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It became difficult to sleep after having such an experience. Maria did not want to close her eyes and have the scene of doom flash before her eyes.

Her eyes refused to stay open in the morning but Maria still managed to drag herself out of the bed. It helped that Venus had decided to roll off her sometime in the morning.

Even the morning routine did not have the usual enthusiasm it usually had. Maria felt like a puppet moving through the actions her body was used to.

"Good morning. Would you like to have breakfast now? I\'ll go set it up." Aurora tensed as Kuro\'s guardian appeared behind her. He gave her a scare and did not wait for Aurora to present her consent before leaving.

This was something she had noticed yesterday as well. The man seemed to not understand the meaning of \'no.\' He did things at his own pace and ignored everyone else.

But Maria has seen him glance a few times toward Kuro. It looked as if the man was seeking permission before acting. He did not act like this with anyone else with Kuro. Even Yuuki was ignored by the man most of the time.

"There is something wrong with that man. He doesn\'t feel alive" Aurora didn\'t even realize he had made that observation till the words were out of her mouth. But now that she heard them aloud, they seemed to fit the situation.

"So you noticed that? Kuro\'s guardian is a shadow puppet connected to his magic. His mother was concerned that he might be alone once she died so she left him a gift." Yuuki walked up to Maria from behind her.

Maria had felt his presence long before he decided to announce it. She followed him to the breakfast table.

"I think we should leave for the pond as soon as possible. The future is uncertain now." Maria felt ironic saying those words.

"I was thinking the same things as well. You should not spend much time in this town." Yuuki agreed. He had a folded paper along with utilities placed in front of him on the table.

Maria knew that there were many things she had no knowledge of in this world. Surprises were a given factor and planning could only take her so far.

But her outline for the future events was falling apart. She had already scouted through the original archive but nothing indicated this turn of events. The upper realm was not even touched till the very end when MC decided to ascend with his harem.

"I would appreciate it if you would keep these things to yourself for now. I don\'t want Kuro to fall victim to it all." Yuuki asked as Maria heard the moment in the hallway. The other two occupants of the house had woken up.

"Of course. Kids should not be involved in adult matters." Maria realized how wrong it sounded in her mouth after she had spoken those words.

Her current body was not adult as well (Even if she was sure her birthday had already passed). But circumstances were different for her.

"I agree. An adult is someone who has seen things and knows how to handle a situation. Kuro is far from it and so is the princess. It is not their burden to bear." Yuuki ended the conversation as Venus bounced into the room.

Kuro did not stay away for long as well.

"So, when are we leaving? I cannot wait to be finished here and then return home. My nails are in dire need of maintenance." Venus complained.

She was back to her usual energy levels so Maria was sure she had a good rest last night.

"We\'ll be leaving in an hour. I have the map with me but we can\'t rely on it once we\'re in the jungle." Yuuki explained.

"Why can\'t we rely on it? It\'s a map. It\'s supposed to be trustworthy." Venus asked. Maria was thankful to have her here and asking these questions.

Maria was curious as well but she didn\'t want to show it. It would feel like she owed one to Yuuki if she asked.

"It\'s because the forest of mirage is a little weird. You\'ll see why once we enter. But remember, whatever you do - do not stray away from the path." Yuuki warned.

His tone sounded chilled and scary. It was a warning and promise mixed in one ball. It made Maria want to obey it at any cost.

"Sure. Got it. Stay on the path and not leave the group. Seems easy enough." Venus was confident but Yuuki\'s head shake made Maria doubt that it would be this easy.

The forest of mirage, huh? Maria wondered why it was called that.

She had a really bad feeling about the forest.

"Venus, stop playing around and be serious. It might be a life and death situation there." Maria reminded her. She had not wanted to dampen the mood with her words but she needed the princess to take this seriously.

Maria did not want another death on her hands. She was not strong enough to survive the guilt.

"Relax. It\'ll all be alright. After all, we\'re strong." Venus did not lose her cool even after the threat. Maria just decided to let her be in her world.

"Let\'s leave now. We cannot rely on the weather to be this consistent for long." Yuuki commented before he folded the map.

Since he was the only one who knew the way, he led the group toward the forest. It was nice of him to do that but Maria felt something poking her still.

She was not sure why she got the feeling that she had missed something crucial?

The edge of a misty forest was visible in front of the party. It had to be the forest of mirage that Yuuki had mentioned before. It would not be long before the group would enter the forbidden lands.

"By the way, how long are you both going to accompany us? Isn\'t it dangerous? And, isn\'t Kuro too young for this journey? You could have just given us the map and pointed us toward the way." Venus asked. The group tensed.

Maria stopped as well. She had not thought about this, but there was no need for the younger pair to accompany them. Kuro should not be here. He was too young and untrained.

"Ah. I had hoped that you would not ask this question before we entered the forest. And I\'m afraid that I cannot give you the answer to that question right now" Yuuki was avoiding the question.

Maria could see the hints of nervousness in his body language. Kuro looked confused though, so it was likely that he did not know.

"Why can\'t we be here? Yuki forbade us to go alone in the mirage forest and it\'s dangerous there alone. Isn\'t their strength in numbers?" Kuro asked. He seemed to have missed Yuuki\'s nervous shuffle.

So, whatever was going on here was known by Yuuki but not Kuro. It seemed as if it was another thing they could not know.

"Will your presence affect us in any way throughout our journey?" Maria asked. As much as she could see Yuuki\'s need to venture into the mirage forest, she did not want to risk her own life.

"No. I can assure you that we have the same goal here. We won\'t be a hindrance to you." Yuuki assured them and Maria decided to trust him.

It did not seem as if it was Yuuki\'s first time in the mirage forest. He would prove to be a good host and way-finder for them.

"Fine. Lead the way. But we will abandon you and take the map if you betray us in any way. Maria was sure she could take Yuuki if it came down to it. The beast seemed to understand that as well.

"Very well. Now, let\'s enter." Maria decided to give the younger pair the benefit of doubt in this situation. She did not have enough brainpower to keep an eye on them and also ready herself for the mirage forest.

Everyone walked in at the same time but the mist made it difficult to look where they were going.

"The visibility will be low for the first few meters. Make sure to walk in a straight line and we should be alright." Yuuki explained as he walked. Maria followed after him and finally emerged from the misty path as well.

She looked around for Venus but her hand did not find anyone. The other female had been walking a few steps behind her but was nowhere to be found now.

"Those idiots. I told them to walk straight but they decided to stray away at the very first step." Yuuki raged. He sounded worried as well and it made Maria\'s mad feeling worse.

Meanwhile, Venus tried to navigate the most but she lost her footing and sense of direction. Her compass also seemed to not be working.

She was lost till she saw a shadow figure move through most and followed after it. She reached out to snap her hand on a person\'s wrist and her eyes met a familiar pair.

"Y-You? What are you doing here?" Her voice rang clear but was lost in the most surrounding her.