After deciding on my plan for the day, I immediately got ready to leave the orphanage.
Before heading out the door, I made sure to recast my suggestion spell on Auntie Nana and Ria, planting a subtle compulsion in their minds so they would just naturally assume I came back home on time, just in case I couldn't make it back before curfew.
At first, I planned for it to just be me and Cath Palug heading over to Manaka's house to check on her and Sakura.
But then...
"So, where are we going this time?"
I flinched slightly, glancing to my side.
Gilgamesh was casually walking right beside me, her hands resting calmly in her jacket pockets.
We had been staying at the orphanage for a few hours now, but for some reason, Gilgamesh had never actually left.
And now, she was just naturally following me around the city like it was the most normal thing in the world.
At this point, I honestly had no idea what she wanted from me. If I stopped and asked her why she was still here, she would probably just glare at me and say something like, "Are you questioning the whims of this Queen?!" before getting mad.
It was much safer to just play along.
"I am just visiting a friend, Your Majesty," I answered politely. "Then, later tonight, I am planning to head toward the Einzbern Castle. It's located in the dense forest on the outskirts of the city."
"The castle of that homunculus?" Gilgamesh raised a golden eyebrow, looking mildly amused.
"Why go there?"
"Well... I just have a feeling something bad is going to happen there later tonight. So for now, I'm going to check on my friends, and then head to the forest when it gets dark."
Gilgamesh didn't reply immediately. Her sharp crimson eyes stared at the side of my face, analyzing me with terrifying precision.
"A feeling that something will happen later tonight..." Gilgamesh repeated slowly, a knowing smirk suddenly tugging at the corner of her lips. "Tell me, little Guardian. Did you use your vision to see the future?"
"Pfftt—!"
I completely choked on my own saliva, instantly descending into a violent coughing fit.
"Cough! Cough, cough!" I violently thumped my own chest, my face burning red as I tried to catch my breath.
"Wh-What do you mean, cough?!"
Gilgamesh didn't say a single word. She just kept walking beside me, that extremely smug, amused smile plastered across her flawless face.
She didn't need me to answer her. My panicked reaction and the completely guilty look currently written all over my face had already given her all the confirmation she needed.
"Heh. Then have fun with your friend," Gilgamesh said, a terribly smug smirk on her lips before she casually turned around and started walking away, leaving me standing alone on the sidewalk.
"Wait, what? Where are you going?" I asked, blinking in surprise.
"I have no desire to visit some random person's house. I was merely following you because I was mildly curious about your living arrangements. Now that my curiosity is satisfied, I am leaving,"
Gilgamesh stated, waving her hand dismissively without even bothering to look back at me.
'Really...?' I stared at her retreating back. 'Is she actually leaving me alone? Am I dreaming? If I'm dreaming right now, please let me never wake up from this.'
"I shall see you tonight."
And with those terrifying final words, her body dissolved into glowing golden particles, completely dematerializing into her spirit form and leaving me behind in the quiet street.
"...Fuck," I muttered, my shoulders slumping instantly.
Hearing her say that meant she was absolutely going to crash my plans at the Einzbern forest later.
After standing there in silence for a few minutes just to make absolutely sure she was actually gone, I reached up and gently patted the empty space above my hair. "She's gone."
Instantly, the familiar soft weight returned, and Cath Palug's fluffy white form shimmered back into existence, still comfortably laying right on top of my head like a furry hat.
"Fou..." he chirped quietly, sounding just as relieved as I was.
Together, Cath Palug and I made the long walk toward Manaka's house, which was located much closer to the center of Fuyuki City.
Since I didn't want to waste magical energy on unnecessary spells, it took me quite a while to get there on foot.
Once we finally arrived at the Sajyou residence, I walked up the steps, knocked politely on the front door, and pressed the doorbell.
I stood there waiting for a few moments. When nobody answered, I honestly started to think no one was home.
I was just about to turn around and leave, but then I heard the sudden, hurried sound of footsteps rushing toward the entrance from inside the house.
Click. The lock quickly unlocked, and the front door swung open.
But the person standing in the doorway wasn't Manaka, and it wasn't Sakura or Ayaka either.
Instead, I found myself looking up at a girl I had completely never seen before.
She was noticeably taller than me, with beautifully neat, long dark hair and the gentle face of a young girl who was just starting to grow into her teenage years.
Her developing figure definitely made it clear she was a few years older than me.
But what really caught my attention wasn't a high-quality dress, but her incredibly stylish and unique attire, which still felt like it came from an extremely expensive brand.
She was wearing a tailored white t-shirt and classic blue denim shorts. What truly completed the look was her intricate black jacket, which was lined with fuzzy sheepskin at the collar.
Most dramatically, it had massive, flared side panels that cascaded down from her sides, which made her look extremely fashionable and distinctive.
She also wore over-the-knee black stockings that completed the stylish outfit.
Every little detail about her, from her flawless posture to her polite but highly dignified expression, still gave off that overwhelming aura of a proper, well-raised lady from a very wealthy family.
She made even this distinctive, modern street-wear look exceptionally high-end and regal.
[IMAGE]
She wasn't looking down on me at all she just naturally carried that refined elegance and dignity that only rich kids have.
"Um, hello?" the older girl asked gently, tilting her head as she looked down at me with a friendly but curious expression. "Can I help you?"
"Huh? Umm... I'm Rikka," I answered. "I'm friends with Manaka and Ayaka here... Who are you?"
"A friend of Ayaka's?" The girl suddenly paused, deep in thought as she tried to remember my name. "Ah, you're that Rikka?"
She raised her right hand in front of me. "Hello. I am Misaya Reiroukan. Ayaka has mentioned you before, and it is lovely to finally put a face to the name. I hope we can get along well." She introduced herself to me with the dignified grace of a noble lady.
Misaya Reiroukan? I shook her hand. That was another character that I had never seen in the anime before.
I couldn't help but wonder why so many characters I had never seen kept appearing, from Lady Ava to now Misaya here.
Did they appear in another series or something? Because I know there are a lot of Fate series from when I was searching for Gilgamesh in my previous life.
"Nice to meet you too. Where are Ayaka and Manaka?"
"Manaka?" Misaya's tone subtly shifted. "I do not know where she is. But Ayaka is upstairs. She told me earlier that if the person knocking was you, I should just let you in."
For some reason, when Misaya mentioned Manaka, there was a faint hint of a grudge in her voice.
Without even letting go of my hand from our handshake, Misaya turned and pulled me along.
She led me up the stairs and walked straight to Ayaka's bedroom, gently opening the door.
Inside, I could see Ayaka and Sakura sitting together on the bed, with Ayaka positioned right behind her.
Hearing the door open, both of them looked toward us.
"Rikka-neesan!" Sakura's expression instantly changed.
Her eyes widened in relief before she hurriedly hopped off the bed and ran straight toward me.
With her surprising speed, she crashed right into me, wrapping her small arms around my waist and hugging me tightly.
"Where did you go? Last night I was searching for you, but I couldn't find you... I thought you left me behind."
Hearing her sad, trembling tone like that made my chest hurt.
I really didn't mean to worry her.
Last night I just happened to get kidnapped by Gilgamesh, so there was absolutely nothing I could do about it!
"I'm sorry, Sakura. Last night I got really busy, and I didn't have the time to tell you that I couldn't make it back," I said softly, gently patting her head since she was so much smaller than me.
While patting her, I suddenly noticed her hair was different than usual.
Instead of letting it down, it was tied up into cute little twintails.
Did Ayaka style her hair like this?
"Hmm... just don't leave me..." Sakura murmured softly, burying her face deeper into my hug.
I gently rubbed her back, completely understanding why she was saying that.
Her own family had just abandoned her, giving her away to be thrown into that dark, terrifying Matou basement even though Tokiomi doesn't know Sakura gonna be treated like that.
But still even though I managed to go into her bedroom and rescue her before they could actually throw her down into that awful basement, she had still seen those horrific, disgusting worms surrounding us when we escaped.
Because of that trauma, it made perfect sense that she was so terrified of being left behind again.
She was incredibly grateful to be saved, and right now, she probably felt like I was the only person who wouldn't abandon her.
After a few minutes, Sakura finally started to calm down. I gently loosened the hug and looked up toward the bed, where Ayaka and Misaya were silently staring at us.
"Sorry for disturbing you, Ayaka," I said to her.
But she just shook her head. "That's fine," she replied quietly, and the conversation just abruptly ended right there.
I couldn't help but stare at her for a second. Is she really still mad at me about yesterday? I mean, I didn't know that greenhouse was so important to her, but why is she still so upset about it?
Maybe I should try to apologize properly again later, but I just don't have the time for it currently.
"Ayaka, do you know where Manaka is?" I asked.
The moment she heard Manaka's name, Ayaka's entire body jolted like she had just been electrocuted.
It was a pretty weird reaction, but I figured maybe she just didn't expect me to suddenly ask about her sister out of nowhere.
"I don't know. I haven't seen her since yesterday," Ayaka answered hurriedly, nervously rubbing the back of her neck.
Well, that's too bad.
I really needed to find Manaka, but if Ayaka didn't know where she was, what else could I do?
"I see," I replied.
"Why do you want to see Manaka?" Misaya asked, her eyes narrowing slightly in curiosity.
"There is just something I want to make sure of," I answered vaguely.
I couldn't exactly tell them that I had used my vision to see the future, or that I saw Manaka killing a ton of people and even making a Servant turn dark.
I know Manaka wouldn't actually do something like that, but I just needed to make absolutely sure. I figured if I just stayed by her side at least until the Holy Grail War ended, everything would be fine.
"Aren't you... afraid of her?" Misaya asked slowly.
"Huh? Afraid? Why? I don't think Manaka is that scary," I said, genuinely confused. I had no idea why Misaya would suddenly ask me something like that.
"Not scary...?" Misaya murmured to herself in disbelief. She turned to look at Ayaka for a moment before letting out a very deep, tired sigh.
"I mean, sure, sometimes she can be a little too much," I tried to explain, "but she knows when to stop, right?"
"Knows when to stop..."
Now even Ayaka was repeating my words, using the exact same uneasy tone as Misaya. They both just stared at me like they had completely no idea what I was talking about.
Hmm... The atmosphere in the room is suddenly getting really weird.
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A/N: Sorry for the like longer update i can't do anything about it, I've been pretty busy since 20th April and gonna be busy for a while.
So maybe the update is gonna be slow until I finish with my business so see you later on in the next chapter.