Editing City Series:Volume6e Chapter1 (section)

===Part 5===

A single shadow was cast in a small clearing in the forest at the entrance to the Borderson village.

There was only the one shadow, but two people stood there. One was Lillie with a black coat wrapped around her and her shadow cast on the ground. The other was an old man in a white linen shirt and pants.

The woman stood with her back to the gate at the village entrance and spoke without turning the old man’s way.

“As scheduled, I will deal with this village myself come 4 o’clock. You can do whatever you want after that.”

“Thank you for your tolerant decision, Lady Lillie.”

“Forget it. More importantly, mayor, what did you think of the Messiah when she came to pick up Rein König?”

“When I went to check on her during the day, she was apparently out helping our people in the field. Do you know what happens when an amateur tries to help weed during the rainy season?”

“They trip and get all muddy. Ellis did that a lot.”

“Precisely. But she didn’t even bother cleaning up before leaving the village with Rein König and some rain gear.”

Lillie turned toward the mayor, viewed his face, and softened her expression just a little.

“You’re smiling, mayor.”

She smiled bitterly and silence fell between them. Stillness spread across the clearing, but it was soon broken.

Several decidedly unnatural sounds reached them from the mountain. They recognized the rumbling sounds.

“Armored trucks,” said the mayor.

That was exactly what appeared on the mountain road. The three Geheimnis Agency Navy Division armored trucks were designed to cross rivers and their rubber tires slid as they came to as top in the clearing.

Lillie nodded their way and they flashed their headlights to respond.

The front command truck’s door opened and a girl wearing the armband of an aide stepped out.

She ran over to Lillie, the puddles splashing below her feet.

“Lady Telmetz! The target has escaped toward the eastern Essen region!”

“She hopes to take a freight train straight to Germania, doesn’t she? Essen is less than an hour’s drive. Did you tell the army stationed in Essen to bolster railroad security?”

“I did!”

“Then we should be fine.”

Lillie rubbed the girl’s head. The girl narrowed her eyes, but lost the smile when Lillie slapped her on the shoulder. She turned to the mayor, saluted, and returned to the command truck.

Lillie listened to the girl’s footsteps as she faced the mayor and opened her mouth to say something.

“…”

Her mouth stayed open but no words came.

Her raised-eyebrow face saw the mayor holding out two bottles. They were the same thing he had given her to drink last night.

“These are the last two unopened bottles. They should have been returned ages ago.”

After a pause, Lillie nodded and took just one of the bottles.

“Give the other one to someone you trust more than me.”

And…

“Remember this: if destiny plays out as our commander foretold, then the world’s ruin will begin tomorrow morning at 3 and it will end at 4:42.”

“Ruin?”

“It is this world’s unavoidable destiny. Whatever the Messiah might try to do and whatever we might do to try and stop her, the world will change at 4:42. Because that is when the ruin occurred every other time.”

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| Back to [[City_Series:Volume6e_Prologue|Prologue]]
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| Forward to [[City_Series:Volume6e_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
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