As things turned out, the two had wandered near the Basilica for two full days. Even as the festival celebrations officially kicked off, they hadn't found a single suspicious individual.
The Basilica was eerily quiet. While searching for clues, they discovered that the security presence was actually significantly weaker than before. Both women were baffled—what exactly was the Pope up to? Even if you have absolute confidence, adding a few extra guards wouldn't hurt, would it?
But the current situation looked like a literal "Empty Fort Strategy." Only a handful of people were seen patrolling the area, and it was impossible to tell if there were reinforcements hiding in the shadows.
"Don't worry, even if that guy shows up, he'll wait a bit longer. He'll definitely appear near here during the busiest part of the day," Mostima said, sounding incredibly relaxed compared to Fiammetta's anxiety over the Pope's safety. It was as if whatever happened here had nothing to do with her.
Being a fallen angel now, perhaps a crisis in Laterano really didn't affect her much—at most, she'd just be out of a job. That said, the reality was that they knew these "small matters" didn't require her concern. Mostima waved back at a patrolling Apostolic Knight, who nodded in return. See? Even while they were trying to move "secretly," they were clearly within the Knights' surveillance range. What was there to worry about?
Instead, she was more interested in a candy stall owner who only appeared today. The old gentleman was getting on in years and likely only set up shop on this specific day. His homemade candy was excellent; she had loved it since she was a child. She wondered if Lemuen and the others could buy some for her; she was quite looking forward to it.
At the same time, the streets and alleys of Laterano were far more bustling than usual.
As per custom, the civil servants of the Notarial Hall were more exhausted than ever. Today, the number of Sankta wanting to blow something up had increased exponentially! Especially when a group of Sankta gathered together—the desire for demolition wasn't calculated by addition, but by multiplication!
Jeanne listened to the endless roar of explosions echoing through Laterano, her eyebrows twitching rhythmically. Good heavens, these Sankta didn't feel a shred of pity when blowing up their own city! Anyone who knew the situation knew this was a celebration, but a stranger would surely think the city was under full-scale invasion.
"Do you Sankta have that much resentment toward your own city? It's being blasted like this, and everyone is just... watching?"
Jeanne witnessed a group of students preparing to demolish their school. Several were shouting slogans about "learning from Senior Le(Exusiai)" as they prepared to bring the building down. A man who looked very much like the principal stood there, happily helping them confirm the placement of the explosives to ensure the building would collapse without hurting anyone.
Jeanne's internal commentary was simply: This old man is insane. Your school is about to be leveled, and you're standing there enjoying the show? In any other city, a principal would have suffered a myocardial infarction[1], yet you're actually lending a hand? What, are you tired of the job?
"Actually, it's because this building was scheduled to be demolished anyway," Lemuen explained. "The principal felt that rather than letting the students go out and cause trouble elsewhere, it was better to let them demolish a campus building. It saves a fortune on labor costs."
According to Laterano rules, whoever applies for a demolition must restore the area to its original state. However, the principal wasn't so cold-hearted as to make the students rebuild the house themselves. He just wanted them to blow it up, saving the school a massive demolition fee. Since Sankta are taught demolition skills from childhood, there was no worry about them hurting themselves.
While Lemuen's logic made some sense, Jeanne looked at the sea of joy around her and didn't know what to say. Just smile. Just keep smiling.
"But speaking of which, your sister is quite famous at school! Look at all these students using her name as a battle cry for their actions!" Jeanne pointed to the Sankta whose slogans were peppered with little Le's name.
As the girl's older sister, Lemuen found it a bit hard to maintain her composure. Lemuen fell into deep thought. She couldn't even guess what the old principal—who had been both her and her sister's headmaster—thought when he heard little Le's name.
Perhaps he was just used to it. After all, no matter how violent an explosion is, you'll get used to it after seeing it happen seventeen times in a row.
Suddenly, all students and staff began to evacuate. Following a series of dull thuds, the legendary building that had survived seventeen of Exusiai's demolition attempts finally collapsed.
"That was the only building to escape being blown up since little Le started school. Now there isn't a single spot on campus that hasn't been blasted—including the artificial lake!" Lemuen watched the collapse with a sigh of nostalgia. This school, which had withstood her sister's "torment" for so long, had finally met its end.
"So... why does Laterano do urban demolition during festivals? Just to save money on construction crews?" Jeanne was lost in thought as she looked back at the cheering students and the constant sound of explosions nearby.
She wondered: if someone actually tried to set off a "terrorist" explosion today, would these joyous Sankta even notice? Jeanne felt that an extra bomb wouldn't even register. Compared to the Sankta's "celebration" explosives, any intruder would just be showing off amateur work.
On the other side of the city, the "Pathfinders" under Andoain were completely stunned.
Good heavens, did Kazdel send an army in? Listen to that constant artillery fire! The bombs they had prepared were, by comparison, nothing more than oversized firecrackers. Is the folk custom of Laterano always this fierce? According to tradition, shouldn't you all be in church praying? At this rate, someone who didn't know better would think the Sankta were revolting to overthrow Pope Evangelista XI.V!
"What do we do now?"
The group turned to look at their companions, hoping someone would have a plan to make their mission a success. At this rate, their task was a guaranteed failure! What about the Leader? He had already gone to the Basilica alone!
In this moment, no matter how clever they were, they were helpless. The city's own festivities were a "dimensional strike" against their plan to cause a distraction with explosions.
"Yeah, at this rate, even if we detonate our bombs, we'll only attract a few people from the Notarial Hall at most."
As they argued, everyone turned their expectant gazes toward a bewildered Patia. She, at least, had experience in the Garrison. Surely she knew how to draw Laterano's attention? She was certainly more familiar with the city than they were.
"Why are you looking at me? Do you think I know what to do? This is the first time I've seen this too!" she explained helplessly.
Whose idea was this celebration?! It used to be a bit wild during festivals, but never this insane.
What Patia didn't know was that because Laterano had recently faced a potential invasion, the citizens had been on high alert for a long time. While their combat power might not match regular soldiers, every Sankta with a gun was capable of urban guerrilla warfare. Many buildings had even been temporarily converted into bunkers.
Since the invaders hadn't even caught a glimpse of Laterano's "tail lights," the Pope decided to let the citizens blow off some steam. It served the dual purpose of clearing out the temporary fortifications and—since he knew Andoain's group planned an explosion—fighting fire with fire.
Tonight, he was letting them fly free.
"A few of you come with me! We'll check other areas!" Patia gritted her teeth. "I don't believe every wind in March blows the same way!"
[1] Heart Attack