At the edge of the resplendent hall, Rias stood with her arms crossed, glancing around every so often with clear anxiety on her face, as if she were waiting for someone.
Beside her, Akeno Himejima watched with a faint smile, looking very much like she was enjoying the show.
Crouched on the floor, Koneko Toujou noticed Rias's anxiety but didn't pay it much attention. This was hardly the first day it had happened. She only gave Rias a brief glance before looking back down at Gasper, the Vampire in the cardboard box in front of her, occasionally shaking the box once or twice and making Gasper cry out in panic from inside.
"Why isn't Cid back yet?"
After waiting anxiously in place and confirming that more than ten minutes had passed since Cid said he was going to the bathroom, Rias couldn't help frowning.
"Oh my, Rias, don't worry so much. Maybe Cid just has an upset stomach and needed a little extra time. Or is even this short time away from him enough to make you feel unwell?"
Akeno Himejima replied casually, paying little mind to Rias's needless worry. Instead, she couldn't resist teasing Rias over how anxious she looked fretting about her little sweetheart.
"That shouldn't happen. I told Cid earlier that if anything serious happened, we should regroup as quickly as possible so we could watch each other's backs. He wouldn't hold things up over something this minor."
Rias shook her head lightly. Looking at the people before her, who had only been startled for a moment by the strange phenomenon ten minutes ago before quickly returning to the same lively banquet mood as before, she spoke with growing concern.
After seeing that terrifying Magical Power blanket the entire sky over Itogami Island, Rias had quickly gathered the Peerage Members scattered throughout every corner of the banquet.
Gasper had panicked the moment he heard something serious might happen and fled into a cardboard box, but that was nothing worth worrying about. Rias had not been counting the current Gasper as combat strength anyway.
But although she had gathered all the Peerage Members she needed to find, Cid, who had originally been with her, still had not come back after going to the restroom.
Cid had not returned even after all this time, and Diodora, the host of the banquet, had still not appeared to take charge of the scene despite such a major incident occurring outside. All of this gave Rias the feeling that a storm was coming, and the ominous feeling in her heart grew stronger and stronger.
"Honestly, Rias, don't you think you're being a little too sensitive?"
Akeno Himejima had not expected Rias to be so serious, completely ignoring her teasing. Seeing Rias looking so worried, the corner of Akeno Himejima's mouth twitched.
"Huh? I'm sensitive?"
Rias blinked, then froze for a moment before letting out a puzzled sound. Her emerald-green eyes looked at Akeno Himejima in confusion, unable to understand what she meant.
"Yes, Rias. I admit the commotion outside looked frightening earlier, but no matter how bad it was, it couldn't possibly affect us here. We're in a different dimension, after all."
"No matter how you look at it, this has something to do with the Itogami Island Gigafloat Management Corporation. That means the authorities are the ones responsible for handling it. By the time we leave after the banquet, the Itogami Island Gigafloat Management Corporation and Natsuki-chan's group should have more or less dealt with it."
"That's probably what everyone else is thinking. If you don't believe me, Rias, just look around."
Taking in her Queen's explanation, Rias looked toward the people gathered in the banquet hall, who were enthusiastically discussing the strange sight they had just witnessed. She could not help hesitating.
Could it be... was she really being too sensitive? Otherwise, why was everyone else so unconcerned?
"Akeno, Sona, is that what everyone thinks?"
Rias spoke uncertainly, unable to stop herself from wondering whether she was being too tense and had completely lost the composure and calm expected of an heir to a great House.
"That's how I see it, Rias. Being cautious is a good thing, but if you're too cautious, you'll lose that sharp edge that belongs to the House of Gremory."
Sona Sitri, who had walked over out of curiosity after seeing Rias gathered with her companions and had overheard the whole conversation, nodded in agreement with Akeno Himejima.
"I know Kiba leaving had a huge effect on you, Rias, and you've been especially cautious these past few days."
"We're happy that you're thinking of us, but I still want you to be a little bolder. This habit of gathering everyone together at the first sign of trouble, just in case, doesn't feel like the old you at all."
Akeno Himejima spoke earnestly, even bringing up several specific examples of how Rias had changed over the past few days.
"Have I really changed that much lately?"
Her brows knitted together. After hearing Akeno Himejima say that, Rias, who had not noticed it herself at all, instinctively asked back.
"A lot. If you don't believe me, ask Koneko and Gasper."
Akeno Himejima shrugged and gave Rias a firm answer. She also shot Rias a meaningful look, then tilted her chin toward Koneko Toujou, who was crouched on the floor playing with the cardboard box.
"...President Rias really has been worrying about us a bit too much these past few days."
Noticing Rias's gaze, Koneko Toujou considered her words for a moment before giving that answer. After all, Rias had been suspicious and anxious these past few days, constantly afraid that something else would happen.
"These past few days... Master Rias really has seemed a little off."
Since it concerned the master who had taken him in, Gasper also poked his head out and cautiously expressed his concern.
"So... I really was overthinking it?"
With her best friend and her Peerage Members denying her worries one after another, Rias also began to wonder whether she had gone a little too far with her caution these past few days.
"Mm-hmm..."
Sona Sitri made a sound of agreement. Although one of her own Peerage Members had also betrayed her during that incident, the betrayals of Genshirou Kihara and Yuuto Kiba were somewhat different, so Sona Sitri had managed to move on a little earlier than Rias and was now the one comforting her instead.
"Being cautious is good. I'm sure your companions are touched that your caution comes from worrying about them. But if it turns you into someone this timid, then they'll be the ones worrying about you."
Sona Sitri held Rias's hand and spoke with genuine sincerity. She had also seen Rias's changes over the past few days, and it would be a lie to say she was not worried.
"Heh. All right, all right. Akeno, I'll remember everything you all said. I won't keep acting like this. Seriously, I worry about you guys and still end up getting lectured by you..."
Rias smiled. Having thought it through, she tapped the companion beside her in annoyance, then helplessly nodded and gave her assurance. But after thinking for a moment, she changed direction.
"But listen to me this time. I still feel like something's wrong here. I've got a bad feeling..."
"Huh?"
Akeno Himejima's first reaction was that Rias was just being stubborn. She covered her mouth with a smile, ready to tease her master, but when she saw Rias staring at her with a completely serious expression, the words on the tip of her tongue would not come out. Realizing Rias was serious this time, she could only look at her fondly and nod.
"All right, all right. Once little brother Cid comes back, we'll leave. But if we do that, Rias, you'll end up making an enemy of that Diodora guy."
Although she trusted Rias's judgment and did not mind going along with her this once, Akeno Himejima still laid out the pros and cons for Rias again. After all, the fewer problems, the better.
"I know. But how do I put it? I just feel like there's something wrong with this place."
Thinking back to her conversation with Cid when they first came in, Rias spoke with a troubled expression, feeling a bit awkward. Even though she knew she might simply be too suspicious, and also knew this was somewhat disrespectful to the Astaroth House, she still planned to leave. If nothing else, it would give her peace of mind.
"In that case, I'll leave with you, Rias. I don't want to stay around that Diodora guy anyway."
Seeing that Rias was determined, Sona Sitri had no choice but to leave with her.
"All right. Then let's go find Diodora and have him send us out of this space."
After exchanging a look, Rias led the way out of the hall. She intended to find Diodora, the host of the banquet and the master of this alternate dimension, and have him send them out. On the way, they would pass by the restroom and drag Cid out with them.
They opened the door and walked through the corridor, where Rias and the others saw a spatial tunnel.
A woman dressed in the Underworld's standard old-fashioned noble attire stepped out of the tunnel. Her eyes met Rias's, and behind her emerged a group of vicious-looking black-robed people.
Immediately after, a massive crimson Dragon stepped out of the tunnel as well, with an unconscious, short-haired, gallant-looking girl lying on its back.
Rias had some impression of this crimson Dragon. It was the legendary Red Dragon Emperor controlled by Kokabiel during their previous battle. She had heard its true form was an ordinary high school student from Japan, and that he had already been captured by the Itogami Island Guard and thrown into the Prison Barrier.
"..."
"..."
"..."
An eerie silence spread among them until Akeno Himejima broke it with a teasing remark.
"...Ha, Rias, looks like your jinxing came true. You were right. Something really did go wrong."
"Attack!"
Rias was in no mood to argue that she had not jinxed anything. She struck first, a large amount of crimson Power of Destruction appearing in her hands and gathering together before she hurled it at the woman in front of her, who looked suspicious no matter how you looked at her and clearly was suspicious.
...
On a bustling street packed with people, three black figures wrapped tightly from head to toe in black clothing leaped between the skyscrapers.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm..."
Humming a tune, Epsilon tapped lightly across the rooftops between buildings, racing toward the address Cid had transmitted into her mind. Her two subordinates followed closely behind her.
"Why is Epsilon-sama so happy?"
After casting a few suspicious glances her way, Chi, a blond-haired young man with the air of a graceful gentleman and a rigid personality that did not handle flexibility well, could not help speaking up.
Judging from the conversation in the prison cell, they should have gotten themselves into trouble. So why was Epsilon not only free of frustration or regret, but looking like she had struck gold ever since they left that research facility?
"Chi, don't ask what you shouldn't."
Omega, the chocolate-skinned dark elf, glanced at her partner and warned him in a cold voice.
"Oh, it's not like it's some big secret!"
Since they had to stay ready to enter battle at any moment and could not travel at full speed, Epsilon did not mind chatting with her two loyal subordinates along the way. She was in a good mood anyway.
"Master agreed..."
"?"
Seeing the confusion on their faces, Epsilon pretended to sigh in boredom and clicked her tongue. But the corners of her mouth, which she could not suppress no matter how hard she tried, made her true feelings obvious.
"Shadow-sama acknowledged my efforts, and as a reward for being the first to see through him, he allowed me to carry out my plan to defeat the Witch Council and all the Seven Shadows of Shadow Garden, then rebuild the Shadow Guardians in Netheril by taking over from within. And Shadow-sama said I'm the one he values the most out of everyone..."
Listening to Epsilon's excited voice, Chi and Omega exchanged looks. Why did it feel like Cid had merely been sweet-talking Epsilon back then?
They could not help feeling doubtful, but when they remembered that the person saying this was one of the Seven Shadows, someone who had spent the longest time with their Master, they could only swallow their skepticism and convince themselves that they had simply failed to understand their Master's meaning, while Epsilon had grasped it.
Running at the very front, Epsilon did not pay much attention to the strange looks on her subordinates' faces. If she had known what they were thinking, she probably would have laughed it off.
Please. How could those two things be the same? If Master's attitude toward her plan before had been "whatever," then now it was approval. She could openly attack that bunch of stupid Witches.
Thinking of the Witch Council, the ones who had made her take the blame, Epsilon could not stop rage from boiling up inside her. She hated them so much her teeth itched, and the joy in her heart cooled at once, as if someone had dumped cold water over it.
All the grievances she had suffered in the prison cell today were absolutely the fault of those Witches in the Witch Council. If they had not been stupid enough to drive Yuuma Tokoyogi away, how could she possibly have disappointed Master so badly?
Master had clearly arranged everything. They were supposed to follow the Yuuma Tokoyogi lead, while Master would handle the Magus Craft lead. But thanks to the Witch Council's idiotic move, she had been forced to investigate Magus Craft instead, straying from the direction Master had arranged for her.
Master's planning left nothing to chance. He alone had grasped every development on both sides. Meanwhile, a whole group of them gathered together had still let Yuuma Tokoyogi, who was right in front of them, get away, leaving them no choice but to investigate Magus Craft, which had no leads at all.
No wonder he said she should not have been there. Everything had already been arranged, yet even then they failed. Master must be very disappointed in them. But what could she do? Master, your plan accounted for everything, but even you couldn't account for people with bizarre thought processes and broken operations...
Her thoughts suddenly jammed.
Epsilon suddenly remembered something. It seemed she... had never actually told the Witch Council that the Cult of Diablos was the enemy...
Whatever. The Witch Council was going to become her subordinates anyway. If they did not follow her orders, that was their problem.
With that thought, Epsilon arrived at her destination.