Today was a rather pleasant day, and Vill-V couldn't help but feel that things lately had been going a bit too smoothly.
It actually made her somewhat uncomfortable, since she always preferred a good challenge.
First, she'd gotten some leads at that sanatorium in the Sundown Alley, though that woman named Aponia had started off spouting all sorts of cryptic nonsense at her…
But she still managed to glean some useful information. Combined with what she already knew, this so-called Honkai catastrophe… Well, the next step would be to personally investigate that organization called MOTH.
As Vill-V pondered her next move, she also began practicing her magic tricks…!
Doing two things at once was simple—at least, for her it was.
Her fingers deftly shuffled a deck of playing cards.
"Wow, that's amazing, Miss Magician!"
A girl with light brown hair stood nearby, her eyes fixed intently on Vill-V's hands. She was thinking how much easier pickpocketing would be if she could learn a move like that.
"Alright, the show is about to begin!"
Vill-V announced, tucking away the cards.
Just then, Vya heard that familiar voice and stopped in her tracks.
The cat she had been chasing seized the opportunity and quickly vanished without a trace.
"Vill-V sis!" Vya called out cheerfully.
?
Hearing her real name, Vill-V was momentarily stunned. She was sure she'd disguised herself properly—who around here could possibly know her?
Indeed, Vill-V currently appeared as a blonde-haired young woman, looking nothing like her usual self.
As for this disguise technique, Vill-V had only picked it up casually…
Squinting, Vill-V recognized the child as the one she'd seen at that restaurant…
But for Vya, a person's 'light' never lied. Everyone's light was slightly different.
Especially someone as unique as Vill-V, whose light constantly seemed to split and merge… So, using her clever little brain, Vya had memorized Vill-V.
That way, she could match the person to the light, recognizing them even without seeing their face.
Meanwhile, Vill-V was also pondering the reason.
They say children recognize people not by faces, but by other things… Could that be it?
"You are… I remember your name is Vya, right?" Vill-V asked tentatively.
"Ah, it really is Vill-V sis! I thought I might've been mistaken."
"Yep, it's Vya~"
Vya smiled sheepishly. "But why does sis look different now?"
Before Vill-V could answer, Vya quickly supplied her own explanation—ah, Vya was so clever.
"Does sis have magic that goes poof and changes how she looks?"
"Hmm, you're absolutely right. Your big sister here knows how to perform magic~"
Vill-V went along with it, thinking handling a kid like this would be easy.
But… here came the suspicious part.
Last time she saw her, this little girl was right in front of the superstar, Eden. Vill-V didn't believe for a second that she had no connections.
What was she doing in a place like this? And without a single adult around.
"What brings you here? Where are the grown-ups with you?"
"Sis is busy with some things. She told Vya to go out and play by myself."
Who is this kid?
The girl sitting nearby feeding the cats wondered to herself. Dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans, she was surrounded by several cats. The girl eyed Vya's clothes, her eyes gleaming slightly.
Dressed so nicely, clearly a little miss from a wealthy family. Wonder if there's anything to skim off her…
Ahem… professional habit.
"What was Vill-V sis doing just now?" Vya asked with a smile.
"I was about to demonstrate a new magic trick I've been working on."
"A magic show? Vya wants to see too!"
"Alright then, go sit nicely over there."
Vill-V silently analyzed the situation… This little one gave her an oddly uneasy feeling.
"Okay!"
Vya obediently went and sat next to the girl, whose light shimmered with a pale silver glow.
"Hello, sis~"
"Ah… hi there, little one." The girl averted her gaze from Vya.
"Sis, why were you looking at me like that just now?" Vya tilted her head.
"It's nothing, nothing…"
"You're just such a pretty little girl, haha…"
Pardo tried to cover her awkwardness, since she'd been wondering if she could swipe something—just a thought, of course.
"You're called Vya, right? I'm Pardo, Pardofelis," the girl introduced herself.
"So it's Pardo sis!"
Vya's gaze shifted to the surrounding cats. "These kitties are all so well-behaved~"
"Of course! They're like family to me!"
Pardo said with a laugh.
"Wow~ Can I pet them?"
Vya asked eagerly.
"Sure, give it a try."
"Yay~"
Vya reached out toward a cat beside Pardo, but it immediately darted into Pardo's arms.
As if it was avoiding Vya.
"Huh? What's going on…"
Vya looked dejected. Even Pardo was surprised—these cats were usually so friendly with people. Still, she comforted her, "It's okay, it's okay. This one's a bit shy, don't think too much of it…"
Clap clap!
Vill-V clapped her hands, drawing the attention of Vya, Pardo, and all the cats.
"Alright, would anyone—or any cat—like to be my assistant?"
Vill-V pointed to the magic box beside her. It was just something she'd thrown together temporarily, but it would do.
"Vya wants to!"
Vya excitedly raised her little hand.
"Then, please step into this marvelous magic box, little Vya~"
Vill-V smiled, opening the box's door with a gesture of invitation.
The interior was lined with red velvet, looking perfectly ordinary.
Vya ran over excitedly, her white little dress swaying with the motion.
"Vya's going in!"
She said cheerfully, crawling into the box without hesitation.
Vill-V gently closed the door, her fingers making a discreet little movement on the latch.
She turned to the few cats watching and smiled. "And now, for the moment of magic!"
Pardo sat on the bench, holding the cat that had avoided Vya, her eyes fixed on the magic box.
Something felt off to her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Vill-V began the countdown. "Three… two… one!"
She flung open the box door—
Ta-da!
The box was completely empty!
"That's incredible!" Pardo's eyes widened in amazement.
Vill-V maintained a mysterious smile, though the corner of her mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
Something was wrong. This felt off, because Vya had genuinely vanished.
…
I have completed the author to TL pipeline, 2 chapters per day. Advanced chapters available on patreon.
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Give power stones please I survive solely off of number go up.