Stephette Paprika
[glow=#ff6554]『Black Jack Conjurer』[/glow]
[glow=#ff6554]"What's this? A mystery unfolding?"[/glow]
The redheaded girl cracked a smile at Muro's concerns.
"[glow=#FF0000]O[/glow][glow=#FFFF00]h[/glow][glow=#00FF00]o[/glow][glow=#00FEFF]h[/glow][glow=#0000FF]o[/glow][glow=#FF00FE]?[/glow] [glow=#FF0000]M[/glow][glow=#FF3100]u[/glow][glow=#FF6200]r[/glow][glow=#FF9400]o[/glow][glow=#FFC500],[/glow] [glow=#D5FF00]i[/glow][glow=#A4FF00]s[/glow] [glow=#41FF00]t[/glow][glow=#10FF00]h[/glow][glow=#00FF20]a[/glow][glow=#00FF52]t[/glow]
[glow=#00FFB4]s[/glow][glow=#00FFE6]u[/glow][glow=#00E6FF]s[/glow][glow=#00B4FF]p[/glow][glow=#0083FF]i[/glow][glow=#0052FF]c[/glow][glow=#0020FF]i[/glow][glow=#1000FF]o[/glow][glow=#4100FF]n[/glow] [glow=#A400FF]I[/glow] [glow=#FF00F6]h[/glow][glow=#FF00C5]e[/glow][glow=#FF0094]a[/glow][glow=#FF0062]r[/glow][glow=#FF0031]?[/glow] [glow=#FF0000]W[/glow][glow=#FF1600]h[/glow][glow=#FF2D00]a[/glow][glow=#FF4300]t[/glow][glow=#FF5A00]'[/glow][glow=#FF7000]s[/glow] [glow=#FF9D00]t[/glow][glow=#FFB400]h[/glow][glow=#FFCA00]i[/glow][glow=#FFE100]s[/glow][glow=#FFF700],[/glow] [glow=#D9FF00]w[/glow][glow=#C3FF00]h[/glow][glow=#ACFF00]a[/glow][glow=#95FF00]t[/glow][glow=#7FFF00]'[/glow][glow=#68FF00]s[/glow] [glow=#3BFF00]t[/glow][glow=#25FF00]h[/glow][glow=#0EFF00]i[/glow][glow=#00FF07]s[/glow][glow=#00FF1E]?[/glow] [glow=#00FF4A]A[/glow][glow=#00FF61]r[/glow][glow=#00FF78]e[/glow] [glow=#00FFA5]w[/glow][glow=#00FFBB]e[/glow] [glow=#00FFE8]g[/glow][glow=#00FEFF]o[/glow][glow=#00E8FF]i[/glow][glow=#00D1FF]n[/glow][glow=#00BBFF]g[/glow] [glow=#008EFF]t[/glow][glow=#0077FF]o[/glow] [glow=#004AFF]g[/glow][glow=#0034FF]e[/glow][glow=#001DFF]t[/glow] [glow=#0F00FF]a[/glow] [glow=#3C00FF]g[/glow][glow=#5200FF]o[/glow][glow=#6900FF]o[/glow][glow=#7F00FF]d[/glow] [glow=#AC00FF]m[/glow][glow=#C300FF]u[/glow][glow=#D900FF]r[/glow][glow=#F000FF]d[/glow][glow=#FF00F7]e[/glow][glow=#FF00E1]r[/glow] [glow=#FF00B3]m[/glow][glow=#FF009D]y[/glow][glow=#FF0086]s[/glow][glow=#FF0070]t[/glow][glow=#FF0059]e[/glow][glow=#FF0043]r[/glow][glow=#FF002C]y[/glow][glow=#FF0016]?[/glow] [glow=#FF0000]D[/glow][glow=#FF2500]i[/glow][glow=#FF4A00]d[/glow] [glow=#FF9500]y[/glow][glow=#FFBA00]o[/glow][glow=#FFDF00]u[/glow][glow=#F8FF00]r[/glow] [glow=#AEFF00]t[/glow][glow=#88FF00]a[/glow][glow=#63FF00]s[/glow][glow=#3EFF00]t[/glow][glow=#18FF00]e[/glow] [glow=#00FF31]i[/glow][glow=#00FF57]n[/glow] [glow=#00FFA1]b[/glow][glow=#00FFC7]o[/glow][glow=#00FFEC]o[/glow][glow=#00ECFF]k[/glow][glow=#00C7FF]s[/glow] [glow=#007CFF]s[/glow][glow=#0057FF]u[/glow][glow=#0031FF]d[/glow][glow=#000CFF]d[/glow][glow=#1800FF]e[/glow][glow=#3E00FF]n[/glow][glow=#6300FF]l[/glow][glow=#8800FF]y[/glow] [glow=#D300FF]i[/glow][glow=#F800FF]m[/glow][glow=#FF00DF]p[/glow][glow=#FF00BA]r[/glow][glow=#FF0095]o[/glow][glow=#FF006F]v[/glow][glow=#FF004A]e[/glow][glow=#FF0025]?[/glow]" smirked Stephette, somehow managing to
sit down dramatically. "[glow=#FF0000]I[/glow][glow=#FF1E00]'[/glow][glow=#FF3D00]l[/glow][glow=#FF5B00]l[/glow] [glow=#FF9900]l[/glow][glow=#FFB700]e[/glow][glow=#FFD600]n[/glow][glow=#FFF400]d[/glow] [glow=#CBFF00]y[/glow][glow=#ADFF00]o[/glow][glow=#8EFF00]u[/glow] [glow=#51FF00]s[/glow][glow=#32FF00]o[/glow][glow=#14FF00]m[/glow][glow=#00FF0A]e[/glow] [glow=#00FF47]g[/glow][glow=#00FF66]o[/glow][glow=#00FF84]o[/glow][glow=#00FFA3]d[/glow] [glow=#00FFE0]o[/glow][glow=#00FEFF]l[/glow][glow=#00E0FF]d[/glow] [glow=#00A3FF]A[/glow][glow=#0084FF]g[/glow][glow=#0065FF]g[/glow][glow=#0047FF]i[/glow][glow=#0028FF]e[/glow][glow=#000AFF].[/glow] [glow=#3200FF]W[/glow][glow=#5100FF]e[/glow][glow=#7000FF]'[/glow][glow=#8E00FF]l[/glow][glow=#AD00FF]l[/glow] [glow=#EA00FF]h[/glow][glow=#FF00F4]a[/glow][glow=#FF00D6]v[/glow][glow=#FF00B7]e[/glow] [glow=#FF007A]f[/glow][glow=#FF005B]u[/glow][glow=#FF003D]n[/glow][glow=#FF001E].[/glow]"
Jabs aside, she was actually considering the girl's point. Belladonna was hardly going to be dead or in danger or anything concerning, but on the other hand, she had taken a while.
Didn't she just have a couple errands to run or something? Steph herself hadn't been paying a lot of attention, but it wasn't as if it had been anything out of the ordinary as far as she was concerned.
"[glow=#FF0000]I[/glow] [glow=#AAFF00]w[/glow][glow=#00FF00]o[/glow][glow=#00FFAA]n[/glow][glow=#00A9FF]d[/glow][glow=#0000FF]e[/glow][glow=#AA00FF]r[/glow][glow=#FF00AA].[/glow] [glow=#FF0000]M[/glow][glow=#FF1700]a[/glow][glow=#FF2F00]y[/glow][glow=#FF4600]b[/glow][glow=#FF5E00]e[/glow] [glow=#FF8D00]s[/glow][glow=#FFA400]h[/glow][glow=#FFBC00]e[/glow] [glow=#FFEB00]w[/glow][glow=#FBFF00]e[/glow][glow=#E3FF00]n[/glow][glow=#CBFF00]t[/glow] [glow=#9CFF00]t[/glow][glow=#85FF00]o[/glow] [glow=#56FF00]g[/glow][glow=#3EFF00]e[/glow][glow=#27FF00]t[/glow] [glow=#00FF07]h[/glow][glow=#00FF1F]e[/glow][glow=#00FF36]r[/glow] [glow=#00FF66]h[/glow][glow=#00FF7D]a[/glow][glow=#00FF95]i[/glow][glow=#00FFAC]r[/glow] [glow=#00FFDB]s[/glow][glow=#00FFF3]t[/glow][glow=#00F3FF]y[/glow][glow=#00DBFF]l[/glow][glow=#00C4FF]e[/glow][glow=#00ACFF]d[/glow][glow=#0095FF],[/glow] [glow=#0065FF]s[/glow][glow=#004EFF]i[/glow][glow=#0036FF]n[/glow][glow=#001FFF]c[/glow][glow=#0007FF]e[/glow] [glow=#2700FF]s[/glow][glow=#3E00FF]h[/glow][glow=#5600FF]e[/glow] [glow=#8500FF]h[/glow][glow=#9C00FF]a[/glow][glow=#B400FF]s[/glow] [glow=#E300FF]a[/glow] [glow=#FF00EB]l[/glow][glow=#FF00D3]o[/glow][glow=#FF00BC]t[/glow] [glow=#FF008D]o[/glow][glow=#FF0075]f[/glow] [glow=#FF0046]i[/glow][glow=#FF002F]t[/glow][glow=#FF0017]?[/glow] [glow=#FF0000]O[/glow][glow=#FF0C00]h[/glow][glow=#FF1800],[/glow] [glow=#FF3000]s[/glow][glow=#FF3C00]h[/glow][glow=#FF4800]e[/glow] [glow=#FF6100]h[/glow][glow=#FF6D00]a[/glow][glow=#FF7900]d[/glow] [glow=#FF9100]t[/glow][glow=#FF9D00]h[/glow][glow=#FFAA00]a[/glow][glow=#FFB600]t[/glow] [glow=#FFCE00]n[/glow][glow=#FFDA00]e[/glow][glow=#FFE600]c[/glow][glow=#FFF200]k[/glow][glow=#FFFF00]l[/glow][glow=#F2FF00]a[/glow][glow=#E6FF00]c[/glow][glow=#DAFF00]e[/glow] [glow=#C2FF00]t[/glow][glow=#B6FF00]h[/glow][glow=#AAFF00]a[/glow][glow=#9DFF00]t[/glow] [glow=#85FF00]b[/glow][glow=#79FF00]r[/glow][glow=#6DFF00]o[/glow][glow=#61FF00]k[/glow][glow=#54FF00]e[/glow] [glow=#3CFF00]t[/glow][glow=#30FF00]h[/glow][glow=#24FF00]e[/glow] [glow=#0CFF00]o[/glow][glow=#00FF00]t[/glow][glow=#00FF0C]h[/glow][glow=#00FF18]e[/glow][glow=#00FF24]r[/glow] [glow=#00FF3C]d[/glow][glow=#00FF48]a[/glow][glow=#00FF55]y[/glow][glow=#00FF61].[/glow] [glow=#00FF79]Y[/glow][glow=#00FF85]o[/glow][glow=#00FF91]u[/glow] [glow=#00FFAA]k[/glow][glow=#00FFB6]n[/glow][glow=#00FFC2]o[/glow][glow=#00FFCE]w[/glow][glow=#00FFDA],[/glow] [glow=#00FFF2]w[/glow][glow=#00FEFF]i[/glow][glow=#00F2FF]t[/glow][glow=#00E6FF]h[/glow] [glow=#00CEFF]t[/glow][glow=#00C2FF]h[/glow][glow=#00B6FF]e[/glow] [glow=#009DFF]g[/glow][glow=#0091FF]o[/glow][glow=#0085FF]l[/glow][glow=#0079FF]d[/glow] [glow=#0061FF]p[/glow][glow=#0054FF]e[/glow][glow=#0048FF]a[/glow][glow=#003CFF]r[/glow][glow=#0030FF]l[/glow][glow=#0024FF]s[/glow][glow=#0018FF].[/glow] [glow=#0000FF]M[/glow][glow=#0C00FF]a[/glow][glow=#1800FF]y[/glow][glow=#2400FF]b[/glow][glow=#3000FF]e[/glow] [glow=#4800FF]s[/glow][glow=#5500FF]h[/glow][glow=#6100FF]e[/glow] [glow=#7900FF]w[/glow][glow=#8500FF]e[/glow][glow=#9100FF]n[/glow][glow=#9D00FF]t[/glow] [glow=#B600FF]t[/glow][glow=#C200FF]o[/glow] [glow=#DA00FF]g[/glow][glow=#E600FF]e[/glow][glow=#F200FF]t[/glow] [glow=#FF00F2]t[/glow][glow=#FF00E6]h[/glow][glow=#FF00DA]a[/glow][glow=#FF00CE]t[/glow] [glow=#FF00B6]r[/glow][glow=#FF00AA]e[/glow][glow=#FF009D]s[/glow][glow=#FF0091]t[/glow][glow=#FF0085]r[/glow][glow=#FF0079]u[/glow][glow=#FF006D]n[/glow][glow=#FF0061]g[/glow] [glow=#FF0048]t[/glow][glow=#FF003C]o[/glow][glow=#FF0030]o[/glow][glow=#FF0024].[/glow][glow=#FF0018].[/glow][glow=#FF000C].[/glow] [glow=#FF0000]H[/glow][glow=#FF2D00]e[/glow][glow=#FF5A00]y[/glow][glow=#FF8700],[/glow] [glow=#FFE100]w[/glow][glow=#EFFF00]h[/glow][glow=#C3FF00]a[/glow][glow=#95FF00]t[/glow] [glow=#3BFF00]a[/glow][glow=#0EFF00]r[/glow][glow=#00FF1E]e[/glow] [glow=#00FF78]t[/glow][glow=#00FFA5]h[/glow][glow=#00FFD2]o[/glow][glow=#00FEFF]s[/glow][glow=#00D1FF]e[/glow] [glow=#0077FF]t[/glow][glow=#004AFF]h[/glow][glow=#001DFF]i[/glow][glow=#0F00FF]n[/glow][glow=#3C00FF]g[/glow][glow=#6900FF]s[/glow] [glow=#C300FF]a[/glow][glow=#F000FF]n[/glow][glow=#FF00E1]y[/glow][glow=#FF00B3]w[/glow][glow=#FF0086]a[/glow][glow=#FF0059]y[/glow][glow=#FF002C]?[/glow]"
She threw out random suggestions like she was trying to get rid of excess stock, but in truth, she was pretty much completely at a loss as to what their matron was actually doing. If she had any genuine suggestions, she couldn't exactly raise them with their house-guests around anyway.
Well, as long as she came back before some coven or werewolf pack or something decided that they could roam free, it wouldn't be a problem. In the meantime,
that woman could probably rein them in for twenty-four hours or so. Steph was reasonably certain that Belladonna's reputation alone was the reason that this orphanage was even safe to begin with.
Come to think of it, she could always go have a chat with said woman tonight and see if Belladonna didn't return soon.
It was idle curiosity, and normally it wouldn't be worth it to sneak out in the dead of night to ask questions for the price of a punishment on returning, but on the other hand, since the question was about Belladonna's whereabouts, there would be nobody to punish her when she got back!
[glow=#FF0000]Y[/glow][glow=#FF2E00]e[/glow][glow=#FF5C00]a[/glow][glow=#FF8B00]h[/glow][glow=#FFB900],[/glow] [glow=#E7FF00]a[/glow][glow=#B9FF00]s[/glow] [glow=#5CFF00]i[/glow][glow=#2EFF00]f[/glow] [glow=#00FF2E]m[/glow][glow=#00FF5C]y[/glow] [glow=#00FFB9]l[/glow][glow=#00FFE7]u[/glow][glow=#00E7FF]c[/glow][glow=#00B9FF]k[/glow] [glow=#005CFF]i[/glow][glow=#002EFF]s[/glow] [glow=#2E00FF]t[/glow][glow=#5C00FF]h[/glow][glow=#8B00FF]a[/glow][glow=#B900FF]t[/glow] [glow=#FF00E7]g[/glow][glow=#FF00B9]o[/glow][glow=#FF008B]o[/glow][glow=#FF005C]d[/glow][glow=#FF002E].[/glow]
Sod's law, she would get back to find Belladonna had already returned. At least Steph would have a cover story of looking for her this time, probably followed by a scolding along the lines of "couldn't you wait till morning" and... uh... a clip on the ear? She didn't know, the important thing was that it made a coherent narrative in her mind and that was good enough for her.
But then again, it was hardly fun without company.
And speaking of company, maybe she could prove that point to Muro that evening while she was at it...
"[glow=#FF0000]W[/glow][glow=#FF2100]e[/glow][glow=#FF4200]l[/glow][glow=#FF6300]l[/glow][glow=#FF8500],[/glow]" she grinned deviously, "[glow=#FFC700]w[/glow][glow=#FFE800]e[/glow] [glow=#D2FF00]c[/glow][glow=#B1FF00]o[/glow][glow=#90FF00]u[/glow][glow=#6EFF00]l[/glow][glow=#4DFF00]d[/glow] [glow=#0BFF00]a[/glow][glow=#00FF16]l[/glow][glow=#00FF37]w[/glow][glow=#00FF58]a[/glow][glow=#00FF79]y[/glow][glow=#00FF9B]s[/glow] [glow=#00FFDD]g[/glow][glow=#00FEFF]o[/glow] [glow=#00BCFF]o[/glow][glow=#009BFF]u[/glow][glow=#0079FF]t[/glow] [glow=#0037FF]a[/glow][glow=#0016FF]n[/glow][glow=#0B00FF]d[/glow] [glow=#4D00FF]a[/glow][glow=#6E00FF]s[/glow][glow=#9000FF]k[/glow] [glow=#D200FF]a[/glow][glow=#F300FF]r[/glow][glow=#FF00E8]o[/glow][glow=#FF00C7]u[/glow][glow=#FF00A6]n[/glow][glow=#FF0085]d[/glow][glow=#FF0063].[/glow][glow=#FF0042].[/glow][glow=#FF0021].[/glow] [glow=#FF0000]Y[/glow][glow=#FF5500]o[/glow][glow=#FFAA00]u[/glow] [glow=#AAFF00]k[/glow][glow=#54FF00]n[/glow][glow=#00FF00]o[/glow][glow=#00FF55]w[/glow][glow=#00FFAA].[/glow]
[glow=#00A9FF]T[/glow][glow=#0054FF]o[/glow][glow=#0000FF]n[/glow][glow=#5500FF]i[/glow][glow=#AA00FF]g[/glow][glow=#FF00FE]h[/glow][glow=#FF00AA]t[/glow][glow=#FF0054].[/glow]"