A Grand Success
"Farewell... have a safe trip."
"......"
As I was about to leave the house to visit Isolet's place, Ariane and Aris greeted me at the front door.
"Aris, why aren't you saying anything?"
But since Aris just kept her head bowed without a word, I tilted my head and asked. She, who had been hanging her head low, finally spoke in a trembling voice.
"M-Master... please come back safely..."
It seemed like she'd tried to resist the effects of the Subjugation Curse I had on her... It was impossible, of course, but holding out through sheer willpower was surprisingly impressive.
"Both of you, guard the house well."
""...Yes, Master."""
Anyway, leaving Aris and Ariane behind, I stepped out the front door, where the bright morning sunlight greeted me.
"Tch."
In the old days, it would have felt at least a little warm, but now it only felt like the gaze of the Demon God, which soured my mood.
"Hey, Frey."
I was hurrying toward the waiting carriage when Irina, who had been sticking close by my side, spoke up casually.
"You should watch out for that Aris girl."
"Huh?"
"...She just tried to attack you."
Hearing that, I smiled and replied.
"I saw her flinch. Of course I was prepared, and with the Subjugation Curse, she can't attack me anyway."
"Then you knew I was pinning her down with magic this whole time?"
"...What?"
I had been casually reassuring her, but Irina's serious expression made me drop my relaxed demeanor as I listened.
"She's one of the top assassins from the Moonlight family. Weaker than Serena, sure, but not someone you can ignore..."
"You okay, Irina?"
I knew her mana circuits hadn't fully recovered yet. Using sustained magic like that without even scrolls worried me.
"Don't do that next time. I'll handle it."
"...Yeah, got it."
I grabbed her shoulder and urged her earnestly, and she lowered her eyes before nodding.
*Twitch, twitch*
"By the way... when do those ears go away?"
At the same time, the perky ears twitching on her head were so adorable that I reached out, stroked one, and asked.
"Eek! Ah, u-uh... That's..."
Irina jumped in surprise, then started trembling and stammering incoherently.
"W-Well? It's weird, right? Why won't they disappear... Eek!?"
"What's wrong? You okay?"
"N-No... It's just a side effect, so it's a bit sensitive..."
I stared at her in confusion, but her face turned beet red, she suddenly stopped talking, and began agonizing over something.
"Um, Frey."
A moment later, she fidgeted with her hands and spoke up.
"I-If you like them... you can touch them as much as you want. I-I made them to show you, after all."
I nodded at her words and continued fondling the soft, squishy ear, causing Irina's body to shiver.
"Hey."
After petting her ears for a good while, Lulu, who had been standing quietly beside me, spoke to Irina in a low voice.
"Lulu wants... ears too."
"What? No way. Not just anyone can have these."
"B-But...!"
"If I say no, it's no."
But Lulu got a firm rejection from Irina.
"How could I give away something that reveals my identity? I'd have to be crazy. With these, I could even beat Clana..."
"Whoa! Demon Eyes make it even cooler!"
".....!?"
Suddenly, she opened her Demon Eyes and raised her voice while staring at Irina's ears.
"The mana structure is so unique! Like... um... transformation magic?"
"What?"
"The kind that appears during transformation... Mmph!?"
But for some reason, Lulu soon clamped her mouth shut. Irina glared piercingly at her, then broke into a cold sweat and started explaining.
"Y-Yeah, exactly. I adapted transformation magic to make them. Smart girl, huh?"
"Transformation... mmph... puppy... you..."
"Huh? What was that, Lulu?"
"........."
When Irina asked again, Lulu, who had been about to say something, fell silent. Just as the brief commotion seemed to end...
".....Huh?"
Behind me and Irina as we headed for the carriage, Lulu—who had been glaring at her with a dissatisfied huff—suddenly tilted her head.
"S-Something's off?"
She stared at Irina intently for a while, then...
"Her mana arrangement is totally different from normal people..."
She muttered softly to herself.
"Hey, everyone? Aren't you going?"
"Let's go, Lulu."
"Y-Yes!"
Urged by me and the coachman, she snapped out of it and approached the carriage.
"Lulu, transformation magic isn't for just anyone. Normal people absolutely can't do it."
"...Grrr."
Ignoring the subtle tension brewing between Irina and Lulu behind me as best I could, I boarded the carriage.
"I hope Isolet-noona's okay..."
I muttered that and was about to tell the coachman to depart when I frowned.
"...What is it?"
I felt someone's gaze.
A few hours before Frey left the mansion.
"What... what the hell..."
In the massive Information Guild in the back alleys.
"No way... no way it's real..."
Rosewin, holed up in her underground room there.
"He's really not coming...?"
Was muttering with a humiliated expression.
"...Grind."
Though her personality wasn't the greatest, she had considerable confidence in her skills. She had personally taken on Frey's request.
She'd curried favor with the church, chatted with the Pope, and even sneaked into the church at night.
And she'd reaped quite the harvest.
The fact that, despite the fame of the church's youngest paladin, very few had actually seen him.
The church executives who supposedly met the paladin often evaded questions about it.
And her faint Solar Mana had sensed something lurking in the church's basement.
With such high-quality intel.
She figured she could easily win back Frey, who was sulking at her for the first time, by showing it off and acting cute.
He must have aimed for that too, she thought.
She'd assumed he orchestrated this because he craved her affection, at least.
"Grrrind..."
So even while grumbling about why she had to cater to him, she'd secretly hoped he'd come back.
But a whole week passed without a glimpse of him.
She'd even sent a meticulously written letter saying the request was complete.
"........."
Now, Rosewin's state was at its worst.
Just chasing after Frey, whom she hadn't cared about before, had already cracked her pride. Getting the cold shoulder was only natural.
"This sucks... seriously..."
But going to him herself would shatter her pride completely, so she stayed cooped up in her room, grinding her teeth to vent.
*Knock knock knock!*
"W-What!?"
When someone knocked, she asked in an agitated voice.
"Is it Frey? Right? Tell me it is!"
"........."
The female employee who entered stared silently at Rosewin.
"Yeah, knew it. Where else would he go? Waiting outside? I'll head to the reception room first..."
"Sigh."
"Held out for a whole week, impressive. So, where is he now?"
"It's not that."
The employee spoke plainly to Rosewin, who was getting excited on her own.
"The results of the background check you requested are in."
"...Ah."
Rosewin blanked out for a moment, then forced a calm expression and asked.
"R-Really? Okay, report it."
"......"
"What the hell's he been up to that he hasn't shown his face?"
The employee, who had been silent, slowly opened her mouth.
"He switched to someone else."
"Yeah, figured. Probably... Wait, what?"
As Rosewin made an incredulous face, the employee sighed deeply and continued.
"That 'detective agency' I mentioned last time. You said it's been a while since he gave them a request."
"...No way. That dump?"
"Yes. Confirmed."
"........."
Rosewin went quiet as a clam for a moment, then started babbling in panic.
"Y-Yeah, knew it. That's why he hasn't come. Right?"
"Pardon?"
"That sucker, of course. Got scammed there, haha."
"Their reputation's been good lately..."
"Knew it. Idiot or naive..."
The employee stared blankly as Rosewin muttered uneasily.
"Anyway, hopeless guy."
She stood up and declared.
"No choice now. I'll have to go see him myself soon."
"You're going to him?"
"Yeah. Can't let our VIP get scammed. Yeah, reluctantly."
Ignoring the employee's baffled look, Rosewin paced the room muttering.
"Reluctantly... going."
She paused, her expression darkening as she whispered.
"Sigh..."
The employee clutched her head and sighed, watching Rosewin. When Rosewin looked up, she tilted her head.
"Oh right, what about that one? That damn girl."
"You mean Lulu?"
"Yeah, that transparent bitch."
When Rosewin asked, the employee rummaged in her pocket.
"...Here."
She placed a photo on the desk.
""........."
A heavy silence filled the room.
"Wha....."
Rosewin stared blankly at the photo of Lulu munching on Frey's ear and Frey looking troubled, trying to pull away.
*Crack...!*
She clenched her fist so hard it went numb without realizing.
"...Why are you like that?"
The employee asked quietly.
"N-Nothing. It's nothing."
Still gripping her fist tight, Rosewin glared at the photo.
"...Looks like I need to go see him right now."
She said that and began preparing to leave.
"Doing it on purpose? No... that's not it. He must have some scheme..."
"Sigh..."
Meanwhile, the employee let out yet another uncountable sigh, quietly heading for the door and pulling out a cigarette from her pocket.
"Hey! No smoking!"
"...I'll smoke outside."
At Rosewin's shout, she replied in a subdued voice.
"Why is my charge like this... Hana and Byeol are fine, why..."
She muttered softly as she left the room.
"Hmmm."
Left alone, Rosewin quietly packed her things.
"...Maybe he's preparing a surprise event?"
She suddenly muttered.
"Hehe... if that's really it..."
With a strange expression, she left the room.
"...A grand success."
A short while later, a carriage departed from the back alleys.