Saving the Two of Us Before the Fall (A Villainess Regression Fantasy)

8. Eardrums

10th day of Omnaltin, 1283

After four days, we finally reached Limbes. From there, our group planned on buying a ferry ticket to Panton—the closest coastal city to Arkanlas, the Imperial Capital. But we postponed our journey since the sun was on the verge of setting when we arrived at the city.

It is the third week in the month of Omnal, so it means that at night we can finally see three moons hanging in the night sky, respectively Aren, Udea, and Illyr. An increased number of the moon means that the tides will be rougher at night, and no ferries will take that risk.

We asked for the best hotel in the city, and the people could only point us to two locations (so little for a place with a city on its name). But since this is the exodus month, all rooms in the two hotels were already booked at the time we asked for accommodation.

Lord Andrew used his position and his family name to get one of the hotel staff to search for us the best inn in the city. Luckily, Marigold Inn had one large room available, but it only had three beds. We decided who would sleep on the floor through a game of chance. The Celestial of Luck didn't favor me this time, including Lady Sheina and Lord Allen. I'm not disappointed; it wasn't my first deployment, so I'm already used to sleeping in much worse conditions.

Lord Mikkaelo Sarganse

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11th day of Omnaltin, 1283

In the morning, we woke up from a commotion happening outside. When we peeked from the windows of our room, what we saw made all the last bits of sleepiness in our bodies evaporate in the cold air.

On the road below, we saw dead crows and sparrows discarded in the ground, surrounded by curious onlookers. There were also plenty of dead birds on the thatched roofs of the nearby buildings; it looked as if Limbes City was veiled in black snow.

We stared at it in a daze before Lord Andrew clicked his tongue. He made us hurry to escape the city because he feared the worst. On our way to the port, I sneakily picked one sparrow and crow among the discarded birds on the road. I plan to dissect it when I find a place to be alone. I wanted to understand the reason for its uncanny death.

Mass death among animals is not new, but there is a lack of evidence to explain its reason.

I am writing this letter as the ferry made its way to Panton.

Lord Mikkaelo Sarganse

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1st day of Omnaldin, 1283

Later that night, I sneaked out of our room and asked the ship's captain if he could lend me a room. Thankfully, he willingly lent me one of the empty warehouses; sometimes, I couldn't help but enjoy the privilege of being part of the Magisterium.

I decided to do my report on the dead birds discreetly for one reason: I wanted to be the one who would submit this report to our leader, which in turn, he would submit to the Magisterium. In short, I wanted to be credited for this report. An opportunity like this was hard to come upon.

The first thing I did to the bird was to check if there were changes in the bird's Stardust that had been done by a Leecher or an Enhancer.

Further analysis showed there were no traces of Stardust alteration on both bird. I immediately surveyed the bird's physical appearance. The results revealed that the sparrow and crow fell from their death; bruises on their skin had proven it.

After I finished my initial observation, I dissected the bird starting from its stomach. Some organs, especially the intestines of both birds, suffered from hemorrhage and, to some extent, complete rapture. As I continued dissecting the bird, I noticed something odd on its ears—both of its eardrums were missing. Further analysis showed that both eardrums exploded. The same result was also observable from the dead crow.

I assumed only a Leecher could do something like this. Grade 5 Leechers could sing some Songs of Explosion, but it would still depend on the Leecher itself. I'm a Grade 5 Leecher myself but still lack the capability to sing any of the ten Songs of Explosion.

Hypothesis: It is a work of Leecher, but the lack of Traces on the birds' Stardust made my hypothesis null.

I concluded that this work is too elaborate, impossible even. I never heard of a Leecher capable of selecting a specific organ they want to destroy; another variable that's been bugging me is that we Leechers need physical contact with the object for our Songs to take effect. Unless this Leecher has a Staff in his hand (which would make him or her capable of Controlling the Stardust with no physical contact with the object of interest). Still, the Magisterium limits the number of Leechers that could own a Staff. I immediately rejected my own theory.

I'm not knowledgeable in animal biology, but something like this cannot happen naturally. For now, I will keep this observation as I search for someone with expertise on the subject.

Note: What is written in this journal is only the summary of my report.

Lord Mikkaelo Sarganse