The communication between the Nameless, the company executive, and the Knight of Beauty went surprisingly smoothly.
But none of them had any news related to Nero, and the result was depressing.
"With the Family watching us, there's only so much the company can do. But if you need help with the investigation, just let me know," Topaz said to the "allies" in front of her.
Noe almost immediately looked grateful. "Thank you, Miss Topaz. You truly are a kind, beautiful, selfless, and great lady!"
Seeing this Knight of Beauty looking so moved that she was almost about to cry, Topaz's mood became complicated again.
Unlike the people from the Express, she still needed some time to get used to interacting with the Knights of Beauty.
Even so, March and Stelle, who had already gotten used to Argenti, still looked at Noe in surprise. This seemingly gentle older sister seemed to be someone who was very easily moved, and she also seemed a little simple-minded, just like Nero...
The Knights of Beauty really were... a hundred flowers blooming in all their variety.
"Thank you, Miss Topaz," Himeko said. "We were just about to ask the Bloodhounds about the case. Perhaps you've already dealt with them?"
Hearing Himeko, Topaz tilted her head slightly and looked toward the two Bloodhounds behind them.
"There, they're right behind us. Just go talk to them, perfect timing, too. Help draw their attention away from me. Being watched constantly is so uncomfortable."
The moment Topaz finished speaking, just as the Nameless were preparing to move, they found that Miss Noe had already gone over.
The Knights of Beauty's initiative was always so astonishing...
Looking at Noe approaching without warning, along with the two blades behind her, the two Bloodhounds suddenly became nervous.
The male Bloodhound put on a tough front. "W-We're carrying out our superior's orders! W-What do you want?!"
Noe repeated what she had told the Nameless and the company executive.
The female Bloodhound behind her was clearly getting impatient. "We made a mistake before and are working hard to make up for it."
"We don't have time to worry about anything else! We're monitoring the company executive Topaz to make sure she stays at the Reverie Hotel throughout her time in Penacony, hehe, at least we didn't get the wrong person this time!"
As she muttered, the female Bloodhound tilted her head and glanced at Topaz again.
The three Nameless watching from the side felt somewhat helpless. They couldn't help wondering if this Bloodhound was a little... neurotic.
Then they looked at Noe again, and sure enough, this inexplicably offbeat Knight sister had tears welling up in her eyes again, almost ready to drop little pearls.
"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to disturb your work. If you can't help us look for someone, could you at least provide us with some information? For example, whether you've ever seen a child like this somewhere. This is really important to us."
"For a knight, isn't Miss Noe's personality a little too submissive...?"
Stelle narrowed her eyes. 'Come to think of it, looking carefully now, these two Bloodhounds looked familiar.'
'They seem to be the two who had chased Firefly before.'
Thinking this, Stelle walked over and greeted them. "We meet again."
Although Stelle, the little Stellaron gremlin, had no ill intentions at all, the two Bloodhounds seemed to react a little too strongly.
The female Bloodhound let out a startled cry and immediately took a step back, while the male Bloodhound stepped forward and assumed a rather aggressive stance.
"H-How is it you again... Are you here to cause trouble again? We're not afraid of you this time!"
"Say what you have to say and leave us alone if there's nothing!" the female Bloodhound added.
March walked over with a complicated expression, looked at the two Bloodhounds, then looked at Stelle.
"So you know each other... Stelle, how come everywhere you go, you run into people you've beaten up?"
The little Stellaron gremlin looked at March, then made her brain spin rapidly. In the end, she looked at the two Bloodhounds in front of her and said, "Have you eaten? What did you eat?"
This trick had never failed in the Xianzhou. No matter what you wanted to know, as long as you used this line to get closer to someone first, they would happily tell you everything afterward.
Stelle had learned from her experience in the Xianzhou, so she opened with that.
March looked at Stelle, then quickly noticed the two Bloodhounds' inexplicably dumbfounded expressions. She stomped her foot.
"Oh my god, why do you always like asking that?"
After scolding Stelle with a laugh, March looked at the two Bloodhounds in front of her again. "We're helping the Family investigate a murder case. Can we talk to your superior about the case?"
While March was asking the question, Stelle looked at her suspiciously, her brows drawing together slightly.
Ever since Nero disappeared, she had vaguely felt that something was off. Now she finally knew where that sense of wrongness came from.
Although their main goal was to find Nero, March actually knew to first bring up a shared interest to win people over.
'This girl... Is she really this smart?'
While Stelle was wondering about this, the male Bloodhound seemed to have fallen for it. He hesitated, seeming about to say something.
"Well..."
But the female Bloodhound interrupted her companion at that moment. "...Hey! The security officer ordered us not to reveal any information before he returns from the Dreamflux Reef!"
After saying that, the female Bloodhound straightened her expression and looked at everyone in front of her. "W-What murder case? Don't go making things up."
The male Bloodhound nodded repeatedly in agreement. "R-Right! We have nothing to say. Please leave!"
Himeko blinked and said to Stelle, "Looks like they aren't willing to cooperate. But they directly told us that their superior is at the Dreamflux Reef..."
"Then why don't we just go find that security officer... It should be Gallagher, the one Stelle mentioned, right?"
The Nameless discussed among themselves, while Noe once again spoke to the two Bloodhounds in a tearful voice.
"Waa... You're such clever people. You knew how to pass the information on to us without neglecting your duties, and without having to fight. May the radiance of Beauty protect you, kind Bloodhounds."
After this, the Knight of Beauty Noe temporarily joined the Nameless' group. After saying goodbye to Topaz, everyone followed Stelle to the Dreamflux Reef.
As soon as they arrived, March remarked that security here was really tight.
Stelle, who had once come here with Firefly and done some bad things, had a rather complicated expression after hearing March.
But Stelle quickly straightened her expression and raised her eyes to look around. She soon spotted Gallagher's figure, and just as she was preparing to lead everyone over to him, a male voice carrying a slight distortion and the vibration of reeds came from nearby, drawing closer.
"Shen, have you found any new clues?"
Everyone looked toward the voice and saw a mechanical intelligence with an unusual geometric beauty, as if every component on its body had already been placed in the most suitable position.
Noe shook her head at the approaching Tiriandes. "No, Anders. I didn't find any clues. But these Nameless friends seem to have found another direction for the investigation, so I came along with them."
Hearing Noe, Tiriandes turned his head toward the Nameless. "Hello. Thank you all for being willing to help. My name is Tiriandes, a member of the Knights of Beauty."
March and Stelle nodded blankly.
Compared to Noe and Argenti, this mechanical knight named Tiriandes gave off the strongest sense of pressure. Even while listening to him introduce himself, they still felt an undeniable pressure that left no room for questioning or rebuttal.
This guy might be one of the fiercer knights.
After greeting another Knight of Beauty, the group continued deeper inside. Since Noe had mentioned that the people from the Express might have clues, Tiriandes temporarily joined the group as well.
Soon, a Bloodhound guard wearing a suit stopped them and said, "Excuse me. The Bloodhound Family is investigating ahead. No unauthorized personnel beyond this point."
The moment the Bloodhound finished speaking, Tiriandes took two steps forward. The mechanical knight, standing over two meters tall, lowered his head and stared at the Bloodhound in front of him with tremendous pressure. His reed-like voice came from his face.
"My name is Tiriandes, a member of the Knights of Beauty. Not long ago, I was responsible for representing the Knights in negotiations with Mr. Sunday."
"Our right to investigate has already been approved by the head of the Oak Family. The relevant orders should have already been issued."
"I find it difficult to believe that information transmission within an organization as large as the Family could be this slow."
Looking up at Tiriandes, the Bloodhound couldn't help taking two steps back. He only felt as if he were covered by a massive shadow, while the mechanical figure's faintly blue-glowing eyes stared at him like a hunter lurking in the darkness.
"Th-That pressure is terrifying. Looks like Mr. Anders really is the type with a bad temper, huh?" March whispered from behind as she watched.
"He's definitely much more proactive than Miss Noe and Argenti. There's a certain beauty in saying what you mean and meaning what you say. In that regard, he's quite similar to Nero," Stelle nodded.
Hearing their conversation, Noe turned around in surprise, then looked at her mechanical companion. She suddenly felt a little jealous.
What kind of person Nero was was no secret among the many knights who had now reunited. With the large amount of information Argenti had provided, the knights had formed their own judgments as well.
Of course, they were all devout believers.
Noe frowned slightly. She could already imagine Tiriandes, who currently had his back to everyone, his eyes flickering.
That guy had definitely heard what the two youngsters said. He must be secretly delighted.
Although, as knights, they did not agree with the idea that "Beauty is the only thing," as believers, which devout believer wouldn't be happy to find that some aspect of themselves resembled their faith?
The knightess frowned slightly and whispered as well, "Hearing you two say that, Anders must be secretly delighted right now."
Hearing the knightess, Stelle and March blinked blankly. Based on the impression Tiriandes had given them so far, this mechanical knight seemed like a very serious and earnest person. It was hard to imagine what he looked like when he was secretly delighted.
March and Stelle's whispering wasn't particularly quiet. The startled Bloodhound was already about to have his mental defenses collapse under Tiriandes's gaze, but when he turned his head, he saw that familiar gray hair, and another thought instantly appeared in his mind.
As this thought grew in his mind, the Bloodhound suddenly straightened his back and glared at Tiriandes.
Mechanical Knight: "...?"
Then the Bloodhound turned his head and said to Stelle, "It's you again, gray-haired one!"
Hearing the hostility in the Bloodhound's voice, March seemed to realize something. She looked at the young Stellaron gremlin beside her, her tone becoming somewhat complicated.
"...Just how much trouble did you cause in Penacony?"
Stelle looked at March, then at the Bloodhound who had inexplicably become arrogant. Her brain worked at high speed, and she immediately understood why the Bloodhound had suddenly puffed himself up.
Seeing her arrive together with two knights, he had probably misunderstood something and thought they were all on the same side. Although they were indeed on the same side as the knights right now, the "same side" in the Bloodhound's mind was obviously not the same as theirs...
After thinking about it, the little raccoon decided to give March some face and said to the Bloodhound, "...You've mistaken me for someone else, haven't you?"
The Bloodhound shook his head, his eyes blazing and his tone certain. "I didn't mistake you! It was you last time! You shouted about the 'Hard Work Friendship Clockwork Trick' while beating the crap out of me together with that silver-haired girl!"
March: "..."
Himeko: "..."
The two Nameless companions were somewhat speechless, but after all, this was the child they had picked up themselves. What else could they do?
The Bloodhound scanned everyone present again and said even more angrily, "This time, no matter what, I'm not letting you pass!"
"Waaah... The Hard Work Friendship Clockwork Trick. What a passionate bond! How moving!" Just as the atmosphere seemed to become tense, Noe's tearful voice instantly broke it.
March's expression froze. She looked at the knightess, opened her mouth, then finally whispered to the two people beside her.
"Compared to Miss Noe, I suddenly feel like Argenti is practically a normal person. Are all the knights like this?"
Stelle shook her head. "If you put it that way, Mr. Tiriandes seems to be the most normal one..."
The Bloodhound, whose anger had been inexplicably interrupted, froze for a moment. His now-calm brain began thinking.
The next second, he said to Stelle, "...Please leave. Otherwise, I'm going to have to kneel down and beg you!"
After calming down, Mr. Bloodhound seemed to quickly recognize his situation.
The Bloodhound's sudden surrender was surprising. Even March couldn't help giving Stelle an accusing look.
"What on earth did you do to deserve this...?"
But before March could finish, Tiriandes reached out and grabbed the Bloodhound by the shoulder.
Under the Bloodhound's terrified gaze, the mechanical knight lifted him with an air that seemed capable of crushing him to death, then gently set him aside.
After setting him down without any harm, the mechanical knight said to the Bloodhound guard, "You seem to have misunderstood something, but we aren't the sort of swindlers you think we are, brought here by someone else."
After that, he turned back to the others.
"Let's go."
[🙇🏻 You Can Support the Story Through P@treon—AmbitiousTranslator. It also has 40+ Chapters of all the novels and fanfics. Thanks for reading~]