In the innermost guest room of the Drunken Moon Tavern in Maple Town, a pink figure was sitting on a chair.
Cecilia wasn't wearing her black nun robes as the Disciplinary Cardinal; instead, she had changed into an unremarkable, plain-colored dress. Her long pink hair was loosely tied into a single strand with an old hair tie, draping over her shoulder.
Her flintlock pistol and cross sword were not by her side; only half of a tally pinched between her fingers gleamed with a dim silver light under the candle flame.
She had been waiting in the guest room for about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the maple leaves outside the window rustling in the night breeze.
Then, the door was gently pushed open.
A figure wrapped in a grayish-green cloak slipped inside, throwing back her hood to reveal long brown hair and a pair of heart-shaped horns.
Sera brought neither her ledger nor her glasses; she simply slipped the other half of the tally from her sleeve and placed it on the table.
For a moment, the two pairs of eyes locked onto each other in the candlelight.
Then Sera's gaze shifted slightly, landing on Cecilia's hair.
“...”
“...”
“Is my hair strange?”
Cecilia spoke first.
“...Your hair looks beautiful. I like it.”
Sera's response came quickly, almost as if she had prepared it beforehand, though her tone remained calm and indifferent.
Cecilia was stunned for a moment before looking away and pushing her half of the tally forward.
“...Ah, yes, thank you. Let's begin.”
Sera didn't pursue the topic, merely nodding as she pieced her half of the tally together with Cecilia's.
Silver-white runes glowed faintly at the fracture, the two halves fitting together seamlessly into a perfect circle, and the tally began to emit a soft, sizzling sound.
A transparent ripple appeared in the air, spreading outward from the center of the tally like a pebble dropped into a calm lake.
...
Rafina felt the scene before her eyes shift as her consciousness was gently pulled away and projected into another space.
It was an overly exquisite parlor, and she was sitting on one of the chairs inside.
Across the table, a girl with floor-length silver-white hair and golden eyes sat on a high-backed chair that was clearly too large for her, her legs dangling and her toes swaying back and forth.
“Oh my, Miss Demon King, sit, please sit! I really didn't expect you to take the initiative to chat with Beya~”
Beatrice's smile was impeccably sweet. She waved her small hand toward the opposite chair, as if greeting an old friend she hadn't seen in a long time.
Rafina did not sit down immediately.
She stood beside the chair, quietly sizing up the Pope before her, who looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old.
It had gone too smoothly.
From making the request to establishing the connection, the entire process had encountered almost no obstacles.
Beatrice had very readily agreed to their request for a private meeting.
This made her feel a sense of unease.
But even so, she had to come.
“...Your Holiness.”
“Just call me Beya~”
Rafina didn't respond to that, simply pulling out the chair at last and sitting down.
“I would like to ask you for a favor.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Beatrice tilted her head, resting her chin on the backs of her crossed hands, her eyes sparkling with unconcealed curiosity.
“Can you tell me about the Hero, Esper?”
Beatrice's eyes narrowed.
“Oh?”
She dragged out the syllable, her toes swinging in a slightly wider arc.
“Even though you know Beya is the Pope of the Church of Radiance, you still make such a request to Beya? Miss Demon King, do you know what it would be considered if Beya actually did this?”
Beatrice clapped her hands, letting out a very crisp sound.
“It's colluding with the enemy~ If the believers found out, Beya's career as Pope would be over~”
Her meaning was very clear.
“Yet you are still discussing this with me.”
“Uh-huh~”
“...What kind of price do you want me to pay?”
Beatrice flashed a bright smile.
“Don't put it like that~ As for the price~ Beya hasn't thought of it yet~ Besides, Beya is currently much more curious about something else~”
Beatrice leaned forward slightly, resting both hands on the table as she stared straight at Rafina.
“Miss Demon King, why do you think Beya would help you? You're the Demon King, and Beya is the Pope. A Demon King asking a Pope for information about the Hero sounds like a textbook scam that would be written in history books. Besides, what's to stop Beya from suspecting you of having malicious intentions?”
“Because you want to watch a good show.”
Rafina's voice was very soft.
“Oh my?”
Beatrice blinked, and then she burst out laughing.
“Hahaha~ You saw right through me. Then Beya won't pretend anymore.”
She kicked her legs, bouncing off the chair and landing on the floor. Barefoot, she trotted over to a small cart in the corner of the parlor, pinched two sugar cubes, and dropped them into a cup of coffee that had been brewed at some point. Then, she retrieved a small silver spoon from the lower shelf of the cart and stirred.
Steam rose from the rim of the cup, blurring her expression.
“Esper, she really is a very interesting child. When Beya first saw her, Beya was eating honey cakes in her bedroom, while she was taking on tasks and working in the Adventurer's Guild.
Despite having decent strength, she kept doing those obscure, menial tasks, living in a daze. She looked so pitiful.”
Rafina's hand tightened slightly.
“Later, she laughed at Constantine in the square because he only pulled out half of the Holy Sword... Oh, he's the Grand Commander of the Holy Spirit Knights. So she was forced by a crowd to go up and try to pull the Holy Sword.
And then, with a shring, she pulled the Holy Sword right out. My, my, Beya still remembers her expression even now.”
The corners of Beatrice's mouth curved upward even more.
“It was an expression of realizing something, yet being unwilling to believe it. As for what she realized? Beya doesn't know either, so Miss Demon King will just have to guess on her own~”
“...”
Rafina's lips twitched, but she didn't speak.
“And then, she actually wanted to return the Holy Sword. In all these years, it's Beya's first time seeing someone want to return the Holy Sword. Do you know how happily Beya laughed back then?”
“...Yeah. She would indeed do something like that.”
“Exactly~ And then she set off with our lovely Saintess.
Oh, speaking of the Saintess, you must be very annoyed, right? After all, our Saintess has a very good relationship with the Hero. So good that they have to hold hands when they sleep, sit together when they eat, and walk one after the other when they go out.”
Rafina's tail lashed violently behind her chair.
Beatrice's smile deepened.
“...I know all of this already. You can skip it.”
“Alright, alright~ But in Beya's eyes, the rift between you two isn't actually as terrifying as you think.
You want to see her, you want to clear things up with her, and you want her to go back to being the girl who would call you by your nickname in private. Right?”
“...Yes.”
“Then it's actually very simple.”
Beatrice placed the porcelain cup back on the table, its base making a soft clack against the wood.
“During the Abyss Expedition, why don't you just bring her back?”
Rafina fell silent for a long moment.
“...Why are you suggesting such an idea to me?”
“That's of course because—”
Beatrice tapped her temple with her finger, pressing her lips together tightly to suppress the overwhelming smile that was about to spill out from behind them.
“Beya is the kindest, cutest, gentlest, and most understanding girl in the whole wide world! How could Beya just stand by and do nothing when a young maiden like the Demon King has fallen in love!”
Rafina's body tensed slightly.
“...So, you will help me, right?”
“Mhm, mhm~”
“...Alright, Your Holiness...”
Rafina spoke softly.
“I hope you...”
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