“Ah, Al! I’m glad you’re safe.”
On his way to the treasury, Al ran into Jamka, who was making his way to Al’s room. He took a disapproving look at the two Divas behind Al, which was completely understandable from the head of the guards.
“Tch. Walking around at the crack of dawn, sandwiched between two beauties. Why? Why am I...”
Never mind. He was just jealous.
“Was anything stolen?” Al didn’t have the capacity to deal with Jamka’s self-loathing, so he jumped straight to the matter at hand.
“Right. A thief has entered the treasury. We found traces of them trying to enter the late king’s study and the underground chambers as well.”
“My father’s study and the chambers...” That was some really scary news for Al. His father’s study was one thing, but someone had tried to enter the underground chambers.
“It wasn’t me!”
“Ah!” He felt a warm breath on his ears.
“Lilicia!? Where did you come from!?”
“I felt a wave of doubt crash over me,” Lilicia answered with a straight face.
“Can you blame me?” Al asked. “You’re the only one who knows about the chambers.”
“Sorry, but I wouldn’t be discovered by the guards,” she said proudly. Al found that to be a pretty convincing—albeit disturbing—alibi.
“Then who could’ve done such a thing?”
“I don’t know. Your castle, your problem... is what I’d like to say, but there were traces of some intriguing magic.”
“Magic?”
“Yes. There were minuscule traces of ominous magic resembling that used by demons. Well, maybe I was just seeing things.”
“No, no, we’re not shrugging this off like that.”
It was safe to assume that there were other succubi currently active in the world besides Lilicia. Their goal was unclear, however, and Lilicia probably wasn’t keen on sharing anything else, as she was working to revive the Demon King.
“Are you okay? Did you get turned on?” asked Lilicia, trying to seduce Al with her eyes as he stared at her absentmindedly.
“Don’t flirt with other girls in front of your wife, Al.”
“Tch, how inconsiderate.”
Both Feena and Sharon, who had appeared out of thin air, were shooting scornful gazes at him.
“I’m not flirting with anyone!”
“Whatever, let’s focus on the incident now. Do you have any idea who the culprit could be?” Sharon completely ignored his excuse and cut to the chase.
She must be doing it on purpose! Al screamed to himself.
“Nh! My Diva senses are tingling! There has been a crime nearby!” Kanon, striking a pose, assessed the situation with her incredible intuition.
“Really? Wow, thank you very much. I was under the assumption that ROBBERY WAS COMPLETELY LEGAL!”
“Oh my, shall we help you with the investigation?”
“When did you get here, Cecilia!? And why are you trying to complicate things the moment you open your mouth!?”
Oh, okay, now I see. This will be one of those days when I can’t get anything done. Al’s daily descent into the depths of despair had begun.
“It’s okay, just calm down. I will find the culprit in a heartbeat!” Feena said with a delightful smile—and to the complete dismay of Al.
“No, listen to me. I don’t need—”
“Then let’s have a contest to see who can catch the culprit first!” Sharon suggested.
“Yaaay!”
The Divas scattered in every direction.
“I’ll go warn our investigators that a storm is coming their way.” Jamka patted Al’s shoulder and left.
“Oh, for the love of... Why doesn’t anyone in this damn castle listen to me!?” Al whispered while looking up at the ceiling of the lonely corridor.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Shall we assess the situation, Watson?”
“Who are you calling Watson, Detective Boing-Boing?”
“Stop with the Boing-Boing! You’re ruining the atmosphere, Feena!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Detective Nutjob. Shouldn’t you be at the scene if you want to assess the situation?”
“I’m not a nutjob! That, and I just ran away from there; going back would look so lame!”
“This is hopeless. We won’t catch the culprit by focusing on keeping up appearances.” Feena put her finger against her temple and tilted her head back and forth. “She’s dumb as a brick. I should’ve partnered up with someone else.”
“That’s not something you say out loud!” Kanon sobbed. “Fine, then. Did you figure out who the culprit is?”
“Of course.”
“Wait, you did!?” Kanon shouted in surprise.
“Okay, you dumbo, tell me: who came to this country right before the incident?”
“Umm, Luna and—”
“Exactly! The culprit is Luna!”
“Wait, what about Ranbolg?”
“He didn’t flirt with Al.”
“How is that even slightly related?”
“Doesn’t matter. The culprit is Luna. Case closed.”
“That’s not even a proper hypothesis; it’s just your jealousy talking!”
“Do you have an issue with it?”
“N-No, I don’t.” Seeing Feena scowl at her, Kanon couldn’t do anything but cave under the immense pressure.
✦ ✦ ✦
“We rushed off in pursuit of the phantom thief, but who exactly are we looking for?” Sharon asked, glancing at Cecilia.
“Are you okay?” Ever since appearing at the treasury, her usual carefree smile was nowhere to be found, and she wouldn’t react to anything Sharon did. It was as if she was lost in her own little world. “Earth to Cecilia! Are you there!? Brother-lover, hebeph—Mghh!”
“Oh my, why are you calling me names? I’m not deaf, I was simply thinking,” she said, pinching Sharon’s cheeks without giving her time to react.
Damn, she’s one fast priestess!
“Oh my, it’s all thanks to the power of love!” Cecilia said with a teasing smile, as if she could read Sharon’s mind.
“Phew. I’m glagh you’we shmihlink aghain.”
“Oh my, I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”
She brushed away Cecilia’s hand.
“Because you’ve been pinching my cheeks! I said, ‘I’m glad you’re smiling again’!”
“I... Oh my, I’m terribly sorry. Thank you for looking out for me.” Cecilia was taken aback for a moment, but she quickly collected herself and bowed to Sharon.
“I mean, I wasn’t really looking out for you or anything...”
“Oh my, are you doing that splishy-splashy thing again?”
“It’s ‘wishy-washy’, not ‘splishy-splashy’! And I’m not wishy-washy!” Cecilia smiled coyly as Sharon turned away from her.
“Oh my,” she exclaimed. “I just remembered that I wanted to ask you something.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“What was it like to perform Heavenly Surge with my lovely little brother?” Cecilia’s face stiffened as she asked.
“Pfffwh! Wh-Where did that come from!?” Sharon’s cheeks burned bright red—a stark contrast to Cecilia’s ice-cold eyes.
“I simply thought it would be helpful to know.”
“Wh-What!? Why!? I mean, I don’t really care what you do with your brother, just leave me out of it!” Sharon wrapped her arms around herself as she spoke.
Oh my, she has become much more feminine since she arrived here, Cecilia thought, smiling as she watched Sharon blush. However, her biggest flaw was about to be revealed: her undying love for her little brother.
“Oh my. To think that those two flabs of fat rubbed up against my precious Al!” Her jealousy consumed her soul.
“Hey, that was uncalled for! Besides, yours are bigger!”
“That is indeed true. They’re full of my love for Al, so they’ll only grow as my insatiable love grows toward him!”
“I’m glad you’re so confident in your looks, but what do you mean they’ll grow!?” Sharon was staring Cecilia directly in the breasts.
“Shall we get back to the topic at hand? I want a detailed, vivid recollection of the event.”
“Why won’t you leave me alone!?” Sensing danger, Sharon attempted to flee the scene.
“Oh my, please wait! I simply wish to have a nice, calm discussion!” Cecilia chased after her, wearing an ominous smile. They’d completely forgotten about Heavenly Surge or the intruder; their minds were set on the grandiose game of tag throughout the castle.