A Journey Unwanted

[Realm: Álfheimr]

[Location: Heart Kingdom]

[Pulchritudo]

[Banquet]

Even this far into the night, the banquet showed no real indication of ending. If anything, it seemed to have taken on a life of its own. The number of guests lingering throughout the estate appeared to increase rather than diminish, with nobles drifting between floors, servants constantly moving between rooms, and conversations continuing as though the lateness of the hour meant very little.

Paimon still struggled to take it all in.

She walked besides Iphigenia along the third floor, her blue eyes occasionally wandering across the lavish corridor before returning to the princess. There were considerably fewer people on this floor than there had been below, but there were still enough that Paimon could feel their attention following them.

Some merely glanced.

Others stared openly.

A few seemed particularly interested in the unfamiliar red hood and the young woman walking besides a princess.

Paimon noticed the looks, of course.

She simply decided that acknowledging them would make them worse.

So she kept her attention on Iphigenia instead.

"Is it really that easy for you to keep the church safe from the Duke?" Paimon finally asked. There was uncertainty in her blue eyes, her voice quieter than before. "I understand that you said he’d listen to you, but you’re making it sound almost effortless. Are you really certain he wouldn’t retaliate somehow?"

"It’s paltry," Iphigenia answered almost flatly.

She continued walking without breaking stride, her composure remaining as dignified as ever.

"The Duke is far too eager to please my mother and, by extension, me. He has far more incentive to remain useful than he does to cause trouble. If I asked him to leave the church alone, he’d practically roll over like a dog."

She gave a small scoff at the thought, as though the Duke’s eagerness was more tiresome than reassuring.

Paimon looked at her for a moment.

"But are you really going this far simply because it interests you?" she asked. "I mean... helping me, looking into the church, wanting to see it for yourself. I can’t help thinking there might be more to it than that."

It wasn’t quite suspicion.

There was simply something about the situation that Paimon couldn’t entirely reconcile. Iphigenia had been remarkably straightforward with her, but the princess was still a princess, and Paimon couldn’t quite convince herself that someone of her position would go out of her way to help a stranger without having some reason beyond simple curiosity.

"You’re wondering whether I have some hidden agenda, yes?" Iphigenia surmised immediately.

Paimon visibly flinched at how directly she had phrased it.

"Well..."

She scratched her cheek, her eyes shifting aside for a moment.

"I wouldn’t put it quite that harshly," she admitted after a brief hesitation. "I was just wondering whether there was something else behind it."

"Good." Iphigenia’s answer came without hesitation. "You would be a dumbass to trust someone so blindly."

Paimon blinked.

"Thanks?" The uncertainty in her voice made the word sound less like gratitude and more like she genuinely wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond.

The princess’s sudden shift from dignity to vulgarity was still somewhat jarring. One moment she carried herself like someone who had been raised to speak with perfect composure; the next, she could casually call someone a dumbass without even changing her tone.

It sometimes felt as though two completely different personalities had been placed inside the same person.

"So then," Paimon continued carefully, "what is the other reason you’re helping me?"

"I’m merely invested, as I’ve already told you."

Iphigenia’s answer remained calm.

"There is not much more to it than that. It will not be long before I must continue my expedition, and before I leave, I want to get as much as I can out of my stay here in the Heart Kingdom. Your religion is unfamiliar to me. Your church is unfamiliar to me. Naturally, that makes both worth investigating."

Paimon considered that.

("That’s some pretty simple reasoning.")

She had been expecting something more complicated or political. Perhaps she had simply been viewing the princess through too complicated a lens.

Iphigenia was a human too.

And humans, for all their ambition and contradictions, sometimes did things for remarkably simple reasons.

Sometimes curiosity really was just curiosity.

The thought passed through Paimon’s mind almost idly.

She opened her mouth, preparing to ask another question—

Then something interrupted her.

A tremendous crash erupted from the side; the sound was so sudden and violent that Paimon instinctively recoiled. The thick white wall besides them exploded inward; stone and fragments of masonry tore through the air as something struck the structure with enough force to shake the entire floor beneath their feet. The impact sent dust rolling through the corridor while debris scattered across the polished floor.

Paimon’s eyes widened.

For a moment, all she could make out was a blur of black.

Something had come through the wall.

It spun through the air with graceful control despite the violence of its arrival, the movement so precise that it seemed less like something being thrown and more like someone turning through the air.

Paimon’s eyes struggled to follow it, then the figure descended. The black-clad form landed near the rubble that had been blasted from the wall.

The impact was surprisingly gentle; there was no dramatic crash when the figure touched down.

Paimon stared.

Her mouth parted slightly.

"What in the—"

The nobles around them reacted a heartbeat later.

"An attack!?"

"Someone’s attacking the banquet!"

"Is someone after us!?"

Panic spread almost instantly; the calm atmosphere that had existed only moments earlier disappeared completely.

Nobles shoved past one another as some stumbled over their own clothing. Others immediately rushed towards the stairs, abandoning whatever dignity they had maintained throughout the evening in favor of getting as far away from the disturbance as possible.

Paimon watched the frightened crowd surge away.

Then her attention returned to the hole in the wall, to the rubble and to the figure standing within it.

Or rather, to who had just crashed through the wall.

"Is that...?" Paimon’s eyes widened as the dust slowly began to thin, her gaze struggling to make sense of the familiar silhouette standing amid the wreckage. The shape was unmistakable now. Even before she could clearly see his face, the petite figure, the dark armor, and that strangely delicate presence were enough to make recognition settle in.

"Mikoto...?"

Mikoto stood amid the scattered rubble, his beautiful features drawn into a look of irritation. He lifted one of his thick gauntleted hands and brushed a layer of pale dust from his armored shoulder with an absentminded motion.

("Why...")

Paimon’s thought had barely formed before a voice interrupted it.

"Well, I certainly didn’t think that spell would truly injure you," Trismegistus said from behind the broken wall, his voice carrying that same calmness it always did. "But I must admit, I’m still disappointed by just how little effect it had. I had hoped for at least a more meaningful response."

The Royal Guard stepped through the enormous breach he had created, his arms folding neatly behind his back once more as he regarded Mikoto.

"Teacher?"

Iphigenia’s eyes narrowed.

Trismegistus did not look toward her.

"Ah, Iphigenia." Even while addressing the princess, his attention remained fixed upon Mikoto. "It is good to see you again after all this time. I would have preferred our reunion to occur under considerably more peaceful circumstances, but I’m afraid that will have to wait."

His gaze briefly traveled over the destruction surrounding them before settling back on Mikoto.

"This is quite a powerful intruder, and some assistance would very much be appreciated."

"Very well."

Iphigenia’s answer came immediately.

Paimon blinked.

That was it?

No hesitation or question about who Mikoto was. Not even a demand for an explanation or pause to consider whether Trismegistus had perhaps made a mistake.

Paimon herself was still struggling to understand what had happened. Mikoto had crashed through a wall, Trismegistus had apparently attacked him and now Iphigenia was already preparing to join the fight as though this were simply another item on her schedule.

The princess raised one hand toward Mikoto.

"Hold on—"

Paimon’s warning barely left her mouth.

A spark of intense light ignited within Iphigenia’s palm, the glow expanded for only an instant.

Then the spell fired, a bolt of red flame tore from her hand with such speed that Paimon’s eyes could scarcely follow it. The projectile compressed the air around itself, producing a violent shockwave as it crossed the corridor.

Chairs were thrown aside, tables scraped violently across the floor before overturning and loose fragments of the already damaged wall were kicked into the air and scattered across the banquet hall.

The fiery projectile continued straight toward Mikoto.

Yet Mikoto did not move, he didn’t turn his head, raise a gauntlet or even appear particularly interested in the attack.

His red eyes remained fixed upon Trismegistus.

Paimon’s stomach tightened.

"Mikoto!"

She instinctively moved to intervene, but someone else was already there.

A blur crossed her field of vision.

Gretel appeared beside Mikoto in a burst of speed, her rapier already drawn. Her movement was immediate as she stepped into the projectile’s path and thrust the blade forward.

The rapier pierced directly through the incoming fire.

The red bolt split around the blade, its concentrated shape collapsed instantly, breaking apart into scattered embers that drifted through the air before fading. The force accompanying the impact still pushed outward, stirring Paimon’s hood and sending loose debris skittering across the floor.

Gretel lowered her blade slightly.

"I didn’t need your help." Mikoto’s voice remained flat.

Gretel glanced at him.

"Maybe you didn’t," she replied with a small smile, her tone light despite the danger surrounding them. "But it’s nice to treat you like a damsel who might actually need help once in a while."

She turned her silver eyes toward Iphigenia.

The princess was already watching her, her eyes narrowed slightly.

Gretel’s smile remained.

"Even if you’re stronger than that Royal Guard, I imagine he’ll still be tricky to deal with. So you focus on him." Her rapier shifted in her hand as she squared herself toward Iphigenia. "I’ll handle her."

Mikoto regarded Gretel for a moment.

There was no obvious change in his expression, but his attention lingered on her.

"You’re not half bad when you’re actually serious."

His gauntleted hand rose as his attention remained on Trismegistus as his fingers flexed slightly, the armor making the gesture look almost more substantial than it actually was.

Gretel froze for half a second.

"Did you just...?"

Her silver eyes widened.

A compliment?

From him?

The surprise was almost enough to break her concentration.

But before she could finish the thought, Mikoto moved.

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