Chapter 11: It’s too late.

Nobody knew exactly what the two little birds went through after that, but according to some kind-hearted folks, the screams from Aphrosia’s house lasted the entire night.

The first half belonged to the two little birds, while the second half… well, that was Aphrosia’s.

Why, you ask?
The Goddess’s nightly dream visits for personal “tuning” (meow)… er, no, personal education weren’t just empty promises.

That damned Goddess tormented Aphrosia half to death.
The two little birds didn’t dare utter a word.
They hadn’t faced the Goddess themselves, but it was their first time seeing someone scream in their sleep!
They’d never witnessed anything like it!
They thought Aphrosia had gone mad, scaring them out of their wits.

The two little creatures spent the whole night clinging to each other in fear, terrified that Aphrosia might wake up deranged and gobble them up.

Thankfully, the morning sunlight filtered through the window into the cramped room, the sun once again offering its warmth to the earth, ending the sisters’ night of terror.

Inside, the two little creatures huddled together, fast asleep on the couch.

The blonde girl, meanwhile, curled up in bed, her blanket twisted into a crumpled mess as she lay on her side.

Her hair, like playful sprites, was strewn carelessly across the pillow and bed, glowing faintly white under the baptism of sunlight.

The radiant beams fell upon her miraculously pure and beautiful face, tinged with a touch of cuteness.

Her lower arm was bent in front of her face, while the other rested loosely over the blanket.

The girl mumbled adorable sleep-talk now and then.
“Jerk… gimme a hug…”

She seemed to be dreaming of someone dear, her murmurs mostly resembling playful whining.

You’d never guess that just a few days ago, she was a hot-blooded boy…

Or rather… was this really her first time being a girl?

As time passed, the girl groggily opened her eyes, rubbing her bleary gaze.

Then, she sat up, stretching contentedly.
The blanket slipped off, revealing a glimpse of her fair skin.

As if recalling something, her snow-white legs slid out from under the covers, her delicate, jade-like feet gently stepping into slippers.

The girl got up to wash, preparing to face a brand-new day—and the filth hidden beneath the light.

She considered whether to wake the two little creatures.
After tormenting them so much last night, making them work again felt a bit unfair to Aphrosia.

After all, she wasn’t some oppressive capitalist.

On the bustling street, Flo, now in his male form, headed toward the last known site of the missing persons case he’d heard about yesterday.

In the sky, the two little birds scanned the ground with sharp eyes, missing no detail, acting as scouts.

Flo was like this: kind thoughts?
Sure, he’d think about them, but in reality, he had to play the shameless capitalist, repenting in his heart while doing despicable things.

The two little birds meeting him?
They’d really hit rock bottom!

“Sister, our good days are over!”

“Don’t lose heart, Sister. At least we’re in the ranks—our future’s bright…”

“Bright future, my foot… Wait, Sister, look at those guys in black cloaks!” Little Red Bird exclaimed, spotting something.

Good grief, dressed like that, it’s hard to believe you’re up to any good!

And those symbols on the back of their cloaks—don’t you even bother hiding them?!

Way too bold!

Seriously, how have the knights not caught them?
Are the knights just slacking off?
Drugged or something?

“I’ll go warn Aphrosia. Sister, keep an eye on them!”

“Got it!”

With that, Little Blue Bird flapped its wings and flew toward Flo, while Little Red Bird sneakily pretended to be an ordinary bird, watching the cloaked figures’ movements.

Meanwhile…

At the crime scene, there was nothing but the same magic circle traces as those found at the orphanage disappearance site.
No signs of a struggle, and the magic circle seemed to have been drawn instantly.

Flo sank into thought.

The scene was completely empty except for him.

That was odd.
A string of disappearances like this should’ve caught the attention of the higher-ups.
Knights or priests should’ve been sent to investigate, right?

But there was no one.
If you said they’d already been here, that didn’t add up.

First, there were no traces at all except the magic circle!
No signs of an investigation, no footprints—nothing but the victim’s.

Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps approached.
Flo, deep in thought over the magic circle, assumed it was the knights and didn’t bother turning around.

After all, the magic circle might be the only lead in this case.

“Seize the criminal!”
The lead knight drew his sword and commanded.

Criminal? Here?
Flo didn’t see anyone.

Confused, he shook his head.

But a chill ran down his spine—he could feel countless swords pointed at him!

They were coming for him?

“What? You guys?”
Flo turned around, utterly baffled.

“Save your words for my sword, vile criminal,” one of the knights said.

Flo tilted his head and pulled out his mission slip from his pocket.
“Sir Knights, I think there’s a mistake. I’m an adventurer, here to investigate the disappearances.”

Flo held up the mission slip for the knights to see.

But to his surprise, they acted as if they hadn’t heard him, their tone growing harsher.

“Hmph, we don’t care about your identity or purpose. Our orders are to apprehend the criminal.”

Even Flo, as clueless as he could be, understood what was happening.
He drew his twin blades, preparing for a fight.

“Drawing weapons, huh? Attack!” the lead knight barked.

“I’ve got nothing to say to the lapdogs of darkness. You call yourselves noble knights, but you’re just tools chasing profit!”

At the lead knight’s command, several knights charged at Flo, their silver longswords slashing toward him.

As a former assassin, Flo’s agility was top-notch, easily dodging their attacks.

The clash of blades echoed through the narrow alley.

Clang, clang*

Flo exploited gaps between his enemies, trying to break out.

But he was outnumbered.
Facing a rigorously trained knight squadron, breaking through without taking lives was no easy task, especially in such a cramped alley.

Flo had an idea.
A green mark appeared on one of the knights.
With a swift move, Flo’s figure vanished, reappearing beside the marked knight.

This was the signature move of his old butler, a former assassin.

The drawback? It could only be used once on the same target in a short time.

Using this skill repeatedly, Flo soon broke out of the encirclement.

“Hey there~ Need a hand, pointy-ears?” a voice called.

“You’re late!”