… Forty-eight hours?
What the fuck!? The texts didn’t mention a time limit!
How did Saria even know that Nina and I would be coming here!?
[She not only knew but planted this box here as well, buddy. It shouldn’t be that difficult if you know a little about Harpies and their tracking abilities.]
Well, fuck me… she was a step ahead of us.
[Yeah, and look at Nina. She still thinks the egg should be around here. Saria most probably put a spell on the box to imitate the egg’s scent, while hiding the actual egg’s scent to fool us.]
She can do that!?
Damn it, and here I thought I would be able to catch her red-handed with the egg. I feel played with.
How am I going to confront her now!? She would simply say that I have no proof. No matter how obvious it is that she’s the culprit, it would just be her word against mine.
{That’s true, master. I think the confrontation would have to wait until we find something concrete against her.}
Aargh, it’s so frustrating! To know the person who wronged you, but being unable to do anything about it.
Is Saria so stupid that she thought I wouldn’t be able to figure out it’s her? Or is she so confident that even if I figure it out, I won’t be able to prove it or do anything?
[There is also a possibility that we might be wrong about this, and the culprit is someone entirely different.]
Come on, only a limited number of people even know that the egg is related to me. Layla, Rebecca, Nina herself, and the guards.
I trust every one of them except the guards, and they don’t really have much reason to go after Ilyrana through me.
The only person who could know about the egg (by following me and listening in to my conversation with the guard), and have hatred for Ilyrana is Saria.
[I never said the possibility is strong…]
Anyway, I will have to figure something out about that. For now, let’s focus on completing the task. If I have no choice but to do it, I’d better not wait for the deadline to get close.
As for…
“Nina, the egg isn’t here,” I say, trying to stop the frantically searching Harpy.
“What do you mean!? It should be right here! I can smell it!” She exclaims.
“It’s not. The box is empty.”
“You don’t understand, Jacob,” she says, continuing to search without looking at me. “It’s just that the grass here is too tall. The egg must’ve fallen out and is now hidden here somewhere.”
Sigh…
“Listen here.” I walk up to Nina, grab her by the shoulder, and make her stop. “The egg is stolen, okay? Some bad person knowingly stole the egg because it’s connected to me.”
“What…?” She stares at me, shook. “B-But the scent.”
I need to tell her the truth, or I don’t think she will ever leave this place.
“You know how magically powerful the Elves are, right? The thief put a false scent on the box to fool us, and completely sealed that of the egg. They did this to get a way to control me.”
I can feel her starting to shake. This must be a lot to take in.
“It’s complicated, but I need you to trust me. I will get the egg back and make sure the thief gets punished. I promise.”
…
…
It takes a while to make Nina understand. The reality is almost too scary for her to accept— but she does, in the end.
She agrees to trust me to solve this as well, but I can feel the hint of accusation in her eyes. After all, the egg got stolen because it’s associated with me. But she also knows deep down that it’s not really my fault, so she doesn’t say anything about it out loud.
Even on our way back to the Tree-palace, Nina keeps quiet. She doesn’t fly either, drawing much less attention this time. Once inside my room, she simply climbs up the bed and lies down facing the wall, all curled up. I can tell she’s crying again.
Sigh… I’d better get to it.
Feeling a bit helpless, I leave Nina and step outside into the corridor. Then, I take a moment to think.
To even start the task, I need to first get into the Elven Academy. Can I just randomly walk in there?
[I am not sure if you can. Remember when Ilyrana gave your group the tour the other day? She mentioned how dangerous it is for a human to even step outside in the city. It was a bit of an exaggeration, I think, as nobody really stopped you guys from going outside— but that might not be the case with the academy. There, magic is being performed constantly, and by students.]
But wait, shouldn’t I be allowed in? Technically, Debbie, Aria, and I are here for the student exchange program.
[True, but mostly everyone except the people in your group knows it’s a farce. There is a reason no one here has even mentioned it.]
True, so should I just try to barge into the academy and see what happens? Or maybe we are overthinking this?
The academy is hidden, but I clearly remember where the invisible barrier starts. And I am not a level one noob either. I think I am strong enough now to at least survive entering it.
[Okay, how about this: why don’t we just ask someone to help us? There’s no risk there.]
And what will I tell them once they ask why I want to enter the academy? I cannot tell anyone about the task, you know.
[I am sure you can think of an excuse. You’ve been getting better at that lately.]
… okay. I guess I can do that.
Aeson probably wouldn’t mind helping me here. He will ask questions, but whatever.
I’ve also been thinking about getting advice from a certain someone. She will gladly help me set up things for the task. After all, she is much more suited for this than I am.
[Who are you talking about?]
Who else? Ilyrana’s second biggest hater after Saria: Leena.
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