[ Undercity - The Golden Catfish Restaurant ]
“Master Casandro?”
I repeat the name that reaches my ears, unable to keep my face straight at the unexpected mention of my idol. Seriously, I mean, come on.
—There’s no way…
“Ah, is that his name? Master Casandro… Sounds familiar.”
“Sounds kinda like a fake name, no?”
Leaning on the railing to my right, the three adventurers all have some kind of response to the name spoken out by the presenter. Bell is stroking his chin in ponder, ‘Boss’ crosses her arms, while Kevin only frowns slightly in confusion.
Dazedly, I stare at the three of them, ignoring the bustling crowd of people surrounding us and their excited faces.
“That name. Is it the name of the person responsible for this event?”
“Seems like it?” ‘Boss’ tilts her head at me.
“So everything that’s happening right now is because of that Master Casandro?”
I turn to look up, far up through the floors of the Golden Catfish restaurant. But no matter how hard I try, the angle really doesn’t allow me to see where this ‘President Suite’ is at all.
[Maybe he really is the Abyss Prince. Be careful, Altarin.]
The ever so cautious voice of Lady Athena resounds in my mind. But right now, rather than being cautious…
—I’m somewhat unable to hold my excitement.
Meanwhile, below us on the stage, in front of the countless people looking up and down, the Rabbit Head presenter begins to introduce each of the participants for the Beauty Pageant.
“For our Number 01 participant, we have Miss Blanche, confident and striking. She holds a position as one of the lead co-hosts of a TV program, News Yorna.”
“Next up, at Number 02: a kind and gentle restaurant chef, with the skills and looks that could conquer the hearts of any man and woman, Miss Li Hua…”
“And participant Number 03: ...”
"Number 07…"
"Numbers 14..."
"Number 20…"
…..
Eventually, the announcer who has finished introducing all the other participants now turns to look at Vena.
“And finally our last participant, a gorgeous lady who is truly the embodiment of one of many male fantasies.”
“Number 24: Royal Maid—Vena!”
“Ohhhh~!”
“Maid outfits are the best!”
“Before we begin, we’re going to ask you all a few questions. This will be your opportunity to tell us about yourselves and secure the hearts of the crowd.”
Underneath the bright spotlight cast on the stage, the presenter turns to face the 24 participants
“Miss Blanche. Could you tell us why you decided to accept the invitation of our scouts?”
“Because… I thought it was interesting?”
“What about you, No.2: Miss Li Hua...”
The presenter goes on to ask every single one of the participants various questions related to origin, personality, and skills—occasionally giving opportunities for someone in the audience to also ask a question of their own at seemingly random intervals.
…..
Eventually, it’s Vena’s turn.
“Miss Vena, you’re a maid, right?”
The presenter opens. There’s a small silence of anticipation as the crowd waits for her answer.
“That is indeed the case, yes,” says Vena.
Then, with both of her hands in the front, Vena performs a perfectly polite bow toward everyone watching.
Stiffly and theatrically, the Rabbit-Head presenter also returns a bow.
“Please tell us, as a maid, what do your duties usually entail?” The presenter asks.
“Taking care of the mansion and generally being at my Lady’s beck and call is my priority.”
“Hmm... If I may ask, who exactly is your “Lady” Miss Vena?”
“I’m afraid I can not say.” Vena smiles gently. “But as of three years ago, my Lady is no longer the only person in my mind.”
[...???]
The presenter nods their mechanical rabbit head exaggeratedly. The murmuring crowd in front of the stage and all across the floors seems to be paying more attention than ever.
“I see, I see. So Miss Vena, do you have any hobbies? Any interests that might tell us more about yourself?
“Hmm, nothing in particular comes to mind. Although recently, I would say that I’ve been starting to enjoy cooking a lot more.”
“Cooking? Are you a good cook, Miss Vena?”
“To say that I’m a ‘good’ cook would be a bit of an exaggeration, but I am able to find my way around a kitchen.”
Once again, Vena smiles, bringing her hand to her chest and looking at the crowd with eyes filled with love and passion.
“When you make something for someone to eat, and they enjoy it—it’s one of the best feelings in the world.”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“I see, I see. Now then, let’s take some questions from the audience.”
When the presenter finishes saying those words, the people
I don’t especially know what kind of device or technique is being used. But eventually, out of a myriad of people sitting there in front of the stage, a spotlight shines from above, and the loud voice of a young man resounds.
“Miss Vena, if any of us somehow become your ‘Master’, would you take any order from us without questions?”
“—Of course I would.”
However, before they could even finish their questions, Vena interrupted with an answer, wearing a calm smile.
“To disobey the master who I swore to serve.”
Vena closes her eyes and clutches her chest.
Then, after a brief moment of very deliberate pause...
“Even considering such a thing—pains my heart.”
…..
“““OOOooooooooooooooooooOOOOooooooooooooOOOOOOoooooooooooooooOOOooooooooO~!!”””
—Deafening roars shake the whole space!
“...”
I stare at my sister on the stage, utterly bewildered.
[She's taking this quite seriously... it seems like.]
“And somehow, that's sending shivers down my spine.”
“Oooh, looks like the crowd is getting riled up. This is very exciting.”
Seeing the sudden burst of excitement from the crowd, the presenter immediately seizes the opportunity to capitalize on it.
“Let’s carry this momentum onto the first round of our competition which is~~~!!”
Without any tampering, the giant wheel at the back of the stage spins on its own.
Eventually, a stylized image of a broom lands on the hand of the wheel.
“Cleaning!”
“OooooOOOoooohhh~!”
“Sorry to ruin the mood but. How does that have anything to do with beauty at all?”
“The beauty of the body is also the beauty of the mind. But the mind is also just the reflection of the environment. So truly to be beautiful is to also be in a beautiful environment. Which means that the person who can make their environment the most beautiful is also someone who has the most beauty!”
“““OOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOooooooooO~!!”””
The crowd shouts even louder.
I…
Never mind…
While this is going on, I should probably be looking to find a way up to where ‘Master Casandro’ is and meet him in person.
—————……….
[ The House of Mistresses - Unseen Corridor ]
“Miw, Miw. What do you think about what sister Roxxi said?”
“About the group switching?”
“No! About the possibility that one of us might be a fake~!”
Inside one of the inner gardens within the House of Mistresses, our group has collectively decided to take a little bit of a break from exploring.
Underneath the cherry blossoms, a wooden pavilion sits above the pond. Frul and I quietly enjoy the beautiful scenery with the fake night sky as the background while having a conversation.
“It’s not impossible. For beings at our level changing your physique isn’t particularly difficult.”
I lean forward on the pavilion’s rails, glancing a little at Little Eden and Bery the Cerberus on the side of the pond, as the black-furred puppy's trying and failing to drink the water.
“Even in the mortal world. Some soul transferal techniques allow you to read memories. Even though it's quite advanced, we are in the Realm of Gods.”
No angels ever became angels by living a normal life. Even if most of us prefer not to talk about it.
If you didn’t make certain choices, you wouldn’t have ended up as a Divine-Resonance Soul in the afterlife, would you?
“So if there's such a being in the Undercity right now, I wouldn't be all that surprised.”
I watch as the reflection of my face in the water ripples due to the falling touch of a single petal of cherry blossom.
—So one the end, the biggest mystery we're currently facing is the disappearance of Lady Lucianna.
—Is she really… somewhere inside this place?
After spending a little more time in the serene atmosphere of the inner garden.
It’s time for us to move on to another guest room.
…..
“Do you think it’s possible that more than one of our sisters has been replaced?”
“Since it’s the only one we found. It makes sense to assume that there’s only one possible fake at least for the moment.”
Searching through the cupboards, I respond to Frul.
—Behind us, Little Eden’s trying to stop Bery the Cerberus from tearing apart a pillow.
…..
“If that body really belongs to one of our older sisters, who do you think it is?”
“I have no idea, someone like Second Sister Rinne who isn’t good at fighting, maybe?”
“I think so too. Well, it’s just hard to imagine it would be someone like First Sister Roxxi, you know?”
Inside a room with two ping pong tables, we continue to talk while exchanging blows on the miniature court.
—Behind us, Little Eden and Bery the Cerberus are inspecting a snack machine that unfortunately seems to be empty.
…..
"By the way, Frul, about the group switching, if First Sister Roxxi orders you to go to a separate group from me, would you do it?"
“Aww, although I don’t really want to be separated from Miwari, the idea of trying to catch the fake sounds like fun. Isn’t that right, Mister Detective?"
“Um.”
…So I guess I’m not as important as entertainment. Good to know.
“Miwari, why are your eyes so blank all of a sudden.”
Without answering her, I place the fox mask back onto its stand and continue to inspect the first floor’s showroom.
—Behind us, Little Eden and Bery the Cerberus are playing fetch with a strange-looking yarn ball.
…..
“And that seems to be it for the fifth guest room.”
“It seems like we couldn’t find anything interesting this time.”
“Um.”
"Hong~.”
By the time I realize it, we have finished exploring another five rooms.
But as we go out into the corridor in order to return to the theater room and discuss everything we found with the others.
—There’s a group of people gathered in the hallway.
“Why are you so suspicious of me? Are you really my Kanna?”
“One of you has to be lying.”
“Calm down everyone. It looks like this is an attempt to confuse us.”
An argument between my sisters appears to be taking place. I look around, only to find that everyone is here before us again.
In the center, we have First Sister Roxxi’s group facing off against Second Sister Rinne’s group, while Third Sister Yue and Forth Sister Xue’s group are standing watch on the side.
—The tension in the air is quite delicate.
“Sister Roxxi, what’s happening?”
Calmly, I approach First Sister Roxxi who’s observing the situation on the side with an uncomfortable look on her face.
But before she could open her mouth to answer me.
“She’s telling everyone that she saw me coming outside of the first door during the fourth cycle,” Ninth Sister Miho starts to say, pointing at Second Sister Rinne.
“I’m not lying! Also, Miho, you’re also accusing me of something I didn’t do!” Second Sister Rinne protests.
Sixth Sister Nana and Eleventh Sister Hyong-ran begin frantically waving their hands to calm the two of them down.
At the same time, the lamps on the walls begin flickering.
“We should probably get inside first.”
Following First Sister Roxxi’s advice, we return to the theater room.
As always, the lamps and lanterns cast their light on the rows and rows of dark red seats.
On the side of the dimly lit stage, a headless figure sits, leaning against the wall with a thick black towel wrapped around the base of its neck like a scarf.
I glance at the Headless Body, before quickly looking away… for obvious reasons.
Back in front of me, the angels of House Lucianna are finding places to sit and stand, waiting for Ninth Sister Miho to start telling her story.
“See, what happened to me was…”
—————……….