Anyway, the Cult's to Blame

Klein turned herself in at police headquarters, meek as could be, exactly as Lupin had ordered.

"Klein, taken alive. You're a hero of the Republic!"

"Hehe... You flatter me."

Police headquarters, however, dealt only in the affairs of ordinary citizens. Having rushed over the moment he heard, the commissioner offered Lupin his thanks, then asked with a worried look.

"The trouble is, she's far too dangerous a shrine maiden for us to keep confined. Could you look after her for just a few days? You've saved the Republic more than once. If it's you, I can trust her to your hands."

And he bowed deeply at the waist, all but begging.

Managing aura criminals was the duty of the Rounds and the Sub-Rounds. Unfortunately, Rostov's Round had chosen this exact moment to drag every last Sub-Round off on vacation, and that was that.

Hearing how things stood, the corner of Lupin's mouth twitched. She'd already been planning, if it came to it, to drop by at night once everyone was asleep, pick the holding-cell lock, and walk out with Klein. There was no reason at all to refuse.

"Oh. Then I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠take her right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now. Klein! Get over here!"

"Urk."

The woman who had actually done the stealing promptly stationed the woman suspected of it right at her side.

The commissioner, ignorant of the real circumstances, was simply glad Lupin had accepted so readily. And how could he not be, when Klein—who had done such tremendous damage to Rostov—groveled at the slightest command from her? The officers thirsted for revenge, yet fear of retaliation had kept any of them from stepping forward, so each time Lupin issued one of those orders, everyone watching let out a cry of awe.

"I had wanted to see you dance so beautifully at the party, too, but what a shame it's come to this.... The country will be drooping for a while. A party is beyond dreaming of."

Lupin did know how to read a mood off a person's face. For once, she comforted the commissioner like an actual human being.

"Did something... happen? Is there some trouble with His Excellency the Prime Minister...?"

"No. His Excellency is fine. The hospital said there was no problem. It's only..."

But once he tried to say it, the commissioner found the matter rather grave. The seat of a man who bore one of the pillars of public authority was far too heavy for him to air his own opinions without leave from above.

"Regrettably, there's nothing I can say for the moment. Given time, the Prime Minister—or the Speaker of the Assembly—will explain."

"I see. Dancing, well... there'll be another chance later, I'm sure. I'm sorry to miss it too."

"Haha... Thank you for saying so. May I take that as a promise that you'll visit Rostov again?"

"I'll come if I can. If you send an invitation."

"The most welcome words I've heard. Thank you. Truly, thank you."

The commissioner gazed at Lupin for a long moment.

The hem of her dress was a ruin, as if someone had gone at it with scissors, and the long hair that had once swung glossy was gray with dust and coming undone. At a glance she might have been mistaken for a shrine maiden, yet her obliging manner and the formidable strength rolling off those squared shoulders made her look like a woman of the front lines, victory clenched in her fist after a hard-fought battle. Even her somewhat blunt way of speaking felt entirely natural now.

I couldn't avoid the comparison if I tried.

Perhaps that was why a single name rose, unbidden, in the minds of the commissioner and everyone around him. Rostov's one and only Round, forever busy lining her own pockets. The Round who had walked off her post at this of all moments, announcing she was taking a vacation. Ekaterina—and the fact that she was a woman only sharpened the comparison.

If only she'd learn a little from Lupin.

Lupin was in a fine mood. Thanks to the commissioner's consideration, she'd been spared one troublesome errand.

"So if Rostov's Round gives the okay, the two of us can just keep traveling together the whole way, yeah? Right?"

Klein was on the verge of tears.

"What, were you planning to wait for an opening and slip out if they locked you up at headquarters? Please. You think I'm crazy enough to just let you go? Anyway, clothes first. You're being reborn—not as a shrine maiden of the cult, but as Klein, a cute, lovable little girl."

"U... uung."

Lupin fished a single gold coin from the emergency stash in her harness pocket and held it out to Klein.

"Go to the tailor's, change into the most lovable, eye-catching outfit they have, and leave this money on the counter. Wear shoes. And hand over the veil. Confiscated."

For the record, even the cheapest garment at the tailor Lupin patronized ran at least ten gold coins.

Klein swayed off, drifting farther and farther from Lupin like a doll suspended on strings.

"Hmm. Then I should... take a look at this."

A new function. Growth Value Transcendence, no less.

Anyone could see that Grade X had been the ceiling, and this meant a further tier was opening above it. She was already plenty fast—did this mean she could get even faster? Or would some extra effect kick in? Either way, she welcomed it with open arms.

Lupin flung open the Growth Value Transcendence window with gusto.

Along with the basic explanatory text, all sorts of Lupins appeared inside separate squares, like a character-select screen in a fighting game.

"Whoa. Cute."

Anyone overhearing would have taken her for a lunatic calling herself cute. But the Growth Values inside the window really were adorable. Little things barely two or three heads tall were flailing as if begging her to pick them, so of course they were.

"So Big Bro Taechang wasn't sulking—he was busy prepping this? Then I'll give him that."

Anyway, above those Growth Values sat a single empty pane. The exclusive slot for Grade XI. For now she could promote only one, and it seemed a new slot would open once she met the conditions.

Lupin smiled, bright and clear.

Yep. She understood that perfectly. Anyway, she just had to open a Holy Ark, right?

It wasn't a perfect reading, but Lupin had landed on the right answer. Sideways or straight, opening a Holy Ark was all that mattered.

"Then. I ought to try slotting something in..."

A slot, as a rule, was something you could put things into and take them out of. Taking that as given, Lupin narrowed the Grade X Growth Values down to a shortlist: Relic Appraisal, Lockpicking, Strength, Endurance, Agility, and Dynamic Vision. Six candidates in all....

Combat had never come before chest-looting for Lupin, so she agonized and agonized between Relic Appraisal and Lockpicking, and at last—

"I choose you!"

Lockpicking Pinpin seized the ultimate glory of being chosen—Lupin having already slapped a nickname on it of her own accord. So delighted at the honor, Pinpin bounced up and down in the slot.

So. The result?

An explanation of the ability granted by Grade XI Lockpicking soon poured into Lupin's mind. She jolted.

"What?!"

From now on, Lupin no longer needed to unlock any treasure chest at all. A single tap, and click—it was open. In short, she no longer needed Royal Blood even to enter a Holy Ark.

"Damn. This is so sweet my teeth are about to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rot..."

And there was only one slot like this. Unable to contain the greed exploding inside her, Lupin trembled from head to toe.

"I'll have to try them all, one by one. If I slot in Relic Appraisal, it'd start appraising sacred relics and everything, wouldn't it?"

She was just about to pull Lockpicking Pinpin out of the slot to test Relic Appraisal next.

Ting. Ting.

"What. Why's it acting like that."

Lockpicking Pinpin, occupying the transcendence slot, squinted and shook its head as if to say that wasn't allowed. Apparently, once you decided, you couldn't change it.

"Ah! If that's how it works, you have to warn people first!"

Had this been a game, Lupin would already have been on the forums, voice raised, screaming about ramming a truck through their offices. But this world had no internet, no forums, and it wasn't a game....

"Tsk. It's a fast pass into the Holy Arks, so I'll allow it."

I'll have to be more careful next time, thought the greedy pink pig who already possessed two auras.

In the meantime Klein arrived, fully changed, and tilted her head at Lupin, who was jabbing a finger at empty air.

What is she doing at thin air...?

To Klein, Lupin was already a symbol of terror, and behavior that strange only called up a greater fear. She stood there thoroughly cowed, watching Lupin's mood, and when Lupin finally noticed, she burst out laughing.

"Ahahaha! Hey, you're a completely different person."

A voluminous dress loaded with frills, a ribboned hairband set on her head—she was the very image of a ball-jointed doll. It wasn't Lupin's taste, but she was satisfied. The whole point of the costume change was to draw the cult leader out, after all.

For Klein herself, of course, there had never been a humiliation like it.

"This is humiliating......"

Lupin was dumbfounded. She hadn't batted an eye in those high-leg vestments, and yet—honestly, the cult's idea of common sense was something else.

"You. From now on, if anyone asks why you're dressed like this, you answer like so."

After rattling off a grand oration that perfectly represented the warped gender politics of her homeland, Lupin tapped the corner of her own eye.

"One teardrop at the end. Don't forget. That's the part that really matters, got it?"

Klein could not hide her shock. She had meant to mediate between Lupin and the cult. At this rate she was going to end up a turncoat who brought the cult to ruin, with no way out of it. And there was more than one or two things worth objecting to.

"Um. Sorry, but Klein is an adult, and..."

"Huh? No way. That body is not an adult no matter how you look at it. How old are you."

"Sixteen."

"That's a minor! That cult leader is absolute trash!"

"No, that's what Klein means—from sixteen, you're an adult......"

When it came to the age of majority, the standard in Lupin's homeland and the one in Elysium were different. As a rule, the more modern a nation's system, the higher the age of adulthood climbed. Klein didn't know that, so Lupin's claim looked like nothing more than a contrived excuse that used her appearance.

"A-and, about tears. They don't just... pour out because you decide they should..."

"Then prep an onion ahead of time. If you don't like that, pinch yourself."

A truly merciless measure. But did Klein have a choice? She did not. The incomprehensible curse of obedience that had been jerking her body around of its own will was already painful enough, and driven this far into a corner, even the cult's strongest asset had become nothing but a child.

Unable to master her feelings, Klein finally burst into tears.

"Ngh.... Hnnngh...! Huaaaaa."

But Lupin was a person infinitely harsh toward villains, if no one else. Sure enough, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠watching Klein break into full-throated wailing, she admired it as a masterful performance.

"What. You're good at this. Doing it perfectly and still acting like you can't."