[x] Head to the front gate.

There was a loud commotion coming from the main gate. A surprisingly musical one, at that. A stranger passing through might have thought that a strange concert was being held here. Songs with seemingly meaningless lyrics were in the air. I recognized the melodic cries and chirping immediately.

"Mystia..."

At any other time, I would have welcomed her inside. The night sparrow was friendly and pleasant company. But this was a very delicate situation. If she discovered Rumia's corpse in the greenhouse, there was no telling how she would react. News would spread quickly, and the shrine maiden might come and start shooting us at random. In fact, I had better have Meiling lock the place up in case someone -

"Urk!"

I didn't have time to dodge. It moved so quickly! Before I knew it, I found myself tackled to the ground. The landing wasn't painful thanks to the grass, but the rifle flew off from my hands. I blinked in surprise. I immediately realized that the object that had collided with me was much lighter and softer than I expected.

"You're here! You've come! The friendly and kind human~"

Before I realized it, the sparrow girl threw herself into my arms. She shaked and shivered as we both lay on the ground. Elena ran up to me with concern.

"Master! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

I stood myself up, taking care not to drop Mystia. The girl just kept herself close to me, refusing to let go. I could feel her heart beating loud and quick.

"Master, are you alright?" she asked again.

Elena frowned at us slightly as she spoke. She looked irritated, for some reason. But this wasn't the time to think about that. I turned my attention to the still shaking Mystia in my arms.

"What's wrong?" I whispered softly.

Just then, Meiling landed beside us, breathing heavily.

"Good!" she said. "You caught her!"

At those words, Mystia shrank deeper into my arms. I gave the gate guard a puzzled look, but she just shook her head and motioned for me to stay silent. I turned to Elena, but she just watched us quietly. Unsure of how best to react, I just stood there with the sparrow girl in my arms.

Very slowly, she started to sing.

An innocent girl with golden hair~♪
Travels under the safety of night~♪
To see a human, a journey rare~♪
But never returns, come morning light~♪

Then, she looked up at me with damp eyes as she waited for an answer.

[ ] "You should leave this place."
[ ] "Sorry, but I haven't seen Rumia."
[ ] "Why don't you come in for some tea?"