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Ronin walked forward and got one of the candles which she lit in preparation. It felt strange holding it, and she suppressed the urge to shudder. Within her, an instinct to fear this wax candle still lingered, an expectation to be repelled by the light, that it was supposed to hurt her. Yet, she was able to take it without particular reaction, subverting her instinctual expectations. She smirked by herself about it. Alright, let’s get going!

… But before that, Alicia asked her a question. Ronin blinked at her a bit, and realized with a start. “Oh, shit. This is the person that can 100% tell if I lie to her.” So, with a grin on her lip, she just had to form the sentence in her mind, double-check it, and then say it!

[color=9b83de]‘In a sense! Me and Justine are just after the same target, and I’d be hard-pressed to do this operation on my own, so teaming up made sense! She’s not the typical person I’d consider teaming up with, no, I like to consider myself one of the good guys!’[/color] Ronin called, happily. So far, so good.

Confirming that what was said was the truth, Alicia nonetheless still found herself curious. Business would have been a reasonable explanation, albeit one she was wary of. This was another, but it did leave some questions of motive and intent behind it. Of course Justine trusted her, but who knew what their foe actually thought in the first place. 

It was a pity she couldn’t be more open. Not while Sonia was still here. She would have to be satisfied with one sided confirmation in that case.

[color=aba000]”I see. I’m glad to hear it,”[/color] Alicia assured the girl, before proceeding to that next point she wished to address. [color=aba000]”What did Mariette do to you guys? I  know why Justine is doing this, but if you were after the same target before meeting then you must have a reason for it.”[/color]

Ronin had a minor moment of panic, because Mariette hadn’t done anything to her and she didn’t know how to lie her way out of that one, but then she had a little stroke of genius. Ronin grinned widely.

[color=9b83de]‘Nonono. Not Mariette. [i]Asengav[/i] is the one I have a bone to pick with! He’s the eldritch horror that likes to kidnap and mind bend girls to do his bidding! We need to deprive him of his champions as soon as possible, or this world will surely feel the consequences sooner or later…!’[/color] … Nailed it! Even managed to mix that bit in with the mind bending, just because, can’t hurt for Alicia to know that~!

Listening, Alicia nodded as Ronin explained what her situation was. [color=aba000]”Ah, alright. That makes sense,”[/color] she agreed. it wasn’t a lie, and Mariette possibly being brainwashed by her patron would not have been the biggest surprise to learn. After all Justine had just left, and she was basically doing the same thing. In spite of that, knowing it was brainwashing did not change the facts of what she had to do. This would not have been the first time Beacon did something like this, and the manipulation was not as clear here. How much of it was brainwashing, and how much of it was Mariette’s genuine personality? Could they afford to take that chance?

No, she had to continue this path. There had to be justice for the fallen. 

Still, she had the answer she was looking for. Although ready to move on, the fourth member of Ronin’s group caught her eye again as she interacted with FanFan.  [color=aba000]”Is she going to be a problem for this mission? She doesn’t seem like the sneaky type,”[/color] Alicia observed coolly.

Ronin looked over at the girl Alicia was talking about, and Ronin could not help it. She laughed, letting out a bit of tension as she did, because the idea was just so amusing.

[color=9b83de]‘Lady, we’re going to be discovered the instant we breach into Mariette’s domain. We’ll need her,’[/color] Ronin replied with absolute certainty and a touch of amusement.

Knowing that Princess would not be an issue was good, but Alicia caught on what it was that Ronin had said. She sounded awfully confident that this infiltration wouldn’t be so much infiltration as it would be a running fight. It made the Paladin wonder just why she felt that way. 

So she returned from the Princess to Ronin. [color=aba000]”Is that so? That’s good to know,”[/color] she replied, one hand holding her bow while the other rested on her hip. [color=aba000]”Are there any other insider tips we should know before going in there? I would prefer not to be taken off guard.”[/color] 

Ronin chuckled a bit. [color=9b83de]‘Sorry, never been in there. Just,  be aware Asengav has more champions than just Mariette. It’s not unbelievable that we may be facing a dozen or so of them, in addition to other reinforcements, monsters and traps. It largely depends on if Mariette expects to be attacked or not.’[/color]

Listening attentively, Alicia nodded as Ronin warned her of other potential champions, traps, monsters, and the like. They had known this wasn’t going to be easy, and dealing with a being like a Horror was always going to put them up against a lot. Especially with someone like Mariette.

[color=aba000]”We’ll just have to keep our eyes open going in,”[/color] Alicia said once Ronin had finished. It was not a lot to go on, but it was all they had. [color=aba000]”It sounds like you’ve been working on this for some time now. i’m surprised I haven’t seen you around town before.”[/color]

[color=9b83de]‘I was seeking through the Overcity when I met Justine, and she took me to Penrose. I had assumed working with Justine meant any chance of an alliance with you of Beacon was void, heh. I instead went to the monster queen for aid, but she died, and,’[/color] Ronin sighed. [color=9b83de]‘Quite the community you’ve got here! Always someone stabbing someone’s back, eh?’[/color] Ronin giggled, before spinning to go back to her little group. [color=9b83de]‘But let’s get each other through this alive, shall we?’[/color]

That sounded like quite the adventure. Sparse on details, but those did not seem as important right now. Like Ronin had said, they needed to focus on getting through this in one piece. [color=aba000]”Agreed.”[/color] With that Alicia returned to her own group as well, to prepare for their imminent teleportation