A huge thank you to @Elcooi for your amazing support!
This bonus chapter is dedicated to you as a small token of my appreciation. Your support means a lot and motivates me to keep translating and sharing more chapters.
Thank you so much!
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Sakura Kyoko saw Lancer bowing his head as if lost in thought, and her heart started racing again despite herself. But right at that moment, Lancer suddenly clutched the area over his heart.
'Wait, did he just have a sudden heart attack?'
For some reason, an image flashed through Kyoko mind of a guy who also loved eating apples and looked pretty punk, but then Lancer pulled a cell phone out from his chest.
"Olga? What? You found a strange barrier? Stay outside for now, I'm on my way."
'Man, a lot is happening today...'
Unsurprisingly, it was likely the barrier of a Witch or a Familiar. Lancer actually hoped it was a Witch; after all, they'd been in this world for a few days now and had seen Familiars twice, but there hadn't been a single trace of a Witch. The final enemy was the "Walpurgisnacht," described as a natural disaster, and Lancer had been wanting to test the strength of a so-called "Witch" for a while. As for that Witch earlier who looked like Akemi Homura...
At least in Lancer view, she couldn't really be used as a reference.
Just as Sakura Kyoko was weighing her options for making a run for it, Lancer suddenly started walking toward her. There was a strange look in his eyes as he looked down at her, giving her a very bad feeling.
"Wait... No... Don't come over here!!"
——————
While Lancer was busy saving Akemi Homura and the others, Olga Marie hadn't been idling on her end. While he was in contact with QB...
She had used the residual magical energy left at the scene to track down a "Witch's" lair—an abandoned office building.
Currently, Olga Marie, dressed in her Mystic Code (with enchantments courtesy of Lancer), was clutching Lancer briefcase and hiding inside the car, keeping a wary eye on the building in the distance. According to Lancer description, Witches would send Familiars to lure ordinary people into their "Barriers" and kill them.
Right then, she felt a familiar presence approaching and breathed a sigh of relief.
According to Lancer, although he had temporarily lost his "Heroic Spirit" powers, she was now considered a member of his "Night Parade of a Hundred Demons" because she had shared "Brotherhood Sake" with him. Their magical energies were now linked; if necessary, they could sense each other's presence.
But just as she pushed the car door open to report the situation to Lancer—
Thud!
Accompanied by a strange sound effect, Lancer dropped heavily from the sky. This didn't really surprise Olga Marie, but what did surprise her was the strange red object tucked under Lancer arm... and it was squirming...
A girl?!
"Lancer! Don't tell me you've already..."
"Wait! Stop right there! Let me explain first!"
Having already guessed that his image was becoming quite warped in her mind, Lancer directly cut her off with a quick rebuttal.
Thump!
With a dull thud, Sakura Kyoko, who had been tucked under Lancer arm, landed right on the hood of the car.
"Back at the hospital, I realized I was being watched. I didn't expect to find this brat when I went over there. I was halfway through dealing with her when you called, so I just brought her along. By the way, no one went inside, right?"
Looking at Sakura Kyoko, who was tied up with rope and gagged, Olga Marie didn't even know where to begin roasting Lancer for his twisted sense of humor.
According to Lancer, the "Gift of the Law of Cycles" she had received was essentially a weakened Soul Gem without the side effects. The biggest difference was that it was powered by magical energy instead of a soul. Even she could easily break out of these restraints, meaning that for this red-haired girl, the ropes were more symbolic than actual physical barriers.
"In that case, let me go see what kind of trash these so-called 'Witches' really are. You keep an eye on this girl for now."
As he spoke, he grabbed the briefcase from the passenger seat and headed toward the main entrance.
With Lancer gone, the deserted street fell silent once again. Sakura Kyoko, who had been squirming on the hood, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
As they say, one wrong move leads to another. During their earlier clash, she hadn't gone all out, which led to her defeat and capture. After weighing her options, she decided to lie low and wait for an opening—and without a doubt, that opening was now!
'That man actually dared to look down on me. Just wait, I'm gonna tie you up too!'
Thinking this, she began trying to summon her spear to cut the ropes. But just as she was about to use her magic—
"Aren't you going to leave yet? Lancer has been gone for a while. If you keep dragging your feet, he might finish up and come back. You won't be able to leave then."
Huh?!
Just as she was about to move, Sakura Kyoko entire body went stiff as if she'd been hit by an electric shock.
Could this all be that man's scheme? Does he actually want to see the look on my face when I fall from heaven to hell the moment I try to escape?! He seems like a way worse guy than Kyubey!
At that moment, Sakura Kyoko saw the woman called "Olga" turn her head toward her.
Is she going to attack? She was never going to surrender...
"What a pain, having to do this myself."
As she spoke, the cloth over Kyoko mouth came undone, followed by the ropes binding her hands snapping apart.
"What are you trying to do?"
Despite gaining her "freedom," Sakura Kyoko warily scanned her surroundings. In her mind, she figured that the moment she moved, that man would likely pop out and humiliate her.
"Nothing. I'm just reminding you. Do you really think he didn't know you had the power to undo those ordinary ropes?"
"Hmph! Who do you think I am? Sakura Kyoko! A loss is a loss! I would never do something as pathetic as running away!"
Sakura Kyoko looked full of pride, as if she wasn't the same person who was just thinking about knocking Olga Marie out and making a break for it.
Watching Sakura Kyoko sit cross-legged on the hood with her arms crossed and a proud look on her face, Olga Marie shook her head, at a loss for words.
Although Lancer hadn't explicitly told Olga Marie what to do, she had read his intentions in his eyes. In her impression, while this man was incredibly powerful, he was very approachable, yet he also had his own pride.
He could be completely ruthless when facing enemies, but normally, you could say he was a good guy. And he clearly couldn't bring himself to kill this girl who, while a bit tsundere, clearly wasn't an enemy.
'He probably brought her here because he didn't know how to handle her, didn't he? Well, I've done my part. Let's see what he does later.'
For some reason, Olga Marie was suddenly a bit curious to see the expression on that man's face when he's troubled.