Misaki, Makoto, and Vampy were standing outside Koane Monastery, which was far smaller than Olsrott Monastery.
“You sure you want to go in?” asked Makoto.
He was eyeing the building with distrust. Vampy, next to him, was emotionless as usual.
“I’m sure,” said Misaki. “Vampy’s help is priceless, of course, but I still want to be as prepared as I can.”
By then, many players knew that praying at churches or monasteries gave a temporary boost to stats and experience gain. It had been hugely helpful to players in Allistras, hastening their transition to independence.
Seeing Misaki wasn’t going to change her mind, Makoto sighed in resignation.
“All right. I’m going in with you,” he said.
“Why? You don’t need to.”
“Sorry, it’s my trauma speaking. I’m not letting you go in there alone.”
The last place Barbara’s party had visited before they died was a monastery. Not that particular one, but Makoto wanted to be safe rather than sorry.
Vampy crossed her arms. “I will wait here. Don’t take too long.”
She was unable to enter monasteries.
Misaki opened the monastery door, which led straight into the roomy chapel, just like in the other monasteries and churches in the game.
“Have you come to receive a divine blessing?” someone asked.
Misaki turned toward the voice and saw a smiling female NPC.
“I am the prioress of this monastery. My name is Quattuor,” the NPC said.
“I’m Misaki. Yes, I’d like to receive the blessing, please.”
Makoto leaned back against a pillar and kept a wary eye on the prioress. After the exchange of pleasantries, Misaki walked over to the altar. An empty chair was placed on a pedestal there.
“Offer your prayers to the angels, and they shall give you their blessing…”
Misaki followed the nun’s instructions, and a bright light enveloped her. She felt its power coursing through her body.
“Thank you,” she said to the nun and walked briskly out of the monastery.
Outside, Makoto said to her in a hushed tone, looking back toward the building, “Not to be rude, but do all nuns in the game have unpronounceable names?”
“I don’t know if they do. And it is a rude thing to say.”
They rejoined Vampy, and the three of them continued on their way to Calloah Castle Town.
Ken-Ron Cavern had served as the frontline fighters’ training ground before clearing Ciola Tower. It was extremely cold and riddled with traps, and among the monsters that lurked there were highly intelligent simian creatures that worked together to defeat the players—but they weren’t going to get that chance now.
“Do not worry about monsters. They will not bother you.”
Makoto stared dumbstruck as Vampy walked through the cave, destroying all monsters in her vicinity. Misaki’s targets died before she got to loose a single arrow, so she put her bow away, giving up on trying to support Vampy.
“I haven’t even gotten to test out the sword I was given…,” grumbled Makoto.
“Do not waste your breath on meaningless chatter. Search for the girl,” Vampy ordered coldly.
“Right…”
Makoto called Kettle’s name over and over, desperate for a response. Misaki used her unique skill to its full range, searching for any blue dots.
After the last invasion, very few players venture out into dungeons. It makes it easier to search for Kettle, but so far, we’ve been without success…
They went through the entire dungeon, but none of the blue dots marking players on Misaki’s map turned out to be Kettle. They still had no clue where she might be.
Makoto sighed heavily.
“It’s very unlikely she’d be in a dungeon somewhere. Let’s keep searching and not lose spirit,” Misaki encouraged him, ready to move on to the next area.
“Yeah, sure.”
Vampy followed them, frowning.
Without stopping for a break, they began searching the Kleeshira Ruins, which was patrolled by stone statues brought to life with now-lost techniques. The ruins had been a site of demonic experiments and research on separating the soul from the body so that it may be sealed inside a statue. Destroying the gem, which was embedded in such a statue’s chest and powered it up, freed the trapped soul, which could be briefly glimpsed before the monster died.
The ruined buildings were made of stone, but every now and again, you’d come across metal parts with strange patterns on them. Broken test tubes and traces of magic circles added to the sinister aura of the place.
But neither suddenly falling rocks nor the living statues could get close to Vampy. They bounced off and disappeared.
Makoto stumbled on uneven ground and fell over.
“Oops…”
“What are you doing?” Vampy asked, irritated.
Misaki hurried over to Makoto’s side. “A-are you okay?!”
He’d happened to trip over a round pedestal about four meters wide. Misaki examined it and found scientific-looking scribblings on the top part.
Could this be…a boss spawn point?
She thought that Vampy’s skill had probably killed all the area bosses already. Turning back to Makoto, she was surprised to see he hadn’t gotten up. She thought that maybe he’d somehow hurt himself badly when he fell over, but that wasn’t it.
“Kettle…,” he muttered to himself absentmindedly.
He looked as if he didn’t have the willpower to stand up, close to his mental limit.
“Vampy, do you mind if we take a short break?” asked Misaki.
“…”
Vampy wordlessly stared down at Makoto before letting out a resigned sigh.
Misaki checked that there were no blue dots near them, and then they all sat down by a wall.
“I would like to thank you, Vampy, for making our search so safe,” Misaki said.
“Why do you bring that up now?” Vampy asked brusquely.
“Because…I’m not able to contribute anything. You’re doing all the hard work, and the only thing I have to offer is my gratitude…”
Misaki’s voice got quieter and quieter. Vampy thought for a moment in silence.
“Tell me how to make friends,” she requested without changing her impassive expression.
Caught off guard, Misaki looked at Vampy with surprise. “S-sorry?”
“I wish to know how to make friends.”
Vampy wasn’t only searching for Kettle to earn Shuutarou’s praise. She wanted to learn how to truly support him.
“We weren’t the source of his inner strength, were we? It was this girl and those other players.”
She shook her head in annoyance that Gallarus’s words kept coming back to her.
“I think all you need is to want to be friends with someone,” said Misaki.
Vampy’s eyebrows knit. Theodore had told her something along those lines, too.
“You’re saying it happens naturally?” Vampy asked.
“Yes, that’s it.”
“In which case, the fact that there has been no change to my relationship with Master despite us being together for a while means friendship is impossible between us?”
Misaki blinked. Vampy hung her head, looking glum.
“You want to be friends with your master?”
“…”
Vampy didn’t reply, which led Misaki to suspect the girl had romantic feelings for Shuutarou, but she was wrong. What Vampy wanted was genuine friendship. The misunderstanding caused some awkwardness in the air, but Misaki was oblivious to it.
“I think you’ll have to stop being his subordinate for that to work.”
“No. My allegiance to Master is eternal,” Vampy snapped.
What Misaki suggested was impossible—she couldn’t stop being Shuutarou’s minion.
“But listen,” Misaki continued. “As far as I know, friendship is about understanding each other, laughing together without reserve, and being able to talk openly about your problems.”
Seeing that she had Vampy’s attention, Misaki smiled a little.
“As long as you have this status difference, there’s a wall between you and him. There are lines you cannot cross. But friends overcome their differences. A friend will hold your hand when you need it.”
Vampy was astonished—this human girl had the answer to her question, an answer far more detailed than anything the other Overlords or any of Vampy’s minions had come up with. She scooted closer to Misaki.
“Holding hands—is that all that is needed?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean it literally. It’s about emotional support.” Misaki laughed a little awkwardly and took Vampy’s hand in hers. “For example, if the other person seems very sad, you gently ask them what’s wrong and hear them out about their problems. You help each other without wanting anything in return. I think that is what makes you friends, and you don’t need to do anything special beyond that.”
Vampy stared at Misaki’s hand holding hers. Misaki noticed her gaze and gasped.
“S-sorry!”
She quickly withdrew her hand.
“It sounds feasible,” Vampy said, still looking at her hand. “To start, I will become friends with you.”
“Huh? W-with me…?” Misaki scratched her cheek, confused.
“I couldn’t possibly start holding hands with Master all of a sudden. I will practice on you first.”
Vampy got it into her head that physically holding hands was a requirement for being friends with someone. Misaki wondered if she could try to clarify that point further, but in the end, she decided it would at least be a way for her to repay Vampy for helping them out.
“Okay. Let’s be friends, V!”
“? Why do you speak to me so casually?”
“Being casual doesn’t mean being disrespectful. Mutual respect is very important between friends!” Misaki explained with confidence.
She reminded Vampy of someone from the distant past.