The Plan

It was with a big sigh that Tsubaki finally entered the Church of Sulfur. She always tried to avoid the place if she could because it gave her weird vibes, but she found herself coming here more often lately. If there was one thing that could tempt Tsubaki to go just about anywhere, it was money.

Mercy was already waiting for her inside. Ever since Tsubaki caught the head nun stealing from the donation box a while back, the two had entered into a business relationship with one another. Tsubaki wanted in on whatever money-making operation Mercy was running, and she was willing to help them out for it. It was beneficial for both of them truly, because there were certain things that Mercy alone couldn’t get away with it. It was also useful for when Oleander became too suspicious. Thus far, Mercy had been able to get him to look the other way by offering their body, and while they would still continue to do so, it also helped to have an accomplice. If Oleander could see Mercy doing something else during times that money went missing, he might get confused and not suspect them as much. It also helped that Tsubaki was pretty good at cooking books.

“Do you need me to go over the plan again?” Mercy asked in a hushed tone.

Tsubaki shook her head. “Seems easy enough.”

“Then follow me.” Mercy led her towards a room, unlocking it and ushering Tsubaki inside quickly but quietly.

Tsubaki entered the room, already knowing that it was Oleander’s office thanks to the instructions Mercy had given her when they planned the whole thing.

“We should be safe to talk in here. Oleander is getting ready for a sermon.” Mercy explained. “It should be in another thirty minutes, and the tithes will be collected shortly after and brought here.”

Tsubaki nodded. “One of the other nuns will place the box on this desk while I hide underneath it. They’ll leave the room, then I’ll steal the money and climb out the window.”

“And then we will meet later tonight to split it.” Mercy nodded, satisfied that Tsubaki had indeed remembered the plan.

“And you should have an alibi for the time frame where it went missing.” Tsubaki grinned. The only reason Mercy was game for a risky plan like this was because they could be in view of Oleander the entire time during the sermon, and thus would be ruled out as a suspect despite the fact that normally they would be Oleander’s primary suspect if money were to mysteriously disappear. Likely, whatever poor nun was tasked with delivering the box to his office would be the primary suspect instead. Tsubaki suspected that Mercy thought much like she did, and would consider that nun’s job a necessary sacrifice.

The only reason Tsubaki herself agreed to the plan was because she knew that she and Mercy were very much alike; she knew it from the moment she met them, and she knew they wouldn’t betray her if it meant they could make a profit.