Clever conducted a meticulous search throughout the apartment, her expression growing increasingly filled with confusion.
She was absolutely certain that someone had crossed this threshold very recently, yet she couldn't uncover a single physical trace of their presence. One had to understand the environmental mechanics of this abandoned town: no one had lived within these walls for a remarkably long time, leaving every surface and floorboard covered in a thick, uniform layer of dust.
If an individual had physically entered the room, their movements would have immediately disturbed the suspended dust particles in the air. The resulting density of the dust in the exact pathways they traversed would inevitably differ from the undisturbed zones, leaving highly obvious, readable anomalies. As a trained operative of the intelligence organization Rose Riverside, Clever possessed these exact baseline investigative skills. She could clearly register that the ambient dust in the room had indeed been disrupted, but beyond that spectral observation, she couldn't pinpoint a definitive physical trace.
Fortunately, the apartment had been mostly cleared out by scavengers long ago, leaving only a few entirely bare rooms to inspect, which made the process significantly less complicated. Yet, after searching every corner for several minutes, she genuinely began to doubt the accuracy of her own professional tracking skills.
There was absolutely nothing to be found.
She began to assume that the hidden players had simply wandered into this apartment for a brief moment, realized there were no suitable hiding spots available, and immediately abandoned the unit to seek out a superior location elsewhere in the building.
Just as Clever turned on her heel, preparing to vacate the premises, she suddenly felt an intense, icy chill run straight down her spine.
"Who's there?!"
She whipped her head around in a flash, her grip tightening on the aluminum broom, but the vacant room remained entirely empty in the moonlight. Yet the exact microsecond she turned back toward the exit, that unmistakable, suffocating sensation of being watched from the darkness returned with a vengeance.
She couldn't stop a cold shiver from shooting violently from the soles of her feet straight to her brain.
"Waaaaah!"
Letting out a terrified, high-pitched shriek, Clever abandoned all pretense of a methodical search and sprinted out of the apartment, scrambling all the way up the stairwell to the upper levels.
The moment her frantic footsteps faded down the corridor, a small, blonde head poked out playfully from just outside the glassless window frame.
It was Flandre.
Upon first entering the apartment, the child had quickly realized the interior was too bare to offer any decent cover. Hitting upon a bright idea, she had simply vaulted over the ledge and clung to the exterior facade of the building, hiding just out of sight. As expected, Clever had been entirely distracted by the indoor environment, thoroughly inspecting every internal nook and cranny while completely forgetting to check the exterior windows.
However, right as Clever had been preparing to leave, Flandre hadn't been able to resist casting a brief glance at her back. That single, focused gaze was instantly caught by the girl's remarkably sharp senses, nearly exposing Flandre's position on the spot. Fortunately, Clever's overwhelming timidity had gotten the better of her; thoroughly terrified by the phantom sensation, she had bolted straight upstairs, allowing Flandre to successfully escape detection.
Upon reaching the relative safety of the second floor and gradually calming her racing heart, Clever felt a sudden wave of regret. It was glaringly obvious in hindsight that someone had indeed been lurking inside that apartment. Recalling the exact direction of the chilling sensation, it must have originated right near the window ledge; if she hadn't let panic dictate her actions, she undoubtedly would have discovered them.
It was simply a pity that she had already fled to the upper level; if she retraced her steps now, the target would have easily used the intermission to change their position.
Nevertheless, there were still plenty of vacant units remaining on this floor, and at least two other individuals were hiding somewhere within the designated boundary, so she refused to lose heart. Yet it was becoming increasingly clear that the companions from the Scarlet Devil Mansion were far from the easy targets she had imagined them to be. Even the silver-haired Head Maid, who always maintained a perfectly straight face and executed her duties with rigid discipline, was nowhere to be found within the structure.
"I refuse to accept this! Are you people truly hidden inside this building?!"
Having systematically searched every square inch from the ground floor all the way up to the open rooftop without uncovering a single soul, Clever stood beneath the stars, genuinely wondering if she was being deliberately played.
Right as the words left her mouth, she watched in astonishment as Flandre nimbly climbed up from the exterior stone wall, Sakuya Izayoi stepped gracefully out from the shadow behind a seemingly flush doorframe, and finally, Hong Meiling crawled out from the narrow gap beside a massive water reservoir tank.
Clever stared at the trio, her jaw dropping before she pointed an accusing finger directly at the youngest vampire. "She's cheating! That is blatant cheating!"
Flandre blinked her large eyes with an expression of pure innocence. "Our baseline requirement was simply to remain around the perimeter of this house; we never explicitly stated that we were restricted to hiding inside the interior rooms. Besides, I was clinging tightly to the outer wall the entire time and never left the property, so it absolutely doesn't count as cheating! Oh, right—when you approached the lower room earlier, if you had simply stepped to the left side of the courtyard and looked up, you would have seen me perfectly. Or if you had just poked your head out the window, you would have spotted me instantly. It's entirely your own fault for failing to look, so how can you possibly blame me!"
Clever found herself completely speechless. She had never expected to be thoroughly outmaneuvered by a child's semantics.
She leveled a determined look at Flandre. "No way... we are absolutely going again!"
Flandre happily agreed, suggesting that they take turns rotating the role of the hunter.
Clever finally let her frustration go, diving back into the game. Unfortunately, after playing three successive rounds, she managed to get caught three times in a row without a single victory. Dejectedly accepting her pre-arranged forfeit, she was forced to walk all the way back to the campfire on her hands.
The moment her feet touched the grass back at camp, Remilia stepped forward, gracefully handing her a porcelain cup filled with freshly brewed tea.
"Thank you for your dedicated hard work in keeping my younger sister entertained over these past few days."
Clever felt instantly flattered and a bit overwhelmed as she accepted the warm cup. After all, through their shared travels, she had come to realize that Remilia was the absolute, unquestioned master of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, a figure whose decisions no one within the household would ever dare to oppose.
"Thank you, My Lady..."
Clever took a quiet sip of the tea. Sure enough, beneath the exceptionally rich, aromatic fragrance of the leaves, there was the faint, unmistakable scent of sweet, fresh blood. She had discovered this distinct culinary habit early in their journey and knew it was Sakuya Izayoi who specifically added the crimson element to the three master cups. Within the biological reality of Terra, only members of the Vampire lineage would find this variation of tea incredibly pleasant and rejuvenating, whereas ordinary mortals would find the profile somewhat metallic and unpalatable.
By the time she finished the hot beverage, the lateness of the hour caught up with her. Overcome by a sudden, heavy wave of sleepiness, Clever crawled into her tent and immediately drifted off into a profound, undisturbed slumber.
Once the librarian's breathing evened out into a deep sleep, Remilia turned her gaze toward Flandre, who was also lazily preparing to retire for the night.
"Do you truly intend to keep her permanently within our circle?"
Flandre scratched her head, her expression thoughtful. "Well, there's absolutely no danger in having her around. Besides, she will likely choose to take her leave of us the moment we officially arrive at Rhodes Island..."
Remilia offered a quiet nod upon hearing her sister's pragmatic reasoning. "It is comforting to know you view the situation with that degree of clarity."
"What's wrong, Sister?" Flandre leaned over, wrapping her arms affectionately around Remilia's sleeve with a look of slight confusion.
"I simply harbor a minor concern that if you spend an excessive amount of time attached to her company, your heart won't bear the weight of letting her go when the time comes," Remilia said softly, her voice carrying a rare, gentle tenderness. After all, it's always been like that all the past 'toys' of Flandre.
"There's no way that will happen. Flandre understands perfectly well that everyone has their own destinies and duties to fulfill," the younger sister replied, shaking her head with a mature smile. "The initial reason I captured her to serve as a playmate was simply because I found her personality remarkably entertaining and pitiful. Furthermore, it is an exceptionally rare occurrence to cross paths with a lone Vampire traveling outside the borders of Kazdel, which provided a beneficial opportunity for you and the rest of the mansion to gather accurate intelligence regarding the Sarkaz factions and the native Vampire bloodlines. As for her, she is undeniably an excellent companion, but if she possesses her own independent affairs and needs to chart her own path, Flandre will absolutely not stand in her way. After all, playtime is playtime, and serious business remains serious business. Since I genuinely treat her as a friend, Flandre naturally refuses to be a spoiled child who prevents a friend from pursuing their own future."
Remilia let out a sigh of pure relief, her lips curling into a bright, affectionate smile as she reached out to stroke Flandre's long, silky hair.
"It is truly wonderful that you can think so maturely." Sensing the profound sincerity echoing within Flandre's words, the elder sister looked thoroughly pleased, her heart completely at ease.
The following morning, the moment Clever blinked her eyes open, she found the rest of the camp already bustling with activity, efficiently packing away their travel gear.
"Oh my... please slow down a bit, wait for me!"
She scrambled out of her sleeping bag in a minor panic, hurriedly attempting to gather her scattered personal belongings.
"Go wash up by the bank first, breakfast is already entering its final stages," Hong Meiling said with a reassuring pat to her shoulder, pointing toward a pot of fragrant fish soup that was simmering over the remnants of the fire. "I will handle the breakdown and packing of your tent for you."
"Where on earth did the fresh fish come from?" Clever asked, her brow raising in genuine puzzlement. The dried rations and fish they had secured prior to entering the wilderness had been entirely consumed days ago.
Hong Meiling pointed a thumb toward the winding river flowing just beyond the square. "Didn't we technically use a dozen or so mutated Fanged Beasts to heavily bait the lower currents during the cleanup last night? When I checked the banks this morning, a massive school of river fish had gathered to feed on the remnants, so I simply reached in and snagged two of the largest ones."
Clever offered a quick nod of comprehension. Although the concept of using raw predator meat and spilled blood to bait a fishing zone was a bit intense by conventional standards, the target material wasn't human—merely wild beasts—so she felt zero moral revulsion toward the survival tactic.
She jogged down to the riverbank to wash her face, clearing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes before returning to the center of the camp. By the time she stepped back to the fire, Hong Meiling had already perfectly packed away her entire tent, and Sakuya Izayoi was gracefully ladling the steaming fish soup into everyone's individual bowls.
As Clever approached her designated seat, her eyes lit up with absolute delight upon noticing that alongside the rich soup, Sakuya had also prepared a perfectly roasted ear of wild corn for her breakfast.