Chapter 2
THE UNDERGROUND PASSAGE split in two directions, with the staircase at the center. The faint illumination on the stone-reinforced walls looked almost like will-o’-the-wisps. Chilly air stuck to their skin as two sets of footsteps—Mira’s and Scorpion’s—echoed throughout the hall.
“At this point, nobody will see us. Well done, Wasranvel. You may rest now.” Mira glanced at the staircase, then to the path, as Wasranvel released his concealment. He’d hidden Angelique and Anne the whole way here from the mansion, so nobody should know about their presence other than Mira and Scorpion.
Wasranvel sighed regretfully. “I only wish we could use my powers more freely…”
“No worries, friend. Total concealment or not, you can still hide us somewhat, no? That alone is quite powerful. Let’s do our best until our contract grows stronger.”
“Right. We’re in this for the long haul,” Wasranvel said and smiled, returning Anne to Angelique’s arms. After that, he shook hands with Mira.
“Be ready. I may call on you often,” Mira replied and dismissed him.
Scorpion could see the special relationship growing between Mira and Wasranvel. “Wow,” she murmured, “you two really hit it off.”
Mira puffed out her chest proudly and smirked. “Isn’t it nice? Being a summoner means you never lack for friends.”
Summoners needed to prioritize bonds with their summons…and with the game becoming reality, Mira’s summons had gained real consciousness, and their relationships became more genuine. She’d especially enjoyed that part of this new world.
***
The group continued onward with Scorpion in the lead, their footsteps the only sound breaking the oppressive silence.
“By the way, Scorpion, I’m surprised that you’re fine in a place like this,” Mira mused, recalling the way Scorpion had trembled in the face of the armor at Johan’s residence. A space with limited escape routes, dim lighting, echoing footsteps—all the common horror movie elements.
“A place like this? How do you mean?” Scorpion seemed unperturbed. Though she’d shown her fearful side in the mansion, this place was apparently different somehow.
“I mean, you were terrified of that armor. I’d thought you were scared of ghosts. Are you not?”
Scorpion looked around at both sides of the corridor and strained her eyes. Perhaps Mira’s words had aroused her fears a little. After confirming that there were no spectral figures in the hallway, Scorpion stood straight up with tail on end and protested, “Well, y’know… Like, it’s just because I saw a weird figure back then, right? Besides…dark places are like my backyard. I’m not scared…I was just wary of what I thought was a suspicious stranger.” It seemed that her fear was spurred not by the setting, but by seeing something she couldn’t identify.
Figuring she ought to test her theory right away, Mira began whispering in Scorpion’s ear. Why not talk about spooky things in a spooky place? “Oh, Scorpion, you didn’t know? Evil spirits love dark, closed spaces like this. The most terrifying ones of all can’t be seen from afar, either; they appear suddenly, right in front of you!”
“M-M-Mira, what are you talking about? Stop it. I can see just fine in the dark, so nothing can get close to me without my knowledge!” Scorpion declared, as if trying to convince herself more than anyone else. But she began to think about the possibility of unknown beings lurking nearby; after all, she knew from her experience with Wasranvel that it was truly possible.
Now that her mischievous side had taken over, Mira continued to fan the flames in a low and ominous voice. “Don’t be so certain. These spirits are typically invisible, after all. If you can see them, that can only mean that they’re ready to attack—”
Just as Mira was starting to get really carried away, a door opened next to them without warning. A grinning woman wearing white clothes, stained dark red with blood, loomed out of the darkness.
“Nwaaargh!”
“Mreooow!”
Terrified, Mira and Scorpion clutched each other as they screamed and jumped away from the woman. But this only caused them to collide into the wall behind them, collapsing on the spot from pain. The impact must have hurt quite a bit. Mira and Scorpion lay on the floor groaning.
Angelique simply stood there in utter confusion. It was then that the group heard a familiar, placid voice.
“What are you doing?”
Mira and Scorpion looked up through the tears welling in their eyes. An exasperated Snake gazed back down at them.
***
Though it might have seemed calculated, Snake’s appearance was a coincidence…mostly. The room she’d exited was being used to confine one of the people who’d attacked her at the hotel. She had just finished her interrogation and heard the other girls chatting outside, so she’d popped out of the room to greet them.
Mira and Scorpion did their best to laugh off their little scare, pulled themselves together, and quickly stepped away from the scene. That left Snake and Angelique to introduce themselves to one another since it was their first meeting. Angelique had at first been shocked by her bloodied clothes, but once Snake had removed her white coat, they exchanged a few words and dispelled the tension. It turned out that Snake had dyed the coat herself for use as a prop in interrogations.
Eventually, they all managed to reach the very end of the hallway, where a sturdy-looking iron door stood before them. According to Scorpion, it was an underground living facility for emergency evacuations that had been built ten years ago in case of demon attacks. It had countless magic circles that supplemented its already-astounding physical defenses.
“Watch this carefully too, Mira,” Scorpion said, repeating what she’d said when she’d operated the first hidden door. She put a finger into what looked like a keyhole. The door emitted light, and strange symbols appeared on its surface. She showed Mira every step of the process of operating the device. In about ten seconds, the door had opened.
“Aaand, there. Remember that; it won’t open unless you do everything right.”
Scorpion’s explanation was thorough, but Mira had lost track of the complex operation somewhere along the way. She just grinned wryly and mumbled, “Oh, hmm. Very…helpful.”
Snake leaned over and whispered that Scorpion had incredible talent when it came to these things; nobody else was able to memorize the operation of devices like this so easily. It would be no exaggeration to say that a person who had memorized the code to this door was a key in themselves. Snake had written down the code, and Mira made her promise to let her copy it later.
***
“My, it’s…bigger than I expected.”
They passed through the metal door and into a long, wood-floored living space. The walls were about seven and a half meters on each side, with four simple yet sturdy tables. Each one had a shining orb above it, hanging down from the ceiling.
“They made this space so it can be lived in for years at a time. Something about keeping it from feeling claustrophobic. Umm, y’know, being in cramped spaces for a long time can make people go a little…funny.” After that oddly vague explanation, Scorpion gave them a tour through the underground facility. It seemed that corporations vying for the leadership of a nation had ample money to prepare for the worst. This underground space had all of the necessities for daily life.
The kitchen had a full set of cooking equipment, including water and fire-generating magical tools. Two of the three doors next to the kitchen led to the toilets and baths, which both seemed readily usable.
The third door led to a farm even bigger than the living space. It had no plants or lighting currently, but, indeed, it could provide for years of living as long as people tended to the crops. All of the magical tools involved could be recharged as well. As long as someone like a mage was there to provide mana, they had everything they needed to live there forever.
While Scorpion guided them around the facility, Mira thought back to the secret bases she’d dreamed of as a child and grinned. Perfectly sustainable as long as the people inside survive, hm? It would be perfect if it had a control room…
The next place they inspected was a corridor that led away from the living space. Five doors lined the walls on either side, each leading to a small room of about fifteen square meters. The wood floors on all of them were bare save for two, which held sturdy beds. Millene was in one of them. She seemed happily asleep, hugging her blanket. Angelique gazed at Millene nostalgically for a short while before tucking Anne in the bed right next to her.
With the tour out of the way, they returned to the living space and sat around a table. Their impromptu meeting began with a report of Snake’s interrogation.
She’d learned that the two men who had pursued them to the hotel were guards who had been watching Johan’s mansion. Furthermore, they were mercenaries hired by Melville Commerce, making them outsiders who knew nothing about the firm’s inner workings. Their job was simply to keep Johan from leaving his mansion. If Millene did anything suspicious, they were to get to the bottom of it and restrain her if necessary. The mercenaries claimed they knew nothing about the company’s ties with Chimera Clausen, and Snake was inclined to believe them. As such, none of the people there had any direct relation to Chimera.
“Aww… What a shame,” Scorpion sighed. After all that, they had obtained no useful leads.
It was reasonable that Chimera would choose to station mercenaries there instead of their own people. Sending guards to watch Johan meant that the watchers would have to stay in one fixed place, and Chimera Clausen would not risk putting their own soldiers in a defenseless position. Even if someone on the outside learned about Johan, the hired mercenaries would just have to secure that one person to protect any secrets relating to Chimera. The flow of information could be cut off at any time.
“Hrmm. So we won’t get clues that easily,” Mira muttered in disappointment.
“They were just pawns,” Snake replied with bored, biting words. She was clearly unhappy that her interrogation had been fruitless.
Once Snake had finished her report, Mira let out a big yawn, gulped down the rest of her tea, and blinked her eyes sleepily. Scorpion poked Mira’s shoulder as the young summoner struggled to keep her eyes open. “Mira, it’s really late. You can go to bed now if you want; I’ll take care of our report.”
Mira and Scorpion had worked together throughout this latest mission, so they would have exactly the same report. Now that Mira’d heard Snake’s, there was no reason she had to be present—Scorpion could fill Snake in herself.
“Nngh, but I mustn’t sleep first…” Mira protested, sincerely trying to be serious for once. But she was unable to defy biology and yawned once more.
“It’s cool, it’s cool! I’ll wrap it up quick, and we’ll go right to bed. The real discussion can start tomorrow.”
“Mmh, very well… I must apologize, but I think I’ll take you up on that…” The sleepiness was too much to overcome. Mira stood up. She sloppily pushed her chair back in, muttered a good-night, and tottered toward the door. She might as well have been sleepwalking.
“Mira, wrong way!” Scorpion had to carry Mira to the room opposite where Millene and Anne slept. She gently tucked the little summoner into bed and let her drift out into a sea of dreams.
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