(Curator Pov)

Weak, weak, meek/ another spook, fragile strength/ Prepare for tumult/ Stories sing/ Emotion’s rage.

Tch, I knew there would be controversy, but for the head honcho herself to pay us a visit. It can only mean the events of Felschonheit were wider-reaching than I initially thought.

Laying the hefty black book of secrets before Alice, Lyra rested her hands on the young avatar’s desk, matching the girl’s stoically empty gaze.

“I would like to borrow this book.” Lyra’s voice didn’t hold so much as a warble, passing as nothing more than an innocent question. She’s good, alright. Lying to someone while matching their gaze, the branch head had nerves of steel that would make a mime shudder.

Eyes are the gates to the soul, after all. And Alice? Being connected to me had the soul of a storyteller. By that affordability meant she wasn’t duped at the slightest, retorting in her own boldly blunt way that the book must be read here in her presence.

Taking Alice’s frank refusal on the chin, our tentative friend here switched tactics. Bombing our poor librarian with question after question. A majority of them revolving around how this information came to be. How could something that happened in Felschonheit’s dungeon crop up here?

And on top of that. Be described with such accuracy that could only come from a first-hand account. I would be remiss to say that Lyra’s shoulders noticeably relaxed as she parsed across the names used in the book.

I at least had the decency to use aliases for the golden girls (+ wolf boy). No need to get them wrapped up in this mess!

But this meant Lyra was in the know. She knew they were involved and was worried about their identities getting leaked. Or perhaps she has something planned for them? A case scenario where they need to be ghosts? Apropos of nothing, it’ll make for a great sequel.

Slowly walking Alice through what to say, I decided on giving Lyra little bits and pieces to form her own conclusions from.

Maybe? Can’t exactly let it slip that dungeons have monthly meetings to brag, ship, or vent about whatever adventurers they happened to take an interest in.

Only vaguely giving her hints that it was due to my nature as a dungeon of books and stories. Not inaccurate, per se, I record, catalogue, and preserve because that’s me and is truthfully one of the reasons why the black book exists.

Lyra took kindly to the information, as any leader could. Absorbing it with a grain of salt. Information gets twisted in the most inconspicuous ways, whether wittingly or unwittingly.

Watching as the proud woman left, a hop in her step. Once she figured out the loophole in my rule. Took her long enough to figure out she could simply jot down notes instead...

Makes me wonder what the A.A has planned.

For one, everyone’s favourite armoured gals have been absent as of late, along with others who share their connection to the Dutchy. Primarily those fancying themselves knights. Not hard guessing where they went.

And from what I gather, eavesdropping on their chats, Antonia has placed the burden of this dilemma squarely on herself. While Freddie swore on her honour to support her friend through this mess

*Sigh* That girl herself is a mess of secrets...

So, this information is causing movement within the Dutchy, and I’m not the culprit. There were already stirrings before I released the book. This can only mean that someone else knew what happened and is now spreading it to cause unrest.

But who?... It has to be Nirve! But why? As far as I’m concerned, he shouldn’t- Maybe he resents the Dutchy for what happened to Su? That’s a stretch. By the end of it, he seemed ready to move on.

I’ll ask G about the boy detective’s actions later.

(Zhenya Pov)

“That’s the last barrel. Thanks for coming in on such short notice...”

“Thanks, Boss. I’ll be here same time tomorrow. Till then, lay off the heavy lifting. Your back will thank you.” I replied, trying to hold up my usual tone as I stiffly made headway for the door.

His eyes bore into the back of my head. I can’t say much for his expression, but one thing was clear. The concern.

“Really, girl. That gloomy atmosphere is going to drive customers away. Care to tell this old-. Well, I ain’t that old yet. But I have a duty to look out for my employees. So, a GP for your thoughts?”

I knew Boss would pry sooner or later. It wasn’t like I was hiding how pathetic I’ve been lately. Ever since Fredrica, Antonia, and the rest of the armored corps left, we’v- I’ve lost the energy to do much. And even when I force myself, my mind tends to wander.

Surprisingly, it was Su who took their absence in stride. However much she could, considering the girl’s past experience with loss. Maybe that’s the reason she can stand strong now. Taking it upon herself to check up on the three of us daily.

Really has come a long way, hasn’t she? No, that strong heart has always been there. It just needed time to show. But even I can tell that it’s weighing on her.

It started the day after Fredrica left. I noticed our pale assassin leaving for her walks earlier and returning home later. Far more exhausted than any walk could have taken out of her.

On a whim, I tailed Su the following night. Stalking through the winding alleyways hopping between precarious rooftops before reaching her destination. The training grounds. With nary a soul in sight, devoid of all light. I could pick up the clean sound of edge through wood. The terrifying thing is that’s all I hear, nothing else. Just the moment her machete would kill.

One thing’s certain. The rust was beginning to loosen.

And while the drowned assassin trained relentlessly, where was I? Working at the general store every waking moment. At this point, you could call it my full-time job.

It felt wrong to go dungeoneering, knowing Fredrica left for our sake. Not that I needed to in the first place. Even after sending four months’ worth of expected payout back home, I still had enough Gp left to live comfortably.

Speaking of which. From the letters I received from Ma, the boys back home seem to have erected a fort and walls in and around town. Apparently, a large portion of the design came from Pop’s old pals. All said. The fortifications were effective.

Animals, for the most part have learned to steer clear of the walls. While the fort was a blessing during blizzards. Anybody can say what they want, but no one will ever beat us frontier folk at insulating buildings!

Anyways this placid life holds true for all of us. Nick and Tsukiko, similarly to Su and I, took time off from dungeon exploration. Helping out around town wherever they could, whether that be construction or soothing the injured.

“Ah, lost of a comrade, is it?” Boss got right to the point as I explained Freddie’s departure. “Heard there was trouble brewing in the Dutchy.” Wish I knew ahead of time. Only found out later that it’d been circulating the news.

“Look, kid. Zhenya. I’ve been in the dungeon business even before Felschonheit popped outta the dirt, and I’ll tell ya this. Don’t think so lowly of your comrades. Partings come and go- Eh, I won’t bore you any longer, but there was a saying back then. Pour one for the corpse and two without.”

Seeing my eyes adrift, he quickly corrects himself with a chuckle. “Like I’m one to talk after the whole thing with Bargas. But it means unless you see their corpse, there’s always a chance to reconcile. Be that with a friend, teammate, lover, or whoever in-between.

Your friend will be back when they’re ready. And when they’re back, pour them a cup of booze and tell them about all the exciting things you got up to.”

“So, you’re saying.”

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t want to see you back here anytime soon.” He tried adding an exasperated harrumph, failing horribly. Sounding more like a kettle instead. Whatever excuse he had was lost in the dust as I bolted out of the store, feeling a bit of energy returning.

A skip in my step, I made my way down central street. Now, what to do? What to do?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

At plaza square, I spotted a crowd gathered around a half-finished fountain.

Colored wooden balls flew overhead, as did a plethora of other objects, all toys. “Hey, Hey. Who’s been nice little boys and girls this year?” Even among the sound of children shouting, I could make out the voice’s owner.

Watching Tsukiko from a bench in the distance, the girl certainly didn’t let current events keep her down that’s for sure. Happily putting on a show for kids and downtrodden alike. The town has been seeing an increase in permanent residents as of late. All people from villages surrounding the Dutchy. It looks like Freddie was right. Things there are starting to get lethal.

Playfully orchestrating the floating toys into the waiting hands of her pint-sized audience, cheers erupted from the crowd as Tsukiko bowed.

Waiting for the crowd to disperse after the requisite handshakes and thank yous, I dropped in right as the shrine maiden started to clean up. “Yo, glad to see you doing well.” I lackadaisically got her attention.

And in typical Tsukiko fashion, she tackled me with a hug. “Zenni, you’re okay!”

“Eh? Why wouldn’t I be?” Quickly steeling myself, I caught her. Spending way too much energy on not falling over.

“Your eyes looked so far away. And Su told us you were feeling particularly down after... Yeah!” So maybe it was only me.

“Well, I’m feeling better now. Just getting on with life. Any case, that was magic you were using, right?” Plopping the girl on the fountain’s rim, I make myself comfortable next to the hyperactive maiden.

Catching onto my curious tone, Tsukiko hummed with delight. “Yeppers, wanted to get everyone smiling while squeezing in some practice!” I never took Tsukiko as the type to train without someone forcing her. The more you know.

“I’ve always wondered how magic worked, you know? Tried an ice crystal once in the past, and the thing did absolute squat.” And hit me square in the face. Not the greatest moment in my life, considering all my siblings were there to witness it. I may have oversold them that ‘yeah, their big sis can totally do magic.’ It was on that day I learned the adult way of being discreet. To this day, they still tease me with it.

With a hop, skip, and a jump, the hyperactive magician brought over her box of wonders. “You see these balls?” They were smaller than the average adult-sized palm, painted in various colors, red, blue, yellow, green, and brown. “These are used to train initiates. Each one has small elementally infused crystals in them. The reds have fire, the green wind, and so forth.

“Here.” Tsukiko takes my hand and places it just above the box. “Feel. Don’t focus too hard, or things can get messy. You’re from the frontiers, yeah. Think about the snow there. How is it like?” Snow, the blizzards, that blizzard. I feel the familiar dull itch in my hand, sensitive to the mysterious chills emanating from the box. Similar in fashion to when Tsukiko used ice to destroy the muck crawlers.

Ten distinct cool currents. Fanned from a concentrated source within the box.

The way her face lit up when I said that was gold. The pure unadulterated joy of seeing someone succeed. “Good.” With one motion of her hand, she levitated ten blue-colored balls. “It tends to take a while before people can sense the elements in the air. But for folks like you living in extreme climates, it’s easier. And after that story you told us, I figured you had an affinity for ice.

Initiates exposing themselves to the elements is a common form of training.” Now Tsukiko’s just showing off. Levitating groups of elemental balls in rapid succession with impeccable control and accuracy.

“Sadly, ice is the most expensive element to work with. The only real place you’ll find ice-infused crystals is up north. Or deep, deep inside a dungeon. Like seriously! Can’t we get a snow-themed dungeon already! Just so we can pop into the first floor and get on with our lives.”

As Tsukiko continued on her rant, a familiar alchemist happened upon us. “Zhenya, Tsukiko. Just the people I was looking for. My teacher should be arriving in the evening, and you’re all cordially invited to dinner at my place. Remember to bring Sushila and Nickolas.”

We couldn’t even get a word in before Rudi disappeared down the street. No, doubt looking for groceries to cook up a feast for this mysterious witch teacher of his.

“Welp, we should get the other two... Tsukiko?” And she’s gone. Well, it’s not every day you get to see a witch, especially for someone from the kingdoms. But, damn! Really girl, where was this speed in the dungeon!