Chapter XXVII (27)

  “We are not permitted to reveal that information,” the brown bitelas stationed at Fairy’s Grotto’s front desk was significantly less helpful in this loop.

  Mitsuko didn’t know what she’d done to toss this loop into such a mess. She didn’t think she’d done anything significant to make things different. But maybe just passing by a random person in the street could alter the course of everything.

  “Wan is a dear friend of ours,” Holly said. She’d been working on getting information from the insect man for the last ten minutes. Maybe that was the difference. Did they view Mitsuko differently now that she was accompanied by someone else? But the gnome doorman had seemed ecstatic when they’d first arrived. All of the hotel staff had seemed pleasantly surprised to see another gnome way out here. It was only after mentioning Wan’s name that everything soured.

  “Come on,” Mitsuko said to Holly. “We’re not getting anywhere like this.” Her eyes flicked over to the bitelas. “Can we leave a message for Wan?”

  His mandibles clicked together and he gathered up a quill and square piece of parchment. “Assuming there is a guest by that name, I will of course record a message to give to the hypothetical individual. However, if there is not one here by that name, the message will not be received by anyone. What would you like me to write?”

  Mitsuko sighed. “Just write that Mitsuko and Holly came by to see him. He’ll recognize our names. We’ll be back later tonight.”

  Tonight wasn’t actually happening, as the sun would never set, but it was still early in the loop and most people didn’t understand that yet. It was simpler to not explain.

  The bitelas scribbled down the message and nodded. It was hard to tell on his alien face, but Mitsuko thought he looked relieved they weren’t going to continue with their demands. Still, Mitsuko had to drag Holly off while the gnome complained loudly about bad customer service.

  Once through the garden and out of the metal gate, Holly turned her glare to her.

  “I almost had him, Mitsuko!”

  “You really didn’t.”

  “He was completely smitten by my charm.”

  Mitsuko rolled her eyes. Sterling sat on a crumbling stone wall off to the side, watching them. He’d at least known better than to try walking in with them. Most inns didn’t like pets.

  “Well, what do we do now?” Holly asked. “Should we rent a room? I have a bit of money.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Mitsuko winced. Walking back in and asking for a room would be so mortifying after Holly’s tantrum. But…then again, it wasn’t like anyone would remember the experience after a few days.

  “Let’s just break into his room,” Mitsuko suggested. “I know which one is his.”

  “Ah. Give me a few minutes and I’ll get my invisibility spell ready. A bit more complicated but I don’t think a lesser camouflage will work with so many gaudy colors everywhere.”

  Mitsuko refrained from mentioning that Holly’s hair was the same shade as the inn’s wallpaper.

  “I have a better idea. We just need to circle around back and I’ll get us in.”

  Mitsuko ignored Holly’s questions and headed for the back of the building. She hopped the metal fence and started counting windows on the second floor.

  After triple checking, she walked directly under the window and hurled a stone straight up. It clattered as it landed on the roof tiles and then fell back to the earth. She picked it up again and cast Mend on it.

  Her arm nearly disjointed as it shot up but she kept her grip on the stone. Years of sword practice left her with a powerful grip strength. As the stone passed by Wan’s window, she let go and threw out an elbow to catch the windowsill. It was less than a handspan wide. But after kicking at the wall, she managed to find a decent hold on the windowsill. With her other hand, she flicked her wrist and created a blade of ice.

  Instead of slashing at the window and scratching it up with the sharp edge, Mitsuko smashed the hilt of her sword into the window. The ice gave way before the glass, but she simply created another sword. And another. Cracks spiderwebbed out. And then she broke through.

  Glass shattered and more than a few shards embedded into her skin as she heaved herself inside. But she didn’t pay it any mind. After the last few loops, her pain tolerance had increased significantly. She supposed dying did that to someone. A shard of glass in her palm didn’t quite compare to getting limbs hacked off by an ancient knight or getting eaten by a kraken.

  A quick cast of Mend made everything fly back into place. Even the broken pieces stuck in her arm flicked out and replaced themselves on the window. Mitsuko smiled at her handiwork. No inside, she unlatched the window and opened it. She waved down at Holly below.

  As Mitsuko moved away from the window, she noticed she left a smear of blood. Not great. She needed to minimize signs of her break in. She cast Mend on herself to keep blood from staining anything else and was shocked to see the blood smear trickle up from the window and replace itself in her body before the skin knitted back together.

  “Interesting,” she muttered. The spell really was useful. A lot more than she’d first assumed. And, as unsanitary as it felt having her blood scraped off the ground and placed back into her veins, it should hypothetically be safe.

  The room was as she remembered it from her first loop. All of Wan’s things were carefully organized. He usually acted as a balance to Emperor Sasaki’s chaos.

  She walked over to a bag and picked it up. Inside was his purse. That was odd. He usually didn’t go out without money. Even in her first loop when she found him assaulted by a troll, he’d had his purse on him. And she also noticed several artifacts in the bag. Including the one he’d used in the first loop to create the wooden shield to protect himself from the troll’s strikes. Definitely not an object he’d leave home without. Something was off.

  She brought his bag over to the bed, ready to remove everything and look for clues. She sat on the bed and jerked up immediately. Something was under the sheets.

  Nothing happened.

  Slowly, she drew back the blanket to reveal what it concealed.

  Wan’s lifeless body lay there. Blank eyes stared up at the ceiling.

  Wan, the immortal and companion of the Hon Emperor, was dead.

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