Christmas was approaching.
The second Christmas Night of The Azure Longsword was expected to be spent in Palermo City.
However, an eerie atmosphere pervaded the team.
To be precise, ever since their last team-building vacation from the seaside town, the strange atmosphere had persisted.
No longer did they sit together and laugh; more time was spent in groups of threes and fives, whispering secretly, discussing who knows what.
What puzzled Aske even more was that these "groups of threes and fives" were not fixed.
Take Thira, for example, sometimes she chatted idly alone with Peggy, at other times she conversed with Nora with a beaming smile, and at times she whispered secrets to Miel.
Sometimes she would also gather with Medea, seemingly discussing something private, exchanging knowing smiles from time to time, as if they had long been accomplices.
That being said, since you've already made friends with everyone, why the need for all these private conversations?
