Emilia was actually quite lucky that no one was looking up at the tree, because while the canopy was quite thick, it was far from being able to completely block one’s view.
While it would have still been somewhat fine had she been in her original form, her current one was sure to leave the children with quite a bit of trauma.
Luckily, there were only a handful of them here, and none of them just happened to be climbing up this tree at this time. Sad as it was, they seemed quite busy rummaging through the trashcans for food.
The crimson-haired girl decided to quickly duck back in and rush back to ‘her room’ before the situation changed.
After reverting back to her normal form, Emilia took a few minutes to pick out a decent outfit from the clothes that were provided in the closet.
Since the weather in the Blue Dawn Republic was quite a bit colder at this time than in her home country, there were quite a few warm clothes in the selection as well.
Settling on a pleated black skirt and a soft-looking cream-colored sweater, she started looking around for something she could hide her face with while still looking quite normal, and quickly settled on a comfy-looking black muffler that she could easily wrap around her neck and the bottom half of her face.
Once done, Emilia quickly made her way back to the tree canopy while being careful not to dirty her fresh clothes.
”I’ll have to figure out a way to dispose of that mountain of dirt and stones, too.”
Cynthia coughed. “You can just eat them—”
”No way!”
Recalling how this little villainess had forced her to chew up paper on the first day they arrived, the raven-haired girl could only pout while feeling aggrieved. “How come it’s a bad idea when I make that suggestion?!”
Emilia could only roll her eyes in exasperation. “Baby, do you not realize the difference between a piece of paper and a literal mountain of soil and dirt?”
Moreover, just thinking about how many organisms could have decomposed in there, Emilia couldn’t bring herself to put it in her mouth.
That being said, Cynthia’s suggestion wasn’t without merit.
Since anything that was completely engulfed within her body would vanish, eating it was obviously not the ‘only’ way to get that done.
”Next time, I’ll make a new form that can try this out if I get the chance.”
Looking at her host picturing making a ‘bag’ that could make all sorts of ‘evidence’ vanish into the void, Cynthia couldn’t help but clap her hands in delight. “That’s more like my villainess!”
Emilia didn’t know if she should feel as proud about that praise as she did, but she quickly put that thought away as she climbed back up the trunk of the tree.
Looking around, she made sure that no one was paying attention this way before she carefully climbed down to the ground, dusting off any extra leaves and dirt that she hadn’t been able to avoid completely.
”Now… I just need to get to the rendezvous location.”
Calculating her rough position based on the layout of the villa and the direction she had been digging in, Emilia felt that she mustn’t be too far from where she needed to be.
But to actually get there, she would have to depend on either some helpful passerby or a landmark she could recognize.
Of course, she also had to make sure that she wasn’t found out by the government while at it, or there would be way too much trouble.
Once she started making her way out of the playground, the crimson-haired girl naturally attracted some attention. This wasn’t just because she was well-dressed and looked pretty, but also because her skin looked well-nourished and soft under the lamplight, which was already a sign of the wealthy in this somewhat impoverished area.
”Big sister, big sister! Where are you from? Are you rich?!”
”I’ve never seen a big sister so pretty, can you play with us?”
”Big sister, do you have candies?”
The tiny little carrot heads ranging from five to twelve quickly had her in an ‘unbreakable siege’ of eagerness and excitement.
Emilia couldn’t bring herself to be too harsh with these curious yet unfortunate children, but she still had places to be, so she quickly came up with an idea to distract them.
Using their own idea of ‘playing a game’, she led them to a tree and had them each pluck a ‘good leaf’.
”Look, if you fold it like this, and then place it against your lips…”
A serene yet soft melody came out of the leaf under the disbelieving eyes of the little carrot heads, and their gazes changed from curious to worshiping in an instant, with the light of the lamps twinkling like little stars in their watery eyes.
Of course, Emilia, being who she was, didn’t feel uncomfortable at all, and even puffed out her chest with pride. “Big sister will come here later as well, but I have something important to do now. How about you practice until you can play a song using this leaf, and I’ll check up on your progress when we meet again?”
Although they were still reluctant to let her leave, the children quickly compromised when they thought about playing with their new toy, and also the possibility of making her angry if they insisted on making her stay.
Emilia couldn’t help but ruffle a few carrot heads before rushing away while making sure her muffler was properly covering her face. ‘I’ll have to arrange some food for them later, ahhh, remind me if I forget, okay Cynthia?’
”…”
Naturally, the crimson-haired beauty didn’t pay any attention to her partner’s ‘subtle’ mood.
Thinking about her destination, she quickly started making her way through the alleys as soon as she spotted one. “Let’s avoid the crowded main streets for now.”
After all, while the public security in the capital of Blue Dawn was far from good with very few security cameras on the streets, Emilia still didn’t want to take any chances.
Fortunately, even though she was going through the alleys, she didn’t encounter any ‘unfortunate’ incidents, and also spotted the still-lit board of a well-known restaurant quite soon.
”So that’s where I am, huh… not far, then.”
Thinking about how easy this would have been had she been able to use the positioning system on her smartphone, Emilia couldn’t help but pout. “If only it wasn’t so easy for them to track me using my phone, life would be so much easier.”
Unfortunately, the current state of the technology made it incredibly easy for something to go wrong if she ran around while carrying a smart device, so Emilia could only do away with this convenience and work on her own.
The way from there to her destination wasn’t quite as smooth, and she encountered a bunch of thugs beating up a skinny young man, but the situation was quickly resolved before any of them realized what was happening.
Of course, it still took her some time to drag the skinny man away from the location to a safer place, though she didn’t bother taking him all the way to the police station, and put him just close enough.
Half an hour later, she finally arrived at the place where Noelle had told her someone would be waiting to ‘coordinate’ with her, and saw a gruff-looking man in ‘casual clothes’ squatting on the ground in front of an ‘inconspicuous’ building.
Looking at his bulging muscles and sharp eyes, Emilia couldn’t help but feel that his attempt of trying to look like a normal man was incredibly funny. ‘Hey Cynthia… is it just me, or is his disguise too bad?’
The man shot up in excitement the moment he saw the girl approach, and Emilia waved him over with a smile.
”Hi, how is the weather today?”
The man stiffened before sighing sadly. “Q-Quite blue, unfortunately.”
Emilia hummed. “Oh, what a pity. Is this house yours?”
The man quickly shook his head. “Oh no, it belongs to my ancestors, but they removed me from the inheritance.”
The crimson-haired girl giggled. “Okay. You pass. Let’s go in and talk, then.”
The man nodded happily as he led his way in, though only he knew how embarrassed and terrified he had been when he almost forgot about the ‘authentication method’ that he had almost forgotten when he finally saw his little boss.
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