To relax, they decided to take a short walk into the forest. Sophie, Fiona, Rosika, and Siegfried went together.
Siegfried: "Hmm."
Sophie: "Why did you come here?"
Siegfried: "Hey, I want to see the forest."
Fiona: "Leave him alone, Sophie, as long as he doesn't take pictures of us."
Rosika: "What kind of... pictures?"
Siegfried: "(Cough)... Hmm..."
Sophie: "Of our feet... and actually our butts too."
Rosika: "Huh... Siegfried."
Siegfried: "...Um... Sorry..."
Rosika: "Did you do that to me too?"
Siegfried: "No."
Rosika: "Oh, good."
Sophie: "That only means he probably doesn't find you pretty enough."
Rosika: "Huh?"
Siegfried: "That's not true... I did it out of respect."
Sophie: "You and respect?... Hahh... That's like Ms. Valentine and a salary increase."
(Meanwhile)
Ms. Valentine: "(Sneeze)... Huh... Am I getting sick?"
Milim: "(Cough)... Miss Valentine... Are you sure?"
Ms. Valentine: "Hahhh... Look at me, Milim. For years, I have barely gotten proper sleep. I sleep for two or three hours, and people constantly refuse to give me any rest. People like Eisenheim or Jose are never satisfied anyway. The other high ranks of Dark Umbrella think I'm not strong enough. Milim... They won't choose you right now because they know you were with me..."
Milim: "But... then who will it be? Who will take your place?"
Ms. Valentine: "We'll see. The elections are in two months. We will... see. I want to solve this before the wedding happens."
Milim: "Huh? You're getting married?!"
Ms. Valentine: "Oh... yes."
Milim: "With who?"
Ms. Valentine: "...Hahhh..."
(Knock, knock)
Meliodas: "Hey."
Ms. Valentine: "This one."
Milim: "What?! You two are getting married?!"
Meliodas: "Um... yes..."
Ms. Valentine: "Mhm... I'm not running, Milim."
Milim: "But why?"
Ms. Valentine: "I already told you. I'm tired... very tired. If I keep working like this, I won't be pretty enough anymore for that man over there."
Meliodas: "(Sweats)... Um... I'm not that kind of person."
Ms. Valentine: "Hehehe... That was just a joke."
Milim: "Will you have children?"
Ms. Valentine: "(Cough)... Milim... should I really explain everything to you? That's private..."
Milim: "Oh... yes, that's true. Sorry. Who are the candidates?"
Ms. Valentine: "Jose... Eisenheim... and Miss Tao."
Milim: "Hmm... Miss Tao is fine... but the other two? Jose really is a fool."
Ms. Valentine: "Hahhh... Right now, he is the most popular among the higher ranks. He will definitely cause problems. Hahh... Even if I ran this time, I would probably lose. I'm sorry, Milim."
Milim: "Then... then what about me?"
Ms. Valentine: "You're still too young."
Milim: "Mmm... I'm... older than you."
Ms. Valentine: "You're a half elf. That's why. But in terms of experience, you're young. Maybe in the election three years from now."
Milim: "Three years under Jose?... None of the Crows like him. Neither Daisy Williams, Fiona Philomela Househould, nor Marcus. Colletta and Rio certainly don't either."
Meliodas: "You can choose new candidates, but we don't have any. I'm worried about Marcus and Fiona."
Ms. Valentine: "Hehehe... I'm not. Those two, Marcus and Fiona... are actually doing very well. They don't let his attitude intimidate them. Marcus was strong enough to even threaten to kill him right in front of him. And Fiona refused to visit his daughter's grave and told him he never visited the graves of the children he killed either. I am more worried about Daisy."
Meliodas: "Anything new about her?"
Ms. Valentine: "Hahh... She decided to side with Jose."
Milim: "What?!... Are you serious? She hated him."
Ms. Valentine: "She changed... A lot after the death of her mentor Tom Fog. She probably only wants revenge against me... and against Meliodas and Eisenheim because we sent Tom Fog and underestimated Zantanel. I'm certain that's probably the reason."
(Meanwhile)
(Patch!) (Patch!)
Daisy: "Master... I am here."
Jose: "Good."
Daisy: "What is your order?"
Jose: "There is a politician in the city of Weimar who works for the Owls. I want you to... eliminate him."
Daisy: "Mhm."
Jose: "You get extra points if you also kill his family."
Daisy: "Even the children?"
Jose: "We cannot take the risk. What if the children know something? That would be a disaster. Kill them."
Daisy: "Understood."
Jose: "And don't you dare tell me you held back. Don't forget, he betrayed us."
Daisy: "Don't worry... I will kill him. I will."
(Meanwhile)
Sophie: "Hmm... This forest... is strange."
Fiona: "Yeah..."
Siegfried: "Look."
Sophie: "Hmm?"
Fiona: "What... is that?"
Siegfried: "It looks like... a forest."
Rosika: "But... we're already in a forest."
Sophie: "Yeah, but this one looks... different."
Fiona: "Hmm?"
Sophie: "Should we look?"
Fiona: "Well... if you say so. What do you two think?"
Siegfried: "Yes."
Rosika: "I would like to know more too."
They entered.
Rosika: "Hmm?"
Siegfried: "What's wrong?"
Rosika: "Strange... My flowers are reacting as if they don't want to be here."
Siegfried: "Hmm?"
Sophie: "Hmm... this forest is really... strange."
Fiona: "No bird sounds... no animals... not even insects."
Sophie: "The last part probably makes you happy. You hate insects."
Fiona: "I am afraid of them, yes."
Sophie: "Hahh... I see."
They continued walking.
Sophie: "Ugh... so creepy... so quiet... I can even hear my own heartbeat."
Fiona: "This isn't normal. Even the trees... look corrupted."
Sophie: "Hmm... Look there... Is that a castle?"
Fiona: "Hmm?"
Sophie: "This is a castle... I think I know it."
Fiona: "Oh... yes... I remember. Isn't that where that family was murdered?"
Sophie: "...The Serolds?... Yes. People even call it the Hinterkaifeck of Villicia."
Fiona: "Hmm."
Sophie: "You were there."
Fiona: "You were there too."
Sophie: "Well... I only saw it from the outside. What about you?"
Fiona: "The family was dead. Dark Umbrella was asked for help, and I volunteered. And I will tell you... the moment I entered that place, I wanted to leave."
Sophie: "Was it really that bad?"
Fiona: "First... the dead bodies were still there. It had just happened, and one of the bodies was a baby. Second... blood everywhere. Organs... body parts. Third... there was a recording one of the members made before he died. It was horrible. I couldn't solve the case... it was probably too difficult."
Sophie: "What? You couldn't solve it? You solved 80 percent of your cases."
Fiona: "Yes... and this was one of the 20 percent I couldn't solve. But one thing I know... the murderer was human, not an anomaly."
Sophie: "How do you know that?"
Fiona: "In the recording, one of the family members said he saw him before he died. First, humans without curses, arcane abilities, or magic usually cannot see Nemesis or anomalies. It's rare. Second, in the video I saw something clearly... it was a hand. Third, it didn't scream. It was silent. Anomalies usually aren't creatures that hide quietly. So, like I said, it was probably a human."
Sophie: "That actually scares me."
Fiona: "Yeah... I couldn't sleep for three days afterward. And I was a new Crow back then. Even so... I was experienced enough, and still... that case scared me."
Rosika: "Wow... Sometimes I'm glad I'm blind."
Sophie: "(Sweats)... Okay..."
(Half an hour later)
The noble Robert Hanemeier was once someone who worked for Dark Umbrella before joining the Owls.
Robert: "Hmm."
Maya: "What's wrong?"
Robert: "Nothing... I..."
(Splash!)
A root pierced through his head.
Maya: "Aaaaaaaaaaargh!"
Daisy: "Hello."
Maya: "What... what is..."
(Splash!)
The roots pierced through her stomach.
Maya: "Urk... ugh..."
Daisy: "Two dead."
She continued walking.
She saw one of the butlers running away.
Daisy: "Should I kill you too?... Well, just to be safe."
She shot him in the head.
(Bang!)
He fell dead.
Maid: "Aaaaaaaaaaargh!"
Daisy: "Shhhhh..."
She slowly walked toward her and shot her in the neck.
Maid: "Urk... ghh..."
She slowly fell to the ground.
Daisy: "Sorry. Nothing personal."
Butler: "Hands up."
Daisy: "Hmm?"
The roots surrounded and consumed him.
Daisy: "Hmph."
(Splash!)
She crushed him until he exploded.
Daisy: "...So... huh?"
Maid: "Huh... Stay away."
She had a pistol.
Daisy: "Pfff. Go ahead. Shoot."
(Bang!)
The bullet hit her head, but she laughed and regenerated.
Daisy: "Too bad."
She shot her stomach several times.
Maid: "Urk..."
She fell to the ground, then Daisy shot her in the head.
Daisy: "So... where are the children?"
She opened the door.
Daisy: "Hmm..."
Child: "Huh... please..."
Daisy: "Hmm."
(Behind the door)
(Bang!)
She came back out.
Daisy: "Hahhh... so... everyone is dead..."