Olivia's Strange Week

A Way Forward

Every muscle in Emily's body roars in pain. Her body has long reverted to its original, lanky self. Now her movements are no quicker than a normal person's, but that doesn't matter anymore, it stopped mattering the moment she walked past the sign reading 'Welcome to Forhill' five minutes ago.

Her chest fills with pride as the trees become fewer and grass becomes sparser, replaced by short buildings and asphalt, respectively. She is here, she made it, it is almost eleven now, but she has finally returned. Now the only thing left is to find Olivia and save her. But where the hell is she supposed to start?

A growling in her stomach tells her she should head home. She listens to her gut, no use fighting on an empty stomach.

Emily collapses on her mattress once she enters her apartment. Everything hurts, and she's covered in so much sweat she could probably slide on the floor.

Her apartment consists of one small room with a closed window, and a bathroom. The main room is empty, save for a mattress she used to sleep in and a huge sports backpack with all the tools the White Maidens have given her for this mission. Of course, many of those tools are extra mana rations. Before this week, she rarely found herself in need of using her powers, and after that, Olivia's presence had made these extra rations redundant, so when she had to leave Forhill by foot, there were more than a few bottles full of mana. Now only three remain, and Emily gulps their contents like she's drinking the only water in an enormous desert.

The strength she gets from these drinks is low, compared to what Olivia's mana gave her. The lightning running through her veins is more like a fizzle now, and Emily knows she won't be able to sustain her muscled form for more than an hour. However, it's enough to heal her aches, to fill that void in her stomach, and make her able to keep going.

Such relief also serves to clear her head, to give her room to think of a plan. Emily sits up, then jumps out of the mattress. She knows what to do, she knows where to start. Olivia's warning is fresh in her mind, Adelle has some blackmail that could ruin her life, so she can't just jump inside her apartment like a week ago, she needs to be more careful, more calculating.

With all that in mind, Emily leaves her apartment, her destination clear.

Adelle's home looks perfectly normal from the outside. Perhaps a little too big and spacious for a college teacher's salary, but normal all the same. The impression she gets after prying the door open and getting in is completely different, however. The left side of the main hall functions as both a kitchen and dining room, with a large round table meant to serve a whole ton of people, while the right side is more of a living room, with a green sofa facing a TV. In front of her, there is a hallway that branches out into more. What catches Emily's attention, however, is that there's nobody here. She expected to find the floor obscured by the naked bodies of countless slaves of Adelle's, to the point that she'd have to take careful steps in order to avoid walking on top of one of them and raising alarm. But this? This seems easy. Too easy, in fact.

As she walks around the empty house, she can't help but feel a pressure in her chest. Like every time she turns a corner, some kind of monster will pop out and kill her. Obviously, she's not a little girl anymore, and those fears are easily dispelled the more she explores the house. She opens dozens of doors, and travels down more than a few hallways, but unsurprisingly, she finds no trace of Adelle, no trace of Olivia, nothing. This is useless. This has been a waste of time.

Knowing the house is deserted, knowing she failed to accomplish anything, Emily returns to the main hall. What the hell does she do now? Go to Olivia's apartment? Why would Belinda be there? It is smaller and she has to cross hundreds of people to get in and out. If she wants to be at home, she should be here. But she isn't. Emily failed again.