Two Letters

"Bait?"

Xio did not commit herself to the proposal. She had only known Jane for a short time; they could hardly be called friends. She could not trust her with a plan that involved life and death.

"Yes, bait." Jane nodded. She clearly understood Xio's concerns, so she continued:

"I don't need you to fight that monster. You only need to draw him out.

"I'll also ask a friend to watch over you from the shadows. The moment that monster appears, she'll take you away from the battlefield.

"Of course, if you're uneasy about my arrangements, you can go with that friend of yours who can use Teleportation... Fors, was it? Don't worry, though. I'll still have my friend watch over both of you. I won't let you come to any real harm."

At this, Jane looked Xio in the eye and said earnestly, "You don't want Abner put in danger because of you, do you?"

Xio fell silent. Jane's last words had clearly struck a chord with her... Or rather, she had already had similar concerns. Unfortunately, she was not strong enough to act on her own, and reporting it to the authorities might expose Mr. Fool's secret. That was why she had done nothing.

"Are you really confident?" Xio asked at last. "As far as I know, you're only a Sequence 7 Spirit Medium. That baron wiped out an entire MI9 squad by himself, including a Disciplinary Paladin."

The question itself showed that Xio was leaning toward joining Jane's plan.

Jane had evidently realized that too. She smiled and gave the answer she had prepared: "I have a powerful mystical item that lets me wield Sequence 5-level power for a short time... And I'll have a powerful ally helping me.

"Given the strength that monster has shown so