Repayment

Rolling wheels crushed the sunset as peddlers pushed their carts, scattering from Charles Square beneath the fading glow of dusk.

Through the carved glass window on the second floor of 221 Villa Avenue, a Victorian tableau of daily life unfolded slowly before his eyes.

Watching the homeward-bound crowd outside, Lynch suddenly realized he was growing more and more accustomed to this world.

Only six days had passed between the night of the thirteenth and today, the nineteenth, yet he felt as though he had already grown used to this strange, transcendent world.

Dressed in Victorian-style attire, navigating between horse carriages and iron rails, using gas fixtures and vintage machinery, interacting with nobles, capitalists, and workers—and most importantly, filling his head with bizarre, dangerous matters like evil gods, heteromorphs, and mysteries.

It felt as though he had drifted ever further from his ordinary life as a corporate drudge back home. Perhaps this was one of the prices for embarking on the path of immortality.

With a sigh, Lynch closed the window, sat down on the sofa, and picked up his all-important detective notebook.

Indeed, he had concluded his stakeout mission and returned home.

His investigation at the city hall had yielded nothing; none of the targets were present, and their office doors had been locked. Lynch wasn't disappointed, however, as the intelligence gained from partnering with Miss Valente was more than enough to make up for it.

As for the grudge over a cup of coffee, he had duly noted it in his mental ledger. Foolish aristocrat, she would pay it back double in the future.

That was merely self-amusement, of course. In truth, Lynch was in quite high spirits; with Miss Valente's information, he had essentially pieced together most of the puzzle.

In order to excavate Zur-Baha-Sahr, the sewer ghouls had colluded with Chairman Grant by offering free labor, and that man-eating mystery relic from before might very well have been provided by them as well.

This was likely one of the key points of Duke Vane's commission, and he had probably touched upon its core. Lynch calculated in his mind: as long as he followed the trail to uncover proof of Zur-Baha-Sahr's existence—no, he had to go a step further and find proof that a fragment of Mordiggian's will slept deep within Zur-Baha-Sahr—he would have earned the agreed-upon reward, namely the first memory of the Lady of the Red Moon. As for the second commission from the Cat Baron, he would likely need to investigate further, uncover Mordiggian's true purpose, and thwart it before he could accept that reward with a clear conscience.

Neither reward would be easy to earn, requiring him to risk life and limb. Yet Lynch felt no resentment; on the contrary, he felt rather content, because...

Lynch set down his notebook and picked up a letter whose wax seal had already been broken.

The paper of the envelope was exceptionally exquisite, featuring a black background dotted with a smattering of stars. The wax seal bore the emblem of a scepter encircled by starlight; one look was enough to know it came from the Black Night Cathedral.

“Dear Detective Levive:

You are cordially invited to meet at the Black Night Cathedral at 9:00 AM on the twentieth. The agreed-upon item has received authorization from the Papal Seat and will soon arrive in Rhine City. I hope you can join me in receiving the item.

Yours, Trinlais.”

Tossing the letter gently back onto the coffee table, Lynch leaned comfortably into the sofa with a soft chuckle, feeling a growing warmth toward them.

Though those two old foxes were cunning, slippery, and insidious, pulling an ordinary person like him into such a troublesome mess while he was in need of aid, they had at least demonstrated ample sincerity. Risking danger on their behalf wasn't a bad deal. Besides, he wasn't just taking risks for them; Rhine City was his new home. While he could always flee Rhine and start over in another city, could he truly bear to watch the landlady, the bratty kid, and that fierce woman fall into grave danger?

Smiling self-deprecatingly, Lynch was no longer hesitant. He reopened his notebook and meticulously recorded all the latest clues.

The next step was to await progress on Miss Valente's end and delve deeper into the collusion between Grant and the sewer ghouls. Those creatures seemed far more violent than the hillmen, tearing apart train carriages like toys, making them extremely dangerous. His life-saving Divine Authority could only be used once for now, so he had to proceed with utmost caution.

Still, he couldn't put absolute faith in Valente's information. He couldn't slacken on the hillmen's side either, though their current whereabouts were unknown. If any trace of them turned up, he would need to pursue it as well.

Before that, he should head to the Black Night Cathedral tomorrow to meet Trinlais, if only to express his gratitude.

As he was outlining his subsequent course of action in his notebook, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door. Lynch looked up to see two bright shocks of blonde hair, one tall and one short, ascending from the stairs below.

Officer Natalie had brought little Martha back safe and sound long ago, and Lynch had already run into them when he returned home earlier, so he wasn't surprised. However, Mrs. Maggie rarely came up to the second floor while Lynch was at home, which caught him somewhat off guard. He hastily rose to invite Mrs. Maggie into the living room, noticing that the two ladies were carrying his formal Ranger uniform.

“It has been washed, and the torn spots have been mended, Mr. Levive,” Mrs. Maggie said with a gentle smile. “Why don't you try it on and see?”

“Hm? It was just washed, so there shouldn't be any need to try it on, right?”

“Ah, you misunderstand. While washing it, I noticed that certain parts of the uniform don't fit you quite right.”

“You could tell just from that?”

“I used to work as a seamstress, so I'm rather sensitive to such details.” The landlady shook out the garment for Lynch and laughed softly. “Try it on, and I'll alter it for you tonight. If you don't mind, I can alter your other clothes as well. I noticed your outfits are all ready-to-wear, which never fits quite as well as tailored pieces.”

“I couldn't possibly trouble you like that.”

Lynch felt his face growing warm, his body stiffening like a block of stone as he allowed Mrs. Maggie to drape the coat over him. Her fingers brushed lightly across him as she took measurements, sending rapid flutters through his heartbeat.

“Please give me a chance to repay you, Mr. Levive,” the landlady said softly, keeping her head lowered as she measured his frame. “When Martha treated you that way, not only did you not hold a grudge, you even took the trouble to discipline her and teach her right from wrong. That was something I, as her mother, should have taught her, but I only knew how to dote on her—I've truly been such an inadequate mother. If we hadn't met you, I honestly don't know what would have become of this child. These past few nights, I've woken up in cold sweats from nightmares about her doing terrible things. You probably can't imagine how grateful we are to you.”

Lynch blushed even deeper, his gaze drifting away, only to spot little Martha clinging to her mother's leg and sticking her tongue out at him. Yet the little girl's eyes were slightly red-rimmed, and her expression had softened noticeably.

“She told me after returning just now that you truly cared for her, and that when danger struck, you protected her the entire time, keeping her safe from any threat. We really don't know how to repay you. I'm not good at much else, so the only thing I can do is take better care of your daily needs.”

“Well, this...”

“You taught Martha to do the right thing, and isn't being grateful the right thing to do? You can't teach her how to behave and then refuse to let her put it into practice, can you?” A flicker of sly amusement danced in Mrs. Maggie's eyes as she covered her mouth and whispered, “Or would you prefer we repay you in 'another' way?”

“Altering clothes—altering clothes is fine!” Lynch's hair practically stood on end, his head steaming as he dropped the jacket and bolted toward the stairs. “I-I-I think I hear the water boiling downstairs, I'll go check!”

Pfft. Mrs. Maggie's cheeks were flushed just as red. Biting her lip with a slight smile, she gently pulled her daughter into her embrace. With their lovely faces nestled together, they made a breathtaking picture in the room.