Chapter 3

ELEGANT

LARIEL SAVANT

Ira stood at the center of the beach, chest rising and falling from taken breaths. The sand around her had turned to glass. The remnants of the Vengeance Demon had turned to ash, dusted away by the evening wind.
She didn’t move, only watching as the monster disappeared into the void.
Nikita squinted, standing beside Lariel.
“What is she doing? Why is she just standing there?” the redhead asked.
“She’s aura farming.”

# # #

CHAPTER 3
THE EDELCROFT ESTATE

Codex 03: The Second Magic, Refinement
A learnable, formal magic system. It attempts to refine the chaotic abilities of the First Magic into a collection of highly specialized spells.

# # #

The authorities arrived ten minutes later. They were mainly guardsmen, dressed in the black and red of the Avalsari Empire. Swords or rifles were slung over their shoulders while their featureless black helmets hid their faces.
The attack dampened the festivity in the air. The presence of the guardsmen removed it entirely.
Hiromi spoke to the guards, joined by Edelcroft and the head manager.
“I hope she’s not planning to start an investigation,” Ira said, munching on a bowl of grapes. The restaurant staff cleaned up around them. “She’s a Sentinel but that doesn’t give her police authority.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t help,” Nikita said from behind the bar, tongue peeking from lips as she made a martini for herself.
“What even happened back there?” Lariel asked. “I thought we were here to party, not fight demons.”
Ira shrugged. “I don’t know, dude. The Vengeance came out of nowhere. Probably pierced the Vale.”
Nikita examined her martini, and downed it in the same movement. She then started making another one. “Edelcroft said that the town’s Vales are keenly observed. And there are no Tears in the immediate area as well. The monster could have been summoned by a Third, instead of being a natural occurrence.”
“Huh,” Lariel said. “We could have autopsied the thing if someone didn’t blow it up.”
“Shut up.” Ira tossed a grape at Lariel’s head, watching it bounce off harmlessly.
Nikita grinned and gestured for one of the workers currently sweeping the floor. A middle-aged woman approached, dressed in a long-sleeved uniform. Lariel recognized her as one of the managers.
“Your husband works as an imperial guardsman,” Nikita said to the woman. “Doesn’t he?”
The woman nodded.
“Is running a bar fun?” Ira asked.
“It’s not,” the woman said. Her name tag read, ‘Enrid.’ “But I need this job. Times aren’t easy these days.”
“A guardsman’s salary isn’t enough to support you and your husband?” Ira asked. She always assumed guardsmen made bank compared to other civilian careers.
“Not comfortably,” Enrid said, narrowing her eyes as Nikita assembled a new martini. “The tourism industry’s been both good and bad. Things have gotten very expensive. A lot of the people here are… desperate.”
“And that translates to Thirds summoning demons?” Lariel asked.
“People have started to lash out,” Enrid said. “Many put the blame on the church and the council families, saying that they’re not doing enough to help people. Don’t get me wrong. The Edelcroft family pays well, but a lot of the others don’t. And the opportunity of a higher salary isn’t enough. The people just want some help. Reforms, promises for jobs. We’re met with silence.”
Enrid considered her next words carefully.
“I’m not one for violence, but after a certain point, people come to the conclusion that asking for change won’t be enough.”

# # #

Hiromi and Ludolf Edelcroft returned when Nikita was on her fourth martini, and while Ira was wolfing down a steak. Lariel was enjoying a chocolate sundae herself. The princess stared at their table filled with discarded plates, looking like she was moments away from breaking her usual ice-cold composure.
“You should try this. It’s delicious,” Lariel offered Hiromi a bite of her sundae.
“You want me to entrust my life to them?” Ludolf spoke slowly as he eyed each of the girls. Lariel had to admit, he looked good. Fit and tall, but right now oh so very scared.
“Yes. They are all Watcher students. Like me,” Hiromi said in that soft, ghostly voice of hers.
“Watcher students,” Ludolf repeated. When Hiromi stared at him blankly he cleared his throat and said. “But yes, thank you for your offer, Highness.” And then, turning to the girls, he added, “I’d like all of you to join me at our estate.”
“Damn guy,” Lariel smirked. “Was this all a ploy to get the four of us back to your place?”
“Don’t be weird,” Ira said.
Hiromi straightened her shoulders. “House Edelcroft has been receiving threats in the past few weeks. This attack might merely be the first of many.”
“Okay? It’s not our responsibility to protect nobles,” Ira said. Nikita vigorously nodded beside her.
“But it is our responsibility to kill demons,” Hiromi said. “It is possible that another might appear tonight.”
Lariel jutted out her bottom lip and nodded. “You just wanna see the Edelcroft estate, don’t you?”
Hiromi sighed. “Yes. I want to see an estate a fraction of the size of my castle back home.” She blinked, turning to Edelcroft. “I apologize for the offense.”
Ludolf held up his hands in a placating gesture.
Ira shrugged. “I’m down. But only if this guy tells us why his family’s being targeted in the first place. No lies, alright, buddy?”
Ludolf met Ira’s gaze and nodded.
“Will there be alcohol at your place?” Nikita asked, downing another martini. Hiromi turned towards Edelcroft, expectant, waiting for an answer.
What was up with these two and alcohol?

# # #

IRA

The Edelcroft estate was a beach front property, built upon one of the white cliffs overlooking the ocean. It towered over the town, an all white structure decorated with the family’s shield and mace banner. The white ring of the Divinus Faith was displayed prominently on the house itself. It glowed bright in the evening light like a third moon.
A high fence surrounded the property. CCTV cameras pivoted on axles, watching every inch of the surrounding area. A pair of household guards waited for them by the gate, dressed in suits and with swords hanging over their shoulders.
If they were surprised at the presence of four young women entering their lord’s estate, the guards did not show it. They remained entirely professional.
Ludolf briefly excused himself and left the girls in the care of his servants.
“Fancy place,” Lariel said, crossing her legs over a plush, velvet couch.
“Why are we here again?” Ira asked, leaning forward to examine some book shelves. The books were dusty and rarely touched. Whoever lived here probably just used these things as decoration.
“One of the kitchen staff from the restaurant went missing,” Hiromi said. She sat at the head of the small living room table, flipping through her phone. “I have filed him as our primary suspect.”
“I thought we weren’t investigating?” Ira asked.
Hiromi ignored her. She turned her phone and showed a picture of a young man’s mugshot. His expression showed defeat and desperation. Ira recognized that look. She carried that look for years after her parents’ death. He looked dead inside, as if all the happiness he once experienced had been drained away. She wondered, if like her, the man was driven by something primal.
“The police call him Osker. He’s a Third Magic user, caught in the past for smuggling redweed into the town. He also has records of various misdemeanors including drunk driving and violence,” Hiromi read aloud. “His records show that he often blames House Edelcroft for his fate.”
“Way to not take responsibility for your actions, dude,” Ira said. But a part of her sympathized.
Lariel drew up her knees and hugged them, staring at the ceiling.
“I can see my dreams of a relaxed beach vacation evaporating in the thin air,” the blonde said.
“Indulge me,” Hiromi said. “Records show that this Osker has contracts with multiple demons. Enrid said that he looked out of it this evening. Angry, lost, and desperate.”
“Why is he even out of jail?” Lariel asked. “The guy sounds dangerous. Why isn’t he behind bars? Also he’s working for Edelcroft as kitchen staff?”
“He snuck in,” Hiromi said.
“Ah.”
The four of them fell silent. The room loomed large around them. The servants standing by the walls were as still as stones, only occasionally glancing at one another.
“The town’s giga-gentrified, and this Osker guy sounds like a piece of work. But are both of those enough reasons for him to summon a demon? A misdemeanor is very far removed from attempted murder,” Ira pointed out.
“Things haven’t exactly been the same since the attack…” Lariel said slowly. Her usual cheer was gone, her gaze glassy and distant. “Gleichheit made everyone else bold. Well, bolder.”
Silence stretched again. The servants stirred. Perhaps now they recognized who stood among them, that the very girls who came to protect their lord were also there during that empire-changing event just a few weeks ago.
The memory in the forest was still fresh. What happened there reminded Hiromi of her mortality, Ira of her weakness, and Lariel of her past. Only Nikita seemed unaffected.
They had all come to the beach to forget. But now, all they’ve done was remember.
“I’m gonna explore,” Ira said, stepping into a random hallway. None of her friends followed.

# # #

Ira soon found herself on a terrace built upon the cliffs. The ocean swelled in the abyss below, the waves crashing against the sand, barely visible but very loud.
She sat alone on a stone bench, intending to lose herself with her thoughts, when she sensed the presence of someone nearby.
It was a boy, sitting on another bench, looking at her like she was a trespasser.
Which she technically was.
“Uh… hi?” she said.
“Vostal-ra?” the boy said. He looked like Ludolf but fun sized and without the arrogance.
“I don’t speak High Avalsari, kid.”
“Wh—Who are you?” the boy repeated in Low Avalsari. He puffed his chest in an attempt to show confidence. “As Ludwilg of House Edelcroft, I command you to identify yourself!”
“I’m Ira and my house is back in Rao,” she said. “What are you doing here alone, kid?”
The boy pouted. “This is my house. I am allowed to be alone in my house.”
Ira shrugged. “Yeah that makes sense.”
The boy made a face, which Ira ignored. She instead leaned back on the bench, resting her head against the tree behind her. The ocean was a black, limitless expanse in the distance below. The surface faintly reflected the stars and the two moons.
She imagined her parents sitting at the bench with her. Elmiria would have appreciated the quiet. Hoji would have said something corny to ruin the mood. Elmiria would lean against her father’s shoulder and Ira would have pretended to be grossed out.
Maybe in another world, in another time, they were right here with her.
“Do you also like being alone?”
The boy must have been around ten years old, so the surprisingly profound question caught Ira off guard. Did she sound like him when she was ten?
“Sometimes,” Ira said. “I was alone for a really long time. But I got friends now. Do you have friends?”
The boy— Ludwilg— was taken aback. “Of course I have friends!”
“Sorry. Just trying to make conversation,” Ira smiled.
“It’s okay.”
They sat in silence for a while.
“The lord and lady aren’t home?” Ira asked. Were the Edelcrofts capable of protecting themselves? Most nobles were combat trained, but according to Hiromi, most people let themselves go once they got older.
“Lord and lady?” the boy asked. He shifted on his bench before answering. “Oh. You mean mother and father.” He crossed his arms, looking away. “They’re not here anymore.”
Before Ira could ask if he meant ‘here’ as in the estate, or ‘here’ in this life, Ludwilg continued.
“It’s just me and my brother now,” he admitted and Ira immediately understood.
She didn’t know if she should ask what happened. She wasn’t sure how kids dealt with grief. She didn’t know if asking him was going to help, or if it was going to make his trauma worse. The expression on his face told her that he was still broken up about what happened.
In the end, all she could do was sympathize.
“I guess you and I aren’t so different, kid.” she tilted her head back, looking up at the moons and stars. She tried looking for the Dipper, her mother’s favorite constellation and failed. “I lost my parents when I was young as well.”
From the corner of her eye she saw the kid open his mouth to say something, only to then close it and look away.
“The pain doesn’t really leave you,” Ira said. “But if you don’t mind me asking, what were they like?”
It took a moment, but the boy’s expression changed into one of excitement. He hopped off from his bench and hopped onto Ira’s.
“Mom and dad? They were—”

# # #

HIROMI HAYASHIBARA

The Edelcroft estate stood as a beacon of wealth upon a cliffside. It towered over the surrounding landscape of squat, one-storey houses made of wood and cheap materials. Its tall concrete and ivory walls stood in contrast to the fences of the nearby homes, made of wire, wood, and left over metal.
The surrounding neighborhood was far from the slums of the outer rings of Valenhaad. But the contrast was still jarring.
A dog barked in the street, without a leash, and a little thin. It made no actual effort to approach Hiromi. Its bark echoed through the empty streets.
Hiromi had ordered Nikita and Lariel to stay behind while she walked outside, to get a lay of the land. The two were more than happy to indulge themselves on some noble lord’s wealth. And Ira had gone off to explore the estate.
Hiromi chose a random direction and walked. She eventually found herself at a busy district, noisy with the sight of small bars and clubs. Beach goers walked the shops, flirting and clinging to one another in the deepening dark of night.
Music blasted across the streets.
Tourists and locals alike came to enjoy themselves on a weekend night. Even from a distance, Hiromi could hear the sound of karaoke and the smell of alcohol.
She didn’t stray too far from the estate.
She walked past a few more barking dogs, and two groups of locals who catcalled her before she arrived at a small store built into the side of a house. She sat on a small stool, careful and prim. The old woman manning the store asked her if she was lost, but Hiromi politely shook her head.
“Do you have soda?” she asked.
The woman must have been taken aback by her voice, because she stared at Hiromi with widened eyes before she dug under the cupboard to produce a bottle.
“Thank you,” Hiromi said, unscrewing the cap and taking a cold sip.
She sat in silence for a while, appreciating the sights and sounds of the evening.
And then the woman spoke up.
“You’re not from around here, are you, young lady?”
Hiromi shook her head an inch to the left and right.
“You seem like a good girl,” the woman popped her head out into the streets. “You shouldn’t be out here on your own.”
Hiromi smiled politely, saying nothing.
“You should go home,” the woman said, eyes focused on something in the distant alleyway. Her gaze turned frantic. Concerned. “Go on, girl.”
“Why?” Hiromi asked. She scanned her surroundings and noticed that the faraway sound of music was dying down.
The old woman gazed up at the Edelcroft estate, her look of sympathy and fear replaced with that of contempt. The shift was sudden.
Hiromi stood, sensing that something was off. The noise in the streets had died down now. Even the strays stopped barking.
“They’re not much liked,” the woman whispered, hand reaching out to shut the windows of her small store. “It’s about time they paid for their crimes.”
“Wait—” Hiromi reached out, but the woman had already closed the window.
Now she stood alone in the streets. The twin light of Sor and Soras caused the Edelcroft estate to cast a shadow upon the surrounding neighborhoods.
She began to walk toward it. She held her hand to the side and summoned Witch Heart. The Fragment— resembling a sheathed coal-black katana— landed in her open palm.
She caught sight of Riol, one of Nikita’s familiars, flying in a circle above the estate, scanning for hostile movement.
If necessary, Hiromi could cross the two-hundred meter distance to the estate in the blink of an eye.
But for now, she paced toward it, hurried but not quite running. She heard the household guards before she saw them.
“This is private property! Leave the vicinity or we will be forced to act!”
The guards yelled at a man in a hoodie, whose hands were at his sides. He didn’t move, didn’t act, even when one of the guards brandished a short sword and his arms glowed of aedel markings.
“This is your last warn—”
Before he could finish his words, an arrow flew through the air and caught him by the throat. The guard fell to the ground, gurgling blood.
The hooded man slowly raised his hands and from the ground emerged a trio of humanoid, wolf-headed demons, one larger than the others.
Hiromi hastened her steps, her cores already drawing in magical energy. She held Witch Heart easily at her side, ready to subdue the attackers.
Then a dozen more people emerged from the shadows, each of them followed by a demon of their own.