Waltz

In the evening sunlight, Xio Derecha stood in an alley near the Tussock River in Backlund Bridge Borough, a cloak draped over her shoulders. Every so often, she looked toward the alley entrance.

Her recent assignments had kept her so busy that her head was spinning. She almost wanted to take a break and hide away in her warm home for a good rest.

But even Fors had recently begun making serious preparations to publish her novel. How could Xio, who spent all day telling Fors not to slack off, justify taking a break herself? She felt a little ashamed of the thought.

Besides, she had only recently obtained an Interrogator Beyonder Characteristic from Fors. All she needed was the potion formula and auxiliary materials to advance to Sequence 7, and that made her more eager than ever to earn merit.

Tap, tap.

Heavy footsteps came from the alley entrance. Xio looked up and saw a tall man in a black trench coat and golden mask walking slowly toward her.

"Routine report."

Before he could speak, Xio pulled a document pouch from beneath her cloak and handed it over.

The man in the golden mask took it, opened it with practiced ease, and quickly leafed through the documents inside. Then he nodded.

"You can wrap up the investigation in East Borough. The Church believes Mr. A and the Nightingale of Despair have fled Backlund. Stop distributing their wanted notices, too, unless you want the Aurora Order coming after you."

"Are you worried about me?"

Xio met the gaze of the MI9 contact, who stood a good deal taller than she did, without losing an ounce of her nerve.

"I'm worried that the body of a certain hardworking peripheral member might turn up in the Tussock River one day, or even