Chapter 169: Suspect, Meow?

Molan’er arranged their accommodations in a luxury apartment building.

The apartment was spacious, and all the living necessities inside were brand new; it was clear that Molan’er had already had someone tidy it up in advance.

Xiaoxi still wasn’t used to being taken care of so… thoroughly.

She quietly sized up the apartment, mentally calculating how much rent would be reasonable for such a large place.

Yes, there was one thing Xiaoxi was absolutely unwilling to agree to, and that was letting her little girlfriend keep her.

Especially after learning that Ye Xinglan was the Blood Moon Witch, this conviction had only grown stronger.

Dating was one thing, but as the dignified Eternal Star, how could she possibly accept being kept by her archrival with a clear conscience?

In contrast, Ye Xinglan was much more excited, dragging Xiaoxi to explore every corner of the apartment.

“Xiaoxi, Xiaoxi, look at this floor-to-ceiling window! You can lean your whole body against it.”

“And the bathroom is so spacious—two people could bathe in here at the same time, no problem, right?”

“The countertop’s pretty wide too. Someone could even stand behind you and help out while you’re cooking, don’t you think?”

Xiaoxi frowned.

The more she listened, the more she felt something was off with Ye Xinglan’s words.

“What’s so interesting about these places? What are you planning?”

Ye Xinglan’s eyes lit up with delight as she blurted, “Of course! How about now? You pick the spot!”

Xiaoxi: “……”

A moment later, a “click” echoed from the bedroom as the lock turned.

Ye Xinglan, clutching her head pitifully, was left alone in the living room to continue admiring the new place.

Xiaoxi had no intention of bringing Ye Xinglan along to check the information.

Anyway, that girl’s mind was filled with nothing but indecent thoughts—there was no way to get any real work done with her around!

She started a video call with the Astrologer and received information about Judgment Scales’ identity.

This was Xiaoxi’s first time seeing the true face of Judgment Scales.

Judgment Scales’ real name was Wange Yue.

In the photo, Wange Yue had long, smooth hair of pale gold and a pair of serene, gentle blue eyes.

She looked exactly like the calm, intellectual older sister type—just as Xiaoxi had imagined Judgment Scales to be.

But what surprised Xiaoxi was—

Wange Yue’s organizational affiliation was not the Magical Girl Association.

“Wange Yue is with the Tianqi Church? So at most, her relationship with the Association is only a cooperative one?”

Of course, Xiaoxi knew about the Tianqi Church; it was an organization that provided shelters for ordinary people during the Great Chaos Era, and after The Chaos, became one of the Six Seats that formed the Association.

As for why the Church didn’t disband after joining the Association, that was because, unlike the Divine Summon Order—a cult—the Tianqi Church was just a normal Christian church in peacetime.

During The Chaos, the faithful helped each other and built shelters, which by a twist of fate grew into an organization of this kind.

Although the Tianqi Church had amassed considerable resources during the Great Chaos Era, since it had originally been just a church, there was no need to fully merge with the Association after the chaos ended.

Instead, it simply resumed its original functions.

“That’s right,” the Astrologer confirmed, “That’s exactly why the Association sent the [Silverflame Dragon Princess] to serve as Guardian of North Blossom City. By the way, one of the two Six Seats who firmly rejected the proposal you and Xinglan made earlier is from the Tianqi Church.”

Just like that, the Astrologer casually sold out a colleague from the Six Seats.

After reading through Wange Yue’s profile, Xiaoxi turned to the part she cared about and was most curious about—the details of the murder case.

Logically, as an S-Class Magic Girl, it should be nearly impossible for someone to kill her so easily, right?

But with just one glance at the file, Xiaoxi froze, then got up to open the door and call in Ye Xinglan, who had been exiled to the living room.

“You’ve finally forgiven me, Xiaoxi? I know I was wrong—actually, we could’ve just done it in bed…”

“……Shut up! I’m on a video call discussing serious business!”

Xiaoxi slapped a hand over Ye Xinglan’s mouth, wishing she could throw this lewd witch out to the living room again.

Meanwhile, the Astrologer in the video call wore an amused auntie smile.

Once things quieted down, Ye Xinglan and Xiaoxi looked at the information together, immediately exclaiming, “Huh?”

“Isn’t this the Qiuli we just met earlier? So she’s the prime suspect in the murder of [Judgment Scales]?”

Wange Yue was attacked in her own home, and there was no trace of a struggle anywhere in the room.

Only a few bloodstains were found on the floor, later confirmed to be Wange Yue’s own.

So, for now, the Association’s conclusion was that it was committed by someone she knew.

Xiaoxi had the same doubts—[Judgment Scales] was an S-Class Magic Girl.

It was hard to imagine anyone being able to deal with her and take her away without a fight, let alone in North Blossom City, where “Discipline” made it so no powerful Monster could appear at all.

In other words, the perpetrator was likely someone Wange Yue knew—someone she’d never suspect of harming her.

Coincidentally, Wange Yue had a speech at the church that night, so she’d gone home from the Association that afternoon to prepare.

She never showed up at the speech, and during that time, surveillance only recorded two people visiting Wange Yue’s home: Silverflame Dragon Princess and Qiuli.

Silverflame Dragon Princess arrived first, since she was also a guest for that night’s event and had gone to rehearse with Wange Yue—something everyone knew about.

The second was Qiuli, who went straight to Wange Yue’s home after work.

But according to the investigation, the two had not arranged to meet at her house, so…

“Judging from the sequence, Qiuli is the more likely suspect,” Ye Xinglan clapped her hands.

“After all, if the first visitor did it, Qiuli would have discovered something was wrong when she arrived, right?”

That did make sense, but Xiaoxi still felt uneasy.

Wasn’t it a bit arbitrary to conclude it was someone she knew and narrow the suspects to just these two based solely on these conditions?

Xiaoxi firmly refused to believe Silverflame Dragon Princess could do such a thing.

As for Qiuli… remembering her attitude earlier when [Judgment Scales] was brought up, Xiaoxi doubted she could be the culprit either.

“Is there really no other suspect?”

“No. That’s the trouble with this case—other than the possibility of someone she knew, there are no other clues. And there are reasons to suspect these two.”

“Not long ago, Silverflame Dragon Princess and Judgment Scales had some sort of falling out; the two of them had a big argument at the Association. As for Qiuli… it’s because of her unsavory background.”

Xiaoxi opened Qiuli’s file and paused, finally understanding why Qiuli seemed interested in Ye Xinglan’s Monster identity.

So Qiuli herself was a Monster?

And before joining the Magic Girl Association of North Blossom City… she had been a Bounty Hunter?

And not just any Bounty Hunter, but the infamous kind.

……

At this moment, Qiuli had just arrived home as well.

Standing in the dimly-lit doorway, she deftly removed her Shapeshifting Tool, revealing the beast ears and tail of her demi-human Monster form.