Patches of straw scatter across the floor.
Mold, dust, and the faint stench of death hang in the air.
Animal bones lie around a sigil circle at the center.
At the center, the phylactery glows purple, ominous aura seeping from it.
Akira's orange ears twitch as she raises one of her fingers.
"First of all, ya remember how it broke the doors? Sliced, burned. Multiple magics."
She nods toward Erika.
"On top of that, the sharp-eyed magic girl here said that the tracks are identical."
"Sharp-eyed magic girl!? Are you talking about me!?"
Akira continues, seemingly ignoring Erika as she raises another finger.
"Second, I have dealt with necromancies. Not casting, but neutralizing one."
She then points to the glowing jar with her other hand.
"Undead would need mana from the phylactery, yet the thing is right there!"
She exhales and raises another finger, counting to three.
"Third, undead I've seen are slow. Sluggish. Limping, if ya can call it that!"
She shrugs, hands spread wide, shaking her head.
"Yet we're 'ere hearing one caught pheasants and took a sheep in 10 minutes, or possibly less."
Rosa grabs her chin, elbow resting on her folded arm.
The book sits firmly in her grip.
"Hm... You made some good points..."
"So it's not undead after all?"
Lilia chirps, popping her face into Rosa's view.
"Let me see..."
Rosa opens the book and flips through the pages.
"The book says this one infuses a huge amount of mana to a corpse using the phylactery as its conduit..."
She reads, skims, flips the page, and repeats.
"The magic is still explainable if it has mana... But the conduit was left behind..."
Rosa taps the book's cover.
"Based on how mana works and what this book describes... I have a few guesses."
She looks at the phylactery, then back at Akira.
"Maybe it sustains itself by draining mana from what it catches. The crops, the livestock, they're all mana-rich. That would explain why the plants wilt after every attack."
"And the phylactery?"
Akira raises an eyebrow.
"It probably returns here to replenish when that's not enough. As for why it doesn't just take the thing with it..."
Rosa shrugs.
"Maybe it's too heavy. Or it can't be moved without breaking whatever magic holds it together. I'm not an expert, just guessing."
"And that's precisely the problem."
Akira folds her arms.
"None of us are experts here. Can't know for sure if any of that's true."
Rosa shrugs again.
"Yet it's the best explanation we've got. Unless you have a better one?"
Akira opens her mouth, then closes it. Her ears flatten briefly.
"...Nah. Let's go with that for now."
Still, something else nags at her. The speed.
She remembers a news story from a while back - a group of university students tried to resurrect their previous club leader.
Her chest fluttered that morning as it made her daydream.
Her, there, forming a club of like-minded people, doing group projects in the name of alchemy.
Of course the students who did the necromancy were immediately expelled.
What's more interesting: none of them were persecuted by the Bureau of Justice, despite the Bureau of Magic Research and Regulations screaming for it.
She pushes down her springing wishes and spites, then remembers that the undead was resurrected using various preserved body parts.
A chimera of animal parts, resembling humanoid form.
The resurrected chimera was agile enough to require several lecturers to defeat.
With necromancy in the equation, a large black wolf walking on two legs isn't far-fetched.
The head could be wolf-like, but the rest might not match. The human-like legs also make sense.
But it means that Beringar had to acquire humans somewhere.
"What if... Werner, is there any graveyard around here?"
Werner nods.
"Quite far from here, but anyone from the farm who had no one or nowhere to return to rests here."
"Anyone or anything checks there regularly?"
"Well... once a week in rotation. Me and the other mercs usually patrol there at night too."
"So, yer saying that this whole ordeal was caused by a rogue experimental undead?"
"Most likely... A chimera built from various parts, infused with massive mana, multiple magical capabilities."
She nods at Akira.
"That would also explain how quickly it moves."
"Hmmm... Rosie, look near the wolf-like track. In between the prints. Aren't those... sheep tracks?"
"...How did you even recognize that?"
Lilia looks down and points at the hoof marks on her shoes.
"Well... they stomped me good earlier, left some marks, and now I know how they look..."
Rosa pauses as she slowly brings her gaze to Erika.
"...Erika. One of the attacks was at the sheep pen, right?"
"That's true, we visited the place earlie-"
Erika pauses as her eyes widen.
"Are you saying we're in its lair?"
Rosa nods.
"Since it likely came from here, yes, I'd say this is its lair."
She then glances at the bones.
"This is probably where it hides to recover. Draining prey, then the phylactery."
Lilia tilts her head.
"If that is the case, wouldn't there be fresh bones here? We only see the old ones so far..."
Erika adds.
"Also, the door to the room and basement broke a few days earlier. The attack has been going on for at least a month."
Akira nods as she looks around.
"Mmhm, 'less ya saying there's another lair elsewhere. I won't be surprised if he had one."
Werner sighs as he rubs the back of his head.
"Well, we tried to search around here and there. Inside and outside houses. Found nothing of the sort."
A voice calls down from above.
"Erika? Werner? Anyone here? It's almost dark! Let's head back to the house!"
Pauline shouts as footsteps echo above them.
"Coming!"
Erika shouts.
Rosa sighs, racking her brain as she climbs the stairs.
They're right. Something doesn't add up...
She tries to piece together the clues, but the contradictions won't resolve.
A noise interrupts her thoughts.
The sudden growl in her stomach doesn't help.
"Someone's getting hung-"
Lilia's words cut off as her stomach rumbles too.
"Shame I didn't have my porridge with me. Else, I'd feed all of ya here and now."
They step out of the shed and walk along the fence line to the mansion-like house.
Lilia walks closer to Rosa.
"Hey, Rosie... I think we're being watched."
Her eyes dart to the bush far from the shed.
"I know. Pretend to not notice. Else we'll alert it. Making it guard up."
Lilia nods.
...
Rosa and the others join Ursula at a long table.
Other tables hold the staff Rosa met earlier, plus more she didn't.
On Ursula's left is Erika and then Werner.
Rosa sits right in front of Ursula. Lilia and Akira are respectively on her right and left.
The intoxicating smell of cooking food fills the room.
Rosa can hear the sizzles from the smell alone.
"How are the investigations coming along, my dears?"
Rosa lets out a long exhale, and Ursula immediately softens her face.
"Doesn't sound good. Anything dragging you down, my dear?"
"It's just... There are clues that point in two different directions. We can't reconcile them."
"My, can you elaborate on that?"
"Rite. We found the old cellar on the fertilizer shed. Near the potato field."
Akira answers casually, drinking from a whole bottle of wine.
Rosa grimaces at the sight. Where did she even get one?
Did she bring it all the way from the church?
Ursula's face softens even further.
"So you found it. Then I suppose you already heard about him?"
Lilia nods, fixing her eyes on Ursula, though her mind probably wanders to the food.
"Beringar, right? Erika and Werner told us about him. There was also a kemomimi who worked here before too."
Ursula sighs as she rests her arms on the table.
"Ambitious fellas, those two. I wish they don't have to go down that path... Necromancy and thievery."
A maid comes and places the roasted pork on the table.
Then she slices it, serving everyone evenly.
"Beringar... he wanted to bring back someone he loved so badly that he threw everything else away."
Ursula sips her drink.
"Then there's Reiko..."
Werner pauses his fork briefly before he continues to eat his pork.
"She was stranded from the faraway land. Looking for a way to get back."
Ursula lets out a long sigh.
"Said she misses home. Always told her to consider here her second one, that she needs not to rush."
"Ursula... they're criminals now."
Erika's eyes sharpen once more, her lips curved down, voice heavy.
"They took advantage of your kindness and took everything away from you..."
"I know, dear. But they are still my children. I hope they are okay now."
"I still don't understand how you can remember them fondly... after all the grieves they caused on you and the others."
"Dear, I know you love the farm so much. I can tell that much. But holding-"
"I know..."
Erika cuts off Ursula. Pausing her fork as it trembles in the air.
"I know..."
Ursula turns her gaze back to Rosa.
"Sorry about that, my dear. So, your investigation?"
Rosa clears her throat.
"Right. I think it's safe to assume we're dealing with Beringar's creation. We found one of the coffins in the shed basement opened."
"So it finally happened. Pauline, mind to report to the Bureau about this tomorrow?"
"Shwrw!"
Pauline answers while chewing a mouthful of pork.
"Dear, swallow before you speak."
Ursula wipes Pauline's mouth with a handkerchief.
"The Bureau, did they know about this?"
"Actually, they're the ones who told us to keep it sealed."
Ursula takes a bite from her plate and swallows before she continues.
"I don't fully understand it, but they were very careful."
"Makes sense. Ya don't wanna screw around with the phylactery nor the setup. Heard some of 'em exploded when handled wrong."
"Exploded!?"
Lilia shrieks.
"Glad I didn't touch anything down there..."
She sighs with relief.
Rosa squints at the pink-haired girl.
"What were you planning to touch?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all!"
Another maid comes, bringing plates of lamb steaks for everyone.
"Whoaaa! Rosie! A fancy dinner!"
Rosa can't take her eyes off the food.
This is definitely way more fulfilling than once a day pastry.
Or once a week full course meal.
Or once a month sweets platter.
Her wallet would never.
They look delicious - she can almost taste them from the smell alone.
Especially the smell of mushroom sauce coating the meat.
Especially after the incident outside the sheep pen.
Her feet still feel damp from the washing.
Rosa digs in immediately, slicing eagerly yet trying not to look too desperate.
"Hmmmm! So tasty!"
Lilia smiles brightly with sauces smeared on her lips.
"Right? Flau sure tastes amazing! Nothing beats a sheep you named yourself!"
Pauline exclaims.
Rosa's eyes widen briefly. Looking at Pauline, the steak, then Pauline again.
She then resumes her feast with a whole renewed vigor.
Meanwhile, Lilia's expression drops.
"No... Flau..."
Her voice wavers.
"I was kidding! I was kidding okay!? It was an aged lamb, butchered months ago! So cheer up!"
Pauline explains hastily, probably suppressing a laugh - judging by the curve of her lips.
"Don't scare me like that! I thought I just ate my new friend!"
"She's right! What kind of heartless person eats a friend they just met?"
Rosa adds. Lilia immediately turns her head towards Rosa like a dry hinge.
"Rosie... I saw you eat faster earlier... You're not fooling anyone..."
"Ahem..."
Rosa once again clears her throat.
"Now that we identified-"
"Lil squeak, we don't identify nothing. Still has some counter clues to address, ya remember?"
"Of course I do remember! But at this point, is there any better guess than undead werewolf?"
Akira opens her mouth, then closes it.
"Yeah... Yer probably right. Let's go with that for now."
"Now we possibly identified the creature, now what?"
Erika asks.
"Simple. We know from our investigation that the creature likes to attack two things."
Rosa raises a finger.
"Cyclone chicken coops where it eats the poor chickens."
She then raises another finger.
"Then near the potato field. And since we know the shed might be the lair."
"Still debatable..."
Akira adds. Rosa's eyebrow twitches.
"We can use the shed as an ambush point..."
Rosa continues.
"Also, one more thing y'all need to know..."
Akira takes over once more.
"Any of ya felt it? There's something watching us near the shed earlier."
She glances at Lilia, then Rosa.
"Cept for the two, they told me they felt it."
"I did..."
Erika mutters.
"Wait, the creature was around!? Why didn't you tell me!?"
Werner puts down his drink, nearly choking.
"I didn't want to alert the beast, so I kept it quiet..."
"Rosie also told me that."
Lilia adds, gulping her drink.
"Same here, Akira told me to act normal about it."
Then Rosa, cutting the soft chunk of the steak.
"I... didn't notice anything..."
Pauline casts her gaze down.
"Eh, it's fine, it ain't no comparison. Point is, the beast probably still thinks we didn't notice 'em, which is what we want."
Akira wraps her arm around Rosa, who is still savoring the meat.
"Hrrk!"
Then pulls her closer.
"Me and pipsqueak gonna take the shed. It's eyeing there, so it's probably the next target."
"What!?"
Lilia snaps her gaze towards Rosa, who Akira is hugging - if you can call it that.
She grabs Rosa's hand and yanks.
"Who are you and who gave you permission to decide that!? I am going with Rosie!"
"My, my, someone is finally having a triangle?"
Ursula chimes, chewing her steak.
"Triangle my arse! Listen ya cotton candy, the squeak has the best chance since she probably knows some holy magics!"
Akira squeezes Rosa's cheeks with her free hand.
"Cwut ih owt! Ah'm nah a shqueek!"
"Wait, she can cast holy magic?"
Erika pauses her fork as she raises her eyebrow.
"Yeah, learned it from our pastor. Helped us exorcise some places."
"Also!" She continues.
"Lilia, ya haven't gotten the chance to play with those chickens right? Go pair with Erika there!"
"What kind of person do you think I am!?"
The pull on Rosa's arm gets stronger.
"As if I came here just to play around!"
"Listen! I might get my guess wrong, chicken coops are near the sheep pen rite? If yer Flau got attacked, you'll have time to react! Ya play with the chicken AND got to save Flau! Not a bad deal!"
Rosa manages to slip her face away from Akira's hand.
"Wait! What is this!? Are you bargaining me with some livestock?"
Lilia's tug gets softer as she seems to be thinking.
"Don't fall for it! Is this what I am!? My worth is a sheep and a flock of chicken!?"
"W-well, if you say so... But! I'm keeping the right to sleep with her!"
"Phrasing!"
"You guys..."
Erika drags her hand across her face.
"I haven't even said my piece, you know?"
"Yer coming with the pink lady, chicken coops."
"I'll have my men patrol the perimeter, I guess."
Werner continues to drink.
Rosa glances at Werner's glass, then at Akira's bottle.
Both alcoholic.
"This is going to be my long night, isn't it?"