Since she had already made up her mind to help the girl, Aurora was determined not to betray her expectations.
This was almost certainly the work of that organization known as the cultists. If she wanted to find the girl’s mother, then her first step had to be tracking down the cult.
With her goal now clear, Aurora prepared to set off.
But just before she left, she realized something important—she didn’t even know the girl or her mother’s name!
“Oh right—what’s your name? And your mom’s?” Aurora turned to ask the girl.
“My name? I…” The girl lowered her gaze, as if trying to recall something.
“My… name…”
Her expression shifted from deep thought to panic. She clutched at her head in desperation, as if trying to dig out every memory from her mind.
“My name… I—I can’t remember. Not even my mom’s…”
She looked on the verge of collapse, overwhelmed with disbelief that she could forget something so vital.
Watching from the side, Aurora realized something wasn’t right. How could a normal person forget their own name? Could it be some kind of magic tampering with her thoughts?
“Calm down!”
The girl was still yanking at her hair, muttering the same question over and over—what was her name?
“My name… my name… How could I forget? Mom gave me that name… it was my favorite name…”
Smack.
Just then, Aurora grabbed the girl’s hands, stopping her from pulling at her hair, and pulled her into a soft embrace.
“Don’t be scared. I’ll help you find it. Your name, and your mom.”
Her body was pulled tightly into the hug, and the soft fragrance of silver hyacinths filled her nose. A sense of safety quietly washed over her.
Aurora only let go after holding her for a good while to calm her down.
She looked at the girl, who was still sniffling, and her eyes were full of sympathy.
This had to be the work of those cultists. She was going to find them and give them a piece of her mind!
“If I’m not back by dawn, go find that black-haired girl with the bad temper, okay?”
The girl nodded obediently, still crying a little. “Okay…”
“Good girl.”
Aurora patted her head again before finally standing and heading out the door.
Her mother must’ve come looking for her. If so, she must’ve left behind some kind of trace.
Golden light shimmered in her eyes, and a golden clock began to emerge in her pupils.
If… if there are any creatures nearby, maybe I can use their memories to glimpse what happened that day…
She looked around outside the inn, but didn’t spot any cats, dogs, or other small animals.
This town was huge—checking every corner herself would probably take days. If Beatrice were here, she could probably snap her fingers and instantly pinpoint the cultists’ location. But if Aurora woke her up now and said, “Come help me hunt down some cultists!” she’d definitely scold her, then drag her away from the town on the spot. Beatrice hated trouble.
Just as she was at a loss, something black fell onto her head—it was a tiny black nightcap, no bigger than a thumbnail.
“…What’s this?”
“Mika!”
A clear and light voice sounded from above. Aurora looked up and saw it—a night spirit.
The night sprite’s body was blue, a hue very similar to that of the Esmia flower. So if one didn’t look closely, it was easy to mistake the night sprite for a drifting Esmia blossom carried by the wind.
As it slowly descended, flapping its dragonfly-like wings, it truly resembled a falling Esmia petal.
It landed on Aurora’s pale palm and used its tiny paw to point at the cap she was holding in the other hand.
“This is your hat?”
“Miga miga!”
Just as she was about to return the hat to the night sprite, a sudden idea popped into her mind.
Night sprites only appeared at night. There was a chance one of them had seen traces of the cultists.
As for how to identify them—she vaguely remembered Beatrice saying they were people dressed in black robes.
And anyone still skulking around in black robes at night was certainly up to no good!
“I need a little help from you, buddy.”
“Miga?”
“Don’t worry—it won’t hurt at all.”
She cupped the tiny sprite in her hands and pressed it gently to her smooth forehead.
Scene after scene of the night’s imagery flashed through her mind. She quickly picked out something—somewhere in a corner of the town, several black-robed figures were darting about.
“Found them!”
But just as she tried to observe more, one of the figures suddenly raised its head and glared directly at the viewer with eyes like blood-filled hollows. The vision cut off instantly.
Aurora jolted with fright. It was her first time seeing such terrifying eyes—they looked like they belonged to a demon that had crawled straight out of hell.
Still, no matter how frightening it was, she had to go. She had promised that girl to bring back both her mother and her name.
“Thank you, little one.”
She returned the tiny hat to the night sprite and stood up, walking off in the direction she had seen.
The street was completely deserted. In the pitch-black night, only the moonlight offered any warmth. At this hour, the only ones still awake were likely the guards, herself, and that girl still waiting in hope.
She arrived at the place where the robed figures had appeared and continued down the path they had taken. But at the end of the road, she found—
A dead end.
“That’s strange. I don’t think I took a wrong turn…”
She reached out and felt along the wall at the end of the alley, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
Yet, for some reason, this place gave her an unsettling, bone-chilling feeling.
The piercing cold wind stabbed into her limbs and bones. And not just that—something else seemed to be crawling up her spine, slowly making its way toward her brain.
She looked behind her, but saw nothing unusual.
“A hallucination…?”
“Nope, not a hallucination.”
A strange man’s voice echoed around her. Aurora looked around, but couldn’t see any unfamiliar man nearby.
“Little girl, are you lost?”
“Or did you somehow find your way here on purpose?”
The man’s voice continued. It was sharp and sticky, like fresh blood dripping from a blade—every word he spoke seemed to drip a thick, sticky drop of blood.
That voice… definitely not someone good.
Having already decided that this voice belonged to someone dangerous, Aurora took a step back. Golden light began to shimmer around her. Her hair lengthened, and her ears became the pointed ears of an elf.
The golden light gradually gathered into the shape of a clock. From it emerged a golden bow, and when the clock’s hour and minute hands overlapped, they transformed into a golden arrow.
“How fascinating! Hahaha! I’ve never seen magic like this before.”
“Little girl, why don’t you stay awhile and let us study you properly? Hahaha!”