Chapter 13: The Search for the Fraudster
Night Lan had no idea if the Ballad Conductor had noticed her.
If he hadn’t, then great! She could move around freely.
But if he had… well, that would be a bit of a pickle.
At least, she didn’t sense any mysterious eyes boring into her.
With her almost supernatural intuition, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be mistaken.
She glanced at Hughes, standing in the center of the crowd.
That was the future Gentleman of the theater group.
Which means…
Soon enough, he would turn into Star Eclipses.
Night Lan was at a loss about what to do. Should she stop it? She wasn’t sure.
But at this rate, both the future Gentleman and the Fraudster were on the verge of a meltdown, significantly influenced by the Ballad Conductor.
So, here she was, looking to stir up some trouble for the Ballad Conductor.
But trouble seemed a bit elusive.
Time to observe, slowly and carefully.
Suddenly, Sharon made her move.
Night Lan followed Sharon closely, no longer hiding her presence.
Now that she was out in the open, she shone like the brightest star in the sea of stars, easily drawing attention.
Her charm matched Sharon’s, each having their own flair.
With a big one and a little one, they did give off sibling vibes.
Many noble children were puzzled.
How come they’ve never seen such a classy girl before?
While the audience puzzled over this, Sharon had already led Night Lan right up to Hughes.
“Good evening, Mr. Hughes.”
“Good evening, Ms. Sharon.”
A polite exchange ensued, perfectly normal for social interactions.
And it wasn’t a surprise that Sharon approached Hughes; after all, it was well-known that they were friends.
Such a talented man and stunning woman together! Some even suspected there was more between them, though they couldn’t quite pinpoint it.
In the eyes of the public, they maintained a respectful distance, never crossing any lines.
But it wasn’t unheard of for them to walk together; they really were quite the match!
Night Lan, standing next to Sharon, discreetly sized up Hughes.
This was the “Gentleman” in his human days.
She needed to see how this one differed.
However, upon closer inspection, Hughes felt just like any theater Gentleman: polite, elegant, and with the typical gentlemanly charm.
Aha! Not much to differentiate!
Turns out, that refined demeanor was etched into his very soul; even becoming Star Eclipses didn’t change a thing.
Truly a representative of the gentry in this era!
After exchanging pleasantries with Sharon, Hughes finally took notice of the little girl beside her.
Since she was right there, it wouldn’t do to ignore her.
“And who might this little lady be?”
“She’s my friend, Night Lan, a little lady.”
Hughes politely bowed to Night Lan.
“Hello there.”
“Um, hello.”
Having grown accustomed to gentlemanly treatment in the theater, Night Lan didn’t react much.
What she was really concerned about was whether Hughes noticed her strangeness.
If Sharon could see through her disguise, then surely Hughes, being on the same level as Sharon, could too, right?
But Night Lan wasn’t too worried about Hughes exposing her in public.
A true gentleman wouldn’t pull something like that.
Just as Night Lan guessed, Hughes simply gave her a long look and said nothing more.
Meanwhile, Hughes and Sharon continued their chit-chat while Night Lan remained silent by their side, acting like a third wheel.
The ball hadn’t officially started yet.
This was merely the pre-ball mingling.
How could there be a ball without dancing?
Before long, graceful music would fill the air.
The men present would invite the ladies they fancied to dance.
That was the situation.
As for Night Lan? She figured that she could just lurk in the shadows, observing.
She certainly wouldn’t accept any gentleman’s invitation; a little girl like her? Not a chance.
Of course, it seemed like she was the only little girl around at this ball.
…
Meanwhile…
Outside.
Night Star was sauntering down the street.
With Night Lan making good progress, there was no way Night Star would sit around twiddling her thumbs in the little hut.
With two bodies, they ought to leverage that advantage!
Her opponent this time was the Ballad Conductor.
That scoundrel was hiding in the shadows like a cat burglar, refusing to show up.
With the enemy in the dark and her in the light, Night Star wasn’t about to let her guard down.
Now that Night Lan had found Hughes, it was time for Night Star to embark on her own journey to seek out the Fraudster.
She was currently sifting through information in her mind.
Over the past few days, Night Star had managed to utilize her “no cheating” approach to gather… uh, buy goods.
Like critical information.
Some intel was not easily accessible for ordinary folks, nor could you just throw money at it.
If they didn’t want to share with her, she had to pull some strings.
Thus, she collected quite a bit of information about the local nobles.
Setting aside any political angles, one detail caught her interest.
There was a masked fellow visiting various noble estates, chatting with the heads of the houses about something that seemed rather important.
From the descriptions she got, the mask sounded suspiciously like the one worn by the Fraudster in her mind.
Could it be?
That just might be the real deal!
However, Night Star still had no clue where he was, shrouded in mystery, and she didn’t know his true identity.
Finding the Gentleman was a piece of cake, but the Fraudster was a different beast entirely.
Night Star stopped in her tracks, deep in thought.
If regular methods weren’t working, then it was time to pull out the special powers.
Using the Wish Machine’s power could be risky.
If the Ballad Conductor caught wind of her using it, Night Star would be left scratching her head for a way out.
Best to save her power for emergencies.
So, what other abilities did she have that might help her find someone?
Seemed like she’d have to rely on “mysticism.”
Essentially, luck.
Coincidentally, she had the ability to interfere with luck or, more accurately, to mess with probabilities.
“Let’s skew the odds of running into the Fraudster.”
Probability interference could do just that.
While Night Star only carried a one-third rank and couldn’t boost a scenario to one hundred percent like Oya could, she could still give a helpful nudge.
Now, it was simply a matter of luck.
If it didn’t happen today, tomorrow would be fine.
She wasn’t going to believe she was entirely unlucky.
“Alright, just keep wandering.”
No rush on this.
Perhaps the more she forced it, the more she would miss the treasure she was actually hunting.
Just let things flow.
After days of being tense, gathering intel, and deep in thought, she hadn’t loitered around at all.
With this chance, she wanted to unwind, to soak up the culture of this era and this country.
Not a bad idea, really.
Balancing work and play!
And so, Night Star hummed a cheerful little tune while striding down the street, drawing no attention to herself.
By chance…
A guy walking down the street caught sight of her peculiar silhouette and couldn’t help but glance over.
“Is that… a fellow kindred spirit?”
The guy pondered, making plans to reach out.
After all, that girl looked harmless enough; she probably wouldn’t be dangerous!
