That meant they would both be needing protection.
However, perhaps because of her current attitude or because of Wallenstein’s phrasing, Etoto misunderstood what he was suggesting.
“My mom had nothing to do with this! I was just a bad kid! So please, only punish me! Please!” she bawled.
Wallenstein was blindsided by this unexpected reaction. But looking at the exchange objectively and knowing Wallenstein as well as she did, it was quite easy for Mira to understand how such a misunderstanding had come about.
“Sorry, Etoto. I think he probably could’ve phrased that a little better. What he meant to say was that whoever made you make amulets, as well as the ones they’re in league with, might try to do something bad to your mom. That means both of you will need to be protected,” Mira said sweetly, gently stepping in.
Having perhaps been convinced by Mira’s words, Etoto calmed down a bit, the tears vanishing from her eyes.
But now, it was Etoto who was suddenly in a hurry.
“Mom…!” she gasped. Now the sole thing that concerned her was that her mother could be in trouble.
“She should be fine for now. At the very least, right now there aren’t any traps or whatnot that could be used to monitor the situation here, so most likely they haven’t discovered that anything’s up yet,” Wallenstein said. He reassured Etoto, who was about to run to where her mother was, that she didn’t have to worry just yet.
He’d apparently checked whether or not there were any surveillance spells in place before storming the cabin.
That said, it was only a matter of time. They couldn’t know for sure when exactly the dark demon would pick up on what’d happened, and so it would no doubt be best to move quickly.
“But they already know where the two of you live, so you’ll have to move somewhere else,” he continued.
There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the dark demons knew where Etoto and her mother lived. And moving forward, this information might very well make its way to others too. In which case, they needed to flee somewhere away from the dark demons’ grasp.
Hearing all of this, Etoto looked down sadly and murmured, “Once again, it’s all my fault…”
And in her words, one could grasp the anguish she’d felt having had such a difficult life.
Judging from her backstory as well as everything she’d said, it was easy to imagine that Etoto and her family weren’t very well tolerated, no matter where they went.
And after they’d finally found a place they could settle down, they’d now be forced to move elsewhere because of her. Etoto had surely begun to sink into a depression darker than they could even imagine.
But just then, a ray of light cut through the gloom. It was Wallenstein.
“If you don’t mind, how about coming with us? With your mother too, of course. We’ve got plenty of friends, so I think it’s where you might be safest,” he said, boasting that the organization he belonged to had a sort of safe house where it’d be best for them to live until the whole situation was resolved.
“But I look like this…” she began, reluctantly. Perhaps because she’d endured such hardship, she showed some trepidation despite finally being invited to join a group.
If she joined such a collection of companions, wouldn’t she just end up ostracized again and once more cause problems for her mom? Deep down, Etoto constantly feared such things.
In stark contrast to the mournful-looking Etoto, Wallenstein playfully answered, “You’re gonna go on about that now? Look, have you forgotten? So does he. And him too.” Then, glancing beside him at Marchosias and Barbatos, as well as the horns atop their heads, he smiled.
“Whatever the case, we welcome you with open arms,” Barbatos declared. He spoke solemnly, as if swearing an oath, but also decisively, like a father talking to their child.
“Sorry, I’ve only just woken up, so I’m not too sure about everything that’s been going on recently. But, for the life of me, I can’t tell what it is that’s wrong with you,” Marchosias said.
The world he knew was the one before the advent of dark demons. Therefore, he couldn’t quite comprehend just how much people detested half demons in the current age. Standing before Etoto, he continued, “Well, if any kids bully you or give you a hard time, I’ll clobber ’em!” apparently not quite understanding the situation.
And yet, it was likely the first time she’d ever heard such words. Though she was slightly taken aback, Etoto gently lifted her head and smiled happily.
It was a very cute, girlish smile.
“Yes, there are other children just like you. If possible, I’d love for you to become friends with them. If you could do that, it’d definitely be a huge relief to us. There’s no need to worry about it or think you’re inconveniencing us. This is what we’re asking for, and you’d be doing it for our sake,” Wallenstein continued, beseeching Etoto to let them protect her and her mother.
Wallenstein and his comrades’ organization had always consisted of demons as well as humans, and so it certainly made sense that there would be half demons as well.
Etoto appeared quite shocked to hear all this. And yet, at the same time, she seemed profoundly moved. “Is that really okay?” she asked timidly yet hopefully.
“Why, of course!” Wallenstein replied cheerfully. And yet again, Etoto smiled.
And so, they decided what they’d be doing with Etoto. It was more than fair to say that they’d settled on the absolute safest option.
Heartened by the news, Mira looked toward the cupboard, and onto the remaining issues at hand.
“Next up is this. It’d probably be best to take them all to use for developing some sort of cure, but it’d be a bit dangerous to leave them as they are, so we probably ought to seal them first,” Mira said.
There in the cupboard were the materials used for making the monster-repelling amulets. Most of them were fairly innocuous in their current state, and yet there was one portion of the materials that they needed to deal with right away.
Those were the fragments of the Monster-Ruling God’s sword, which had been one of the main causes for demons turning to darkness. Just to be safe, it seemed best to seal them before handing them over.
“Good point. Please do,” Wallenstein said.
“Hrmm, leave it to me,” Mira answered.
Quickly lining them up on the table, Mira worked with the Spirit King to place an initial seal on them.
“Their power seems to have gone down quite a bit,” Wallenstein added.
“Yes. They should be safe for right now…” Mira responded.
With the seal in place, nothing would likely happen anytime soon. And unless anything happened to the seal, they’d likely stay in the exact state they were in for at least several years.
“But just to be absolutely sure…” she continued.
“Considering what we’re dealing with, it’s better to be safe than sorry,” the Spirit King added.
That said, that seal alone was surely not enough. Mira thought that it’d be best to place a second seal using the amrute, like they’d done with the other amulets, if possible. The Spirit King appeared to be of the same opinion as well.
But they’re still in their crystal form. It’d be pretty dangerous to use them now…
The amrute they might be able to use was right here. However, since they needed to return it to its original liquid state, they couldn’t safely work with it there on the surface.
Etoto had been able to work with the amrute crystals when making the amulets, but when they further questioned the girl about this, they learned that she was only capable of slowly embedding the fragments into the crystal. Rather than changing the physical state of the amrute, the girl had simply embedded the fragments into the crystal, meaning that she wasn’t able to take them out.
I guess we’ll have to go back to Valhalla again to do it.
In order to take every possible precaution, it seemed best to return to Valhalla and go about the second sealing before handing everything over to Wallenstein.
Or so Mira was thinking when…
“Got ’em!” Meilin said, returning from her errand. Looking proud that she’d accomplished her task, she then held up the bag in her hand.
“Wow, good job,” Mira answered.
Inside the bag were all of the last monster-repelling amulets that Etoto had sold. In other words, they’d now recovered each and every one of amulets that she had created.
Those amulets would need to be taken care of in Valhalla as well.
“All right, then allow me to take those first. I’ll take them to Valhalla later to deal with them, and I’ll strengthen the seal on them while I’m at it. I suppose we ought to settle on a time and place to get them to you once I’m done,” Mira continued.
Dealing with the amulets and placing a second seal on all of them wasn’t something she could accomplish right away, and so they’d have to meet up at a later date.
“Ah, yes, that’s right. It’s dangerous to do that here on the surface, yeah?” Wallenstein replied. He then nonchalantly continued, “Any time after you get back down here works for me.”
This reminded Mira that Wallenstein and his companions were able to use warping magic.
In order to do so, they needed to place a special magical tool wherever they were warping to, and Wallenstein had given Mira one of these very magical tools previously. In short, he could zip to her location wherever and whenever he chose.
But judging from how he mentioned doing so any time after she returned to the surface, it apparently wasn’t possible to teleport to special locations like Valhalla.
That said, even with this limitation, it was still an incredibly handy magic technique.
“…Got it. In that case…” Mira began.
At any rate, even if she demanded he teach it to her, he’d just reply that he’d sworn not to and wouldn’t do it.
Why was he so cruel? Glaring at Wallenstein with resentment burning in her eyes, Mira simply told him when her work would be finished, assuming everything went according to plan.