"Well, it is getting late. I guess I will be going then."
"Huh, where to? Don't you stay at the church?"
"Oh, uh… No, because I just arrived yesterday and it was really late, so I got a room at an inn."
"Ah… I guess you already payed then…?"
"I… yes? Why do you look so devastated…"
"I thought maybe we could have a sleep over or something… Maybe… And talk a little more… Since we are friends…?"
"Oh…"
"How did it come to this all of the sudden?! She's so adorable too! "You and I fwends?" is all I hear! Ah. But I should report to Master about my successful infiltration and progress… My progress… That reminds me, Iky hasn't returned yet. That's unusual. Maybe even a problem… I can't take the risk of him hurting anyone else, it might affect Master's plan. And much worse, it'd be my fault for letting him loose! No way I'm taking a disappointed look from him without being critically wounded! Then it's settled, I have to find Iky before he does something I could be blamed for in the end. Since he disappeared here, I should start searching in the broom closet I left him in for clues. I doubt he will still be there though, since it seems he always manages to get out of confinement with no problems. Oh, right, Carina… I guess we are having a sleep over now."
After carefully examining the situation, and looking at Carina's begging eses, Yuki was left with only one option.
"Y'know… My room won't be empty anyway, so I guess it can be seen as a donation if I don't go, right?"
"Ah! That makes perfect sense! And that way you can stay with me!"
"Yes… That way I can stay with you."
Yuki felt the urge to pet Carina's head. She wondered if that was how Yamato felt about her.
"Master, please forgive me… I promise I will make it up to you right away when I get to see you again. Know that I miss you at every waking moment…"
"I'm so excited, Yuki! I never had a sleepover before! This is gonna be so much fun! I only have one bed though… Do you mind sleeping in the same bed as me? Otherwise I can stay on the floor too."
"Same bed is fine."
"Ah, we will be super close, like best friends!"
"Sure… This is a real milestone for you, huh?"
"I always wanted to do this!"
"Well, I'm glad to give you the opportunity to do this then."
"Thank you so much! Let's go right away!"
Carina pulled Yuki off the ledge they sat down on earlier and back into the church's main hall. Passing through, Yuki spotted nothing out of the ordinary. Which was a good sign of course, but also meant she had no clues to find Iky. Carina opened a door in the long hallway which she pulled Yuki in once they left the main hall, which seemed to be where her room was.
"This will be the same kind of room you will be assigned once you officially talk to Priest Mateo. You haven't done that yet, right?"
"No, the first person I met was you."
"Ah, I'm so lucky!"
She sat down excitedly onto the bed, looking expectantly at Yuki.
"…Y'know, I've had a long journey… I'm actually really tired. Do you mind if we go to sleep already and talk more tomorrow?"
"Oh… Of course, I understand! You should have said something earlier! I can't believe I had you help me while you were so exhausted! Let's get some rest to start tomorrow with just as much enthusiasm!"
"S-sure~…!"
Yuki laid next to Carina, who cuddled up to her immediately. Though Yuki did not hug her back, since that privilege was reserved for Yamato, she did not mind as much as she thought she would. Meaning she had no outright desire to kill Carina for it.
"You're touchy, aren't you…"
"…Zzzz…"
Carina sure was a careless person, Yuki thought. They only met today, and she already felt so comfortable with Yuki that it took her less than ten seconds to fall asleep. Even though it was not even that late yet. But, just to be safe, Yuki cast a sleep spell onto her as well before getting out of the bed again.
"Phew… Didn't expect that. Still, now I can search, my cover is maintained, and she likes me even more now. I'm a spy prodigy!"
After finishing her proud declaration of greatness, she slowly opened the door and went towards the broom closet where she let Iky out. But it turned out the church was larger than she thought, and she ended up getting lost.
"Urgh… If this place were about Master, I would have memorized the entirety of this building beforehand. But whatever… A whole different problem is that I can't track Iky's magic, and I don't know why. Maybe he went back to Master? In that case I would have made all of this for nothing… But I can't count on that. None of these rooms seem special, so they wouldn't have a barrier that could block me out. Unless… One might be special. That Priest Mateo guy, if there really is an entrance to an ruin down there in his room, maybe that's where Iky would go? We found him guarding a ruin, after all. Maybe he wasn't guarding it at all, but instead he's just attracted to them. Damn, looks like detective Yuki strikes again. I devote this achievement to you, Master. I love you. Now, I should find Mateo's chambers at once."
And so she checked every room she passed by and looked through the key hole, looking for anything "Priesty", though she emphasized that no matter how luxurious it ended up looking, they remained the inferior religion compared to her own. Suddenly the lights in the hallway turned off, which as she now noticed had not been lit with fire, but shone by some sort of crystal. After making a mental note, she walked along the wall in the dark further down the corridor. Until finally, she spotted a dim light that shone through a key hole at the very end. After silently sneaking towards it, she peeked through only to see an empty room. It varied not at all to Carina's room. However, since it felt odd that this was the only room that still had its lights on, she decided to pick the lock with a hair pin she had stored in her pocket dimension. As the door slowly creaked open, the empty room just seemed even more ordinary. Yuki entered, closing the door behind her and looked around. The room had no window, which was about the only difference she could find between this and Carina's room. Surely, if the Priest were a corrupt, greedy bad guy, he would not have the same living conditions as some nun that was openly bullied by other nuns. Yuki contemplated leaving again, but then something else caught her attention. A faint smell, that did not match anything inside this room. It was so weak, if thsi room were lit by candles, the little smoke created by it would already be enough to mask that other smell. Yuki had a very good nose, and she was absolutely certain that this smell did not belong. But she was unable to locate the origin of it for some reason. She walked around the room again, but still finding nothing. Below the bed, desk, at the doorframe, floor, it all had nothing unusual about it. However, as she gently knocked on the walls, the wall where the window would have been if it were Carina's room sounded hollowed out. Not just that, it appeared to be of an entirely different material than the other walls. Suspecting it to be a hidden door, she of course searched for a hidden switch. Not finding anything after two minutes, she decided to just cut a hole in the wall instead. Using highly focused advanced fire magic, sue was able to imitate a plasma cutter, with just the tip of her finger. A square shaped hole was cut in less than a minute, and she pulled the loose pieace of wall out using wind magic, before carefully leaning it against another wall. Revealed was a small, not even 50 cm wide shaft that lead down deep into the ground. A ladder hung down from where she stood, making her inclined to climb down right away. On the other hand, it seemed to be rather suspicious. It was to be assumed that what followed would be dangerous. Knowing that, Yuki did the sensible thing and created a kitchen knife using magic. Why a kitchen knife, of all things? The truth was, she just liked the esthetic. But a kitchen knife was also always easier to excuse then a dagger, or something. In case she got caught by someone she did not want to use it on. With saftey taken care of, she climbed down into the pitch black space. Though the nun outfit proved rather impractical for that, so she instead changed it into a flowing white robe trimmed with gold at the hem, sleeves, and neckline, paired with a short matching capelet that drapes over the shoulders. The high collar reveals a white inner garment, that contrasts her dark leggings. After a good two and a half minutes of climbing, she reached the ground. Getting off the ladder and stepping on the ground, it was solid stone. Since it was pure darkness, she decided to light a flame on her finger tip, which was when she saw a tall, porcelain masked person in a robe stand directly in front of her. Their eyes met instantly, even through the mask, and judging by Yuki's calm expression, one could think this was normal for both of them. However in reality, both were quite surprised. So much so that both stood still for a few moments. If Yuki had to guess, then this was a guard left behind for someone snooping around like her. Too bad though, since by now, Yuki labeled this person and everyone else down here as cultists. With a swift motion, she took a step forward, tripping gracefully forward and falling towards the person. However before the person even had enough time to decide whether they would catch Yuki or not, something cold started flowing down their throat, staining the red robe with a darker red. They fell to their knees, gripping onto their throat with all their strength, but in vain as blood poured out onto the ground. Gasping for air, writhing in pain, they rolled around in front of Yuki's expressionless gaze.