Now that the deal is over, the Lilly Moons no longer have to honor it. Instead, they can focus on gathering information, because every one of them knows one thing... the Hunters are planning something. But what exactly?
Sophie: "Hahh."
Siegfried: "And what about those devices that were supposed to poison the water?"
Meliodas: "Don't worry. We inspected every single well. The Dark Umbrella investigators didn't find anything. They kept their promise."
Sophie: "No. I don't think there ever was one to begin with."
Fiona: "Yeah..."
Meliodas: "If you knew that, then why did you still go along with it?"
Sophie: "It was too dangerous. We weren't sure."
Fiona: "And innocent people could have died."
Meliodas: "True."
Lina: "But now we can search for more information."
Violet: "About the key."
Rosika: "Let me help you this time!"
Sophie: "Quiet now. The food's ready! Oliver! Suspenders! Get over here before I get angry! Stop playing games already!!"
She shouted loudly.
Suspenders: "Whoa, I'm basically already at the table."
Oliver: "I'm almost there..."
The two of them appeared.
Sophie: "Alright, you two. You're not students anymore. That means from now on, only two hours of gaming."
Suspenders: "What?!"
Oliver: "No, please, Sophie."
Fiona: "Listen to Sophie, you two. Be grateful. I actually wanted to give you only one hour, but Sophie knows more about this, so two hours is fine."
Sophie: "See? Now hand over your consoles."
Suspenders: "Mm."
Oliver: "Okay."
He handed it over to her.
Sophie: "On weekends and during vacations, you can play more, okay?"
Fiona: "Hmm..."
Suspenders: "Ugh..."
He looked at Fiona.
Suspenders: "Oh..."
Fiona: "Huh? Hey, Suspenders, is something wrong?"
Suspenders: "Uh... no... mm..."
Sophie: "Hehhh... Fiona, come here for a second."
She took Fiona's hand.
Fiona: "Hey."
She pulled her aside.
Fiona: "What is it?"
Sophie: "Suspenders wants you to pat his head... or something."
Fiona: "How do you know that... and... why?"
Sophie: "Oliver wants it all the time. And Suspenders likes you the same way Oliver likes me, so pat his head whenever he does something good... or when he's sad. Go ahead."
Fiona: "Huh...? Mm..."
Sophie: "Okay?"
Fiona: "...Okay."
They returned.
Suspenders: "Mm..."
He was eating when Fiona slowly walked over to him.
Suspenders: "Mm..."
Fiona: "Hahh."
She gently patted his head.
Suspenders: "Ugh... Fiona?"
Sophie: "Hehe."
Rosika: "Huh? What's going on?"
Violet: "Wow... Fiona's patting someone's head? I never thought I'd see the day."
Fiona: "Hey, be quiet. He behaved himself. He gave me his console, right?"
Suspenders: "Mm..."
She slowly pulled her hand away.
Suspenders: "Huh... uh... yeah."
Fiona: "Okay."
Sophie: "Alright, let's eat now."
Meliodas: "How about we go back to the library? I think that would fit better."
Fiona: "Yeah. And if we don't find anything, we can always ask that Pedro Torres."
Sophie: "Good idea. But wouldn't that put him in danger?"
Meliodas: "Hm?"
Fiona: "The Hunters already got what they wanted. That means they're not interested in him at the moment."
Sophie: "Hmm."
Fiona: "Like I said, only if we find nothing in the library. Sophie, this time I think it's a good idea if Rosika and Siegfried come with us. Suspenders and Oliver too."
Sophie: "What? Them too?"
Fiona: "They need to work professionally now, Sophie. They passed. They know it's dangerous. Right?"
Suspenders: "Yeah."
Oliver: "Mhm."
Fiona: "Good. After we eat, we'll go."
A few hours later...
Sophie: "So this is it?"
Fiona: "Yeah... Hey, Oliver. Suspenders."
Suspenders: "Yeah?"
Fiona: "We'll probably be here for several hours. You can buy food and drinks here, so if you need anything, tell me and Sophie. We finally got our pay."
Sophie: "What a joke, making us wait three months..."
Fiona: "Don't complain. You got paid for all three months. I only got paid for one. That means I worked for free for two whole months."
Sophie: "As soon as we're back in Dehl for that meeting, I'm bringing it up. Rosika and Siegfried didn't get their salaries either."
Suspenders: "Um... Fiona... you... can have my salary."
Fiona: "Huh...?"
She smiled faintly.
Fiona: "No thanks, Suspenders. That's really sweet of you."
She patted his head.
Suspenders: "Mm."
Oliver: "Hmm... You really like Fiona."
Suspenders: "Huh...? Mm... Yeah. She was nice to me during the exam. Without Sophie noticing, she gave me ice cream."
Flashback
Fiona: "Here. Take it. But don't tell Sophie, okay?"
Suspenders: "Ugh... thank you."
She walked away.
End of Flashback
Oliver: "Huh? I thought she was strict."
Suspenders: "Not really. She just acts cold. Whenever it was cold outside, she'd always touch our foreheads to see if we were getting sick."
Oliver: "Oh. Like Sophie."
Sophie: "You two, come inside."
They went in.
Sophie: "Alright. Suspenders, Rosika, and Siegfried, you're coming to the first floor with me. Oliver, you're going with Fiona."
Oliver: "Ugh?!"
He looked at Fiona. He was trembling slightly.
Oliver: "(She's not too strict, is she...?) Okay."
Fiona: "Come on then, little guy."
She went upstairs, and he followed her.
Fiona: "Here. I'll give you these five books. If there's a word you don't understand, just tell me. You've learned the Villician language, so..."
Oliver: "Okay."
He sat down beside her, and she started reading.
Oliver: "Mm... Can I ask you something... Fiona?"
Fiona: "Just call me 'you,' okay? What's up?"
Oliver: "What's this?"
She leaned closer.
Oliver: "Ugh."
Fiona: "Hmm... Ah. That's a key. Just a normal key that people used to lock their basements a long time ago. Only wealthy people had them back then, so it's understandable that you don't recognize it."
Oliver: "Oh... okay."
A few minutes later...
Sophie: "Hmm..."
Suspenders: "Why did you let Oliver go with Fiona?"
Sophie: "Hehehe. I want him to get more used to being around her instead of only being around me."
Rosika: "Hmm."
Siegfried: "Hey, Rosika! Look! What's this?"
He shoved the book in front of her.
Rosika: "I have no idea! How many times do I have to tell you? I'm blind!!"
Siegfried: "Ah... oh... then what about this?"
The book fell to the floor.
Rosika: "Well... the book fell. I can hear that... you idiot."
Siegfried: "Oh..."
Sophie: "(Sweating)... Those two get along pretty well."
A few hours later...
Oliver: "Mm..."
Grrrr...
Fiona: "Hmm?!"
Oliver: "Ugh..."
He blushed.
Oliver: "Sorry..."
Fiona: "Here."
She handed him some money.
Oliver: "Ugh..."
Fiona: "Go get yourself something. Something tasty. Doesn't matter how expensive it is."
Oliver: "Ugh... Are... are you sure... I can buy something?"
Fiona: "Of course. Take it. You don't have access to your own money yet. It's just sitting in your account until you're sixteen, so go ahead."
Oliver: "Do you want anything too?"
Fiona: "Hmm... Get me something small too. A pretzel stick or a sandwich. No garlic."
Oliver: "Okay."
Fiona: "Thanks."
Oliver: "You're welcome."
He walked off.
Fiona: "Hmm... Nothing here either..."
A few minutes later...
Sophie: "Hahh... Nothing here either."
Rosika: "...Mm..."
Siegfried: "Hey, is that sandwich good?"
Rosika: "Here, try it."
Siegfried: "Can I really?"
Rosika: "Yeah. You're a friend."
He took a bite.
Sophie: "Hmm... Rosika... Are you sure friends normally do that?"
Rosika: "Of course. Should I not let him have any?"
Sophie: "No..."
Rosika: "Hehe... Well?"
Siegfried: "Delicious."
Rosika: "Yeah, right?"
A few minutes later...
Oliver: "Hmm."
Waitress: "Here you go."
Oliver: "Oh, thank you."
Fiona: "Thank you very much."
Oliver: "Hmm..."
Fiona: "Did you leave her a tip?"
Oliver: "What...? Do people do that?"
Fiona: "Yeah. Give it to the poor waitress. In my opinion, she looks exhausted. That probably means she's a student who's working to earn money. Leave two hundred Coil."
Oliver: "Ugh..."
Fiona: "Just slip it under the cup when you're done."
Oliver: "Okay."
He started eating, absentmindedly swinging his legs like a child. As soon as he noticed, he stopped.
Oliver: "Oh... sorry..."
Fiona: "Hmm?"
Oliver: "Does it bother you if I eat near you?"
Fiona: "No. And stop calling me 'ma'am' or speaking so formally. I don't like it. I don't like being addressed that way."
Oliver: "Why? Most older people like it."
Fiona: "I don't. It's unnecessary. It makes people think they're better than everyone else, and I'm not better than anyone. I'm just like you. A normal person. Cursed and half Banshee, yes... but still human."
Oliver: "...Oh... okay."
She took a bite too.
Oliver: "(...She's really much nicer than I thought.) Hmm... Mm."
He kept eating, swinging his legs again.
Fiona: "Hmm?"
She looked at him.
Fiona: "Ugh... (No... no... adorable... So adorable...) Mm."
She cleared her throat and took a sip of her coffee.
Oliver: "Mm..."
Fiona: "Hmm..."
Sophie: "Fiona?"
Fiona: "Huh? Yeah?"
Sophie: "Quick. Siegfried and Rosika found something."
Fiona: "Really?"
Oliver: "Oh."
Sophie: "Yeah."
They quickly went downstairs.
Siegfried: "Oh, there you are."
Rosika: "Fiona, Siegfried and I found something. Even though I'm blind and he's dumb."
Siegfried: "(Sweating)... Was that really necessary?"
Fiona: "Good. You two, show me what you found."
They took a close look.
Sophie: "Yeah... damn it. It's definitely the key."
Fiona: "Yeah... I'm sure of it too."
Siegfried: "It's not written in Villician."
Sophie: "That's strange... It's... Latin."
Fiona: "Hmm... Sophie and I can read it. Hand it over."
Sophie: "Hmm."
She took it.
Sophie: "...Hmm... Uh... Fiona..."
Fiona: "...Yeah... I think... we made a... huge... fatal... deadly mistake."
Rosika: "Huh?"
Sophie: "There are eight of these keys. Every one of them is used to unlock a certain place. It's not... a kingdom... more like a city. The city."
Fiona: "The city of the vampires."
Sophie: "Ugh..."
Fiona: "This is really bad."
Rosika: "What? Vampires? I thought there were barely any left."
Sophie: "These keys don't just free the vampires. They also grant access to Marta. Marta was an Arcane who had the ability to heal people through curses... or harm them."
Fiona: "The very first curse bearer. This is bad. What do they want with her?"
Sophie: "The real question is... do they want to free the vampires... or do they only want Marta?"
Rosika: "Ugh... Vampires. That's bad."
Sophie: "You're misunderstanding, Rosika. These are Blue Star vampires."
Fiona: "There are three kinds of vampires. Green Star vampires, Blue Star vampires, and Red Star vampires. The Green Star vampires aren't that dangerous. In fact, if I remember correctly, there's even a city full of them in Villicia. But it's kept secret from the general population. Only government officials know about it. The government, Dark Umbrella, the police, and so on."
Sophie: "Mhm. The Blue Star vampires are vampires with abilities. Extremely powerful abilities, most of the time. The Red Star vampires are stronger physically and far more brutal, but they're still not as powerful. That's why the Blue Star vampires weren't killed. They weren't considered truly evil, so they were sealed away instead. Almost all of the Red Star vampires were exterminated."
Siegfried: "I see."
Fiona: "This isn't good, everyone."
Siegfried: "Is it really that bad?"
Sophie: "The Blue Star vampires aren't aggressive... but... it's still incredibly risky."
Siegfried: "What do we do now?"
Fiona: "We don't know how many keys they have. They have at least one. We gave them one ourselves to save Lil because Einsenheim just had to abuse a child, forcing us to make a deal with Joker. Otherwise she would have dragged countless innocent people into this."
Sophie: "...Mhm. That worries me. How many keys do they have? Two? Three? Four? Maybe even all eight?"
Rosika: "But if they already had all eight, why haven't they done it already? And why would they need your help if they're already that capable?"
Fiona: "Good point, Rosika."
Siegfried: "So what do we do now?"
Fiona: "Does it mention where the keys are located?"
Sophie: "No..."
Fiona: "That's what I thought. Otherwise they would've just read it themselves."
Siegfried: "Maybe they can't read Latin."
Fiona: "Even if Joker couldn't, The Finger definitely could."
Siegfried: "True."
Sophie: "We... could ask Celia."
Fiona: "And tell her, 'Sorry, we handed one of the keys over?' That's not exactly a good idea... don't you think?"
Sophie: "It's dangerous... but what if we explain everything to her? We can tell her we believed they were about to do something even worse. Do you still have that letter?"
Fiona: "I'm not sure. I think I left it on the table."
Sophie: "Let's call Lina. Maybe she can find it."
Meanwhile...
Lina: "Hmm."
Buzz!
Sophie: "Hello? Hello? Lina? Violet? Meliodas? Anyone?"
Lina: "Ugh... Sophie. Hello. Is something wrong?"
Sophie: "Hey, Lina. Look for a letter. It should be lying on the table."
Fiona: "The dining table."
Sophie: "Exactly."
Lina: "Okay."
She looked around.
Sophie: "Well?"
Lina: "Oh... it's here."
Fiona: "Ugh. Okay. Good."
Sophie: "Can you bring it to the library?"
Lina: "Um... Sure. Where's the library again?"
Sophie: "Next to City Hall."
Lina: "Oh, that one... Okay. Okay."
She hurried out.
Just as she opened the door, someone appeared.
Lina: "Ugh."
It was a man wearing a gentleman's suit.
Unknown Man: "Good day... milady."
He removed his hat.
Long glowing purple hair spilled from beneath it...
and he himself...
was a skeleton.
Unknown Man: "My name is Skeleton... a member of the Hunters."
Lina: "Huh?!"