“Investigate, huh.. You got it.” Though he didn’t have his sword and had no idea where it was. Just as he was about to mention it, Hana spoke up. “Eh? Your command seals are gone?!” He stared at his master, eyes wide with shock. “Come to think of.. I don’t really feel a connection to you anymore.. My weapon is missing too but I just figured someone stole it..” He didn’t feel drained but he certainly felt like he wasn’t a servant anymore. He wasn’t tied to Hana nor did he feel any mana.
“I don’t… feel any mana either..! What’s this mean, Master? It’s like I’m just a normal human again!” This was too bizarre. Like he’d just gotten a new lease on life. What’s more is that he hadn’t even sensed it or figured it out before hand. What a failure of a servant he was. Though he guessed he couldn’t be considered a servant if all his powers were gone.
He looked around at their surroundings and noticed a person walking on the ground. “Hey, there’s someone down there. Let’s try askin’ them what they know.” Mandricardo motioned for Hana to follow him and he moved briskly down the stairs to the ground level where a middle aged man stood in waiting. “Hey, wanna ask ya a few questions.”
“Well, judging by your appearances I’d say you guys are new arrivals.”
“Arrivals? Whaddya mean?”
“The deities here are always up to no good. They’ve been pulling in a lot more people lately.”
“Yeah, they pull people from other worlds. It’s not uncommon here.”
Mandricardo exchanged a puzzled look with Hana before looking back at the stranger. “What do they want? Is there a way of gettin’ in contact with them?” In response the other male rubbed his chin. “Well.. I don’t think you’d be able to have a full on conversation but you can send them requests at their shrine. That’s about all I know though. Good luck to you.” Mandricardo thanked the man and turned to Hana, arms crossed over his chest. “Guess that makes our next destination a bit easier, yeah?”
Panic shot through her as he mentioned not feeling a connection to her anymore. Did that mean he was going to disappear on her? Was she going to be left here by herself? Thankfully, that was sort of stamped out by the following admission that it was like he was a normal human again. “I...I have no idea,” she managed to stammer out.
As far as she knew, things like this didn’t just happen. “You don’t feel like you’re going to disappear, do you?” None of this made any sense. Though she supposed if he did fade, he’d probably just go back to Chaldea..but that still meant she’d be here, alone. She didn’t want to think of that right now.
As soon as he pointed out a passerby, she nodded, hurrying after him. The man’s words...honestly didn’t explain much. But deities pulling people from other worlds? She pinched the bridge of her nose, almost feeling a headache threatening to develop. “This sounds like the plot of a light novel..” she mumbled to herself. Especially the part about requests.
But what was the point of pulling them here? She almost questioned how they were able to remove her Command Seals but..that was probably child’s play for a deity. “Where can we find the shrine?” she asked the man. “Is it far?”
“Hmm...It’s a bit of a walk. It’d probably be better if you took the bus, since it stops there,” he answered. “It’s in the mountains after all.”
Not wanting to keep the man anymore, she thanked him as well, watching him walk away as she tried to think. So the shrine was in the mountains, and it was a bit of a walk. It was a start, at the very least. At Mandricardo’s question, she nodded in affirmation. It made the most sense, after all.
“Yup. Sounds like we need to get to that shrine,” she agreed, smiling in spite of the situation. “Honestly, this’ll probably be the easiest mission we’ve ever had but I’ll be in your care all the same.”