I gripped Glaldra's armored hand tightly, gasping for air to respond. Choking, I tried to pry her fingers apart with one hand while keeping the other as far from her as possible. My soul, resembling tendrils, fled down my arm, seeking refuge in my hand to escape the searing heat of her soul.
"Did she cause all this...?" Dacil asked, his hand already on his sword hilt, "How?"
"I have no idea," Glaldra roared, "I didn't see her do anything, but somehow, she triggered a full-blown sensory event. She admitted it herself!"
"I... I didn't even know what that was...!" I squeezed out through my constricted throat, managing to pry one of her fingers loose.
"That's it!" Glaldra pointed at the devastated area, where parts of the island were collapsing or even disappearing, "That's a sensory event! And the reason we Inquisitors exist is to prevent such occurrences!"
Her grip on my neck tightened, her face contorted with rage.
"Placing too much metal in one place? The gods will notice. Flying too far? The gods will notice. Waging war on too large a scale? The gods—fucking hell—will notice. And then they get displeased. The last thing you want to do is piss off the bloody gods! Inquisitor Dacil!"
"Understood, Grand Inquisitor," he replied coldly, drawing his sword. Oh, shit.
Was I really going to die like this? Just like that? Not from starvation, not from being discovered as a necromancer, not from being torn apart by monsters, but because a fanatical believer misinterpreted the whims of a god? I frantically looked around for a way to save myself...! Glaldra hadn't cast a spell yet—at least not yet. She might be tired or restricted in some way. If I could kill a couple of Inquisitors and then resurrect them, maybe they could—
Just as Inquisitor Dacil raised his sword, Penelope stepped in front of him, glaring at him dangerously. When my teammate grabbed my shoulder, he stopped in surprise.
"As the First Lady betrothed to Lord Erebus," Penelope declared solemnly, "I grant this person my protection."
The camp fell into a stunned silence. Dacil lowered his sword.
"How dare you?" Glaldra hissed through gritted teeth, "This kid just killed two Inquisitors!"
Penelope looked up at her, her expression a mix of annoyance and utter seriousness.
"No, I'm quite certain it was the Mist Watcher that killed two Inquisitors," Penelope replied coolly, "Unfortunately, the Grand Inquisitor assigned to escort us failed to foresee the thoughts of the deity she worships, but that's not the fault of an ignorant child."
"She admitted to attracting the attention of a god, so she caused this damn sensory event! Your protection be damned, I have every right—"
"I don't think she did it," Penelope interrupted, "Vita lived in Skyhope City for... at least twelve years, and there were no sensory events during that time. Let me remind you, First Lady Kasara, how many sensory events were you involved in? You were standing right next to her. Any glance that seemed directed at her could just as easily have been directed at you."
The two women locked eyes, Penelope flashing a triumphant smile at the furious Inquisitor while I continued to gasp for air, clutching my throat.
"Let her go," Penelope commanded, "Or kill us both and pray your reputation can cover your crime."
Glaldra let out an angry snort and hurled me into the air. I flipped several times before crashing to the ground, the pain excruciating but thankfully no bones were broken. Gasping for air, I clutched my throat protectively.
"I'm going to get some fresh supplies," the Grand Inquisitor growled, glancing at me before stomping off into the forest.
Penelope calmly approached and began tending to my wounds, while the other Inquisitors glared at me from behind their helmets. Dacil walked over to us, thankfully sheathing his sword.
"You've claimed the protection of the betrothed First Lady," he said.
"Indeed," Penelope confirmed.
"Of course, we'll need Lord Erebus himself to confirm his support for this decision."
"Naturally," Penelope replied sweetly, "I'm sure he'll be delighted to meet you all when we return to Skyhope City after completing our mission."
I noticed she cleverly avoided mentioning that we could contact him right now using her magical necklace, and I was more than happy to keep that detail to myself.
"Of course. We'll discuss it further then," Inquisitor Dacil replied, "Will you continue with the mission? Our supplies are destroyed. Personally, I suggest abandoning—"
"No. I don't think whatever's controlling Remus will stay in Litia Village for long. This is still our best chance. The Grand Inquisitor can use her skills to do what she does best: hunt monsters. I'll help prepare them as rations. After all, we're hunters."
"Of course, Miss Vesuvius," he replied stiffly, bowing before turning to leave.
"Inquisitor Dacil," Penelope called after him, "If possible, I'd like to offer compensation to the families of the deceased, either on behalf of the Inquisitors or from my personal funds."
He stopped, turned around, and this time his bow seemed more sincere.
"Thank you, Miss Vesuvius," he replied before leaving again.
I watched him go, trembling as I took a few deep breaths.
"Th... thank you," I finally managed to say when it was just the two of us.
Penelope flashed me an unamused smile.
"Now you owe me," she said firmly.
"W... what?" I blinked, "I saved you, and you saved me! Aren't we even now?"
"No."
She gave me a sidelong glance; her soul "sang" joyfully, but her eyes were filled with disdain.
"You have no idea how serious what I just did was. I struggled hard to break free from my fiancé's control, and now I've plunged right back in because of you."
I frowned and poked at the area of her soul near her abdomen.
"Liar. You're actually pretty happy about it."
She laughed, the sound like clear high notes matching her movements perfectly.
"Oh, I never said I wasn't happy. My family always enjoys having the upper hand in front of Miss Kasara. And... Vita, you'll help me break free from this again, won't you? Unless..."
I snorted.
"Of course I will. You don't need to threaten me."
She shrugged.
"That remains to be seen."
I blinked. She smiled as if joking, but in reality... she was dead serious.
"Is there something you want to, uh, clue me in on first, Penelope?"
"Yes, but not now," she replied, "We need to see if we can get out of Litia Village alive first. But let me give you a warning."
She leaned in close, her sweet smile never wavering as she lowered her voice:
"If that little pet of yours reveals any more secrets, I'll kill it."
I blinked.
"Penelope, you can't just threaten to—"
"I can," she interrupted, "That slime has been testing boundaries, seeing how far it can go without punishment. You let it. If you don't control your pet, then I will."
"She's trying," I said, frowning, "She's not a pet. She's a person in trouble."
"I know you feel sorry for her, thinking you're both in the same boat and can't see the situation clearly, but I'm afraid I won't sympathize with a lump of tormenting muck. You should be grateful I'm being so tolerant. If it wants to live, it needs to follow the rules."
Pinta took control of the body and nodded.
"Good," Penelope said, "Now let's go help the Inquisitors and continue on our way. I want this over with."
I stood up and followed her, feeling both grateful and overwhelmed by the pressure. I had to restrain myself from reaching into her body with my tendrils to poke at her plump soul. I bet it was even softer and more fun than Pinta's! But that would probably make my poor friend uncomfortable, which was a shame. Soul hugs were much more interesting than regular ones.
"So... at least twelve years, huh?" I teased, narrowing my eyes at her.
"I can't be certain of your age, and stunted growth could be due to malnutrition. But the possibility that you simply misremembered seems less likely."
I frowned but didn't argue this time.
"By the way, what exactly did you do?" I asked, "With that 'I grant this person my protection' stuff."
"Basically, I hired you. Inquisitors have jurisdiction over civilians, but once you're connected to a noble family, they have to file a formal investigation request first, and then... well, it gets complicated from there. Since Glaldra is a noble herself, I had to use my fiancé's name to counter her status. The key point is, legally, Glaldra can no longer burn you to ashes at will."
I nodded.
"Oh, that's clever. I guess Inquisitors can't just stab nobles whenever they feel like it; that makes sense. Wait, does that make me a noble now?"
"No," Penelope said, "You're my slave."
"What!?"
"Just legally," Penelope waved dismissively, "You're just property of my future family. I'm not planning to put you in chains or whip you or anything. This status doesn't even need to be public."
I frowned. Although she said that, if she withdrew her protection, that damn Annihilator Glaldra would burn me to ashes.
"Well, I guess before that happens, you could still get the Inquisitors to kill me," I conceded.
She glanced back at me, smirking triumphantly.
"See? That's the spirit."
I followed her in silence for a while, dragging my feet towards the group of men and women who had nearly killed me not long ago.
"Penelope... do you really think I caused that, uh, sensory event? Why would the Mist Watcher do that?"
She sighed.
"Officially, no, you didn't. The Erebus family's stance—and mine, within the limits of my power—is that the Vesuvius family's stance is also that, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, you had no direct involvement in drawing the Mist Watcher's attention."
"I feel like there's more to it."
"... We'll discuss this privately later. For now, just... stay away from the damn edge, Vita. What happened shouldn't have happened. I've heard of the Mist Watcher attacking things flying between islands, but someone just looking over the edge? Never heard of such a thing. If it were anyone else, I'd be convinced Glaldra was shifting blame, but... well, we need to make sure you cross over to Litia Village when the mist rises, roughly speaking."
I tilted my head.
"What do you mean 'cross over'?"
She didn't answer my question at the time, but soon the Inquisitors and we resumed our journey. Dacil and Glaldra retreated into their silent barrier, spending most of the trip conversing through their helmets. Clearly... they were talking about me. I couldn't help but regret my and Pinta's earlier suspicious behavior, but I doubted it would have made much difference. Those tendrils were coming regardless, right?
Perhaps not necessarily. I had no idea why the Mist Watcher wanted to kill me. Maybe it sensed I had stolen its food? But why would it care? After all, once I was dead, my soul would become a feast for it.
... Maybe I had disrupted the order of the afterlife, and it was angry.
I shook my head. Impossible. I refused to believe that. And besides, it had just shattered someone else's soul! Clearly, it didn't care about obtaining a complete soul. I angrily writhed my tendrils. Stupid giant Mist Watcher! Greedy soul-eating fool! Bastard who devoured Roscoe's soul! Couldn't it leave some souls for us little people?
A few more days passed. With Penelope handling the meat and Glaldra venting her frustrations on the local wildlife, we at least didn't have to worry about food. I was puzzled; why didn't the city just send Glaldra to burn down all the forests? Were the forests growing too fast? Was she always busy? Or perhaps, even as an Annihilator, venturing deep into the forest to deal with those things was perilous? I didn't even want to think about it too much.
"We're almost there," Dacil finally announced, "We'll set up camp here. Penelope, Vita, you two go ahead separately. We don't want to risk alerting Litia Village to our arrival and exposing your identities."
Thank heavens. Being with a group of angry Inquisitors was far more mentally exhausting than the physical strain of the journey.
"Three days," Grand Inquisitor Glaldra called from behind, "Leave Litia Village before the Night of Mourning Isles. If you're not back by then, I'll burn the place down."
I swallowed hard and nodded at her. Penelope and I exchanged grateful goodbyes and set off towards the mountains. Upon reaching the summit, we could easily see the layout of Litia Village. Most of the buildings were made of wood rather than stone or clay; roughly half the village consisted of farmland, with the rest being gardens and houses. From here, we could see many people working in the fields. By all accounts, it was an ordinary small village, except for one thing: the entire village was on a separate island, nearly a hundred yards from the mainland, floating independently. Connecting it to Verdant Summit was a rickety rope bridge spanning the terrifying abyss below.
"Do we, uh, have to cross that bridge?" I asked.
Penelope raised an eyebrow.
"That depends. Can you fly?"
...Oh. You see, I used to be just a bit acrophobic. But for some reason... I really, really didn't want to cross that bridge now.