A long silence hung over the four of them.
It was easy to understand why.
To them, a mysterious kid suddenly claims an assassination plot is underway, already knows their identities, then speaks of revenge. Furthermore, he was bold enough to confront them all directly, answering none of their questions, and telling them to trust him in the same breath.
Sunny knew that he must look incredibly suspicious; there was really no way around that, but that's alright, it might even prove beneficial. The hardest part will be;
"Why do you know my daughter's name? How do you know of this assassin? Answer my questions. Now."
'Yikes, Puck is more volatile than I thought.'
"That doesn't matter. There are more important things at stake than how I know this that and the other. People are going to die because of YOUR assassins."
Sunny shot a glare at Emilia.
"—We can't let that happen! i-I think, we should at least hear what you have to say. I don't want anyone to die because of me!"
"Lia! Don't let him get to you, he could be an assassin himself! I don't trust him one bit."
Puck looked at Ram for backup, who was ready to do so, before—
"I am NOT an assassin. No. No, I hate that bitch. I loathe her, I detest her, I despise her, both of them! They're inhuman, sadistic, lunatics that revel in death. They've no doubt killed hundreds of people each!, and they're going to kill more tonight.
They will kill, until you, Emilia, are dead."
"..."
Sunny had expected her to grow rattled and agree to help him out of guilt; That was his intention after all, to push the weight of responsibility onto her shoulders, compelling her to follow along.
To his surprise, Emilia's eyes grew resolute.
"...I understand. Puck, Ram, we shall listen to this boy. We must stop these villains now, before they can harm anyone else."
Perfect. Even better than perfect. She took the bait with resolve.
If Sunny had failed to successfully guilt-trip Emilia, he would have been put into a tight spot; Puck and Ram would gain the upper hand in the conversation. This sudden development would make things much easier, now and later.
"-hah-Fine."
Puck remained silent.
"Now listen. There are three problems. Elsa, Meili, and the Loot Barn—
"Loot Barn??"
Sunny could not hold back the facepalm. He did not understand why this was a consistent reaction.
"Yes! The loot barn is where Felt fenc-...where your thief sells her stolen goods. An hour after sunset, Elsa will buy your insignia; She's paying a lot of money for that thing, and was contracted to kill everyone involved."
"Who contracted an assassin on my daughter. I suggest you tell the truth, boy."
"...I only know his gender; Male. Oh, and he's meticulous. Probably a frequent customer, too."
There was no need to lie and draw negative suspicion, they might even know something. Besides, that was all the information Sunny had on the mysterious contractor who had made this Nightmare a dying hell.
The real puppet master.
Ram looked away for a moment, furrowing her brows; 'A normal reaction.'
Emilia was utterly confused; 'As expected.'
Puck's eyes opened in surprise, immediately replaced by a deep scowl; 'Suspicious.'
It may have simply been bias, but if anyone were to know about the meticulous contractor, it would likely be the mysterious cat.
Puck was outside his realm of knowledge; he did not have a clue what it was. Sunny had never been taught the intricacies of the Nightmare Spell, but he didn't believe Puck was an Echo or a Memory.
It's entirely possible the cat is some kind of nightmare creature.
'But that would mean... no, that's ridiculous.'
"Now! Here's some important information. Elsa uses twin daggers, always aims for the gut, sometimes the neck—or forehead. She is very strong, very skilled, and can heal; 30 knights would not be enough to stop her.
Meili is a little girl with purple-blue hair. She commands a swarm of flying rat creatures with bladed wings. She is a killer, don't let her fool you for a second, you don't want to die that way...
Felt and Rom are at the Loot Barn. Felt is a blonde girl with red eyes and an attitude, she has your insignia. Rom is a giant guy with a club, he can help us fight, so don't antagonize Felt. Here's the directions."
...
After marking the location on their minimaps, there was another round of questions being hurled at him, but he only answered one.
"So much information, I question how you know this. But I don't suppose you have a plan, do you, assassin boy?"
"Assassin boy!? What the Spell are you talking about!? Stop calling me an assassin; do not associate me with those monsters again."
"Oh, forgive me. I don't suppose you have a plan, do you, murder child?"
"MURDER CHILD???"
Honestly, it's better than being called a pervert.
"Whatever—here's what I need you to do: it's the best plan we can afford right now;
Ram and Emilia, I need you to get the guards. Tell them Elsa Granhiert, the Bowel Hunter, is at the Loot Barn. Gather everyone and storm the barn; we have little over an hour remaining. If Elsa is caught inside the barn, Felt and Rom will die.
Oh, and Puck, you need to clock in tonight. Emilia, summon him before entering the cul-de-sac."
Of course, the ambient temperature dropped rapidly. He had once again pissed off the cat, but it needed to be done. Puck has let his 'daughter' die twice already—assuming she survived the last loop, that is.
Surprisingly, Puck did not yell at Sunny. Instead, Puck said nothing. He did not know why, but this was more unsettling.
"Ha! And you expect us to do all the work? What will you do, murder child? Lurk in the shadows, waiting for an opening to assassinate us?"
Sunny didn't fully understand why Ram kept insinuating that he was murderous. Sure, he wanted nothing more than to kill Elsa and Meili a dozen times over, and who knows, he might just do that.
But aside from the black eye, scratches, red-stained arms, and blood-smeared face, he looked perfectly normal!
A model citizen, even!
Sunny licked his lips;
"As I said. I will kill your assassins. I have no motivation to kill anyone else." — 'Besides those three idiots, but they don't need to know that.'
"So I'll go and take care of Meili, and then come back to help."
Ram interjected: "Then I will come with you."
"No. This is a one-person job, you stick out like a sore thumb. If you follow me, you'll kill both of us. Besides-"
"—Wait! Um, I think I misheard. You don't intend to, well, hurt a child?"
This...is a delicate question.
Emilia did not seem like the kind of person who would allow a child to be hurt, let alone killed. That all-encompassing kindness is a flaw in its own right.
'I should avoid mentioning Meili's age in the future.'
"...Meili just needs to be captured."
Emilia seemed a little relieved, yet skeptical. Neither Puck nor Ram were convinced.
But that didn't matter, because he had officially run out of time. The sun had set.
"Look, we have to move. Now. Puck, Ram, Emilia, when I get back, I will be bringing Meili with me, which will create an opening. I need you to unleash your largest attack, pulverize her in one strike."
With that, he ran away without giving anyone a chance to retort, once again.
The whole conversation went far better than he bargained for. He half expected to get killed by Puck a few times over going into it.
'It felt good to be in control. Let's see if they can follow orders.'