DanMachi: The Golden Cicada

House of justice.

The great hall stretched out in front of them. Large corridors of shelves full of scrolls held the immensity of names of those families that live and once lived in the streets of Orario. Among them, the echo of steps resonated at every moment, followed by the solemn voice of a monk.

"I understand that you don't need to think too much to come to the conclusion of who am I searching for. I trust my word that said information will not fall on uninitiated ears."

"I... You can be sure of that, Mr. Cicada," Bell nodded, "Can I ask now the reason behind this mission?"

Cicada sigh, "That's something that escapes my understanding. And, to be honest... this turned out a little harder than it was meant to be. The Pilgrim gave me a letter with the photo of the adventurer in question. He told me to not look into it until getting here, but... I managed to lost it."

"So... you don't really know what are you looking for?"

"No... No, I... have no idea," he confessed with a hint of shame on his voice.

As the duo continued their chat, Ryuu kept an eye on the scrolls they were passing by. At first glance, it seemed that they were arranged in no specific order. Some of them align with a letter, others by date, other don't even followed any alignment. However, it wasn't the first time Ryuu was there. She'd been coming back in time to time, just to look into the documentation of her lost family — a hint of nostalgia, or just a way to remember their names. For that, she knew that, in fact, the documents were arranged differently depending of their row. However, after ordering them, they were mixed between each other's to avoid the unwanted disappear of these. Only with the help of a manager you could be able to find a specific scroll — that, or someone who could read through this complex method.

"We should separate," the elf interrupted, "We'll be able to cover more terrain if we do so."

Cicada raised his eyebrows in surprise, but also smiled at the suggestion. He was about to answer, but before saying a words, Ryuu turned around on a corridor. Both Bell and the monk looked at her as she accelerated the pace, trying to let them behind as fast as possible.

"I was gonna say that it was a great idea... All right, I think we should do the same."

As the woman moved away from them, Little Rocky couldn't avoid looking at her with a hint of worry. She was evidently nervous — acting on a more rushed way then she used to. He could understand the reason, but that didn't stop him from feeling bad for the whole situation.

Once again, the eyes of the elf looked at the names of each scroll as she advanced through the place. Her heart beat faster after every step. She felt the thrill of the moment, as if were getting closer to an uncertain and dangerous destiny. But it wasn't as her times of adventurer, there wasn't no emotion nor adrenaline, but a constant feeling of being about to do something she'll regret. And as the moment went closer, her hand went into the pocket of her uniform, silently playing with the pen she inadvertently stole from the desk. She felt her body weakening, she felt sick as the meters became centimeters. The echo of her shoes made a dent on her mind, only helping to hinder her already hard commitment. And then, on a sudden moment that was like the feeling of standing on the edge of a cliff, she saw it.

In front of her was now the document with the names of the people who once were her beloved friends. Ryuu swallowed hard as her palm reached the piece of paper. Her eyes inspected the zone, getting to confirm her absolute loneliness. And then she opened it, and losing no time, she used the pen to change her own name. She felt terribly wrong as the ink began to taint the sacred inscription, but there was no turning back now — she had to continue.