Previously, they were in the early stage of tier 4. However, after some time apart from each other, Shiro could see that they were steadily approaching level 200.
[Lisandra LVL 200 Celestial Seraphim]
[Lyrica LVL 166 Sword Saint Apprentice]
[Aarim LVL 170 Grand Force Mage]
[Silvia LVL 170 Grand Healing Sage]
[Chen Yu LVL 165 Phantom Reaper]
[Madison LVL 165 Demonic Valkyrie]
After not seeing Shiro for a long time, the first thing that Lyrica did was hug her as Shiro returned the hug.
“Right then, care to fill me in on what’s happening?” Shiro asked as she looked to the rest of the party with a smile.
“Sure. We probably shouldn’t speak out in the open so let’s go back to our rooms first.” Madison smiled.
As they were making their way through Vatican City, Aarim glanced towards Helion.
“So you finally caved in and joined the party huh?” She said with a smile.
“Well it was pretty much guaranteed no?” Helion chuckled.
“Mn. So how is it to become part of the party?”
“A little surprised at the lack of common sense.” He shrugged.
“Well… that’s just Shiro though. Care to explain how she made you think that?” Aarim chuckled.
“She used something called Celestial Court appointment and I got an increase to my strength stat. And let’s just say her strength is not something a mage should have.” Helion replied with a slightly awkward smile.
“Ah that’s what happened. At least you don’t know her INT stat.” Aarim sighed.
“What’s her INT stat?”
“More than 10 million points.”
*PFTTTTTT!!!!
Widening his eyes in shock, Helion looked at Shiro in disbelief.
“The hell???” Helion looked back at Aarim.
“Exactly.”
###
Making their way through Vatican City, Shiro could see the respect people had as they greeted Lisandra.
Forcing herself to smile, Lisandra would wave back before sighing softly.
“You ok there? You know, if it’s not something you want to do, just tell me and I’ll solve it for you.” Shiro asked.
“Don’t worry mum, it’s not something I don’t want to do, just tiring that’s all.” Lisandra shook her head with a smile.
“Mn.” Shiro nodded.
Soon, they arrived at the specially prepared building for the party as it was not too far from the main square where the pope would have his speeches.
“So what’s been happening?” Shiro asked as she sat down on a chair near the window.
“What do you want to know? There’s quite a lot to explain after all.” Lyrica said while the rest of the party made themselves comfortable.
“What does the pope want with Lisandra?”
“We’re not too sure but so far, it seems like he wants to receive her help so that he can save young children that have lost their parents due to the dungeons and monsters. With the appearance of an angel, they could have something to find hope in.” Lyrica glanced towards Lisandra.
“Hmm… Is that so… Am I right to presume that he’s also using you lot as a guardian for this place?” Shiro narrowed her eyes.
“What makes you think that?” Lyrica tilted her head.
“I did some research before coming here. The overall level of this place is around 200 but they struggle with raids and dungeons since level 200 monsters are hard to deal unless the adventurers are exceptional. If you leave a dungeon alone for a long period of time, the gates will open and the monsters will escape into the streets. There had been cases of this happening hence why there are so many orphans in this city. With you lot dealing with the dungeons, the danger is eliminated. Plus, there are also benefits for you girls since you can farm the high level dungeon.
“I’m guessing the reason as to why it’s complicated is because you don’t want to leave this place but at the same time, you can’t stay here forever.” Shiro sighed and leaned back on her chair.
“There is one additional reason though.” Madison cut in as Shiro raised her eyebrow.
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“There have been demons spotted within this city. We’ve already dealt with a few of them since they weren’t too strong but they’re getting harder to defeat with every passing day. We don’t know their goal either since this place is rather far from the front lines. Plus, we’ve ran into quite a few demons on our way to this city and they believe that it’s due to Lisandra’s presence. If we leave, we’re exposing this place to demon attacks. We’ve already sent out a request to the government but aside from a few agents, nothing else has been provided. Naturally, the agents are quite helpful but they can’t stay here forever. The moment they leave, the demons appear again but the moment they’re here, the demons go into hiding.” Madison sighed since it was a rather troubling situation.
“That does sound quite annoying. Hm… Ok, I got it. So basically, to solve this, we need to make sure that the people in this city can deal with the monsters with relative ease as well as solve the demon problem right?” Shiro said with a smile.
“Yes. Unfortunately, it’s easier said than done.” Aarim interjected as Shiro could see her worries.
“I know what you mean. The first part is a little annoying since it’s manpower rather than anything but the second part is relatively easy you know? I can probably scan the entire city and find out where all the demons are.” Shiro chuckled.
“You can?”
“Yup. Though doing so might be a little ‘flashy’ so I think a talk with the pope might be in order. I don’t want them to think that there is an attack on this city after all.” She smiled.
Hearing Shiro say the word flashy, the party immediately became on guard.
“How flashy are we talking about?” They asked with suspicion.
“Hmm… if I had to say, probably bigger than the magic formation I created in Tokyo.” Shiro replied after a moment of thought.
Hearing this, the party fell silent.
“Yeah I think a talk with the pope is in order.” Lyrica nodded her head.
“Yeah that makes sense.” Madison followed up.
Seeing the party agree so aggressively on this topic, Shiro’s smile couldn’t help but twitch.
“Oh right, Lyrica, can I have a talk with you in a different room? It’s something about your mother.” Shiro asked with a smile.
Hearing this, Lyrica raised her eyebrow but nodded her head.
“Of course, if you want the rest of the party to know that’s also fine.”
“Sure. So what is it that you want to tell me about my mother?” Lyrica asked.
Pulling out a teacup and filling it up with some juice, Shiro crossed her legs.
“She was in a similar situation to me. I knew her in my past life, the one in Aria where I was Nytri Vespira.” Shiro confessed as Lyrica paused in surprise.
“Wait you knew my mother?”
“Yeah. We were the best of friends. Practically sisters. In one sense, I can be called your aunt which makes things a little awkward.” Shiro chuckled.
“That does make things a little strange.” Madison agreed since she knew that her friend has feelings for Shiro.
“However….” Shiro muttered as her fingers quivered slightly.
Seeing this, the party immediately knew that something was wrong.
“I was the one who killed her with my own hands. Lyrica, I killed your mother.” Shiro dropped the bombshell as she locked eyes with Lyrica.
Staying silent, Lyrica looked down at her hands.
“We were surrounded on all sides by monsters. At that time, both of us were on the verge of death and during the final fight, her life was taken by me which allowed me to reach tier 6, therefore guaranteeing my safety. Perhaps if I didn’t kill her, both of us might be able to survive since help arrived not too long after.”
Looking up as Shiro, Lyrica was surprisingly unphased.
“Shiro, I’ve known you for a long time. Please don’t hide anything from me. I’m not as easily fooled as you think.” She said with seriousness as the party was also surprised at her attitude.
“What do you mean?” Shiro furrowed her brows.
“Do you really believe that I can imagine you killing someone you consider to be family out of your own will? Shiro, tell me now, what are you hiding and what do you want me to say in return? Because there is definitely truth in your words but you’re hiding something. My mother was probably killed by you, yes but not in the same context. What happened? Are you trying to make me hate you on purpose? Because this is a poor attempt.” Lyrica asked as Shiro smiled.
“You’ve grown.” Was all Shiro said as she refilled her teacup.
Her goal in telling Lyrica this was to see her response so that she could understand her current mental state. There was something Shiro had planned for her after all.
