“What is this!” Tonbeau raged. Setsura looked on blankly.
Tonbeau was still locked in an embrace with Takako. Thanks to the “wind” element, the hair of the two had stood on end, blown back, then tangled together.
“One would think that common thieves would at least give a house bearing the name of Nuvenberg a pass!”
As it turned out, an eyewitness was present, the doll girl lying on a bed in the back. “The mayor came by,” she explained in a soft but firm voice.
“He what? Didn’t you think that a bit strange? What did he say? That the prime minister wanted a gander at it too? Or else—”
“Did he say he wanted Doctor Mephisto to take a look at it?” suggested Setsura.
“No. His wife. She wanted to show it off to her friends at an upcoming Welfare Society fundraiser.”
“You don’t say.” Tonbeau’s shoulders slumped. “And I could believe it.”
“So could I,” Setsura agreed. He went to the living room and made a phone call.
“I haven’t left the office since coming to work this morning!” the mayor barked. “At any rate, I want to hear what’s going on. Get over here as soon as you can!”
The prime minister had managed to call off the American nuclear missile strike. But this business of him sporting Setsura’s face and everything else—mysteries piled on top of mysteries.
“I’ll explain everything later,” Setsura said.
The mayor insisted he could come over right then, but Setsura politely declined and ended the call.
“I’m afraid you were taken for a ride,” he said gently. The doll girl hung her head. Setsura scratched his head in a damn-it-all manner and said to the trussed up Tonbeau and Takako, “The mayor says that a girl came to him with information about Princess’s current hiding place. The door didn’t budge coming in or going out, and his secretary noticed nothing amiss. Was that you?”
“Hmm?” Takako smiled seductively.
“Why would you do something like that?”
“I detest women who carry on so high and mighty. If you want me to explain more, hurry up and tell this lump of pork to let go of me.”
“What’s this? I’ll teach you to respect your elders, young lady.”
She squeezed her hamhock pair of arms. Takako screamed. The whirlwind whipped at their hair and clothes.
“Tonbeau-san,” Setsura said, looking out the window, “I’m going to search for Princess. It might be possible to put an end to this during the day. Ten thousand police officers and more wouldn’t make a bit of difference.”
“I’ll leave you to it. Vampires give me the willies.”
“I figured as much. You’ve been a great help. I’ll leave Takako Kanan-san in your care.”
“Don’t dawdle. If you’re not back quick, I’m throwing in the towel once and for all. What happens next to this city, I couldn’t care less. How long do I keep holding onto this tart?”
He asked Takako, “And what will you do if left to your own devices?”
“Only the dead know.”
“Damned quack,” Setsura grumbled to himself. The sculpturesque face of a doctor and the wan countenance of a girl grazed his thoughts, the body of Takako Kanan left behind in the back of the Crystal Pavilion.
He’d have to get everybody back where they belonged eventually. But a more pressing matter awaited him right now.
How would this genie slay the Demon Princess slumbering deep within the earth?