262 Suspicious Mansion
If one were to see a dilapidated mansion, or villa, in the middle of the forest, the first thing that would come to mind is definitely horror stories. The creepiness of the place increased even further since the door opened by itself, even when our group was still far from reaching the doorsteps.
"... I'm getting bad vibes from this place."
I muttered as I looked around, checking for hidden presences. However, I couldn't even see a single insect or animal, much less a person or a monster.
Having no other choice, we decided to move toward the suspicious-looking mansion. As we inched closer, the weather, which had been fine and just a little cloudy before, suddenly turned for the worse, becoming downcast with lightning arcing every now and then.
"..."
I feel like when we approach the door, a hand will pat me on the back. I turned around, and the girls similarly looked frightened enough. Fang even had her tail standing up in attention; her ears perked as she warily scanned the surroundings.
Soon, we reached the door. However, even when it was open, we couldn't see any further inside it. Darkness covered the interior as if not a single ray of light were allowed to enter.
"Hello?"
I called from the door, each step releasing a noisy creak, which definitely added some tension to the eerie air. A few moments passed, but no answer was returned.
"Weird... Did I get the wrong address?"
No, I don't think so. I doubt there'd be another weirdo building a mansion outside of the safety of the town's walls. This must be the correct location.
As I was about to step further in, a series of sharp footsteps reverberated. I looked around, and the girls were still at the foot of the stairs leading to the porch. Only I was stepping on the wooden floorboards at the moment, so it definitely wasn't coming from them.
"You are pretty early."
A familiar voice echoed as the footsteps approached. Soon, a figure appeared from within the darkness, walking up to the door before stopping.
"Welcome to my manor. Come in."
"... No, I'd rather stay here."
Going inside a cramped location just because a bewitching voice calls for you is a recipe for disaster. I glanced behind me, and the girls were all staring at the Mysterious woman. It seems like she's not hiding her presence right now.
"Really? My business requires you to come in, though..."
She spoke with a troubled tone, placing a hand against her cheek while in thought.
"What is it that you want me to do anyway? And also, who are you?"
I didn't get to ask yesterday, as she left without leaving any valuable information other than the map to this place, after all. As she heard my question, she looked up, muttering "Oh" as if it had completely slipped her mind.
"Please pardon me. I forgot to name myself, even though I was the one who required your aid... Call me Mist for now."
A weirdly fitting name. I guess it's a nickname or an alias. It looks like just as we don't trust her completely, she similarly doesn't trust us.
"And my business..."
Without waiting for my words, she continued.
"I want you to use your Administrator Privileges to do something for me."
"...!"
As soon as the words "Administrator" left her mouth, everyone quickly entered an alert state. After all, that information was limited to a small number of people. Her knowing of this was definitely weird and worthy of vigilance from us.
Even after we all entered battle-alert stances, Mist didn't even budge an inch. She just snickered, as if the scene before her was funny.
"You don't need to be that wary. I guess you were wondering how I knew about your privilege?"
She muttered, and her hands, dainty-looking with fair skin and long red nails, appeared from under the misty robe, crossing before her chest, revealing their true size for all to see.
"You know Zeshion's Brother, Noir? I heard it from one of his subordinates."
"Demon Tamers!"
Igni roared, her teeth gnashing in chagrin. I quickly raised my hand, though, as, from her words, she didn't look like one of the demon tamers. But it was definitely more suspicious, as only the ones at the twelve-zodiac level were privy to the fact that I was one of the few System Administrators.
"You... Captured one of them?"
I asked to confirm, but only a thin smile returned to me as her reply.
"It doesn't matter, does it? What matters is that I need your help as an Administrator, and you need information from me. Correct?"
"..."
She has a point, but it's still suspicious. How can she prove to us that there are no traps inside the mansion? Just as I was wondering about that, a pair of glowing eyes peeked from within the darkness beyond the door.
"...!"
I was surprised to see the figure of the owner of the eyes walking unsteadily out of the door and to Mist's side. It was the figure of a child.
"Marco! I told you not to come out yet!"
For the first time, panic was observed in her tone. She quickly moved to hide the child behind her, as if to protect her from danger, which was probably us in this case. Her fingers trembled lightly, unsure of what to do.
"That boy..."
My gaze was honed in on a certain part of him, which was difficult to ignore.
"Why does he have half his body covered in fur?"
Yes.
The boy, despite his left half looking very humanlike, had his right side covered in fur, with ears and eyes matching those of a cat. He wasn't someone with an activated ancient bloodline, like when others undergo the Servant Contract. This looks more like a defect than a feature, after all.
"Is this related to the business you wanted to talk about with me?"
I quickly connected the dots.
As if giving up, Mist sighed. She stared at me, her purple-in-black eyes shining under the shadow of her wide-brim hat.
"Yes. This kid, and many others who are inside, suffer from the mix-blood syndrome. I wish to have your help in cleaning up their bloodlines, Will."
As she mentioned the others, as if their presence suddenly appeared, we noticed dozens of people inside the house, scattered. From the sizes, they were all kids around this one's, Marco's, age too.
I turned to the girls, and their eyes were wavering. They were probably similar to me, unable to decide whether to trust Mist and save the kids or remain on guard against surprise attacks.
A minute of silence ensued; nobody spoke within that span of time, and nobody moved from their positions.
"... Alright. I'll help those kids in exchange for the location of the device."
In the end, my pity for the kids was greater. Although it's a little risky, I decided to trust Mist for now. I mean, if ever I'm in danger, the girls should be able to cover for me.
"Thank you."
Mist bowed, expressing her gratitude immediately. From her tone, it seems like she was relieved.
"Then, I'll lead the way. Follow us in."
She continued, pushing Marco's back as they walked into the manor. I took a deep breath before stepping inside, preparing to counter any traps or attacks that would come... But there was none. Is she really just asking for help? I kind of feel embarrassed for doubting her now, but my life's more important than embarrassment, yep.
As we walked inside, I realized that the dark manor was actually the result of her concealment technique. It was a wondrous skill, which made me want to learn it.
Soon, we reached a wide open space, probably the living room, as there was a fireplace and sofa, with kids scattered everywhere, playing around. As soon as we entered, however, they all stopped doing what they were doing and stared at the intruders.
"... Kuh."
I knew it was going to be hard on the eyes, but this was worse than I expected. Everyone was similar to but different from Marco. They all had beast-like properties around their bodies, but only a few of them had a proper division for them like Marco had. Some even had a chaotic appearance, as if a jigsaw puzzle of a bird and a child were forcefully pieced together.
"This is... Horrible."
Ember's voice echoed from behind. From her insinuation, she must be getting teary-eyed just looking at the state of the children. Even I felt like crying, seeing their almost abominable appearance.
Mist walked to the center, talking to the children cheerfully. It was as if she were a kindergarten teacher, surrounded by lively kids. When ignoring their looks, the scene would seem like a very heartwarming interaction between her and the kids.
After she finished talking to the kids, making them stand up in a few lines, Mist returned to our side with a faint smile. She didn't utter a word, but I knew what she meant to say with her gaze.
"Alright... Tell me what I need to do."
I quickly steeled my resolve, preparing for what was to come.
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