“How so?” asked Mora.
“He was trying to get on my good side, showing this forced concern in an attempt to win my trust. Now that I know why, it all makes sense.”
“Meow-ha-ha, what a terrifyin’ woman. Poor Adlet’s love is unrequited!”
Fremy glared at Hans.
“We should be talking about Adlet. How do we capture him?” asked Goldof.
Hans looked at the iron box in the corner of the temple and said, “Most of his weapons are in there. He can’t fight without ’em. If we wait here, I think he’ll be comin’ round to get ’em.”
“Not necessarily,” Fremy countered. “He still has a certain number of weapons hidden on his person.”
“Not enough to fight all of us,” Hans replied.
“That doesn’t mean we can go without a plan,” said Goldof. “We should make our move. We have only a finite amount of time. We should split up and track him down.”
“Goldof is right,” said Mora. “We’ll split into groups of two. First, Fremy—you will come with me to search for Adlet.” Fremy nodded. “Princess, you go with Goldof,” Mora continued. “Do not be gentle with Adlet. Goldof, take care of the princess.” Goldof nodded. Nashetania gave him an uneasy look. “Chamo and Hans, you stay here and lay an ambush for him. Keep your wits about you.”
“Meow? I’ll have only half the motivation if I’m not with a pretty lady. Can’t I switch places with Goldof?” Everyone ignored Hans’s complaint.
“No objections?” verified Mora. “Then let’s go.”
That was when Chamo said, “No. Chamo doesn’t wanna wait.”
“All right, then Fremy can stay here, and you come with me, Chamo,” said Mora.
“Walking all over the place doesn’t sound fun, either. Chamo’s just gonna go play somewhere until the barrier is down.”
“May I scold you a little, Chamo?” A blue vein popped out on Mora’s forehead.
Hans smiled and said, “It’s fine. I can deal with a guy like that by myself.”
“What reliable allies you are,” said Mora. “Well, so be it. Chamo, do avoid getting lost and don’t stray too far.”
Nashetania and Goldof headed out westward. Mora and Fremy were setting off in the opposite direction when Hans called out to one of his companions. “Hey, Fremy.”
“What?” she replied.
“Can you really fight the fiends?”
“What do you mean?”
“If yer beloved mama was standin’ right in fronta ya, sayin’, I’m sorry, forgive me, I’ve always regretted it, let’s live together again, could ya kill her?”
“I could. Because I would know she was lying,” said Fremy.
“No, ya couldn’t.”
Fremy shot Hans an angry glare.
“I’m an assassin,” said Hans. “I’ve taken on a lot of jobs. Husbands betrayed by their wives. Children abandoned by their parents. They all came to me and said, Kill them for me. But ya know, not a single one of ’em was happy to see me do it. At the last moment, most of ’em would be like, No, don’t kill them, after all.”
“So what?” Fremy demanded.
“Well, I guess it don’t really matter.”
“Let’s go, Fremy,” said Mora, and the two women turned away from Hans and ran into the woods.
After Nashetania and Goldof left the temple, they ran for a while, until Nashetania suddenly stopped. She turned to look behind them and scanned the area multiple times.
“What is it?” Goldof, who had been following her, was confused by her behavior.
“Goldof, I know this is sudden, and this is going to sound strange, but do you trust me?” Nashetania looked Goldof straight in the eye.
“Of course. Whom could I trust but you?” he replied.
But his response made Nashetania frown. “You don’t understand what I mean. What I mean to ask is, will you support my ideas without questioning them?”
“Your Highness, just what are you thinking?”
Nashetania kept her eyes locked on Goldof’s. “Adlet isn’t the seventh. And now I will prove it.”
“Your Highness!” Goldof cried.
“Just this time. Say you will with no complaints. I can tell—Adlet has fallen into a trap, and he’s waiting for my help!”
“I cannot acquiesce. Even if it’s you, Your Highness. Anything but that.”
“I’m not saying this with no plan in mind,” Nashetania persisted. “There’s something that has been bothering me. I still have no proof, and I may just be wrong. But it might be the clue that leads us to the truth.”
“Whom do you suspect?” asked Goldof.
Nashetania replied quietly, “Hans.”
Meanwhile, Adlet was also making his move. He ran soundlessly across tree branches so as not to leave any footprints. Occasionally, he would stop and listen to the sounds around him, check that no one was approaching, and then continue. He was heading toward the temple. If he could find proof there that the eighth really existed, he could clear the suspicions against him for the time being. It would be more efficient than running around the forest and searching for the eighth at random.
What are the others doing? As Adlet jumped from one tree to the next, he reflected. Most likely, the six of them had split into groups of two or three to look for him. That would be the logical decision if they wanted to avoid surprise attacks from him. Things might get nasty if they were in groups of two. That would mean one of them was alone with the seventh, who could kill their companion and then pin it on Adlet. That could be the seventh’s next plan. Adlet had to hurry before such underhanded tactics were put into action.
But would surveying the temple be doable? There would be at least two standing guard. At least if Nashetania or Fremy were among them, there would be a way. Adlet could get one of them to cooperate and have her make sure the temple was empty, or he could negotiate with them directly to get into the temple. Adlet knew full well his plan had holes. It was haphazard and chance-based. But at that point, it was all he had.
“Okay.” He had made it to the temple without running into any of his pursuers. It seemed that luck had not forsaken him. He climbed another tree, pulled
