"Of course." Ansu almost forgot to introduce the guest to his sister.
He glanced at Celia and cleared his throat, his tone becoming solemn. "This is Ms. Celia. She is the employer I told you about—my current boss."
Celia didn't care much for the excuse Ansu had concocted, and in a way, she truly was his "boss."
"Oh! So you are the one..." Vera nodded in realization, eyeing Celia once more.
This time, however, her gaze was filled with scrutiny.
This employer looked to be around eighteen or nineteen, roughly the same age as her brother. Moreover, she was dressed impeccably and was impossibly beautiful. She didn't look like a boss at all, but rather like a young lady from a wealthy family.
This only made Vera more suspicious...
Would an ordinary boss pay a new employee such a high salary? The more she thought about her brother's "new job," the more something felt off...
"Thank you for taking care of my brother these past few days, Ms. Celia. But since he's working for you now..." Vera asked tentatively, "What kind of business does your company mainly engage in? Or rather, what do you usually do?"
"Well... about that." Celia hadn't expected such a scene. Since when was she subject to interrogation by others?
She shot Ansu a sharp look, while Ansu was frantically blinking at her from the side.
Celia sighed helplessly in her heart; she had no choice but to help him maintain the lie.
"It's about..."
"It's about a population investigation!" Ansu lied without even blushing, explaining to his confused sister:
"Ms. Celia is employed by a special government department. They're specifically responsible for investigating dangerous elements hiding among the people, such as dark wizards or demihuman resistance organizations. Because this department deals with dangerous transcendent power, very few people know about it. Vera, you must never tell anyone about this, or the two of us might get arrested!"
After Ansu finished his mysterious explanation, Vera's small face immediately grew tense.
"So it's such a dangerous job!" Vera exclaimed in shock. "Dark wizards? Demihumans? Big brother, do you have to deal with those dangerous people every day? Shouldn't the Church be responsible for that? Won't you be in danger?"
"It's fine, it's fine!" Ansu waved his hand. "I only handle some auxiliary work. I rarely come into contact with those people. Don't worry!"
"No wonder you've been studying that heretical tome these past few days. It was for work..." Vera muttered to herself as she realized.
Ansu thought silently that the power of imagination was truly formidable...
Celia could hardly contain her amusement.
She looked at Ansu with a half-smile. The story he had spun was quite reasonable, except this "investigation" was actually an investigation from the opposite side.
"But, but..."
Vera was still very uneasy. If something happened to her brother... what would be the point of a high salary?
Vera couldn't imagine a life without him.
"Big brother, why don't you just resign from Ms. Celia's job? Let's talk to the people in charge..."
Vera walked over, tugging at Ansu's arm and pleading softly.
"We're just ordinary people. Why should we get involved in such dangerous matters? Besides, have you forgotten how Father died? Those demihumans are monsters with long ears and claws, just like wild beasts! Just the other day, I heard there was a rebellion by demihuman mercenaries at the border..."
Hearing her call demihumans "monsters," Ansu quickly told her to stop, then instinctively checked Celia's reaction.
Celia didn't react much. She simply picked up her teacup and watched the siblings' whispered conversation with interest.
After a moment, she spoke slowly.
"Don't worry, your brother will be fine. With me around, no one will bully him."
Celia gazed at Ansu with a beaming smile.
Because only she was allowed to bully him.
Vera blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected this female employer to value her brother so highly.
Ansu didn't want the topic to continue. He refilled Celia's tea and asked in a low voice, "Did you come all this way for something specific?"
"There is something." Celia didn't want to keep sitting in his house either. "Accompany me to your school for a walk today."
"A walk at school?" Ansu was stunned.
"What? Unwilling?" Celia arched an eyebrow.
"Of course I'm willing." Ansu was just a bit confused. What urgent matter could be important enough for her to personally risk going to the Royal Academy?
Celia said no more and stood up to head for the door.
Ansu looked at Vera apologetically. "I'll go shopping with you next week. I have some business to take care of today and need to head out."
"Okay..."
Since she couldn't persuade Ansu otherwise, Vera had no choice but to accept his new job. She nodded with a sigh.
"Big brother, come back early."
"I will." Ansu smiled and patted the soft top of Vera's head.
Vera watched the two of them leave.
...
Outside the door.
Watching the two of them walk side-by-side with such rapport, occasionally exchanging looks, Vera instinctively frowned.
Even if Ms. Celia was her brother's superior...
For some reason, from the moment she entered the house, Vera felt that the way these two interacted...
Was a bit strange...
"You really have a good relationship with your sister." Walking out of an alley, Celia teased with a smile. "I'm quite envious of such a family atmosphere."
"Yes." Ansu nodded. "After all, the two of us have depended on each other since we were very young."
"But why do I feel like your sister has some hostility toward me?" Celia's smile faded slightly.
"From the moment I entered until I left, I don't know how many times she looked at me. If those looks could turn into knives, I might be dead by now."
"Huh? I don't think so." Ansu certainly didn't want Celia to have any bad thoughts about Vera, as she was the type to pull up roots at the slightest threat.
"I hope not!" Celia snorted. "I only put up with that girl for so long for your sake."
"There's definitely no hostility. My sister has a very kind personality..." Ansu tried to change the subject. "May I ask, Lady Witch, what are you going to my school for? Is it still about the mission to find the Chosen One?"
"No." Celia shook her head slightly. "The matter of the Chosen One is just something my teacher values. I'm indifferent to it. So what if someone is blessed by the gods? I'll just kill them the moment they show their face. Today, I just need you to take me to your school library to look up some ancient texts."
So that was it. Ansu breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, his investigation progress this week was almost zero, and he was quite worried about how to answer if Celia asked.
The matter of the "Chosen One" and the "Destined Death" in eight days had been hanging over Ansu's heart. These two things likely had a major connection.
Ansu's current thought was to obtain as much information as possible that wasn't covered in the original plot. This hidden information was extremely important.
"Lady Witch," Ansu suddenly asked tentatively, "if we don't find this so-called Chosen One, the cult wouldn't do something drastic, like a massive black magic spell or a sacrificial ritual... and slaughter all the students, would they?"
Celia stopped and arched an eyebrow in slight surprise.
"How could that be? You're being far too radical."
Ansu hadn't expected the day he would be called "radical" by her.
Then again, cultists weren't idiots. Doing something that big wouldn't benefit them at all.
This wasn't the turbulent timeline from the game's start. Under the watchful eyes of the current Empire, carrying out a cult sacrificial ritual involving a large number of innocents would be nothing short of suicide.
Looking at it this way, the matter was far more complicated than he had imagined...
Rate on N.U.
