“Whether I can fight or perceive mystery remains to be seen, but as for helping you find the statue, I'm starting to feel a bit confident.” Repeating the exact words Officer Natalie had spoken over an hour ago, Lynch smiled. “Remember our bet, Officer? If I help you find the statue, what was it you were going to do?”
“You only win if you successfully survive. Don't go altering the terms of the wager without permission.” Officer Angel rested her hand on her sword, keeping a straight face. After a brief silence, she couldn't resist asking, “Do you really know where the statue is? That's impossible.”
“At least I have a direction.” Lynch was immensely grateful that his past obsession had been crime dramas rather than palace intrigue dramas. “I figured out a detail.”
“What detail?”
“My coin pouch is empty.”
Lynch fished out his shriveled coin pouch and poured out the three shillings and six pennies inside.
“There should have been over six pounds in here, and I have no memory of spending it. That should mean it's related to the incident with the statue.”
“Right.”
Lynch spoke with increasing speed:
“Then that settles it. The most likely explanation is that I bought that statue this afternoon with this huge sum of money.”
“But I was finding something on behalf of a client. Why would I spend my own money to buy the statue?”
“If it were something cheap, fronting the money would be one thing, but this was staking my entire net worth. What's more, afterward I spent quite a bit on dining and tipping. Why would I act so recklessly?”
Natalie hesitated before saying, “It means you trusted the client to pay you a huge sum—that you were about to come into money?”
“Exactly! But why would I believe such a thing? If any random person tells me I'm going to strike it rich, would I just believe them? He didn't even provide an advance payment, yet I spent all my savings. Wouldn't I worry that he might suddenly change his mind, or that he was conning me and couldn't actually produce that much money?”
Officer Natalie tilted her head. Lynch could almost see literal question marks manifesting above her head. “Right, why?”
Lynch raised a finger and said rapidly:
“So this kind of ‘trust’ had to satisfy several conditions.”
“First, he has to be very wealthy, someone capable of paying a huge sum that could easily amount to hundreds of pounds. For example, if Emperor Rudolph II of Lande asked me to do this, I'd gladly sink all my savings into it without a second thought.”
“Second, I had to know the first point, meaning I know him.”
“Third, I must have had past dealings with him, knowing he isn't the type to welsh on a deal after the fact.”
Officer Angel stared at Lynch's face, her gaze slightly dazed, completely engrossed. “Wait, wait, let me think... So you're saying it's a wealthy existing client?”
“Exactly. And most importantly, the fourth point.” Lynch raised a fourth finger. “He is someone who could plausibly pull off such a despicable stunt.”
“Having me front the purchase price and only settling the account after the delivery—no normal person would do something so shameless, especially prominent figures of high standing. But if this person did it, I wouldn't suspect a thing. In fact, I'd find it completely in character.”
Officer Angel's expression turned somewhat subtle, but she nodded nonetheless.
“Back at the Mole Club, when I figured out why my savings had vanished, I already had this suspicion and found a likely suspect among my past client records. But it was pure conjecture, completely meaningless.” Lynch narrowed his eyes with a slight smile. “Now, however, things are different. Following the trail here, I found this.”
Saying so, he picked up the notebook from the floor.
‘Special goods, L’
“That's you, isn't it? What about it?”
“His entries have no dates, but this record is sandwiched between earlier entries—it's clearly not from today. That means this is actually an inventory acquisition record, and the person who supplied him with the goods was someone whose name starts with L. Now take a look at this.”
Lynch turned the card over and handed it to Officer Angel.
“This is... a protection talisman, a scroll commonly used by us Soul Severers. Is there something wrong with it? Ah, I see. Does that mean the other party is also a Soul Severer?”
“No, the back.” Lynch turned the card over. There seemed to be a watermark on the reverse side, but it happened to sit right where it had burned through. Most of it was gone, leaving only a tiny blue corner imprint along the charred edge.
“Hmm? It's far too faint to make out.” Officer Angel leaned closer to the lamp, only then barely catching the trace of the mark. “I can't tell what this is.”
“Doesn't it look like the corner of the letter L?”
“Hmm, a bit, but I can't imagine what it originally looked like. There's too little left.”
“I can, because I just saw it an hour ago—on a top hat.”
Lynch's smile carried a touch of grim ferocity. Narrowing his eyes, he said:
“At Lattis Kitchen, I ‘ran into’ Mr. Randall of Effen Lane—a greedy, penny-pinching, yet reasonably trustworthy small factory owner who always likes to skim a bit of extra advantage in commissions. Embroidered on both his hat and coat is a blue emblem of the letter L, likely his family crest. The corner is virtually identical to this.”
“A protection talisman he provided ended up here...” Matching this with Granville's final words, Officer Angel's face darkened. “Which means he's very likely the mastermind pulling the strings. He gave the item to Granville first, then hired you to track it down?”
“Yes. But unfortunately, I can't provide any more conclusive evidence.”
Lynch sighed, knowing full well he was merely an armchair gamer detective; his skills were far from professional.
“You have a misconception, Mr. Levive,” Officer Angel sneered. “We only carry the title of the Hall of Order; that doesn't mean we're actual police. The police uphold the law and require evidence, but what we uphold is merely order.”
“So evidence doesn't matter?”
“Not strictly, because in the world of mystery, evidence often doesn't exist at all,” Officer Angel replied solemnly. “The current information is more than enough to justify an investigation by us Watchers. Even when dealing with powerful nobles, we have the right to find a way to infiltrate, let alone a common factory owner. But right now, I have a question I need to confirm with you, Mr. Levive.”
“Yes?”
“I am now preparing to investigate the Randall residence. Since you brought the accusation against him, I hope that you will participate in this investigation with me—as an ordinary citizen—to search for the evil god's statue together. Are you willing to accept?”
Lynch froze, staring at Officer Angel in astonishment. Her expression was as stern and resolute as ever, yet a faint glimmer of apology lingered in her eyes before she casually turned her gaze aside.
Astonishment turned into amusement. Lynch quickly realized that this was Officer Angel's unique way of apologizing. Even though the pressure on his heart remained suffocatingly heavy, Lynch smiled, removed his top hat, pressed it against his chest, and bowed like a true gentleman of Lande:
“Even if I must die, I will die fighting for survival. It is my honor to fight alongside you, Officer Angel.”
“Remember, this isn't an apology. I'm merely concerned that any further reckless actions from you might interfere with my investigation.” This time, she turned not just her gaze but her whole neck aside, letting out a cold huff. “You—”
Dong. Before she could finish, the bell tolled.
9:00 p.m. Three hours left on the countdown.
The smile on Lynch's face faded. He rolled up his sleeve and checked his arm.
It had crept up another few centimeters; a third of his upper arm had already been corroded.
His heart, which had relaxed slightly upon finding the target, was crushed down once more by the toll of the bell.
Officer Angel bit her lip and let out a sigh, saying in a heavy voice, “Let's depart. Perhaps... there's still a chance to find a solution.”
Lynch nodded. Just as he was about to follow behind the officer, a gentle voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
【The mysterious filth still clings to you. Are you certain you wish to depart like this, Awakened?】
Hm? Is this guidance? Does it mean I overlooked something?
Overlooked what? Could the statue actually be right here?
Yet the voice in his mind fell silent, offering no further response.
So it really is guidance—the specifics are left for me to find, eh.
“Wait, Officer Angel.”
“What is it?”
“It suddenly struck me—since Granville was also involved, could that statue have been teleported here?”
“You thought of that? It's possible, but we don't know where it is. For such a low-tier mystery, a Soul Severer with normal inspiration would need direct contact to detect anything abnormal. Unless we conduct a room-by-room search of the entire building, we won't find it. But it doesn't matter—after we leave, the police will cordon off the crime scene and search the whole building thoroughly. I've already given them the photograph; they know what to look for.”
“So perceiving mystery really is that important.” Lynch began to appreciate the value of the Witness.
“Of course it's important. That's why I told you when we first met what someone with acute inspiration means to a hunter,” Officer Natalie explained. “They can detect surrounding mystery much faster, whether harmful or useful, helping us avoid danger as much as possible and sparing us trouble. In a situation like this, they would faintly sense the presence of mystery, whereas we remain completely in the dark.”
“Right, completely in the dark.” Lynch nodded. “What does this ‘sensing’ actually refer to?”
“It's hard to describe. Roughly speaking, it's a sense of oppression and fear, like being confronted by something dangerous.”
“Hm?”
Lynch found that description somewhat familiar. Thinking back carefully, the first time he had looked at the statue's photograph after transmigrating, it felt just like the stifling dread before a natural catastrophe.
When he had looked straight at Officer Natalie's sword, he had felt that same sense of danger, though at the time he had chalked it up to the menace of the weapon itself. Could this feeling be inspiration?
【This is acute inspiration, guiding you to witness mystery.】
Did you bring this about?
【Yes. My presence has enhanced your inspiration, granting you the ability to accurately perceive mystery.】
If you can enhance my inspiration, what exactly are you?
The gentle female voice offered no reply.
Whatever. Either way, thanks, Witness. I'm beginning to realize how vital this ability is.
Yet this time, the gentle female voice paused in silence. Just as Lynch thought she wouldn't answer, the voice chimed in again:
【This is no mere gift, Awakened. Everything comes at a price.】
Lynch immediately thought of what the officer had said when they first met: the more you know, the closer you edge toward madness.
But no matter what, this is my very first reliance to see me through the journey of awakening in this dangerous world, right, Witness?
【Yes. I wish you a pleasant journey.】
“What is it?” Officer Natalie asked, looking at the dazed Lynch with puzzlement. “Do you want to try too?”
“Of course not. I was just asking idly.”
Thinking it over, he still chose not to reveal his full hand. While casually brushing it off, he recalled what he had felt since stepping into the antique shop. Back then, everything had felt dangerous, but what had evoked the greatest fear and sense of peril was actually Granville's remains. Even looking at them now left a lingering shudder in his chest.
“Officer Angel, could this corpse also be connected to mystery?”
“Hm? The corpse itself isn't, but because he died from the power of mystery, it carries a strong residue of mystery—and quite potent at that, enough for even me to feel clearly.” The officer looked at him quizzically. “You felt terrified too? Your perception couldn't actually be that acute, could it?”
“Didn't you already confirm it? I'm just an ordinary person; there's no way I can perceive mystery.”
Lynch offered a slight smile, having already formed a guess in his heart. Flipping open Granville's notebook, he said:
“Look, he wrote that he had mystery relics too, that he wasn't afraid of Randall. I was just wondering: at a time like this, where would he keep something he believed could save his life?”
“On him, of course. Kept as close to his person as possible.”
The officer blurted out the answer, only realizing what she had said a moment later.
Both of their gazes turned simultaneously toward the heap of ‘sand’ on the floor.
Approaching the corpse cautiously, Lynch used his cane to lift the clothing wrapped around the ‘sand’.
A ring box rolled out.
Enduring the disgust churning in his stomach, Lynch picked it up from the ‘sand’ and looked at Natalie with an inquiring gaze.
“It's fine. The outer casing is an ordinary container; it can be opened. But let me do it.”
Officer Angel took the box and opened it carefully.
Inside lay a red ring.
Just as an inexplicable panic welled up in Lynch's heart, a bizarre vision materialized before his eyes out of thin air.
A colossal meteorite blazing with raging flames hovered in midair. Below it knelt a humanoid figure engulfed in fire, opening its arms wide toward the fireball.
【Mystery relic: The Passion of the Blazing Lady.】
【May my scalding passion not scorch your wretched soul.】
Rate on N.U.
