It's Going to Rain

"Crack—"

The collar around Eris's neck let out a mournful sound, and the magic circle went completely dark. No matter how much mana was poured into it, there was no response.

Rudeus wiped away his sweat and couldn't help but smile.

He had finally succeeded.

It had taken about ten minutes, activating the magic circle inside the collar hundreds of times over and over, but he had finally pushed it past its durability limit.

Rudeus had forcibly worn it out.

It still wasn't convenient to remove it completely right now, but it was no longer a magic item—just an ordinary iron collar.

"With this, the enemy shouldn't be able to track our exact location anymore. Hilde, let's get out of here."

Rudeus pulled Eris to her feet, feeling somewhat relieved.

Although it had only been ten short minutes, the enemy had not appeared again during that time.

That had allowed Rudeus to deal with the magic item in complete peace.

"Hilde?"

Rudeus looked toward Hilde, then suddenly froze.

Hilde was sitting on the ground with her arms crossed in front of her chest, leaning against the wall. Her eyes were shut tight, her head drooping, utterly motionless.

Her lips looked pale, like brittle paper.

As if her entire body had burned itself out, leaving only white ash behind.

W-Wait a second...

No way, right?

Almost on instinct—

Rudeus let go of Eris's hand and scrambled over to Hilde on all fours.

"Hey! Hilde, how are you? Don't scare—"

"What are you making such a racket for? I was just resting my eyes."

Hilde opened her eyes.

Her watery blue eyes calmly watched Rudeus, who had completely lost his composure, as if mocking him for being so easily shaken.

"Don't make a fuss over everything, Teacher. Are you really that impatient?"

"..."

The corner of Rudeus's mouth twitched, and he stood up in annoyance.

"Forget it, say whatever you want. In any case, the collar's been dealt with. Let's get out of here."

"All right."

Hilde braced herself against the wall and got to her feet.

She had rested for a little while.

Although her body still felt terribly heavy, it was much better than before.

"Let's go."

With that, she took the lead and started forward.

Rudeus followed close behind.

After taking two steps, he turned his head and only then realized Eris was still standing where she was, staring blankly at Hilde's back.

"Eris, come on. We'll be able to go home soon," Rudeus urged.

"Oh..."

Eris pressed her lips together and followed.

She walked at the very back of the group, lowering her head to look at the hand Rudeus had just let go of.

The instant Rudeus released her hand—

A strong unwillingness suddenly surged up in her heart, as if something that should have been within easy reach was suddenly slipping out of her grasp.

What exactly was this feeling...?

"Eris?"

Rudeus's voice came again.

Eris instinctively looked up, only for Rudeus to take her hand.

"Don't worry, Eris. It'll be fine."

Seeing Eris looking so distracted, Rudeus softly comforted her with a few words.

"It'll all be over soon."

"...Idiot. Don't stand so close to me. You stink."

"Is there?"

"Hmph."

Eris gave a soft snort, seeming very displeased.

However, she did not shake off the hand Rudeus had taken again.

"..."

Watching the scene from the corner of her eye, Hilde smiled silently.

Rudeus, you little punk.

And you say you don't play galgames.

Perhaps because they had successfully dealt with the magic circle on the collar, they encountered no new enemies along the way.

After about ten minutes, Hilde and the others drew close to the entrance they had used to enter the sewers.

Next, as long as they passed through that hidden passage, they would be able to go straight through the outermost city wall and leave the royal capital.

However, just as they approached the corner near the entrance—

Hilde suddenly stopped.

"Enemies?"

Rudeus lowered his voice and instinctively shielded Eris behind him.

Hilde glanced at him and shook her head.

"Not enemies, but... I'm afraid the passage we came through can't be used anymore."

"What's going on?"

"The enemy is waiting at the entrance for us to walk right into their trap."

Hilde's gaze slowly passed around the corner, looking toward the entrance in the passage.

Several people in standard armor, looking like soldiers, were patrolling the doorway, seemingly waiting for someone to appear.

Without a doubt, there would be no one else but Hilde and the others.

"That outfit... Don't tell me they're city guards?"

"Seriously? They can even mobilize the guards?"

Rudeus sucked in a sharp breath.

The darkness of Asura Kingdom!

An invisible hand!

Wait, no, that wasn't right.

They were clearly here to rescue someone, so why did they have to hide from the guards?

No sooner had that thought risen in Rudeus's mind than Hilde sighed, as if she had already read it.

"Those guards won't believe a one-sided story from us. Even if they haven't received orders from the enemy, they'll choose to arrest suspicious people like us first and ask questions later. And given the current situation, if we're caught, we're all finished."

"Tch, it's like we're the bad guys here..."

"Heh. It doesn't matter."

Hilde withdrew her gaze and hid around the corner together with Rudeus and Eris.

Although destroying the collar meant their location would no longer be exposed, this was still no place to linger. Setting aside the fact that she only had single digits of stamina left, Rudeus was probably forcing himself to keep going as well, and Eris went without saying. They had to leave as soon as possible.

But if that passage was blocked, there was no way to leave the royal capital directly.

They could temporarily leave through another sewer exit...

It wasn't impossible, but even if they left this place, where could they go?

Moreover, if they didn't use that secret passage, they could only leave the royal capital through the main gate.

But since the enemy's reach had even infiltrated the guard corps, walking through the main gate completely unguarded would be extremely dangerous...

"I have a suggestion."

After thinking it over for a long while, Hilde made up her mind.

"In my personal opinion, they should be trustworthy, so we might as well go ask them for help."

"No objections from me," Rudeus said with a nod.

Then he turned to look at Eris.

"What are you looking at me for? I don't care either way, as long as I can get out of this damn place already!" Eris snapped.

"Good. Then follow me. Let's get up to the surface first."

Hilde led everyone back the way they had come.

Before long, they found a passage leading to the surface.

They climbed up the vertical sewer shaft, and before long reached the sewer manhole cover.

Hilde took a deep breath, forced out the last of her strength, and pushed the manhole cover open. Fresh air, carrying a slight chill, instantly poured into the silent sewer, making everyone shiver.

The sewer's exit was in some alley.

The surroundings were completely quiet, with not a single figure in sight.

She looked up.

A layer of dark clouds had settled over them, covering the stars and moon, leaving the air a little damp.

It was going to rain.