It turned out to be a false alarm, and Elisa breathed a sigh of relief.
Her male servant had simply been using the [Finding Ritual] for his usual treasure hunting and happened to find Eleanor’s stocking.
A high-quality stocking was quite expensive. A custom-made one could cost as much as fifteen shillings, so it could indeed be considered a treasure.
But why would Eleanor lose a stocking? Did she have a habit of going barefoot? Was it the side effect of some extraordinary item? What extraordinary item had she used?
Elisa couldn’t figure it out, and Simon hadn’t offered any analysis in the log either, so she set the matter aside for now.
Eleanor soon returned to the bedroom. Elisa glanced at her feet and saw that her stocking was back on.
“I took a stroll around the estate. The scenery is really lovely,” Eleanor said with a smile.
Elisa had mixed feelings.
You didn’t look at the scenery at all! You went off to secretly meet my male servant!
Damn it, my male servant even got a 30 pounds deposit, while I, the wronged party, got nothing!
Haah, forget it. One is one of my best friends, and the other is my male servant. What else can I do?
Elisa pretended not to have noticed anything and continued chatting with Eleanor.
As the sky grew dark and Eleanor showed no sign of leaving, Elisa followed proper etiquette and invited her to stay the night.
After bathing and changing into her nightgown, Eleanor lay sprawled on Elisa’s bed and asked her a few questions about the Archipelago.
“I’m really too sleepy today. Let’s talk tomorrow.” Elisa pretended to be tired, slipped under the covers, and closed her eyes.
Through the [Blood] spell, she sensed Eleanor’s movements.
Eleanor gently shook her, pinched her cheek, then took out a talisman and uttered a word in Hermes: “Sleep”.
I already went to sleep on my own!
Naturally, a mere [Sleep] talisman had no effect on her. Elisa dispelled its effect, slowed her breathing, and pretended to be sound asleep.
Eleanor patted her lightly on the stomach, then finally relaxed and got up, heading to the guest room to sleep.
Once the two young ladies had gone to bed, the estate seemed to fall asleep with them, and the servants all returned to their rooms.
***
[Simon climbed out the window into the courtyard, met up with Miss Eleanor, and left the estate with her.]
Miss Elisa lay on her stomach in bed, her chin propped up in both hands as she secretly watched her male servant and best friend.
Haaah. I know they’re not eloping, but this scene looks way too much like something out of those third-rate novels I read!
[Eleanor folded two paper horses, and she and Simon each rode one. The paper horses were no slower than ordinary horses.]
Origami? Some kind of puppetry spell?
[Susanna’s home was on White Rose Street. Simon and Eleanor happened to encounter a patrolling police officer, and Eleanor used a paper crane to lure him away.]
[Simon and Eleanor entered Susanna’s house and sat in a corner to wait.]
[…At midnight, clouds obscured the half-moon, and two dark figures broke into Susanna’s house.]
They actually came?
Elisa took out the [Mirror of Mist], ready to rescue them at a moment’s notice, and casually pulled a plate of cookies out of the mirror while she was at it.
Late at night, eating cookies while secretly spying on people… how thrilling!
[The night was too dark and the distance too great for Simon to make out the intruders clearly, but he could tell that they were two women.]
I wonder if my servant was looking at their faces or their chests.
[The two unlocked the door to Susanna’s house with a key and entered her bedroom. Eleanor used a paper crane to secretly observe them, while Simon idly admired the scenery around him.]
[Eleanor in her nightwear, her chest gently rising and falling.jpg]
At a time like this, and you’re still messing around!
[Eleanor quietly described the situation to Simon. The two intruders had set up a ritual beside Susanna’s pillow. It was… an improved version of the Object-Finding Ritual.]
Oho!
[Simon grabbed Eleanor and tried to make a run for it, but the two attackers had already caught up with them.]
An ordinary Finding Ritual had a hard time tracking people, but an improved version was different. The Object-Finding Ritual was one of the most widespread rituals, and it had all sorts of ingenious variations.
That improved Object-Finding Ritual was most likely searching for whoever had performed the exorcism. Heh-heh. It would have had trouble working from far away, but Eleanor just happened to be right around the corner.
Elisa wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth and prepared to rescue them.
[Simon activated the Scarab Badhe. The two attackers lowered their heads, avoiding the flash.]
Flashbangs aren’t that easy to use, either. Experienced transcendents will quickly avert their eyes the instant the light begins to flare. My servant learned something new this time, didn’t he?
[Simon tossed out a handful of small copper coins. The flash illuminated the coins, and of the two attackers, the taller woman stopped in her tracks while the shorter woman lunged for the coins.]
Scratch what I said earlier. So the flash wasn’t meant to blind them, but to illuminate the copper coins. If they didn’t know those were copper coins, would it have no effect?
The shorter woman lunged straight for the coins, so her rank couldn’t be very high. She was probably Rank One or Two. The taller woman only faltered for a moment, so she was probably Rank Three.
[Eleanor threw out several pieces of origami, and a swarm of paper figures surrounded the two attackers.]
[The patrolling officers heard the commotion and rushed over, shouting at them to stop.]
[The taller woman’s hands sliced through the paper figures like blades. She grabbed the shorter woman and darted into a nearby alley. Simon drew his revolver and fired six shots at their retreating backs.]
[The officers loudly called for backup, while Simon and Eleanor quickly left the scene.]
Mm, a pretty standard encounter between transcendents. Both sides showed off their abilities a little, then went their separate ways.
Casualties were actually fairly uncommon in encounters like this. What a shame, though. They didn’t get any useful information.
[Simon figured out their identities and was startled.]
Huh? How did you suddenly figure out who they were?
[Simon thought back to the moment of the flash. They had concealed their faces with hats and masks, but there was one pair of features they couldn’t hide.]
[The shorter woman with the prominent chest.jpg]
[The taller woman with the heavy chest.jpg]
“???”
Come on, tell me who they are! What am I supposed to do with two completely contextless pictures… Oh, right. My servant can identify people by their chests.
Elisa opened the two pictures and studied them carefully.
This size, this shape… I get it now… Like hell I do! How could anyone possibly recognize someone from this?!
Elisa clutched her head, unable to accept it.
She continued reading the log, but her servant didn’t mention who the two women were at all. He was busy evading the patrol officers with Eleanor.
That’s too much! You used to write important information in the log, so what’s the meaning of sending me nothing but two pictures of their chests now?!
No, wait. If I think about it carefully, those two pictures are the crucial information. It’s entirely my fault for not being able to recognize them.
Elisa sank into a gloomy mood.
[Simon and Eleanor shook off the patrol officers. He used his sense of humor to cheer up the dejected Eleanor.]
Cheer up the dejected Miss Elisa too!
Haah. It was understandable that Eleanor felt down. Her reactions had been far too slow. Her servant had already held up the two attackers and even figured out their identities, while Eleanor had only managed to throw out a bunch of practically useless paper figures.
That was the difference between a transcendent raised in a greenhouse and one tempered by countless battles.
Although her servant had only experienced one real fight at the tavern, he had certainly endured plenty of torment at my hands in the dream classroom.
Seeing the two of them making their way back to the estate, Elisa put away her cookies and slipped back under the covers.
It turned out to be a false alarm, and Elisa breathed a sigh of relief.
Her male servant had simply been using the [Finding Ritual] for his usual treasure hunting and happened to find Eleanor’s stocking.
A high-quality stocking was quite expensive. A custom-made one could cost as much as fifteen shillings, so it could indeed be considered a treasure.
But why would Eleanor lose a stocking? Did she have a habit of going barefoot? Was it the side effect of some extraordinary item? What extraordinary item had she used?
Elisa couldn’t figure it out, and Simon hadn’t offered any analysis in the log either, so she set the matter aside for now.
Eleanor soon returned to the bedroom. Elisa glanced at her feet and saw that her stocking was back on.
“I took a stroll around the estate. The scenery is really lovely,” Eleanor said with a smile.
Elisa had mixed feelings.
You didn’t look at the scenery at all! You went off to secretly meet my male servant!
Damn it, my male servant even got a 30 pounds deposit, while I, the wronged party, got nothing!
Haah, forget it. One is one of my best friends, and the other is my male servant. What else can I do?
Elisa pretended not to have noticed anything and continued chatting with Eleanor.
As the sky grew dark and Eleanor showed no sign of leaving, Elisa followed proper etiquette and invited her to stay the night.
After bathing and changing into her nightgown, Eleanor lay sprawled on Elisa’s bed and asked her a few questions about the Archipelago.
“I’m really too sleepy today. Let’s talk tomorrow.” Elisa pretended to be tired, slipped under the covers, and closed her eyes.
Through the [Blood] spell, she sensed Eleanor’s movements.
Eleanor gently shook her, pinched her cheek, then took out a talisman and uttered a word in Hermes: “Sleep”.
I already went to sleep on my own!
Naturally, a mere [Sleep] talisman had no effect on her. Elisa dispelled its effect, slowed her breathing, and pretended to be sound asleep.
Eleanor patted her lightly on the stomach, then finally relaxed and got up, heading to the guest room to sleep.
Once the two young ladies had gone to bed, the estate seemed to fall asleep with them, and the servants all returned to their rooms.
***
[Simon climbed out the window into the courtyard, met up with Miss Eleanor, and left the estate with her.]
Miss Elisa lay on her stomach in bed, her chin propped up in both hands as she secretly watched her male servant and best friend.
Haaah. I know they’re not eloping, but this scene looks way too much like something out of those third-rate novels I read!
[Eleanor folded two paper horses, and she and Simon each rode one. The paper horses were no slower than ordinary horses.]
Origami? Some kind of puppetry spell?
[Susanna’s home was on White Rose Street. Simon and Eleanor happened to encounter a patrolling police officer, and Eleanor used a paper crane to lure him away.]
[Simon and Eleanor entered Susanna’s house and sat in a corner to wait.]
[…At midnight, clouds obscured the half-moon, and two dark figures broke into Susanna’s house.]
They actually came?
Elisa took out the [Mirror of Mist], ready to rescue them at a moment’s notice, and casually pulled a plate of cookies out of the mirror while she was at it.
Late at night, eating cookies while secretly spying on people… how thrilling!
[The night was too dark and the distance too great for Simon to make out the intruders clearly, but he could tell that they were two women.]
I wonder if my servant was looking at their faces or their chests.
[The two unlocked the door to Susanna’s house with a key and entered her bedroom. Eleanor used a paper crane to secretly observe them, while Simon idly admired the scenery around him.]
[Eleanor in her nightwear, her chest gently rising and falling.jpg]
At a time like this, and you’re still messing around!
[Eleanor quietly described the situation to Simon. The two intruders had set up a ritual beside Susanna’s pillow. It was… an improved version of the Object-Finding Ritual.]
Oho!
[Simon grabbed Eleanor and tried to make a run for it, but the two attackers had already caught up with them.]
An ordinary Finding Ritual had a hard time tracking people, but an improved version was different. The Object-Finding Ritual was one of the most widespread rituals, and it had all sorts of ingenious variations.
That improved Object-Finding Ritual was most likely searching for whoever had performed the exorcism. Heh-heh. It would have had trouble working from far away, but Eleanor just happened to be right around the corner.
Elisa wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth and prepared to rescue them.
[Simon activated the Scarab Badhe. The two attackers lowered their heads, avoiding the flash.]
Flashbangs aren’t that easy to use, either. Experienced transcendents will quickly avert their eyes the instant the light begins to flare. My servant learned something new this time, didn’t he?
[Simon tossed out a handful of small copper coins. The flash illuminated the coins, and of the two attackers, the taller woman stopped in her tracks while the shorter woman lunged for the coins.]
Scratch what I said earlier. So the flash wasn’t meant to blind them, but to illuminate the copper coins. If they didn’t know those were copper coins, would it have no effect?
The shorter woman lunged straight for the coins, so her rank couldn’t be very high. She was probably Rank One or Two. The taller woman only faltered for a moment, so she was probably Rank Three.
[Eleanor threw out several pieces of origami, and a swarm of paper figures surrounded the two attackers.]
[The patrolling officers heard the commotion and rushed over, shouting at them to stop.]
[The taller woman’s hands sliced through the paper figures like blades. She grabbed the shorter woman and darted into a nearby alley. Simon drew his revolver and fired six shots at their retreating backs.]
[The officers loudly called for backup, while Simon and Eleanor quickly left the scene.]
Mm, a pretty standard encounter between transcendents. Both sides showed off their abilities a little, then went their separate ways.
Casualties were actually fairly uncommon in encounters like this. What a shame, though. They didn’t get any useful information.
[Simon figured out their identities and was startled.]
Huh? How did you suddenly figure out who they were?
[Simon thought back to the moment of the flash. They had concealed their faces with hats and masks, but there was one pair of features they couldn’t hide.]
[The shorter woman with the prominent chest.jpg]
[The taller woman with the heavy chest.jpg]
“???”
Come on, tell me who they are! What am I supposed to do with two completely contextless pictures… Oh, right. My servant can identify people by their chests.
Elisa opened the two pictures and studied them carefully.
This size, this shape… I get it now… Like hell I do! How could anyone possibly recognize someone from this?!
Elisa clutched her head, unable to accept it.
She continued reading the log, but her servant didn’t mention who the two women were at all. He was busy evading the patrol officers with Eleanor.
That’s too much! You used to write important information in the log, so what’s the meaning of sending me nothing but two pictures of their chests now?!
No, wait. If I think about it carefully, those two pictures are the crucial information. It’s entirely my fault for not being able to recognize them.
Elisa sank into a gloomy mood.
[Simon and Eleanor shook off the patrol officers. He used his sense of humor to cheer up the dejected Eleanor.]
Cheer up the dejected Miss Elisa too!
Haah. It was understandable that Eleanor felt down. Her reactions had been far too slow. Her servant had already held up the two attackers and even figured out their identities, while Eleanor had only managed to throw out a bunch of practically useless paper figures.
That was the difference between a transcendent raised in a greenhouse and one tempered by countless battles.
Although her servant had only experienced one real fight at the tavern, he had certainly endured plenty of torment at my hands in the dream classroom.
Seeing the two of them making their way back to the estate, Elisa put away her cookies and slipped back under the covers.
She opened the two pictures again and studied them carefully. If they were people her servant knew, then she should know them too. Just who did these two pairs belong to?She opened the two pictures again and studied them carefully. If they were people her servant knew, then she should know them too. Just who did these two pairs belong to?
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