Light footsteps were the only sound that the purple-haired lass made as she made her march along the streets of Orchidia, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was quiet. No, there was the clear hustle and bustle of civilians enjoying their everyday lives, the peace they took for granted being so incredibly fragile in the wake of the rifts opening all across Earthland. The threat of the demonic invasion had become a harsh reality, one only intensified by the girl's personal plights. And so she was busily pondering about what to do today when Esperia found herself approached by a teenage boy, a deliveryboy who carried a letter with him. It didn't take long for him to spot her and rush up to the girl, both hands extended toward her with the envelope inside them.

"Straight back lad! a delivery always has to be made with utmost pride and confidence!" The voice of Jurvag resounded from the scarf which shifted around her neck, making the boy blink in confusion as he recollected himself. "MESSAGE FROM DEX MILLER MADAME!" Of course, Jurvag seemed quite pleased with this renewed display of enthusiasm and extended the end of the scarf to the lad's shoulder, patting it lightly. "That's a good delivery boy!" and with those words the boy left, leaving the purple-haired lass to sigh softly as she unfurled the piece of paper to read the message contained within.

Dear Esperia,
Word has reached me of your great service to the crown and your active participation as a member of the fabulous Blue Pegasus guild. My name is Dex Miller, a detective. I have discovered a dangerous scheme unfolding within our great kingdom, and yet my enemies work tirelessly to sway the opinions of those around me, leading nobody to take me serious... It is of UTMOST importance that I find a means to regain the trust of the people, and for that I need your help. Please meet me at the following directions.

Esperia had to admit, she wasn't entirely certain if this letter was being serious, or some sort of cheap prank. Of course, part of her assumed the latter, so she was on the brink of crumbling up the letter and tossing it away when suddenly she felt a jolt run through her body.

Heh, I don't know about helping strangers, but sometimes it feels good, doesn't it my princess?

Hearing that oddly familiar voice Esperia staggered lightly on the spot, a hand reaching for her forehead. that voice... it belonged to someone important, someone very dear to her and yet at the same time each time she tried to remember her she would only draw a blank, as if her memories were forcefully stripped away.

"So what's the plan? Sounds like a lot of wishwash to me, but might be worth to at least hear him out." Jurvag suggested, making Esperia nod her head lightly in affirmation as she started to approach the direction leading to the location that Dex had mentioned in his letter. It appeared she would be in for quite an adventure...

WC: 517

It didn't take long for Esperia to reach the location mentioned in the letter, and just as expected it was as eccentric as the man who had send the letter: the outskirts of a play garden for children... Shrugging lightly at the worrying thoughts drifting in the back of her mind Esperia watched a man, the one she assumed to be Dex Miller to be beckoning her over with the same enthusiasm as an excitable child.

Of course, Jurvag was eerily silent as Esperia approached the man. "I'm glad you could make it Esperia, I'm sorry for sending this letter out of the blue, but I really needed the help of a professional like yourself if I want this plan to succeed."

Dubious at worst, suspicious at best, Esperia shrugged her shoulders lightly as she inquired with a hint of curiosity in her tone. "So, what do you want for me to do then Dex?" The man smiled at her as he answered her with the same excitement as before. "I want you to create a crime scene for me, one with plenty of blood, like one of those nasty fights in a alleyway..."

Esperia blinked in disbelief, muttering out loud. "You want me to kill someone?!" Yet Dex, seemingly startled by her raised voice quickly brought a hand to his lips, making a hushing sound. "Not so loud! I mean a false one! We'll just grab some animal blood from the butcher, and some old weathered weaponry from the forge.... Surely you can do that, right?"

Well, in general it would pretty much considered theft to steal the swords, and she wasn't sure the butcher would accept the excuse for the usage of the animal blood. "Only if you return the swords to the forge after you're done with your 'investigation'."

Of course, hearing her acceptance of his plan made  Dex grin from ear to ear as he shook her hand in return. "I promise! I'll even wipe the blood off them once I'm done. However, I can't be seen doing this alongside you, it would cause complications if anyone spots us together."

Oh great, he was even going to make her do all the work by herself? This was turning worse by the second... Letting out a heavy sigh Esperia turned toward the exit of the playground and muttered softly. "I'll get to work then I guess..."

And with those words she started walking toward her first destination: the establishment of the butcher of Orchidia. However, it seemed that before she left the playground that Jurvag had something of his own to say.

"That guy is an idiot..." There was no denying that, she truly thought that the man was a fool, "I know..." Yet Jurvag soon added to the musing with a comment of his own, one which stung much worse than the rest of the conversation earlier had done. "And you're an idiot for accepting his request."

A loud sigh escaped the purple-haired lass her lips as she mumbled softly. "I know Jurvag, I know..."

WC: 509

With her first destination set before her Esperia knew where to head next: the butcher of Orchidia. She still didn't know for sure if this was a good idea, actually all things considered she was pretty sure that it was a horrible one, but she gave her promise to help, and she had to admit she was a bit curious about that so-called secret scheme that Dex Miller had uncovered.

However, it was fortunate that the first ingredient that Dex Miller needed for his plan, was quite easy to obtain and all things considered, incredibly worthless to most people, so as a result she likely wouldn't get into troubles for borrowing some blood.

After a short walk the purple-haired lass arrived at the butcher, and just like she had planned, a short conversation with the man had easily led to her plight to make him accept her odd request of borrowing some animal blood. For the butcher it was a problem off his back, since he didn't need to worry about disposing of the blood later, however that didn't mean that her little 'quest' would be over that easily. The next location, the forge of Orchidia required her to 'borrow' some old and weathered weapons, and if she was honest she had no idea yet how she would explain to a blacksmith that she needed a collection of swords... she didn't even look like a swordswoman!

No, it seemed this one would require some sneaking, and fortunately for her, when she entered the blacksmith it seemed that there were neither the smith or customers around, simply said it was an ideal moment for her to snatch what she needed and get the hell out of there! Of course, as swiftly as she could she gathered several weathered and failed weapons from the forge and sneaked her way outside without being seen. Hopefully Dex Miller would keep his word and return those weapons once all was said and done...

With both ingredients for Dex Miller's grand plan in her possession, Esperia made her way toward the nearby alleyway where she was meant to meet up with Dex Miller, but yet oddly enough there was no sign of the man yet... Really? Was he going to make her do all the work by herself? A sigh of annoyance escaped her lips, a sigh which would rapidly turn into something worse when a loud voice called out to her. "What are you doing there?!" And as if her luck couldn't get any worse, it seemed the man who had spotted her moving into the alleyway was a man clad in armor she easily recognize: the armor of a rune knight!

With the confidence and authority of a true knight the man stepped over, looking at the two bags she carried with her, and already Esperia could feel her worries setting in... To think she got busted in the middle of the act, this was even more embarrassing than Alisa's teasing! This clearly was spelling troubles for her...

WC: 504

It was clear that Esperia had only two choices: confess about Dex Miller's grand plan, or go to jail for theft, and Esperia certainly didn't want to enjoy the hospitality of Orchidia's prison! No, it was clear there was only one way out of it, and so the purple-haired lass started her explanation.

It didn't take long for her to convince the Rune Knight, especially once she voiced the name of the man who set her up on this grand 'quest'. As a result she was given a simple solution: She would be allowed to carry out Dex Miller's plan, but the Rune Knights would oversee the crime scene to prevent Dex Miller from making more of those fake crimes, plans that could easily endanger people if he took it too far. It was a reasonable demand, after all the Rune Knight was simply trying to preserve the peace of the town, and Dex Miller certainly was shaking things up quite badly with all his schemes and plots. In the end, Esperia was quick to agree with the terms set by the man, and soon both of them started to work together on preparing the grand masterplan of Dex Miller.

She was glad the Rune Knight was at least a reasonable person, lest she'd spend the night inside a prison cell! Instead she started to drench the weapons with the blood of various animals she had gathered from the butcher, carefully placing them on the ground while looking at the surrounding landscape with a hint of curiosity in her eyes. This alleyway did have the feeling of a place where some sort of macabre fight could have taken place, and with the bloodied weapons scattered on the floor it looked like an actual crime scene, no doubt made possible with the help and knowledge of the Rune Knight.

Once they were done the Rune Knight explained he would be hiding nearby for the right time to step in, and now all she needed was a final measure to draw attention toward this place without causing any damage. Perhaps she could use some of Asmodeus' nature spells to draw some attention?

With a snap of her fingers she started to conjure several streams of sharpened flower petals, swishing them around so that the pavement on the ground has some cuts in it, and then with another snap of her fingers she made the swarm detonate in a flower of petals that streamed outwards in a blanket onto the main street, of course, she herself had quickly hidden herself in a nearby alley bordering the one she had left the crime scene at, and with a short detour she arrived back at the scene to see a crowd gathering.

Just as expected, the plan had worked and people had started to rally toward the area to investigate what had happened. Some people were even screaming about a murder having happened! Could it be that their fake crime scene had been a 'bit' too effective?

WC: 502

And so it began. As she watched quietly amidst the crowd Dex Miller approached her, whispering under his breath. "Excellent job Esperia, I didn't expect you to make 'that' much of a believable crime scene. If I didn't knew better you might be a natural at this." A natural at making crime scenes? Such a compliment didn't make her happy in the slightest! She was a well-behaving member of the Blue Pegasus guild, not some lowly criminal! Of course, Jurvag was silent, clearly considering Dex Miller too much of a fool to even bother talking to.

"So, what do you plan to do next?" Esperia inquired, wanting to make sure the man wouldn't do something idiotic, although her confidence in that was quite... low for understandable reasons. "Not much~ I have prepared an amazing act which will direct the people their attention toward one of the true villains lurking in the shadows of Orchidia, if we want to save the crown we need to remove the veil that conceals their identity."

Wait, he didn't even know the identity of this so called threat he had discovered? Oh by the demon lords of the abyss, she was already starting to get a headache...

Nonetheless, for now she shook off the thought and instead turned her attention back toward the ongoing scene. The crowd was growing larger by the minute and more people were onlooking at the scene, yet none brave enough to enter the alley.

"So what's that plan of yours?" A reasonable question, which would receive an unreasonable answer, from an unreasonable man with quite a silly plan. "Well, I plan to say that this crime scene is a murder, several rune knights stumbled onto the evil man responsible for endangering our beautiful kingdom, and in order to ensure his scheme didn't become revealed, he silenced them." At least he was enthusiastic, but she genuinely doubted involving the Rune Knights was a smart idea, then again smart and Dex Miller didn't exactly go hand in hand now, did they?

"Ah well, if you think it will succeed..." Esperia mutter softly, upon which Dex Miller smiled at her and patted her shoulder lightly. "It will work, no doubt thanks to your splendid performance. I would have hardly been able to do a better job. Now here is the promised pay." Oh right, payment... she certainly was glad that Dex Miller didn't forget about that. If she had to do all this work without getting paid for it, she would had been quite pissed to say the least! Going through all this trouble, nearly getting arrested in the process for the paranoid delusions of a fool? Either way, once she confirmed the promised amount of diamonds was there she nodded her head lightly in affirmation. "Stay out of troubles Dex." Yet she knew all too well that such words were useless, Dex Miller and troubles were the closest of companions... And of course, as Dex rushed toward the crime scene, proclaiming loudly his identity as a detective Esperia walked away, just in time to see the Rune Knight from before approaching with several of his companions...

WC: 524

The Rune Knight nodded his head slightly toward her in a subtle greeting as he walked past her, and for a moment Esperia couldn't help but feel a hand reaching for her head, staggering lightly as she attempted to regain her balance. The sight of the man's back, that armor... it was stirring a memory in the back of her mind...

"I don't like this stuffy armor." a female voice called out in her memory, making Esperia nod her head in agreement, a sheepish smile on her lips. "It's way too tight and doesn't reveal any cleavage!" the obsidian-haired lass chimed in as she tilted her head slightly to the side and mused softly. "I wonder if they would accept an appeal for a change in design?" Yet the voice merely chuckled at her words and replying in a teasing tone. "To think that you are complaining about the armor simply cause it doesn't show my cleavage to you... you really are an incurable little lewdling."

The words made Esperia snicker with a mischievous smirk as she approached the one who was talking to her and hummed playfully. "I can always get you out of your clothes if I want to see or snuggle them~" Yet as she looked up at her, it was the same as each time, for some reason she couldn't see the person's identity. Her voice was so familiar, the warmth of her body so soothing and yet her face seemed like a blur, and it hurt her...

Snapping out of it Esperia heard a familiar voice calling out to her "Are you alright Esperia?" Showing an odd sense of concern, Jurvag's words pulled her attention back to reality as she nodded her head lightly. "I was thinking about something..."

As they started walking away from the scene Jurvag seemed quite curious about her words, inquiring with a hint of fascination. "What were you thinking about?" The purple-haired lass stopped for a bit, her hand reaching for her chin as she pondered for a moment. "I'm not sure... A memory perhaps? A memory of something, or someone very important to me."

Jurvag couldn't help but find his interest drawn further in by the subject as he answered her. "Was it Alisa?" Yet Esperia shook her head in response to that statement. "I don't... think it's her. I don't remember who it is, but she is very important to me."

How curious, someone important... someone she shouldn't have forgotten, and yet had been forgotten, clearly it wasn't normal, and so the wise monkey voiced his thoughts from within the scarf. "You should talk to Alisa about those dreams of yours, maybe she will have an idea of what is going on."

A nod of agreement was made by Esperia, yet little did she know just what type of secrets the Demon Lord of Lust had been hiding from her, and just how impactful those actions would be upon her future!

But for now she had completed her quest and was ready to return to the inn of Orchidia...

WC: 511