Side Note

Hello there, it's the second best maid to have ever lived (I plan on taking the first place very soon), Madeleine here. We're on an escort mission! I know, I know. Extremely tame compared to what just happened, but Mel says it's important to wind down and do something simple after a huge battle, especially one as emotionally draining as what we went through. She's still on guard, surveying the area while on top of the carriage. She says that knowing my luck, we might run into something. That and the fact the world is still ending. No wonder everyone is eager to get escorts while moving between countries. I can't tell you the last time I saw a tree with leaves. 

Anywho, the slave gladiator arena thing turned dark evil castle was located in Veera, a sketchy country (And that's coming from someone who lived in Hamblin), which you want to exit as quickly as possible. Where are we headed? Well, the fella who hired us wants to go to the Garwet Kingdom (I'm surprised they're still around) and wants to take the shortcut that goes through the Zombielands… or was it Cakelands? I forget.

It was an S-Ranked request, so of course we took it. Mel hesitated initially, but I convinced her after reminding her how overkill our team is! We've got the best archer in the world (At least to me), a kickass Maid School graduate, a gladiator who hasn't lost a fight, and a loser who got shot in the head with an arrow twice. Yep! That's right! Sherry and Rio are with us! Those two are sticking with me only so they can get their Shadow Clones back.

Do you know who isn't here? Myka. She left with her sister as soon as the fight finished, which was incredibly inconvenient. I was hoping she'd revive all the dead folks in the Shadowrealm, but with her gone, who's gonna do it now? I'd ask Marigold, but I have no idea where she is, and… well… I have no idea who else can revive the dead. The Necromancer, maybe? That's why I was glad this idiot was taking the route through the Zombielands. Maybe I'll meet her again… can she make non-zombie undeads? I have no idea.

At least, that's what the plan was. Right now, we're on the border between Veera and the Zombielands, and there's just a huge wall of zombies. A really huge wall and they're just standing there, menacingly. Also, the person we were meant to escort got assassinated. An arrow randomly appeared in his heart. Damn those Pansir assassins! Well… whatever.

"Do we think we can burn down the zombie wall?" I ask, creating a little flame at the tip of my foot, waiting to lob it at the undead.

"Zombies stink when you burn them, so no." Mel quickly shoots down my idea. "Sherry, are you able to make a hole?"

"Hmm… probably." Sherry looked ready to swing her giant axe at the wall when Rio suddenly spoke up angrily.

"A dirty slime-girl approaches." She pointed down the road we travelled on, and I could see a solitary figure walking towards us. She seems kind of familiar… the fireball assassin? No, that one was… red? I swear I know a different slime-girl. The slime-girl eventually reached us, sending a wave to Rio, who responded with a tongue click.

"Heh. Angry at the thirty-five deaths?" Rio flipped off the slime-girl, who ignored the rude gesture. She turned to me, giving me a peace sign. "Nice to meet you again, Madeleine Arcus."

"Do I know you?"

"Rika Kaneyama, at your service!" She did a little pose with a cutesy expression before returning to a neutral stance. "I'm here to steer the plot. I know you lot have no idea where to go next, even though there are a lot of loose ends to tie. That's why I'm here."

"Wow, how convenient." Mel sarcastically says. I love it when she's sarcastic.

"So, which should come first? Revival of the dead or the return of the eaten Shadow Clones?" 

"Shadow Clones!" Immediately, both Sherry and Rio answered. I guess that's that.

"Quick choice. We'll need to bug the God of Souls, so to Cyst City we go. The Gods should still be fighting the demons there." Rika moves the carriage owner's corpse out of the way, taking his seat as the driver. "I know a shortcut. Hop on, girls."

I jump inside the carriage, Mel swapping places with Rio as the lookout on top. She hopped down and took a seat next to me. On the other hand, Sherry sits opposite us, her axe leaning against her shoulders. Man… that really is a big axe.

"Before I forget," Rika reached into her pockets and pulled out a tiny knife, passing it over to me. "Consider it a down payment for a future job after we do this resurrection thing." 

As soon as I touched the knife, a Side Note popped up. Oh man, I forgot I was collecting these.

"Fair warning, Cyst City is a whole lot worse compared to before when you were there. Most of the Demons kill on sight, and the Gods are too busy dealing with the Demons to save insignificant mortals. Usually, you get killed by Daemon magic before you can even step inside, but fortunately for us, Madeleine and Mel here have connections!"

Mel raises her eyebrow at Rika while I wonder who could possibly be our connection there, since both Mammon and Xul are dead in my Shadowrealm.

"Your good old friend Merry, of course! You've got to be quick with talking to her, though. I hear the God of Souls' execution is tomorrow."

Oh… 

Item profile: Splitting Knife

Sacred power: Division

Creator: Satdrul Smithking

Description: The sharpest knife in Mendass, said to be able to slice anything in half. The truth is it's actually blunt, only being able to cut things due to its Sacred Power. Considered to be one part of a trifecta of masterpieces made by the Lord of Blacksmiths, alongside the Unbreakable Armor and the Invisible Shield, it is a treasure beyond worth. It was gifted to the leader of the Reincarnator's Organisation due to the endless number of high-cost commissions the organisation gave him. 

Chapter namesake: Escort Mission by Sev

pojlk

I can't tell which is more shocking: That Mendass is literally in its final days, the fact I casually killed off 90% of the recurring cast in one arc, or that Rio Verdeux of all characters is part of the main party. She was literally killed off twice in the first chapter. Man... how did I let all of this happen?