Radio: Thank you for the letter, Emily. Now we're bringing our driver friends the latest weather forecast.
Radio: Ohio is having a sunny week, with a comfortable level of humidity and zero chance of rain.
Tooth Fairy: Sorry, I forgot to switch off the in-built radio.
Tooth Fairy: Sit tight and put on your seat belt. Hold the hands of people sitting next to you. If necessary, close your mouth and clench your teeth.
Tooth Fairy: You can do as I said, or not. I was mainly talking to "them."
Horropedia: Yes, madam.
Sonetto: Yes, Ms. Tooth Fairy.
Sonetto: Are those little winged elves still nagging you? I remember you were troubled by them as early as I was in school.
Tooth Fairy: They are still there. They have never left there.
Tooth Fairy: The good thing is that they can't distinguish lies. They spend every second of their life overhearing me and totally believe what I say.
Tooth Fairy: As long as they hear me say, "Cover your mouth and clench your teeth," they will never attack you.
Horropedia: We all owe Mr. Campbell a big "thank you" for this.
Horropedia: All of his teeth were stolen when he was with Ms. Tooth Fairy. That's when humans finally realized how vindictive and vengeful those "little things" are.
Horropedia: They stepped across the world for the cure. Eventually, they found a solution.
Sonetto: Mr. Campbell? Who is this person, and what happened to him?
Tooth Fairy: He is my brother. I am also a Campbell, Ms. Campbell. While he is a Mister.
Tooth Fairy: We shared a roof when we were little.
Tooth Fairy: I was cursed for eating a toothfairy. It and its fellows swore to steal all my teeth.
Tooth Fairy: At first, they did it. I ate nine fairies and lost eleven baby teeth.
Tooth Fairy: My parents soon found out. They ordered special tooth braces for me in case I lose all my baby teeth and become a horrific old lady.
Horropedia: In their second attack, those toothfairies failed to steal the teeth from Ms. Campbell, so they rushed to Mr. Campbell.
Horropedia: His teeth disappeared in a flash, and he never had one since then.
Horropedia: People said it was the curse of the toothfairy. Just like in books, the flying human-like critters are bigoted. Once gained, they will keep the love and hatred at heart forever.
Sonetto: I'm so sorry, Ms. Tooth Fairy. I shouldn't have asked.
Tooth Fairy: Don't worry, sweetie. My brother now has his own teeth. He lives a stable life. The past is in the past.
Tooth Fairy: And, I don't really think he was cursed.
Tooth Fairy: I've never heard the toothfairies swore at him, neither have I found any mark on him that can be detected by arcanum.
Tooth Fairy: Instead of being cursed, what he suffered is more likely to be a "congenitally missing tooth," a term defined in human medical science.
Vertin: I know that case. I just never thought Mr. Campbell lost his because of this.
Vertin: None of my classmates or instructors ever doubted the authenticity of such a curse when they gossiped of such things.
Tooth Fairy: SPDM is a community of a bunch of young arcanists and several instructors.
Tooth Fairy: For those kids, a curse is more common than a disease diagnosed by human medical science.
Sonetto: As a result, they neglected what they can't comprehend and only learned the story from a one-sided perspective. Soon enough, rumors started to spread.
Horropedia: But that was a curse—a trouble that you can't easily shake off once you're put under.
Horropedia: People could hardly forget that. If toothfairies could curse his sister, they could also curse him. Everything came naturally. That was it.
Sonetto: Kids were ignorant for lack of knowledge, yet adults were ignorant for their cognitive inertia. In a story where truth and falsity are mingled together, it is hard to tell which is which.
Horropedia: After all, life is not a show. You won't have a narrator to warn you of the dangers ahead.
Old Madman: Go away! Leave here!
Vertin: Careful!
Tooth Fairy: coughs
Sonetto: Timekeeper, Ms. Tooth Fairy ... coughs Are you alright?!
Vertin: We're good. Don't worry. Cover your mouth and nose. Get out of the car.
Sonetto: Is everyone okay? Did somebody get hurt? Timekeeper, you ...
Old Madman: Go away! Go! Go away! Get out of my woods!
Sonetto: Ah!
Old Madman: I heard it! I, I heard it! I've … I've heard the God's will!
Old Madman: Oh God, oh God, I will guide your children, I will guide them ... guide them away from the demons ... ah ... from the land of demons!
Sonetto: Dilated pupils, disordered speech, and a body temperature of three degrees higher than the normal level. Presumably, he has taken some stimulants or substandard potions.
Tooth Fairy: His sanity has been taken away. We need to knock him out.
COMBAT
Sonetto: This ... this must be the camp.
Horropedia: Huh, hah! I smell conspiracy in the air. What will happen here? Murder? Sacrifice? Spy attack? Or evocation?
Horropedia: Let me see, let me see, let me see ... What do we have here?
Sonetto: These things have been left here catching dust, and I see no footprints or any signs of activity. Seems like it has been deserted for a long time.
Sonetto: Iron buckets, felling axes, picnic mats. Considering we are in a campsite, it is only normal to expect these tools to be here. Hmm. What is this?
Sonetto crouches down, carefully checking a piece of metal that is half buried in mud.
Horropedia: Anything? Have you found anything, Sonetto?
Sonetto: Something is buried in the ground. Right here.
She breaks a twig from the bush. Without hesitation, she pushes the mud clods aside with the twig.
Horropedia: A box made of iron or aluminum. It looks like ... like a candy box. Judging from the rust, it has been buried here for four to five years.
Horropedia: A kid's candy box? No, adults can love candies too.
Horropedia: Looking at it from a different angle, is its owner still alive? What happened to the person here? Why was this box buried with a battered magazine?
Vertin: From the traces of activity here, it's probably been left by its indiscreet owner.
Vertin: Wait. Is this the "Green Lake Campsite"?
Vertin: We just met a madman who called himself an oracle. He drove people away from the land of demons.
Vertin: Open it. If this is from a brutal crime, there might be some evidence inside.
Horropedia: We are all ears, Ms. Vertin.
The metal box opens up. There is nothing inside.
Tooth Fairy: This is not a candy box. It is a pillbox.
Tooth Fairy: Correction: It is an empty pillbox.
Vertin: You're back, Ms. Tooth Fairy. What did you find when you explored the campsite?
Tooth Fairy: Roughly the same as here. Near the woods, there's a place for firewood cutting.
Tooth Fairy: More traces left by critters can be found near the woods than here. I also found the teeth and claw marks of giant critter, as well as some excretion.
Sonetto: That is to say, one gigantic critter inhabits here, if not more?
Tooth Fairy: Yes, that's why I came back here. Watch out for the critters. We may have stepped in their territory.
The bushes rustle.
Just like the crucibles always give off a whiff of smoke when a witch casts the spell ...
Sonetto: ?!
This is also the right moment for a spooky figure to rise from the bushes.
Critter: roars
Z: Yeah, I understand. I'll tell them to be careful. Yes, thank you for your advice. Bye.
Z: Angie, come in.
Z: This is the file that the Timekeeper submitted. It's about the "Storm." Please hand it to the research department.
Female Investigator: Affirmative. I will bring it to them.
Z: Next month, your squad will be dispatched to North America to join Zeno for a joint mission. The tactical unit under the Timekeeper will be replaced by the third squad. Please complete the handover procedure before you leave.
Z: By the way, your application for the outing permission has been permitted. The document will be posted to your dorm mailbox by 7 p.m. tomorrow.
Female Investigator: I'm very grateful for your help, Madam Z!
Z: You're welcome. Get some good rest.
Z: Don't forget to remind your team members that actions outside areas mentioned in the application will not be allowed. They need to return back to the headquarters by the specified time and check in once they're back.
Female Investigator: I will, Madam Z. I will look after them.
Z: Off you go. Oh hey, Angie …
Z: I heard that Tooth Fairy has returned to the Foundation. Please tell her to come by my office when she's available.
Female Investigator: Ms. Tooth Fairy? Emm. I suppose she has gone by now.
Female Investigator: On my way here, I saw Joshua and Vertin were with her. They seemed to be planning to travel.
Z: Joshua? To travel?
Z: No, nope. I haven't received his outing application.
Female Investigator: Wh- ... which means …
Z: sighs ... He did have some past records of violation, such as being late, absent from duty, and taking actions without permission. His past records mean that his outing application will not be permitted.
Z: He must be well aware of it. That's why he wasn't even bother to apply for one.
Female Investigator: My! No wonder he always said, "Let's start off immediately and come back furtively, so nobody will know."
Z: Don't be nervous. Our priority now is to get them back and minimize the possible consequences. Angie, do you know where they are going?
Female Investigator: He ... he mentioned ... I'm trying to recall ...
Female Investigator: Emm. It's ... Green Lake. They were heading to Green Lake Campsite!
Z: Green Lake?
Z: You mean the Green Lake Campsite established by Zeno?
Female Investigator: Yes, Madam Z.
Z: It's even worse now.
Z: I'm sorry, Angie. Please inform the seventh and fifth squad to stand by. We'll head out at any time.
Female Investigator: Yes! I'll fetch them now!
Z: ...
Z: Hello, is it the Liaison Department of Zeno Armaments Academy? I am Z. Please put me through Lieutenant Vanya.