My Enigmatic Life

(Arianne’s POV)

     We made the rookie mistake of letting our guard down while on a mission, and now we’re broken into two sets of two.

“Tch! What a bloody pain.”, Yoko says scathingly.

I can’t help but agree with that, frankly. I hope that Naoya and Akai-san will be okay dealing with that miscreant.

“Don’t worry about them, Arianne. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“Yes, I get that, but it could be problematic for them if he knows any Magic.”, I say.

“Hmm, that is a good point.”, Yoko muses.

“Oi, ladies! Don’t forget about us!”

Yes, there’s two of them. It’s quite a bother, really.

“Okay, I’ve come up with something.”, Yoko continues. “One of us will stay here, and the other will go and help those two.”

“Come now, do you think that a 2v1 is going to work in your favour?”

The more composed of the two chides us for our supposedly foolish idea. I don’t believe he’s aware of how outclassed they are, but Yoko makes them readily aware.

“Yeah, that’s why I suggested it. You two are probably around Aniki’s level at best, so it should be piss easy.”

“Please don’t say that around Govvy..”, I plea. “He already doesn’t have any confidence.”

“I said ‘at best’.”, she emphasises. “I doubt that they’re as strong as Aniki is.”

Before I can say anything in return one of the criminals swings at my neck with a prybar. Of course, I block it deftly with Stinger. How inconsiderate.

“It’s a 2v2, whether you like it or not!”

The other one pierces Yoko’s side with his switchblade, and his face breaks into an insidious smile.

“All talk, just like all women.”

His smile fades quickly once Yoko’s body phases in a wisp of smoke, and that moment of disbelief gets him walloped right in his side by Yoko’s kick, which sends him tumbling away.

“What?! The Doppelganger spell?!”

“⌈Ember Shell.⌋”

The one who’s engaging me lets his guard down, allowing me to easily blast him with a shortened Incantation. Is that all? Apparently not, as he gets to his feet unsteadily, his body smoking slightly.

“Y-you bitch! It’s not going to be that easyyyyyyy!”

So much for him being more composed. But they are just a bunch of hooligans, so I should’ve expected as much.

He viciously swings at me with no form of control whatsoever, not even bothering to guard his body. So, I stab through his foot with Stinger.

“GYA-”

“⌈Chain.⌋”

And that’s that. He’s been detained, with my chains binding him tightly. Yoko, who was watching from the side-lines, applauds me. Did she already detain her adversary?

“Good job, that was nice work.”

“Thank you.”, I bow.

“I also need to apologise for what I said earlier.”

“Why’s that?”

“Don’t you mock me!”

The other one finally recovers, and holds his hand aloft.

“Mana Bomb!”

He hurls the spell at us, but Yoko just nonchalantly unsheathes her tanto, Petaled Sky, and slices the attack in two. Without a sound, it disappears into nothingness.

Seeing this, the hooligan turns pale and flees. Yoko watches his retreat as she digs into her satchel.

“Idiot.”

With immaculate precision, she throws some senbon that strike him directly in his back, causing him to soundlessly collapse.

“I was wrong to compare them to Aniki. They’re not even close, especially when it comes to the amount of mana they have.”

Well, at least she owned up to it quickly.

     With both of them cuffed, our mission is almost complete. Gege-san relayed to us that Govvy and Akane are on the way, but-

“Those two want to handle it by themselves?”

“That’s right.”, Gege-san says. “Naoya and Akai really want to handle that guy on their own.”

“How did they sound when they said that?”, Yoko queries.

“Their breathing was laboured, but they didn’t sound injured or anything. Besides that, did you get any info out of the ones you were fighting?”

“I’m afraid not. They’re both passed out.”

“Well, hopefully those two leave their guy awake.”

Somehow I doubt that that’ll be the outcome.

“It’s good that they want to prove themselves, but honestly they need to do so. If they can’t beat someone like that together, they’ll just be a massive liability.”

“Hmmm…”

What Yoko said may sound heartless, but it’s true. Those two have to prove their worth, or else they’ll have to be discharged.

For now, all we can do is have some conviction.