When I got upstairs, I didn't expect to see the scene that greeted me.
Hinesia was sitting at the edge. Haruno, on the other hand, looked like she had just come out of a sleepless night. Her eyes widened the instant she saw me.
"Phaser?"
"Yeah, that's me. Why're you looking at me like I've grown a second head?"
Her mouth opened, then closed, and then opened again as she actually stared into my eyes.
"You—how the hell did you get so strong and tall in a month?!"
I looked down at myself and yeah, okay, she wasn't wrong. My frame was definitely more defined.
"Connections," I said simply, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"Connections? That's not an answer."
Hinesia chuckled from the bed, her arms crossed loosely. "He's not lying, though. You'd be surprised what kind of people he knows."
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I heard that you've been through a mess. Mind explaining why you were being chased by assassins and bleeding out in an alley?"
Haruno sighed, shifting uncomfortably. Her voice carried that worn-out tone of someone who'd been through too much too quickly.
"I came to Rome to watch the nobles. The political tension here's been boiling since July. I wanted to see who was aligning with who."
"Spying."
She gave me a small smirk. "Observing."
"Right. And?"
She hesitated, rubbing her bandaged arm. "Then I went to this restaurant downtown. I didn't think much of it until the waiter brought me food that tasted… off. Within five minutes, I knew it was poisoned. I tried to escape, but when I ran outside, some passerby stabbed me. Turns out he wasn't a passerby. He was part of a group of hired assassins."
Hinesia leaned back slightly, frowning.
"So they poisoned your food and had assassins waiting outside. That's… excessive."
"Yeah. I had to fight my way out. Barely made it into the old quarter before I collapsed. Then I thought of calling him."
"Me? Why?"
But seriously, why me? We only talked for a few hours about the fragment of the Azure Sword. She looked at me like it was obvious.
"Because you're… you. Even though I'm a fugitive, I figured if anyone could hide me in plain sight, it'd be you. But even then, I didn't think they'd actually find me again."
"You're good at covering your tracks, Haruno. That's what makes this weird. If they managed to follow you this far, someone must be helping them."
She reached into her System Inventory and pulled out a folded sheet, specifically a bounty poster. The edges were slightly burned. The texture was coarse, almost medieval. She handed it to me. I unfolded it and blinked. Her picture — she was a teenager here but recognizable — was at the center. Below it, a number glared up at me.
$160,000,000.
Hinesia whistled lowly. "That's… a lot of zeros. Also who the hell still uses a poster in this era?"
Haruno shrugged, rubbing her temple.
"It's from the black market that circulates under the radar. The other Clans in Japan want me dead or captured. Apparently, they've all been hired out for it."
"That means someone's pulling strings," Hinesia confirmed. "If you're being tracked even after using Fast Travel Rooms and jumping through cities, there's an Outer involved. One who's likely transmigrated among the Clans."
Haruno's expression darkened. "That's what I thought too."
I exhaled, dragging a hand through my hair. I already knew what she wanted to do any why she called me.
"So let me guess. You want to get the Blood Odachi faster than planned."
Her eyes flicked to me, a small guilty look flashing there.
"Yeah."
"Haruno, we can't do that. The timeline is tight enough as it is. And the second part of the Duel of Champions happens mid-month. I can't miss it."
"Phaser, I don't have a choice. The longer I stay here, the higher the risk. If I can get the Blood Odachi early, I can at least fight back. And if you help me… I'll introduce you to someone."
"Who?"
"Lucretia Maisie," she said simply.
That got Hinesia's attention. Her ears twitched, and she turned sharply.
"The Lucretia Maisie? The queen of the underground?"
"The very one."
Hinesia's eyes flicked to me. "You'd be an idiot not to take that deal."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. It was good for her but very bad for me. Norphie and Lucretia aren't exactly friends with one another, even in the storyline.
"Yeah, yeah. Alright. Fine. You win. But that means my plans just went to hell."
"Which plans?" Hinesia asked, even though she already knew.
"The second quest for the Duel of Champions. I was going to use it to make the Null Handmaidens more popular and get the third Fluveheart for my Atomicus."
Hinesia waved a hand dismissively. "I'll handle it."
"You'll what?"
She's actually going to help? Her? Someone as lazy as her?
"Handle it. After all, it's just saving Rome from a Fluve Field, right?"
"Just saving Rome? You make it sound like cleaning up after a party."
She gave me that confident grin that somehow made me feel both reassured and deeply concerned.
"I've faced worse."
"Yeah, I know you have."
Haruno watched the exchange, then smiled faintly.
"You've got a good friend there, Phaser."
I looked over at Hinesia, who was now lazily inspecting her nails like she hadn't just volunteered to save an entire city in my stead.
"She's not... exactly a friend, bit yeah. Something like that."
Hinesia didn't even look up. "I'll take that as a compliment."
I rolled my eyes and pushed away from the wall.
"Alright then. If that's how it's going to be, then we leave when the Fluve Field activates. That will be on July 15th. We got twelve days before the Fluve Field activates. That means twelve days to prepare."
Haruno, sitting cross-legged on the bed, gave a small smirk. Again, how come I'm meeting one of the most beautiful women in MoDS?
"So what's the grand plan, oh strategic genius?"
"First, I need to involve Thales and Verdamona in the second quest. Thales has finally crossed that line mentally and morally, so he's stable enough for combat. And Verdamona…"
"Needs to unlock her second Flux," Hinesia finished for me.
"Exactly. She's strong as hell, but she's stuck in that half-state. If she doesn't unlock it before the summer ends, she's going to bloom late. Thales can help her. They've got good synergy, surprisingly. If anyone can drag her through that mental wall of hers, it's him. And with Xaessia around, things might actually move smoother."
"Xaessia?"
"Yeah. She's… complicated. She's either the calmest person in the room or the reason the room's on fire. There's no in-between. But, with her around, I'd say the odds of success go from certain death to mildly possible victory."
Hinesia folded her arms, giving me that look that made me roll my eyes.
"You're forgetting one detail."
"Oh?"
"I'm still here, which means whatever threat you're leaving behind? We'll deal with it faster. Rome's safe in my hands."
"You're really milking that princess title, huh?"
"And you're really underestimating what a Princess of the Bloodline of Rameses can do. Phaser, I'm very strong. I am even stronger than you."
"Fair." I turned to Haruno. "Anyway, back to us."
"Us?"
"Yeah. You're not expecting me to bring a whole squad to your Blood Odachi trial, right? I'm not that suicidal."
"So it's just you and me?"
I sat down on a nearby chair and faced her.
"Of course not. Look, the Blood Odachi trial is personal. In the game, it was never clear what Haruno Nishikata went through to get it. It just skipped to Verdamona's side of the story. And you are the Haruno. Or at least the transmigrated one. Which means your trial's going to be… unpredictable."
She frowned slightly. "You sound too casual for something that could kill me."
"Hey, if I worried about every life-threatening event, I'd never sleep. Besides, I already have a Primal Synsiline Treasure. That means the trial won't generate a second one for me. So technically, I'll be pulled into your trial instead of getting my own. Verdamona was pulled to her own because she didn't get a Primal Synsiline Treasure when she was a witness to Thales' trial."
"So I'm the main character this time?"
"Temporarily. Don't get used to it. I like being the side character though."
She laughed softly, shaking her head.
"Fine. Then we go just the two of us."
Never in my life didi believe that I would be a witness. The reason I'm helping Haruno is because she's very important after the University Arc. She's an antagonist in the storyline and someone who Verdamona hates after betraying her after she got the Blood Odachi. Either way, they won't meet so I'm glad that won't happen.
And also, I want to see how strong I am. And what better way to do this than to go to a deadly trial to gain battle experience?