The three of them returned to the living room after their bath.
But what puzzled Red was why Tessaia’s cheeks were so exceptionally red, while Litt, on the contrary, seemed perfectly content.
No one knew what had transpired between these two girls in the bathroom.
“Ahem!”
Litt was the first to speak, regaining that gentle, kind, and radiant appearance she always had.
“Tessaia, can you tell us what happened to you before you lost consciousness?”
Now, Tessaia’s account was crucial.
It would allow Litt to figure out who was really pulling the strings behind all this.
Judging from what happened last night, their enemy was extremely cautious, even going so far as to use an expensive teleportation array to send Tessaia to the ritual site.
And there was still something Litt didn’t understand—why had the forbidden ritual’s time and location been set right next to the Baiyang Dawn Festival?
Faced with Litt’s questions, Tessaia began to recall.
“When I was coming back from the dungeon, I ran into a group of people dressed in medical uniforms. They said my grandmother was sick and needed me to go to the Hospital to see her…”
“But after I went with them, I realized they weren’t doctors at all, but a bunch of Court Mercenaries, and I was just taken away to Buffest’s house,”
“But just as I stepped inside, a group of people dressed just like you, Litte, burst in. After saying something to Buffest, they took me away.”
“What happened after that… I don’t know. As soon as they took me, I lost consciousness. But…”
At this point, she seemed hesitant, her lips quivering and her gaze drifting, as if she were trying to confirm the blurry fragments of a dream.
Seeing her hesitation, Red spoke.
“But what?”
“Before… before I completely lost consciousness… or maybe… while I was half awake and half asleep… I think… I think I heard something…”
“Don’t be afraid, just say it.”
Litt’s voice held a soothing power.
She leaned forward slightly, encouragement in her eyes.
“It’s just us here, no outsiders.”
Tessaia seemed to make up her mind and spoke softly.
“I… I think I heard someone say… something like… ‘Demonization’… or something like that…”
She frowned in confusion.
“It’s such a strange word… I have no idea what it means…”
Not just Tessaia—even Red and Litt found themselves frowning when they heard this term.
Litt tried to search her mind for useful clues from the script, but the script was dead silent as usual, playing dead once again.
Still, at least now they had figured out their opponent’s goal.
It was this so-called “Demonization.”
After that, the three chatted idly for a while, until Litt couldn’t help but yawn.
Then Red spoke.
“It’s getting late. You two should get some rest.”
***
The next morning.
Litt woke slowly, bathed in a rare and almost extravagant peace.
Outside the window, the heavy rain continued its tireless assault on the glass, the endless sound like a lullaby.
Maybe it was the comfort of that white noise, or maybe her taut nerves had finally relaxed for a moment—last night’s dreams were uncommonly peaceful, with no prophetic fragments or shadows of a ticking death countdown.
Another good night’s sleep.
She sat up, relishing the rare sense of relaxation and the fullness of energy in her body.
After stretching lazily, she walked barefoot to the window.
With a “swish,” the thick curtains were pulled open.
Outside, it was a gray, rain-drenched world under the complete rule of the storm.
The dense sheets of rain blurred distant buildings and trees; the whole world was left to the roar of water.
After a simple wash, Litt stepped out of her bedroom.
Seeing the carefully prepared breakfast on the table, Litt sat down.
Clearly, this was a meal made by Red.
But aside from the breakfast, the house… was empty.
Tessaia had naturally eaten earlier, and was surely off with Red by now, full of joy and nervous anticipation to visit the grandmother she cared about so much.
The sound of rain became the only background noise.
After finishing a simple breakfast, Litt put on a raincoat and took an umbrella, planning to head to the West Coast docks.
Looking back on everything, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
Whether it was the precisely timed cover-up, or the strange break in the rope.
With her head full of questions, Litt opened her umbrella and walked toward the West Coast.
Because of the storm, the usually bustling West Coast was now deserted.
Very soon, Litt reached the docks.
The little fishing boat sat quietly at the water’s edge, and Litt approached to examine it carefully.
The traces of the array remained at the very bottom of the boat, between the wooden planks and the water barrier.
And there were clear signs of concealment.
At the same time, Litt noticed that the thick rope hadn’t broken randomly.
There, at the spot where it snapped, was a clean cut—the rope had clearly been severed.
All the evidence suggested that the mastermind had definitely been present at the time.
And they’d certainly been keeping an eye on her.
Could it have been Otto?
Litt didn’t rule out the possibility—after all, this was Otto.
“Just going straight over and confronting him might be the fastest way.”
You could never guess what Otto was up to just by trying to figure him out.
Besides, it was Otto who’d first suggested that she and Red go to the Baiyang Dawn Festival.
For someone who knew Otto so well, Litt couldn’t help but suspect that he was stirring up trouble from behind the scenes.
Thinking this, Litt took out her communication crystal and dialed Otto’s number.
“Brrr… brrr…”
After a few rhythmic tones, the call connected.
“Sister Litt, calling me so early in the morning—hope you’ve been well.”
On the other end, Otto sounded as if he’d just woken up, but Litt wasted no time.
“You must know what happened last night, right?”
“Of course I do.”
Otto replied with a laugh, “Your dazzling presence, Sister Litt, brought the White Church a whole lot of new believers.”
Hearing his infuriating tone, Litt couldn’t help but snap, “Let me ask directly—was last night your doing?”
The other side of the crystal fell into a brief, suffocating silence.
“Heh~”
Soon, though, a low, magnetic chuckle broke the darkness.
“Sister Litte, your groundless intuition never ceases to amaze,” Otto said lazily.
“But honestly, if I really had arranged this… do you think I’d put you in danger? That would hurt me, as your bishop, far too much.”
“But, I never expected that you’d actually place yourself in such a desperate situation. That’s completely unlike you, Sister Litt.”
Something fishy is going on.