Chapter 9: The Visit of the Three Beasts

The silent night of the city resembled a canvas of black, dotted with shimmering stars like a celestial painting.

Streetlights cast vibrant patterns of light and shadow onto the quiet streets, piercing through the darkness of the night.

The bustling noise of the day had gradually faded, leaving only the occasional chirping of nightingales, like soft whispers in the late hours.

Above, the moon hung high, and the stars twinkled brilliantly across the vast night sky.

Beneath that celestial dome, a small figure flitted across the rooftops, moving rapidly in a single direction.

No—rather than calling it leaping, it was more accurate to call it flying.

Under the cover of night and with movements utterly silent, not even the most seasoned patrolling soldier could sense someone passing right above their heads.

After several minutes, the shadow moving stealthily under the night sky came to a halt outside a certain inn.

She looked left and right, and seeing that no one had noticed her, she opened a second-floor window and slipped into the room.

"That was easier than expected."

Inside her own room, Yoshino gently stroked the massive pair of scissors in her hands, a slight feeling of joy rising in her heart.

During her time in the imperial capital, she hadn't just been aimlessly wandering around in the open—she had also been collecting intelligence.

As she had anticipated, the current timeline in this world matched the mid-early stages of the original story.

About half a month ago, the owner of the Teigu [Cutter of Creation: Extase], Syura, had infiltrated the capital on a mission but was killed by the Imperial Guard's Teigu user, Seryu Ubiquitous, who wielded the Teigu [Magical Beast Transformation: Hekatonkheires]. As a result, Syura Teigu had been reclaimed by the Imperial Guard.

In the original story, Esdeath was supposed to obtain that Teigu after returning from the northern war.

But Yoshino had intercepted it ahead of time.

Just moments ago, she had infiltrated the headquarters of the Imperial Guard. Amidst the group of drunken guards, she had successfully stolen the Teigu that was meant to be handed over.

Out of the 48 Teigu in existence, she now held one.

Back in the safety of her room, Yoshino no longer needed to worry about anyone witnessing her theft.

She toyed with the Teigu for a bit, though Extase didn't seem to recognize her as its new master. After a short period of playing with it, the weapon lost its luster and refused to open at all.

However, Yoshino didn't feel discouraged.

After all, she had her Astral Dress and her angel. Even when compared to top-tier Teigu, they were not inferior in the slightest.

Although her Astral Dress: El was only considered B-class among the angelic armaments, in a modern setting, it could easily intercept missiles and lasers. Even in this world of magic and martial aura, it was undoubtedly one of the best defensive armors.

As for her ice puppet, there was no need to elaborate—it was viewed by the natives of this world as an ultra-dangerous species. When it unleashed its full power, not even someone like Esdeath, who also wielded ice, would stand much of a chance.

If a Teigu acknowledged her, that would be a bonus. If not, it wasn't a big deal.

"Submit to system."

Seeing that Extase was unusable, Yoshino stopped her investigation and directly submitted the Teigu to the system.

In the next moment, the scissor-shaped Teigu dissolved into specks of light and vanished into the air.

The progress of Side Mission II had officially taken its first step.

With tonight's operation successfully completed and no other matters at hand, Yoshino removed her bunny puppet and transformed her Astral Dress into a pair of pajamas, then lay down to sleep.

However, before long, a knock on the door disturbed her.

Yoshino was instantly alert.

Although the capital didn't enforce a curfew, it was highly unlikely that anyone would be wandering around this late—much less knocking on her door.

There were four distinct auras outside: one belonged to the innkeeper, while the other three were unfamiliar but emitted strong pressure.

Yoshino felt a twinge of unease.

Could it be that the Imperial Guard had tracked her down?

That shouldn't be possible. She had taken multiple precautions during her escape and had ensured that no one was tailing her.

As a spirit, Yoshino had a sharp instinct for sensing auras and gazes. Perhaps due to her timid nature, even the slightest disturbance would catch her attention. If someone had been pursuing her, there was no way she wouldn't have noticed.

Unless, of course, the enemy had a means to conceal their presence.

But if the Imperial Guard had truly come for her, their protocol for apprehending a Teigu thief should involve surrounding the entire inn with soldiers—not politely knocking on her door.

Uncertain of the situation, Yoshino summoned her Astral Dress again and put on her bunny puppet, prepared to escape at a moment's notice if anything seemed amiss.

"Who is it? Don't you people let others sleep anymore?"

Using ventriloquism, she spoke in Yoshinon sharp and comical tone. There was no trace of panic in her voice—only the irritation of someone disturbed in the middle of the night.

The people outside, realizing they were at fault, responded hesitantly.

"Sorry to bother you. We're looking for someone. Could you please come out for a moment?"

From the voice, she could tell it was a young person, possibly a youth, though it was hard to distinguish whether it was male or female due to the neutrality of the tone.

It definitely wasn't someone from Night Raid, and very likely not anyone hired by them either.

If Night Raid had intended to contact her, they would have sent Tatsumi—not some random stranger.

At this point in the story, Tatsumi had just joined Night Raid and hadn't yet been placed on the Empire's wanted list. He could still move about the capital openly.

"There's no one you're looking for here," said Yoshinon. "Only Yoshino and Yoshinon live here. Whoever you're searching for isn't inside."

"You just said Yoshino, didn't you?!"

Outside, Nyau emotions surged the moment he heard the name.

Earlier that morning, after a conversation with Esdeath, the trio had departed to the last known location where Esdeath had seen Yoshino.

Although searching for someone usually took days, perhaps because the person they were looking for had such distinct features, many locals had taken notice of the doll-like, exquisitely cute girl. It didn't take long before they followed the trail to this inn.

"Innkeeper, are you sure the girl in this room looks like this?"

Daidara shoved a wanted poster practically into the innkeeper's face. "Look carefully again! If you dare lie to us, you'll lose your head!"

"Yes, yes, it's definitely her!"

The innkeeper was nearly in tears, trembling in fear.

Having received confirmation once again, the Three Beasts exchanged glances, unable to contain their excitement.

Same appearance. Same name. The person inside had to be Esdeath younger sister!

"Little lady, the person we're looking for is you,"

Liver took a deep breath and tried to speak as gently as possible.

"Your long-lost family wishes to see you."