During the meal, Hestia was, as always, devouring her food with unbridled enthusiasm.
Alice, on the other hand, ate in her usual manner—taking small, delicate bites with graceful composure.
But Bell, a fourteen-year-old boy, was acting even more reserved than Alice, seeming unusually shy.
Noticing Bell's behavior, Hestia narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Bell, is the food made by Alice's dolls not to your liking? You're eating so slowly."
The moment Hestia spoke, the already quiet atmosphere grew tense in an instant.
Bell, already nervous, grew even more flustered at her words.
"Huh?!" Bell glanced at Alice and found her watching him. Then he looked over at Shanghai and Hourai, who were clearing the table—even they had stopped to stare at him, waiting for his answer. Maybe it was just his imagination, but even though they were just dolls…
Bell could've sworn he felt a murderous aura coming from them. If he said the food wasn't good, he'd probably end up in a very bad situation.
Suddenly, he had become the center of everyone's attention.
"Um! It's really delicious!!" Bell blurted out nervously under everyone's gaze, and began shoveling food into his mouth hurriedly.
Seeing this, Shanghai and Hourai drifted away leisurely.
Hestia nodded in satisfaction. "That's more like it! A growing boy like you should eat heartily. You need plenty of nutrition, Bell. Right, Alice?"
"Mhm. Eat as much as you like. Shanghai and Hourai made plenty. They'll be very happy if you can finish it all."
A gentle smile graced Alice's lips.
Though she didn't eat much herself, watching others enjoy Shanghai and Hourai's cooking made her happy—it felt like their efforts were being fully appreciated.
Seeing how Hestia and Bell ate, Alice became even more certain that her own appetite was… not quite normal.
A couple bites of food were enough to sustain her for hours. So once she had finished her portion, she stood up, preparing to leave.
Noticing this, Hestia asked curiously,
"Aren't you going to eat more, Alice? Or have you already had enough?"
Clearly, Hestia didn't consider what Alice had eaten to be a proper meal.
"You two go ahead. I have a small appetite—what I had was plenty," Alice replied with a light laugh.
"I'll be in the study. Hestia, you can join me when you're done. Bell, could you please help Hourai and Shanghai clean up?"
"Oh, and there's another portion of food in the kitchen—I left it for someone else. You don't need to worry about that."
"Yes!"
"Got it~~ I'll be there soon~~"
They both agreed readily.
And with that, Alice went upstairs to her study.
--+--
Meanwhile, following Alice's instructions, Lili carefully concealed the three dolls on her person and headed to the black market to purchase the materials Alice had requested.
Orario was a massive city.
At its center stood Babel Tower, which housed many shops. The materials Alice needed could certainly be found there.
But items sold in Babel Tower tended to be exorbitantly priced.
Having lived in Orario for years, Lili was familiar with all kinds of small shops across the city—even the less-known black markets.
Often, when she needed to dispose of stolen goods, she would deal with shady stores tucked away in hidden corners.
Of course, the black market mostly dealt in rare materials or equipment that couldn't be shown openly—prices there were still high.
The list Alice gave Lili didn't contain any particularly rare or valuable materials.
So there was no need to go to the black market for them.
Still, to get the best quality materials at the lowest prices, a trip to some of the more obscure little shops was unavoidable.
In less than an hour, Lili had acquired most of the materials on Alice's list.
The remaining items were marked as not urgently needed.
For example: [Soft, fluffy stuffing, preferably with good magic conductivity] or [Sturdy frame, must have magic conductivity]—materials described in broad terms.
Anything with magic conductivity was precious, no matter what form it took.
Even Lili, though she had several options in mind, couldn't identify the right targets right away.
Of course, these materials had been explicitly marked by Alice as "not needed immediately."
But for Lili, this was her first task.
She had to complete it perfectly.
Even if she couldn't afford them or they were out of stock, she felt she at least needed to gather some information. With that in mind, Lili decided to head to the black market.
--+--
Daedalus Street.
A unique part of Orario's landscape.
The Daedalus District wasn't known for shops—at most, it had a few small eateries and stores selling daily necessities.
This was because it was primarily a residential area.
Many ordinary people and adventurers lived here.
And true to its name, the streets and alleys of the Daedalus District were like a maze straight out of the stories of Daedalus.
Those unfamiliar with the area could easily get lost.
Secret doors and hidden passageways were everywhere.
But it was precisely because of how concealed and labyrinthine this area was that many black-market shops operated here.
Lili knew this area well—dashing through these streets made it easy to shake off anyone chasing her.
But now, after gathering information on the materials, Lili found herself in a tough spot.
While she was collecting intel in the black market and preparing to return to Alice, she realized someone was tailing her.
She didn't know who it was, but likely someone had placed an order in the black market to track her movements.
After all, even information was for sale there.
The pursuers hadn't shown themselves openly, so Lili couldn't immediately use the dolls Alice had given her to eliminate them.
So she weaved through left and right turns, trying to shake them off.
It took quite a while before she finally felt she'd lost them. Letting out a sigh of relief, she took a couple detours before finally heading toward the location Alice had mentioned.
But after Lili left, several figures gathered together in the Daedalus District.
"Tch, that Pallum is way too cautious."
"That little runt… isn't she from Soma Familia? The one who uses illusion magic to swindle money from other adventurers."
"I see. But is she really the one Loki Familia is looking for? If it's just this kid, a million valis seems way too much."
"You idiot, Loki Familia's target is the girl with the dolls. We don't know if she's the one, but she's definitely carrying dolls that match the description in the image Loki Familia provided."
"So we'll just pass the information to Loki Familia. We've done what they asked."
"Fair enough. Team B is still following her, right?"
"Yeah, they'll tail her to wherever she's staying and then report back."
"Good."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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