In Ella’s original plan, when Celes came running over, she would simply turn around, open her arms wide, and embrace her.
Then, holding her like a mother, she would softly comfort her.
After this sequence, that little Celes surely wouldn’t be able to resist, and would open up her heart, answering whatever she was asked.
A little trick from the Demon King for playing with people’s hearts!
But what Ella hadn’t expected was that her own big rice cake blocked Celes’s chest, almost as if pushing her away.
The atmosphere at the scene turned awkwardly silent.
Buhao, what should I do now?
Should I explain?
Or tell her that the rice cake is soft, if you squeeze, you can still come in…
“You’re not asleep?”
It was Celes who broke the silence first.
“Did you know I’d come?”
“Mm, because I saw how you looked when you came back this afternoon. You seemed really stressed,” Ella replied softly.
As long as they could talk, the combo could continue.
“It’s all right, I know you must have worked very hard, Celes,” she said gently.
“If there’s anything you want to talk about, you can tell me, okay~”
There was supposed to be a comforting gesture too—like hugging her neck or patting her head—but with this distance, better not.
She couldn’t just rub her rice cake on her, could she?
Though that might be comforting in its own way… but, it’s just too flirtatious.
Even the Demon King couldn’t bring herself to do that.
After a few quiet seconds, Ella heard Celes take a deep breath, as if trying to smell her scent.
“Thank you, Ella,” the girl said softly.
“Thank you.”
“…You’re welcome.”
That scared her for a moment—she thought Celes was going to say, “You smell so nice.”
In any case, Ella’s little combo had succeeded.
In the embrace of the pink-haired, thunderous beauty, breathing in her sweet scent, Celes finally relaxed, the weight on her shoulders slowly easing.
She talked about the awkwardness she’d faced in the Investigation Group during the day, afraid to even breathe, jumping at every word from others.
“The people in the Investigation Group tried all sorts of things, even brought in strangers… That newcomer, Wesley, I’ve never seen him before. He looked so sloppy, kept talking about the Silent Sanctuary and the Gregory Trial Case… He seemed to know a lot, and in the end he even…”
Celes poured out her miserable day, from being on edge since morning until the very end, when just before the group disbanded, she heard the worst news: they were now suspecting Zero.
“It’s all right, it’s all right, things… mm, things will get better.”
Ella stroked the girl’s icy blue hair, comforting her gently.
She managed to touch her after all, since Celes had tried to lean in as she spoke, and the rice cake really was soft, it couldn’t block her, and she pressed right up against it.
Her body felt strange, but this was an intelligence gathering operation—she had to endure!
Once Celes finished pouring her heart out, and her breathing slowly grew steady, Ella quickly slipped away, feeling her chest bounce a few times.
Thankfully, it wasn’t damaged at all.
Zzzz
When Ella woke up the next morning, Celes had already left.
Ella sat up in bed and tried shaking her upper body.
Mmm, a little dizzy.
But definitely not broken.
Now she was finally at ease.
She got dressed, climbed out of bed, and went to look for the little witch.
“Vina, I’ve got some news. There’s a Silent—”
“Silent Sanctuary, the Gregory Trial Case, and that guy Wesley, right?”
Ella blinked in surprise.
“You know too?”
The little witch giggled, made a hugging-and-head-patting gesture, and said in a squeaky voice, “It’s all right~ It’s all right~ Everything will get better~”
“You were eavesdropping?!”
“What do you mean eavesdropping? The wind carried your voices out. I told you yesterday at Taidin’s house, remember?”
Isn’t that still eavesdropping?!
“Anyway, you were going to tell me. It’s more efficient to listen together. By the way—” Vina nudged Ella with her elbow.
“So, last night you two hugged face to face, right? How was it, compared to when I did it to you?”
“It was definitely… more obvious.”
Ella couldn’t help recalling last night.
Celes’s reputation for perfection wasn’t just about her elegance—there were less refined reasons, too.
Her figure as a maiden—her height, proportions, even size—everything was just right.
If you had to use one word to describe it, it would be: just beginning to take shape.
She ranked third among the Hero Party, just behind herself and Leah. When she pressed in last night, that feeling was just…
Smack!
“Hey! What was that for?”
Ella quickly crossed her arms to protect her recently slapped rice cake.
“Stop reminiscing, you dumb lesbian,” Vina grumbled.
“Now that you’ve got intel, what are you standing around for? Come with me!”
“Where to?”
“Didn’t you hear what Celes said? The Gregory Trial Case!”
“My town also had kids go missing. Grandma said I was old enough not to be scared anymore, but I still…”
“When I was in the carriage, I was so scared, and my foot hurt so much I could barely feel it.”
“Grandma and everyone in town said the Saintess is gentle and kind, and would help the unfortunate escape their suffering. So I jumped out… I can’t remember where I went, just that I had to find the Saintess…”
“Saintess, thank you.”
The little girl’s name was Alice—a very ordinary name.
In the Human Kingdom, among commoners without noble surnames, if a family had several daughters, there was almost always one called Alice.
Thanks to the careful care of the Church of Light, little Alice’s injuries had healed, and the light had returned to her eyes.
But suddenly, a trace of worry flashed through them:
“Saintess…”
“Just call me Sister,” Leah said gently.
“Saintess Sister, they… they’ll definitely come to catch me.”
Alice’s voice trembled with fear and worry.
“Will I get you in trouble…?”
“No, don’t worry.”
Leah still smiled softly.
“Light will protect every kind soul.”
After finally coaxing the little girl to sleep, she left the room with a few nuns.
As soon as they were outside, the nuns couldn’t help but whisper:
“That Taidin is just awful, to do that to such a little child…”
“At least he’s dead now. Whoever did it, good job.”
“Ahem, let’s be careful with that kind of talk.”
Leah didn’t join in or stop them.
She just looked up at the window.
In the bright sunlight, she felt a little lost.
She remembered how the nuns had described that night—a little girl with her tendons cut, mind clouded, crawling through pitch-black darkness, clinging to the hope brought by the words “Saintess,” struggling from darkness toward the light.
What kind of person was the Saintess in people’s hearts, really?
Setting out early, after some travel, they finally arrived at their destination.
The Kingdom Mage Court.
Truly impressive. As the highest hall for the mages of the Human Kingdom, the buildings here were elegant and refined, with a certain…
“What are you staring at? Get moving, we’ve got business.”
Vina grabbed Ella’s hand and, without caring about appearances, dragged the Demon King girl—who’d been sizing up the Kingdom’s magical soft power—down the corridor.
She ignored everyone else’s looks and kicked open the Chief Royal Magician’s office.
“Old geezer, I’ve got some questions for you!”