The South Area, at a mountain range along the river on the outskirts of a certain outer gate—
The one-eyed raven flew back to the large rock where he had been sitting before and addressed the woman fishing nearby.
"Caw. Ryo intends to accept the mission. He did refuse at first, but the moment I mentioned that it was the Queen's arrangements, he agreed without hesitation. That's rather strange."
"That isn't strange, Odin." Krishna gazed at the float drifting on the river and smiled.
"In a sense, Halloween has done that little guy a favor. Whether he's accepting the request to repay the debt or simply because he knows better than to provoke her, he was bound to agree to that willful Queen's demands."
"Oh? He actually has a connection with the Queen?" The one-eyed raven let out an astonished cry before breaking into a gleeful cackle. "Shiroyasha, Queen Halloween, and Demon Star Algol. All three of Little Garden's Star Spirits have taken a liking to that kid? Well, now that's interesting. Heh heh. Maybe I'll even get to witness a full-blown tug-of-war over him."
"Mm. I'm looking forward to that too..." Krishna was still smiling when she suddenly paused. With a look of surprise, she reached into the void and pulled out a letter.
Seeing Krishna's expression, the raven was startled as well. "What happened?"
"Nothing. I just didn't expect that little fellow would actually…" For a moment, even Krishna wasn't sure how to describe what she was feeling.
By all rights, her relationship with Ryo should have been terrible.
But this letter…
Surely it hadn't been sent to the wrong person?
Yet Ryo had clearly used a targeting ritual.
This…
Krishna looked at the letter. The writing on it was still fresh.
She stared at it for a moment before suddenly throwing her head back and laughing. "Hahaha! So that's what he was doing! What a slippery little brat! Looks like the Queen's little game has been ruined by this kid."
"What?"
The raven had no idea what was going on. All he knew was that Krishna seemed rather strange after receiving the letter.
Krishna merely shook her head with a laugh and didn't explain. She casually turned the letter over, wrote a single line on the back, then flicked her wrist.
The letter immediately flew back the way it had come.
"Nothing. I just saw something amusing."
She answered the raven casually, then looked down at her fishing float and gave the rod a little shake.
"Speaking of which, Odin, it seems you went around using Loki's name to scam people again this time?"
The raven sighed when he heard that. "Only a boss like you would keep calling your own double agent by his real name. What a buzzkill."
"Sorry about that, then." Krishna smiled. Then, staring at the float, she sighed. "The fish got off the hook! What a shame."
...
..
At the Celtic pantheon headquarters—
Scáthach, dressed in a butler's uniform, walked up behind the dazzling girl who shone like the sun.
She glanced at the untouched cup of black tea on the table before the girl and asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, you don't seem to have much of an appetite today."
"Scáthach." Queen Halloween spoke in a gentle voice, but the words themselves were anything but gentle. "I'm in a bad mood today. Say one more word and I make no promises about what I might do."
Scáthach immediately shut her mouth.
Then her exceptionally sharp hearing picked up several faint sounds of paper being torn.
It sounded like a letter being ripped apart…
Scáthach couldn't help wondering what was written in the letter.
Meanwhile, with her back still turned to Scáthach, the Queen muttered unhappily, "He actually exposed my little game to that bunch of peeping toms. What an infuriating man. He won't even indulge me in the slightest, and he still thinks he can have designs on me? Hmph. Men!"
Scáthach's curiosity was practically eating her alive, but she wisely pretended she hadn't heard a thing.
She had no desire to become the next victim of the Queen's little game of amusement.
From the looks of things, someone had managed to escape the Queen's game. Scáthach just couldn't imagine who could have irritated her enough to put her in such a foul mood.
"Scáthach!"
"Present!" Scáthach hurriedly lowered her head, waiting respectfully for her mistress's next command.
"I'm in a bad mood today." The Queen's voice remained soft and gentle, but there was an unmistakable edge lurking beneath it. "From here all the way to the border of the sunset, every Community is to provide me with a new dessert."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Scáthach sighed helplessly and prepared to leave.
"Wait."
Scáthach stopped and turned around, lowering her head again with a resigned expression.
"Make two of every cake. Send the extra one to Arcadia. Stuff it into their leader's mouth! And you are to personally supervise him until he finishes it. Understood?"
So Ryo really was the one who had offended Her Majesty…
Scáthach finally understood who the culprit was. She nodded. "As you command."
Just before she left, Scáthach distinctly heard a soft rustling sound behind her.
It seemed to be the sound of a quill gliding across paper.
...
..
Arcadia Headquarters - Ryo Yagami's room
Only a few seconds after the ritual ended, the first reply arrived.
"Hm? Is this symbol supposed to represent the Twin Goddesses?"
Ryo stared at the circular ritual pattern glowing on the floor in surprise. He picked up the envelope lying in its center and opened it.
Inside was a single line of elegant handwriting:
—[Protect him as requested.]
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "So that means they agree with me going to protect Kalki? Thousand Eyes are the ones funding the Heavenly Army from behind the scenes, right?"
Before he could think about it any further, another ritual pattern lit up on the floor.
Then a golden Buddhist radiance, bright but not dazzling, illuminated the room.
He opened that letter as well and found another short message:
—[Let nature take its course.]
The corner of Ryo's mouth twitched.
He looked down as two more ritual patterns lit up on the floor.
One was familiar. It was probably from Queen Halloween.
The other was unfamiliar, but it carried a strange attraction toward all things in existence.
That one was probably Krishna's reply.
Ryo decided to open the Queen's letter first:
—[Do you like desserts?]
Ryo stared blankly for a moment.
"Sure, I don't mind sweets. But what exactly is this supposed to mean?"
Before he could figure it out, the letter spontaneously caught fire.
It quickly vanished right there in his hand, leaving Ryo staring at the empty space with a thoroughly baffled expression.
He glanced suspiciously at where the letter had disappeared before turning his attention to Krishna's envelope.
He tried to open it.
It wouldn't budge.
"Hm?"
Ryo lowered his head and stared at the letter in surprise.
At that moment, words slowly appeared across the front of the envelope.
~Open when Kalki is in danger~
Ryo fell silent for a moment before sighing. "The replies are all a little strange, but overall, I guess this mission should be dangerous without actually being disastrous, right?"
"Probably…"
Just thinking about facing the Heavenly Army's forces was enough to make even Ryo, with two-digit powerhouses backing him, feel a little helpless.
Hopefully the Heavenly Army will hold back a little.
With that thought in mind, Ryo finally reached the time he had arranged to meet Heracles and "Loki."
.
.
.