Tea time.

We were walking towards the royal palace since we were invited to have tea with Reine. Each of us has an envelope containing the invitation. Despite going to have tea with a royalty, we all wore our everyday clothes.

Well, in my case, my everyday clothes were my knight uniform. It was kind of weird to parade around in my uniform when I was not on duty. But it couldn't be helped since I supposedly never shopped for clothes.

"So... Did anything happen last night, peko?" Pekora asked.

"Nope. Nothing happened. We just talked", Amelia answered.

"That's boring, peko. Mikage, did you do anything to her while she was sleeping?"

"Nope. Nothing happened at all", I said despite remembering that Amelia hugged me while sleeping. I'll bring that secret to the grave.

We arrived in front of the Peafowl Royal Palace's gates. When we showed the invitation to the guards, they led us to the royal garden.

A round table filled with sweets such as chocolate and cake was set up in the middle of the garden. Blue and white flowers were surrounding it and a fountain with a peacock statue was beside it.

"Good afternoon. Welcome to my tea party", Reine greeted us.

"Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting us", Amelia bowed and I copied her gesture.

A maid poured tea as we sat down around the table.

"So? Why did you invite us, peko?" Pekora asked.

"I'm curious about the person who stopped Spade Echo. Also, I was wondering what you were up to, Pekora", she answered.

"You two know each other?" I asked.

"Despite how she acts, Pekora is still a princess", Moona answered and then bit a cookie.

"What do you mean by "despite how she acts?" I'm a legit princess, peko."

Reine giggled.

"We're both princesses of neighboring countries so we met on several occasions. It's nice to see that you haven't changed", she said and then sipped on her tea.

"Same for you, Reine... Or at least you got a bit taller, peko."

They shared a light giggle together.

"You are a great detective. How come we never heard of you until now?" Reine asked Amelia.

"I'm curious about that too", Moona said.

"Well... I used to be just a detective's assistant in Miyako", she answered.

"So you're from Yamato? Who was that detective, peko?" Pekora asked.

"His name was Ranpo Doyle."

Everyone's eyes widened when they heard his name.

"I heard about him. He was a legendary detective who solved baffling cases. I heard he died last year though. It makes sense how you're that skilled since you trained under him", Reine said.

"Yeah... He was a great man", Amelia said.

Her voice sounded sad and I could feel a hint of regret mixed in it.

"Can you tell me about the cases you solved?" Reine asked.

Amelia started talking about the cases she got involved in. From her stories where she helped Ranpo Doyle solve murder cases to her cracking down an illegal drug deal, her stories were entertaining.

There was a time when she and Ranpo Doyle stopped a serial bomber in Miyako and figured out all locations of the criminal's bombs 3 hours before they would explode.

Also, her story about her and her mentor when they tracked down a thief who stole an ancient relic in a shrine was thrilling. Time passed by without me noticing it.

"And then? What happened next?" Reine's eyes were filled with awe.

Even Moona's face looked entertained and Pekora was leaning close to Amelia.

"With the blade of grass left on the scene, Ranpo narrowed down the thief's entry route and when we went there, a witness said they saw a strange man carrying a huge bag. After a few more questioning and tracking, we found the thief and arrested him. Miko was really happy that the relic was found", Amelia said.

"That was awesome. He found the culprit because of a blade of grass? That's amazing", Moona said.

"Ranpo Doyle is cool, peko!" Pekora exclaimed

"I've never been this entertained before", Reine took a sip of her tea.

Amelia smiled when she heard their praises. However, her eyes looked sad despite her cheery smile. I noticed it whenever she talked about Ranpo Doyle, I could feel a hint of sadness in her voice. Maybe she really admired him and was sad over his death.

"Well... What kind of reward do you want?" Reine asked Amelia.

"What do you mean?" she asked back.

"You protected the Red Rose from Spade Echo and now you spent your time telling me your stories. Name anything and I will do it."

Amelia thought for a while.

"Then... Can you use your authority as a princess to have your scholars find information about the Hall of Memories?"

"Hall of Memories? Why would you need to go there?" Reine asked.

"Mikage lost his memories. We're hoping that the Primordial Memory would help in restoring it."

"If I remember correctly, the riddle for the Hall of Memories was:

[North of the land of the rabbit people

The valley of the red river

Pass through the black sandstorm

Head towards the blue cave

The Hall of Memories will be ahead of it]", Reine recited the riddle.

"You know about the Hall of Memories?" I asked.

"Well yes. I've been there before."

"Wait... So you know the meaning of the riddle, peko?" Pekora asked.

"Tell me... What do you think about the riddle?" Reine asked Amelia.

"The "land of the rabbit people" meant Pekoland since it was the only country filled with rabbit demi-humans. "The valley of the red river" was talking about Krev Valley since it has a story where a fight occurred in that place which turned the blue waters into red because of the bloodshed. It fits since it was north of Pekoland", Amelia answered.

"You are correct so far. The Hall of Memories could be found in Krev Valley", Reine replied.

"But I am stuck in the "Pass through the black sandstorm" part of the riddle. There are no deserts near Krev Valley or anything related to sand at all."

Reine thought for a while.

"How about a hint? Don't think the sandstorm is black. Think of something black which acts like a sandstorm", she said.

My brain started thinking. What could be something that was black and acts like a sandstorm?

"Darkness", Amelia muttered out loud.

"Darkness?" Moona asked.

"Ahh!! It's so simple I can't believe I overlooked it!" Amelia slammed the table.

"Why did you arrive at that answer, peko?" Pekora asked.

"Sandstorms make it hard to see and move. Darkness is a black thing that makes it difficult to see and move around", she answered.

"So we just wait for it to be night?" I asked.

"No. Even if it's night, there would still be light from the moon and stars. We need total darkness. Something that could be done by magic", Amelia looked at me.

"That's right. You need to create that darkness yourself. And when the entire Krev Valley is covered by that darkness, the blue cave will show itself", Reine told us.

"Thank you for the information", I bowed my head.

"No. It wasn't much. And besides, Amelia got the answer from just a small hint. So it doesn't count as my reward. That's why I'm going to ask you again, Amelia Watson. What do you want as a reward?", she asked again.

"Well then... There's something I want you to do."

###

We were in Krev Valley and were overlooking the entire scenery. A river was flowing between two mountains. The water looked so clean and it would probably feel good to take a dip there. But we were not here for a vacation.

"Are you ready, Mikage?" Amelia asked.

(Anya... Can we do it?) I asked her in my mind.

(Just producing darkness is easy. It's the most basic thing a Dark Mage could do. The only problem is the area. You're going to cover the entire valley?)

(That's the plan.)

(Well... If I work hard enough, I can make your mana last for an hour. But that's it.)

(Thanks.)

Darkness oozed out of my body and covered the entire valley.

And in the distance was a glowing blue light.

"We must "Pass through the black sandstorm" and "Head towards the blue cave." That riddle is quite good, peko", Pekora said.

"It sure is. And "the Hall of Memories will be ahead of it." I hate how simple it actually was", Amelia replied.

And so our journey's goal was finally in sight.