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Kagura’s eyes were set ablaze with determination. It all had started with the abduction and murder of her friends, but now she wanted to protect and rescue those around her. She did not let the hatred consume her and instead stood strong to move forward.

「You have a point. Either way, we can’t let them do as they please.」

Mira was also of the mind that Chimera Clauzen should not be allowed to continue harming spirits, the good neighbors of humans. Even the spirits she had met in her way there would have been taken by Chimera Clauzen if it was not for the organization Kagura founded. That was just how important the Fifty Bells Union was now.

「But well, after all this time, it shouldn’t take much longer. It’ll all be over soon enough.」

Her eyes looked calm like water, but concealed a burning determination as she added 「I guess I can thank you for that as well.」 She was talking about that man from Chimera Clauzen Mira had helped to capture.

A few days after Mira parted ways with Blue and the others, the Fifty Bells’ transportation unit arrived and took the man to the headquarters. There, Kagura herself made sure to make him talk, spilling all the information he had on Chimera Clauzen.

The man turned out to be at the bottom of the member hierarchy, so the information he knew was limited to the working spots of the group and their passphrases. Anything in regards to the leaders or what happened to the captured spirits was unknown to him, so that was something that needed more investigation.

「It’s hard to say we know all their hideouts, but we have the locations of a couple of them. Some were already abandoned when we arrived there, but if we capture just one or two more members, they’ll give us more leads. We’re combing through the known locations at the moment, which will decrease their overall strength and we’ll be able to crush them in one final swoop.」

Kagura spoke of her plans while trying to restrain her excited voice. They were destroying one base after another, slowly chipping away at their strength. Because of how big and influential the Fifty Bells Union was, they had more than enough manpower to accomplish a feat like that. On the other hand, Chimera Clauzen was shrouded in mysteries and they moved undercover all the time, which also made their escapes easier.

「Hmm, does that mean you know where their main base is as well?」

Kagura’s excitement was harder to contain as blood began rushing to her face, but when Mira asked that, everything was gone in an instant as she plummeted down like a toy with a spring that snapped, her upper body lying flat on the table.

「They seem to be very diligent on that aspect. Accomplishing a minor role for Chimera only grants permission to walk around small bases. But if we go after enough of them we should find leads to a bigger one. Either way, destroying their bases will help decrease their attacks on spirits.」
「Well, you have a point there.」

The bases known by underlings were only those filled with other underlings. So even if many of them were raided, getting to a larger one was still hard. When Mira heard that much, she recalled the letter from Solomon. Her unexpected encounter with Kagura made it slip from her mind entirely.

「In that case, do you think this could be of any help?」

Mira stood up and walked closer to Kagura, who only rotated her face to ask what with a languid face. Since the table was rather low already, and Kagura’s body was resting on it, her viewpoint was also low, so she could see Mira’s legs and the hem of her skirt right in front of her. That made her blurt out asking if she had Danbulf’s this or Mira’s that while laughing.

「What in the world… This is more important.」

Mira plopped down beside Kagura and struck out the sealed letter she had been entrusted with, almost poking Kagura’s cheek with it. Kagura snatched it with a dejected look and looked at the sender name.

「Oh, a letter from Solomon? For me?」
「For the head of the Fifty Bells Union, to be precise.」
「Hmmm, I see.」

With that short answer, Kagura ripped open the seal and read the letter.

Its contents were basically the same conversation Mira had with Solomon about the Spirit King.

Chimera Clauzen was targeting the Spirit King. The clues that led to that conclusion was the information gathered by the Union and the three dungeons.

At first, Kagura was calm and silent while reading it, but her face slowly turned more serious while the blood flow increased. Her gaze was piercing and fixed on the letter, as if it would poke a hole through it at any moment.

When she was done reading it, she slammed the letter on the table.

「The Spirit King… I see, so that’s what they wanted.」

The movements of Chimera Clauzen that the Fifty Bells Union had observed further supported that conclusion, which made Kagura smile daringly. She had just found a new way out.

「Did that help you?」
「Yes, very much so.」

Seeing how much her mood had bettered, Mira asked her that, to which Kagura replied without even attempting to hide her excitement.

「The letter also said that if needed, I was free to employ you in any way I wished, grandpa.」

After that, she also added, 「I’ll be looking forward to it」 with the gaze of a predator eyeing its prey.

「Wait… what?」

Knowing that meant it would take longer before she could catch a break, it was Mira’s turn to fall face first on the table, but she still showed a sign of agreement with her hands. Her top priority right then was to stop Chimera Clauzen without wasting any time.

Once everything was done, she was only going to be able to rest while she traveled inside the wagon, so she made a mental note to make a listing of all the things she wanted to carry inside it.

「It’s best if we move as soon as possible. I’ll call an urgent meeting with all the leaders present here. There I’ll introduce you as a helper too…and that reminds me, why are you called Mira instead of Danbulf?」

While the Vanity case could change one’s entire appearance, that did not include one’s name, or rather, it was incapable of doing that. So Kagura finally got curious as to why she went around as Mira now.

「Well, this and that happened, so it was a mess.」
「I see, that must have been a mess.」
「Ohh, you understood? That’s a really useful expression!」
「Of course, I understood nothing at all.」
「That makes sense.」

After their nonsensical exchange, Mira explained how she kept everything about her past a secret to protect herself, and then how Solomon mentioned that was a perfect cover for her search of the Nine Wisemen without raising suspicion. 「You seem quite enthusiastic about your work to do that much」 replied Kagura in the end, half in doubt and half convinced that she was being honest.

「This is a very important mission, but you don’t really look very reliable in that form, even though I know your help will aid us a lot. Do you have any title we could use? At least to deceive our members. Like saying that you’re a special envoy from Arkite, or Solomon’s close associate. Something impactful that represents you well.」

Kagura was well aware of Danbulf’s true strength, but the other members they would be working with would need to trust Mira with their lives. If they knew Danbulf was with them, they would follow without hesitation, but Danbulf’s whereabouts had been a mystery.

But Mira knew of a very handy title she could use.

「Hmm, a title you say. Lately I’ve been going by as Danbulf’s pupil.」

When Kagura heard that, she looked up and down along Mira’s body before cackling out loudly as if gunpowder had been set ablaze in her mouth.

「What’s up with calling yourself your own disciple! I would have never thought of saying something like that! But to be honest, that’s not bad. Let’s go with that.」

Having decided what Mira’s position would be when Kagura introduced her to the other members, the meeting that would seal the fate of the Fifty Bells Union was called.