Symphony for the Insect Princess

"Lord Glory."

Ailian bowed and handed the great secret treasure she had just obtained to her.

Glory immediately took it in her hand and examined it carefully, then -

"Humph, it turns out that you can't judge the authenticity by feeling alone, you still have to rely on this."

Glory reached into her robes and pulled out an object: a crystal wrapped in thin chains. She brought the magic mark sample close to the newly acquired treasure and injected it with magic. Both immediately emitted a rainbow of light. Glory's breathing quickened as she carefully observed the two objects enveloped in the light.

"……cut!"

Glory shook her head, obviously having lost interest in this "great secret treasure".

"Don't look any further, it's a fake."

She sighed, and Ailian's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

In the iridescent halo, the fake had lost its original luster, and a small letter "n" appeared on it, which was obviously the number on the mark when the craftsman made the imitation.

"Forget it... Even though this is fake, I still have to preserve it. After all, it's the work of a wise craftsman."

"Yes……"

After the square incident, the four factions of the Pantheon, the Tower of Babel, the Knights of the City Lord's Mansion only had a brief discussion (of course, no substantial results were reached), and then immediately plunged into the search for the great secret treasure.

Butcher's death has become a thing of the past, and no one cares much about a dead person.

The competition has begun.

Whoever finds the great treasure first will be the ultimate winner.

The biggest advantage of the three investigation teams is not that they have combat capabilities at the level of great magicians or great war spirits, but that they each have a sample of the magic mark. After obtaining the great treasure, they can immediately compare it to confirm its authenticity.

But because of this,

When people saw them, their eyes were no longer filled with fear and dread.

There is also a hint of greed that is hard to conceal.

It's like looking at elusive prey.

Chapter 48 Girls' Tea Party

"Yes, ten minutes ago, the people from the Tower of Babel recovered a new great secret treasure! After comparing it, they determined it was a fake. This brings the total number of confirmed imitation great secret treasures to five!"

"We can't rule out the possibility that 'it's actually the real thing, but they're deliberately saying it's fake to cover up their tracks.' We need to deploy more spies to monitor their every move!"

"As ordered!"

The subordinate who came to report the news retreated, Pierce Corey wrote something in his notebook, and Saenris sighed irritably.

Five great secret treasures have been confirmed and recovered.

The first was found in Butcher's abdomen, the second was found under Butcher's body, and the third was found by people around the square at the time. All three were fakes.

Then, the investigation teams, led by three exceptionally powerful individuals, finally yielded results. First, the Pantheon team seized the fourth great secret treasure from a group of lawless criminals—a counterfeit after comparison. Just now, the Tower of Babel also snatched the fifth counterfeit from a group of adventurers, and in the process, they also killed two would-be warriors and wizards.

The people sent by the City Lord's Mansion have not yet gained anything, and the same is true for the knights led by Sako.

Saenris ruffled his hair, trying to piece it all together. First, Butcher's death. Why were there two great secret treasures on his body? Did he snatch them, but his killers left them behind? The words he'd left in blood, "Follow the Great Secret Treasure," were now widely known. Was this death message merely literal, or was there a deeper meaning? How many replicas were there? Five? Six? Ten? Hundreds? Was the real thing still in the Kasolu area, or had it been swapped out long ago? Should he personally lead the investigation, like the three other investigation teams?

The biggest problem is that the City Lord's Mansion doesn't have any samples of the magic traces of the ownerless great secret treasure. Even if they find it, they can only ask the investigation team for help to verify its authenticity. If it is the real thing, it will inevitably lead to a bloody scramble...

Worrying things happened one after another, and Saenris stopped thinking and temporarily diverted his mind away from the matter of the great treasure.

Speaking of which...

"Where is Aisia? It's very dangerous outside now. I should order her to stay in the City Lord's Mansion and not go out." Saenris asked Pierce Corey.

"The eldest lady has been doing well these past few days. She stays in her room most of the time, and occasionally comes out for afternoon tea."

"I didn't get too close to those rabble-rousers, especially the men in the investigation team—no, I didn't have any contact with them, did I?"

"Yes, I've never seen the young lady talk to any of the men."

"That's good."

"But..." Pierscore said, changing the subject, "The young lady has been very close to a servant recently."

"……Aha?"

At that moment, a terrifying murderous intent emanated from Saenris, but he immediately suppressed it.

"Servant? Which brat is it..."

"It's the maid."

"Maid?"

When he heard it was a maid, Saenris breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately remembered some unpleasant things.

Speaking of which... a few days ago, when I went to visit Asia in her room, I wanted to get close to her, but I was interrupted by a damn maid...

"Hey, Pierce... What does that maid look like? Could she be pretty with long silver-gray hair?"

"Indeed, sir, how did you know that?"

Pierce Corey blinked in surprise, and Saenris tutted his words.

"Please explain this to me in more detail, Pierce. Elsa and the maid have a 'close relationship'. How close do they really mean?"

"Hmm... Actually, there's nothing special about it. The young lady seems to want her to be her personal maid. I've also seen them chatting and laughing like friends or sisters. I don't know if it's an illusion, but I feel... the young lady seems to be deliberately not letting the maid get too far away from her."

"..."

Saenris frowned, then shook his head a little annoyed.

Needless to say, Asia was definitely protecting the maid.

The maid had seen him and Aisia together that day, and if she spread the news, it would surely have a bad impact—Saenris knew this. Logically, he could easily find any excuse to kill a mere maid, and in fact, he did so.

But now, Aisha is intentionally keeping the maid by her side and taking her under her protection, perhaps out of idle kindness and a sense of responsibility? In that case, getting rid of the maid would be a bit troublesome.

However, the maid didn't seem to have any intention of spreading the news, so should I turn a blind eye?

...It still doesn't work.

For some reason, when he thought about the maid being so close to his daughter... Saenris felt a strange feeling of disgust, as if there was a buzzing fly next to his precious daughter, which was disgusting.

"Pierce Corey."

"What are your orders?"

"Recently, keep an eye on that maid and Aisha, understand me?"

"I understand. Please rest assured, sir."

The old butler bowed gracefully, his movements not at all showing the age of a man in his sixties.

For some reason, it reminds me of a falcon searching for prey.

----------------

"Oh, ladies, what a coincidence to see you here."

"Alas!"

Hearing the greeting from behind, Qimila trembled all over and turned around tremblingly -

A young lady with long dark blue hair and graceful manners.

A maid with long silver-gray hair and a dreamy appearance.

The eldest lady is in front, and the maid stands two steps behind her on the left. The two of them are as beautiful as a painting.

"Tsk...that's not fair..."

"Hmm? Miss Qimila, what did you say?"

Aisha didn't hear clearly and took a step forward, and the maid followed suit. With each movement, their breasts swayed slightly under their clothes, which made Qimila feel anxious.

"Hmph, foolish mortals, do you know why you are imprisoned on earth and unable to ascend to heaven?"

Qimila's posture changed, and her eyes became fierce for some reason.

"why?"

"Because the gravity exerted on those two lumps of fat is restraining you—ouch!"

"Qimila-chan, what nonsense are you talking about!"

After being hit by Clara's knife, Qiumila's eyes were filled with tears, while Clara nodded and apologized to Aisia.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Curtis! This child is just like that, always saying weird things, but at heart, he's a good kid!"

"It's okay, it's okay. I don't mind..." Asia smiled wryly and waved her hand. "Come to think of it, I was just thinking of going out for a cup of tea to relax. Would you two like to join me?"

then,

City Lord's Mansion, top floor——

Outside the City Lord's Mansion, there was chaos everywhere, with swords flashing and all kinds of magic flying everywhere.

It is still peaceful and quiet here. Under the glass dome on the top floor of the City Lord's Mansion is a small indoor garden where various ornamental plants are cultivated. In the middle of the flowers is a small round tea table that can accommodate four people.

The maid, Nairis, brewed black tea with deft movements. Her silver-gray hair gleamed in the sunlight filtering through the dome, and her expression was always so serene and calm that it immediately struck a chord with everyone. Qimila and Clara stared in amazement, while Aisia also observed Nairis's every move with great interest.

"You're really good at making tea."

"Thank you for the compliment. It's my honor to make tea for you, young lady."

"Well, you'd be perfect if you could say less polite things."

Aisia smiled bitterly and took a sip of tea, and Qimila and Clara followed suit and started drinking.

After a while, Clara asked cautiously, "Um... Miss Aisia, what exactly do you want to talk to us about?"

"Who says I have to have something to ask you? Aren't tea parties for girls very common?"

"Why don't you look for Kokoro and Kokoa?"

"Ever since the incident, the other students have been staying in their rooms and haven't dared to come out. Others have been treated as extra staff and followed Babel Tower out to help out."

"Actually, we just happened to go out to the bathroom... There's no toilet in the guest room."

"Eh? My friend Clara, didn't you say you were feeling irritated because of your menstrual period, and that's why you asked me to accompany you out to relax—"

"Ahhhhhh, stop talking!"

Aisia couldn't help but burst out laughing, Clara's face turned completely red, and Qimila looked innocent.

"That's great..."

"what?"

"I say, it's so nice to be able to drink tea and chat with girls of the same age..."

Aisia took another sip of tea, squinted her eyes slightly, and looked at the sky through the glass dome.

There was a subtle loneliness in his eyes.

"...Ms. Asia?"

"No, nothing... Let's talk! Nairis?"

Nairis immediately brought out a small plate with cute little snacks on it.

"This is……?"

"It's called a macaron. It seems to be a dessert that came from the Baseline World over ten years ago. It's delicious."

"It looks so expensive..."

"It's not direct sales from the place of origin. The chef at the City Lord's Mansion is just copying the recipe passed down to Maya. Don't mind it, just enjoy it."

"Then I'll be welcome... Mm! So delicious!"

“Huff, huff, huff, I’ll reluctantly try this mortal food… Wow, it’s really delicious!”

Clara and Qiumila both showed very happy smiles. Girls' stomachs are really easy to satisfy.

Looking at their smiling faces, Asia spoke softly.

"Let's chat. I've never left the Kasolu area, so I'm very interested in your hometown."

"Eh, really? I thought Miss Asia was someone who loved traveling!"

"I'm actually a stay-at-home mom... Miss Clara, where are you from?"