"Hey, guys, good morning. Hope you slept well," I greeted the others, as Aria and I walked out of our room.

"Yeah, that bed was really comfortable, I slept great," Responded Cleo with a nod.

"Mhm, can attest to the comfiness, and sturdiness, of the bed," Smirked Ciel, as she glanced at Rex.

"<TMI, come on>," Sighed Rex in exasperation.

"We definitely need to find Jaden by today, I feel bad that he’s the only one unaccounted for," Remarked Aria in concern.

<Regarding that, I may have a lead>

Oh? Nice work, I’ll summon you so that you can explain it to everyone, that’ll save me the trouble of repeating what you tell me.

<Fine, I suppose that’s reasonable>

"<Emerge, Sinner’s Aide: Ai>," I chanted, Ai appearing before me.

"<I’ll get right to it. This is a map of the city, the areas highlighted in blue are the spots that Invidia and Avaritia covered yesterday>," She remarked, displaying a screen visible to all of us.

"Wow, they covered a lot of ground, looks like they combed through about two thirds of the entire city," Responded Ciel, as we all moved in closer to get a better look.

"I just hope there aren’t any secret underground tunnels or something," Mused Cleo warily.

"It’s too bad we can’t use our I-Watches to communicate," Aria sighed wistfully.

"<Hm? Looks like they missed a spot, over here>," Noticed Rex, pointing at a small, unhighlighted spot in an area that was otherwise fully highlighted.

"<Yes, I noticed that too, that’s what I wanted to point out. Given how thoroughly the two of them covered the rest of the areas they searched, it struck me as odd that they skipped over this one spot. I don’t have any solid reasoning behind it, but I can’t help but feel like it’s worth taking a look at>."

"Hey, nice, looks like you’ve evolved to the point where you get gut feelings now," I responded with a smile.

"<Hm, is that what this is? Of course, I could be wrong. There’s still around thirty-one percent of the city left completely unexplored, not counting this spot. And we should also consider the possibility that Jaden’s on the move, so we can’t rule out the possibility that he’s currently in a spot that Invidia and Avaritia searched yesterday>," Reasoned Ai objectively.

"True, but I think you may be onto something with that one spot they missed yesterday. We should go check it out," Spoke up Aria.

"There is the issue of the Knights, though. While it does seem like they aren’t especially big threats to us, it’ll seriously slow us down if we have to fight our way through all of them," Added Cleo with a frown.

"Oh, that won’t be a problem. I’ll head over to that spot myself. Once I’m there, if I find Jaden, I’ll just open up the Pocket Dimension," I declared, as I hopped onto my feet.

"<What if you get spotted>?" Inquired Rex.

"Unlikely, but even if that does happen, I’ll be fine. Now, then...<Emerge, Apostle of Envy: Invidia>," I chanted.

"<What up, Boss? Hm? Where’s Ava>?"

"We’ll be taking a different approach today. Time to test this out...<Spirit Fusion, Apostle of Envy: Invidia>."

"Huh, you look mostly the same, except that you’re glowing and you’ve got a few blue stripes across your hair. Ohh, I get what you’re going for...good thinking, so that’s your plan," Responded Ciel, as Invidia flowed into me, my power surging.

"Yup, I’ll just turn invisible and rush over there at full speed," I replied, opening a portal and peering out, making sure the coast was clear, before adding as I glanced back at the others, "Alright, I’m heading off. See you guys soon."

"Good luck, Kai," Replied Aria with a smile.

"Yeah, you’ve got this," Added Ciel with a thumbs up.

"Hope you find him," Chimed in Cleo.

"<Yeah, what they said>."

"Thanks, guys. Now, then...<Stealth>. Followed by...<Enrage>."

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Jaden Xeno

———————————————————————————

"Hm, yeah, that’s a problem. Do you know exactly how many Knights there are?" I inquired with a frown.

"About fifty thousand total. But about half of them would be assigned to the border, to prevent the Demons from invading. And a good chunk of the remainder are scattered throughout the rest of the nation. There are probably around five to ten thousand, at most, here in the Capital," Mira informed me.

"Do you think most of them are currently out on patrol?"

"Well, I’d say at least a couple dozen or so are probably with the King and other members of the Royal family. But, yeah, I’d say it’s likely that the majority are patrolling the city," She nodded with a grimace.

"That’s too bad...guess searching for my friends will have to wait. Even if I am significantly stronger than the Knights, fighting several thousand is bound to wear me out," I sighed reluctantly.

It could be a good opportunity to test out my new powers, but I shouldn’t be too reckless. This is still an unfamiliar world, I need to err on the side of caution.

"Yes, we’ll just have to be patient. If they don’t find anything, they’re bound to ease off eventually," She pointed out.

"I suppose so. By the way, are you sure they won’t find this place? This area may be abandoned, but that’s also what makes it an ideal hiding place," I responded warily.

"Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. The concealment barrier we’ve placed around our hideout doesn’t simply make the building invisible. In addition to also having a soundproofing function, it emits waves of energy that repel people.

Hm, how to explain it? It’s like, if you’re walking alone at night and come across a dark alley, you’re probably going to avoid it instinctively. It’s a bit like that."

"Oh, cool, sounds like bug repellent but for people."

"Yes, it’d be almost impossible for anyone to find this place, so-...," She began, before trailing off as a loud, clattering bell rang out.

"Uh...what’s that?"

"That’s, er...that’s the intruder alert."

Huh. Well...so much for being impossible to find. But on the bright side...I’ve got an opportunity to test out my new powers.