Chapter 107: Chapter 107

Viga’s mind was entirely focused on one thing—eavesdropping.

She doubted the Grand Elder would openly discuss anything crucial with Cruello, but understanding the enemy was always important.

Just as she finished cleaning Cruello’s room and was about to leave—

It was the room’s owner. Again.

"Good afternoon, Young Lord."

She greeted him without even making eye contact and tried to slip past him, head lowered.

But the boy stood in the doorway, blocking her path.

"You. Your name is Viga, right?"

He hadn't even known her name until now?

Suppressing the urge to pout, she answered obediently.

She had only given a simple response, but he crossed his arms and stared at her for a long moment, as if dissatisfied.

The silence stretched.

Eventually, her lips began to jut out—millimeter by millimeter—

Until, at last, they stuck out so far they could only be called a pout.

That was when Cruello finally spoke.

"What... do you like?"

"...Excuse me? Are you flirting with me?"

"Wha—shut up! Don’t spout nonsense!"

At her automatic response, Cruello flustered and raised his voice.

Viga tilted her head and stared.

He reminded her of Roy.

"...Can I ask why you're asking me this?"

"You're already asking, aren’t you? ...About last time—I apologize."

Viga’s eyes widened in surprise.

Avoiding her gaze, Cruello continued.

"I knew it was just a joke between colleagues, but I overreacted. The idea of someone pretending to be Amy was... unpleasant for me. But I suppose the things I’ve done must have felt just as disturbing to you all."

"Yeah. If Amy were alive, she probably would have told me to get a grip."

"Mmm. She really would have."

"But just so you know, I never intended to cut your friend down that day. Not that you’d believe me—I'm sure you all think I'm insane anyway."

"When I threw that cushion, I fully expected to die. I was stunned when you only fired me."

Viga chuckled awkwardly.

"Rumors tend to blow things out of proportion."

"It’s not like all of them are wrong, though. You should be more careful."

At her innocent question, Cruello let out a hollow laugh.

"Do you know what I was just thinking?"

"...That I was too correct and it caught you off guard?"

"No. That everything—your eyes, your tone, your words—resembles Amy far too much. That it's as if she came back, wearing someone /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ else's skin."

Viga froze, inhaling sharply.

To Cruello, it must have looked like fear.

His smile turned self-deprecating.

"They say you’re the only blonde left in this estate. I must have finally lost my mind."

"From now on, don’t act so bold. And don’t throw your life away over trivial things."

With that, the boy turned and left.

"He's still Roy, after all."

Viga felt sadness, guilt—

For a fleeting moment, she thought about rehabilitating him again.

But she quickly shook her head.

She wouldn’t live long either.

If she wanted to spare Cruello from more pain, she had to find another way.

As planned, she eavesdropped on the Grand Elder’s conversation with him.

And as the old man was leaving—

"There's... something in his eyes."

A condensed, ominous black mana lurking behind the Grand Elder’s gaze.

She had sensed dark magic many times in this estate—

But this was something else entirely.

She thought about it for a long time, but she couldn’t figure it out on her own.

"Nothing can be solved without taking risks."

So she bought herself time.

"I feel terribly sick!"

She shoved some pillows under her blanket to fake a body and escaped through the window.

Dressed in a discarded maid uniform and a face-covering cloth, Viga set off on a secret mission.

The Grand Elder’s estate.

It wasn’t hard to find—she had enough contacts for that.

And thanks to Pebula’s divine energy, sneaking in was easy.

Luckily, the owner was away.

The Grand Elder’s home was filled with powerful dark mages—

But between her current body’s reflexes and her divine energy, she picked the place clean without trouble.

And the greatest reward of all—

Was hidden in his office.

A section of the wall was locked with mana.

It seemed to require a specific method to open, but—

"That’s why I’ve been saving my divine power."

—Ninth Order. Modification.

The spell was overkill for breaking an encryption—

But sometimes, risks had to be taken.

Her instincts screamed that this was one of those moments.

A hidden passage was revealed.

The space beyond was a temple.

Her gamble had paid off.

"Are you okay? You said you were resting, but you look even worse now."

"I do feel a bit chilly, sniff—but I’m fine!"

With a bright smile, Viga waved off her coworker’s concerns and headed back to work.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Viga’s head ached, and chills ran down her body, but considering the sheer amount of divine power she had burned through the previous night, this was manageable.

She could still work as usual.

Though it was obvious she wasn’t in top shape.

Cruello, who had been reading in his room, narrowed his eyes.

“You should rest. You’re going to get people sick.”

“Don’t... sniff... worry about me.”

“Who said I was worried?”

“I-I won’t spread it, I won’t spread it.”

It’s just side effects from overusing divine power. Why is he making a fuss?

“You’re speaking informally.”

“No, I’m not—if I talk too long, my throat hurts... sniff... so I’m keeping it short, sir.”

“...Fine. Do what you want.”

Even so, he kept glancing at her whenever she coughed.

Feeling awkward, Viga worked faster than usual and quickly finished her chores.

As she bowed and turned to leave, Cruello hesitated—then grabbed her wrist.

“There’s a tea that’s good for colds. Ask the kitchen to make it for you. Tell them I sent you.”

“...Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m touched. Thank you, Young Lord.”

With a wide grin, Viga left the room.

She had discovered the location of the temple—

But there was another problem.

There weren’t many places to hide, and everyone wore the same uniform, making infiltration nearly impossible.

Could I steal a robe?

She thought of the dark mages lurking around the estate in secret.

But trying to threaten them was risky—one wrong move, and they’d alert the wrong people.

Maybe I should bribe them instead...?

After much deliberation, Viga decided to use her own money.

She sighed at least a hundred times before resigning herself to the loss.

On her rare day off, she rented a carriage and headed straight for Coltish Bank.

To drain Pebula’s remaining temple funds.

She had worried that the older believers had lied to her about the account—

But thankfully, the bank employee handed her an absurd amount of money without issue.

Her hands were heavy with wealth.

Even though she knew she had to spend all of it.

As she turned to leave, she hesitated—then walked back to the counter.

The original account name was "Pebula’s Blessing".

Even though Coltish Bank was known for its strict confidentiality, the name still bothered her.

"I want to change the account name. If I do that, the old records get erased, right?"

"Yes, that’s correct. What would you like to rename it?"

"Hmm... Overwork Death."

The employee nodded, unfazed.

"It appears to be a joint account. Please leave a message in case the original owners attempt to recover it."

"It’s standard procedure. We ask for your understanding."

"Ugh... Fine. Just tell them the account was inactive for too long and got automatically erased."

Viga answered without a care.

She had no idea how much trouble that decision would cause her in the future.

Using a mix of carrots and sticks, she successfully bribed a dark mage into getting her a temple robe.

He clearly wanted more money in exchange for the temple’s location—

But she already knew where it was.

And so, her infiltration began.

Since she couldn’t keep faking being sick, she worked as a maid by day and snuck into the temple by night.

Balancing both was hell,

But the information she gathered made it worth it.

No matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t find any leads on Morion.

Eventually, she made a decision.

She would hunt down the Elders for answers.

I need to check what’s in the Grand Elder’s eyes.

If anyone knew about Morion, it would be him.

She prepared a trap in the Grand Elder’s personal prayer room and waited for him to arrive.

“...Grandfather, are you really the Grand Elder?”

She had been tense, preparing all sorts of spells just in case—

That was all it took for him to collapse.

Doubtful, Viga cautiously nudged his unconscious body with her foot.

But his face looked the same as ever.

Still suspicious, she pried open his eyelids—

And finally got a clear look at the mana lump that had been bothering her.

But even up close, she couldn’t figure it out.

So she summoned divine power—

And the moment she did—

Something long and thin began unraveling from the old man’s sky-blue eyes.

And landed in her palm.

She grimaced at its unnatural shape—

But upon closer inspection, she realized what it was.

Why on earth was it inside his eye?

She had no idea what it was for.

But considering how strongly it reeked of dark magic—

She carefully stored it away.

She had planned to interrogate the Grand Elder next—

But just then, she sensed multiple people approaching the prayer room.

There was no need to kill the old man.

He undoubtedly held far too much information to dispose of recklessly.

And he never saw my face, so I should be fine.

With that, Viga hurried back to the Duke’s estate.

She slipped into her room and was just about to crawl under the blanket pile she had stuffed with pillows when—

Standing in the doorway—

Viga let out a silent scream and froze.

The boy stared at her.

"You. What have you been doing at night?"