Thorn Flower

Lynch knew he might have found the right place.

This was the Triangle, an inconspicuous street located at the intersection of the Crown District, the Valley District, and the Gray Fog Zone.

At the entrance of the alley stood a small two-story building. A thorn flower carved into the door served as its sign, and two burly, powerful men stood guard on either side. From time to time, people could be seen entering and exiting with guarded, hurried expressions.

It seemed to be just an ordinary private club, no different from the thousands of others in Rhine City.

That was, assuming one ignored the prompts in his consciousness.

He had stood in the shadows of the alley's gas streetlamp for less than ten minutes, and the prompts in his mind had sounded five times.

At least five mystery relics had passed him by in broad daylight. With that frequency, Lynch didn't believe for a second that this wasn't an industry related to the mysterious.

He estimated that this was likely an underground market for trading mystery relics.

Should he go in? Lynch asked himself silently.

The intensity of Madam Bessie’s reaction was still fresh in his mind, and the resolve of Officer Natalie as she ventured into danger alone was still before his eyes. He was just an ordinary person carrying a few broken weapons; was charging in like this any different from seeking death?

But, she had likely already gone inside.

His savior, Officer Natalie—the first person to treat him with genuine kindness since he crossed over—had been dragged into this because he wanted to cling to her as a backer. She had gone in to face a terrifying entity whose very existence could cause Madam Bessie to collapse.

Was he just going to watch from the sidelines? Would he still be human if he did?

If something were to happen to the officer because of this, Lynch believed that even if he survived, he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life. It would be better to live and die together.

Besides, it wasn't certain that he would die. Against anything else, he was a weakling, but against this high-level existence that devoured souls, he still had a secret weapon. It should be effective, right, Travel Companion?

【During a journey, all scenery may be witnessed.】

With that remark, I'm even more terrified. Thanks.

Lynch touched his pistol and the ring, gritted his teeth, shook his walking stick, and left the shadows, heading toward the dim entrance of the small building.

Passersby had already been chased away by the burly guards, but Lynch walked straight toward them anyway.

Eyes forward, justified and confident.

The fact that Natalie could bring Mrs. Maggie and little Martha inside before meant that the restrictions here weren't actually strict. Under such premises, as long as one had a legitimate reason, he shouldn't be too troubled.

Let’s try it. I hope I’m right.

“Hey, stop right there.” As expected, the guard at the door blocked Lynch. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Lynch took a breath, pulled out The Passion of the Blazing Lady, and gave it a shake. “First time here. I have something I want to sell.”

Both guards fell silent. Lynch kept his gaze lowered, his heart tense, but he struggled to keep his expression calm.

“What’s the code? You don’t know? It’s hard for us to manage if you don’t have the code.” The guard looked at Lynch with suspicion.

“Uh, she mentioned a code, I think, but I forgot it.” Lynch scratched his head awkwardly.

“Who?”

Lynch chose the safest answer. “A red-haired lady, always puffing on a pipe. Her shop didn’t want to take it, so she told me to come here and try.”

“Madam Bessie, eh? How could you forget something like that? You’re making it difficult for us. Fine, fine, go on in. Don’t wander around if it’s your first time. If you go where you shouldn’t and end up mysteriously missing, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Go straight to the counter and find the attendant; they’ll tell you the procedures.”

It seemed normal enough—just the reaction of a standard bouncer.

Perhaps it was just a normal black market inside, not that dangerous?

Hoping for a stroke of luck, Lynch nodded politely and crossed past the guards into the foyer.

First hurdle cleared, I...

As he crossed the threshold, the moment his feet touched the floor, Lynch suddenly felt his vision blur.

It was like static flashing on an old television screen, and at the same time, a sharp buzzing sound rang in his ears.

Through the momentarily appearing static, Lynch felt as if he were suspended in a dark void, looking down into a deep abyss. In the darkness, eight bright crimson points of light suddenly ignited.

The hallucination vanished in a flash, and his vision returned to normal, but a drowsy, heavy feeling lingered in his mind. He shook his head to clear it.

‘Travel Companion.’

【This building is conceptually entangled with mysterious filth. When you completed the act of entering the building, your inspiration was stimulated by the filth.】

‘So this is a warning from my inspiration? Is there really danger here? It seems having high inspiration is actually quite good.’

【Heh...】

Enter. I’m already here.

Lynch ignored the strange laughter in his mind and tried to enter the small building with a normal posture.

Inside were two carpeted corridors to the left and right, lined with many doors. The hallways were quite elegantly decorated, though the lighting was dim and hazy.

Lynch looked at the attendants standing on either side of the corridor and, following the guard's instructions, walked straight toward the main hall in front.

The hall resembled a bar. In the center was the counter the guard had mentioned, surrounded by semi-isolated booths, and further out was a circle of doors that looked like private rooms.

Lynch scanned the area but found no trace of Officer Natalie.

I cannot look for her aimlessly. Let me think about how to search.

Officer Natalie had dealt with this place before. I don't know how much she understands about it, so I cannot simulate her train of thought to catch up with her. But that’s fine. Her goal is to track the mystery relic William's Holiday Surprise, so as long as I track it as well, even if my reasoning differs, I will eventually end up on the same path.

Then, setting her aside and considering things logically, the traces of the mystery relic pointing here most likely mean the transaction took place here. I will check that first.

With his mind made up, Lynch smiled at the attendant in the red vest behind the counter. “Do you have a catalog of items for sale or wanted? For the recent period? I’m looking to buy a few mystery relics.”

The attendant didn't doubt him and pushed over several thick registration books. “From back to front, but customers from before today might not still be here. We may need to notify them by letter, unless they’ve opened a private room and are staying.”

Lynch nodded and opened the record book. Inside were rows of registration entries, categorized by buying and selling.

After carefully reading the records for the past month, not only was there no mention of William's Holiday Surprise, but there wasn't even any mystery relic that sounded like it had anything to do with fireworks.

Nothing.

Lynch felt a bit disappointed. He saw the attendant absorbed in a novel, and with no other customers at the counter, Lynch opened the registration records for the private rooms.

This wasn't a hotel, so the private room registrations included the names of the guests as well as the names of the mysterious items they were buying or selling. But after reading through the recent records, Lynch still couldn't find any name similar to his target.

This is strange. Since the mystery relic is linked to this place, it shouldn't be missing from the transaction records, unless... Lynch’s gaze fell on a private room registration from five days ago.

This was the only registration in the last few dozen days that did not specify the name of the mystery relic.

Where there is an anomaly, there is a reason.

There is a problem.

Lynch noted the room number, Room 8, and decided to first secure an identity that would allow him to stay before investigating that room in depth.

The identity would, of course, be that of a seller of mystery relics.

Seeing the attendant look up from his novel, Lynch tapped his ring on the counter. The attendant in the red vest glanced at it. “This is a mystery relic? For sale?”

Lynch nodded.

“Mr. Terry, someone is selling a mystery relic.”

The red-vested man called out skillfully. A moment later, a person in a purple vest walked over holding a sheet of paper.

“Fill out the form. I’ll register it for you, then wait in the seating area. If someone is interested, they’ll come find you. It might not sell in a day, so remember to come back for a few days. Remember, we take a five percent commission on the sale price.”

The man in the purple vest, who seemed to be a supervisor, was expressionless. His voice was as emotionless as someone reciting lines.

As Lynch took the paper, he looked at the man in the purple vest with suspicion.

The moment he saw the man's face, static flashed across his vision again.

The attendant in the purple vest was a serious-looking, ordinary-looking middle-aged man, but behind the flash of static, the man’s face seemed to have an extra layer of a double image. The double image looked like a giant spider with a wedge-shaped head and insect-like mouthparts. Four teeth split horizontally, opening and closing like blades.

The two were separated only by the counter, the distance very close. The double image was right in front of Lynch. He could clearly see a row of red eyes on the insect head, yet within those eyes were human pupils and irises. Each pupil was staring fixedly at Lynch, without blinking.

Ten eyes met, and time seemed to freeze.