Ch. 8 The Squad Member
1053 Words
The first impression she got when she saw Nana for the first time was that the child was a cheerful girl yet had this dangerous aura. However, Aria found the child looking down, restless and doubtful, as if Aria was about to punish her.
"I'm not allowed to know the answer? Then forget it." Aria was no longer interested in the girl's answer. After all, she couldn't do anything to shorten this trip. "I won't force you."
"It's not like you're not allowed. To tell you the truth…." Nana took a deep breath before finally continuing her words. "We are not allowed to move at our own will without getting orders from you. Yet, we did it... a couple of times."
The no-face squad was powerful and able to protect their master from any enemy. Unfortunately, they have one disadvantage.
Apart from the first time the master makes a blood pact against them, they are not allowed to leave the token space before being summoned.
However, they repeatedly broke the rules by getting out of the token space to help Aria.
The first was when two people emerged to help Aria through the awakening of her wings. The second was when the knight appeared to warn Aria not to see her father again.
And the last one was Nana… she appeared the longest to accompany Aria and get out of this place.
"Forgive me." Aria felt guilty after hearing Nana's explanation.
"Eh? Why are you apologizing? This is why I don't want to tell you the truth."
"You should come back soon." Aria was worried that Nana would get hurt if she stayed by her side for too long.
Nana shook her head while giving a bright smile. "It is my will to protect you. Let me stay here until we get out of here."
"But, what if you get hurt from being here too long?"
"If you're worried about me, how about you make a wish for me to stay here instead of wanting me to come back?"
"A wish?"
"That's how you summon the squad members."
"I wish you were here." right after Aria finished saying her wish, a golden light emerged from Nana's body and ended as quickly as it came. "What happened?"
Nana smiled happily as she took out a purple plant from her chest. "I don't need this anymore."
"What's that?"
"A plant that can replenish my energy. Among the other squad members, only I can stay outside the token space for a long time without being summoned, thanks to this plant."
Aria tilted her head, trying to digest Nana's words. She sorted puzzle after puzzle during her interaction with the girl, and she came to a conclusion.
"Nana, is it possible you will weaken if you stay here if I don't summon you?"
"Precisely."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" For some reason, Aria felt angry, but the child laughed out loud.
"That didn't cross my mind. Besides, you had to figure it out yourself, and we can't tell you beforehand."
"..." Aria was speechless.
When Aria asked Lyod or Khan how to summon this squad, they couldn't answer because they didn't know how. And when Aria was about to find out what kind of power the squad members had, she couldn't find the answer either.
What she knew from Khan and Lyod, the no-face squad were immortal and invincible elites. Aria could only find out more for herself when the team appeared.
Aria sighed in resignation, then looked at Nana, still smiling innocently at her.
"So I can't ask your numbers or your strength."
"You can. If you ask, we have no right not to answer."
"But earlier, you felt reluctant to answer my question."
An awkward laugh escaped Nana's tiny lips while scratching her head. "I was in 'disobey' mode earlier. Besides, I meant it when I said I didn't want to make you feel guilty. We are yours, and our duty was to make the sacrifice for your sake. Of course, we wouldn't show up if you didn't need us."
Aria glanced to the side when she sensed a suspicious movement from her perspective. She had seen the tail of a giant beast there before she finally lost it.
As Nana said, several beasts were watching their movements and stalking them from a distance. If Aria was caught off guard and Nana wasn't by her side, no doubt the stalking beast would pound her.
"I wonder how many of you are in this token? And does each token have the same number of members?"
"There are seven of us. And no, each token does not have the same number. But the tokens you hold have the largest and more solid compared to the other two."
Seven people? That's… quite a lot.
"Do all of them have magic power like you?"
"No. The one who gave you a bed and thorns to protect you was a magician. You've met her before. And the one who warned you about your father was a knight. He's a seal master and a demon hunter. He didn't use any magic but had a sword as his weapon."
"Demon hunter? What is that?"
"Let's save it for another day, shall we?"
This kid… was exceedingly clever in shifting the main topic, making Aria feel like she wasn't talking to a child.
What do you expect? Although this child's figure looked like seven or eight, the fact that this child had lived for thousands of years was undeniable.
"What about the others?"
Apart from a summoner, magician, and knight, the rest were priests with healing skills, followed by assassins with invincible agility and killing aura. The remaining two were fighters and mimicry, which shocked Aria to death.
"MIMICRY!? Mimicry is with you too?" Aria didn't know if she should feel anxious or relieved to learn a mimicry was a member of her no-face squad.
"My lady, not all mimicry is evil. After all, this mimicry has a special skill that others don't."
"What skill?"
"Ordinary mimicry can only transform itself into someone else. But this mimicry can change your appearance too. Besides, our mimicry can see." a mischievous smile filled with pride was perfectly imprinted on the girl's tiny lips.
And will it really be useful? Thought Aria with pessimistic thinking.
- Writer
