Lokiella doesn’t know either.
I fixed my gloves.
“Well, I suppose I can launch some attacks. If we’re trying to conserve the other heroes’ MP, then it’s best I be the one to go out there, given how little MP my skills cost. I’ll start by taking out the big guy.”
Are Vicius and her disciples here or not? I’ve got to get Sogou and the others ready too, I guess.
…Hmm?
“Ahem. Sir Too-ka.” Seras had noticed something—as had I. There was a single crow flying toward us.
“You don’t think that’s a familiar, do you?”
The crow’s caw was sounding out a code—one of Erika’s signals. The bird landed right in front of us and began to flap its wings in a sort of Morse code pattern.
There’s no doubt about it. This crow’s a familiar.
“Erika’s recovered, then, eh?”
I always kept my Ouija board close at hand in case a familiar arrived. Seras brought it over and laid it on the ground. The crow began hopping across its letters as I watched, ready to take notes.
“…”
“Is something wrong, Sir Too-ka?”
“Back when we went to clear those humanoid types out of the War Citadel of Protection of in the west… We left Erika’s familiar with Rohm, didn’t we? He should still have the bird with him.”
“Ah? Yes…”
“Rohm should have a guard posted beside the birdcage for when Erika enters her familiar to deliver us a message… He would be here already if that bird was giving signals.”
“Ah… You’re correct.”
“But Erika’s not using the familiar we have. She’s chosen to use this one… Meaning?”
There might be some other reason that she’s done this… But wait—is this crow even one of Erika’s?
“Sorry,” I said, stopping the crow as it hopped across the board. “Is that you, Erika?”
After a brief pause, the crow hopped over to no—then started spelling out something else. Its next word was only three letters long.
“Lis.”
Familiars are convenient to have around, but Vicius doesn’t use them. Or rather, according to Erika…she can’t.
“I think I’m the only one on the continent that even knows how to make them anymore,” she said to me once. An ancient technique that Erika has adapted and also one that she made conditional. Thanks to her, only dark elves can use familiars. That’s why Vicius can’t use them. Nor can humans or any of the other divines. But a dark elf studying under Erika Anaorbael herself… They could become a second user of this secret technique.
Seras called to the familiar, sounding a little overcome with emotion as she said the name. “Lis!”
The crow nodded, then hopped restlessly around the Ouija board to write out its message.
“My apologies. I would like to omit the process by which I arrived here, and move directly to…”
“Lis,” I said, stopping the crow amid its flurry of letters. “You can cut the formalities. No need for apologies—that’s an order from your captain.”
The familiar froze, then nodded and began moving once more.
Lis has also never seen me in this particular Lord of the Flies outfit. It seems like she’s relaxed a little, more certain that it’s me under this mask after hearing my voice.
She used not just her movements, but her beak and the tips of her wings to indicate letters on the board.
“Do you need intel on Eno? Is there any other information you want first?”
“We need intel on Eno, yes. We want to know if Vicius and her disciples are still in the city. Do you understand?” I asked.
The familiar indicated yes.
I’ve already told Erika that I want regular reports on whether Vicius is in the capital or not. I expect Erika has passed those orders on to Lis, and that’s why she knows it’s valuable intel.
“No wonder that foul Goddess wanted you gone, Erika.”
We have the same target, seeking the same revenge…but even so, I need to find a way to pay Erika back once all this is over. If only that leather pouch of mine would deliver more of the good stuff.
In any case—familiars are serving an important role for us right now. Their users can switch between them—between the one with us and the one in Eno, for instance. That’s a huge advantage. It lets us check on things a great distance away with almost no time lag. A magical war pigeon might be able to tell me that Vicius is in Eno at a certain time, but she might already have left and be almost at the battlefield by the time that intel reached me. Especially if she used one of her magical war horses. Magical war pigeons have to physically fly through the sky to get back to us, but a familiar can give us intel that’s only a few minutes old.
Everyone waited with bated breath for the familiar’s next message. And then our answer came.
It could have easily been “I don’t know. I can’t see her.” Thankfully, that wasn’t the answer we got.
“They’re in Eno,” came the familiar’s reply.
I went ahead and told Lis what the disciples of Vicius looked like just in case, with Lokiella on my shoulder, who got a firsthand look at them to verify the details. Everything matched up…
“Vicius isn’t here, and her disciples aren’t either,” I said.
My prediction was right. They’re all in Eno. They aren’t heading to Yonato.
“Is Vicius preparing for a siege, perhaps?” said Lokiella.
“You mean…”
“Yes.” Lokiella sounded like she was speaking as much to herself as to me. “She needs to buy time.”