Why Don't You Run?
After easily taking out the copies of Fern and Sense, Irena had assumed it would take a long time to find their own copies, and that they might even run into some complications along the way.
But, surprisingly!
They had walked for less than half an hour. During that time, aside from occasionally seeing golems carry exam candidates out of the dungeon, they hadn't found anything else—not even a single copy of anyone else.
Then, not long after that, as Annie wandered around seemingly at random, the two of them quickly found their own stone copies in a large tomb chamber.
It was a relatively spacious chamber. Some kind of magical gemstones were embedded in the walls and ceiling, giving off light that imitated the outdoors. Their faint glow barely lit the central area. At the very back of the chamber stood two stone copies, motionless, radiating magical fluctuations similar to Annie and Irena's.
And beyond them, two people were huddled together against the cold wall. Their bodies trembled slightly, their faces were streaked with tears, and they were bawling their eyes out. They looked as pitiful as could be—and seemed familiar, too.
Looking closely, the two familiar figures huddled together and crying in the tomb chamber were none other than Kanne and Lawine.
"Oh?"
Annie's usually uninterested little face showed a rare flicker of interest.
After all, seeing other people having a bad time—especially when they were acquaintances—made her at least a little gleeful.
(...)
"!!"
Irena, meanwhile, was much more direct.
She didn't even bother asking what had happened. After seeing the scene inside, a look of understanding and amusement flashed through her beautiful, violet eyes. Then her slender fingers swept rapidly through the air, as though plucking invisible strings, while she uttered a