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yumemory[Location: Lounge, morning]
Murr suddenly appeared from behind Riquet.
Riquet: Goodness, Murr. You scared me.
Murr: A request to kill a werewolf? To save a werewolf? Which one is fake? Or are they both fake? Or maybe they’re both real!
Murr: If no one knows the truth, then we oughta go find the answer ourselves!
Arthur: Does that mean the Western wizards will take this request?
Figaro: Hm… This is getting a bit confusing.
Akira: Murr, are you joining the mission? But you just received a party invitation last night…
Murr: I’m doing both! The party venue is the same estate where the werewolf appears.
Everyone: !?
I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. Murr’s words only made everyone more confused.
Rutile: Um, what do you mean?
Bradley: ‘Ey, Mister Bobby Hair, you really got an invite to a party at the same estate from the request?
Arthur: Murr, that party…
Murr: It’s a party held on the night of the new moon! Master Sage and I are going together!
Akira: Actually, I was just about to talk about it with everyone…
I proceeded to explain the strange invitation we received last night.
Riquet: So Murr received such an invitation…
Rutile: If I remember correctly, the moonwolf crystal is the gem Murr talked about last night, right?
Figaro: Saying they’ve come close to the moon… That sounds more like a challenge than a friendly invitation. You sure it’s not one of your old acquaintances?
Akira: It seems that Murr doesn’t have any recollection of such a person…
Mitile: I’m getting even more confused. What’s even happening at that estate…
A werewolf to rescue, a werewolf to exterminate, and a party to attend. All three events, for some strange reason, seemed to involve just that one place.
It was like being handed an unsolvable puzzle, with too many pieces to fit in a single frame.
Akira: (Then, if that’s the case…)
Akira: Um, how about we go to the mission with everyone here?
Mithra: Huh?
Riquet: All of us here?
Akira: Yes. With this group, we should be able to act accordingly to whatever might happen.
Akira: If it turns out to be an extermination mission, we have Mithra and Bradley.
Akira: And if it turns out to be a rescue mission, we’ll have the Southern wizards who excel in healing. Arthur and Riquet will also be with us, should the need to fight while covering someone arise.
When I surveyed their reactions, the wizards seemed generally in favor of my idea, probably because none of them could have come up with a better one.
Figaro: I see. Sounds like a good plan.
Riquet: Does that mean I can go together with Mitile, then?
Mitile: Oh, you’re right! Riquet, let’s do our best!
Rutile: Mister Mithra, let’s work hard.
Mithra: ...Sigh. You brothers, please don’t work too hard.
Bradley: Hey, Mister Bobby Hair.
Bradley: That guy who invited you to the party, he said he’ll show off the moonwolf crystal to ya, right?
Murr: Oh? You’re interested in the moonwolf crystal, too, Bradley?
Bradley: Well yeah, ‘cause I almost got ripped off yesterday.
Murr: Then we can see it together at the party! I’ve never seen the real one either, actually~
Bradley: Hell yeah. It’s a real good opportunity t’ snag some top-notch treasure.
Bradley: ...Bet it’ll be a real pain in the ass, though.
Murr: I can’t wait!
Bradley: Me neither.
Akira: (...This situation somehow got even weirder...)
We had no way of learning the truth behind the mysterious mission ahead of time, and the thought of the unknown waiting for us in that estate made me a little uneasy.
Arthur: Master Sage, that was a brilliant idea. I shall put my best effort to ensure that this mission will be accomplished safely.
Figaro: We got some strange requests, but don’t worry, Master Sage. Whatever happens, we’ll protect you, okie dokie?
Akira: Arthur, Figaro… Thank you.
I felt relieved at the sight of Arthur and Figaro.
Akira: (I’m not alone, so it should be okay…)
[Location: Foyer, morning]
It was finally the day of the new moon, and everyone gathered in the foyer.
Figaro: Shall we head out now? Mithra, the door please.
Murr: Hold it! 《 Earnu Rambul 》!
Arthur, Riquet: !?
Rutile, Mitile: Whoa?
Along with Murr’s spell, we all suddenly changed into gothic outfits.
Akira: This...
Mithra: What’s with these clothes?
Murr: A present from Chloe! I told him we’ve been invited to a weird party where a werewolf appears, and he made these for us!
Bradley: Didya really just throw together all three letters we got?
Figaro: He got the general idea right, though.
Arthur: I’m in higher spirits now, thanks to this outfit. We should all thank Chloe when we return.
Mithra: It’s time to depart.《 Arsim 》
[Location: Outside Talbott Castle, morning]
Talbott Castle was settled in the middle of nowhere.
The antique exterior of the structure was very telling of its history. Secluded in the deep forest, the air surrounding it gave off a lonely feeling.
There were no guards or servants around. Even when we announced our arrival, only silence answered our call.
Arthur: ...The door is already open.
The door opened to Arthur’s touch without much resistance, so the wizards and I entered the castle.
[Location: Talbott Castle, hall]
Riquet: Huh…
Figaro: This is…
Our eyes flew open with the shock of what we saw. The hall’s interiors were covered in fang and claw marks.
The neatly-arranged furnishings and art were damaged so badly that they were almost painful to look at. It was a terrible spectacle: a place that had been destroyed by a beast gone berserk.
Arthur: This is awful. There are marks all over the floor…
Mitile: And over the walls and the pillars too. Were these holes caused by fangs?
Bradley: …………
Bradley looked around with squinted eyes.
Bradley: I can sense a wizard in this castle. Either he was ‘ere pretty recently or he’s still here. The presence is real faint, so I can’t say for sure…
Akira: A wizard… Could he be the one who sent the invitation?
Rutile: That would be Mister Murr’s friend, right? But I don’t see anyone like him around here…
Who could the person who invited Murr even be?
No part of the estate looked like it was in a condition for a party, and I felt fear rise up in me once again.
Arthur: ...We should look around. We might find someone.
[Location: Talbott Castle, hallway]
Our guards were up as we walked through the desolate castle.
When we entered the kitchen and dining hall, we found several pieces of tableware atop a large table, and a number of cooking utensils were scattered about in disarray.
Rutile: Were they in the middle of preparing food? The pots and fry pans look like they were in use…
Bradley: Nero’d freak the fuck out if he saw a kitchen like this. He’d chase the owner around with a knife.
Riquet: Nonsense. Nero would never do such a thing.
There were traces of life in every corner of the castle.
Leftover firewood in the fireplace, torn pages of a book lying around the sofa, and broken jars cluttered beside an overturned wagon.
Judging from the dust accumulating in this place, it felt almost safe to assume that this mansion had been abandoned for months.
Figaro: There are signs of people working here, but it’s like they all suddenly stopped in the middle of it. Like they dropped everything and left in a hurry.
Mitile: I wonder where they went...
Mithra: Perhaps they were killed?
Akira: Huh!?
Figaro: There’s no trace of blood anywhere, so that might not be the case. I think they all just ran for the hills.
Murr: They must have seen something real scary. Look, someone didn’t even bother to put on one of their shoes!
Murr picked up a shoe and threw it across the room.
Rutile, Mitile: ………
We could think of only one reason as to why the servants must have run away:
The appearance of the werewolf in the estate.
