Early Afternoon, New Coimbra.
Having departed from the strange sight of Horseguys kneeling in seiza position, these deep blue eyes of mine are greeted with yet another strange sight.
What's a truck doing here in New Coimbra?!
Following the trail of her [New Continental Travel App], Madi-san led us down the path of multiple nightclubs (all not open) in New Coimbra, looking for something, but not telling us what it was!
Well, now we have the answer!
A nice truck!
Straight outta nowhere too!
Are we even on the New Continent anymore?! Whatever happened to the nice and dainty carriages of Bylon Isnd?! The long eighteen-wheeler ridged in silver aluminum is parked right outside the alleyway entrance to the district's rgest 'underground night club', the [Percheron]. A pce for the cool and hip to hang out and drink like the world is ending! D-don't look at me like that, Annalie! I'm just reading off my own [New Continental Travel App]!
And that name... Its the Frxnch! Its always the Frxnch! Why is it always the Frxnch?!?!
The csping of her red flipphone is accompanied by pointing and 'ahehs', as Madi-san points out the obvious incongruency in our surroundings! Yes, Madi-san, this truck is sus. But what does this have to do with Rufti's disappearance?
"「Gore wa, gore wa」[1], a production truck, Aya-chan!"
hai?
Let's not talk about how you managed to flub up my ancestral nguage again, you Frxnchwoman! Expin to me how this has anything to do with the OrbTV thing that Rufti got sucked into!!!
Our breast-for-brains puffs out a breath of air, wringing her hands into the air, like she had to expin something so obvious and simple to a small child, aged nine! I'll purge >YOU, Madi-san, if you don't expin!!
"A production truck, is where the magick of a OrbTV show is put together! We can't all be sitting in Eoten Towers and waiting for the raw footage to come to us! A production truck lets you livestream EVERYWHERE in the New Continent, not just in Arcadia!"
"... and I suppose you have been inside one of these?"
"Nope!"
Arghhhhh!!! I want to tear the two curled horns at my side of my head off in frustration now! Here I was thinking that you had some 'livestreaming' experience, but you really are just an idiot! An absolute idiot! Don't brag about stuff you only know from reading the [New Continental Travel App]!
[SFX:Jiiiiiiiiiiii~]
Madi-san pouts her lips, leaning her spine down to level eyes with me, like I had misunderstood something! Well, I'm going to stare right right at you! Jiiiiiii right back at you, Madi-san! If you have never been in a production truck before, where do you get off with that 'I am very smart' attitude on knowing how this works?
See! Even Annalie is a little smarter, running her hand along the rge image of a tiger-haired woman featured on the side of this truck! Spread in cursive words across the front is the title of this OrbTV show, 'Keys To The Loft'. From the flowery and lovey-dovey rose-themed visuals, it leaves little doubt what genre THIS show is about! Even Annalie gets it!
"Saint-Taiga...? Never heard of a saint of love with that name..."
Personally, I have never heard of that person, but would bet all my Vida that she's Frxnch! As I look into her feline eyes, my eyes narrow at her light-orange hair...
Orange hair?
Kind of like Fox-Mask.
The color's slightly different, but it could just have been how the auction room was shaded yesterday. Even if its a coincidence, your detective thinks its a good idea to investigate this woman, if only to cross her off the list of suspects!
Madi-san catches Annalie looking up at the white-robed figure giving an impressive wink up there, spping the small of Annalie's back, "Ehehehe! You wanna go meet the producer-san too?!"
Annalie gives a small yelp at being yuribaited by the master of yuribaiting, but shakes her head with sadness. "Ora-sis and Val-sama are probably better at sneaking into a pce like this... this 'nightclub'? Annalie doesn't do too good when there are many [Observation Orbs] around..."
Just as a remind for those who have forgotten, [Observation Orbs] are able to record and repy images reflected into them, Madi-san and I were dealing with an entire chateau rigged with them in the [Galopin Chateau Arc]!
"Hmm hmm! Then its decided! Imma help you level up your 'stealth' stat then!"
Ah?
"How are you going to do that, Madi-san? Don't tell me you are going to cast a magick spell on Annalie?! Maybe we'll even call it 'muffle' and it shuts up big-breasted idiots who want to do the impossible?!"
"Non non, my accomplice! We don't need menne magick for this! We just need a little confidencé!"
"And how are you going to do that, Madi-san...?"
Madi-san by this point already has both her hands on the double-door handles on the back of this truck, turning to us with a mischievous but knowing grin on her face...
Madi-san, you can't possibly...!
"True stealth, is the ability to get away with everything~!!!"
The back of the production truck is thrown open; The two lengths of its interior are lined wall-to-wall with ft screens projecting a dance floor, a private loft, and just about every angle of an adult's establishment bar the restrooms! Seated on swively gamer chairs are lines of duckcapped and faceless girls hard at work, working over a dizzying array of small lights and knobs, occasionally speaking into a microphone to test for sound!
Even as Madi-san beckons for us to come in with light finger motions, the way she light-foots into the truck like she had worked there from day one is astounding! Who does she even think she is?! Some big-shot actress?! I'll hide behind Annalie's suddenly reliable back, thank you very much! she even has the gall to lean over the shoulder of one of those duckcapped girls to whisper something, pointing at the screen above her! Whatever dark advice Madi-san gave, that gave the duck-capped girl there some small enlightenment, and she started twiddling with the knobs on the panel before her!
What is this, Usodo? Even my [Art of Lying] isn't this realistic!
When did you steal my Usodo?! Stop infringing on my gimmick! Give it back, you lying boob-for-brains! Even Annalie is a little awed at this monstrous setup, but you're acting like this is just another Tuesday to you! We'll just be standing near the outside, thank you very much!
Madi-san just doesn't give a DAMN, and continues giving her dark advice and headpats all the way down the aisle, doing her exaggerated arm-swingy walk with big steps down the silver ramp! She does it all the way into the truck, where the girl with tiger-streaks in her hair, Saint-Taiga is shouting into an orb in her hand.
"Zis is a catastrophé...! Find the Earl quickly! Immédiate!!! How can we have a judging panel if we are short one personnal?! Oh catastrophé! A dark day for the pick-up artisté communitié! We are merely hours from showtime!!! Hurry, hurry!"
Huh, it seems that something has gone wrong if Saint-Taiga is rolling an orb in one hand on the side of her face. It would be rude to presume, but since when has Madi-san ever been one to care for politeness and piety?! Instead, she puts her hands on her hips, standing right before the disraught Saint-Taiga, the first words out of her mouth like she had known the woman forever,
"Problem, Saint-Taiga?!?!"
Go Go And Learn Moonrunes With Aya-chan![1]「Gore wa, gore wa」- I am one hundred percent certain with absolute certainty that you meant Kore wa here, which means 'This is..."!!! Gore means something different in Vespanol! Stop butchering my ancestral nguage, Madi-san----!!!!
