Chapter 240

Chapter 240

"I'm going in myself."

Lorain crouched down low, channeling jet-black around her until she was ready to dive in at a moment's notice.

The servants stopped her in surprise.

"Th-That would be a problem!"

"Just a moment, my lady. There is nothing to be gained by rushing in now."

Cautioned one of the servants, an unusually calm one.

Lorain motioned him to continue.

"Our goal is to find evidence of Serene Aindark's crimes. If we swoop in and question her now, she'll just remove the feather from Simon's body and claim she didn't do anything."

"...So you're saying that we should just stand by and watch while Simon is being mind-controlled like that?"

The mind-controlled Simon had become Serene's puppet. He was being manipulated against his will, and he was being exploited.

It was hard as a friend to sit back and watch.

But the servant spoke with a sense of certainty.

"It is a necessary sacrifice, my lady."

Lorain's eyes flashed red at the word sacrifice. Several of the servants backed away, silently groaning, but the one speaking to Lorain didn't back down.

"You have to think about the big picture here. If we don't break this vicious cycle by revealing her evil deeds now, she will continue to target Simon in the future. He might even suffer for the rest of his life in Kizen. Do you really want Simon to remain unhappy?"

"..."

In the end, Lorain withdrew her jet-black. The servant inwardly breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"I'll observe for now."

She gnashed her teeth.

"But not for much longer."

* * *

Simon and Serene strolled through Langerstine, dutifully acting like a couple.

Simon was used to navigating similar situations in balls, but he had never been on a casual street date like this before.

Besides, Serene was still an awkward person for him to talk to, so the whole situation was quite draining.

'...I'm getting tired. I wish they'd stop following us.'

Simon tried to get a glimpse of them, and he could still see the Ivory Tower members in the distance.

"Simon, Simon! Do you want to try that?"

It was clear that Serene was enjoying this time. The shopping was now an afterthought, and it was becoming more like them exploring Langerstine street.

"Can we now go buy some clo—"

"C'mon now!"

Serene grabbed Simon by the hand and dragged him away.

'Why is she so excited?'

She took Simon to an ordinary street game. There was a row of dolls in the middle of the stand, and you had to knock one over to win it. Business was booming, and there were quite a few couples.

"Welcome!"

The owner came running out, smiling broadly.

"Would you like to play a game each?"

"Ah! I'm bad at things like this, so I'm just going to watch~"

Serene played dumb and placed the ball in Simon's hand.

Simon's eyes were filled with disbelief.

'You said you wanted to do it!!'

"Ah, mister! Are you perhaps... a necromancer?"

Simon was surprised as he was recognized instantly. He nodded.

"This way for necromancer customers!"

Flutter!

Suddenly, the fabric behind the dolls that other guests had been throwing at was lifted, revealing dolls almost twice as far away. They were also much smaller in size.

'So it's something like this, huh.'

Simon smiled bitterly.

"You're not allowed to use dark magic. Do you want to try?"

"I'll give it a shot."

Simon looked back at Serene.

"Which one do you want?"

"The white bear over there!"

Step.

Immediately, he shifted his feet to be shoulder-width apart before bringing a knee up ready to pitch the ball.

He held the ball at his chest in his right hand, turning his whole body back like coiling a spring, his entire body ready to release a burst of controlled energy.

The entire motion happened in less than a second.

Bringing his arm back, he stepped forward, using the momentum to carry his entire body forward as his throwing arm spun above him in an arc. Then, he released the ball with millimeters of precision to try to get the exact angle perfect.

Bwoooooooooom!

They went to a few clothing stores as well. However, Serene left them all pretty quickly, saying she didn't find anything she liked.

Seeing that Simon was getting tired, Serene also stopped at Simon's favorite necromancer shop. That immediately got him to perk up again.

"Buy it."

Said Serene as she saw Simon lingering in front of a skeleton archer set.

"Ah, I'll buy it with my own money!"

"I said I'll be paying for the shopping.

Serene went to the counter and paid for it before Simon could say anything. Maybe it was because she's rich, but she was insistent about paying first.

"Ma'am, we're sorry, but we only have one set left from the vanilla brand.

Said the clerk after checking the inventory.

"What do you think about the other brands?"

It has to be Vanilla.

The clerk immediately recognized that look in Simon's eyes and handed over a clipboard and pen.

"Write down your address, and we'll have it delivered within two business days."

"Can you deliver to Roke Island as well?"

"Of course!"

The store was cramped and crowded, so Simon and Serene decided to step outside to fill out the paperwork.

"Urk, that's bad handwriting."

It was the clerk's handwriting, but it was so crooked it was hard to read.

Pulling out a makeup mirror and checking that nothing was clumping or smudged, Serene pointed to one side of the document.

"Looks like this is where you put your name. And below that is the address."

"Ah, you're right."

Simon nodded, but just as he was about to move the quill...

Kabooooooom!

Out of nowhere, black objects fell from the sky and burst into explosions.

A nearby building burst into flames, and people started screaming and running away.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Terrorist attack! It's a terrorist attack!"

The peaceful atmosphere of everyday life was shattered, and the calm streets quickly turned to Bedlam.

"What's going on?"

Simon looked up from the clipboard.

Thud!

Just as he did, a red dagger was lodged in the clipboard he was about to write on.

"Oho, I was just wondering when you'd appear."

Serene smirked and produced a feather from her fingertips.

As she threw it, a dagger came from the darkness and intercepted its path, sending the feather into the ground.

"Step back~ Simon."

A streak of black light shot down like a comet.

Serene pulled out a handful of feathers and scattered them before her. Along with loud booms, there was a massive explosion.

As Simon backed away in fright, he saw the two girls glaring at each other through the explosion, feather and dagger crossing in mortal combat.

"What are you...!"

Flames engulfed the dark-haired attacker's eyes.

"Making Simon write?!!"

Simon's eyes widened.

"L-Lorain?"

Behind her, black-robed servants came down one by one. They were surrounded instantly, but Serene was utterly relaxed.

"I was just wondering when you would come down since you've been peeking at us the entire time like an abandoned stray."

This time, dark flames and lightning fell from the sky, forming a protective circle around Serene. Lorain and her servants instantly had to back out of the way.

"Ah!"

They were the followers of the Ivory Tower. They seemed to have dealt with the preemptive strikes using defensive magic. They were all unharmed.

"I'll take care of Serene."

Said Lorain, looking back at her servants.

The servants nodded and turned to the followers of the Ivory Tower. At the same time, Lorain and Serene clashed, a series of explosive blasts ringing out. Feathers and daggers clashed in a spectacular display of death.

"The truth is~ I've been getting a little annoyed with your spying lately. I'll have to fix that filthy habit."

Added Serene, filling the gaps between her fingers with feathers.

"I'll make you my dog and let you lick my shoes."

"Nah, I'm going to rip a hole in the back of your neck first!"

Suddenly, Kizen and the Ivory Tower clashed in the middle of the street.

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