“Hey, Vesper. You got a minute?”

Shinri gently raps his hand against Vesper’s door, and only has to wait for a few moments before the scholar calls him in from within. The black-haired man opens the door and has to stoop to get through the frame, scanning around the room and nodding to himself when he sees Vesper sitting in a recliner. The silver-haired man has a book in one hand and tea in the other, his eyes flickering up to Shinri from behind his glasses as the warrior approaches.

“Good evening, Shinri. What can I help you with?” Vesper snaps the book shut and looks up at the man in question, only to lean back when a bow is leveled at his head. “…okay, what’s this about?”

“I have been looking for food that I specifically marked as mine in the refrigerator for hours, and nobody is fessing up to its whereabouts. You’re the only one left.” Shinri draws the bowstring back, only for Vesper to wave a hand and forcibly snap it with a small blade of wind. This leaves Shinri shocked for only a moment, and doubly so when Vesper rises out of the chair and rests a hand on the koi’s shoulder.

“Look, I get it, but really? Me? I’ve had that happen to me before, man, and it sucks. We’ve been around the block for a while, why would I do that to you?” Vesper removes his hand and arches his brow, waiting for Shinri to answer.

“…um, well, everyone else has pretty good alibis.”

“Shinri, I hardly leave this room, and when I do it’s around all of you.” Vesper gestures to his desk, which is overflowing with mounds of finished paperwork. “I do not have the time to steal your food. Go and ask Axel or Flayon again, I’m sure they’ll fold immediately if you do.”

“Alright. Sorry to bother you…? Do you need any help with all of that?”

“No. I don’t trust anyone else to handle it, especially after Bettel offered.”

“Fair enough. Have a good day, then.” Shinri nods his head and exits the room, a bit embarrassed at the vehement denial of the theft.

Vesper waits until he hears Shinri’s footsteps far away from the room, and then lets out a large sigh as he reaches behind his recliner and pulls out the man’s pudding cup. His name has indeed been written across the top, and Vesper casually removes it and tosses it to the side, looking at a teleportation circle that had been drawn in the opposite corner of the room.

What? He’d recently learned how to do it, and how else was he supposed to test it? He’s just a little guy.