A Journey Unwanted

[Realm: Álfheimr]

[Location: Heart Kingdom]

[Pulchritudo]

The rooms within the luxury inn were lavish enough to remind any guest that Pulchritudo’s nobility delighted in excess.

The chamber assigned to them was spacious, with enough room that none of them felt cramped despite sharing it. Two large beds rested opposite one another, each covered by rich red blankets threaded with gold. Thick pillows of the same design were stacked neatly against headboards. Beneath their feet stretched a deep, blood-red carpet with elegant, black swirling patterns. Against one wall stood a large wardrobe of black wood, and nearby, a sturdy white wooden door led into a private washroom, a luxury Gretel had rarely seen while travelling.

It was undoubtedly an expensive room.

One deserving of admiration.

Yet Mikoto spared almost none of it a second glance.

Now again dressed in his loose white buttoned shirt with its sleeves rolled to his forearms, black trousers, and boots, he stood before the broad window overlooking Pulchritudo’s streets. The city below glowed beneath the night, lanterns scattering across winding roads while the silhouettes of distant buildings disappeared into the darkness beyond.

His red eyes remained fixed outside.

Whether he was watching the city or simply thinking, neither Gretel nor Paimon could quite tell.

"I’m still not entirely convinced this whole plan sits right with me," Gretel admitted quietly from one of the beds.

She sat near its edge, leaning forward with her hands loosely clasped. Her sheathed rapier rested against the nearby wall within easy reach, a habit she had long since stopped questioning.

Her silver eyes drifted toward the window.

"Something about it feels..." She searched briefly for the proper word. "...unfinished. As though we’re walking into someone else’s game without ever being told the rules."

Standing quietly nearby, Paimon looked no less uncertain.

Her hands remained tucked beneath her hooded cloak, shoulders slightly drawn inward, she nodded.

"I kind of feel the same."

After Goiim’s proposal had been accepted, it had quickly become apparent that the banquet would largely revolve around Gretel and Paimon.

Because of that, Mikoto had chosen to speak with them first.

"It’s barely a plan," Mikoto replied without turning around.

His voice remained almost absent-minded.

"We’re mostly just following whatever that Goiim chick tells us while she’s conveniently keeping half the picture to herself." He finally looked over one shoulder. "We don’t know what she’s really after and she expected us to pretend that’s normal."

Paimon blinked.

"Wait..." Her blue eyes widened slightly. "Then..." She tilted her head. "If you already know she’s hiding things, why are you still agreeing to go through with it?"

She stared at him for another second, then her face suddenly brightened.

"Oh! I think I get it now." She smiled brightly. "You’ve already decided to help the church no matter what happens, haven’t you?"

"No," Mikoto answered immediately; his reply was so flat that Paimon’s smile faltered. "I just don’t like schemers." Only then did he turn fully toward them, his eyes settled on both girls. "It doesn’t matter who they are. It doesn’t matter how clever they think they are. They can lie and manipulate. They can stack the board however they want."

His expression remained strangely calm.

"It won’t change anything."

Spoken by almost anyone else, the words would have sounded unbearably arrogant. Coming from Mikoto, they instead carried nothing but certainty. As though he saw no difference between someone’s elaborate scheme and an inconvenience.

He shrugged lightly.

"Besides, it’s still a gamble whether Goiim actually knows anything useful about the dragons."

The room grew quiet for a moment, and Paimon had clearly been holding another question back.

Eventually curiosity won.

"Can I ask something?" She looked almost hesitant. "Why are you so interested in finding the dragons anyway? I’ve been wondering ever since Gretel mentioned them."

Mikoto answered without missing a beat.

"I’m organizing a tea party."

Paimon blinked.

"...Really?"

His face remained perfectly straight, and her expression slowly shifted from confusion to genuine contemplation.

"Can..." She frowned thoughtfully. "...can something that enormous even sit down for tea?"

A brief silence followed.

Gretel couldn’t hold it anymore; a quiet laugh escaped her lips. She covered her mouth briefly before shaking her head.

"Mikoto..." She smiled slightly. "...is teasing you."

Paimon blinked again.

"Oh."

Gretel turned back toward her.

"The truth is..." She looked toward Mikoto. "...he wants to slay the dragons."

Understanding immediately spread across Paimon’s face, her blue eyes sparkled.

"Ooooh..." She leaned forward excitedly. "So it’s like the old stories!" Her gaze remained fixed entirely on Mikoto. "Like a knight setting out to defeat a dragon." She pointed toward him enthusiastically. "Is that why you were wearing armor earlier?" Her excitement only grew. "Are you some kind of Angel Knight?"

"No," Mikoto answered simply.

"...Aww..." Paimon’s shoulders drooped; the disappointment on her face was almost comical. She genuinely looked as though one of her favorite fairy tales had just been disproven.

Mikoto ignored her reaction entirely.

Instead, his attention shifted back toward Gretel.

"If you don’t actually want to attend that banquet..." he spoke casually. "...then don’t." He paused only briefly. "I’ll..." A slight cough interrupted him. "...my friend will still be there regardless."

Gretel caught the tiny stumble, and so did Paimon. Neither commented; instead, Gretel thought about the question for several moments.

Finally, she nodded.

"I think I’ll go." Her voice carried small resolve. "I’d rather contribute than sit back while everyone else handles the difficult part. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious. The Heart Kingdom’s elite, I suppose, seeing them with my own eyes has some value."

She hesitated.

"Though..." A small look of uncertainty crossed her face. "Am I supposed to wear a dress?" The very thought sounded foreign coming from her.

Mikoto shrugged.

"That Goiim chick already said people from all sorts of backgrounds attend." His answer came easily. "You don’t need to force yourself into something fancy. You could pass as security or some hired guard." He looked Gretel over for a brief moment before giving a small nod. "You’ll probably catch that Duke’s attention either way."

Only then did his eyes slowly shift away from Gretel and settle upon Paimon.

"And what about you?" His voice remained calm as he probed. "This banquet might be the only opportunity you’ll ever get to speak directly to the Duke."

He leaned one shoulder lightly against the window frame.

"Who knows how long it’ll take before those soldiers start running their mouths to someone higher up." His gaze drifted briefly back toward the city beyond the glass. "If the man sitting highest on the food chain gets involved first, that could keep the whole thing from spiraling."

His expression remained unreadable.

("Granted...") His thoughts continued without the slightest change in his face. ("...I’m planning on killing the Duke anyway.") His red eyes turned back toward Paimon. ("But little Miss Sunshine here seems allergic to doing anything she’d consider bad.")

Paimon lowered her gaze.

Her fingers slowly fidgeted beneath the edges of her red cloak.

"I..." She hesitated. "I don’t really like the idea of stealing." Her voice had become noticeably quieter. "It doesn’t sit right with me." She looked uncertainly between Gretel and Mikoto. "The Bible condemns things like that, doesn’t it?"

The question sounded less like she was challenging them and more like she genuinely wanted someone to tell her she wasn’t misunderstanding.

Mikoto answered almost immediately.

"Yeah." He waved the concern aside with one pale hand. "There’s the New Testament advice and all that." His tone remained strangely casual despite the topic.

"I know." He shrugged. "But context matters." He folded his arms loosely. "Think about what actually happens if this works. We help that shady Goiim chick. In return she gives us information on the dragons. I use that information, I find the dragons, and I kill the dragons."

He listed each step as though reading from an ordinary checklist.

"And then..." He made a tiny circular motion with one finger. "...domino effect. This universe doesn’t collapse. Huzzah." The final word carried absolutely no excitement whatsoever; his expression never changed, and his voice remained completely flat.

The lack of enthusiasm somehow made the absurd chain of logic even more believable.

Paimon frowned, not because she thought he was joking, he probably wasn’t.

"I..." She looked down again. "I still don’t know. It just..." Her shoulders lowered slightly. "It feels wrong." She didn’t argue further; she simply couldn’t convince herself yet.

Gretel quietly observed the conflicted look on the older girl’s face. She understood it, truthfully; she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the situation herself. Still, she tried.

"If it helps even a little..." she spoke gently. "...we’re not exactly stealing from a good man."

Paimon looked toward her, and Gretel continued after a brief pause.

"Everything we’ve heard about this Duke paints him as someone who abuses his position." Her eyes lowered briefly. "So perhaps it’s..." She searched for the words. "...a little less terrible if the person you’re stealing from is already hurting everyone else."

She laughed quietly at herself.

"I don’t actually know if that’s good moral reasoning. But it feels a little easier to accept."

Paimon remained thoughtful; she slowly nodded. "I suppose... maybe."

She still sounded unconvinced.

Mikoto watched the exchange with complete indifference.

"Steal from the rich and give to the poor." He quoted the phrase absentmindedly.

Both girls immediately turned toward him, their expressions matched almost perfectly. "...What?"

Mikoto blinked once.

"Well..." He shrugged. "Not like we’re actually giving anything to the poor." "So..." He lazily waved the thought away. "...whatever."

Silence lingered for a moment, then he straightened from the window.

"Get some sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be busy. There isn’t much point standing around worrying about problems that won’t happen until morning."

That was all he said.

There was no chant as in the next instant his body simply dissolved into empty air, vanishing so cleanly it was as though he had never occupied that space to begin with. Only a small ripple, like heat shimmering, briefly lingered where he had been before even that quietly disappeared.

Paimon’s blue eyes became enormous.

She pointed frantically toward the empty spot.

"W-whoa!" Her voice echoed through the room. "Did you see that!? They disappeared! Just..."

Gretel couldn’t help herself; a tired smile slowly spread across her face. Their newest companion truly did wear every emotion openly. One moment burdened by questions of morality, the next completely captivated by a simple display of magic.

It was strangely refreshing.

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