After Cipher's answer, the room fell silent once more.
The atmosphere became strangely heavy, as though the very air had frozen solid.
Regarding the little princess's question, Cipher neither concealed anything nor told any lies.
She had simply stated the truth.
As for whether that answer was what the other girl wanted to hear...
Even Cipher herself wasn't sure.
Her gaze swept across Meng Xingyao's face like a searchlight, carefully observing every subtle reaction.
Yet after hearing the answer, Meng Xingyao remained remarkably calm.
There was no widening of her eyes.
No sharp intake of breath.
Not even the slightest tremble of her eyelashes.
Her composure was almost unnerving.
As though she had already prepared herself for this answer long ago.
Cipher (๑•. •๑): Not even surprised...? Does she not believe me...Or did this girl already figure it out?
Cipher's thoughts unconsciously drifted back to the Anime Convention incident.
That had been the turning point.
The beginning of the little princess's changes.
In other words...
She had probably learned something during that experience.
The atmosphere inside the room became increasingly subtle.
Meng Xingyao's gaze resembled two bright searchlights, shining directly into Cipher's eyes.
Cipher's ears twitched slightly.
But instead of avoiding her gaze, she tilted her head.
A playful smile appeared on her lips.
"So my answer didn't surprise you? Little princess... don't tell me you've known for a long time already?"
"...So...Sister Cipher...You really are a God?"
With that single question, Cipher received her answer as well.
It seemed that compared to everything else, what Meng Xingyao truly cared about was her identity.
At the moment, Cipher was only curious about one thing.
How exactly had this girl discovered her status as a Demigod?
Still...
Curiosity could wait.
Seeing the faint impatience hidden within Meng Xingyao's trembling gaze, Cipher slowly raised a finger.
Then...
Flick.
"Ow?!"
The little princess immediately covered her forehead.
Her body instinctively leaned backward.
"What was that for?! I'm being serious!"
"Hm? I think those words suit me better."
Cipher crossed her arms.
"Why have you suddenly started interrogating me? Even if I am a Demigod, I haven't done anything worthy of this level of resentment, have I?"
A hint of grievance mixed with playful teasing lingered in her voice.
The tense atmosphere instantly became much lighter.
Cipher raised an eyebrow.
Then, taking advantage of the opportunity, she asked her own question.
At this point, she could clearly tell.
The little princess seemed extremely concerned about her identity as a "God."
Or more accurately...
About the concept of Gods themselves.
Cipher (๑•̌.•̑๑)ˀ̣ˀ̣: Don't tell me...The little princess actually thinks I'm related to the Holy God Church?
If that were truly the case...
Cipher suspected she might not be able to resist spanking someone again.
Her tail swished behind her with obvious disdain.
After all...
How could a naturally beautiful, elegant, and righteous cat like herself possibly belong to some villainous organization like the Holy God Church?
That would be a direct insult to the title of the World's Number One Phantom Thief!
In a certain sense, Cipher's guess wasn't entirely wrong.
Unfortunately, she still failed to understand what the word "God" represented to Ability Users.
Especially to a Special Grade Esper like Little Princess.
Meanwhile, Meng Xingyao stared at Cipher's carefree expression with a look full of resentment.
Strangely enough, after being bullied repeatedly by this annoying cat, the tension in her heart had eased considerably.
Still...
She remained confused.
A God.
One of the Twelve Demigods.
If Cipher had introduced herself this way before the Anime Convention incident, Meng Xingyao would've probably treated her as a complete lunatic.
Truthfully, she still didn't fully understand the difference between a God and a Demigod.
But after thinking about it carefully...
The distinction was probably just a matter of power.
The Ability Bureau knew very little about Gods.
However, because of the existence of the Holy God Church, most Ability Users instinctively treated anything related to Gods with hostility and caution.
Meng Xingyao, however, wasn't an ordinary Ability User.
As the holder of the Special Grade Esper title Fantasy, the information available to her far exceeded that of most people.
Although...
Most of that information had actually come from Flame Heart.
Just as she sank deeper into thought, a familiar voice pulled her back to reality.
"What's wrong, little princess? In your eyes...You couldn't possibly think I'm some sort of Evil God, right? I only tricked you into signing a slave contract once. Do you really need to villainize this cat that much?"
Meng Xingyao snapped out of her daze.
Only then did she realize a small hand was waving back and forth in front of her face.
Turning slightly, she found herself staring directly at Cipher's beautiful face.
That carefree smile remained exactly the same as always.
As if no trouble in the world could ever concern her.
Meng Xingyao: (;one_one)
Although her nervousness had eased somewhat after all this nonsense...
She still slapped away Cipher's hand with a dark expression.
"Stop fooling around, Cat Sister."
"I..."
"You..."
Yet halfway through her sentence, she froze.
Not because she had been interrupted.
But because she genuinely didn't know how to continue.
Cipher immediately saw through her predicament.
A sly smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
Spreading her hands, she spoke casually.
"Sigh. If you ask me, little princess...Why not just tell the Ability Bureau everything?"
She paused briefly.
A trace of mischief flashed through her eyes.
"If there's trouble, let the people at the top worry about it. As they say, time is money. There's no point stressing yourself out like this."
"N-No...No no no...I mean..."
Meng Xingyao immediately objected.
Her reaction was unusually intense.
But after speaking, she quickly realized something.
The problem was...
Her thoughts were currently a complete mess.
And somehow, she was starting to feel annoyed at Cipher again.
Meng Xingyao (ꐦÒ‸Ó): Even if you don't know what I'm worried about, Cat Sister...Could you stop giving such terrible advice?! And how can you say something like that so casually?! If I really reported you, wouldn't I be hurting you?! Wait...You've technically been wanted for ages already...Ahhhh! That's not the point at all! These two situations are completely different!