Cipher looked at the short girl wearing a pitch black robe. The blue color of her clothes could be faintly seen under its gaps. The translucent blue staff she held bore a white crown in its head, with its pointy end colored in white.
"I will lead you to the treasure you seek."
"You..?"
Questions grew like mushrooms inside Cipher's mind. Her vigilance was cranked to the maximum as she faced the short girl.
"Even Aglaea will never doubt this… me."
She held back from habitually saying her title.
"Lady Aglaea? You know her?"
"It is not important now. The treasure that you seek. Do you want it or not?"
"Of course I want it!"
The girl did not waste any time. She hopped off from the roof. The gust of wind revealed the cyan hair tucked inside her robe.
Akin to magic, she fell to the ground like a feather. Cipher's eyes looked curiously at this trick.
"Boss, she might be the real deal…"
The comical purple blob beside her was none other than Zagreus, the Trickery Titan himself.
True to his nature, his divine trial for Cipher was to trick the world of his death. Only then would the divine trial be completed—something Cipher achieved.
"She has that stringent Titan's Coreflame."
"Whose Titan? Talanton?!"
"Yes, yes…"
Zagreus could vividly remember the block of stone that was Talanton. He is the antithesis of trickery, the Titan that upheld this world's law. If Zagreus was a petty thief, Talanton is a policeman. The two could not coexist.
'Law Demigod… The Imperator, Cerydra? That's her?'
Aside from hearing that name from Aglaea, Cipher did her fair share of assignments. She knows the current Demigods aside from Aglaea and Tribios:
Law Demigod, the Imperator Cerydra.
Ocean Demigod, the Dux Gladiorum Hysilens.
Earth Demigod, the Dromas King Terravox.
Despite Cerydra's short stature, her status is higher than Aglaea. She was the mentor of the latter.
Facing this high-value target, Cipher subconsciously straightened her back. She hurried off to Cerydra's side, following her strides.
The two easily walked inside the Marmoreal Palace. The guards did not see them at all. Cipher momentarily saw a translucent ripple surrounding them.
Cerydra walked through the Marmoreal Palace's interior workings with great familiarity. Soon, they stopped in front of a room. The red circle on the middle of the door's parting turned green the moment it 'saw' Cerydra. It opened on its own, revealing a cleaned yet unassuming bedroom.
Swoosh-!
She used her walking staff to lift the carpet. It revealed a carefully hidden compartment on the floor. She bumped the staff's end onto the ground.
Tap.
Under the cat's gaze, the compartment opened on its own, followed by a box that floated out on its own. The compartment door closed and the carpet went to its previous position after it was done.
"That is it."
Cipher sniffed the 'air' inside the bedroom. The strong scent of 'fortunes' presented itself vividly to her. She rushed to open the wooden crate. Its contents inside stunned her.
"Nya..?"
It was a white robe paired with a skimpy bra-like top and shorts not enough to cover her thighs.
It was none other than Pardofelis' Fire MOTH outfit.
Cipher set it aside for now. The second and third clothing are more decent. One was a wool sweater and black shorts with black stockings.
The last one was a white blouse and a black pencil skirt, yet another variant of Pardofelis' outfit.
Beyond that… was a golden coin engraved with a four-leaf clover. A white card lay beside it.
Cipher curiously looked at its message:
To the beholder of Elation;
Receive the blessing of the lucky stars.
"Who gave—"
Her words were cut off when she didn't see Cerydra's figure.
"Boss, don't blame me! I didn't see her leave!" Zagreus shook his 'arms' frantically. "I would have thought she is the Demigod of Trickery if I hadn't met you."
Cipher's face darkened at his statement. Her frustrations turned into a helpless sigh.
"Alright, alright. It's not your fault. We are both useless weaklings~"
Seeing Zagreus' depressed look, she instantly felt a lot better.
Cipher placed the three strange outfits inside the wooden box. She then stuffed the entire thing inside Zagreus' stomach—a mobile spatial storage device.
She was about to leave when her keen senses caught footsteps coming from outside. The closed door opened. The lights inside the room were lit.
Cipher mechanically turned her head and saw Aglaea.
"H-hehe…. I underestimated the power of these golden threads."
"...Sifera."
The mention of her name jolted Cipher. A strong sense of guilt invaded her very being. As much as she wanted for the chummy days between them to return, Cipher held herself back.
"Did you come alone? Or did you come with someone else?"
"That's right~! I came with someone else."
She decided to snitch on the performer who outplayed her.
"The previous Imperator, Lady Cerydra. She guided me in this room. Said I have to get my things…"
"I understand."
Cipher's expectations were completely overturned. Aglaea did not hold it on Cipher, going as far as to express her approval.
"This is what he would have wanted to see."
"He..?"
'Could it be..?!'
A thousand-chapter long love story wrote itself in Cipher's head. She looked at her Sister Aglaea in shock.
As if sensing her turbulent emotions, Aglaea spoke:
"He was the Imperator's most loyal councilor. A man who holds the rank of a Court Magus, capable of summoning various Heroic Spirits from his storybook."
Her explanation wasn't long. It told the story of a man who was the Imperator's most loyal subject. The man also turned out to be Dux Gladiorum's closest friend. His lightheartedness prevented him from being Aglaea's formal teacher, though it was clear she learned a lot from his stories. Aglaea viewed him highly.
When he died, three hundred Tribioses mourned and got depressed.
The talks went to the Janusopolis heist. Hearing it was Merlin who did it, Zagreus cried out in indignation.
"See! That really wasn't me!" The purple blob proudly stuck its chest out. "I have been telling everyone over and over that it was muddy water (lit. slander). Nobody believed me!"
"...You are proud it wasn't you?"
"Of course! I steal with principles…"
The one-man circus act was forcefully stopped by Cipher.
"That man…" She paused. "...his achievements are just as big as the Dux Gladiorum herself. Why haven't I seen his name in history books?"
"Because he is someone who cannot be seen by others. Only the Imperator, Miss Hysilens, Teacher Tribios, and I could see and interact with him."
A hint of solemnity appeared on Aglaea's dull green eyes.
"His eyes can see the future. It is why he left these gifts behind two hundred years ago."
"Ah..?"
Cipher's expression told one thing:
Is there someone that awesome?!