Vol 5. Chapter 62: Investigation

“Here, little Vanessa. I tested it already. It is not hot anymore, so it will not burn you. You can drink it without worry.”

With a gentle expression, Kaleni brought the spoon to Vanessa’s lips, looking for all the world like a loving mother carefully tending to her child.

“Big sister Kaleni, I can do it myself. I am not a child.”

Vanessa still did not know how to handle such intimate treatment. More accurately, she was completely at a loss.

“What are you embarrassed about? There is no one else here to see us. And you are still shy around me~?” Kaleni asked with a laugh. “Come on. I already blew it until it was warm. If we wait any longer, it will get cold, and cold soup is not nearly as nice.”

A faint flush rose to Vanessa’s cheeks, along with a touch of awkwardness. Left with no alternative, she carefully leaned closer and parted her lips.

Mm. It really was quite good.

“Is it good?”

“Yes. It is excellent. You can tell the chef put great care into it and has exceptional skill.”

“If the chef heard little Vanessa praise the food like that, he would be very happy.”

With that, Kaleni simply sat beside her and watched Vanessa eat breakfast with a smile.

“Big sister Kaleni, are you not eating?” Vanessa asked.

“Mhm~”

Kaleni did not give a clear answer. She merely kept smiling at Vanessa.

“Is there something on my face? Food crumbs, perhaps?” Vanessa asked again.

“No. I was only thinking that little Vanessa has such graceful table manners.” Kaleni spoke half in jest. “You are far more ladylike than I am.”

“You are joking, big sister Kaleni. You received formal Saintess training and are the Facilis Family’s natural successor as Dawn Saintess.”

“Does that not make little Vanessa even more impressive? You learned it all without anyone teaching you.”

Kaleni rested her chin on her folded hands.

“Big sister Kaleni, if you do not eat soon, breakfast will go cold. Please do not disappoint the chef’s efforts or let the food go to waste.”

Vanessa’s voice was soft and soothing, like a morning breeze.

“I am worried little Vanessa has not eaten enough.” Kaleni rubbed Vanessa’s head. “My poor little Vanessa. You went hungry so often growing up, and you are still at the age when you need to grow.”

“Big sister Kaleni, you truly are making fun of me now. Who keeps growing for that long?”

Vanessa felt helpless. Her hair had only just been properly arranged, and now it was being rubbed again. She could only hope it would not leave a cowlick.

“Who says you are not still growing? Little Vanessa needs plenty of nutrition right now. Luckily, malnutrition did not seem to affect your development very much.”

“I am already this old. I am not much younger than you, big sister. That stage has long passed.”

On that note, Vanessa could not help wondering whether the reason her female body had escaped the worst of it was that the little nutrition available had been preferentially supplied to it—leaving her male body severely malnourished, frail, and unable to grow very tall.

As for her Blessing Angel form...

Never mind.

The fact that she could not see her toes at all when she looked down made it impossible to say she had ever been deprived of food as a child.

“Anyway, little Vanessa should eat more. I can tell at a glance that you have a big appetite.”

Kaleni’s gaze was gentle as she smoothed down Vanessa’s stray hairs.

“What do you mean by that, big sister Kaleni?”

At those words, Vanessa’s appetite vanished. Her smile remained, but the corner of her eye twitched.

“It is incredibly rude to say that a lady has a big appetite.”

“Oh? There are no outsiders here. It is just little Vanessa and me—family. What is wrong with saying it?” Kaleni did not seem bothered. “In my eyes, little Vanessa having a big appetite is a good thing.”

“So, big sister Kaleni, I have already told you that I do not have a big appetite.”

Vanessa’s smile remained fixed, but her tone rose slightly.

Why did Kaleni keep bringing this up? Could she not talk about something else??

“And why do you think I have a big appetite?”

Vanessa was starting to wonder whether she had been eating too much lately. Was her figure no longer as good as it should be?

She touched her stomach and waist.

“Yes, exactly.”

Kaleni tilted her head.

“Please do not make such awful jokes. How could that be??”

Having received confirmation, Vanessa’s eyes widened in disbelief. Her expression barely changed, but her gaze gave the impression that her entire world had just collapsed.

“Oh, do not touch there, little Vanessa. The place you have filled out is not your stomach or waist.”

Kaleni smiled knowingly.

“Then where is it??”

“What do you think?”

Kaleni gave Vanessa’s chest a meaningful glance.

“Big sister Kaleni, if you were not so mischievous every now and then, I think you would be even more popular with your subordinates.”

Vanessa was nearly out of patience. Just now, she had almost gone looking for a scale to weigh herself.

Not that this world had scales like that.

Vanessa closed her eyes, then elegantly took a silk napkin and lightly wiped her lips.

“I am finished, big sister Kaleni.”

“Hm? You are finished already?”

Kaleni glanced at Vanessa’s breakfast. The soup was gone, and so was the bread.

“Little Vanessa is full already?”

“Yes. I am full. Thank you for your concern, big sister Kaleni.”

Vanessa nodded calmly, as though she were determined to refute Kaleni’s claim about her appetite through her actions.

“Really? To avoid waste, that was less than a full serving. If little Vanessa gets hungry on the road home, there will be nothing to eat.”

“I am certain that I am full,” Vanessa said firmly. “Big sister Kaleni is the one who has not eaten anything. You are the one who will truly be hungry on the road.”

“My appetite was never that big.”

Kaleni picked up a slice of bread and began to chew it delicately.

“Then why are you so insistent on assuming that mine is?” Vanessa was still hung up on the matter.

“I do not know. Perhaps it is intuition? Does little Vanessa also love desserts very much?”

“On that subject, why does big sister Kaleni have to use an adverb like ‘very much’ for everything? Besides, that is not the point. Nothing should be judged so absolutely. Everything has mild, moderate, and appropriate degrees; it should not all be lumped together.”

“All right, I understand.”

Before Vanessa could finish her serious little lecture, Kaleni cut her off and put on an expression of complete understanding.

Seeing Vanessa speak earnestly about everything except give a direct answer, Kaleni understood perfectly.

“You understand? But I did not say anything or answer anything.”

Vanessa lifted her chin.

“I know, I know. Vanessa merely appreciates desserts. You only take a small taste, in perfectly reasonable moderation, correct~?”

“Yes. Though you have not put it quite specifically enough, that is roughly it.”

Having finished breakfast, Vanessa placed both hands over her stomach and sat quietly on the bench.

“All right, I have eaten enough as well. We should not keep everyone waiting. Let us depart.”

Before long, Kaleni stood.

“I am going with you, big sister Kaleni?” Vanessa asked.

“Do you really need to ask?”

Kaleni looked back at Vanessa.

“Little Vanessa is naturally coming with me. Ride back to the Holy Capital of the Church in the carriage with me.”

“I already had Rina send orders to the churches holding the Original Sin Mirror shards in different regions. They are to transfer the shards to the Holy Capital of the Church. That will take some time, though. Until then, we should go back and think of a solution. We still have the unresolved double-moon phenomenon to deal with.”

“I understand, but should I disguise myself first?” Vanessa asked hesitantly.

“A disguise? Why? Little Vanessa calls me big sister now. What about you could possibly be shameful or hidden from others?”

“Everyone knows the Facilis Family has a single direct line. If I show myself openly, it will cause trouble for you, big sister Kaleni.”

Vanessa paused, but her implication was obvious.

If she walked openly across this parallel Tyrelis Continent, the trouble would not fall only on Kaleni. It would also affect the many Saintesses of this world who had already passed away.

Everyone would wonder where this additional Facilis descendant had come from. And after enough speculation, some of those guesses would inevitably fall on the former Dawn Saintesses.

For example—

Could she be the illegitimate daughter one of those Dawn Saintesses had left behind?

It was absurd, but rumors like that would definitely spread. People loved talking about such things in their spare time.

By then, some deceased Saintess might have her reputation ruined and be mockingly remembered as a romantic who had left lovers everywhere.

Would that not be a horribly unfair death??

At that point, even if the Church of the Dawn in this world tried desperately to deny the rumors and told everyone not to believe them, saying that the Facilis Family had always maintained a single direct line, it would be useless.

And even then, they would have no way to explain where the additional Saintess had come from.

The Church of the Dawn and the Radiant Cross Knights of this parallel world were clearly normal.

Vanessa did not want to cause trouble for them or for Kaleni. To prevent that possibility, it was better to avoid drawing attention as much as possible.

“Big sister Kaleni, I should disguise myself.”

“Are you afraid of causing me trouble?”

“Not only that. Even if none of those things are true, people’s words are frightening. Once false rumors begin, they do not fade easily.”

Vanessa understood that all too well.

“I insist. Please do not stop me, big sister Kaleni.”

“All right, all right. If that is what little Vanessa wants, do as you please.”

Since Vanessa had put it that way, Kaleni had no choice but to agree.

“Mhm.”

*****

“So Vinny went to a card room on campus on the final day before he disappeared?”

Inside the Student Council President’s office, Mirexia spoke in a low voice.

“Yes. I remember someone knocking on the door that night and telling Vinny that he might have left something behind at the card room. They asked him to go identify it and see whether it belonged to him.”

Shicodale sat on the bench as he spoke.

“He left something at a card room...”

Mirexia considered it.

“Since it was a card room, perhaps it had something to do with the students who often played cards with him. We could ask them.”

“There is no need. Aesphyra and I already went to see them. The students who regularly played cards with Vinny really do not seem to know where he went. They also did not play cards with him at the card room that night,” Aesphyra added.

“Then have you asked at the card room?” Mirexia asked.

“Not yet. That is why we came to you, Mirexia. Only after the Student Council confirms that someone has truly gone missing and an investigation is being opened will the card room provide its customer list,” Aesphyra said.

“All right. I will report to the Academy first that a student has disappeared on Academy grounds. Let us go.”

With that, Mirexia set down the documents in her hands, rose to her feet, and left the Student Council with Aesphyra and Shicodale.

“Excuse me, did the three of you reserve a room in advance?”

Inside the card room, a blue-haired girl was keeping records behind the counter. When she looked up, she saw three unfamiliar figures who did not seem like the sort of people who would ever appear in a card room.

The blue-haired girl kept her expression neutral, but she grew wary.

These three strikingly attractive young people clearly did not look like ordinary card-room patrons.

“No. We came to ask whether, two nights ago, a student named Vinny came here to claim a lost item,” Mirexia asked seriously.

“Vinny?”

At the name, the blue-haired girl’s eyes shifted almost imperceptibly.

“Who are you? I am sorry, but our establishment operates legitimately. We cannot disclose client information.”

“I am Mirexia, the Student Council President.”

Mirexia presented her identification.

“The student named Vinny has disappeared. I have already reported it to the Academy, and we are here to investigate.”

“You... what did you say??”

The blue-haired girl froze, shock filling her face.

“That gentleman... he has gone missing?”

“How long has he been missing?”

“I am asking you,” Mirexia replied. She had sensed that something was wrong. “He came here that night, did he not?”

“Please tell me the truth, miss. The formal authorization will arrive shortly. This is an investigation.”

As Student Council President, Mirexia carried considerable authority.

“...I understand. Please allow me to ask our manager.”

The blue-haired girl appeared to be processing the news herself.

“Thank you. Please be quick.”

The blue-haired girl left the counter.

Soon afterward, a man dressed in formal attire hurried over with her and arrived at the desk.

“My apologies for keeping you waiting. I am the manager of this card room.”

The man spoke with faint regret.

“Our desk attendant has already told me about the matter you mentioned. We will cooperate, but please explain in detail. One of our clients disappeared after leaving our establishment, and an incident like this could seriously affect our business.”

Mirexia glanced at Aesphyra.

Aesphyra returned the look.

No one else, including Shicodale, noticed the exchange between them.

“Of course. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“This way, please. Let us find somewhere to sit and discuss it.”