I was taking turns with First Sister Roxxi and Fifth Sister Kitsuha cycling through the doors, just like I assume all of you are also doing.

The fourth cycle happened to be my turn, and I went into the corridor. Standing in the corridor was really scary, so I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

However, just when I was about to slide the door open and go inside… I heard a noise from the door to my right.

When I turned to look, I saw Rinne coming out of the second door just to the left of the one opposite the theater room.

Her face was expressionless, but her feet were quick.

She walked straight into the door opposite the one she had just come out of and disappeared inside.

After something like a minute, she reappeared again and walked back into the old door.

I tried to call out to her twice but… she ignored me.

Like she didn’t even see me at all.

—————……….

"Hmmm..."

Everyone looks at Ninth Sister Miho with some skepticism.

Although what she said wasn’t all that unbelievable or that suspicious—it was still very strange.

“What’s your version of the story, Big Sister Rinne?”

Before judging anything, it’s best that we first get both sides of the story, or at least that’s what Seventh Sister Linlin seems to think as she says that.

But when we all turn to the other side of the room…

We see Second Sister Rinne already knelt down on a large knee-pillow she’s apparently put there herself while Ninth Sister Miho was speaking.

Everyone: “““...”””

—We asked you to tell us what happened, why are you prepared to put on a whole show?

"Ha-hem~! Ja~! Gather 'round, gather 'round—”

“Just tell us what happened, why are you being so dramatic?!”

Fortunately, however, the moment Fifth Sister Kitsuha sees Second Sister Rinne bowing and hears her press her voice down like an old man, she immediately shoots her down…

“Awww, can’t I at least have some fun?”

“We’re in a kind of hurry right now, are we not?”

—A disappointed smirk; met only by stern gazes.

With a sigh, Second Sister Rinne slaps her knees with both hands.

—————……….

Haaaaa~... well, well, well, this old lady was walking in the corridor during the fourth cycle, deep in thought.

Heart-broken… you see, due to that she eventually found out that the tea-set she brought back from her last round of exploration never had any tea—a-hem!

So, yes, that’s right, as I stood in front of the second room’s door, wondering where I could find a refill, suddenly, I heard the sound of the door to the theater room behind me sliding open.

*Shh~*

In a panic, I went inside the second door to hide and peek out from a tiiiinnnyyy gap between the doors...

Although there wasn’t much I could see, I still clearly recognized Miho walking out of the theater room.

*Tack*

And when I heard the sound of doors being closed, I came out into the corridor again to see that Miho had disappeared behind the first room’s doors.

Sensing the flickering of the lights and worrying that I might have messed up the timing I had set with my group, I ended up going back inside the second room immediately.

And that was, ladies and ladies—the entire truth.

—————……….

After a moment of silence...

“So even though both of you said you saw each other, neither of you admit that the other person’s version of the story is right,” First Sister Roxxi says.

""Basically.""

Neither of them seems to be backing down. Which makes it all the more difficult.

“See what I mean? Regardless of who is telling the truth, one of them has to be lying," Kanna starts to say

‘Or both of them are lying.” Third Sister Yue tilts her head to the right.

“Or both of them are telling the truth… —wait.” Fourth Sister Xue, also tilting her head to the right.

“In the end, all we have to do is isolate them from their groups, leave them in the theater with a watcher, and just keep going as normal," Kanna concludes.

I rub my forehead uncomfortably. Although I can follow the logic, the thought that one of them could be an entirely different person right now still makes me a bit tired…

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

As I wonder what the best course of action would be, the voice of Tenth Sister Tsukiyo speaks up.

“I mean, I agree with Kanna. After all, we don’t have time to do a thorough interrogation anyway. You know, because we still have to find Lady Lucianna as fast as possible?”

"You people are still going to keep exploring? Even though this just happened?" I raise my voice at Tenth Sister Tsukiyo who says something like that so matter-of-factly

“Kitsuha was telling us her thoughts earlier.” Eleventh Sister Hyong-ran shrugs at me.

"Since it’s currently the only lead we have, I think that somewhere inside the House of the Mistresses—there is a head." Fifth Sister Kitsuha looks at me with a serious gaze: "If we really don't want to be stuck in here forever, we need to keep exploring as our top priority."

“...”

The red flames in the lamps sway, reminding me of the true cause for concern—as long as we’re unable to get out, it doesn’t matter whether or who is lying… is it?

“Well, now that we sorted that out for the moment, do we want to start sharing what we found first?” First Sister Roxxi says to everyone.

…..

For the next ten minutes or so, each of the groups came forward with a report on everything they found in their explorations. But it didn't seem like anyone found any clue to the existence of an exit.

When the question of whether or not some people were acting suspiciously came up, nobody pointed anyone out either.

—Well, except for Second Sister Rinne and Ninth Sister Miho who are sitting to the side. Grumpy because they couldn’t join in.

When it came to our turn, I told everyone that we didn’t find anything particularly interesting, and that was the end of it.

After I’m done, First Sister Roxxi who seems to have finished thinking through something, slams her fist on her palm, calling everyone’s attention.

“That’s it! Miwari, Little Eden, can you please stay with Rinne and Miho in the theater room? I’m not asking you to figure out who’s telling the truth, just watch over them for about 30 minutes and wait for us to come back.”

—Eh?

“W-wait, why us specifically?”

“You, Kanna, and Frul—of course, Little Eden too—are the only people who couldn’t have been the headless body, therefore the four of you are the most trustworthy in this scenario.”

When she says that, all 12 of the other angels look toward everyone who was named by First Sister Roxxi and cast a slight glance at the Headless body on the side of the stage far below.

“Exactly because of that, just by having one of you in a group, there will always be a reliable voice we can trust.”

First Sister Roxxi continues on to say.

“So, I think that it would be best if we make Frul and Kanna go with one other person. While the other two groups continue with three each. That’s the only way to form at least four groups without you, Little Eden, Miho, and Rinne.

"Of course, we’d also be switching members as I’d mentioned before."

"I see. We can't divide evenly by 11, and since two or three groups would be too slow…" Fifth Sister Kitsuha mutters quietly in agreement.

Even the usually timid Sixth Sister Nana seems convinced that what she said was right and is nodding her head silently. And Eight Sister Minjee too.

"..."

I turn to look behind me, at Little Eden and Bery the Cerberus… and also the two most suspicious people to be a [fake], Second Sister Rinne and Ninth Sister Miho—who both seem quite unconcerned by it for some reason.

—I can’t risk leaving her alone with these two after all. Since we were the ones who brought her here, the least I can do is make sure nothing happens to her.

“Hah, fine!”

“Thank you, Miwari.” First Sister Roxxi smiles, before turning to Frul. "Frul, I'm sorry you'd have to be separated from Miwari for a while."

"I understand! Your will shall be done!"

Enthusiastically—perhaps even a little too enthusiastically—Frul answers First Sister Roxxi with a salute.

"Miwari, if anything happens, yell out my name really loudly, okay?"

“Um… Okay…”

And just like that, another round of the House of Mistresses exploration began… without me.

Eventually, all 11 of my sisters disappear behind the theater room’s door, leaving me, Eden, Miho, and Rinne with nothing but our thoughts to accompany the shadowy silence.

Leaning against the dark red seat, I glance at Ninth Sister Miho and Second Sister Rinne from the corner of my eyes.

In my mind, various possibilities race through.

If Ninth Sister Miho is telling the truth, then it is likely that Second Sister Rinne is a fake. Though I can’t tell the difference between this Second Sister Rinne and the one from my memories, nor can I understand her actions most of the time.

If Second Sister Rinne is telling the truth, then it would mean that Ninth Sister Miho’s lying and trying to hide something, which puts into question what she actually saw Ninth Sister Miho do.

—And if both of them are lying, why?

—If neither of them is, then what exactly did they see?”

“Haaaa…”

Eventually, a soft exhale can be heard from within the wide and silent theater room.

—Surprisingly, though… that sigh didn’t come from me.

“Little Eden, where are you going?”

“Into… the corridor.”

Ninth Sister Miho calls out after Eden. Who, before I knew it, unpromptedly carries Bery the Cerberus and walks all the way to the theater room’s door, ready to open it.

“Eh? But you’re not supposed to do that, though? ”

At my question, Eden half turns around.

“Sorry… but Eden… wants to test something.”

She then looks at Second Sister Rinne, her large golden eyes narrowing mysteriously.

“Aren’t there ways to reach… the owner of this domain… that we haven't tried?”

"...A way to reach?"

—What is she talking about? If there’s something like that then we would have…

"Ah!" I exclaim as a realization appears in my mind.

“We do have a crest. Just in case of emergency but...” Second Sister Rinne tilts her head. “It’s in my room.”

“So we’d have about… a 1 in 500... chance.”

Eden mutters, opens the door, and steps into the unseen corridor.

The three of us sisters look at each other confusedly, before following after her.

At every step, my curiosity grows. What was the point for Little Eden to be asking about the existence of a "crest", especially at a time like this? Even if Second Sister Rinne said that she did have one in her room, with our current situation, it's not like we'd be able to just stumble upon one of the angels' rooms if we just keep randomly opening doors, right?

When we step out of the theater room, however, the scene that appears in front of our eyes quite literally makes us unable to speak.

—Unable to think, even.

“””....”””

There, in front of me, the golden-haired little girl stands under the dim red lights, beside a wide-opened, ornate wooden door.

Behind the door, is a spacious room filled with all sorts of trinkets: clothing stands and bookshelves that surround a small bed, several folding screens with elegant drawings, and a distinct smell of oriental perfume.

—Because this place is our home, there’s no way we wouldn’t know who this room belongs to.

“But… how?”

Facing the shocked-filled gazes of my sisters and me, Little Eden only lifts up a finger before answering with an absent-minded face.

“Eden’s… very lucky at the moment?”

—————……….