Night had fallen.
Charlotte and the gang arrived at the Hafen estate in the inner city.
They’ve come to search for one of the Lucifer Cards (name coined by Char), which hold the key to the Devil Lord’s revival.
The Hafen estate is currently vacant.
After their heir, Scheidel, had lost his mind and took a leave of absence from the academy, the marquess had put the mansion up for sale.
The place was silent. Charlotte─in her magical girl outfit─gulped loudly.
“It looks like it could be haunted by ghosts.”
“What, are you scared?” scoffs Laius.
“I do have some fear of the unknown. Just like you, Prince Laius.”
“I-I-I-I’m not scared!”
“Then why are your legs trembling?”
“Shut up! This is, uh─I’m quivering with excitement.”
“What a cliché excuse…” Marianne sighs.
In truth, Laius is terrified. Not of ghosts, but of the possibility of encountering a devil.
Irisphilia, taking no notice of the tension between her peers, says, “There’s no time for banter. This place may be empty, but we’re still trespassing. Let’s finish the investigation quickly.”
“You’re so calm and collected, Miss Iris,” says Char.
“I am nervous, too. If we come across another devil, I’m not confident we’ll be able to take it on without Shiva around…”
Iris, Laius, and Marianne had all heard from Char that Shiva is busy with an errand tonight and can’t join them.
In spite of that, I’m sure he’s still watching from somewhere… Iris thinks.
It’s hard to believe Shiva would let Charlotte get into any danger.
Iris has a hunch on the Black Knight’s true identity, but she believes the reason he hasn’t revealed himself is because she hasn’t earned the right to know. In actuality, it’s because Haruto has been dragging his feet trying to find the right moment to come forward.
“By the way, it looks like nobody from Numbers is here today.”
Char replies, “I invited them. But they all seem to have plans tonight…”
Whether they really do have plans or are just politely declining the silly invitation is unknown.
I want to believe it’s the latter… Iris secretly hopes. After all, they did witness the devil’s powers with their own eyes.
With the exception of Alexei, the members of Numbers aren’t exactly willing to cooperate. But Iris doesn’t necessarily trust Alexei either.
It’d be best if we could keep our distance from Numbers…
Iris had already shared those feelings with Laius and Marianne. They seemed to take the hint from her expression and responded with a nod.
“All right, everyone! Let’s go!”
Charlotte takes flight and floats over the high wall surrounding the estate.
“Hey, wait up! Don’t go off on your own!”
Laius fortifies himself with magic and jumps over the wall.
Iris and Marianne follow.
To their surprise, the front door is unlocked. The four of them enter the main building.
“There’s nothing here!”
They’d just finished searching every nook and cranny of the vast mansion, only to find nothing.
“No devils either. Maybe our suspicions were wrong,” says Laius.
Char wilts.
Marianne gently pats the little blonde girl on the head and says, “Don’t give up hope, Char. We’ve only looked inside the building so far. Come, you can see the courtyard from up here. Maybe there’s something…out… Um, there is. There is something out there…”
As they peer out the window to the courtyard down below, they notice a treasure chest in the middle of the yard.
A large box, brightly decorated in red and gold. A classic treasure chest just like the kind you see in video games.
“It’s way too conspicuous!” Laius exclaims.
“Hold on,” says Iris. “It wasn’t there when I looked out to the courtyard earlier. When did it…?”
“It may be a devil’s trap.” Marianne wrinkles her brow.
Charlotte responds assuredly, “Perhaps a demon in the form of a treasure chest wandered into the yard.”
“What the heck kind of demon is that?”
“I’ve never seen them around here. It may have wandered over from distant territory,” Char says.
“Uh, no. I’m asking if treasure-chest shaped demons with sentience and will to move on their own exist.”
“They’re common in games,” Charlotte answers him as she flies out the window.
“Geez, you have no sense of caution, as usual,” grumbles Laius as he jumps out. Iris and Marianne follow close behind.
“Huh?” Laius tilts his head as he lands on the ground.
The treasure chest they saw from the window had vanished.
Did the chest really walk away on its own?
“It was here… Wasn’t it?” Laius strolls over to where he last saw the chest.
“You shouldn’t get too close. Have you no sense of caution?” warns the little girl floating overhead.
You’re one to talk.
Charlotte is flying in circles above where the chest was.
“It seems the treasure chest is only visible from certain angles. Firstly, we should check to see if it’s actually a demon─”
Right when Char raises her magic wand, Iris calls out, “Char, look out! Behind you!”
The little girl in the sky twirls her body to the side instinctively. Something darts past where she was just hovering.
Not something─someone.
“Aww, I’m surprised you were able to dodge me.”
The owner of the sultry voice swoops down next to the treasure chest.
Her black leather outfit barely covers her chest and privates. Her voluptuous body looks about to spill from all angles.
White hair, red eyes─the woman with the bat-like wings is…
“The token female agent!”
Char is ecstatic.
“Why the hell are you dressed like that?!” Laius looks away.
Iris raises her fists. “That’s not the problem right now!”
“It’s a devil. Everyone, stay on guard!”
Marianne braces herself behind Iris, ready to fire her magic at any moment.
Laius, too, joins them and takes a crouching stance.
“Heh-heh-heh. Aww, how cute. That’s right, I’m Vari, the devil born from Lord Lucifyra. But unfortunately, I’m not here to entertain you kids.”