"Huh? How laughable! I knew their close relationship was all a show-off. Just kissing around in public won't make them a good couple!" Kailith sneered, a small, smug smile on her face as she felt a bit happy to hear about Esdeath's situation from Selene.
"Don't say it like that, it's rude!" Alice interjected, her voice soft but firm.
Although Selene completely ignored Kailith's words, her gaze was fixed on Maruti, waiting for an answer. She knew Maruti was their best hope.
Maruti rolled her eyes around, leaning back on the sofa with an exhausted expression. "I finally try lazing around for one day, and new trouble comes knocking in," she sighed, rubbing her temples.
But then she leaned forward, her expression turning serious as she thought deeply. "Well, it can't be helped. Let's do what we can!" she added, her voice full of determination.
She rubbed her chin, thinking about an immediate plan. "It's a good thing that she doesn't have suspicion on you. We can have a pretty good shot at a surprise attack!" she said, her mind already racing.
"Yes, but the only problem are the barriers and hidden traps. By the time we free her, Father will surely arrive without an issue!" Selene replied, her voice dim with worry.
"Well, the barrier isn't a problem to me," Maruti muttered to herself. She had the Freedom Essence Stone, so any kind of intangible barrier wouldn't be able to restrict her.
"Still, no matter how much we plan, we still need someone with an equal mana level as her. Someone who could actually hold her back for some time!" Maruti added, her expression turning worried. "Should I call my father? Will he even help?" Maruti felt like she was in a dilemma. Although Maruti had quite good endurance, she was still no match for Lortell in a direct fight.
But the very next second, whether it was Maruti, Selene, or Alice, they all moved to look at Kailith with hopeful expressions. Their eyes were all locked on her.
Kailith tried to ignore them at first, but she immediately started feeling uncomfortable under their intense, silent stares.
"Stop looking at me like that. I'm not gonna help her. There's no reason for me to help her," Kailith rejected their proposal immediately, crossing her arms.
"Or are you just scared?" Maruti smirked with a teasing tone, raising an eyebrow.
"Nice try! I'm long used to your tactics," Kailith replied flatly. She had matured from before, where she used to get annoyed whenever someone praised Lortell. "Like I already said, there's no reason for me to help her!" Kailith stated the same sentence again, her voice firm.
"C'mon, don't be like that. You're a crucial part!" Alice tried to persuade her, but it had no effect.
"No means no. One reason, just give me one reason to help her!" Kailith demanded, her gaze challenging.
Alice's mouth immediately shut up, not knowing how to answer. She looked at Maruti for help.
But then Maruti quietly added with a completely serious face, "Okay!"
She said it, and then, without any change in her serious expression, she casually pulled her white t-shirt up, showing her bare chest to Kailith.
"Okay, I'm in!" Kailith didn't even take a second to agree, She closed her eyes and started imagining the same holy scene that she just saw an moment ago.
"That was fast!" Alice was slightly taken back, her mouth hanging open in surprise.
The sudden agreement made the whole situation feel comedic, like some kind of comedy skit.
"Well then, I think four of us would be enough. There's no need to get Brenna involved, although Ravenna might be of some use behind the scenes!" Maruti said, then turned to look at Alice.
"Alice, go and tell Ravenna about the situation. I'm pretty sure she still knows some influential people around. Tell her to spread information that some major criminal is spotted around the area, so keep the security tight!" Maruti's voice was clear and full of authority.
"Okay!" Alice nodded, standing up and walking back towards the bedroom to find Ravenna.
"Kailith, you should also go to your mother and ask about Lortell—her fighting style or weaknesses!" Maruti instructed. Lilith was Lortell's personal teacher.
If anyone would know about Lortell's weakness or fighting style, it would be her.
"Okay, I'll go to the academy after lunch!" Kailith replied in agreement, her mind already set on the task.
"That idiot Fable, she never once told me any weakness either. What's the point of playing that trash game hundreds of times?" Maruti sighed to herself, feeling a bit of pressure. They were up against a genuine S-rank powerhouse, and the weight of it was starting to settle in.
"Well then, we'll conduct our plan at night!" Maruti said, looking at Selene.
"At night? Why not the evening? What will happen to Mother till then?" Selene exclaimed, her voice full of worry for Esdeath.
"Beats me!" Maruti replied, yawning loudly as she stretched her limbs and then leaned back on the sofa, getting comfortable again. "I'm gonna sleep till then," she said before closing her eyes, dismissing the heavy conversation as if it were nothing.
******
Inside the bedroom, Esdeath was still laying in bed, handcuffed and chained. She exhaled deeply and looked at the afternoon sun shining through the window. It cast a warm, golden light on the floor, a stark contrast to her cold situation.
"It's good that it's not raining. The dripping sound from the ceiling won't bother me," she said to herself, trying to find a small silver lining.
After a few more minutes, she started feeling even more bored. The silence in the room was deafening. "I wonder when they are planning to come," she thought, but then she thought of something else instead.
"Forget it, I should use this time to check my status instead!" she thought to herself, a flicker of curiosity sparking in her mind.
Although it had been a while since her second awakening, and she had felt several notifications popping up, she had ignored them most of the time.
The main reason was a lack of trust. After meeting Jeanne D'arc, although Esdeath became aware of her plans and what she actually needed from Esdeath, it only made her trust Jeanne less.
Her initial thoughts of not relying too much on her status grew even stronger. That's why she wanted to go on a small expedition to the Demon Realm for good essence stones, to rely on her own power instead.
But now that there was literally nothing else to do, she decided to look into it just to kill time.
"Status!" she willed. It was a good thing that she could control her status window with just her thoughts, especially since her hands were otherwise occupied.
A hologram immediately appeared in front of her, shimmering in the air. A few initial notifications popped up first.
Although there were multiple changes in just the initial status, like the 'Scythe Mode' being unlocked now, which was locked there before, the most eye-catching things were two additions.
First was the new thing added in the system: 'Target'.
Although from the outside, it only looked like it was for show, with no clear drawbacks or any benefit, it clearly showed Jeanne's goal and acted as a reminder for Esdeath that her goal should be the same as well.
"Quite bold, huh? Putting up a 'Target' section while giving me the job of a Hitman. She's really onto killing the Demon King!" Esdeath chuckled to herself, a mix of amusement and seriousness in her voice.
Although she couldn't deny that their goals were the same. Once the Demon King wakes up from his seal, the world will surely be thrown into chaos, and her goal of having a peaceful life with Lortell will surely end.
The next eye-catching thing was the SP Points. Although she had previously used up her one lakh SP points, here she was, with over one lakh SP points again, without an issue.
"Must be because of all the trouble I made in heaven and here!" she muttered to herself, a proud smirk on her face. Although all those acts were against the main plotline of FLF, now there were no restrictions like before. She could now cause all the chaos she wanted and even kill Ethan without a single thought.
"Or maybe she gave me this much on purpose, to purposely make me grow strong quickly and rely more on her system instead!" she thought to herself, her expression turning thoughtful.
It was quite a good possibility. With the upcoming grand battles, Jeanne would surely be worried about the survival of her sole Incarnation.
As Esdeath looked at her stats, she felt slightly sad. All her stats used to be over a thousand, but now they were all in the hundreds, not thousands.
Although it was still pretty good stats, considering she still hadn't used any type of essence stones to strengthen her body. All her strength came from her second awakening only.
"Well then, let's check out my skills now!"