Making a difference

We had the correct mindset going towards our rescue mission (kind of)

Unfortunately, good intentions do not save the day when you have no talents whatsoever. This fact hit me once we actually approached the mansion. The situation was much worse than I had expected. From a distance, I had seen the magic bubble burst like a sphere of ice, but it was only when I reached the old elevator that the gravity of the situation became clear.

"How…do we even get up there now?" I asked Tama

The mansion's only connection to the city were the reverse waterfalls carrying elevator cages, but now those paths were severed as no water was in sight.

"Someone broke the all spells around the mansion, it's a matter of time before if falls down."

"Huh? What do you mean fall down?"

"Listen Kaede, the only reason that place was floating in the first place was due to a combination of different gravity and water spells, as well as the bubble supporting every magic formula to keep them going by transforming rain into mana."

"…first time I hear any of this."

"No bubble, no mana. No mana, no infinite spells… you see where this is going?"

"Yeah, it's going…to crash above our heads."

"This is why we need to be fast."

"Cool, now I'm even more anxious than before and we still do not know how to…"

Tama sneakily walked behind me, grabbed my thighs with one and and my back with the other…and lifted me.

"W-w-w-hat."

"No time for complaining."

Carrying me like a princess, the foxgirl ran towards a hole in the ground, the exact spot where the reverse waterfall started before all of this happened.

"And now what?"

"Just wait a moment please." She said winking at me. Ground under our feet started rumbling, Tama's grip on me tightened which made me do the same. Not that I minded doing so, if there was one thing I stood to gain in all that mess was…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

A Jetstream sent us flying, the only reason we didn't end up hurt by it was because a sort of barrier was deployed by the foxgirl a moment before impact, our trajectory ended exactly at the outer edge of the floating garden. We landed gracefully, as if Tama was immune to the laws of gravity.

"H-h-how?"

"A cat always lands on its feet!"

"You're a fox."

"Always nitpicking. Come on, we don't have much time!"

"R-r-right. But wait…"

"Nyan?"

She literally forgot her nyan shtick until now. What a bothersome girl to have as a friend. Still, I wouldn't have arrived here without her… which also means there's no way to return to the ground! At least for me!

"How do we descend?"

"We'll improvise! Go search for Tsuki! Given the time, she should be in the dancing hall!"

"O….ok."

The plan does not convince me at all, but there's not many options at our disposal so I'll go along with it. I clench my chest with the right hand, close my eyes and take a deep breath. Whatever caused the sphere destruction must be dangerous, but now that I'm here, the atmosphere is strange. It's chilly, silent, peaceful. If it wasn't for the knowledge of the ticking clock before flying spell stops and everyone crashes to their death, I could even define this place relaxing.

Some of the garden was messy, but damage was quite limited to be honest. Feels like an abandoned mansion, spooky but not dangerous.

"Oh, right, Tama what will you search fo…"

Damn, stupid foxgirl.

And there goes the only hope for protection I had.

Nothing to do but search for Tsuki, outside of well, trying not to die to whatever's around. The point we landed was on the western side of the mansion; my objective was at the exact center. I pass through the entire gardens… or climb to one of the windows and cut much of the distance by passing inside.

There was no evidence of commotion neither outside, nor inside where all light were off. Lionheart must be somewhere, but given how silent everything is, he probably hasn't found a threat to fight with. Maybe the sphere breaking was just an accident and everything I'm doing is useless, it would really be on brand for me to panic over something that ends up not being that serious.

Still, I decide to enter the mansion through the windows. It would be easier to hide inside if there's any danger. I reached the edge of a window and pulled myself inside, not without difficulty. Being reincarnated without powers was becoming more and more of a rip-off.

In fact, I wonder what Arthesya would think of this situation. Theoretically, if someone really did attack the mansion, they could be trying to destroy the chain and free her. I should help whoever it is.

Yet my only concern is saving a friend. Of course, I'm not actively doing anything against the Cult of the Goddess, but at the same time, I'm certainly not helping them either.

The mansion is dark and I'm not that familiar with this section… already, my choices have been proven wrong. The only thing to do it's searching for lights as this place actually has a form of electricity, by touching randomly on the wall, I find a button and press it. A lamp light up.

"Hiiiiick"

"Shhhhhhh"

There was someone else in the room.

"Why were you silent? You scared me to death!"

"Shhhhh, please…be silent and turn down the lights."

It was onme of the rental maid cowering in a corner, given her frightful eyes, I decided to humor her a little and pressed the switch again, making everything dark once more. Then I sit and whispered.

"Hey…what's happening?"

"Do you really wanna talk? IT will find us."

"IT?"

"The thing from before."

"Sorry, I wasn't here until recently…"

"Why are you here then? You have a deathwish?"

"A friend of mine is here, help me find her, then we can descend to the city safely"

Or at least that's what I think. Still not sure what Tama's plan is, but she did bring me here someway so…

"Really? Can we escape?"

"Yes, but first, we need to find Tsuki. Have you seen her? She had a beautiful purple longdress and.."

"No…"

"Didn't see her?"

"No, no, no, no you want me to go back there? NO WAY, I'M NOT."

Realizing she had raised her voice, the girl covered her mouth with both hands. I could hear her whimpering. It didn't fare well…

"Y-y-you don't have to go anywhere…just tell me where to you saw her last."

"I-I d-don't know…but if she had a longdress..she must have been in the dancing hall."

"Y-yes? Was she still there?"

"I can't go there, I can't, I can't…"

"What's in the dancing hall."

"It's…a statue."

"A…statue?"

"Y-yes, we all felt everything shake, then from the ceiling fell this statue and…all lost consciousness…I barely escaped…just because I was on break…"

"So…that's it? Everyone lost consciousness and nothing more?"

"Don't go there."

"Has this…statue done something?"

"I …don't know. But when I watched it…I felt like approaching would be the end of me…"

She was obviously traumatized…but what she told was actually good news for me. If her story was true, then Tsuki was most likely still alive. No idea what the statue deal is, but if it didn't actually do anything aside from falling through the ceiling, then there was a chance it wasn't dangerous.

I turned on the lights again.

"PLEASE TURN THEM OFFF OR…"

"Calm down, you'll see nothing bad will happen, wait a moment."

I leave the light on for a minute, the girl still cowering on her corner. But as expected, nothing happened, she was simply paranoid.

"If you're scared, please wait for a girl in fox ears right outside the window. In a short while we will escape together!"

"T-thank you."

"No worries, now leave it to me!"

I exit the room, still no idea how this part of the mansion is structured but with the hallways being illuminated, there were good chances I could actually find my way to the dancing hall. Walking around, there was a strange feeling in my chest. That girl…felt so relieved after getting to know that there was hope to escape from here. And if I hadn't come here, that would have not happened.

A smiled formed on my face.

It's stupid, I know very well how stupid that is. But feeling helpful was kind of a new sensation for me. Even if it was just one girl, I managed to help her. And now it was Tsuki's turn, no way I would leave her here until everything goes crashing down!

With that energy, I started running through the corridors.

Soon, I found the way to the dancing hall, arrived to the entry door and pulled the door. I was optimistic, the anxiety for the ticking clock slowly became strength to do my best in order to survive. I felt like I could make a difference! Even in this shitty situation, there was something I could do to make It better, life hated me, but I had the option not to give up.

I would help all the people I could.

That was my desire.

How stupid I was.

You know, I died once before so believe me when I say this.

On the other side of the door, there was a sight much scarier than my death was.