But now, that role was relegated to Sienna, Decius’ little sister. Thus, I have been wondering how she feels about that change of role?

  「Indeed, hero-sama. My name is Ainoe. May I ask the reason for the sudden visit from the famous hero-sama in this place?」


  Ainoe looked at us with a puzzled look on her face.

  「Long time no see, Ainoe-dono. Thank you for caring for my sister all this time.」


  Decius stepped forward to greet Ainoe.

  「Oh my? To think that even Decius-dono has come too. Long time no see, Decius-dono, I wonder how long it’s been since the last time you visited us? If my memory serves me right, it should be during Sienna’s enrollment, right? Nevertheless, may I inquire about your business too? Did something happen?」


  Ainoe spoke with a mysterious smile on her face.

  「The truth is, Sienna hasn’t come back since last night. Plus, Sienna’s disappearance seems to be related to the demon king’s worshippers. And that said worshipper might be the member of this troupe.」


  The smile vanished from Ainoe’s face as soon as she heard Decius’ words.

  「Demon King’s worshipper? How do you know about it?」


  「From the flute that was left behind after last night’s incident. Please take a look at this flute. There’s the black goat’s crest on it, right?」


  Decius retrieved the flute from his pocket.

  Ainoe’s eyes opened wide upon seeing that flute.

  「Sienna found this flute after last night’s incident and entrusted it to me. I heard that the man who was masquerading as satyr and played this flute is a member of this troupe. Did you happen to know what happens in this troupe, Ainoe-dono?」


  「Marchas!!!」


  Ainoe suddenly shouted a name.

  Since her voice was so loud, all the members of the troupe looked at AInoe.

  「Ainoe-dono?」


  Decius asked timidly at Ainoe.

  「My apologies, Decius-dono. I have no idea about this matter.」


  Ainoe replied so, whispering「Hohoho」 in an almost inaudible voice.

  But, I didn’t fail to hear that laugh.

  Marchas should be the name of the satyr who fell in the sea during last night’s incident.

  Why did she shout that name out of nowhere?

  「First, my apologies for suddenly interrupting you, Ainoe-san. Do you by chance know the owner of this flute? If I’m not wrong, the one called Marchas should be the one that was masquerading as satyr last night?」


  I asked Ainoe.

  「… No, I don’t know.」


  Ainoe shook her head.

  I knew something was off when I saw that gesture.

  Let’s try to ask Rino later. Rino has the ability to detect lies. From this short exchange I was almost convinced that Ainoe was lying to us.

  「Come to think of it, I didn’t see Marchas’ figure today. He~y, anyone know where Marchas is right now?」


  Midas went towards the other members while asking that question.

  「Marchas… Come to think of it, that guy is suspicious right?」


  Everyone seemingly agreed with Reiji on this point. To be honest, Ainoe, who didn’t unveil her real face to everyone, was equally suspicious.

  Midas returned a short while later.

  「It seems that guy has yet to come back after he went out last night.」


  Midas frowned while telling us that news.

  「What’s happening, Midas-dono?」


  「Well… I happened to hear from the other member that Sienna seems to have been tailing Marchas last night.」


  We looked at each other’s faces upon hearing that remark.

  「I see… do you know where that Marchas-san went to?」


  Midas shook their* head upon hearing my question. [*since Midas’ gender isn’t clear, we’ll be using they/them to refer to them!]

  「No, unfortunately not amongst my acquaintances.」


  「Could it be that he went to that kind of place?」


  「Maybe, he went to drink in a certain place in the western outer town but… maybe it’s better to ask the person himself, right?」


  「Yup. Well since we want to discuss something amongst ourselves, we shall take a leave for now.」


  「Yes… ma’am.」


  After Midas agreed to my request, I then took everyone to a slightly separated place, away from Midas and Ainoe.

  「Well then, Rino-san, was Ainoe-san lying just now?」


  Rino nodded to answer my question.

  「She’s lying. It seems that she knew about the flute.」


  「Yes, I felt the same.」


  The one who agreed with Rino was Decius.

  「Do you have the power to distinguish lies too, lord Decius?」


  「Yes Sage-dono, I got that power from the one who grant me the divine protection, Sulsha-sama.」


  Decius replied with a smile on his face.

  Sulsha was the name of the archangel who was hailed as the God Oudith’s ears, otherwise known as the inspector.

  The duty of this angel was investigating the events that happened in the human realm and reporting them to Oudith. In addition, it seems this angel interfered with events every once in a while in order to enliven humanity.

  That angel also bestowed its divine protection to the Oudith’s priests with bright prospects.

  It seems Decius’ talents were recognized by Sulsha. He might be able to use other magic too.

  「By the way, we’ve got two suspects here. What should we do with them, Chiyuki-san?」


  「How about we split into two teams? One team will stay here to observe Ainoe-san while the other team goes to investigate Marchas’ whereabouts. That’s why, Shirone-san… 」


  I looked at Shirone.

  「What’s matter, Chiyuki-san?」


  「You may accept Midas leader offer to play as the heroine.」


  Shirone shook her head when I told her so.

  「Eh… why?」


  「To avoid Ainoe-san’s suspicions. She might just be a pawn while the real culprit is hiding in the dark. We have to let her go to meet the mastermind. I think having Shirone-san accepting the princess role to get close to Ainoe-san is the best choice.」


  Ainoe used magic to change her appearance. She might not be a magician. Someone else might have used magic on her to hide her real appearance.

  Our job was finding that person.

  「Then, it’ll be easier if you use Rino’s magic…」


  Shirone replied with a reluctant look on her face.

  Surely, it would be faster if we used Rino’s mind reading magic.

  But, Ainoe-san might be connected to that person with magic.

  「Surely, it’ll be faster if we use that method. But, there’s a possibility of the true culprit escaping if we use Rino’s mind dive to read her memories. For example, if that person uses their familiars to observe the situation.That’s why I want to avoid using Rino-san’s magic.」


  I recalled the matter that was caught by Nao-san before. The mastermind might notice if we used magic on Ainoe-san.

  「Uuuh.~」


  Shirone groaned. It seems she’s really against this idea.

  「It’s okay, Shirone-san. Rino will assist you?」


  Rino said cheerfully.

  「I want to see Shirone in a princess costume too. I think it will suit you.」


  Reiji was grinning ear to ear as he placed his hand on Shirone’s shoulder.

  In fact, I wanted to see it too.

  Naturally, I wouldn’t tell Shirone about this.

  「After that, the mastermind might prepare something for us. That’s why you’ll become a decoy for us. The other party might be lurking in darkness, waiting for their chance, rather than coming at us. This is something that I learnt from the battle against Labrys.」


  I continued nonchalantly, hiding my true intentions.

  「Uuh. Okay, I understand. But, only during the investigation! I’ll stop as soon as we’re done with the investigation!!」


  Shirone agreed reluctantly after being persuaded by Reiji, Rino, and I.

  「Sage-dono, I’ve been suspecting the man called Marchas.」


  Decius spoke.

  「I guess it’s decided then. Shirone-san, Rino-san, Sahoko-san, and Reiji-kun.」


  「Uhm, I understand, Chiyuki-san.」


  Sahoko nodded to me.

  I included Sahoko since she could become Reiji’s stopper.

  「Lastly, me, Nao-san, and Decius-san will go to investigate Marchas’ whereabout.」


  Nao and Decius nodded.

  Upon looking at him, I found out that Decius’ skin was paler than before, it must be because he was worrying about his sister, Sienna.

  I also prayed for Sienna’s safety.

  I hope she is still alive.

  ===

  ◆Dancer, Sienna

  Sienna… Sienna…


  I heard my brother’s voice calling my name from the other side of the darkness.

  My brother must be worrying about me right now.

  Reason being I have still yet to go back.

  The moment I thought about it, I awakened in a mysterious room.

  「U~hn.」


  I looked around to scope out my current situation.

  Where is this place?

  I was sleeping in a spacious and luxurious room complete with expensive wall ornaments and a fluffy bed.

  When I looked at the small window on a high place, I knew that the time was around evening. It seems the day was about to change into night.

  And yet, why was I sleeping in this place?

  I tried to recall the events before I passed out.

  Then I recalled. I recalled the event that happened in the basement of that bar.

  I was tailing Marchas, saw devil, and Ainoe-neesan.

  After that, I was chased around by the people who wore white masks, and lastly, fought against the Dark Knight.

  My head was really messed up since too many things happened to me last night.

  I should’ve lost against the Dark Knight. And yet, I’m still alive.

  I tried to get up from my bed.

  I had no idea why I was still alive but there was a devil in this country.

  I have to warn my brother about this situation.

  「Uhm? what’s this?」


  And then, I noticed that there was black briar twining around my body. And yet, it wasn’t painful at all. This briar didn’t hurt me at all.

  It might be some sort of magic, but it didn’t hinder my movements at all.