Cyril quietly exited Myra's old room.
The magic lamp on the ceiling was turned on, weakly illuminating the cramped corridor. Although his presence soon interfered with the mana absorption of the lamp
At the other end of the corridor was a hunched old woman, carrying a wooden mug.
Polly turned around in surprise, then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, you scared me, Cyril. Don't sneak up like that."
He remained silent for a moment, staring at her wrinkled face.
The magic lamp above him started flickering as he slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
"Good night, miss. Could you wake Myra up?" Cyril said with a polite smile, his body occasionally cloaked in darkness.
Polly froze for a few long seconds before nodding and retreating into the room nearby.
"..."
My smile still needs some practice...
"Such a reaction is rather fun, though."
After a short wait, Myra hastily ran out of her room.
"What happened?"
His face quickly returned to its expressionless state.
"Let's go outside, we need to talk."
Myra sighed, relaxing her shoulders.
"I almost thought we were attacked by someone, Polly looked quite scared."
"..."
"...Let's go." Cyril nonchalantly moved towards the exit.
Myra first stared at him in confusion before a look of realization colored her face.
Holding back a chuckle, she followed after him.
...
The moon was high in the sky, reflected in the calm waves among the huts. The sight was somewhat calming.
No villager was outside at this time of day, Cyril and Myra were the only ones around.
"Oh, it's a full moon."
Myra sent a curious stare at the sky before turning to face him.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
Myra leaned on the wooden railing of the house.
Cyril walked to her side, contemplating for a moment.
"Just make something up, Myra will not doubt your words."
"...I've thought about the kids who left for the city."
"I find that suspicious. None of the villagers mentioned anything about that, and they would've definitely asked for your help in settling them."
Myra first looked at him with confusion, but the more he said, the paler her face turned.
"It's likely something happened to them."
In the end a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead, her face frozen.
"...You are right! I didn't even think of that!" She covered her face with a palm.
"I am so stupid!"
"Yes."
"...You were distracted by your own troubles, don't mind it."
Myra weakly looked at him, her eyes lacking any energy.
"There must've been an accident, maybe they took them fishing and they fell from the boat? I knew it was dangerous!"
She sighed, her face dark.
"I'll ask in the morning... None of this happened in my visions. To think that two kids died..."
Not again...
"I told you, stop with your visions. Think of them as wrong."
He shook his head with a frown.
"And don't jump to conclusions. What if they are still alive, just missing?"
Myra raised her head, staring at him with a bit more energy.
"Did either of those two have that toy? Morpho could track them through it."
The butterfly landed on Myra's shoulder, her antennae twitching in support.
Myra contemplated for a moment before cautious optimism returned to her.
"Yes, let's try..."
Myra leapt over the railing, splashing into the water.
With a pale face, she went straight to a particular wooden house, where she slowed down.
Cyril followed after her, moving through the water with a bit more familiarity now.
"...I'll try not to wake anyone up."
Myra whispered and cast a spell, her body briefly enveloped by a blue light.
Giving Cyril a nod, she quietly climbed through the window, the butterfly still on her shoulder.
He remained outside and looked around, feeling calmer now.
Finding a small hill amid the village where the water didn't reach, he went there.
Cyril cast a spell to clean himself off and sat on the grass, staring at the full moon in the sky.
I hope those two were actually kidnapped.
...A weird thing to wish for.
Rhamn materialized sitting nearby, her gaze similarly aimed above.
"Also, the little humans could've actually gone to the city. Maybe they didn't seek Myra because they were too ashamed?"
We'll see. The laboratory needs subjects, someone must've been kidnapped.
"Can't wait to see Cosmas's ugly mug after we smash that place. I wonder if he'll finally lose his patience?"
"Would he harm us? He is pretty strong... We'll be fine. Demons seem to value our being."
He gazed at her for a second, at her red eyes that only had excitement within.
I thought you would be more on the demons' side...
"Huh? Why? My side is you and Morpho. Demons, humans, it doesn't matter, they are all beneath us."
This arrogance is indeed like you.
"It's called confidence." Rhamn nodded with satisfaction.
Cyril wryly shook his head and turned back to the night sky.
There are more stars visible here than in the city...
"It worked!"
Soon, Myra returned to his side, clenching a familiar toy in her hand.
Morpho flew in the air, its antennae twitching with intent.
Cyril looked at her excited face that had regained a bit of its color and nodded.
"Let's go."
Thankfully, Morpho led them in the direction opposite of the city.
...
They soon left the flooded area, running through the woods under the cover of night.
"What even happened...? Did they go playing in the woods and encounter wolves? ...I hope we won't discover a body." Myra mumbled with a frown.
Was she always this pessimistic?
Cyril gave her a tired glance.
"Focus on running."
Just as he said that, behind another tree, a light was seen.
Myra and Cyril stopped in their tracks, vigilantly observing it.
The light slowly moved in their direction, getting closer.
They looked at each other and quickly hid, Morpho returning to Cyril's shoulder.
"Can't believe we are stuck in some dump, and on a night shift as well..."
"Eh, tomorrow it could always be better, and at least there is beer."
Humans...
Two disgruntled men carrying a torch slowly approached.
Cyril looked at Myra, only to find her staring at him with an expectation.
He nodded, then freely walked out in the open.
"What the…!"
The leading man holding the torch fell on his butt, face terrified.
The other pulled out a hand axe, pointing at Cyril with a slight tremble.
"It's you!?" The man yelled, taking a step backwards.
Cyril froze mid-move.
Who?
"Remember Cedric's friend you rescued? These two were from back then."
What a coincidence.
Cyril recovered and dashed forward, easily knocking the axe out of the man's hand.
Then Cyril grabbed him by the throat, raising his body in the air.
The thug struggled with all his might but couldn't budge Cyril's arms.
"What are you two doing here?"
Myra slowly walked out from behind a tree, staring at him with surprise.
"You know them?"
She forgot them too...
"These were the thugs keeping Anna in that cafe."
"Ah!" Realization colored her face as Myra approached and kicked the thug on the ground, interrupting his escape.
"You remembered that girl's name..."
Ignoring the curious mumble, Cyril turned to look at the man in his hand.
His face started to change in color, so he dropped him.
"Ah... Please, mercy!"
The thug took a few deep gulps of breath and stared in horror at the two students.
He was met with a pair of cold eyes looking down on him.
"I'll ask again, what are you two doing here?"
"We were forced to, sir!"
"A man in a dark cloak approached us in a bar, offering work."
"Then we were taken here! Occasionally others bring people, taking them underground. We are only guards! We didn't do anything! That's all, honest!"
"Tsk, as spineless as ever."
Cyril narrowed his eyes.
"Where did they bring them?"
"There is a camp nearby! We can take you there! Gladly!"
The two thugs cooperated to the fullest extent.
"Then do so."
Cyril shot Myra a look. Both of them nodded with a similar sharpness in their eyes.