The fire crackled.
The hearth burned high, its warmth driving back the snow piled up outside the window, and the whole office felt as warm as spring.
In the corner, the pendulum of the grandfather clock swung at an unhurried pace, ticking off each passing second.
Nearly ten minutes went by, and just when the impatient Alise could hardly sit still any longer, someone finally spoke.
Riveria, who had been standing quietly by the French window the whole time, spoke in her usual cool tone:
"So, are we forming an Irregular Special Investigation Team?"
"Finn, there's no more time for you to hesitate. If a large-scale Irregular truly spirals out of control and the monsters from the Dungeon's depths surge up to the surface, that's when things become truly impossible to contain."
Finn chewed on his thumbnail, his expression conflicted.
In the end, he sighed helplessly:
"Right, an investigation team. But that's exactly the problem. We don't have any spare people to use."
"Freya's side, our side, even Ganesha and Astraea, everyone has already been spread out, all to guard against another surprise attack from the Evilus."
Hearing this, Alise and the others looked troubled as well.
Just then, a light flickered in Riveria's eyes. She remembered a piece of information Asfi had let slip at the meeting a few days earlier.
"Wait!"
"I just remembered something!"
"If I'm not mistaken, counting the days... the Demeter Familia's Expedition team should still be deep in the Dungeon right now."
The moment Riveria spoke, every gaze turned to her.
"Demeter Familia?"
A sharp gleam flashed in Finn's eyes:
"You mean... Mr. Hart and his people?"
Before he'd even finished, a hint of hope had barely surfaced on everyone's faces when Kaguya's expression suddenly changed:
"Wait. If a large-scale Irregular really has broken out in the Dungeon... then Leon and the others, could they..."
She didn't finish. But the chill in her words had already spread into everyone's hearts.
"If something really has happened in the Dungeon, it's already too late for us to send anyone to support them."
Finn said in a low voice:
"We can only hope they make it through..."
The office door burst open with a bang!
"Captain! Something terrible has happened! Over at Ganesha Familia..."
The Familia messenger caught sight of the Astraea Familia members on the sofa and broke off, looking at Finn uncomfortably.
"It's fine. They're our people."
"Yes, Captain! The captain of Ganesha Familia, Lady Shakti, along with Adi, Ilta, Ibri, and others, and the Astraea Familia's Gale, Neze, Asta, and others, were ambushed by unknown assailants while destroying the illegal trade market warehouse they had tracked down. All of them, all of them were severely wounded!"
"Right now, the reinforcements who arrived afterward have taken everyone to the Dian Cecht Familia Treatment Center for emergency treatment."
The reception room went so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The next second, everyone rose to their feet at once, armor plates and gear clashing with a ringing of metal.
"Nani!?"
Alise's eyes bulged, her scalp prickling, and she stared at the messenger in total disbelief.
Compared to the stunned Alise, Kaguya's reaction was more direct.
Her figure flickered, and in an instant she was right in front of the messenger, grabbing him by the collar and hoisting him clean off the ground. Her face was calm, but the icy killing intent seeping from her eyes made the messenger feel as if he'd plunged into an ice cellar.
"You said... severely wounded?"
Even though the killing intent wasn't aimed at him, the messenger still went white with fright, his voice trembling:
"Y-yes! They say... by the time the reinforcements arrived, everyone was already down on the ground, even the Lv.4 Ankusha, all of them unconscious and bleeding from every orifice!"
"Bleeding from every orifice?"
Everyone frowned, each of them realizing that things might not be so simple.
"Kaguya, rein in your killing intent. Don't drag our own people into it."
Lyra sighed and stepped forward to hold back Kaguya, who was already on the verge of exploding with rage. She gave the messenger an apologetic nod, then asked the question on everyone's mind:
"Are you sure the cause of their unconsciousness is the bleeding from every orifice? And not some other fatal wound?"
Once he was set down, the messenger hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and answered shakily:
"Yes. After a basic diagnosis and first aid, apart from Captain Shakti of Ganesha taking one heavy blow to the abdomen, none of the others had any obvious external injuries beyond a few scrapes... Instead, the bones and organs inside their bodies were all struck by some kind of force! W-we don't have any further news yet!"
Kaguya let go.
The messenger dropped to the floor, gasping for air.
Without a word, she flicked back her hair, turned, and strode swiftly toward the door.
"Alise, I'll leave things here to you."
"I'm going to check on Ryuu and the others."
"Everyone, excuse me."
"Hey...!"
Before Alise could even snap out of her worry, all that was left in her sight was a streak of Kaguya's long black hair flashing past in the corridor outside.
"Tch, what's she running off so fast for!"
"They've already been taken to Airmid, haven't they? Honestly..."
Alise muttered under her breath, then stood as well and nodded to Finn, Riveria, and the others:
"I've delivered the message, so I won't bother you any longer. You heard it too. Our comrades just got some special treatment from the Evilus, so..."
Finn nodded calmly:
"All right. Be careful on the way, and stay in touch."
"Ais, see our guests out."
The blonde "doll girl," who had been "invisible" in the corner the whole time, stepped out of the shadows expressionlessly and answered flatly:
"Okay."
Alise waved her hand:
"No need to see us out! We're off!"
Before the words had even faded, she and Lyra were hurrying after Kaguya.
Ais: "..."
Finn turned to look out the window, watching the Astraea Familia members cross the courtyard and pass through the gate, their figures gradually fading into the vast curtain of snow. Only once they had disappeared completely did he withdraw his deep gaze.
"You sly Pallum, don't tell me you're scheming something crooked again?"
Gareth the dwarf, who hadn't said much all this time, stroked his beard and sized Finn up through narrowed eyes. He sat properly in his specially made chair, without the slightest thought of crossing his legs.
...
...