“Miss Kamui, really, thank you so much… Oh, my name is Lucia…”
Lucia kept thanking Kamui and introducing herself, but Kamui simply and elegantly pulled out a wet wipe to clean her hands, which were stained with the filthy blood of those lizard men and needed to be sanitized.
“…Lucia?”
Wasn’t that name…
Kamui paused for a moment but only replied, “No need to thank me. Low-level organizations like that won’t last long before they go out of business.”
As for the lizard men themselves, they had already been scooped up and taken away by the cleanup crew on the scene.
After cooperating with the Association staff who arrived to make a record, Kamui took Lucia and left the area—this level of criminal activity was all too common in Central City and not worth spending too much time on.
“By the way, this area is only relatively safe near the subway station. Going too far from there is dangerous, and the road surveillance cameras are always getting destroyed.”
“That’s why small, low-level organizations like the one just now like to set up their bases here… So, why did you come to the Blue Court area all by yourself?”
Kamui crossed her arms and sized up Lucia. Not only was she Clara’s colleague, but she even bore some resemblance to Clara in appearance, which led to a possible speculation…
Just like Clara used her own factor as a Magic Girl, could the form she takes when she reverts from her transformation be using Lucia as the factor?
Considering their colleague relationship, this speculation wasn’t entirely impossible.
Kamui wasn’t too sure, but Lucia answered:
“I came to see my brother.”
“Your brother lives in a place like this? Is he a Mutant?”
Kamui asked this, and Lucia answered somewhat awkwardly. Kamui immediately furrowed her brow, her small face showing clear displeasure.
“He shouldn’t have let you come here alone. Lots of Mutants live around here. Even if off-duty Mutants don’t necessarily do bad things, most of the Mutants living in this area are tainted by bad habits or became Mutants because they couldn’t make money otherwise…”
“They’re the bottom-tier members even among criminal organizations. Some are outright unemployed Mutants who got kicked out, all unstable elements.”
If he was a resident here, Lucia’s brother couldn’t possibly be unaware. Letting his sister come alone to see him was incredibly careless.
Although, she wasn’t really in a position to say such things, having been passed out drunk on the side of the road late at night herself.
But Lucia hurriedly explained:
“No, my brother doesn’t know. I came here secretly on my own.”
“…Huh?”
Kamui began to think.
Lucia was Clara’s colleague, and the company they belonged to was a newly established Hero Company, yet Lucia’s brother was a Mutant…
Arranging the clues, reasoning, weaving a conclusion in her mind. Though the connection was a bit of a stretch, if true, wouldn’t that mean the dream witch was connected to the Evil Organization?
And even Clara was connected to the brother Lucia mentioned…
Hmm, could ‘brother’ actually refer to Clara?!
If they were siblings, then looking similar would be normal. Connecting it to that fleeing Mutant, Clara had indeed borrowed Lucia’s name before…
Kamui asked, “Your brother wouldn’t happen to be a Mutant from Naitemel Corporation, would he?”
Lucia looked up in surprise, but then, remembering that her brother had already quit, she let out a helpless sigh and shook her head to deny it.
If he was, a reliable chain of evidence would have been formed.
“Hey?” Kamui narrowed her eyes.
“No, he’s not…”
He’s not? Is she hiding something?
But she didn’t seem to be lying. Was she overthinking this?
Kamui wanted to dig for more clues from Lucia, but she glanced at a nearby address plate and decided to back off for now—there was no need to press further.
If Lucia was really going to Clara’s place, they’d meet again later anyway.
Leaving those words, Kamui stepped onto her Spiked Mace and flew off. “You should give your brother a call. I’m going on patrol now.”
Then she turned and dove into a narrow alley between buildings.
“Phew—”
Emerging from the deserted alley carrying her satchel, Nangong Xiwang stretched, tucking the Magic Gem into her collar to hide it.
Then, she glanced in the direction of the cheap rental apartment before turning and quickly walking toward her own apartment.
Yet, her rapidly thinking brain refused to slow down.
“Clara, just what are you…”
She felt like she was on the verge of solving the puzzle.
Lucia’s appearance had given her a tiny thread of the truth to grasp.
She tried to sort out the relationships behind it all, but it was like trying to see the scenery with eight-hundred-degree myopia without glasses—vaguely discernible, but still requiring a lot of guesswork…
If Clara really was a spy for Naitemel, then things would actually be simpler for her. She wouldn’t need to find any self-deceiving excuses; she could just hand her over to the Association directly…
“Huh?”
Her phone received a text message from Clara.
[Miss Nangong Xiwang, I’m a bit delayed with something. Can we meet a little later?]
Delayed with something?
Considering Lucia’s appearance, was it to revert from her transformation because of Lucia?
No…
Lucia said she hadn’t notified her brother and had come here on her own, following the address.
Hmm…
With insufficient clues, thinking wouldn’t yield an answer. In times like these, it was better to go see for herself.
Nangong Xiwang quickened her pace.
Having seen Kamui off, Lucia looked down at the delivery slip in her hand again, compared it to the addresses along the street, sighed, and walked back toward the cheap rental apartment.
That beat-up van had raced a whole block away, and she still had a long way to walk…
She felt a bit of lingering panic inside, having just experienced a sudden kidnapping. Even though she was rescued quickly, it was hard not to feel nervous about her surroundings now.
She should have asked Miss Kamui for a ride.
However, idiots bold enough to commit crimes in broad daylight were few and far between. Lucia encountered no more dangerous characters on her walk back.
The entrance to the cheap rental apartment was the management office, where a bright red lobster Mutant sat. He looked delicious and was also Clara’s landlord.
The Lobster Landlord glanced at Lucia and called out to her before she could enter the elevator. “Hold on, which room are you from? Who are you here to see?”
His tone wasn’t very polite. People living in this area were all like that.
Lucia hesitated for a moment, then passed the delivery slip through the window to the Lobster Landlord.
“My brother lives here.”
The Lobster Landlord just glanced at it and tossed the slip back.
“The Squid Man in that room hasn’t been back for a while. Lately, it seems a young girl has been staying in his room… Tch, even though I don’t allow subletting here (muttering)… But I told that girl to call this man and get him back here.”
“Huh? A young girl is living in my brother’s room?”
If he hasn’t been back, he’s probably away on a business trip.
But where did this young girl come from? Could it be that my brother has a girlfriend?
Lucia looked up and spotted an old, worn-out camera at the apartment entrance.
“Mister Manager, are the surveillance cameras here working? Could you let me see what that young girl looks like?”
“You can’t just check the surveillance footage whenever you want… Come on in.”
The Lobster Landlord sounded reluctant but still opened the door to the management office.
“Fine, just come in.”