3.15.

"Is there no way to find them?" Lowar asked anxiously.

"No.. the marker I placed on the siblings.. it's gone. I think she made me remove the marker when I was hit by her ability," Yousuff gritted his teeth.

"How about the marker for Sir Sequencee? Earlier, you marked him before he fell into the shadow couldn't you?" Ensel said.

"I didn't think of it then! I'm sorry!"

The team had returned to the surface. Regrouping where they first began their expedition, they were in shambles, trying to work out a plan to rescue their client.

It was clear to everyone here that if a mage like him fell into the cult's hands, things would turn for the worse. They hadn't realized just how powerful Sequencee was until they calmed down and revisited the events in their heads.

Freezing an entire canal, maintaining more light than all the mages in the expedition team combined, rescuing the team from slaughter– it wouldn't be far-fetched if someone called him a quasi-S-rank mercenary by this point.

"Should we dispatch a rescue crew?"

"No. We don't have the resources.. there's no intelligence on their whereabouts either."

"A dead end.."

"Even so, we have to dispatch a rescue team otherwise.."

In low spirits, the team marched back to the guild.

===

"What's this?" Nynim noticed a rowdy crowd over at one of the quest posts.

"An emergency quest.. or something like that," Daizo said, straining his ears and eyes.

Just earlier, a platoon of holy knights and mages entered the guild, creating a racket. The probability of the emergency quest having to do with their sudden arrival was high.

"I wonder if something happened?" Leticia muttered.

"Ah! It's an investigation request," Daizo said.

"A rescue request for Sequencee," Dorry muttered.

"What? How did you know?"

"Use your eyes," Dorry was referring to Procto's presence as a member of the holy knight.

Seeing that, Leticia felt a sinking feeling root her heart in place.

'Something.. happened.'

"Let's go ask."

An open quest with a reward of 5 holy gold. If you encounter a person called 'Sequencee', bring him back to the guild immediately.

"What? He just disappeared?!" Nynim shouted at Procto.

"He was captured. It was our blunder," He lowered his head. "We're doing what we can to find him. If he told you anything of importance, or any clues, please tell us. Is anyone in your party a tracker?"

"None.. where was the last place he was seen before he disappeared?"

"Underground sewers.. "

"The sewers? In this sort of weather?!"

"Nynim, calm down."

"You had a tracker in the party didn't you? Doesn't he have any clues?" Dorry asked.

"His gift failed after being possessed for a short moment," Procto confessed.

"Instead of arguing, we should use the time to find him instead," Lowar intervened.

Nynim clicked her tongue.

She walked away from the crowd. In the tension, the rest of the group followed.

"Who has any clues? Leticia, you went out to talk to him yesterday night, what did he say?" Nynim asked with a frown..

"He.."

'Iona should be on his tail.. calm down me. Sequencee knows what he's doing.. he's not an A-rank for nothing..'

".. he should be alright."

"What?" Nynim looked at Leticia dubiously.

"This quest is null!"

Just then, a familiar voice spoke up from the crowd.

Schwii Arch.

The succubus queen and demon lord. Her appearance in the guild made everyone fall silent. Not merely because of her aura, but because of her charismatic beauty.

'Huh?'

"What do you mean null?" Lowar stared down at this lady standing before her. An unusual authority emanated from tranquil her crimson eyes.

"Don't squander your time trying to rile up people to find him. He's safe."

"What..?"

"Despite the failure to kill the cardinal, he played his role properly did he not?" Schwii challenged.

Confusion spread amongst the crowd. Only Leticia had an idea of what was going on.

"So where is he currently?" Procto asked.

"It's confidential," she said bluntly.

"Oh," Nynim gasped in delight. She gave Schwii full marks for verbally slapping Procto right back at him.

"Iona is going to find him if something happens.." Leticia said meekly, folding her fingers into a tight fist.

She watched as Schwii settled the matter with stinging words, as if everything had been calculated beforehand. All it took were a few minutes to gain cooperation in the matter.

– The leaves of the seedling in her heart tainted in yellow.

'My insurance was useless after all..'

===

"You can open your eyes now?" Reese's voice echoed beside Sequencee's ear.

"Where did you bring me?"

Sequencee wasn't in a normal space. His spatial magic was not reacting to any obstacles and it was as if he was stepping on soft clouds.

"My shadow domain. Aren't you interested to see what it's like?"

Sequencee could feel his mana being suppressed in this space, squeezing his already fatigued reserves further.

"Who are you exactly?"

"Gosh, you really are one hard nut to crack. Can't you see I'm trying to be nice here?"

Sequencee felt her arm touching his.

"If I kill you here what will happen?"

"Do you wish to try?" she said with a chuckle.

'How can someone like this exist?'

Sequencee struck out a powerful punch with his fist clad in lightning. It definitely did hit her body but it seemed to just phase through.

"That tickles. Hey, don't you want to see Yui and Dunken? They miss you, you know?"

'She's not real? Or is it something else?'

Sequencee had encountered people like these in the past. Individuals who relied heavily on their gifts to rise through the ranks of society. Back then, his mother was the one who had the knowledge and counter-gifts to deal with these individuals.

'What can I do right now?'

"Hello? Could you be plotting? Don't try, nothing will work when you're inside my domain."

'Most system gifts usually have some form of limitation, does this person not have that kind of thing?'

"Jeez. I suppose I shall wait."

He felt the cardinal moving away to create some distance.

'It's been a long while since I got myself into trouble like this.. seriously, why me?'

"We're about to reach our destination soon. The kids would be quite happy to see you."

"..."

Some time passed when Sequencee felt his sense thrown into disarray as he fell onto the floor. He felt the hard surface of wood on his cheeks.

He opened his eyes slightly with caution to find himself in some hall of a mansion. He could see a pair of feet before him.

'A maid?'

"Milady?! Where did you go?!" the elderly maid's voice rang out.

"I went out to play and brought home a man," Reese said proudly.

"How could you?! If your father found out about this you would get yourself into deep trouble!"

"Don't worry about it Mama Daisy, I'm sure father would be happy if he found out that I brought a man home."

There was a sigh.

"Really. Can't you at least bring your guests in properly? I apologize in stead of milady's actions, she must've caused you a lot of trouble," the maid bent down and tried to help Sequencee up.

"Yup. I definitely did a number on him," Reese giggled.

Confused, he accepted the maid's help to stand but kept his eyes closed.

"Mama Daisy, help me look after him for a moment. I'll go bring back Yui and Dunken."

"What? You left them out again? Be careful!"

"I know!"

The pitter patter of rain through the window– Sequencee felt her presence leave.

"My apologies. You can open your eyes now."

"Where is this, first of all."

"This is Viscount Rine's vacation home. Normally, she would be attending her classes in Riestallia, but currently she's on break. The viscount is busy with his affairs. Only milady is staying here at the moment."

"She's a student?"

"Yes. Third year student in Riestallia Academy."

'The fuck is this coincidence? They train cultists there? This girl is already close to S-rank tier.. is she even human?'

"I'm sorry to ask, but are you aware of her activities?" Sequencee asked.

"Activities? As in?"

"This.. she.. killed people."

Sequencee felt weird talking to an elderly about the matter. It was like trying to expose a child's crimes to her parents..

"That I am, I'm very aware. I could only ask that you pardon her peculiarities.. she has had a number of negative influences throughout her past. There's nothing I can do in particular to persuade her. My lord had attempted to rectify it.. only to fail each and every time."

"I-I was.. tasked to kill her, you know?" The cardinal of a cult is a viscount's daughter– not only that but she treats her position as some fun time side job?

"Is that.. so..?" the old maid's voice trembled.

"Can you lead me to the exit?"

"Ah. Sure.. though, milady has brought you all the way here, wouldn't you want to have to have tea with her at least when she returns?"

"She wants to have tea with her assailant? I don't think that's a good idea.."

".. If that's what you wish.. admittedly, I apologize again for the trouble she's caused.."

Sequencee grabbed the necklace.

"Iona. I'm safe. I'm in Viscount Rine's mansion right now."

["I've noted your location. Will be arriving in a few minutes."]

Sequencee took in a deep breath and opened his eyes carefully. In front of him was a maid who looked to be in her fifties.

'So a cult colluding with a viscount? I'm really confused.'

Could this person be brainwashed?

"I mean to say.. for some reason the cardinal has.. an abnormal background. I'm not in any danger at the moment.. I think.."

Sequencee loosed the gripped on the pendent and looked out the window– at the brightening sky in rain.

"This way to the exit sir,' Daisy gestured.

"Thank you."

They made their way down the corridor.

To the unusual juxtaposition of events, Sequencee raised a question.

"I'm sorry to ask but.. why would she be part of a cult though?"

"No. I'm sure there would be many that'd be curious of her background. The story goes a long way back, when she lost her mother. As a child, she had always been a genius. She was talented in many aspects, and quickly grasped things that most people would find difficult."

"Hm? But she called you mama.."

"That's.. simply because I tried to substitute for the loss. And since then, milady had referred to me as such."

'She's more human than I thought.'

"Her love for her mother was genuine. It was when she lost her to an assassination attempt that something changed inside her. For many weeks, she would remain in her room, refusing to come out."

'...'

"My lord was desperate. Having called a number of priests and even spiritualists, he went at last to a friend of his, who was a member of the Savior religion. Though it is referred to most as a cult, the members are typically rational in order. It was after meeting this person did milady return to her normal self.. with changes to certain qualities."

They reached the foyer, both doors wide open as the water poured from the cloudy sky above. Droplet of water traced the edges of the roof to create thin curtains of water.

"Do you require an umbrella?"

"I don't. Please continue the story."

"Where was I? Yes, milady returned to her usual self, except that she had grown to show a 'passionate' side to her daily behavior. When my lord heard her first report on how she found killing fun, it tipped the house upside down.."

'Fun huh?'

"Undeniably, she's a beautiful flower with many thorns hidden underneath. Many people see only one of the two without considering that both are what compliment each other to form her as a whole."

Daisy turned to face Sequencee.

"I hope I have clarified any reservations you have," she gave a 90 degree bow.

"..."

"What do you wish to do about this, Your Highness?" Iona's whipsher resounded beside him.

Sequencee pondered a little before speaking his mind.

"Miss Daisy. I think I'll have tea."