While Jacob was talking to Alice over the phone, she suddenly fell silent.
The reason was a clear voice that suddenly came from behind her, speaking words shocking enough to make anyone freeze.
"Saintess Alice, what is that black rectangular object in your hand? Is it a communication magic tool invented by the Brave?"
Still holding the phone to her ear, Alice slowly turned around.
She saw two people staring at her. The cheerful smile on her face gradually vanished, replaced by pure terror.
For a long moment, she couldn't say a word.
Her mind raced.
How was I exposed?
What do I do now?
Mr. Karen is going to be angry.
If he's angry... I'm going to die.
"...Alice? Are you still there?"
Jacob's voice snapped her back to reality.
The first thing she thought of was denial.
"I-I'm not the Saintess! You've got the wrong person! I'm just an ordinary attendant!"
Alice desperately denied the identity she had always been proud of.
After all, nothing was more important than world peace.
She hurriedly ended the call and put her phone away.
Unfortunately, the two women weren't convinced.
They were Christina Fenelbia and Mira.
And more importantly...
"Lady Alice, while I may not possess your remarkable ability to read expressions, your face has already betrayed you."
"Huh!? W-Where?!"
Panicking, Alice frantically touched her face.
The expression she had worn while denying everything had practically screamed, "I'm lying."
Alice was exactly the kind of person who simply couldn't lie.
As a result, Christina and Mira ignored her denial completely. If anything, it only confirmed her identity.
"So you truly are the Saintess. Why would you go so far as to lie just to hide your identity? And why are you here?"
Every one of Christina's questions concerned confidential matters.
Alice immediately covered her mouth.
"I can't say."
In that instant, Christina realized she had stumbled upon something capable of shaking the entire world.
"It seems I've encountered something unprecedented. That guard who isn't traveling with you must be..."
Before Christina could finish her deduction, a familiar voice called out from behind Alice.
"Alice!"
It was Jacob.
After leaving the tavern, he and Grace had entered the same alleyway. Retracing his steps, he'd immediately spotted Alice's golden hair, bright enough to find with even the faintest light.
The moment Alice turned around, she burst into tears and ran toward him.
"Mr. Jacob, I'm going to die!"
"What happened?!"
Jacob hurried over.
As soon as he arrived, he noticed Christina and Mira as well. Surprise and confusion filled his face as he looked at Kristina.
Meanwhile, Christina looked both bewildered and wronged by Alice's accusation. She stepped forward and hurriedly explained herself.
"Mr. Zereil, I have no intention of harming the Saint."
"The Saintess... As expected, nothing escapes the Brain of God."
The moment Jacob heard the word "Saintess", he understood everything.
With the tone of someone who had completely given up resisting, he sighed in admiration at Christina's deductive ability.
Christina, however, looked even more flustered.
"Could we please clear up Lady Saintess's misunderstanding first? I truly have no intention of harming her."
"I know. This has nothing to do with you."
Jacob acknowledged her explanation while making it clear that the problem lay on their side.
That only piqued Christina's curiosity.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm afraid I can't explain. But... when did you figure it out?"
"I first suspected it during our introductions, though I wasn't certain at the time. Because of that uncertainty, I addressed her improperly. I sincerely apologize."
"The name Alice is quite common. Didn't you think it might simply be a coincidence?"
Jacob recalled how Karen had once introduced Alice to Queen Ainasse and General Alakaya at the Dilibrash Gourmet Arena, dismissing everything as a coincidence.
Christina answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Every action leaves a trace. Mira and I visited Amebisalon on official business back in January. Afterward, while praying at the temple, we happened to overhear a conversation between two priests."
"They mentioned that the Saintess had already left the capital?"
"Exactly. So I found it impossible to believe Lady Alice was merely someone else with the same name and identical characteristics."
Christina's reasoning was backed by solid evidence.
Jacob slowly lowered his head.
"Miss Fenelbia... Miss Mira... I sincerely ask you both not to reveal this to anyone. The consequences would be unimaginable."
"Please..."
Alice bowed as well, pleading with them.
Now that Karen had won General Alakaya over to his side, Jacob amd Alice fully understood just how frightening Karen truly was.
Seeing both Jacob and Alice bowing before her left Christina panicking.
"O-Of course. Please, raise your heads. But... may I ask a few questions?"
"I'll answer what I can."
"The guard who isn't traveling with you... is he the Brave?"
"Yes."
"Could you tell me who he is?"
"I'm sorry. I can't."
"I understand. Then, do you believe the Brave of Bartletis is genuine?"
"Yes."
"Why is the Brave hiding his identity?"
"Because he's a very low-key person."
That was how Jacob summarized Karen's own explanation.
It also allowed him to avoid revealing any unnecessary information about Karen.
"One last question. What was the black rectangular object Lady Alice was holding earlier?"
Jacob took out his own phone and gave a brief explanation.
"It's called a phone. It lets you transmit your voice directly to another person's phone."
With all but one of her questions answered, Christina performed a proper noble curtsy—or rather, the gesture of one, since her outfit had no skirt to hold.
"Thank you. That answers my questions."
"Now that the Phinto Powder case has been resolved, we'll be taking our leave."
At this point, Jacob no longer cared whether every trace of Phinto Powder had truly been eliminated.
He only wanted to leave as quickly as possible and reunite with Karen.
Kristina smiled knowingly at Jacob and Alice.
"Goodbye."
Without noticing the meaning behind her smile, Jacob and Alice quickly turned around and hurried away.
After they had disappeared into the distance, Mira excitedly turned to Kristina.
"Milady, I can't believe we actually took a bath with the Saintess! I can brag about this for the rest of my life!"
"No. We promised not to tell anyone."
"...All right."
Mira reluctantly gave up the idea.
Thankfully she did.
Otherwise, the entire Fenelbia estate would soon know that both the Brave and the Saintess had come to this city.
Christina then turned toward the tavern.
"The police should have finished arresting the criminals by now. Let's go down and examine the documents related to Phinto Powder."
"Yes, milady."
The two of them descended into the hidden chamber to investigate the written records.
Meanwhile, the police were sealing off the Skoda Tavern and clearing out everything inside the underground room.
A few moments later, Mira frowned as she studied a sheet listing the ingredients and production method for Phinto Powder.
After several seconds, something suddenly occurred to her.
"Milady, look at the ingredients for Phinto Powder."
Christina set down a book whose pages had been mostly torn out and accepted the paper from Mira.
She glanced at it once before murmuring to herself,
"Moth Reed Leaves... Longdi Horn...…It seems this isn't over yet."