A deal was a deal. For the moment, the Lilly Moon had no choice but to help The Joker find the key. The problem was that The Joker refused to tell them why she needed it.
Sophie: "Hmm."
Fiona: "Looks like... we'll have to search."
Rosika: "How? We don't have any information, and we couldn't find anything in the library either."
Sophie: "Hm... true."
Violet: "I can search."
Lina: "Hmm. Yeah..."
Meliodas: "Hah..."
Sophie: "Hey, you two... come eat first."
Suspenders: "Ugh... okay."
Oliver: "Okay."
Suspenders and Oliver had received their official papers and could now officially assist with missions.
Sophie: "So we have to... find the key... without even knowing what it does. How are we supposed to do that?"
Fiona: "That's a good question... no idea."
Meliodas: "Maybe you could ask that Celia?"
Sophie: "Hmm."
Fiona: "I don't know... that would be risky. What if this key is so important that she'd... notice something? Don't forget... we're helping The Joker right now... and only because of that idiot Einsenheim..."
Sophie: "Mmm..."
Meliodas: "Hmm... Well... how about a museum?"
Fiona: "...Mmm... yeah. That might work... We could learn something in a museum."
Meliodas: "Good. Fiona, go with Sophie."
Rosika: "Me?"
Siegfried: "And me?"
Meliodas: "You two stay here. The Joker isn't someone to take lightly... That woman... is incredibly clever. She's probably already expecting us to go there."
Sophie: "Mhm."
Fiona: "Yeah... all right. Sophie, get ready."
Meliodas: "Sorry, you two... you should actually be resting."
Sophie: "We have less than two weeks."
Fiona: "Hmm..."
Meliodas: "Take care of yourselves."
Sophie: "Mhm."
Fiona: "We will."
Sophie: "We'll be quick."
They left the building.
Sophie: "So... first mission in quite a while with just the two of us."
Fiona: "If that bothers you, I'll call someone like Siegfried."
Sophie: "No, it doesn't bother me. Hehe..."
Fiona: "Hmm."
Sophie: "I still haven't gotten my salary."
Fiona: "Neither have I... honestly..."
Sophie: "Hah... Here, Fiona."
She handed her the painkillers.
Sophie: "Here... I hid them."
Fiona: "Why?"
Sophie: "Just in case... Here... take them."
Fiona: "Thank you."
She took them. Sophie also handed her a bottle of water.
Fiona: "Thank you very much."
She swallowed the pills.
Sophie: "Isn't it getting any better?"
Fiona: "No. Without the pills, the pain in my leg never stops."
Sophie: "Does it hurt that much?"
Fiona: "Imagine your leg had no skin... and it kept being torn apart over and over again... That's what it feels like."
Sophie: "Ighhh... I understand..."
Fiona: "Thanks to training, I can walk without my cane for a long time now... but... I'm using it today because this mission probably won't require any running... hopefully."
Sophie: "I understand."
Fiona: "And how are you?... Does your head still hurt?"
Sophie: "Hehe... yeah. I guess we both need pills."
Fiona: "Mhm..."
Sophie: "Hahhh..."
It didn't take long before they arrived at the museum.
Sophie: "Oh... wow."
Fiona: "It's... the biggest museum in Dehl."
Sophie: "Yeah..."
The El Fantastic Museum was one of the most famous museums.
Sophie: "Hah... I wonder if we'll find anything here."
Fiona: "Hmm?"
Sophie: "Oh wow... look at that painting of the castle. That's Petersburg."
Fiona: "Yeah... it looks similar."
Tap! Tap!
Employee: "Hello, ladies. May I help you?"
Sophie: "Huh?"
Fiona: "Hmm?"
Employee: "Well... I have a letter for you. Someone seemed to be expecting your arrival."
Sophie looked at Fiona.
Sophie: "Oh."
Fiona: "Mhm."
She took it.
Fiona: "Thank you."
Employee: "You're welcome... Please excuse me, I have to... go now."
She walked away.
Fiona: "Hello, detectives of the Dark Umbrella... This is The Joker... I know you'll be searching here... but this time... I hope you're only trying to find out where the key is... As I said, I don't know that... but... we have someone who might... Ask someone named Pedro Torres... He knows about things like this... He doesn't work for us... so don't tell him anything... about us... or we'll kill him... just like the employee who handed you this letter. The Finger is watching you, along with other members... so this is your final warning... Behave yourselves. Oh, and Fiona... give me back my morphine or I'll start getting angry!!!"
Sophie: "Huh?"
Fiona: "Huh!"
As soon as she finished reading, they heard a scream.
Unknown Woman: "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Sophie: "Ugh."
Fiona: "Huh!"
They immediately ran toward the sound.
Sophie: "Huh!"
Fiona: "Ugh... damn it!"
The employee lay dead on the floor with a stab wound through her eye.
Sophie: "Fuck!!!"
Fiona: "Was that really necessary... damn it."
Sophie: "Hahh... Let's hurry and find this Pedro Torres."
Fiona: "Wait... there's something written at the end of the letter... 'For every day that passes, an innocent person dies. If the Hunters realize you're trying to fool us... we've poisoned wells across several locations. Don't bother searching for them—they're on timers, and we've made sure they'll activate the moment anyone besides one of our members touches them... Signed... Your Joker... or Sandy... whichever you prefer.'"
Sophie: "She really is... the most disturbing woman I've ever seen."
Fiona: "But... she wasn't that smart this time... there's a grammatical mistake here."
Sophie: "Great, Fiona... really."
Meanwhile...
The Joker: "Hahhh... cough... Damn it... she must've taken my morphine while I wasn't paying attention."
The Finger: "Here... I found one."
The Joker: "Ugh!"
She took it and injected herself in the hand.
The Joker: "Hahhhh... hahhhh... hahhhh... Thank... you..."
The Finger: "You're thanking me... Hmph... That's rare."
The Joker: "Hahhh... So... what's the Boss's decision?"
The Finger: "He says he agrees with our plan... as long as we find the key to the labyrinth."
The Joker: "Hehehe... Good... Hahhh..."
The Finger: "But was the threat really necessary?"
The Joker: "Hehehe... Maybe I was a little angry... because of the morphine."
She walked on.
The Joker: "Don't forget... keep the pressure on them... I'm going to get some rest."
The Finger: "Sure... I'll handle the rest myself."
The Joker: "Good thing I have you, Finger."
The Finger: "Of course..."
Noe Blade, The Joker, and The Finger had known each other for a very long time. Both The Finger and The Joker were experiments from the former San Guimereas government.
The Finger was indeed intelligent, but he usually preferred to stay behind the scenes, while The Joker enjoyed watching everything unfold firsthand.
In certain areas, The Finger might even surpass The Joker. The poison had not been his idea... but the letter had been. He was also the one who killed the employee as a warning.
The difference between the two was simple.
The Finger respected his opponents.
The Joker preferred to play with them.
But both... were monsters.
The San Guimereas government had forbidden anyone from approaching them even when they were children. Since childhood, they manipulated other children.
The Finger wasn't cruel.
The Joker was far more terrifying because she genuinely enjoyed watching people suffer.
Once, she forced several children to either kill their beloved pet cat... or kill themselves.
Some attacked the cat.
Others attacked themselves.
In the end, the children died...
And the cat survived.
Because the cat survived, The Joker spared it.
To her...
Whoever survives has the right to live.
Whoever cannot commit cruel acts to survive... does not necessarily deserve to live.
She truly didn't care how someone survived.
The cat survived without really doing anything.
It simply walked over to The Joker.
She declared it the winner because she knew the children had been forced to attack each other and themselves.
She had manipulated adults into killing as well.
Once, she pretended to be a soldier's dead daughter.
She traumatized him so deeply with her perfect imitation...
All after seeing her only on a cassette recording.
Her voice.
Her mannerisms.
Even the way she looked at people.
She could imitate humans perfectly and understood how they thought by thinking exactly like them.
That was why she had first been called "The Night" before, as she grew older, becoming known as "The Joker."
In any case...
The San Guimereas government had deleted most of the documents concerning both her and The Finger.
The Finger wasn't as brutal as The Joker.
That was their biggest difference.
Because those documents had been erased, almost nothing remained about where they truly came from or who their families were.
All that was known was that The Finger originally came from Dukewood, while The Joker was most likely born somewhere in the Slavic Empire or in Budapest.
Incidentally, those really were their names.
The Joker was actually called The Joker.
Originally, they wanted to call her "The Night," but later changed their minds, although some documents still referred to her by that title.
Most, however, used "The Joker."
The Finger was popular among the doctors because he wasn't nearly as bloody.
Even so, they feared him.
He came and went whenever he pleased.
He had no problem killing either...
Children...
Or women.
Both The Joker and The Finger were classified as extremely dangerous.
To this day, the San Guimereas government had never spoken publicly about them, fearing the reactions of other kingdoms.
Still...
Both of them surely had weaknesses.
Perhaps...
Those weaknesses could be found... in old documents.
Sophie: "Hmm..."
Fiona: "She didn't tell us where he is... which means we'll have to find him ourselves."
Sophie: "Yep."
Fiona: "Hm?... Excuse me."
She approached a police officer who happened to be nearby. The employee's body had already been taken away and officially declared dead.
Police Officer: "Yes?"
Fiona: "We're detectives from the Dark Umbrella. We have a question. Do you know someone named Pedro Torres?"
Police Officer: "Why are you asking about that old eccentric?... Well, whatever. He actually doesn't live far from here. Just go to Esperato Street... House number 31."
Sophie: "Thank you very much, sir."
Fiona: "Thank you."
Police Officer: "Sure."
They left.
Perhaps this was their chance.
Police Officer: "Hmm."
But they were being watched.
The Finger: "Hmmm... Hmph."
He disappeared and reappeared atop one of the street lamps.
The Finger: "Then let's see... how you handle yourselves."
He leaped onto another rooftop.
The Finger: "Huh?"
Child: "Huh?"
A child stood at the window.
The Finger: "...Ugh."
Child: "Wooow..."
The Finger: "Hehehe."
He handed her a flower.
The Finger: "Here, young lady... I offer you this rose... In return... you won't tell anyone what you saw today. How does that sound?"
Child: "Oh... okay."
She accepted it.
Child: "Huhhhh... Huh?"
He had already vanished.
The Finger: "Children these days... hehe..."
He landed on the roof of another house.
The Finger: "Hmm... I shouldn't tell the others about her... Otherwise they'll start looking for the child... Better not tell The Joker either. If she decides the girl is a threat... it won't end well... A gentleman... does not harm a young lady... Unless it's absolutely necessary... I assume she won't say anything. If she does... then I'll have to find the child... and kill her... Hmm?"
He spotted Fiona and Sophie's carriage.
The Finger: "Hehehe... There they are... the ladies... Hmph... Let's see how well they perform."
He put on an eye mask.
The Finger: "Then... let's begin."
He leaped into the air and spread his cloak like wings to glide.
The Finger: "I'll watch from above..."
Meanwhile...
Sophie: "Ighhh... Why do I have such a strange feeling?"
Fiona: "Hmm?"
Sophie: "I think... I think someone's watching us."
Fiona: "Very possible... Though... I don't think The Joker..."
Sophie: "What did she mean about her morphine?"
Fiona: "While you were talking to her... I noticed it and took it. Before I started using painkillers, I was addicted to morphine myself... so I recognized it."
Sophie: "Oh... I remember... But you don't take it anymore, right?"
Fiona: "No. Only painkillers."
Sophie: "Hehehe... So The Joker has a weakness."
Fiona: "Mhm..."
Sophie: "Then she isn't as smart or as strong as she seems."
Fiona: "Let's not underestimate her again, okay?... That'll only lead to more innocent people dying... like that employee."
Sophie: "You're right."
Fiona: "We're here."
Sophie: "Hmm."
Fiona stepped out and helped Sophie climb down.
Fiona: "Here."
Sophie: "Oh... thank you... So this is the house."
Fiona: "Yeah."
Sophie: "Then let's go inside."
They knocked on the door.
Fiona: "Hello?...?"
Sophie: "Hello, Mr. Pedro?...?"
The door opened.
Sophie: "Huh?"
Fiona: "Um..."
Pedro: "...What do you want?"
He was an incredibly small man...
And very old.
Sophie: "Sorry to disturb you, sir... We only have one question... Do you know this key?"
Pedro: "Depends which key you mean. I know the key to my house, for example... But I also see the key to your clothes... and I could unlock that too."
Sophie: "Ighhh... What a dirty old pervert..."
Fiona: "Psst."
Sophie: "Cough... Sorry..."
Fiona: "We mean this key."
He looked at the picture.
Pedro: "Ughhh... You... are out of your minds. Where did you get this?"
Sophie: "Huh?"
Fiona: "Hmm?"
Pedro: "Oh... You'll find that key in the old castle... In San Madrid there's a castle belonging to the Hernandez family... You'll find a key like this there. Let me guess... You're not allowed to know what the key is for?"
Fiona: "Ugh..."
Pedro: "I suppose that's because I'd end up dead if I told you... Anyway... let me warn you... That key is important. I won't say what for... But... be careful."
Sophie: "Thank you... sir."
Fiona: "Thank you very much."
Pedro: "Sure... But don't come back here again."
Sophie: "Okay."