"What's wrong? Why are you smiling so happily? Our esteemed Councillor is currently unleashing his fury upon his subordinates."
Momo walked past Kamanato's back while carrying a stack of sliced apples. Hearing the girl's silvery laughter, she asked.
Kamanato took off her headphones and replied with a smile, "I'm chatting with a friend, the cute little girl I told you about who I met online."
"Oh, that tsundere?" Momo nodded understandingly, "You two are meeting on Wednesday, right?"
"Yeah, it's a good chance for Momo to meet my friend too," Kamanato said happily. The friend mentioned in her agreement with Leticia was none other than Momo beside her.
Kamanato and Momo had known each other for a very, very long time; they had known each other since elementary school.
As for that 'Yellow Hair,' they met during high school.
"You really don't give the Councillor any face. He's burning with anxiety over there, and you're here thinking about meeting your online friend." Momo complained. Although she and Yellow Hair were also slacking off, theirs was at least not that obvious.
But Kamanato was different; she practically had the words 'I am slacking off' written all over her face.
"Why should I give him face? I'm not a detective, I can't help him find the culprit." Kamanato shrugged. She hated anything that required using her brain, especially things where using her brain yielded no results; she had absolutely no motivation for that.
"Besides, you saw his attitude towards us. He almost spat the words 'Get out quickly' right in our faces," Kamanato pouted unhappily. It was the first time she had ever been treated like that.
She was a favored daughter of heaven in every sense; no one had ever dared to treat her this way since childhood.
"But he is a Councillor, after all, and we accepted the mission from the Association to assist him. We can't just sit here and watch him fumble around by himself, can we?" Momo shook her head. She was a girl with a strong sense of responsibility. That item was taken right in front of them, so morally and logically, they should offer some help.
Kamanato clearly held a different opinion. The moment she thought of what happened that night, she couldn't stop feeling lingering fear. They had almost died that time!
With those two incredibly powerful villains, how could the three of them possibly win?
If the Association truly wanted to help the Councillor, they would have definitely dispatched an elite S-rank Hero squad. Otherwise, how could they live up to the reputation of the so-called 'Black and White Twin Fiends'?
Speaking of the Black and White Twin Fiends, Kamanato had even more questions. Neither she, Momo, nor Yellow Hair had ever heard of such formidable villains in Central City.
This was extremely abnormal. Given the strength of those two, they couldn't possibly be unknown figures.
It wasn't Kamanato being modest; a villain who could knock the three of them into sickbeds with sheer physical strength was definitely a major villain, the kind that could be the main antagonist in a superhero movie.
It couldn't be that those two only started being villains recently, could it?
"What's the background of those two, one black and one white? The Association seems to know something, but we are completely in the dark," Kamanato mumbled.
Momo held out an apple to Kamanato, "Don't overthink it. We just need to complete the mission assigned by the Association."
"Sigh."
"Someone is inquiring about my whereabouts?" Kira closed the scroll in her hand and looked doubtfully at the capable-looking, cold-faced woman before her. "Are they asking about Luca, or are they asking about Kira?"
"They are asking about Your Highness Kira, the Demon Race Princess," the woman pointed at Kira and said flatly.
"That's interesting. While the news of my arrival in the Human World isn't exactly a secret, who would coincidentally be inquiring about me here?"
"According to reports from other scouts, the other party isn't just making inquiries in Central City, but in various cities across the Human World."
"Whoa, that's quite a large operation. Do you know who it is?" Kira became curious. Why go to such great lengths to gather information about her? What were they planning?
To kill her?
"We don't know yet, but judging by the identities of those coming forward to inquire, the opposing force is not weak." The woman reported all the intelligence gathered over the past few days to Kira. "In Central City, it was that Snake Woman who showed up. In the Holy City, it was that Bishop..."
Famous titles within the Dark World were listed one by one by the woman. Just from these names, one could tell how influential the person behind the scenes was.
"Oh? What does the other party want to know, or rather, what does she want to do?" Kira rested her chin on her hand, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
The woman pondered for a moment before relaying the other party's objective to Kira: "Their message is consistent: a certain major figure wishes to make a deal with Your Highness."
"A deal?" Kira became even more curious. What could be so important that it required a transaction with her?
"Yes. The other party claims it is something you have long coveted, something you narrowly missed out on recently."
"Divine Era Magic Research!" Kira immediately knew the answer. The person behind the scenes was the mysterious individual who snatched away the book concerning the fate of the world.
Knowing her craving for that book, knowing the details of her transaction with that Councillor, and being able to use such a clever method to steal the book that should have belonged to her, Kira was already contemplating what kind of demand that mysterious faction would make.
That person surnamed Wang was eager to sell the book because he desperately needed financial support, but the mysterious faction that intercepted it probably wasn't in such a hurry.
"This is a bit troublesome now," Kira said with some distress. "I cannot stay in the Human World for too long. By the time the Spirit Beasts clear their schedules, there will be more squabbling over that book."
"The other party hasn't named their price yet. Should we send someone to make contact first?" the woman inquired.
"Yes, quickly find out their background. It would be best to get the book within a week," Kira naturally had no objections.
"Yes!"