Proof (4)
Proof (4)
"...... It was because of Lady Bella."
At Claire's words, Alice and I exchanged a glance for a moment.
Were Leo and Claire suspicious of Bella's true identity? Honestly, I thought Bella's act had been perfect.
"Well... it might sound like I'm meddling, but I got a certain feeling when I met Lady Bella yesterday. We wanted to help her."
It seemed the act had worked far too well.
I felt some of the tension drain from Alice's shoulders, which had been a little stiff from what I assumed was stress.
"But we couldn't find Lady Bella, and our eyes happened to fall on you two."
"You're remarkably perceptive."
"Wouldn't not recognizing you be stranger?"
Claire gave a derisive snort and looked at me.
She seemed confident that while Alice was a maybe, she had identified me for certain.
No, considering that even before the time rewind, Alice, Claire, and Leo had all burst in at once, Claire had probably recognized Alice at a glance too. Even in the original story, when Leo had dismissed it with "It couldn't be," Claire would have definitely pinned it down.
"......."
The conversation paused briefly. It wasn't for any particular reason, just that a woman in a bunny girl outfit was walking down the hallway. She glanced at our faces, now that our masks were off, but passed by without much concern. She had probably spotted the bill still clutched in my hand.
Wearing a mask wasn't mandatory. It was just that... most people dressed like this were people who didn't want to reveal their identities to others.
Having taken the money, showing their face was a reasonable concession.
"So, what now?"
Claire, who had been watching the woman pass by us, spoke up once she judged the woman was far enough away to be out of earshot.
"...... Even if I told you to go back, you wouldn't, would you?"
"That's right."
Claire nodded at Alice's reply. Then she threw a glance toward Leo. Having received Claire's gaze, Leo also nodded, his expression serious.
"Haa."
Alice let out a deep sigh, but her expression wasn't entirely displeased.
"Then, will you cooperate with me?"
At Alice's proposal, Claire and Leo exchanged a brief look before turning back to us and nodding.
"Good."
"Gladly."
Hearing their answers, Alice nodded.
"Good. You two... your skills are a factor, of course, but you are also from the Grace family."
And so the conversation continued.
"According to the information I've obtained, there is one spy hiding here."
"A spy?"
At the word 'spy,' Claire's expression immediately turned serious. The same went for Leo. Just moments ago, Leo had been looking everywhere else as if he couldn't bear to look at our bodies, but now his gaze was fixed firmly on us.
As expected of the Grace family. One of the true loyalist houses of the Emperor.
"Yes. However, I don't know exactly what that spy is trying to do. But... considering their nationality, it's probably something related to a Divine Treasure."
Bella wouldn't have given such detailed information, yet Alice had drawn a conclusion quite close to the truth through her own deduction.
Well, it wouldn't be that difficult a deduction if you knew how the Holy State operated. The Imperial Intelligence Bureau wasn't full of fools, after all.
"Divine Treasure?"
But Claire and Leo, who lacked the authority to access that kind of information, wore slightly puzzled expressions.
"......I'll explain the details later. The priority right now is to catch the informant in front of us."
"Do you know who this informant is?"
"Yes."
Alice nodded. A fierce will blazed in her eyes.
"I've just seen them myself. If we hurry out now, they might still be there. Leo, there's something I want you to do."
At Alice's call, Leo blinked.
Before Leo could answer, Alice snatched the pound note that had still been in my hand. Then, she placed the now-cold bill into Leo's hand.
"......I'll be borrowing this."
Then she looked at Claire and said that. Claire, as if realizing what Alice meant, nodded silently.
...... Hm.
I understood what she was getting at.......
But thinking about how that money had been wedged between my breasts made me feel rather uneasy. Surely that wasn't a sign that my thinking had gotten strange?
*
After that, surprisingly, the situation unfolded somewhat similarly to when I had first arrived here.
The original story never specified exactly what Alice had been doing on the first day Leo encountered her. The subsequent storylines likely suggested she hadn't achieved much.
But here, she had quite a few people helping her. Especially since Leo, an unmistakably male presence, was now part of the mix.
"Want a drink or something?"
"...... Be quiet."
Claire asked Leo, who was visibly tense, in a small voice. Unlike before, Claire was now wearing a mask. Apparently, she hadn't acquired it legitimately but had discreetly picked one up that a heavily intoxicated person had dropped while staggering around.
With the mask on and her uniform unbuttoned a few buttons, as if to project at least a slightly decadent atmosphere, Claire strangely gave off a faint echo of the Claire from the original story.
Of course, the diligently earnest aura that not even that getup could hide meant that it was a very faint echo indeed. Unless she let her hair down, that sort of atmosphere would probably never truly emanate from her.
"There she is."
"Ah, that person......."
Alice, a bunny girl once again masked and composed, pointed her finger at Chiara Berati. Claire let out a startled murmur.
It was understandable. If someone who had seemed so rakish at first impression turned out to be a member of the Cathedral Knights, anyone not in the know would be shocked. Moreover, all female Cathedral Knights were also nuns.
If someone like that was dressed as a bunny girl with glitter sprinkled on her chest, there was no way anyone would know.
In that sense, the Holy State had truly picked the perfect person. Other zealots would never have agreed to such a role, but if it was someone who only ever cosplayed as a believer, they would take on a job like this gladly.
They'd have taken it on with even more enthusiasm if they could fight for their life doing it.
"......."
Thinking that Alice was in command of this operation, I remained silent. I had resigned myself to this bunny girl outfit in the first place to do what Alice wanted.
Well, still, I was glad we'd found the right person.
I was glad the Imperial Intelligence Bureau wasn't incompetent.
Or perhaps Bella was the capable one.
"Well, can you do it?"
At Alice's question, Leo, though his face was stiff with tension, nodded.
"Good, then......."
Alice said this and moved a little distance away from Leo. I stood slightly apart from Alice, but in a spot where I could dash over in an instant if necessary...... and Claire stayed glued right near me.
.......
Hm.
I felt a little uncomfortable.
I felt strangely unsettled by the impression that Claire kept trying to protect me. No matter how I looked at it, she was a kid who felt much younger than me trying to protect me.......
I needed to focus.
There was a task at hand I had to concentrate on. The uneasy feeling could be dealt with in a lump later.
Of course, if the operation failed, I could just rewind it.
But why was that?
I didn't feel like rewinding this moment. Even if Leo or one of us made a mistake.
Feeling that way, I watched Leo with a slightly anxious heart as he walked forward with his arm and leg on the same side moving in tandem.
*
Looking solely at the outcome, the operation was a success.
However, it seemed irreversible mental damage had been inflicted on Leo's psyche.
How humiliating was it to hand over payment to a bunny girl, only for your hand to tremble so much that you dropped the money before you could tuck it between her breasts, forcing the bunny girl to pick it up with a stiff look on her face?
I briefly considered whether to show minimal mercy by rewinding time to give him another chance, but I decided to just pretend I hadn't seen it and move on, since the same person was clearly going to repeat the same mistake even if he tried again.
And to be fair, it wasn't entirely Leo's fault. One of the problems was that the bill had absorbed plenty of moisture from between my breasts and had lost its crispness.
That the bill she picked up was damp was probably one of the reasons Chiara Berati's expression had soured.
Still, perhaps she had already noticed us waiting behind, as she followed along quietly enough.
And so, circling around, we eventually arrived at the same place I had come to before the time rewind.
Though the outfits and the person leading the conversation had changed.
"So, what business does Her Imperial Highness have dressed like that?"
Having said that, Chiara Berati's eyes slid over toward me, and then,
"No, should I say Their Imperial Highnesses?"
She corrected her question.