Who Was Behind It?

Back in the warm house, Sherlock took off his coat and hung it on the rack by the door. It smelled heavily of smoke, and the ladies inside would not like it.

Sitangna and Watson hoisted Emily up again, one on either side of her. Janet had gone to bed early in Watson's bedroom, as she had to return to her family for the holiday the next morning.

A drunk Emily was even harder to support than she had been when she was exhausted. She dragged the two poor souls all over the living room, finally settling down once she had her camera in her arms.

"Oh! I almost forgot my camera. Poor little thing, it's so hungry its eye is glowing red."

"That's because the battery's dead. Get some sleep; I'll charge it for you." Sitangna had a hard time getting her settled, then found a fresh towel to clean her up before attending to herself.

Sitangna chatted with Candy as she washed her face. Sherlock's earlier kiss had not only earned her 261 task points, but also brought her task progress straight to the halfway mark.

[Nana, Nana! Look how awkward that number of points is. Why don't you give me the odd ones at the end? Then I can level up sooner and help you complete your tasks better~]

Candy had learned that cutesy, high-pitched voice from who knew where. It was so cloying it gave Sitangna goosebumps.

"The rest should be enough for the tasks ahead, so go ahead and take them. You didn't have to ask me for such a small amount." After finishing her skincare, Sitangna carefully returned the diamond necklace she had just taken off to its velvet box.

[Yay! You're so generous, Nana. Then I won't stand on ceremony!!]

-61

Task points remaining: 200.

"Hey! Weren't you asking for the odd points? Is that how you count them?!" If Candy had a physical body, Sitangna would have given her a hard spanking.

[Oh, it's no big deal. You still have so many left, they'll definitely be enough. You can't take them with you if you don't use them all, anyway. Each world's task points can only be used in that world.]

"Huh? Why didn't you tell me before? I was planning to use them sparingly and save a hundred for the next world." Sitangna changed into her pajamas and slipped under the covers.

Emily was already asleep. Sitangna envied her long eyelashes and high, delicate nose, but she still had to thank God that Emily hadn't gone on a drunken rampage.

[How could you possibly be allowed to keep saving them? The task objectives are different in every world.] "I guess that's true."

[The second and third rows of the shop are open now, Nana. Take a look ahead of time and see if there's anything you can use.] The points Candy had fleeced from Nana brought her total to a hundred. She needed to find time to go level up.

"I'll look tomorrow. Let's sleep first." She had to hurry and sleep while she was still drowsy. Once it got late and quiet, it would be all too easy to start thinking about things unsuitable for children.

[Okay, go to sleep, then. I checked the plot monitor, and it shows no fluctuations for the next few days, which means the next two or three days should be relatively safe. Can I go back to the department to level up? It should take about two days.]

"Go ahead. It'll be fine. Emily's staying here these days, and her bodyguard team has doubled its protection and surveillance. Besides, I still haven't used the Golden Bell Shield from last time."

Still worried, Candy checked twice more. Once she was sure nothing could go wrong, she happily scurried back to the department to level up.

Hopefully, when she returned, she could transform straight into a super-powerful system with three heads and six arms, invincible against anyone.

Click. The camera's switch had been left on, and now that it was plugged in, it had resumed recording on its own. It was pretty creepy. Sitangna picked it up warily and switched on the bedside lamp to illuminate the buttons, but she still squinted as she tried to turn it off.

She was genuinely afraid of seeing a face-detection box on the camera screen. She had never believed in ghosts or gods, but that didn't stop her from being scared out of her wits.

"Bravo."

"I'm so glad I came here tonight. I don't think I'll ever forget that performance."

She had never used this model of camera and didn't know where the switch was, so she pressed a button on the edge based on her past experience. It turned out to be the gallery.

The scene continued playing automatically. The next second, footage of Sherlock kissing her came straight at her. Sitangna felt as though her whole head were smoking. "What's wrong with this stupid camera?!"

The camera had been positioned just right: the piano was on the right, the fireplace and sofa on the left, and most of the Christmas tree at the far left was also in the frame.

Everyone had sat spread out in a V around the camera, giving it a full view of the two performers in the middle. Emily's camera probably hadn't been cheap. Its resolution was so high for this era that even a loose thread on Sitangna's clothes was perfectly clear in the small frame.

Wait, how had that branch fallen?

In the footage, something shook the Christmas tree twice, and the sprig of mistletoe happened to fall right onto Sitangna and Sherlock as they passed beneath it.

She hadn't felt anything else as she walked, so she definitely hadn't knocked it down. The mistletoe had been hung high up, tucked into a Christmas wreath where it should have been secure.

She had lost count of how many times she had shouted it in her heart: Damn Sherlock!

Clutching the evidence of the crime, she tiptoed to the criminal's bedroom door. Just as she was about to knock, the door opened on its own. The culprit, Sherlock, was still awake. The bedside lamp and the book lying face down on the desk showed that he had been reading just moments before.

"I guessed you'd come." After welcoming Sitangna in, Sherlock promptly shut the door, blocking out two sneaky figures in the room opposite.

"See? I haven't even said anything, and you've already confessed to your crime!" Sitangna recalled Molly's mournful expression as she left, and her eyes filled with seriousness.

"I admit I like you very much, but you shouldn't have hurt the feelings of a lady who likes you too, right in front of her." Sitangna felt a little aggrieved.

"It was as if your kiss was just an act, something you deliberately put on for her in front of everyone to make her give up her feelings for you."

Thinking of the shaking Christmas tree and the mistletoe that had clearly been tampered with, Sitangna grew more and more upset. This guy was using her as a shield, wasn't he?

"Why would you think that? Women's thought processes are far too strange." Sherlock had just sat back down on the bed, but the next second, the sight of the girl on the verge of tears startled him into jumping up.

It wasn't really a big deal, but Sitangna was the sort of oddball who could work herself into tears while confronting someone else. She remembered the internet had a name for it: tear incontinence, or something like that.

Often, it was clearly the other person's fault, but as soon as an argument began, she would be unable to stop herself from shedding a few tears before she had even said much.

"I'll give the necklace back to you tomorrow. It's too precious, and I don't deserve it." She fought back her tears, but still couldn't control her voice, which came out choked. Worse still, her nose was about to run!

"Have you got something wrong? I only guessed you had something to ask me. Whatever crime you're talking about, I never admitted to it."

Sherlock fetched a box of tissues and handed it to her. Embarrassed, Sitangna turned away to blow her nose, not even daring to make too much noise. It completely ruined her imposing stance.

"The camera caught everything. You deliberately shook the broken sprig of mistletoe down when I got close to the tree..."

After wiping away her snot and tears, Sitangna turned back around and continued glaring at him.