Moonlight shone through the window.
It reflected onto the girl's eyelids.
"Mm…" She slightly opened her pink-blue eyes, then slowly closed them again under the pull of sleepiness.
…
"Huh? Lady Pela, it's so late—are you really heading to the Underworld?"
"Stop nagging! Get the cable car's speed to maximum! I just have this feeling something's off—hurry, hurry, hurry!"
"Uh… Yes ma'am!"
Pela rode the cable car at full speed toward the Underworld, with Alice following beside her, also infected by the tension.
If this was all true.
Then not only had the Executor accepted bribes in public, but his conduct was also seriously problematic.
All of this combined would be enough for Lady Cocolia to strip him of his position. By Belobog's laws, he could even be detained.
But… as Belobog's greatest living hero today, a living legend, would he really submit to detention willingly?
Thinking of this, Alice panicked:
"Um, how about… we just pretend we don't know? If this is real, even the Supreme Guardian would have a hard time handling it."
Pela pursed her lips and said firmly:
"No way. If we back down on this matter, what happens when readers' values get twisted? As the saying goes: neither riches nor honors can corrupt, neither poverty nor lowliness can make one swerve! No matter who the other party is, we must ignite the passion in our chests and investigate to the very end!!"
Alice was stunned. After hearing Pela's words, she felt like she was back to the day she took her oath at school!
Thus, the flame in her chest also blazed fiercely!
"Roar roar roar roar… Investigate to the end!!"
"That's right! That's the spirit we need! Death to corrupt officials and filthy bureaucrats!"
"Roar roar roar roar… Death to them all!"
At Pela's insistence, the cable car operator didn't dare slack off. He pushed it to full power, and they soon arrived at Boulder Town in the Underworld.
Pela dragged the roaring Alice off immediately, stopping the Silvermane Guards who wanted to follow. The two of them headed alone to the Goethe Grand Hotel.
The proprietress Gertie had just wanted to rest when she heard Pela's call, so she quickly came down to open the door.
"Lady Pela, it's so late—what brings you…?"
"Hmph! Is that certain someone here or not?"
"Huh? Who?"
Gertie was stunned for a moment, then slapped her forehead and said:
"Oh, you mean Mr. Zeig? Did he come to the Underworld…? I haven't seen him."
"He's really not in any of the guest rooms here?"
"Huh?"
Gertie looked completely baffled—what on earth was going on?
"No, really, he's not here."
"…"
Pela's delicate brows furrowed slightly.
"This is tricky now."
Neither the Upper or Lower Zone hotels had any record of that certain someone checking in. Could it be… he really was innocent?
"No."
Pela's sixth sense told her it was absolutely impossible.
That certain someone always followed through on his words. If he said he was going to "have fun," then he definitely went to "have fun"!
This guy wasn't just an Executor—he was also a Trailblazer of the Astral Express, and even the great hero who saved Belobog.
If someone like him used money to deceive innocent, naive girls, that would be an absolute kill shot!
"Could he have gone straight to a girl's house?" Pela thought of one possibility.
But this possibility made her heart sink.
If that was the case, it would be incredibly hard to find him.
Who knew which house he'd gone to?
"Sigh… even the heavens aren't helping us?"
Pela couldn't help but sigh.
Alice patted her shoulder and comforted her: "Maybe this is actually a good thing? At least it avoids conflict with Lord Executor."
"But my conscience can't accept it!"
The two left the Goethe Grand Hotel and asked the Wildfire members on night duty as well as the Silvermane Guards stationed in the Lower Zone. After confirming no one had seen any trace of that certain someone, they dejectedly returned to the Upper Zone.
By now, it was very, very late.
Even Pela felt extremely sleepy—her eyelids were fighting to stay open.
Alice was utterly exhausted too, arms hanging limply, barely able to stand straight.
"How about… we just drop it." Alice said dejectedly.
After all that trouble, the only thing they'd learned at the Goethe Hotel was that the certain someone had bought two cups of fruit tea.
"Yeah…"
Even Pela started to waver slightly.
Not because she feared the Executor's influence, but because there really were no leads.
The museum had already closed late, and that certain someone had been the first to run off.
There were hardly any people on the streets.
No chance to even ask passersby.
"Sigh."
Pela said goodbye to Alice and headed alone to Qlipoth Fort.
Although there was no concrete evidence for the "having fun" part, the bribery was real.
At the very least, she needed to see what Supreme Guardian Cocolia thought. She was always busy until the early hours—this time should still find her awake.
When Pela entered Qlipoth Fort, the night-shift Silvermane Guards all greeted her.
She didn't speak, just nodded tiredly.
Only when she reached Cocolia's desk did she lay everything out fully.
After listening, Cocolia raised an eyebrow:
"Bribery? And going to have fun?"
Pela nodded:
"Yeah. Now no one knows where he is—the hotels didn't have him anyway."
Cocolia continued:
"But… he actually came back earlier. He might even be in Qlipoth Fort right now?"
"?"
"How about you go check his room? If he's really 'having fun,' then combined with the bribery, I'll strip him of his Executor title. He never uses it anyway."
"Really?"
"Of course."
Cocolia crossed her legs, propped her head, and said leisurely:
"You two went through so much trouble searching everywhere. You didn't tell the hotel owners or the guards the exact reason, but there's no wall in the world that doesn't let wind through—especially with the Executor himself."
"With that mouth of his, even if it's true, he'll definitely blab about it. Then everyone will know he went to 'have fun' anyway. You can't wrap fire in paper—better to just cut it clean."
"Mm! I understand!"
With Cocolia's permission, Pela found her courage. She chambered a round in her pistol alone and quietly approached Zeig 's door.
She gently tested it—the door wasn't locked!
So she charged straight in!
The moment she burst into the dim room, she raised the pistol with both hands and shouted:
"Room inspection! Don't move! Hands on your head!"
From the room came two panicked voices.
"Huh?" "Mm?"
One male, one female—perfect match!
Hearing the voices, Pela completely lost her composure.
Great, so he really went to have fun, huh?
And he even brought the lady to Qlipoth Fort!
Click—!!
Pela turned on the light.
Instantly, the scene in the room was fully illuminated.
That certain someone was sitting on the bed, hands raised in terror!
Pela pointed the pistol at him warily:
"Well well, so you really are here!"
Then she aimed at the figure under the blanket with Zeig and shouted:
"And you—get out here too! Neither of you is escaping!"
That certain someone immediately cried out in alarm:
"No! You're scaring my baby!"
"Shut up! I'll deal with you later—first, the one under the blanket, come out!" Pela shouted.
In the silence.
The figure under the blanket still hadn't emerged, but from the floor on the far side of the bed came a soft whimper.
"Wu…"
Hearing it, Pela quickly strode over to that side.
The sight left her completely dumbfounded!
There was a pink-haired girl in pink pajamas, barefoot, curled up shivering on the ice-cold floor.
Only after hearing footsteps did her pink-blue eyes slowly open.
Her expression was utterly dazed!
"…"
…