hands now? Ooh, that's interesting," Aoi remarked.

With all the information we've acquired, rumor or not, we all came up with the conclusion that this isn't just about saving Miss Lerish but ultimately, saving the country itself.

On a personal note, I don't care if all of our information are baseless and false. At this point I just want to give that man a huge pain in the ass.

"Now that Big Bro said it, I'm starting to feel very nervous while thinking of what's going to happen," Saki also spoke.

"It's not too late for you to back down. Aoi and I can manage dealing with them even without you two participating."

Both of them started to yell 'No way!' almost instantly.

"After everything we've said and done to help you, you're still saying that? You're too cruel, Ren."

"Brother Ren, cruel..."

"Okay, fine. I won't argue about it anymore," I shrugged my shoulders in resignation.

I glanced around the lake, and I'm starting to see people acting hectic, probably because news about the wedding has been officially announced.

"...Look at those foolish humans. If only they know what's going on, they wouldn't be feeling happy excited about it right now." Aoi spoke in derision as she looked at the people's naïveté around her.

"Everyone loves the princess, so they'll be happy to be able to help in preparing for the ceremony. With their numbers, finishing everything by tomorrow afternoon is possible," Saku commented.

"Big Bro, look!" Saki pointed her finger to a group of people and said, "Aren't they from the convention? Are they going to participate too?"

"You're right, all of them are here. Based from the direction everyone's going, they must've been planning to use the grand hall as the venue for the wedding."

Narashel Grand Hall, huh? Well, it's located along the royal palace road and is large enough to accommodate thousands of people, so it's no-brainer they'll pick that place. Miss Lerish also predicted that the ceremony will be held at the place as it has no blind spots, making infiltration extremely difficult.

"With all these people around, expect that the security around the place will be extremely tight. How can we get in there?" Saku asked.

Since hacking and slashing our way into the grand hall is out of the question, I'm running out of options. Geez, I never expected that everyone's love for Miss Lerish would become a disadvantage for us.

While I'm busy thinking of a way to solve the problem, I saw a man pulling a small cart on the other side of the lake. The cart is full of familiar objects having a cylinder shape and a cone tip, with strings attached on the opposite end.

Aren't those things...fireworks?

Boom!

Then, as if a huge explosion resounding violently in my mind--an idea came into me out of the blue.

That's it. Maybe that plan will work.