At the top of the Imperial Capital's Clock Tower, an alluring figure stood beside the railing, her long black hair fluttering gently in the wind.
Melina braced both hands against the railing and leaned forward slightly, her gaze passing over the overlapping rooftops and streets to fix precisely on the surrounded group outside the distant market.
A delighted smile curled her lips.
"Senior Greg... this is a little surprise I prepared especially for you before we part for a while. I hope you like it."
Her fingers tapped lightly against the railing, producing crisp little sounds.
In the square below, the vacant-faced people slowly converged on the center, surrounding Greg and his five companions.
Everything was proceeding according to her plan. As a small punishment for rejecting her, this hardly counted as much trouble, but it would be enough to give her senior a headache.
Just then, however, her gaze suddenly sharpened.
She spotted an unexpected figure heading toward Greg.
Melina frowned slightly.
"...That Dragonfolk girl really picked a bad time to show up. If I'd known, I would have used a little more power."
But after a moment of silence, her brow relaxed, and a smile returned to her lips.
"Oh well. It's only a little prank anyway. Let's leave it at that."
She took one last look at the square, then turned and vanished into the shadows of the Clock Tower.
In the square, the vacant-faced people had begun to move.
They made no shouts, merely raising wooden sticks snatched from roadside stalls or spatulas brought from home before surging toward the six of them like a tide.
Rom instinctively took a step back, magic power already gathering in his palm. "Hey, hey, hey, this doesn't look good! Can I just blast them away?"
"If you want