The Little Mastermind
Stella teleported in front of Anne's house. But nobody saw her as she had [Absolute Stealth] and [Arcane Invisibility] active.
It was already midnight.
After she gained basic mastery over her [Space Authority], she had no spatial fluctuations when teleporting. So nobody was alerted.
She knocked on the door.
The door opened after just a few moments.
Stella looked up to see Anne with red eyes and tear stains on her face.
"Anne, I..." Before Stella could say anything, she was pulled into a hug.
"Where were you all this time? Did you even realize how anxious I was?? I looked for you everywhere!!!
I thought you were taken away by some bad guys." Anne bawled her eyes out crying.
"I'm sorry, I just found something bad happening to some people. It was so heart-wrecking, that I couldn't bear to leave without helping them. Sorry that I didn't leave any notes behind." Stella apologized to her.
"It's alright, You're back safe, that's all that matters." Anne took her into the house.
'She does care about me a lot...' She felt a bit apologetic after basically vanishing without saying anything.
She glanced at Anne and felt that she had changed quite a lot, especially how she treated her.
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[ Name: Anne
Intent:
• Friendliness: 82%
• Kindness: 87%
• Possessiveness: 85%
• Love: 78%
• Lust: -
• Anger: 1%
• Hostility: -
• Fear: - ]
Stella realized she could see quite a bit more now.
'Anne only met me a day ago, but she already considers me as her family.... I wish more people like her are so kindhearted.
Stella was deeply moved. She felt this world needed more kindhearted people.
"Anne... Thank you." Stella spoke softly.
Anne who was sitting beside the table was puzzled.
"Um... What is it, Stella?"
Stella smiled, "Nothing. Here, have some of these sweets. I've heard it's quite good."
Stella had ransacked many restaurants and bakeries to get food for those girls, but they didn't eat that much so she had quite a lot more in reserve.
"Ah? Thank... thank you. But you're acting a bit weird." Anne was still puzzled by Stella's behavior.
"....you're angry with me, right?" Stella asked.
"N..no. Not at all. I was a little bit angry earlier because you left without saying anything. But I'm no longer angry. How can I be angry with you? Silly girl."
Anne replied to her.
'She must've encountered something bad. But she doesn't want to tell me about it yet. She's very mature despite what her appearances tell.' Anne thought as she ate a little bit of the sweets.
'Does she still feel apologetic for not eating the breakfast I made her?' Anne smiled. 'She's a good child. I can only hope she'll grow up without having to face so many cruelties of the world.'
"Stella, you should go to sleep. Don't stay up so late, or you won't be able to wake up early tomorrow." Anne reminded her.
"Hmm. Good night, Anne." Stella went to her room. She felt exhausted after what she had experienced during these hours.
"Good night." Anne slowly got up from her seat and went back to her room with a smile.
'I should make breakfast for her tomorrow....'
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"Good morning, Stella. Have you already woken up? This early?"
Anne was surprised to see this sleepyhead wake up on time. She thought she would need to spend a considerable amount of effort to wake her up.
"Good morning, Anne. I didn't sleep that well today. So I woke up early." Stella was in a grumpy mood.
After the events of yesterday, her precious sleep was ruined. So she decided, the punishment of those bastards will be more severe.
"Oh. I see. Come on, I made breakfast." Anne smiled.
"....Yes. Coming." Her mouth twitched. But Stella didn't say anything and followed her to the dining table.
"I made pancakes and egg omelet for you today. If you eat foods with good nutrients, you'll grow up tall just like me." Anne coaxed her as she tried to pat Stella's head.
But Anne's hand started to rebound as soon as she tried to touch her. Stella sighed and removed the restriction for Anne.
"Eh! You actually believed me?" Anne asked as she happily patted Stella's head.
"...Yes. Why not?" Stella replied grumpily. She wanted to get tall, but that wasn't in her hands. No matter how powerful she got, she won't be able to modify her appearance. And she knew her body had no business to do with food or nutrients, so they won't help either.
"Alright, come sit down. Let's eat." Anne decided not to bully her anymore. 'She didn't glare at me for mentioning her height today. Is she still in a bad mood?' Anne was very worried about her as she felt Stella was different today.
Anne had lost all of her family members.
But when she found Stella, she felt really close to her for some reason. As if she was her long-lost family member, even though they just met one day ago. Why did she feel like this? She didn't know. But at least she found someone that she could call family.
So Anne already considered Stella as her little sister.
"Okay." Stella grumbled as she sat down.
She took her knife and fork and then dug into the pancake.
As she ate it, her face changed into various colors. And Anne savored those changes of expressions to the fullest.
"Anne..." Stella spoke with an ashen face.
"Hmm?"
"Why don't I cook from tomorrow?" Stella felt her soul trying to leave this world after tasting the pancake. The symptoms had amplified, once again.
"Ah? You can cook??" Anne was taken by surprise.
"No, I just know the basics. So, teach me." Stella barely got the words out of her mouth.
'Wah! She'll cook for me too, right? I wonder how her cooking will taste.' Anne felt excited. "Ahem! Sure. I'll teach you." she replied.
"Hmm. But Anne..."
"Yes?"
"Shouldn't we go now? You're going to be late." Stella reminded her.
"Oh no! It's been quite a while since the morning bell. We have to hurry." Anne completely forgot about her study session as she was enjoying the various profound expressions of Stella eating the pancake.
"Okay, let's set off." Stella and Anne left the house after locking it.
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******
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"It seems the investigation reports are in. There was indeed someone suspicious." Sylvania spoke.
"Ah, what are we waiting for then? Open it." Merlin said in an expectant tone.
As Sylvania opened the report, they got the glimpse
of the culprit as a rough sketch.
It was a little girl with silver-white hair. Below her portrait was some little bits of information.
[A silver-white girl that was described by the passerby as extremely beautiful. She was wearing a unique dress that was usually worn by royalties. She was seen entering the store just before the disappearance. She was not seen after that. ]
"Huh? A little girl? How can this be?" Sylvania was puzzled. As a person who held many secrets of her own, she knew it was very unlikely. But if it was true then...
'Someone from the Divine realm?' Her heart turned cold.
"A girl with silver-white hair... Such unique color..." Merlin muttered to himself.
There was no one in this world with the same hair color as Stella. It was totally unique. So she stood out more because of this.
"Sir Merlin, I would like to take care of this personally." Sylvania said with suppressed rage.
"Ah.... I understand." Merlin was no fool. He knew this girl was anything but normal. "Be careful."
"I will." Sylvania said as she zoomed off in the air.
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'It seems the mean girl and that old fogey finally found me. The Grand Marshall looks pissed. But she only knows two of my offenses currently, she shouldn't be so angry. She's searching for me fanatically. So she had mistaken me for them? Hehe. looks like that plan could be moved forward.' Stella had an evil grin on her face.
Stella naturally knew everything that was going on in the entire Western continent and beyond.
Every event, every conversation, every secret.... She knew them all.
Nobody could hide anything from her. She was omnipresent within her dominion.
So, a little mastermind with the ability to manipulate anything she wanted from the shadows, was slowly being born.
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"Look, that's the cathedral. It's quite big huh?"
Anne told Stella
They were finally at the Church entrance.
But Stella had a problem to solve, and a plan to initiate.
"Anne, I have to go for a while. I'll be back... soon. I might get into trouble. You go ahead."
"Stella, where are you running off to now?
And what do you mean you'll get into trouble?" Anne was puzzled.
"It's not something major, I stole some sweets." Stella smiled.
Anne looked at Stella weirdly. "So yesterday's sweets were stolen? Sigh. It's my fault. I forgot you didn't have any money. I'll give you allowances from now on."
"No, it's not like that. I don't need allowances. I'll be back before your classes end." Stella said.
"Okay then. I'll look for you after my classes. Please don't do anything that'll get you in trouble again." Anne chided her.
"Hmm. I won't." Stella replied as walked off in another direction.