Sophia blew out a mouthful of smoke: "You always manage to bring me pleasant surprises. There's nothing stopping me from handing Queen Sisi over to the military. I'm sure they'd be willing to pay a huge sum to take her from me. As for what becomes of her, that's none of my business. I'm just your ordinary succubus who runs this place."
"Well, it looks as though you aren't doing a commendable job. Your succubi's mental states look worse than when Queen Sisi reigned."
The place was a lot emptier than before. Basically, there were only free succubi gawking at me with cravings in their gazes, thereby giving me goose bumps. The reason business was so poor wasn't due to it being day time; there were lots of people indulging during the day before. The fact that it was empty was evidence that the military wasn't fond of the place. Further, it wasn't just because the military didn't like it, but also because the nobles were barely able to keep themselves together, therefore lacking a desire to leave home. Otherwise, they wouldn't give up on a chance to have fun.
"Heh," chuckled Sophia. She then set down her smoke, "You sure do not mince words. Women don't like that."
"Fantastic."
"Indeed, business is not doing great at the moment. That is why lots of my sisters have fallen ill. If you could help us, then that would be great as we would have something to feast on…" Sophia peered behind me to see Leah coldly glaring at her and holding onto my clothes tightly. In fact, Leah's gaze was aggressive. Sophia averted her gaze and dryly chuckled before switching the topic: "So, you plan to hide Queen Sisi here with me? Are you planning to reinstate her? It seems the military plans to instate Veirya. Their plan is already complete. They most probably will hold the coronation ceremony soon."
"It won't go that smoothly. This is the safest place I can think of. If they want to search for Queen Sisi, they will skip this place. Nobody would think that Queen Sisi would come here. While I am busy, I will be entrusting Queen Sisi to you."
"I have a question to ask, but I am not sure if I should ask or not." Sophia took another puff. She narrowed her eyes as she blew a mouthful of smoke out: "As Veirya is becoming Queen, it must mean that she has sided with the military, but you are on Queen Sisi's side. You two are a family, so why are you on opposing sides? Did you place bets with both sides?"
"How can you place bets on both sides for this? I just angered Veirya."
I didn't want to reveal any more. Sophia most likely understood what I meant. She laughed and then pointed upstairs: "We are taking care of Queen Sisi and the elves on the second floor. I do not know why you brought the elves along. Queen Sisi's presence is enough of a reason to shut us down. With elves present, too, we will all be executed."
"I wouldn't bring dead weight here. Also, don't worry; nobody will search this place. Even if they do find them, you'll be fine. Just do business as per usual. I don't need to let Queen Sisi out yet for the next few days, so you should all be safe."
"We, succubi, will definitely do our utmost to support you for Lord Veirya. While business is poor right now, a good number of people visited us before. Hence, we have a good amount of information. I do not know if the information will be of use or not, but, at the very least, it is a direction to try."
I got a nod from Sophia: "Our girls know very well the things they mentioned. I'm not sure if the information is true or false. We also know that not everyone supports Veirya's appointment. Some do not support it, except they're the type who just rage about it to themselves and do not dare to explicate it."
"Who are those not in support?"
"The national bank president. At present, he is the only one I know of. Achilles… he has not made clear his stance, so we are unsure of his stance. It also appears that a lot of people are extremely fearful of you. The military did not want to allow you entry into the city. I do not know if that is because you offended them."
"I offended them the moment Veirya arrived here. Sad for them if they're offended. It's not as if they would dare to harm me. Veirya is still alive, after all." I then turned around and added, "I'm leaving Leah and Sisi in your care. I'm going out. I need to look into the information you provided me with."
"Wait!"
I turned around after suddenly hearing a voice from upstairs to see anxiety flit across Queen Sisi's face. As she ran, her thin clothes undulated.
"Why aren't you taking me along?! This is about me! This is my imperial capital; everything here belongs to me. Even the military must obey my command. It's too dangerous for you to be strolling around the city. I'm going with you."
"Your Majesty, if they were truly loyal to you, you would not be here. Although you have entered the city, you are a thorn to the military now, not their Queen. You know what would be dangerous? Following me around out there would be dangerous. When the time is ripe, I will let you out."
I noticed the concern in Queen Sisi's gaze. She wasn't a fool. What I said was most definitely within her realm of comprehension. Thus, she wouldn't vehemently ask to follow me. She surprisingly nervous.
"Haha, it will be all right, Your Majesty. I will be back. I managed to rescue you from the elven lands. The military is easy mode."