Victor paced under the dim lights of Ulias Emporium, eyeing his surroundings with great interest.
His gaze swept over a row of taxidermied squirrels in exquisite little gowns and foxes wearing top hats, his face written with pure confusion.
"Whoa," he muttered under his breath to Venom inside him, "is it just that I'm behind the times, or has the definition of 'antique' expanded to include 'dressing up dead animals'? That owner just said these things are bestsellers? This aesthetic is certainly... Nevermore-esque."
Just as he was considering letting Venom taste the "vintage flavor" of these specimens, the shop's bell-adorned door was pushed open. Victor turned around.
"Enid?" He blinked, a look of surprise crossing his face.
"Wow! I'm really curious what magic Wednesday used to convince you? I remember your little notebook was packed with pages of Rainbow Fudge guides and check-in maps for Pilgrim World."
Enid's cheeks instantly flushed crimson, her eyes darting away as she subconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes. "I... I just suddenly wanted to experience a bit of historical and cultural atmosphere! Yes, history and culture!"
Victor raised an eyebrow exaggeratedly, leaned in closer, and lowered his voice, his tone carrying a sly smile:
"Oh~ dear Miss Sinclair, did you know? Every time you tell a little lie that even you don't quite believe, your little claws can't help but go 'poof' and pop out just a tiny bit."
"What?!" Enid jumped, slamming her hands behind her back and nervously feeling her fingertips—only to find that her claws hadn't come out at all.
"Just kidding~" Victor immediately burst into laughter, like a fox that had successfully stolen a chicken, his eyes curving into crescents. "Just a cute little test. Looks like I was right."
Enid's face turned even redder, practically steaming.
Victor gave a light chuckle and naturally stepped forward, lightly wrapping his arm around her waist and leading her out.
"Let's go for a walk. I know you can't stand it here. When you hate something, the corners of your mouth droop immediately, just like a kitten that had its dried fish stolen."
His movements were fluid and intimate, as if rehearsed countless times.
Victor's sudden proximity and the whisper in her ear made Enid's head spin, her heart thumping like a trapped rabbit.
The certainty in his words—that "I know you better than you know yourself"—made her heart flutter wildly, leaving her both shy and inexplicably delighted.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" the plump proprietress of Ulias Emporium shrieked, trying to block them with her imposing presence.
"You are volunteers here today! Your Principal specifically instructed you to properly..."
"Oh! Respected Madam!" Victor immediately turned around, his face wearing a look of utmost sincere concern, interrupting her.
He pointed out the window at a ragged figure that had just run around the corner. "That beggar just now! He seemed to have shoplifted that expensive-looking vintage camera from your counter without paying!"
"What?! My camera!" The proprietress turned pale with shock, instantly forgetting about Victor and Enid. "Quick! Go get it back for me! That thing is worth a fortune!"
"Of course, Madam! Leave it to us, we will definitely do our best to retrieve it!" Victor promised solemnly while holding Enid, smiling as he backed out of the shop.
Once outside, Enid immediately looked around and whispered, "Which... which way did that beggar run?"
Victor grinned, his arm still naturally resting on Enid's waist as he led her leisurely in the opposite direction of the corner.
"Oh, judging by my professional tracking experience," he said with mock seriousness, his tone light and cheerful, "he must have run to the Weathervane café."
"We can go there to'search carefully,' and while we're at it, order some Chocolate Brownies plus two signature milkshakes to regain our strength. After all, chasing a thief is physically demanding, right?"
Enid immediately caught Victor's drift, her eyes lighting up instantly as she nodded excitedly. "Oh! Of course! Let's go there to... um...'search with all our might'! I mean, go there to enjoy... ahem! Go there to perform our mission!"
The two shared a smile and walked in unison toward the Weathervane café, which was wafting with the aroma of coffee and desserts, leaving Ulias Emporium and its taxidermy far behind.
The Weathervane café was filled with the rich scent of syrup, roasted coffee beans, and warm cream, a world apart from the stale, waxy smell of Ulias Emporium.
Victor found a window booth with practiced ease, slumping into the soft sofa as relaxed as if he were in his own home. He picked up the menu and ordered skillfully: "Two Chocolate Lava Brownies with an extra scoop of ice cream, and two Vanilla Milkshakes with the whipped cream piled high like a mountain, thank you~"
Enid sat opposite him, cupping her cool cheeks with her hands in an attempt to cool down her burning face, but to little effect.
Her eyes were bright, staring unblinkingly at the guy across from her who was enthusiastically checking the menu for new items.
"So..." Enid's voice carried a hint of excitement and curiosity, "does this count as... performing a'secret mission'?" She lowered her voice as if they were actually planning something grand.
"Of course it does!" Victor put down the menu and leaned forward, his expression as serious as if he were formulating a battle plan.
"Our mission is to ensure that the precious assets of Ulias Emporium are not taken out of the Nevermore jurisdiction by that beggar. And the Weathervane café, according to reliable intelligence, is one of the key hubs for such fencing activities."
He winked. "We must set up tight surveillance here, lie in wait patiently, and deplete their... um... dessert reserves as part of our counter-strategy."
Enid giggled, feeling as light as air, as if she were soaking in warm honey water.
The brownies and milkshakes were soon served.
Victor scooped up more than half of the ice cream from his brownie and plopped it into Enid's cup without a word.
"Eat more," he said with a grin. "Tracking suspects is hard work. Look at you, you've gotten thinner from training for the Poe Cup lately."
Enid looked at her suddenly extravagant milkshake, feeling the sweetness in her heart about to overflow.
She lowered her head, taking small bites of the sweet brownie, feeling ten thousand times happier than she would have with Rainbow Fudge from Pilgrim World.
"Victor," she said while eating, suddenly looking up with a rare hint of seriousness and concern, "what... what about your fifty-thousand-word thesis? The Principal seemed very serious about it."
The smile on Victor's face instantly froze, as if a bucket of ice water had been splashed over him.
He put down his fork in an exaggerated, slow-motion manner, letting out a heavy, almost theatrical sigh, slumping against the back of the sofa as if his bones had been removed.
"Oh... the thesis..." he drawled, his voice filled with a despair that suggested he'd lost all will to live. "That fifty-thousand-word academic torture that's anti-human and anti-common sense, requiring me to prove that 'Exploding Chocolate Balls are environmentally friendly and harmless'..."
He suddenly sat bolt upright, clutching his already messy hair with both hands, a pained expression on his face. "Heavens! Just thinking about it gives me a headache! Fifty thousand words! This is more agonizing than making me eat licorice-flavored chocolate for a week straight!"
Seeing his "the sky is falling" look, Enid couldn't help but burst into laughter, quickly covering her mouth, her blue eyes filled with sympathy and amusement.
"But!" Victor suddenly came back to life, slamming his hand on the table and startling Enid.
His face bloomed once again with that signature, manic, energetic, brilliant smile, his eyes shining intensely.
"As the saying goes—behind every seemingly unsolvable problem lies a crazier solution waiting to be discovered!"
He leaned in close to Enid mysteriously and lowered his voice, as if sharing a world-shaking secret. "And I have already thought of a brilliant idea!"
"What idea?" Enid, caught up in his excitement, also lowered her voice curiously, leaning forward instinctively.
"Since the Principal requires a 'thesis'," Victor winked slyly, "there's no rule saying it has to be written by 'me' personally, right?"
He wagged his finger triumphantly. "So, I've decided to... outsource!"
"Outsource?" Enid was stunned and blinked. "A thesis like this... can be outsourced? To whom? Senior students? I doubt they'd dare to take on such a... uh... topic, would they?"
"Broaden your horizons, my dear Enid!" Victor snapped his fingers with a grin.
"Senior students? Too ordinary! My target is—a professional! Someone 'proficient in explosives chemistry and academic fraud, writes for money, and guarantees passing plagiarism checks'! A perfect match!"
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Enid's forehead. "That professional sounds a bit too professional. Is he reliable? Who is he?"