Reaching out with both hands to support the unconscious girl who had slumped down, Sullivan gestured "no problem" towards the bushes by the roadside, while Johannes, hidden behind, breathed a sigh of relief and also emerged.
"There was really no need to make things so complicated. It could have been solved with a swift action," he remarked.
Creating a hiding place that completely concealed their presence with Magic plants, Vera also peeked out, walking over to Ellie who was fully immersed in her surroundings and somewhat uninterestingly poked the girl's soft cheek.
Ah, she seemed to have a faint impression of this child, her name was... Ellie, right?
"We never intended to harm anyone."
Sullivan glanced at Vera, then scooped up Ellie and left the easily noticed path to return to the small grove they had hidden in before.
The fundamental goal of the mission was to rescue Bishop Heinrich, not to exacerbate the conflict between Milanía and the Church, for sure they had to avoid causing too much impact, let alone what Vera had suggested.
But it was indeed quite troublesome...
His illusion required the target to come into contact with a medium infused with magic power to take effect. If it weren't for Ellie happen to come across the only wooden frame influenced by the spell, she wouldn't have fallen for it.
Of course, if that had happened, Johannes would have considered knocking her out with a magic staff. After all, they had been lurking in this area near the castle's back mountain for almost a day without finding a suitable target to act on, and they hadn't rested much either. If it continued like this, they might even starve.
"But we only have one identity card in hand..."
Sullivan raised his head to look at Johannes and the indifferent Vera, couldn't help but sigh, "It looks like I have to sneak in after all?"
"Hey hey, don't give me that 'useless man' look! No matter how you think about it, you're the most suitable one for the job."
Theurg protested disgruntledly. Indeed, if someone had to sneak in—especially using the maid's identity card from the castle, Sullivan, who could use illusions, was undoubtedly the best fit.
"Anyway, you can rest assured to infiltrate, I will keep an eye on her. Remember to stay in touch."
Johannes took out a miniature alchemical accessory from his storage bracelet that looked like an earring and shook it.
Sullivan glanced at him deeply, looking like he had something to say but hesitated to speak.
"John, don't do anything that would tarnish the reputation of the Holy See."
"Huh?" Johannes was stunned for two seconds, then realized what the guy meant when he saw him staring intently at Ellie still lost in the illusion on the grass. He suddenly erupted as if insulted: "What are you talking about! Do you think I'm that kind of person?! No matter what, I am a disciple of the Pope! And only daydreaming without committing any crimes in reality is the basic cultivation of an OTAKU (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻!"
Somehow, he became particularly concerned in odd ways.
...
"Hmm... Something still doesn't feel quite right."
As the sky darkened, Tiran closed the book in her hands and returned to her room. Aya, her mother, surprisingly had not appeared in front of her all day. Even if Aya was with Chirp, what was her mother doing?
"Well then, let's go and find out."
Glancing down at her thin strap nightgown, the princess shrugged indifferently, grabbed a lightweight coat from the wardrobe, put it on, and left the room.
As soon as she pushed the door open, she met Mimi walking towards her.
"Your Highness?"
Seeing Tiran voluntarily leaving the room, the head maid was somewhat surprised. According to convention, the post-transformation Tiran was a hardcore otaku, lounging in the bedroom on the top floor without a bathroom or toilet, twenty-four hours a day, if it weren't for the fact that it was located on the top floor of the tower.
"Oh, it's Mimi. Hey Mimi," Tiran greeted Mimi before turning her gaze and asking, "By the way, have you seen Aya?"
"Aya?"
Recalling Aya seeking her help at noon, Mimi chuckled softly to herself, guessing the situation, and subtly shook her head, "No, she is probably playing with Chirp. But, Your Highness, dinner is being prepared. Will you continue dining in your room or..."
"The dining room. But it can be a little later. I'll go downstairs for a walk."
If even Mimi didn't know, there definitely must be something fishy going on. What was Aya up to without her knowing?
Getting no answers, but aroused with curiosity, Tiran pressed the staircase handrail with her slippers and ran down the stairs.
Watching Tiran disappear at the bottom of the spiral staircase, Mimi could only shrug helplessly. She had done her best to keep Aya's secret from Tiran and the Queen, the rest had nothing to do with her.
But speaking of which, Tiran's birthday was less than a month away. She should start preparing a gift as well.
In previous years, she had designed and sewn clothes by hand. Although Tiran always liked them very much, according to her, "No one sees it when I'm at home" and she "ruins the clothes Mimi has carefully made" during adventures, so the clothes always ended up quietly hanging in the wardrobe after a wear or two.
"Sigh, I could at least see her wear them at home... Your Highness really doesn't understand my intentions at all."
Mimi sighed with a bit of resentment, believing a little mystery would add to the joy of life.
On the other hand, running down the tower and into the main building of the castle, Tiran wasn't just aimlessly wandering around but headed straight for the ground floor's kitchen.
Hmph, even though she had read several detective novels, how could she be fooled by Aya's little secret? Having lunch in her room seemed different from usual, Mimi also mentioned that there was an accident in the kitchen.
She knew the chef quite well, his professionalism was unquestionable, coupled with the recent tranquility in the castle, the only possibility was that the novice Aya was messing around in the kitchen!
—Well, in fact, most of the above were the princess's own speculations. The real reason was that the contractual link allowed her to vaguely sense Aya in that direction.
But none of that mattered! What mattered was what Aya was up to. Was she secretly preparing something delicious for Chirp?
Oh, naive Aya, did she think cutting off communication of the contract on one side could avoid detection? We are a closely connected duo, even if you did that, I could still sense the rough direction!
Thinking this way, Tiran arrived in front of the kitchen's door and forcefully pushed it open!
"Aya! Let me unveil your true self! New machine wa one optimization hi multiple characters!"
With a hand in her coat pocket, she extended a forefinger forward with confidence, loudly exclaiming.
"...Your Highness Tiran? What are you doing?"
In the kitchen, the chef, who had just checked the level of bolognese sauce in the oven and turned around to prepare side dishes, looked bewilderedly at Tiran.
