Chapter 21 Part1 (1/2)

Vermillion Niito Tadano 41510K 2022-07-20

[PART 1]

Rescue

The wind howled in her ear

The toas lit by twilight

The nightscape grew behind her

A girl covered in black ran

She ran on the rooftops, tap, tap

She left behind only the light taps of her footsteps

A shadow stretched out from her feet

A fish… A bird… A cat… An arm

It leaped and swam joyfully

As it hectically changed its form it showed her the way

The ht 『Kerstin』

The incarnation of twilight and afterglow, the ruler of twilight

Aileen followed the spirit's directions and headed to where Lily was

Kerstin was a spirit that both manipulated and moved within the shadows

She was a fleeting being that could only ht and before the darkness

Compared to Kei's contracted spirit, the maiden of wind, 『Siv』, she had little in the way of interfering with the physical world As her specialty wasshadows, she also didn't have a way to directly attack, either

However, that was also why she required such low ic had effectively no cost She was easy to use, but she had her lie wouldn't find much use for her—but, she was a perfect fit for a ninja that used only auxiliary ic

”So, she's here…”

The corner of the Old Town

Aileen bent over the ledge of the roof and peered down the street, now devoid of people The shadow that extended fro across from her

A two-story brick building overlooked the slightly dirty street It was undecorated; it looked like a warehouse Light leaked from various s on the first and second floors She didn't even need to spy to tell that people were there The first floor in particular, she could hear men's rowdy and lively voices there from where she was

She ni start, she easily ju silently on all fours Still on all fours, she crept unnoticed to thelike a cat

Aileen dangled upside down, holding herself by her legs on the ledge of the roof, and looked in through the gaps of the storm shutter

It's surprisingly clean in there…

Her first impression of the place was that it looked like no one lived there; it was empty There was hardly any furniture, only a tasteless wooden floor In the corner of the room was a small table and chair in which sat a ht In the back of the room she could see stairs that led down She could also see the swaying shadows of the boisterous men

The pages rustled as the man turned them He looked to be the only one on the second floor, and he failed to notice the ninja outside theAfter a while, she decided that she wouldn't likely gain any new infor the man read, so she moved away from the

She took a grapple and rope out of her bag, hooked it onto the edge, and descended to the ground

It sot closer The first floor was noisy There was quite the party going on inside

Wait, isn't that…

Her expression changed to surprise and bewilderathered around a table and had alcohol in hand Out of all the unclean nized one of them

—Borris! Why is he here?

He had his ar loudly with his unkempt, frizzy black hair and wild eyes

It ithout a doubt, the o

She groaned and leaned against the wall

Is that asshole part of this too…?

Lily was a sirl Montand and Kiska said that she wouldn't carelessly get caught up in soal

A crime committed by a family member

She set aside whether Borris really could be called a relative—if he was involved in the kidnapping, then it was unsurprising that Lily let her guard down

The hell is he thinking… Borrowing hter?!

Her bewilder hier, she didn't rush in for a frontal attack

『Kerstin…』 she quietly called the waving shadow at her feet 『Kie estas Lily?』

The shadoered her by for the wall as a screen

”Unua etago (The second floor)…?”

The shadoaved its hand and then wrote out in cursive,『Neniu』

”Teretago (The first floor)?”

『Neniu』

”Tegmonto (The attic)?”

『Neniu』

”Huh?” She wanted to yell, then where?! But held it back and thought calo (A mezzanine floor)… A hidden room?”

『Jes』Kerstin finished writing and gave a thu back to a normal shadow

She felt a little relief and muttered to herself, ”A hidden room, huh…”

If Lily was being confined in a hidden room, then that meant she was still alive On the other hand, if she was soround, Aileen wouldn't be able to keep calm

No should I do this?

She folded her arht

Surprise the?

Avoid fighting and try to get her out?

Beat theet her out of there…

The thought of personally beating the However, after she considered the risks she deteret Lily out of there

『Kerstin, ment of a turquoise jewel and dropped it It sank into the shadow 『Vi priskribas la plankon plano de ci tiu domo, kaj vi diros al mi la pozicio de Lily』She placed both hands on the stone wall 『Ekzercu (Execute)』