"It's nothing like that. I am not trying to distract you but to figure out which part of the mission I want you to do. The mission is rather long, and I would rather not have you exhausted before our next big raid."
Reize sounded so reasonable that lissa found herself agreeing with the leader. She had been with Reize long enough to know what kind of person she was.
And because lissa respected Reize a lot, she followed her words.
The sa could not be said for Amane. She knew this was a distraction and did not pretend otherwise. She remained quiet for lissa's sake.
"If the mission is important enough for you to send us out right before the big raid, then I need to do my best to get it done. Fine, I will accept this mission."
lissa agreed and held her hands out for the paper. A few papers were handed to lissa, and Reize waved her hands.
"This is all the information I can provide you with. I just know that the one you are chasing after is a traitor who stole critical information. Make sure not to investigate the information you will retrieve. It is top secret, after all."
lissa was warning the pair, but it was a psychological trick to make them more interested in the truth. And the thing was, it was working.
Amane was curious about the truth and what it ant.
"You both will head toward the forr Tsurugi estate for this mission. That place is a treasure tomb of knowledge and a security hazard due to all the beasts that guard that place. It will be tough, but are you both ready?"
Amane stopped breathing as soon as she heard the family na.
She had not thought of the Tsurugi family until now, but that ho should have been the first thing she thought about.
"Tsurugi family?"
Amane asked, and Reize decided to humour her.
"It is rumoured that Yoko Tsurugi was a beast tar unparalleled by anyone. She also had a successor who could ta beasts. They were a prestigious family but did not take a stance when the war started."
"Once Yoko and her successor died, it beca impossible for new people to approach the Tsurugi household. We do not even know what secrets and technology lie inside. The beasts guard those places as if they are guarding their treasure."
Reize explained, and Amane was surprised to hear all this.
"Yoko Tsurugi did not leave behind a successor? What about the elders and other people? Surely, they would have pressured her into having one."
Amane knew how the elders were. Once it was confird that Yoko had all the power and she was not going anywhere, they would have done everything they could to ensure Yoko had a successor.
"Elders? Sohow, they were all dead once the world started falling apart. Yoko Tsurugi and her assistant were the last to disappear."
lissa finished the story instead of Reize. This seed like public information if it was being told to an outsider like Yoko.
'I see. So, Yoko and Eclipse are dead. Stella is likely dead as well, and everyone I know is dead. Just what the hell is happening here? And where did Kori go?'
Amane felt lonely for the first ti since coming back to this world. She could not help but clutch her chest as she allowed her feelings to be sombre.
"If the interrogation is done, I want you both to head out. I will also use this mission to judge whether you can work with beasts."
Reize's words caused Amane to quiet down even more, but lissa looked energetic and ready to take on the word.
"I understand. I will make sure that I do not disappoint you. Once I am done, please permit to own a drake."
lissa begged, and Reize shook her hand. It was her way of dismissing the situation.
The pair walked out of the room with different but determined expressions. They would be heading out in about an hour, and Amane decided to be alone to gather her thoughts.
Finally, after an hour, it was ti to head to the Tsurugi estate. Amane felt butterflies flutter inside her stomach as she prepared to head out.
Luckily, lissa was there with her, which made Amane relax.
...
"We have everything ready. We should head out now."
lissa assured as she did a final count of their supplies. There seed to be nothing missing. They were about to head out when another person joined their group. Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire
Sweat dripped down Kristia's face as he rushed to catch up with Amane and lissa. He looked flushed and tired but determined to follow the pair.
"Hey, wait for . I want to co with you. You both would need keen eyes looking over you while you look around the Tsurugi mansion. I want to be that person for you."
Kristia assured and bragged at the sa ti. Amane would instead not take him because she did not trust him, but lissa had different thoughts.
"You want to co with us? Did you get permission from Reize?"
Kristia looked away, and Amane was sure he was about to lie to them. His heartbeat had picked up, but Kristia sounded assured.
"Yeah, I got the permission I needed. I want to accompany you on this mission since you are sotis clumsy. I do not want you to fall and hurt yourself."
A slight flush on Kristia's face indicated he did not want to say all this cheesy stuff. But he still did not take his words back. He could not take it back because he wanted to be with lissa.
'Ah, it's a ssy, one-sided life I do not want to be a part of. I used to enjoy these situations a lot, but I think I am too old to enjoy them anymore.'
Amane looked at the pair in front of her with a tired expression. She sighed and noticed how lissa was looking at her with concern.
"Hey, are you alright? You should tell if you are feeling unwell. I will ask soone to help you out."
lissa beca alert instantly and looked at Amane with a concerned expression. It caused Kristia to look at her with jealousy, but he did not say anything.
This combination was dangerous and caused Amane to have a bad feeling.
'Perhaps I should not be thinking of such things. There is no way I will get caught in a love triangle at my age. I must be tired and seeing things.'
This was what Amane hoped. But she had a feeling that this was not the case. The barely-present blush on lissa's cheeks indicated she felt sothing for Amane.
There was also jealousy aid toward Amane, and this one was a little more obvious than the others.
'Looks like I will have to navigate this pair carefully. But first, let's take care of the stuff I need to do at the Tsurugi estate.'
Amane shivered as soon as she headed out. She felt terrible about this mission, and her instincts told her not to poke into the Tsurugi mansion.
'I should not be thinking about what is going to happen. I have enough power to deal with it all.'
That was what Amane believed. But nostalgia was a hard thing to deal with.
The Tsurugi mansion looked unchanged, and it felt like Amane had returned in ti. She looked at the huge mansion, still standing tall, but it had no servants running around.
"Wow, this place is impressive. It has been more than a century since this place was last used. But it still stands tall without much sign of wear and tear to show for it."
Kristia sounded impressed, but Amane knew that the condition of the Tsurugi house could have been more impressive.
It was standing tall mainly because of all the ruins engraved into its walls.
Most of these ruins had been engraved by Amane since she wanted to give a lasting gift to Yoko for her parting.
'Is this what it feels like to co back ho? The place is still here, but the people who were supposed to welco are no longer there. It feels so lonely to co back here.'
Amane tried to hold in her feelings of loneliness. Tears were beginning to hit her eyes, and Amane was unaware she could shed tears until now.
"Hey, are you alright? You can head back if you are scared. We can take it from here…"
"No, that is not what happened. I just rembered my ho when I looked at this abandoned mansion. I think it might be sowhere like this."
Amane comnted and got the pair to look back at her with a sympathetic smile.
"Don't look at like that. I am not sad…just slightly disappointed that I can no longer return ho or to the people waiting for ."
The pair who accompanied Amane went quiet. They could not say anything about it since they did not know Amane well.
*cough*
"I am sure your family is happy and misses you wherever they are. So, you should not be sad for them and do what you want. Don't let your past hold you back."
It felt ironic to hear these words from soone else. Amane could not help but throw her head back and laugh out loud.
It felt karmic to hear these words from the mouth of soone else. This was the sa advice Amane often gave to the people she helped.
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