“Since that’s the case, can you…?”
“Hmm?”
“Never mind, I didn’t say anything… mmm…”
Finally, after tossing and turning for half the night, as midnight approached, the girl let go and slipped off the bed like a cat, quietly leaving the room and returning to the one next door.
Lying on her own bed, Zero’s breathing was ragged, her pretty face flushed and burning hot.
She reached up to touch her feverish cheeks, only to find her hands still full of Ella’s scent.
“I’m really such a bad kid.”
Ella would never have guessed that Zero’s trembling voice at the start wasn’t from excitement, nor agitation, or even anger—it was from pure nerves.
She knew she shouldn’t have done something like this, that it was wrong, really wrong, but she just couldn’t help it.
Once she started, she couldn’t stop.
The girl buried her face in her hands, taking a deep breath, as if still savoring that indescribably wonderful feeling.
In this whole world, among everyone on the team, aside from herself, no one else had ever done something so outrageous to Ella.
“I’m really such a bad kid.” She repeated it once more.
On the other side, finally freed, Ella lay flat on her bed, gasping for air.
Why did it turn out like this?
She didn’t know, only that it was a good thing she’d worn her little pajama shorts, with her panties underneath as double protection—barely holding the line.
But now, both her pajama shorts and panties were unwearable.
Whew, so tired. She’d change tomorrow. For now, sleep.
Zzzz
In the Demon Race Royal Capital, several days had passed since the “Capital Punishment Case of Leaking National Secrets.”
The beheaded corpse was still hanging in the plaza for public display.
Yet, when the pink-haired, thunder-girl Demon King went out incognito, she still heard many people talking.
“Did you know? When the Demon King was undercover among humans, she used her body to gain their trust.”
“Of course I know! The Demon King sold herself, sold enough for a lifetime!”
The pink-haired thunder-girl Demon King flew into a rage: “You dare say that! Didn’t you see what happened to the one on the plaza?”
Then laughter echoed from all directions, mixed with a shout—”If you don’t want people to know, don’t do it!”
“Ah!”
Ella woke up from her nightmare once again.
The sky outside was already bright.
The sixth day of the week had long since arrived, the weather clear and the breeze gentle, no different from usual.
The memories from her dream surfaced before her eyes.
Though the thunder-girl was drenched in fragrant sweat, her gaze grew determined.
She’d already sold herself, already endured it all.
Since she’d come this far, there was no turning back!
The huge cost of sunk investments made Ella pull herself together.
Harbor City—she had to conquer it!
She took a shower, changed into a fresh set of clothes—of course, with clean panties. Her clever mind was back on top.
Kru said all the prerequisites were ready.
Did he have any basis for that?
He claimed everyone in Harbor City longed for its blessing, so its descent was inevitable.
Why would everyone long for its blessing? How did that show?
Ella closed her eyes and went over everything she’d seen and heard these past days in her mind.
Harbor City, Fish Market, Workshop Owner, Governor, and those Sirens who’d only gone on strike for a day before happily running back to sell fish the next.
Huh?
She’d found a bug—a surprising bug in the operating pattern of Harbor City.
In an instant, everything clicked together in her mind.
“Hiss—”
If that was the case, then Kru really wasn’t just scaremongering.
What he said was true!
Ella sucked in a breath of cold air and hurried to knock on everyone else’s doors.
“Get up, Celes, quick!”
“Leah, I’m waiting for you in the hall, something really serious is up.”
“Vina, stop sleeping, come downstairs!”
“Zero, uh, I figured it out. See you all in the first-floor hall!”
A few minutes later, the five girls sat around the dining table in the hall.
Aside from Vina, who was still a little bleary-eyed, the others seemed in good spirits.
“Little Ella, what’s so urgent this early in the morning?”
“It’s serious—really big, world-shaking serious.”
Ella got straight to the point.
“I’ve figured it out. What Kru said before he died yesterday was the truth.”
Celes immediately sat up straight, her back ramrod stiff.
Leah blinked in confusion.
“Huh? Why?”
“Actually, Kru let something slip himself. He said everyone in Harbor City longs for its blessing.”
Ella held up her delicate finger.
“Let me ask you: what is the one thing everyone longs for?”
“Light!”
Saintess replied without hesitation.
“Fun!”
The Little Witch chimed in right after.
Celes hesitated, thinking of several things, like peace and so on…
As for Zero, though she didn’t speak, she gave Ella a meaningful look.
***
Ella felt a little exhausted.
No way, it can’t be me, right?
There are so many thunder-girl lovers in the world.
“Here’s a hint: yesterday, when we passed through the Market, we saw the Sirens all selling fish, right? The Market was orderly and bustling.”
The girl tapped her pale, slender finger on the table.
“But does anyone remember the morning before, when we went to the Workshop?”
Leah looked even more confused.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
At that moment, Celes gave a slight reminder: “Ella, only the two of us went into the Workshop the morning before. They were outside supporting us.”
“Oh, then I’ll just say it straight. That morning, when we went to the Workshop, we saw the freshly harvested raw Pearl Oysters delivered from the beach, not yet processed. Then the Workshop Owner exploded, and the Workshop shut down.”
She simply gave the table a couple of light taps.
“It’s been two days now, but as of yesterday, the Fish Market was still running smoothly!”
Bang!
This time, it wasn’t Ella who slapped the table, but Celes, her gauntleted hand making a particularly crisp sound that startled the other three girls.
She understood.
“Wait, wait, wait.”
Leah quickly asked, “So what does that mean?”
“It means the Sirens’ behavior isn’t normal.”
Celes said, “Currency production has stopped, but the Market hasn’t changed at all. That’s not normal business behavior.”
“Exactly. Pearl Oyster production has been halted for two days, yet the Fish Market is still booming, completely unaffected.”
Ella picked up the thread.
“Even if people have savings, the Sirens know about this. They know there won’t be any more Pearl Oysters, and yet they don’t do anything?”
These are the same Sirens who’d go on strike for a day just for losing a fight.
“All signs point to one thing—the thing everyone truly desires: money!”
Money?
The noble Saintess of the Church of Light and the genius Little Witch of the Magic Court both cast her puzzled looks.
Rich girls really don’t know the price of rice and firewood! Ella grumbled silently, but said gently, “Generally speaking, when we say ‘everyone,’ we actually mean the vast majority of people.”