[Part 2/4]
Kaya, placing a finger to her lips while thinking this, seed to behave at least age-appropriately with her gestures.
The mismatch with what she was talking about felt quite strange.
"Sedative... but there shouldn't have been such an effect in the pre-tests on him, right?"
As they stepped down to the back, boarding the lift operated by the grass dolls, Hana interjected with a highly suspicious retort to Kaya's words.
They had tried to anticipate as many unforeseen situations as possible before this case.
And as far as Hana knew, there was no such precedent found.
It's true that Kaya seed unusually adept in that situation, but... does that make it too far-fetched?
If it were a ltdown, it would make sense.
"Hmm... well, if you think about it, that person is an exception among exceptions, right? So isn't it possible? After all, the experint only used a re specin, didn't it?"
"Baseless speculation...!? ...Or maybe not?"
Hana hesitated mid-sentence as the elevator jolted downward, montarily silencing her thoughts. But after a brief pause, she chided herself for nearly dismissing the possibility.
Kaya had a point.
An exception—That was precisely why that individual had been singled out in the first place.
Both as a head of house and as a key figure, such an anomaly might even be preferable.
The unknown held more value than the known.
It held more potential.
"But if that's the case..."
"Then it just ans we should be prepared, right? Just like the head said."
Clatter, clatter—chains rattled as the elevator descended.
With a long sigh, Kaya tilted her head back toward the ceiling. Just monts ago, she had been dissatisfied with the head's decision. Now, she was fully on board.
Accepting her internal defeat, she shifted her focus to the counterasures they might need.
"Chances are, this won't go smoothly. ...Do we act now while we can?"
The elevator ca to a halt.
Kaya peered toward the storage room ahead, sticking out her tongue playfully despite the tension in the air.
"...At the very least, we should inform the head."
In other words, Hana agreed.
Kaya grinned.
It was a feral smile, one so fierce it nearly ca loose from her face.
Excitent surged through her.
At the sa ti, instinctively, Hana's hand brushed over her weapon.
"...Are you sure you're not pushing yourself?"
"Nope! Totally different!"
Kaya puffed up her cheeks, pouting as she adamantly denied Hana's wary gaze.
She made absolutely sure everything was 'set' properly, patting herself down multiple tis before finally crossing her arms with a huff.
"Don't get the wrong idea, okay? It doesn't just 'co loose' when I'm about to launch myself."
"...It doesn't?"
"Wait—You didn't know!?"
"Nope."
That realization struck them both like a shockwave.
Despite their long acquaintance, there were still things they didn't know about each other.
"When I'm happy, I sotis 'miss' it! Rember that, okay? It would be unbearable if suddenly shot with dicine!?"
"Got it. ...Are you happy?"
She knows this as a new fact.
It's not just a small thing that she would 'miss' it.
In other words, she's really happy; this connection is.
"Hehe. Of course! Aren't you the sa?"
Scratching her head shyly, Kaya retorts back.
Hana falls silent for a mont... then nods.
"...Indeed, that's true."
Thinking about it, this was a natural feeling.
She had been waiting for a long ti.
She had been waiting.
To end like this felt too cruel and too harsh.
Even if they fulfilled their purpose as a clan, for the two of them, it would be hollow.
It was far too empty.
After all, for the two of them, the head was....
"Nyaha! Thinking about it that way, maybe it wasn't such a bad story!"
This was a word from Kaya, who had been indignant at how the head of the family had disregarded what they had worked hard to create.
Hana thinks to herself that she is still as capricious as ever.
Maybe that was why she could survive.
"That's enough small talk. ...Now, let's hurry up?"
"Got it!"
Responding grandly to Hana's prompt, Kaya takes the lead.
Without waiting for an answer, she moves ahead.
She jogs past Hana.
Hana chases her in exasperation.
And they arrive.
At the living gate.
The grass dolls serving as gatekeepers lowered themselves.
When they stop in front of the gate, it begins to pulsate.
The theft prevention Sealing Magic... the gate, serving as a key, begins to extend countless tendrils across the ground.
As it reaches their feet, it rises, crawling into the gaps of their clothing, as if to lick their skin.
It scoops up sweat, tangles in hair, and analyzes what kind of beings are stepping inside.
'...!!'
This creature, a product of selective breeding, had a picky nature and wouldn't eat anything it had once tasted.
Recognizing the familiar flavor, it trembled in disgust.
It opened the way, as if to say "get lost."
Countless intertwining vines separated to form a passage.
They opened up a space ahead for the two.
Glimpses of stacked cabinets could be seen.
Tall boxes piled high.
On the walls were hooks... this was one of the storages in the main fortress, filled with nurous curse-tools, potions, and materials.
"Wow. It's all mushy..."
"This ti, it was especially persistent... could it be that the sll stuck?"
It was the first voice of the two freed from the vine.
Hana could see that the sticky vine was slightly hesitant.
Probably examining the scent or taste of the stranger, trying to discern if the visitor was known or unknown.
It seed that the sll had perated their bodies more than expected.
Especially for Kaya, possibly because the rope was bound inside her stomach.
"My underwear is all muddy... no, it even got inside! Can't it stop forcing it open? It's unused and could get damaged!"
"Don't mind, don't mind. After we go upstairs, let's take a bath and change, okay? ... For that, we need to hurry and take back our stuff. Can you look for the dicine?"
Kaya, with tears in her eyes, showed her soaked, sticky underwear.
While calming her down, Hana requested.
She doesn't mind if Kaya complain, but she won't allow her to sit still and do nothing.
Hana raised the hand candle placed at the entrance and walked around the wide, dark warehouse, leaving Kaya behind.
She lets the complaints of the inhumane co-worker slide.
"I believe the papers are around here..."
Relying on her mory, Hana searched in a corner of the vast warehouse.
There, she finally found a cedar storage cabinet, placed the hand candle beside it, pulled out a few shelves, and inspected the contents.
She knew there were docunts and scrolls for the oath and for writing on Fuso paper.
The ordinary Fuso paper was of course included, and if there were premium items made from sacred or divine wood, there could be beast hides, youkai skins, human skins, or half-youkai.
What she's looking for now is the Koryuu hide proposed by the head, which they rember was purchased and stored after having taken down the lord of the great river ages ago, as noted in the inventory...
"...?"
But then, an uneasy feeling crept over her.
Hmm, it seems that the storage places for each paper are different from when I visited last for the oath creation, Hana thought.
She searched her mory—sothing was definitely off. The arrangent had changed.
Did soone carelessly change them?
She should check the visitor records later...
"...!?"
In an instant, Hana turned around and stood ready.
Keenly, nervously, she guarded her surroundings.
Who is it?
What is it?
She probed, detected, and explored...
But... she couldn't find anything.
However, that feeling was definitely soone looking at , directing emotions toward her...!!?
"Huh!!?"
"Uwa-kyan!? W-What!? I went through all the trouble to find it and bring it, and this is terrible!?"
She turned around, thrusting an invisible weapon at the presence behind her, and heard a familiar scream.
They must have co from behind and found the dicine she was looking for first.
It was Kaya, raising a small scream and accusing her while using a wooden box as a shield.
"...Kaya?"
"It's Kaya!?"
"...So it is Kaya."
She observed her reaction and acknowledged that it was indeed her companion.
It seed there was no impersonation or skin peeling involved.
"Were you trying to surprise from behind?"
"...What do you an?"
"I knew it..."
She glared at her companion's foolishness.
If it were soone else, it might be fine, but doing that between them would surely lead to retaliation and death in the next mont.
Even at a ti like this, she was so carefree.
Was it revenge?
In any case, it was even more foolish to fail.
"Don't be mad... But you're late! I found the thing we were looking for first, you know? What were you doing?"
"I can't find the Koryuu hide that should be around here. Soone might have changed the storage location or stolen it."
"...Huh? It's right there, isn't it?"
"Eh?"
She turned her gaze to where her companion was pointing.
She picked up one of the scrolls piled on a half-open shelf.
The paper quality was exactly that of the Koryuu's outer skin that I had been searching for.
"Were you sleepy? Or maybe the dicine hasn't worn off?"
"No, that's not it..."
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