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Likely because of their prior friendship, Lastrada had done everything he could to improve Mira’s image.

(That was quite smart of him to do.)

That was Mira’s reasoning to explain the pendant coming into her hands, so now she only had to figure out what to do with it.

If Mira had not shown up, that pendant would have eventually been sold off, and the money donated to help orphanages. That meant there was only one thing Mira could do.

「If this belongs to me now, then… Well, I’d like to help orphans by donating it to the church.」

The Three Gods Church provided to a multitude of orphanages across the continent, and Mira held out the pendant to the Cross-Border Legislator as she said she wanted to help with that.

「A-Are you sure about that?」

He was not sure of how to react, seeing the pendant offered to him like that. The soldiers were also in shock, almost doubting Mira’s sanity.

「I’d never joke about such matters. I’m not exactly troubled with money, and I’m not planning on becoming a merchant, so the pendant should be kept by someone who can actually make use of its blessing.」

Essentially, Mira wanted to auction the pendant so a proper merchant could obtain it, and all the proceeds would go to charity.

「So you’ve made up your mind… Well then!」 Once the Cross-Border Legislator recovered from the shock, he understood Mira was serious and would not go back on her word. 「This is a really valuable item, so we’ll have to organize a proper donation event!」

Out of nowhere, he started talking about that, mentioning that such a large donation could not be done simply by handing over the item, but that a proper acceptance ceremony needed to be held. And as it just happened, someone like the archbishop currently visiting the church could conduct such an event.

That was also partly due to his hesitancy to transport such a valuable item on his own.

「Hmm… I mean, I could just-」
「No, there’s a proper way to do things. We need to make large donations public, as that also makes it harder for corrupt people to pocket items..」

The instant Mira looked a bit bothered by that, he interrupted her and insisted. He was deeply involved with the church, so he was well aware of certain people taking advantage of donations, and wanted to avoid that.

(That sounds so bothersome…)

That was the single reason why Mira was not very enthusiastic about it. She was the kind of person who did not feel very comfortable in public events, especially knowing she would have to deal with someone in a high position in the church. If possible, she would rather hand over the pendant to the Cross-Border Legislator to do it in her stead.

「Anyway, I’ll be going then! I’ll talk to the archbishop about this, so please come visit the church tomorrow!」

Realizing Mira might keep asking him to take it himself, he quickly cut the conversation short, almost like he was running away. His last words before he vanished out of sight were, 「Ah, but I’ll mention that you might still change your mind.」

That was in case Mira decided the pendant was too valuable by the next day.

「Why did it become so complicated…」

Mira would certainly not change her mind, which meant she would need to attend that event. After a sigh, she looked at the Silver Sky Euros in her hand, and then glanced at the soldier leader.

「Right…I should head back to base and file a report too.」

Before Mira could get the idea of asking him instead, he turned around as he said that, leaving after saying, 「Good luck with that tomorrow.」

The rest of the soldiers followed their leader, mentioning how the Spirit Queen was even more generous than they had heard.

After the Cross-Border Legislator and soldier leader left, or rather ran away from her, Mira asked for an update from Christina, who was still with the group that remained in the pipeways.

‘Hmm…I see, so that’s what happened there. You did well, good job. Try to rest for a bit now… Hm? What? Ahh, in that case just tell her that I told you to take the day off. Yes, don’t worry.’

With those last words, Mira dismissed Christina, and then began to mull over the update.

The footsteps Fuzzy Dice had intentionally left behind in the underground pipeways were clearly trying to lead them somewhere. Mira knew that Fuzzy Dice had done that with an objective in mind, so she sent Christina together with Desmond and the other soldiers to check out what it was.

While Mira went after Fuzzy Dice, there had been many developments in the pipeways.

(So they really were hiding their crimes down there, and those types on top of that…)

According to Christina’s update, after they followed the footsteps, they found a sturdy metal door. Past it, there were five mean looking men, and a dozen of tied up children.

All of those men were quickly restrained, and then they made sure the children were all safe. After that, they interrogated the men, who admitted that they were trying to sell off those children as slaves.

By then, it was obvious that Fuzzy Dice had led them there so the soldiers could arrest those men..

(So he did all of that just to expose their underground hideout… Then again, it does sound like something he’d do…)

The thief’s cryptic movements were finally starting to make sense to Mira, who smiled as she realized her old friend had not changed at all.

The proprietor of the mansion with the hidden entrance to the pipeways and everyone who lived there was also arrested, and were currently being investigated for their involvement with the crimes.

They did not know how involved the servants were, but the soldiers and mercenaries were in agreement that, at the very least, the proprietor had something to do with it.

「Well, at least that’s one thing taken care of.」

Thanks to Fuzzy Dice, the Doles Company and a noble’s crimes had been exposed. It was a resounding success for the thief.

Mira had also discovered Fuzzy Dice’s identity, and had obtained the valuable Silver Sky Euros, so she also felt very accomplished.

She would need to wait for another time to properly talk with Lastrada, and she would need to attend an event to donate the pendant, but she was more than content knowing that she had helped rescue twelve children, smiling with pride as she rode on Pegasus’ back to the city.