"All right, girls. Lia and I will be away for a few days. Consider this paid leave."
At the entrance to a villa Sovell had bought in Tokyo.
Aside from Fujino Asagami, who had gone back inside to catch up on sleep, Caren, Kohaku, and Jade bowed together to see off Sovell and Artoria, who stood amid a mountain of luggage:
"Take care, master and mistress. Have a safe trip."
"Yes, thank you. Lia and I appreciate it. You take care too.
Caren, you're the eldest girl in the house, so set a good example. Call if anything comes up. Buy whatever you want, and let me know if you run short of money.
And the usual rules apply: don't let Kohaku handle a broom, don't let Jade do the cooking, and hide the chili peppers when Caren cooks..."
Seeing that Sovell was about to start fussing like a mother hen again, Artoria glanced at her watch, tugged his sleeve, and reminded him quietly:
"It's almost the agreed time. Let's go."
"Oh, right. I almost forgot-well, I won't keep talking, then. In short, take care of yourselves and wait for us to come back."
Seeing that the minute hand was about to reach the next hour, Sovell refrained from giving the three girls any further instructions.
He tapped the ground with his toe, and a magic formation etched with intricate inscriptions instantly spread out. As he gradually fed magic power into it, the formation began to glow.
"Goodbye."
Before they left, Artoria waved to the three girls as well.
A dazzling azure light flashed, and the humming of the magic formation abruptly stopped. When the light faded, Sovell and Artoria were already gone from the villa's entrance.
The white clouds above and the buildings below stretched into lines racing