[No, of course not. I just... s—sory! Can't speak right now! ]
With that, Cassie's voice grew silent, and she did not respond again.
Sunny continued to row the boat upstream in bewilderment.
After a while, thinking about something, he winced.
'Ah. I hope she survives... ’
***
Far away, on a tranquil heavenly island, an ivory pagoda seemed to shimmer with reflected moonlight. On one of its higher levels, a delicate young woman was sitting behind the desk, tracing her fingers across a parchment. Her lovely face was enchantingly beautiful, and her long hair was like a cascade of pale gold.
At that moment, the young woman turned her head to the white stone of the chamber's outer wall.
Her expression changed slightly.
"Oh."
In the next moment, something crashed into the island with a resounding boom.
Cassie slowly rose from behind her desk.
"Oh... oh my."
Then, she walked out from behind the desk and faced the door.
Her movements were poised and elegant, but also... seemed a little nervous, for some reason?
She frowned slightly.
'I'm... I'm sure it‘ll be fine.'
Sunny's voice resounded in her mind:
[Is something wrong? ]
Cassie hesitated for a moment.
[No. Of course not]
But then...
The door flew open with a bang, and a tall figure appeared on the threshold, clad in an intricate suit of enchanted armor.
Cassie gulped.
"Neph. When did you get ba..."
Nephis was already inside, the door slamming shut behind her.
"Why didn't you tell me? !"
Her face was flushed, and her usually calm eyes were full of scathing intensity.
Cassie lingered for a moment.
"Tell you what?"
Neph was approaching her with wide strides.
Her office, sadly, wasn't that large...
"Don't give me that! I know that you saw everything! E—everything..."
Cassie made her best effort to flutter her eyelashes innocently. Unfortunately, her eyes were hidden behind a blindfold, so it had no effect.
She tilted her head in a flawless imitation of a confused lack of understanding, and said:
"How could I have seen anything? I'm blind..."
Her tone was soft and elegant. To illustrate her argument, she pointed at the blindfold. Instead of answering, Neph lunged at her.
Cassie made her best effort to hold in a frightened squeal and evaded the grab with a graceful step. It wasn't that hard to do, since her Awakened Ability warned her of danger in advance.
Luckily, Nephis was not using her full titanic speed.
Otherwise, Cassie might not have been able to escape even with the forewaming...
"N—now wait a minute, Neph... I can explain!"
”Sure you can! Stop dodging and come here, then. I'll let you explain..."
”... I I'd rather not... “
"Too late!"
Something crashed loudly inside the office.
”No, but when did you get so slippery? ! “
"I'm not slippery! I'm adroit and graceful!"
"Oh yes you are... for now..."
"No, wait!"
There was another loud crash.
"Ah! Stop breaking my furniture!"
"I'll buy you a new desk..."
”That's not the point! ”
"Come here, or I‘ll buy you a new shelf, too..."
... The Fire Keepers, who had gathered on the lower level of the Ivory Tower in frightful silence, looked at each other.
Eventually, one of them said:
"We didn't hear anything. Right?"
Another nodded.
"Of course. In fact, I am currently asleep in my cabin on the Chain Breaker."
"I was never even here. I am actually in the waking world right now."
"I think my Flaw made me deaf."
There were a few moments of silence.
"Let‘s just go... before she decides to buy a new door, too..."
With that, they quietly dispersed.