The Honest and Upright Investigator

The scene returns to Sandra City—

“It went incredibly smoothly! Although Miss Jadette seemed a little suspicious, the excuse I concocted was absolutely watertight!”

Inside my apartment, Aimira stood with her hands on her hips, a wide grin lighting up her face, as if awaiting my praise. I could only ruffle her hair, much like one would a dog’s head, and immediately, her cheeks flushed crimson.

“A-Apostle Lord! This… this isn’t very proper… it’s quite embarrassing…”

“Hmph, now you’re feeling shy? Last night, you clung to me, insisting on coming along!”

“Back then… oh my… isn’t bold declaration of love a girl’s prerogative… or something?”

“What even is that supposed to mean?”

I couldn’t help but offer a wry smile.

What a strange twist of fate.

This girl and I had met by chance, yet we were now on the cusp of becoming travel companions. After a night of careful deliberation, I had finally accepted Ephiel’s suggestion and decided to take Aimira with me.

As an investigator, she could provide numerous conveniences. Having her by my side would also put my mind at ease, as I wouldn’t have to worry about her secretly reporting back to Jadette.

And Ephiel? After we reached an agreement last night, she had simply walked into the rift and returned to the Warp, quite decisively, which somewhat surprised me.

Regardless, this farce had finally come to an end.

My current task was to completely erase all traces of my life in this bachelor apartment. What needed to be taken, I would take; what needed to be destroyed, I would destroy. Unlike last night, there was no need to rush, allowing me at least half an hour to handle these miscellaneous tasks.

“Aimira, why don’t you wait outside for a bit? I’ll finish packing, and then we can leave.”

“Huh? But I want to help too…”

“Every man has his privacy. Alright, alright, be a good girl and go downstairs to wait!”

“Okay…”

With a dejected sigh, Aimira walked out of my door. I wasted no more time and began tidying up the apartment at top speed.

“Hmph… that woman is alone.”

Two hundred meters away, in the shadows beneath a tall building, Justin lurked. He had just used his abilities to regenerate his missing legs.

He observed the humble apartment building through his binoculars. Through the stairwell window, he could see Aimira Milala leaving the Ninth Apostle’s home, descending the stairs, while the Ninth Apostle remained inside, intently packing his belongings.

Justin was now certain—when not actively using his abilities, the Ninth Apostle’s own perception was not particularly strong, or at least, it wasn’t outstanding compared to his other attributes.

Justin’s greatest pride, however, lay in his stealth capabilities.

He enveloped himself in his strongest defense, the ‘Blood Armor,’ and his most potent invisibility buff, the ‘Polarized Armor.’ This shielded all reflected light, silenced all sounds, eradicated all scents, and prevented even a hint of energy fluctuation from leaking out. Propelled by the speed of his ‘Wind Cloak,’ he seamlessly infiltrated the apartment building’s stairwell in a flash.

He certainly didn’t dare to assassinate the Ninth Apostle; that would be a death wish.

However, he was confident in a swift operation: in less than two seconds, while the Ninth Apostle was distracted, he could snatch Aimira, the insider. He was quite certain he could pull it off.

The Ninth Apostle lived on the sixth floor, and Aimira had already reached the second. There was no one else in the stairwell, no interference whatsoever. It would be effortless. He ascended the stairs silently, while Aimira descended. In the next moment, they would meet on the landing between the first and second floors, and then—

‘Success!’

Aimira seemed to sense something, and just as she cried out, “Hel—” Justin clapped a hand over her mouth. Her shout was instantly solidified into fabric. It was too easy! A cold sneer touched his lips as he hoisted the girl over his shoulder and leaped out of the stairwell—

“An avaricious snake tries to swallow an elephant. Do you understand what that means?”

Crack!

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…

Justin initially didn’t comprehend what had happened.

He merely caught a fleeting glimpse of silver light, and then his entire nervous system was paralyzed by excruciating pain. When he finally regained his senses, he found himself sprawled on the ground, face up, having been tripped by the girl’s delicate jade foot.

“Gurg… gurgle… ugh… w-what…?”

He tried to resist, to struggle, but an invisible weight pressed down on his every limb, making it impossible to even twitch a finger. He was utterly at their mercy.

“I’ve placed the weight of the stars upon you. Don’t bother struggling.”

“…………!”

Facing the utterly astonished Justin, Aimira’s expression remained perfectly serene. Her gaze was like that of someone looking at an ant by the roadside; she didn’t even acknowledge him.

Then, she moved her foot and parted her crimson lips—

“Your mission was to retrieve the Eye of the Demon God, wasn’t it? Why come after the Ninth Apostle as well? To add more glory to your achievements?”

“Wh-what—?! You, how do you know—about the Eye of the Demon God? You—you are—”

“What do you think?”

At these words, her appearance shifted.

Her already fair skin became even more pristine, like unblemished white jade.

A strand of silver appeared in her raven black hair, like silver threads woven into ebony.

Her deep grey eyes transformed into dazzling, bright silver, with nebulae seemingly swirling within her pupils.

Her ears grew pointed and elongated, resembling those of the long-extinct elven race.

Her brows, nose, and mouth also underwent subtle changes. Though the details were minor, the overall impression was vastly different.

“Ah… ahhh… ahhhhhh…”

Justin’s expression froze.

He gazed at the girl before him.

For the first time, he felt death’s icy breath so close.

He was astonished, confused, bewildered, and terrified, yet he did not forget his duty.

With a thud, he knelt without hesitation, prostrating himself completely, and spoke in the most humble tone—

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“Forgive me, Lady Arshuna, I… ah… I didn’t know you were here…”

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His face was ashen.

He trembled like a sieve.

Sweat poured down him like rain.

Justin was utterly consumed by fear.

“I… I’m so sorry, truly sorry! I really didn’t know… didn’t know it was you… to think… heavens… I spoke so brazenly to you before… and, and I even let that damn bastard Paris trample you underfoot… I… I…”

The girl smiled gently, like a master comforting a trembling puppy.

“You don’t need to apologize. You were merely carrying out your mission.”

“Yes, yes… but… An Meng, who was under your command… she… she…”

“Was killed by the Ninth Apostle?”

“I-I-I’m so terribly sorry… I couldn’t save her…”

“It’s fine. She was loyal to the previous Venerable Lord anyway, and my relationship with the Dragon Clan has always been strained.”

“Yes, yes, yes… then… then I was overthinking things…”

Justin stammered, his breathing almost stopping. ‘Lord of the Myriad Stars,’ ‘Daughter of the Zodiac,’ ‘Underworld King of the Star Abyss,’ ‘Shattered Starlight’—if she were displeased, Sandra City being instantly vaporized would be considered a light punishment.

“Hehe, actually, it doesn’t matter. I find pretending to be weak quite amusing.”

“Ah, this… but as for the Ninth Apostle… his dominion ability might be troublesome…”

“Don’t worry. I’ve sealed his brain with the Star Palace. Even if he orders me to reveal the truth, it won’t work. That’s how I’ve been getting by.”

“As long as you’re happy! But…”

Although Justin knew this wasn’t his place to ask, he couldn’t help but blurt out—

“Why would you, the Seventh Venerable Lord, condescend to stay here!? Is it to go undercover beside the Ninth Apostle?”

“You ask why? The reason is quite simple.”

The girl tilted her head, as if genuinely puzzled why such a question would be asked.

Then, she offered her answer.

“Because, I am his fan.”

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“…………Huh?”

“I said, because I am his fan.”

“No, no… but… eh…?”

“Although my original mission was to investigate the Night of the Hunt, that’s long since become irrelevant. It makes a good excuse to stay by his side, though.”

“Ah, this…”

Justin was utterly bewildered. Although Arshuna had only become the new Venerable Lord half a year ago, never making a grand public appearance, and was far too young, her power was absolutely beyond doubt! If the unofficial Venerable Lord Gorma possessed the strongest physical destructive power besides the First Venerable Lord, then Arshuna possessed the strongest magical destructive power besides the First Venerable Lord. Such a figure… such a figure… how could she… perhaps the strongest were all born eccentrics? Trying to fathom their thoughts was utterly meaningless…

“Oh, right. Everything you’ve seen and heard here today is strictly forbidden to be spoken of, or I’ll kill you.”

“I, I-I-I absolutely won’t say a word! A mere foolish Ninth Apostle, you alone are enough—”

“…………………………Huh?”

In that instant, Aimira—or rather, Arshuna’s—eyes suddenly lost all warmth.

‘This is bad, I said the wrong thing’—Justin immediately realized this.

But he had no chance to retract his words.

By the time he reacted, his arms had already detached from his torso, falling to the ground with a thud.

The Seventh Venerable Lord’s fingertips shimmered with a faint starlight. With a mere flick of her finger, she had shattered Justin’s proud ‘Blood Armor’ and ‘Polarized Armor.’

“I was so foolish… rather than worrying about you spilling the beans later, why not make you permanently silent now?”

She lightly tapped her finger against the void. When the starlight flickered a second time, the arms that had detached from his torso vanished into nothingness, transforming into fine dust that diffused in the starlight, dissolving into the shadows of the stairwell.

Justin truly felt his heart was about to stop.

“Do you wish to be permanently silent now?”

“No, I don’t…”

“Mm, I thought so. Good boy, good boy.”

“Eek…………”

“After all, you are Senior Nicoviss’s close subordinate. If I were to kill you casually, she would surely cry, and I don’t like killing people anyway.”

“Thank you… for your mercy…………”

“Alright, he should be nearly finished packing. Hurry and take the Eye of the Demon God back to report—remember, don’t mention me to anyone, and of course, don’t speak of the Ninth Apostle either.”

“Y-YES, MA’AM!!!!!”

“Phew… that’s about it.”

I did one last check of the room. Everything that needed packing was packed, and everything that needed destroying was destroyed. Now all that remained was to—

“Apostle Lord, is there anything I can help you with?”

Aimira suddenly poked her head out from behind me, startling me out of nowhere.

“Didn’t I tell you to wait outside?”

“But I wanted to help you. Waiting downstairs was boring, and I even ran into a cockroach.”

“A cockroach?”

“Mm! But I already chased it away! Please let me help you with your luggage.”

“No, no, I’ll do it myself—”

“What is this… ‘Young Master Huahua: Armpits + Footed Stockings Special’?”

“DON’T LOOK! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

“…………Um, Apostle Lord, do you need me to change into an armpit-baring outfit and footed stockings? Although it’s a little embarrassing, for you, I’ll do my best!”

“Is that true—bah, no, you don’t need to!! And don’t call me Apostle Lord anymore. Call me… uh… just call me ‘Kos.’ It’s a common name, so it won’t easily arouse suspicion, and I personally like it.”

“Understood, Lord Kos!”

“Don’t add ‘Lord’!”

In the Warp—

Within a warm vortex of energy—

Ephiel lay in the center of the vortex, tossing and turning.

‘They should be preparing to depart now, shouldn’t they? Corvus and… that woman.’

She closed her eyes, recalling everything that had happened last night.

Aimira had suddenly appeared, begging Corvus to take her along. Ephiel had initially just been watching the spectacle, but then a voice had suddenly echoed in her mind—which had startled her.

To be able to use a vocal spell at such close range, directly connecting to a chaos demon’s brain without Corvus noticing, there were certainly few people in the world who could achieve that.

‘[Miss Ephiel Aest, a great demon of the Warp, I’ve long admired you.]’

‘[No need to doubt, I am Aimira, who was just crying to Mr. Ninth Apostle, and I’m speaking to you telepathically.]’

‘[Let me introduce myself first. My true name is Arshuna, the newly appointed Seventh Venerable Lord of the Demon Clan, ‘Arshuna of the Starlight.’]’

‘[It’s natural you haven’t heard of me; I’ve only just taken office, and like him, I’m a newcomer among the strongest.]’

‘[Long story short, how about we cooperate?]’

‘[You help me persuade him to take me along, and in return, I will secretly carry your demon core with him.]’

‘[That way, we can both travel with him.]’

‘[It’s a good proposal, isn’t it?]’

The memory ended.

‘In the end, I still agreed to her terms…’

Ephiel retrieved a crystal composed of energy from her chest. The normally spherical crystal had a small piece missing. At the time, she had discreetly separated a small portion of her demon core and given it to Aimira… or rather, Arshuna. This had established a connection between her and Arshuna, allowing the Seventh Venerable Lord to summon her to Corvus’s side at any moment using the demon core fragment.

This should be fine… right?

‘Forget it, I’m not thinking about it anymore! My motto is—when faced with difficulties, take a long nap!!!’

Ephiel rolled over and finally fell asleep.