A Gathering in the Shadows (Part 1)

With a strike of Hilda’s staff, Cain was knocked onto the ground unconscious.

Lucy swung her sword multiple times towards Hilda, but Hilda ducked and dodged every single one, then jabbed her staff into Lucy’s stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Hilda then spun her heel around and drove it into Lucy’s cheek. Lucy smashed against the floor and didn’t get back up.

“Amazing,” Jessica whispered in awe.

“That’s enough for today.” Mania clapped her hands twice. “I’m impressed with just how far you’ve come in such a short time, Hilda.”

“Thank…you.” Hilda caught her breath, then picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from her brow.

“Truly, you are a most impressive warrior, Hilda,” Jessica praised. “Lady Mania, if you would excuse me.”

“Of course.”

Jessica bowed and went to tend to the unconscious adventurers with the Machai.

Impressive. Hilda struggled to stay standing just a few weeks ago, and now she’s strong enough to defeat two adventurers by herself, Mania mused. I thought it was impressive when she took down five Machai herself a few weeks ago, but this, this is really impressive. I can’t help but be a little bit proud of her.

“…Can we…continue…later?”

“As in later today?” Mania asked; Hilda nodded. “I don’t mind, but aren’t you tired after this session?”

Per Mania’s schedule, Hilda trained for at least an hour or two a day depending on how injured or exhausted Hilda became. Usually, just that session was enough and Hilda never requested another one on the same day.

“I’m…fine,” Hilda whispered. “…Please.”

Mania folded her arms and sighed. “Hilda, is something wrong?” Hilda cocked her head quizzically. “I mean, something must’ve happened to make you ask for another session, right? Is something bothering you?”

Hilda winced and she nodded. “…His majesty…has servants…much stronger…than me. I don’t…want to be useless…to him.” She closed her eyes. “…I want…power…to stand by his side.”

Mania smiled warmly. “I understand how you feel, but the Dark Lord isn’t someone who would abandon you if you prove useful to him. Even though I have disappointed him greatly, he hasn’t discarded me.” Mania lost her smile as her heart ached. “Yet. As long as we are useful to him, he’ll never throw us away.”

“Then…let’s make sure…neither…of us…is thrown away,” Hilda smiled brightly.

“Yeah.” Mania smiled again. “Then, Hilda, shall we have another training session this afternoon? I might have to make it a shorter one because of my work in the city, but I take it that’s fine with you.”

“…Yes.”

“Excellent. Until later then.”

***

At the Hierophant, Mímir had summoned a Raven and one of Jorōgumo’s spiders named Echo to his office to discuss an urgent matter.

It was the middle of the day, the Hierophant's busiest time, but Mímir had deemed it necessary to address the matter as quickly as possible.

“How many different groups are watching the Hierophant?”

“Three, Lord Mímir.”

“Have we identified them all?”

“The Ravens have identified one of them.”

This one’s kin have identified two of them, Echo said with a disconnected voice.

“Who are they?”

“The Sons of Tartarus. It appears that they have been sending in random men from their ranks to investigate the inside of the Hierophant, whilst they have other eyes and reinforcements nearby on the streets posing as ordinary citizens.”

“What gave them away?”

“Despite changing who they send to scope us out every day, they have made a fundamental mistake by having their lookouts take up positions in the same spots each day. It made identifying and following them much easier.”

“How many people have they sent to investigate us?”

“Close to forty, Lord Mímir.”

Mímir frowned They might be waiting for a moment to strike at us after assessing our threat level.

Rumours had already begun spreading that the Hierophant was now owned by a former A-ranked adventurer, including the exaggerated ones Mímir had intentionally spread himself. Whenever customers came in asking him about it, he answered vaguely, making the rumours grow more and no one could confirm if they were true or false, just as he’d planned.

The inability to confirm our strength will keep unwanted attention away from us, but not forever.

“Echo, who are the other two groups?”

This one has identified them as soldiers from the Paladins and members of the adventurer’s guild. This one believes that both groups are trying to assess whether or not there is a connection between us and the murders that have occurred in the city.

“Well, it was only a matter of time.” Mímir brought a hand to his face and sighed. “With that many eyes on us, we can’t afford to make any more mistakes. However, we can’t stop our operations now. Raven, carry out the random murders but have them be less gruesome than the previous ones.”

“…Lord Mímir, might I ask a question?”

“You may.”

“Surely, changing our method of killing now would detract from the image of the Great Disaster we have already built, even if it is what his majesty desires. “Would that not tip people off into thinking that this is nothing more than a man-made creation?”

Mímir smiled beneath his scarf. “That’s exactly right.”

“Lord Mímir?”

“By changing our tactics now, we better confuse our enemies into thinking that there might be multiple groups trying to use this Great Disaster to profit. It’ll distract our enemies’ attention partially and, in that confusion, we can act. The more we do and blame on the Great Disaster we’ve invented, the more confused our enemies become and the harder they start looking for any and all connections.”

This one would describe this strategy as being extremely risky but with the potential for high rewards, Echo said.

“I’m glad you agree, Echo. What other news do you have for me?”

“Sylvan asked me to deliver this to you, Lord Mímir.” The Raven handed Mímir a brown envelope. “He says that this could be the sort of opportunity our master would love.”

Mímir tore open the envelope and read the report inside, a thin smile forming over his lips. He pulled down his scarf and put the papers gently onto his desk.

The report was about the two countries to the north of the Holy Empire of Themis: the Federation of Free City States and the Royal Kingdom of Aangapea. It primarily consisted of a list of VIPs, building schematics and, most importantly of all, a piece of printed media right from the Royal Kingdom’s press.

Princess Raeanne and Duke Cavan’s Wedding: The Happy Couple Announce the Date of Their Marriage.

“Echo, find out everything you can about the Federation of Free City States and the Royal Kingdom of Aangapea. Raven, take five of your kin and head north to this venue. Prepare a lovely surprise the likes of which the bride to be has never seen. I will personally join you soon.”

“As you command, Lord Mímir. Do you have any specific desires for this surprise?”

“A high body count primarily from the groom’s party should suffice. Let’s aim for the groom’s parents too if we can.”

“As you wish.”

The Raven departed, leaving Mímir and Echo alone.

This one wonders if you should not have cleared this with his majesty first.

“I intend to do so now,” Mímir replied, opening a portal behind him.

This one wishes you had asked first.

“As long as neither of us mention it, we’ll be fine.”

This one will only tell his majesty should you get rejected. If your plan is accepted, then this one shall remain silent.

Mímir nodded, pulled back up his scarf and stepped into the portal.

If his majesty says no, I can always catch up to the Ravens and drag them back, Mímir thought.