Ch.185[Chapter 185] Anomaly: The Twist

“Let’s go to the second floor now.”

Sir Dominic’s group, having taken a suitable rest at the cafe, soon came back outside.

“It seems we’ll be fine on our way back.”

The candy hailstorm was gradually weakening, with apparently few candies remaining.

The ground was still covered with completely pulverized candy powder, sharp fragments, and candy chunks.

Sir Dominic’s group moved with crunching sounds underfoot.

The entrance to the second floor happened to be right next to the store, so they didn’t have to travel far.

“Is this it?”

Sir Dominica stood in front of the door, checking the address.

After confirming that the number beside the door matched the address, Sir Dominica politely knocked.

“…Who is it?”

A woman’s voice was heard from inside.

“Excuse me, are you Miss Sweet-“

“Gas meter inspection.”

When Sir Dominica was about to speak directly, Sir Dominic quickly interjected with quick thinking.

Sir Dominica gave Sir Dominic a look that asked what on earth he was saying, but Sir Dominic merely made a shushing gesture without further explanation.

Good grief. Who would believe such a thing in this day and age? Especially with such awkward acting? Just as Sir Dominica thought this…

“Gas inspection? Just a moment…”

The sound of the door opening was heard, and a woman emerged from inside.

“…You don’t look like meter inspectors.”

“Excuse me. Are you Miss Sweet Sweet?”

“Ah.”

The woman reacted to Sir Dominic’s words as if something clicked.

“Is that woman selling my address again?”

“That means-“

“No, I’m not Miss Sweet Sweet.”

The woman scratched her disheveled hair in irritation.

“May I ask where you got this address from?”

“…I cannot say.”

“Well, you probably got it from Heaven Delivery.”

The woman grumbled.

Surprisingly, the woman seemed to know the whole truth.

“It’s not surprising that she has planted an informant at Heaven Delivery.”

The woman sighed after saying, “Because she’s a villain.”

“Unfortunately, you’ve been deceived. By Miss Sweet Sweet.”

The woman said with an annoyed tone.

“Go back and start your search from the beginning. Just today, 140 people have visited my home. Starting from 2 AM! Let me sleep in peace!”

Bang! The door closed.

Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica looked at each other.

What they thought was important information had been a trap set by Miss Sweet Sweet.

Now the case was back to square one.

…

As they came out of the building, the hailstorm had almost stopped.

Sir Dominic’s group, walking with crunching sounds, now had to go back to the beginning and gather information again.

“…Shall we return to the Executive branch?”

Sir Dominica said.

“Let’s go back to Heaven Delivery to find her. And make her spill the truth.”

“That would be difficult.”

Unryu Hime chimed in.

“If she’s Miss Sweet Sweet’s informant, she’s probably already gone. Besides, we don’t even know her name, right? The chances of finding her are slim.”

Hime’s words were true.

In a situation where as many as 140 people had fallen into this trap, it was unlikely that no one had thought of returning to the Executive branch to find the informant.

“…”

Sir Dominic fell into deep thought. He was probably thinking about what to do next.

“I think we should go back to the Black Company. The fairies might have gathered more information-“

“…That might be the most effective approach.”

Sir Dominica nodded at Hime’s suggestion.

That’s when it happened.

“Wait.”

Sir Dominic cut in between Sir Dominica and Hime.

“How did you know we met with the fairies of the Black Company?”

Sir Dominic pierced through the fact with his sharp insight.

“You weren’t with us at that time, Lady Hime.”

“…”

Hime had no answer to Sir Dominic’s question.

She just rolled her eyes nervously and hesitated.

“Well-“

And then came Hime’s words.

“Actually, I was following Sir Dominic. As you know, I love-“

“And.”

Sir Dominic began to point out one strange thing after another about Hime.

“Why did you introduce yourself as a ninja, not a kunoichi?”

‘Do you know the habits of ninjas?’

‘Well, I’m a ninja. I’m good at evasion.’

That’s right.

Hime usually introduced herself as a kunoichi.

But the current Hime introduced herself as a ninja.

Hime’s face stiffened.

“And why were you pierced by candy?”

‘Ouch!’

‘Th-this is really sharp.’

Although Hime was clumsy, she took great pride in her skills and couldn’t tolerate mistakes.

For such a Hime to make a mistake in basic kunoichi skills like agility? That was impossible.

Hime’s face turned pale.

“And why-“

Sir Dominic voiced the biggest question among many that remained.

“Don’t your fox ears and tail appear when you’re surprised or embarrassed?”

That’s right.

You might have noticed, but throughout this time, there has been no mention of Hime’s fox ears and tail appearing when she was surprised or flustered.

This meant that either the Hime before them was completely free from the fox curse…

Or she was an impostor.

Now Hime’s expression changed to an eerily blank one.

“You caught me.”

Hime… no, someone disguised as Hime said flatly.

“…I thought it was perfect.”

Someone with Hime’s face muttered expressionlessly, as if displeased.

“What is it? The power of love? The bond between two people?”

Ha, bond? That’s enough with cards. The Hime lookalike sneered.

“So, who are you?”

Sir Dominic asked, pointing a finger.

“Surely, you don’t pretend not to know?”

Hime twirled her hair and acted shy.

“After searching for me more desperately than anyone else.”

Hime clasped her hands together and swung them cheerfully from side to side.

“I thought it might be fate. Was I foolish to think so?”

Hime extended both index fingers to her cheeks and winked.

“Do you get it now? Do you get it?”

Hime crossed her arms, grabbed her shoulders, and made an expression of girlish delight.

“…Miss Sweet Sweet.”

“Exactly.”

Hime laughed and fired a finger gun in response to Sir Dominica’s murmur.

“I am Miss Sweet Sweet, the one you’ve been looking for.”

Hime grinned.

While all the previous actions were unimaginable for the real Hime, this eerie smile was the ultimate sense of incongruity.

…

“…It seems to be stopping now.”

Hime murmured, looking outside from inside the building.

“I came because I heard there were new kunoichi outfits, but I didn’t expect to get stranded here…”

Hime sighed.

Currently, Hime was in a department store.

Hime had bought several skins at Yamiya (闇屋), a store specializing in kunoichi outfits.

“…Will Sir Dominic like these?”

Hime murmured, looking at the rather revealing skins.

“What’s so good about that shaggy barbarian?”

“!”

A woman wearing a thin iron hat appeared beside Hime, who had a lovesick expression.

It was Tzsuki.

Tzsuki seemed to have just returned from the restroom, casually wiping the moisture from her hands onto her clothes.

What a bold, masculine personality!

Startled by Tzsuki’s sudden appearance, Hime jumped, revealing her fox ears and tail.

“…Could you make some noise when you approach?”

“You’re one to talk, always moving silently yourself.”

Above all, it’s your fault for selling your mind elsewhere, Tzsuki scolded Hime.

Hime and Tzsuki had become quite close.

Considering that their last fight was to determine who would be the elder sister, the friendship between these sisters was quite strong.

“What about you and that sword?”

Hime shouted at Tzsuki, unwilling to lose.

“You think I don’t know you bought that flashy sword to impress Sir Dominica?”

“Th-that’s different!”

Tzsuki covered the sword handle with her palm as if she’d been caught.

However, the sword itself was too large to be completely covered.

Hime began teasing Tzsuki about the fancy sword decorated with a retro cat design.

“It’s a problem even if you impress Sir Dominica. Do you think Sir Dominica will consider you a warrior with something so cute? She’ll think, ‘How cute.'”

“C-cute?”

Pop! Fox ears appeared on Tzsuki’s head.

The tail that appeared below her waist began to wag fiercely.

Anyone could see she was pleased.

“…Slip of the tongue. Who said anything about cute-“

That’s when it happened.

With a crash, the department store’s glass door shattered.

Whatever broke the glass door quickly passed by Hime and dropped a smoke bomb.

With a bang, smoke began to rise.

As people started to panic, Sir Dominic, Sir Dominica, and Alice appeared.

“Miss Sweet Sweet! Stop hiding and come out!”

“Face us and fight! If you have any honor!”

“…Sir Dominic?”

“Sir Dominica?”

“Sir Dominic?”

Hime and Tzsuki reacted to the familiar voices heard through the smoke.

No, not just Hime and Tzsuki—someone else reacted too.

What’s going on? Hime turned toward the source of the sound in the smoke.

“…Eh?”

“Huh?”

Sensing something strange, Hime looked to the side.

There was another Hime standing there.