Cento and Cien were coordinating their next move, determined to find Kaito to offer him a proper greeting and an official apology.
"This city is too large to search blindly, but..." Cento trailed off.
"Don't worry. We can just use Wide-area Detection Magic," Cien suggested.
Cento tilted her head in confusion. "Wide-area detection? But I heard that Miyama Kaito-sama is under the Blessing of Shallow Vernal-sama. Most magic is supposed to be nullified around him."
Cien shook her head. "That is why we will simply track the Elf accompanying him instead."
"I see! In that case, I'm counting on you, Cien."
"Right, leave it to me."
The two sisters specialized in different fields; when it came to large-scale detection, Cien was far superior. She nodded with a confident smile and manifested a magic circle at her feet. She attempted to sweep the area—and was instantly brought to her knees.
"Cien?! What happened? Are you okay?"
"Ugh... haah..."
Cien turned deathly pale, sweat pouring down her face. Seeing her sister in such an alarming state, Cento rushed to her side in a panic.
"Th-that's right... Miyama Kaito-sama has that person with him..."
"Cien? What on earth happened?"
"The moment I activated the spell... before I could even gather a single piece of information... the magic formula was hijacked and subjected to Forced Cancellation. And then... I was counter-detected. The gap in our technical skill was so vast that it felt like a knife had been pressed to my throat before I even realized what was happening. It was terrifying..."
"What? You mean..."
Cien was a high-ranking Count-class demon, one of the most prominent powerhouses in the world. Knowing her strength, Cento could easily guess who was capable of such an overwhelming feat, especially given the current circumstances.
As if to confirm her suspicions, a high-pitched voice drifted toward them from behind.
"Oh, excuse me. I knew it was you two, but I ended up reacting reflexively. Just a slip of the mind."
Both demons stiffened. They hadn't sensed any approach at all. Even without hearing the distinctive rattle of the chains on the robe, they knew exactly who stood behind them—someone capable of getting the drop on two high-ranking Count-class demons with absolute ease.
"...Ph-Phantasm King-sama."
"U-um, please, we weren't trying to—"
"Relax, I know. I understand perfectly well that you weren't trying to harm Kaito-san. So, what do you want?"
Though Alice had appeared as the Phantasm King, she wasn't actually suspicious of them. Her counter-attack had been the result of her body, honed by near-infinite combat experience, reacting automatically to the detection spell. To be honest, she had already accurately predicted why they were looking for him, but she had come to hear it from them personally.
Cento and Cien shared a look before explaining their desire to apologize for failing to recognize Kaito, to offer a proper greeting, and to beg forgiveness for the trouble Tre had caused.
Alice fell silent for a moment before answering.
"I understand. Your intentions are fine, but... hmm, I'd like you to refrain from doing that right now."
"Is the timing inconvenient for Miyama Kaito-sama?"
"Well, Kaito-san is in the middle of a date. If I told him the situation, he’d definitely agree to see you, and Sieg-san would probably go along with it too... but they’ve already had quite a lot of their time taken up today."
Alice was right. If they asked, Kaito would meet them, and Sieglinde would even encourage him to do so. However, between their greeting to Funf and the repeated run-ins with Tre, their private time had been interrupted far too often. Alice wanted them to enjoy the rest of their day in peace.
"I'll arrange a time for you to speak with Kaito-san later. You can handle the apologies and greetings then. Does that work for you?"
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry, we weren't being considerate enough."
"We certainly have no wish to be a nuisance to Miyama Kaito-sama."
"Then it’s settled. I’ll get in touch with you later. Oh, and regarding Tre-san, Kaito-san isn't bothered by her at all, so there's no need to apologize. In fact, if you do, he’ll probably just be confused."
Cento and Cien looked at each other, their expressions filled with surprise.
"Is that so?"
"But... Tre-anesama has that personality of hers..."
"Seriously, it’s fine. At that level, Kaito-san wouldn't even register her as a 'strange person.' He has far worse people in his inner circle."
The two demons stood there with conflicted expressions, unable to find a response.
Serious-senpai: "...Wait, isn't this actually a hellish development for me?"