The Girl Who Looted Tomorrow

Euphemia followed the Scholar Path and knew a great deal about the supernatural world.

Precisely because she knew so much, she was even more shocked.

Advancing four Ranks in a row meant drinking four potions in succession.

A normal person would have been torn apart by uncontrollable power and turned into a monster.

Euphemia stared at the white-haired girl before her, whose beauty no longer seemed quite mortal.

She looked into Freya’s green eyes, where cute cat-paw patterns shimmered.

“How did you even do that?”

“This is… unbelievable.”

Freya looked at Euphemia’s face, which was practically glowing with curiosity.

After a moment, she said, “I suppose you could call it advance digestion.”

“Before drinking the potions, I had already done a large number of things that helped digest them.”

“So after I drank the potions, they dissolved right away.”

Euphemia froze.

“What? That’s possible?”

If Freya had still been maintaining Mind Sense, she would have seen the impurities inside Euphemia’s body suddenly decrease a little.

This brief exchange had apparently counted as uncovering the truth.

It had helped Euphemia digest her potion.

After a short pause, Euphemia asked, “So… do you still need me to investigate the case for you?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Freya said, “You waited this long for me. Since we’re already here, we’re definitely having the meal.”

“And after the meal, I’ll have paid your fee, so the case naturally continues.”

As she spoke, Freya walked to the table and picked a chair at random.

Euphemia finally recovered from the shock.

She caught the faint fragrance in the air, and her gaze quickly settled on Freya.

There had originally been some distance between them.

Euphemia stood, picked up her chair, and moved it right beside Freya.

Then she leaned slightly toward her and sniffed.

“Mmm. You smell lovely.”

Freya’s eyelid twitched.

“What?”

Euphemia added, “Is this another change from reaching Rank Four?”

“Uh… probably?”

A server soon came over with the menu.

While the two of them ordered, the server kept sneaking glances at Freya.

Once they finished ordering, the server finally dragged her gaze away and left with an expression that was both amazed and regretful.

The dishes arrived one after another.

There were only two girls, so naturally, their appetites were not very large.

Freya had not ordered much.

Even so, they did not finish the three dishes.

As expected from a high-end restaurant, those few dishes still cost Freya several hundred ducats.

After paying the bill, she asked, “So, what now?”

“Do we start investigating right away?”

“The warehouse probably doesn’t start operating until night.”

“Let’s go.”

Euphemia answered immediately.

“No matter what, we should take a look first.”

Freya nodded.

She was thinking that although they might not find many clues during the day, they could at least pretend to be ordinary passersby.

Daytime would be safer as well.

The moment they left the restaurant, Freya was about to lead the way.

Then Euphemia raised a hand and stopped a passing carriage.

“Driver, Trinity Row in the southern district.”

Freya paused.

“Huh? We’re taking a carriage?”

Euphemia looked confused instead.

“What else would we do? Walk?”

Freya had no answer.

Across so many simulations, every time she had traveled anywhere, she had run there on her own two legs.

At first, it had been because carriages were too expensive and she had no money.

Later, after she obtained money from Scar, it was not long before she gained War Freya.

By then, she could run faster than a carriage.

Naturally, she no longer needed to ride one.

Euphemia was different.

The Scholar Path did not enhance physical ability at all.

If she had to walk all the way to the destination, she would be half-dead from exhaustion before the investigation even began.

Although Freya could now apply a buff to Euphemia, Euphemia had already climbed into the carriage.

So Freya swallowed the comment and followed with her small steps.

Sitting across from Euphemia, Freya propped her chin on one hand and watched the scenery slide backward outside the window.

At first, it was a fairly novel experience.

That novelty lasted only a few minutes.

After that, the carriage offered Freya only one thing.

Bumps.

Perhaps the wheels were poor quality.

Perhaps the road was too uneven.

Perhaps Freya simply weighed too little.

Whenever the carriage passed over a particularly rough patch, the violent jolts lifted Freya briefly off the seat.

Then she landed back on the stiff cushion.

Freya was now a supernatural practitioner, and her body was far stronger than an ordinary person’s.

But her sense of touch was also far sharper.

The constant jolting made every layer of clothing rub against her skin.

Her backside felt as though it was being shaken apart.

She was deeply uncomfortable.

Across from her, Euphemia could clearly see Freya shifting around like a restless child.

Every so often, Freya twisted her body or tugged at her clothes.

A few times, her movements were too large, and Euphemia caught glimpses of the delicate collarbone beneath her neckline and a large expanse of pale skin.

Seeing that, Euphemia turned her head slightly as though looking out the window.

Her gaze, however, still drifted back to Freya from time to time.

Freya noticed none of it.

She was silently complaining to herself.

“No. After this, I have to change into better-quality clothes. This is torture.”

At last, the carriage slowed to a stop.

Freya sprang from her seat like she was escaping a trap.

She opened the carriage door and hopped out.

Her clean little feet landed on the gray stone street.

Feeling solid ground beneath her again, she let out a relieved breath.

“We’re finally here…”

Thanks to Source Trace, an ordinary person stepping barefoot on stone might feel only cold and discomfort.

Freya, however, felt as though warmth rose gently from the ground beneath her feet.

It was not uncomfortable at all.

After paying the fare, Euphemia stepped down as well.

She looked around the busy street.

Southern Auxerre was the industrial district, with many factories nearby.

During the day, the streets were still crowded.

Even so, the sudden appearance of two beautiful young women caused almost no disturbance.

At most, a few people nearby looked at them for an extra moment.

Then they turned away and continued with their work.

Everyone here was busy.

So what if Freya and Euphemia were beautiful?

Beauty did not put food on the table or pay wages.

There was no point staring for long.

Euphemia asked, “Where is that old warehouse?”

Freya closed her eyes and entered Mind Sense.

At once, the entire map of Trinity Row appeared inside her mind, along with countless densely packed figures.

Freya swept her perception across them.

Most people were in a state of exhaustion.

Their bodies had minor ailments of one kind or another.

That was normal.

How many working people were truly healthy?

Among those ordinary people, Freya also sensed several strange figures.

In her perception, they were like empty shells.

There was nothing inside them.

Freya immediately realized that these had to be the soldiers summoned by the Rank Five General.

“Follow me,” Freya said.

“The warehouse is this way.”

As she led Euphemia forward, she occasionally gave quiet warnings.

“The person sitting on the third bench to our left, the one reading a newspaper, is not a real person.”

“He’s a soldier summoned by the General.”

“Sixty yards ahead of us, the person in brown carrying a briefcase.”

“And the three people eating at the table closest to the door inside the restaurant on the right.”

“They’re all soldiers too.”

Euphemia whispered in admiration, “That’s impressive.”

“Come to think of it, I still don’t know which Path you follow.”

Since Euphemia had directly told Freya her own Path before, Freya did not hide it this time.

“The Earth Path.”

Euphemia immediately looked as though everything made sense.

“Oh, that explains it.”

“No wonder you’re running around barefoot.”

“You’re on the Earth Path. That’s normal.”

Freya’s cheeks flushed.

The blame had indeed shifted onto the Earth Path automatically, but having Euphemia point out her bare feet so directly still made her feel embarrassed.

While they spoke, Euphemia did not look toward any of the people Freya pointed out.

She behaved like an ordinary pedestrian, walking and chatting normally.

Looking at the targets too deliberately might draw their attention instead.

Before long, the old blue-painted warehouse appeared in Euphemia’s view.

She lowered her voice.

“What’s the situation around it?”

“There are too many.”

Freya answered, “You can treat everyone moving around this area as one of the General’s soldiers.”

Euphemia nodded.

She took Freya’s small hand and did not stop near the warehouse.

Instead, they passed by like ordinary pedestrians.

Only after walking several hundred yards away did Euphemia pull Freya into a nearby alley.

But when Euphemia tried to go deeper, Freya showed clear resistance.

“What’s wrong?” Euphemia asked.

Freya pressed her lips together.

After a short silence, she said, “It’s too dirty here.”

Even in the modern world of her previous life, some people had thrown trash around and relieved themselves wherever they pleased.

This world was far less developed.

Naturally, people here paid even less attention to hygiene.

Secluded alleys like this were practically garbage dumps.

Filth covered the ground.

Even if Freya’s body was now untouched by dust, she still did not want to step on those things barefoot.

It was disgusting.

Euphemia heard that and glanced down at Freya’s small bare feet.

“I forgot about that.”

As she spoke, she leaned out and looked both ways along the street.

Seeing no one nearby, she said, “Fine. Here should work.”

She unzipped her crossbody bag and searched inside.

Soon, she pulled out a thin sheet that looked almost like plastic wrap.

Euphemia gave it a light shake.

Once it unfolded completely, she moved close to Freya.

After the two pressed tightly together, Euphemia draped the sheet over them both.

Freya had been keeping her eyes closed and maintaining Mind Sense.

From her overhead perspective, she saw herself and Euphemia vanish into thin air.

“Invisibility cloak,” Euphemia explained.

“The size is perfect.”

“Let’s go. We’re taking a look inside that warehouse.”

Freya’s small mouth opened slightly.

She said in a dazed voice, “There’s really something like this?”

“It’s a supernatural item.”

Euphemia sounded pleased with herself.

“I’m on the Scholar Path. Isn’t it perfectly normal for me to have a few clever little tools?”

Freya had heard of supernatural items during the month she worked for the Special Affairs Division in her second simulation.

But she had never actually seen one.

The Special Affairs Division in Auxerre did not possess a single supernatural item.

They were clearly precious.

If an entire Special Affairs Division could not produce even one, then they had to be valuable.

Yet from Euphemia’s tone, it sounded as though she had many of them.

Freya asked, “So how are supernatural items made?”

The corner of Euphemia’s mouth curved into a pretty smile.

“You don’t know?”

Freya had shocked her far too many times in half a day.

Seeing Freya reveal a bit of ignorance finally let Euphemia recover a small sense of being the senior one in the supernatural world.

Looking at Freya’s cute face so close to her own, Euphemia said, “Let me pinch your cheeks, and I’ll tell you.”

“How about it?”

“Mmm…”

Freya thought for a moment and tilted her head slightly.

“I suppose that’s fine?”

Euphemia did not hesitate.

She immediately reached out and pinched both of Freya’s cheeks.

Then she rubbed and kneaded them as though petting a cat.

The texture was wonderful.

“Mmm…”

Freya’s words came out muffled.

“Can you shtop now…”

Euphemia continued for a little longer before finally withdrawing her hands in satisfaction.

Then she began explaining.

Through continuous research into supernatural Paths, people had developed potions.

Drinking a potion granted supernatural abilities.

If the same materials were used with a different carrier, and instead of being made into a potion they were crafted into an object, then in theory, that object could also possess supernatural abilities.

That was the theory.

In practice, supernatural items were far harder to make than potions.

If ordinary people tried, they were more likely to create sealed artifacts filled with side effects.

The Scholar Path was different.

With intelligence far beyond that of ordinary people, making supernatural items was not particularly difficult for Scholars.

Besides, one of the three Rank Four specializations of the Scholar Path was called Artisan.

It was a specialization dedicated to creating supernatural items.