She tilted her head slightly, touched her cheek with her right hand, and whispered to herself:
"But that gentleman from the guild, the one with the peacock tail… how long will he keep drowning me in his requests? How annoying!"
She spoke confidently without turning around:
"Hey, peacock-known companion… are you still following me?"
A hand held a notebook, flipping its pages in the wind,
witnessing its usual night.
She turned toward him, her right hand resting on her hip, her gaze full of confidence:
"Didn't I tell you the mission would go smoothly?" she sighed.
"Do you doubt my abilities?"
She lifted her head with a serious expression, as if to say that everything was under her control.
The man, named Thomas, lay relaxed across the rooftop, flipping pages to record what was happening.
He wore a white shirt half-open at the chest, a black horseshoe-shaped pendant hanging over it, giving his appearance a strangely formal touch, and a long coat draped over his shoulders.
His soft yellow hair, tinged with orange, flowed like a banner amidst the storm.
He replied without raising his head, in a calm and cautious tone:
"I do not doubt you, as long as my honorable master, LonaTid, cares about you."
Silence fell around them, in the dark night shrouding the city.
He closed his notebook, then stood and walked in the opposite direction of Yuki, continuing:
"But it is my duty to observe the actions of those entrusted with a mission."
Yuki turned the other way, then spoke in her usual voice:
"So, you haven't done your so-called work yet."
She paused briefly, then continued with determination:
"What the chief said was true… that scoundrel from the Vink family.
He wanted to form an alliance with that society."
Thomas asked coldly:
"Do you have, or have you seen, any proof?"
Yuki answered, glancing at the moon:
"He might also be one of the bearers of that symbol, but I don't care."
She added:
"Report this to Master LonaTid… and tell him…"
Thomas turned slightly toward her, his expression showing surprise.
"To send those annoying requests to someone else!? I have my own work to do!"
Thomas, with his cold, indifferent features, smiled:
"Just as my honorable master said… you are a strong girl."
Before he faded, Yuki said in a mysterious tone:
"A strong… girl, you said?
You say this in front of someone with no shelter, no lineage to protect or revive them…"
Then she whispered:
"You all are fools."
Yuki turned into invisible air, gliding through the dark streets of the city until she stopped beside a fountain.
No one was out at this hour, so she was alone with her nature.
She stared at the black gloves covering both her hands and whispered to herself:
"There's plenty of time before the knights start their investigation… that's good, anyway."
She grasped the fingertips of the right glove with her left hand.
Her expression was somewhat sad, yet satisfied.
She slowly removed the glove, her expression shifting as she drifted into thought.
Her right hand had vanished, as if it had never existed.
To her, it felt like the sensation after pulling a tooth from the gum; only that lingering warmth dissolving in the mouth remained.
She put the glove back on after a while and managed to move her fingers and wrist.
Yuki approached the edge of the fountain, placing her fingers along it as she walked, thinking at the same time:
"Since returning from the Land of the Sky to the surface… not much has changed."
"I somewhat missed this place, despite its filth.
Yet… it is where my mother gave birth to me, the only memory that remains."
"— The world is superficial —"
Yuki advanced toward one of the districts, heading to a large abandoned building, continuing her thoughts inside her mind:
"I'll stay in this city for a while, then go explore more… I don't know what has changed in these five years."
Amid the strange calm and silence of the building, Yuki felt something unusual.
She raised her hand to her hair, discovering that her hair clip was missing.
Shock flickered across her face for a moment, yet she quickly regained her usual cold, confident composure.
Suddenly, she heard the echo of an evil, mad laughter reverberating through the building.
She looked into the emptiness, at the shadow of the pillar to her right, and said:
"What do you think you're doing, taking something that isn't yours?"
At that exact moment, a girl with pink hair appeared, removing the hood of her black jacket.
She was staring at a white feather-shaped hair clip, wearing a wide, terrifying smile:
"What a treasure!~ This will surely bring me wealth!!"
The girl lifted her gaze to Yuki, freezing in place.
Yuki's silver-red eyes pierced with sharp, deadly intent.
The girl stepped back, her expression surprisingly excited, after feeling the overwhelming pressure of Yuki's aura sting her body.
She blinked, swallowing nervously:
"Looks like this night will be more thrilling than any other!!"
—
To be continued...