The Cat and The Mouse

They arrived feeling completely exhausted. Everything was the same, and the city was just as it always was. The atmosphere was calm, and people were going about their daily routines.

“I’ll go talk to the count. Leif, use your Magica to find hidden underground rooms.”

“Yes.”

Suri started ordering.

“Gerald and Prince Arthur go with him.”

“Understood.”

She turned her gaze to Charlotte.

“Go to the temporal orphanage and prepare them for an evacuation.”

“Alright.”

“Take Sybil with you. Alysia and Zoe go with her.”

“Alright.”

The party quickly split up. Charlotte and her teammates ran as fast as they could toward the temporary orphanage. They didn't even knock on the door. They just barged right in. In an instant, some of the nuns and children turned to look at them.

“What’s wrong? You can’t just enter like that.”

“I’m sorry, Sister, but you have to get ready to evacuate the town.”

“Why? What happened?”

Charlotte leaned forward to her ear.

“It’s about the hero.”

“No, no, no, you're getting it all wrong. The hero was just here.”

“W-what?”

Charlotte lost her voice. Her own mouth began to stammer out broken words and unintelligible sounds. A cold sweat ran down her body. Unconsciously, she began to fidget with her hands. The pounding of her heart against her chest echoed in her ears.

“Yes, he left after playing with the children.”

“The kids are fine? Did he take any of them?”

“No, the hero is innocent.”

Out of nowhere, a scream rang out from the town. A little flustered, Charlotte ran out of there.

“Wait, Charlotte!” Zoe tried to stop her.

“People can be in danger.”

“Let’s move, Hufgens,” Alysia said, following Charlotte.

Sybil didn’t say anything. She simply ran after them.

With no other choice, Zoe went after them.

Charlotte ran so fast that she left the others behind. She stumbled a couple of times, but managed to keep her balance. She found the source of the noise. Right in front of her, at the city's entrance, a crowd had gathered around something.

She pushed her way through them, almost shoving them aside. Finally, she reached the center of it all.

A couple of guards were playing with some gray wolves.

“W-what happened? Why was someone screaming?”

She was trying to catch her breath.
“These little ones entered and tried to attack the town, but the hero controlled them.”

Again, she felt her heart beating rapidly against her chest. She felt as if it were about to spill out.

Without a second thought, Charlotte walked over and knelt among the wolves to be at their level. She began to examine them from all sides. Surprisingly, they were quite docile.

“Did these wolves have something weird?”

“Weird? What are you talking about, kid?”

Charlotte began using her hands to emphasize her words.

“Some corruption, some roots around them… something related to The Buried Tree?”

The two guards looked each other in the eyes.

“No, just normal wolves.”

“What about the hero? What did he do?”

“He just calmed them down. He has always loved animals.”

She sat there, lost in thought for a few minutes.

Little by little, the crowd went about their business, and she was left alone with the animals and those guards.

“The hero, he was corrupted.”

“Oh, you're a tourist, right? Don't pay any attention to those rumors. They're just trying to tarnish his image.”

Feeling a little calmer, she stroked the little wolves with her left hand.

Then, one by one, they began to arrive.

First Alysia.

Then Zoe.

And Sybil right behind her.

The wolves' fur bristled, and they crouched. They began to growl, baring their sharp fangs.

Charlotte had a bad feeling.

“Where is the hero now?”

“I think he went to the tavern for a drink, but don't bother him with dumb things.”

Charlotte got up immediately and ran as fast as she could. The others, though, were just as exhausted and had to follow her yet again.

They walked through several streets and alleys without stopping for a second. Charlotte got lost a couple of times, but they still made it to their destination. She practically burst through the door.

Charlotte was gasping for breath. She felt as if she were suffocating from a lack of air. Her classmates arrived a little later and were in the same condition.

“Please, Charlotte, let's pause for a minute.”

“I’m sorry, Zoe.”

Charlotte scanned the tavern. Except for two customers drinking a few jars of beer, the place was practically empty. With weak legs and almost shuffling her feet, Charlotte approached the man behind the bar.

“Is… Is the hero here?”

“So it’s true he is back in town?”

Charlotte simply nodded.

“He still hasn't come to visit his old friend, huh? Maybe he'll come by later.”

Charlotte rested on her own knees.

“What now? We've reached another dead end,” Alysia complained, standing in front of her.

“That was really irresponsible.”

Zoe also stood in front of Charlotte to look at both of them. She was holding Sybil's hand.

“If we had run into him, what would we have done?” Zoe questioned.

“Obviously, we would have faced him, Hufgens. I remind you that we're stuck on this mission because of you.” Alysia was the one to answer.

Zoe stuttered. “T-that’s not the point right now.”

“See, you know perfectly well you screwed us.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Stop lying!”

Charlotte was still on her knees. She was so tired that she let their conversation drift away. All the sounds around her inside the tavern seemed distant.

The sound of the bartender washing some jars.

The exaggerated, drunken laughter of the customers who were already there.

The argument among her friends.

The creak of the door opening.

Some footsteps coming into the room.

Everything sounded slightly distant.

“I can’t believe my eyes.”

She could hear the bartender's voice in the background.

But Charlotte ignored all of it.

Everything had happened so fast that she got lost in her thoughts as she tried to retrace her steps.

“Charlotte…”

She heard Zoe’s voice, but again she ignored her surroundings.

It wasn't until a couple of seconds later that Charlotte noticed a strange silence. Her friends had stopped arguing and had fallen completely silent.

She straightened her posture and looked her friends in the eye.

Both of them had dilated pupils, and Zoe was standing there with her mouth hanging open. Sybil was holding Zoe's hand while hiding behind her.

Alysia moved her arm, willing to draw Bastion, but she was trembling and paralyzed with fear.

“What’s wrong?”

Charlotte took a few steps back.

She immediately bumped into something behind her.

“Oh, sorry, kid.”

Her hands began to tremble.

Now her world was turned upside down. She heard all the sounds on one side of her ear.

She felt a drop of cold sweat run down her hand.

“By the way, those four were looking for you.”

“Really?”

Charlotte felt as if the walls were spinning around her, and little by little they were closing in until they crushed her.

She didn't dare to turn around at any point.

In a split second, the room had run out of oxygen for her.

“Yes, maybe they need the help of the former hero.”

She could feel the helpless presence behind her.

“How can I help you, Charlotte Armelier?”