In the end, the four of them—Calix, Oscar, Griffith, and Romeo—stormed out midway through the banquet.
They judged that showing their faces this much would be enough to avoid suspicion.
Their destination was the western hall of the Imperial Palace, where VIP guests resided.
Since the banquet was still in full swing, no one else was in the VIP quarters.
The moment they entered Romeo's room, they locked the door, and Griffith asked,
"So we have a lead?"
"Yeah, but it's a bit..."
Romeo tilted his head.
"Why?"
"...It seems like they're not far away?"
"...What?"
Oscar tilted his head, wondering if he had misheard.
Calix and Griffith also wore blank expressions.
"If my guess is correct... no, I'm certain. Whether it's the one who stole the fountain pen or the one who killed Leo."
"......"
"They're in the capital. Very close by."
The eyes of all three turned toward Romeo.
Beneath their gazes, Romeo raised one corner of his mouth in a smile.
"Let's go."
It was the early dawn of D-Day, three days before the final day of the banquet.
A time so early that even merchants who opened their shops bright and early had yet to stir.
Beneath the dark blue sky, four men in black robes stopped before a building.
It was the inn where Lellia was staying.
"Is this the place?"
"That's right. For now... we should wait. One of the people coming and going from here today must be our target."
Late morning.
Lellia crawled out of bed, sluggishly.
After washing up as slowly as a lazy person might, the first thing she did was open the 'Alchemy Lottery' screen.
"Hmm... they've gathered quite a lot."
Lellia checked the materials the dragons had collected overnight.
Then she hurriedly entered the crafting screen and pressed the craft button with the gathered materials.
"Finally, the end! The residents' Bond Affinity."
Currently, the rabbit residents' affinity was at 99.999%.
If she just handed over this item, the bond affinity work would be complete as of today.
With a light heart, Lellia pressed the completion button.
[Master! Congratulations! The residents' Bond Affinity has all reached the maximum! ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭*✩ As a reward, we're offering 100,000 Crystals at a 20% discount!(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑]
'I was wondering why it hadn't appeared. This scoundrel of a system....'
The payment time limit was two hours.
Lellia decided to pay coolly. After all, you could never have too many Crystals.
As soon as she charged the Crystals, another speech bubble appeared.
[Congratulations, Master! Now Special Affinity, Hidden Quests, and Special Recipes have been unlocked!٩(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و To commemorate, we're offering 50,000 Crystals at a 20% discount!]
"Hey..."
Lellia clutched the back of her neck for a moment. But she soon calmed herself and purchased Crystals once more.
Returning to the main screen, she saw that buttons for Special Affinity and Special Recipes had newly appeared.
Curious about what they looked like, she pressed them, but only a large [?] floated on a gray screen.
"I don't know. I'm hungry, so let's eat first."
Lellia threw on a robe, grabbed some money, and slipped out of her room.
Then she headed to a brunch place she'd scouted out nearby.
It was a place you had to pass through narrow alleys for quite a while to reach, but it was an incredibly famous restaurant.
Lellia walked there humming to herself as if on a stroll.
However, it was after she'd turned a couple of alley corners.
*Ding ding.*
Suddenly, a notification sound rang out. Lellia looked around briefly, then pressed the gem of her necklace to bring up the screen.
On the screen, she saw the alchemy tool with a bright expression. Soon after, a speech bubble appeared.
[Master! <4> Special Affinity targets are approaching within 2m! Complete the Hidden Quest to raise affinity and unlock Special Recipes!(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧]
Wait. What did it say?
Flustered, Lellia blinked and looked at the text again.
Special Affinity targets? Four people?
'And what? Within 2m? What on earth does this mean...?'
That was when it happened.
Somehow, an eerie shadow fell over her head.
"......!"
At the sudden killing intent felt behind her, Lellia's body froze.
At the same time, a low voice pierced her ears.
"Lellia Auroria."
'Who? They know my name?'
Lellia slowly turned her body around.
The moment she confirmed who was emanating such killing intent.
Lellia nearly collapsed on the spot, her legs giving out beneath her.
"Seeing you react to that name, I suppose it's yours."
The man who had been covering his eyes with black cloth spoke with a sneer.
What... what is this....
Lellia looked at them tensely. Before her eyes, large men were looking down at her.
With gazes that seemed ready to tear her apart and kill her at any moment.
And at that moment.
The man who had been covering his eyes with black cloth pulled the cloth down and asked,
"Was it you? Who killed my friend?"
It was a voice so cold it seemed capable of killing a person with sound alone.
"......"
What did he just say?
"You killed the former Crown Prince, and then lived in comfort as a princess, did you?"
Then the beautiful blonde man asked with a sweet smile. Eyes that looked like they'd kill someone even while smiling.
"......"
Lellia was dumbfounded.
In that instant, a strange sense of déjà vu flashed through her mind like an arrow.
'Wait, surely not....'
That was when it happened.
"Answer me. Why did you kill him?"
The brown-haired man spoke through gritted teeth. His eyes were thick with killing intent, resentment, and hatred.
And behind him....
"I'm going to torture you as painfully as possible before killing you."
Beast-like red eyes gleamed eerily. The silver-haired man drew the sword at his waist the moment he finished speaking.
"Eek—!"
Lellia was so startled she let out a strange scream without realizing it and stumbled backward.
Following the red-eyed man, the others began drawing their swords one by one.
What is this, are they really trying to kill me? Wait...!
Lellia slowly stepped back, then collapsed to the ground.
'N-no, surely....'
They say "surely not" kills people. An inexplicable certainty sent goosebumps racing across her entire body.
The black-haired man with a fierce expression was definitely....
'Calix.'
That blonde with blue eyes who looked like he'd tear someone's mouth open while smiling—that was Romeo.
And that brown-haired man who seemed to have lost his mind was Griffith.
And finally, those red eyes....
'Oscar...? It can't be Oscar.'
Lellia blinked repeatedly as she looked up at them.
No, even if the others were them.
'Oscar... is it?'
Honestly, the other three seemed to have traces of their childhood appearances. But Oscar... Oscar was....
The image of Oscar in her mind was very small, fragile, and always sniffling like a baby kitten.
Seeing her stare blankly at him, the presumed Oscar spoke.
"No, it'd be a waste to kill her easily. Let's take her somewhere quiet and pull out her fingernails, then cut off her fingers joint by joint."
N-no. That's not Oscar.
Oscar wasn't someone who could say such things.
Lellia thought that couldn't be the case and racked her brain for how to handle this situation.
But then.
A shadow quickly appeared over her head. Lellia was struck right at the pressure point on the back of her neck—*thud*—and fainted.