章 197: The Chat Group is Like Home
Eriri and Mine reappeared close to the town lord's group. Yet, because all their attention was focused on the lord's son, none of them immediately noticed Eriri and Mine's presence.
However, the lord's son and his remaining two guards were different; they had witnessed Eriri and Mine leave through the strange portal—and now saw them returning through the same doorway. At the sight of Eriri, the trio's expressions shifted dramatically, their eyes filled with a terror mixed with desperation.
The lord could see the pleading in their eyes. His face changed, and he followed their gaze, turning to look over his shoulder. Unlike his wastrel son, the lord, though violent, was someone who knew how to assess a situation—otherwise, he wouldn't have made it to his position of power.
Upon seeing Eriri, his eyes flashed with a brief, greedy possessiveness. Yet the sight of his son's predicament, very likely her doing, quickly made him suppress those thoughts. Keeping up a pretentious smile, he walked toward Eriri. Noticing the lord's approach, Mine instinctively shrank behind Eriri, her face showing a trace of fear.
Having put on the pink Lolita dress Eriri prepared for her, Mine looked worlds away from her previous appearance. With her delicate, doll-like features, she looked like a true princess now. Naturally, the lord did not recognize the girl as the notorious mixed-blood child from the western nomads who lived in his city.
The city guards also noticed Eriri and Mine, causing a brief stir in the crowd. However, under the lord's orders, no one dared act out of line.
"Good lady," the lord said, stopping before Eriri and bowing, feigning a sincere tone. "I am the lord of this city. I understand that my son may have caused you offense. I apologize on his behalf and beg your mercy in sparing him this time."
He hadn't confirmed his suspicions, but instead chose to assume Eriri was indeed the mysterious power behind his son's plight. The uncertainty surrounding her strength made him wary. Were if she an ordinary Teigu user, he could rely on sheer numbers to overwhelm her, but with Eriri, he felt no such assurance.
Yet Eriri didn't respond in the slightest. From the start, she hadn't spared him so much as a glance, walking right past him with Mine in tow, as though he didn't exist at all.
This haughty display made the lord's anger simmer. He was accustomed to treating the lesser residents of the city with disdain, and he wasn't used to being ignored.
However, regardless of how furious he felt, he could only swallow down his frustration.
"My lady," he called out as he turned and bowed even lower. "So long as you spare my son, I will do whatever you wish."
The lord's expression was more contrite than before. Although his son was a wastrel, he was still the lord's only heir.
However, beneath his mask of humility, the lord was hatching a plan. If he could momentarily placate Eriri, perhaps he would get a chance to restrain her later.
But Eriri stopped in her tracks, turning back to the lord with an amused smile. Only when he grew visibly uneasy did she finally respond.
"Well, since you're so willing, I suppose I could give you both a chance."
A glimmer of hope briefly flared in the lord's eyes—only to be dashed by Eriri's next words and actions.
"Let's do this," she said. "Since you wish to save your son, why don't we swap your fates? I'm sure you wouldn't mind such a small favor."
With a grin, Eriri raised her hand and grasped at him from a distance. The lord floated helplessly in mid-air, flailing his arms and legs like a panicked crab.
"No! I don't want to save him anymore—spare me, please!" the lord cried out in terror. Now that his life was on the line, he no longer cared about his son's fate.
Eriri paid no mind to his desperate cries, maneuvering his body through the air to where his son lay. She purposefully slowed her movements, prolonging the ten-meter journey to a full half-minute, intending to make the lord fully savor his descent into despair.
Even if one ignored his past actions, the lord's earlier lecherous glances at Eriri alone were enough for her to decide his fate.
Seeing that begging was futile, the lord's panic escalated, his struggles becoming more frenzied. In a last-ditch effort, he looked toward the hundred city guards who had been standing by idly.
"What are you all waiting for? Attack this wench!" he shouted. "Dead or alive!"
While they feared Eriri, the guards ultimately obeyed the lord's order and advanced with weapons raised. The lord was their meal ticket, their path to wealth, and without him, they would lose their prosperous lifestyle—a thought none of them could bear.
"Sister…" Mine's face paled as she clung tightly to Eriri's skirt, burying her face in the fabric.
After living in the city for so many years, Mine knew exactly what the city guards were like. Although supposedly protectors of the people, they often only added to the abuse of civilians.
"Don't worry, Mine," Eriri said, gently patting her head. "They're already frozen."
Mine lifted her head and looked back at the guards, surprised to find all of them halted mid-stride, their faces frozen in place, just like the lord's son and his remaining bodyguards had been earlier.
The lord, meanwhile, had his mouth sealed shut. Though he could still move his body, no sound escaped him.
Eriri had no intention of showing any mercy to these guards. Compassion wasn't in her vocabulary when it came to those who dared to provoke her.
"Mine, would you like to see a little magic trick?" Eriri asked, smiling.
"Magic?" Mine's eyes sparkled with curiosity as she gazed at Eriri.
"Just watch. With a single word, I can make them all disappear." Eriri pointed to the guards, then calmly uttered, "Vanish."
In an instant, a powerful force acted upon the guards, reducing every last one of them, along with their weapons and armor, to ashes. The previously crowded street was empty once more.
The lord and his son's eyes widened with terror, their fear almost consuming their very souls. The last bodyguard, meanwhile, was in too much agony from his slowly vanishing form to notice what was happening around him.
"You're amazing, Sister!" Mine's eyes were filled with admiration, awestruck by the power she had just witnessed. Despite being only five years old, she had matured quickly due to her harsh environment and fully understood that the guards hadn't just "disappeared."
Her gaze was devoid of fear. Instead, it held anticipation and excitement.
"Can I become that strong too, Sister?" she asked.
"You absolutely can," Eriri assured her. "Just use the chat group points to strengthen yourself, and one day, you'll be just as powerful."
Mine's pink eyes lit up with determination. She had resolved to grow strong.
With the guards gone, Eriri continued her "help" for the lord and his son. Moments later, she switched their fates, so the lord would experience what his son had just been through.
The lord's son, now free, slumped to the ground, his mind reeling. After a few seconds, he scrambled to his feet and sprinted towards the lord's mansion, sparing no thought for his father. Eriri didn't stop him, and within seconds, he had disappeared down the street.
In that very moment, the last bodyguard finally disappeared, and the process of disintegration began at the lord's feet.
Would this be his final end?
Two minutes later, the infamous lord of the frontier city finally disappeared, wiped from existence. Meanwhile, not far from the street, a scream echoed—a slow, horrific yell. The nobleman's fleeing son was also beginning to vanish, at the same gradual pace.
Outside the city, Eriri and Mine walked along the path, their destination a town further inland.
"Mine," Eriri said, "I'll take you to meet two other little sisters. But before that, let's say hello in the chat group—everyone's been worried about you."
After almost an hour since Eriri had appeared beside her, Mine had yet to check her chat messages. Although the others knew her situation thanks to Eriri's update, they were still eager to speak with her directly.
"Got it, Sister." Mine nodded obediently and, with a completely different mood from before, opened the chat group once more.
[Mine (Level 1, Stage 1): Hello everyone, I'm Mine.]
[Myne (Level 2, Stage 9): Hi, our names are so alike! Mine and Myne, and we're both the same age too!]
[Mine (Level 1, Stage 1): That's quite the coincidence! Let's get along well, Myne.]
[Myne (Level 2, Stage 9): Definitely! Just like Sister Eriri said, once we join the group, we're already like sisters.]
Myne had been engrossed in the first volume of A Certain Magical Index, but she had made an exception to check her messages and greet Mine. Though she was initially just curious about Mine, seeing how similar their names were and sharing the same age, Myne felt a sense of connection and sympathy.
Learning about Mine's unfortunate circumstances had left everyone in the group feeling sympathetic toward her. Myne, despite her own difficult life, at least had a warm family, while Mine had endured loneliness, prejudice, and bullying.
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 4, Stage 4): Mine-chan, you're finally here! Are you alright?]
[Yuuki Asuna (Level 4, Stage 4): Even though Eriri said you were fine, we were still so worried.]
[Gokou Ruri (Level 4, Stage 2): I was worried too. Want some fruit? I just bought a huge watermelon.]
[Mine (Level 1, Stage 1): I'm alright. Thank you, everyone, for caring.]
[Mine (Level 1, Stage 1): And thank you, Ruri-nee. I already ate a lot of fruit earlier.]
[Gokou Ruri (Level 4, Stage 2): Alright then. But let me know anytime if you want some more!]
[Mine (Level 1, Stage 1): I will!]
Reading each warm message in the chat, Mine's heart swelled with a comforting warmth. These people in the chat group made her feel as if she'd found a family.
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