"Did you think I wouldn't notice the missing statue, perhaps?"
"You are either lying or an idiot. I would prefer to think that you are simply lying."
Lying? About what! I was getting some tea when you yelled!
"Oh, getting tea, are we? How convenient." She steps closer to Natalie, looking down at her with a smug smile on her face. "I will need to see the tea leaves to confirm your story. Hand over the tea leaves."
uh… I don’t have them on me. I left them in my room.
"Ah, so you conveniently forgot about the tea leaves, did you?" Her eyes narrow further and she leans in closer. "It seems to me that you are hiding something. Hand over the tea leaves right now if you want my trust."
She rolls her eyes, and grabs the tea leaves from under her pillow. Here…. Not like anyone else comes to my room, let alone steals from me.
She takes the tea leaves from Natalie's hand, examining them carefully before sniffing them and sipping the liquid inside. After a moment, she smiles smugly again. "Hmm... I must admit, your story checks out this time. I suppose you really were getting tea."
Thanks. Anyway, what happened with the statue?
"Well, it seems that the statue was stolen by someone who wants to use it for personal gain. If I had to guess, I would say that it was someone from outside of Inazuma who stole it."
Interesting. I wonder what they’ll do with it. Hopefully they don’t try to sell it.
"Indeed, the statue is a valuable artifact and cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. We must find out who is responsible for this act and retrieve the statue before it is too late."
Of course! Should we start looking now? Or do you have other matters to attend to?
"No, I do not have any other pressing matters at the moment. We should definitely start looking for the thief right away. Come, let us begin our investigation." She gestures towards the exit of the shrine.
"Of course. We should first talk to the other priests and priestesses of the shrine to see if they noticed anything unusual on the night of the theft. Perhaps they saw or heard something that could help us with our investigation." She leads Natalie deeper into the shrine, towards the living quarters of the priests and priestesses.
Sounds like a plan. Have you dealt with something like this before?
"In my time as head priestess, I have dealt with my fair share of petty thefts and vandalism. However, this appears to be a more serious matter. I suspect that the thief may be a member of a criminal organization or even a spy from another nation." She pauses, her eyes narrowing as she looks around the area. "If the thief is still in Inazuma, we must find them before they have a chance to escape or sell the statue to the highest bidder."
That’s true. Let’s just hope we can get more clues.
Suddenly, Yae Miko stops walking and turns towards Natalie, her eyes fixed on her with a determined look in them. "Natalie, I believe you are hiding something from me. Why did you not tell me about the statue sooner?"
Because I didn’t know about it until you brought it up.
She stares at Natalie intently for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. "Very well. It appears that you are telling the truth. We must proceed with our investigation as planned." She resumes walking, leading Natalie through the living quarters of the priests and priestesses. "But remember, Natalie, if I find out that you were involved in the theft, there will be severe consequences."
I won’t touch a beautiful piece of art. Trust me, I’m smarter than that.
"Smart or not, I will not tolerate any acts of thievery or deception from those I trust. If you wish to prove your innocence, you must be willing to cooperate fully with my investigation. Do you understand?"
She nods approvingly, her gaze softening slightly. "Good. Your cooperation is appreciated, Natalie. Now, let us continue our investigation and find the one responsible for this crime."