Is The Super Famous Sorceress The Villain?

"I-is this the place? No way... There must be some kind of mistake!" My legs trembled at the situation I was facing.

I was in a small suburban area of the city. In that place, most of the houses were abandoned, and the few that were inhabited were in extremely poor condition.

It was ironic because right across, far in the distance, the imposing Star City could be seen with its beautiful skyscrapers. The contrast was simply devastating: a prosperous, radiant city next to a decaying neighborhood.

Putting that aside, I couldn't stop scratching my face. My gaze kept shifting between the piece of paper Katrina had given me and the small building in front of me.

It was a three-story brick building. Its facade was deteriorated, the windows broken, and the main door boarded up with wooden planks. The grass surrounding it was completely overgrown, accentuating the abandonment even further.

"Could Katrina have given me the wrong address?" I murmured.

Doubt echoed in my head. I wanted to leave that place since it was 5:00 p.m., and I didn't want to risk wandering around such an area after dark. Moreover, the curfew would begin in just three hours.

However, one thought crossed my mind: But this is Katrina Erlenbaugh we're talking about. She couldn't possibly have made a mistake!

"Urgh... Come on, Mila! Just take a quick look. Let's go!" I slapped my face to give myself some courage.

Alright, it's decided! I would go in quickly, and if there was nothing, I'd leave. Besides, I had nothing to lose. I thought of Katrina and how much I wanted to talk to her alone. I was dying to! In fact, anyone would want to be in my position.

She had told me herself, hadn't she? 'Let's talk privately in a secluded place,' that's what she said. I wondered what she wanted to talk about. Maybe something like, 'Mila, the truth is, I've been in love with you since the first day I saw you. Marry me!'

Ka-Katrina, I… I like you too…

"Kyaaa!"

As I recreated that possible conversation in my mind, I felt a presence. Someone was watching me. I looked around, but there was nothing.

"Crack."

A sound came from the building.

"Huh? Who's there? Katrina, is that you?"

My eyes scanned the building for the source of the noise. And then...

At one of the windows, I saw someone. She was wearing a white shirt, a black skirt, and had short dark hair. Although I couldn't see her face clearly, by her silhouette, I knew it was Katrina Erlenbaugh.

"K-Katrina..." I waved at her, but to my surprise, Katrina didn't respond. She simply took a few steps back and disappeared into the darkness. I froze in place, my hand still raised. Hm? Could it be that she didn't see me?

"Oh, I get it!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands together. "What Katrina meant was that I should go inside, right? Alright, here I come, Katrina!"

"Uooooo!"

I ran toward the entrance, and the only thing in my way were the wooden planks covering the door. "Oraaa!" With one kick, I knocked them down.

To my surprise, the inside of the building wasn't deteriorated at all. The furniture and other belongings were wrapped in plastic.

I walked through the entire house but didn't see anyone. Could it be that I imagined it? Damn, I needed to stop thinking so much about Katrina, or I wouldn't be able to distinguish reality from fantasy, hehe.

As I debated what to do, I decided to give up since it was starting to get dark. However, I promised to treasure this piece of paper with my life. "This is my new treasure!" I exclaimed, holding it up.

At that moment, the paper began to glow. Its light was so intense that it started burning my hand. "Ouch!" I immediately let go, but to my surprise, the paper didn't fall. It kept floating.

"This is sorcery!" I shouted, astonished.

The paper quickly moved toward the first floor.

"H-hey, wait!"

Finally, it landed on one of the walls of the house. Everything began to shine with an intense golden light.

The glow was so blinding that I had to cover my face until it faded. "W-what was that?" I exclaimed, still in shock. But the surprises weren't over yet.

In front of me, the wall had disappeared. In its place, there was a long, pristine white hallway. Its walls and tiles gleamed with a futuristic design. On both sides of the corridor, there were TVs, tables, and small decorative plants. It looked like a laboratory.

I stood there, stunned, as I felt the light, cool breeze of air conditioning.

I swallowed hard, a smile of excitement spreading across my face. Without a second thought, I entered the hallway.

Once inside, I noticed that the TVs were showing various battles of the Trio Encanto.

At that moment, I understood why Katrina had given me the paper.

"This is a secret base of the Trio Encanto!" I murmured.

My mind began to create fantasies about Katrina once again. Today, without a doubt, we would talk in private. My heart was pounding. Until...

"Dashi, Dashi, help me~!"

"Could you stop making noise? I can't concentrate."

Two voices echoed from the end of the hallway. It seemed like two people were talking.

"K-Katrina, hello?"

I swallowed hard as I approached cautiously. Finally, I peeked around the end of the hallway.

"Eh?-this..."

A large room opened before me. Like the hallway, everything was white, walls, furniture, tables, and tiles. At the far end, there was a giant TV, and two people were talking.

'Dasha Vienna and Leandra Oikonomou... It's them!'

That's when I knew this was truly a secret base. My excitement was such that I almost screamed, but I held it in with all my strength.

'Huh? Wait a moment?' I thought as I hid. Katrina invited me, so it should be fine if they know I'm here, right?

I mustered up some courage, and with a slightly trembling voice, I spoke:

"U-Um Hi?…"

But before I could finish, Leandra and Dasha kept talking, completely ignoring me. Hearing them, I instinctively hid behind the hallway again.

"Dadhi, Dashi, this is horrible! The smell won't go away! What am I going to do? What am I going to do?!" Leandra exclaimed, agitated.

"Leandra, calm down. I can't concentrate," Dasha replied.

Leandra, holding a bottle of disinfectant spray, moved closer to Dasha Vienna's legs, who was calmly reading a book.

Don't tell me…? No, there's no way they have that kind of relationship... My face turned bright red, and my heart began to race uncontrollably. I've read fanfictions with Leandra and Dasha like this before! Don't tell me it's going to become canon? No, no! Calm down, Mila! Don't think about things like that!

"Dashi, help me! The smell won't go away! It's that disgusting girl's fault from yesterday!" Leandra said in a disdainful tone. "I had to take her back to her parents, and ever since, this disgusting smell won't leave! Ugh! That brat smelled like yogurt!"

"Leandra, don't exaggerate..."

Huh? Are they talking about that girl? The girl from yesterday?

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They're saying horrible things about an innocent girl! No, it must be a mistake! Maybe I misheard, right? Yes, that has to be it...

But Leandra continued:

"Ugh! And that girl with the red hat, you know? The one who looked like a monkey… She touched me too! She ruined my beautiful shirt! Can you believe it? That shirt was so expensive, Dashi!"

"!!!" My mind went blank.

My lips started to dry, and I felt like the world was spinning. What's going on? This must be a bad dream. Yes, a nightmare!

"Certainly, that girl gave me a bad vibe, especially those yellow eyes of hers," Dasha Vienna calmly agreed.

"Right? You get me, Dashy~!"

"H-hey, stop it, Leandra!"

Leandra clung to Dasha Vienna's legs, crying tears that were obviously fake.

I didn't know what to think. On the one hand, I thought, Well, they're human; everyone has flaws. But on the other… At what point does something stop being just a flaw and become something else…?

However, the surprises weren't over.

"By the way, Leandra, did you deal with that guy? You know, that singer."

"Huh?" Leandra's expression immediately changed. She raised her head to look Dasha in the eye, and a malicious smile replaced her fake sadness. "Oh, that guy? Oh, yes! I had him framed for organized crime. Ha! That simpleton really thought he had a chance as an artist."

What? That guy? Are they talking about the one from the news? That artist…?

I covered my mouth with my hands, stunned. Despite the cold air from the air conditioner, sweat was running down my forehead.

What I had just heard was, without a doubt, a dark revelation about the people I admired most: the Trio Encanto. Deep down, I wished this was just a bad dream. But unfortunately, what was in front of me was completely real.