Although the message book had suggested that Wine Cup investigate the dormitories while the employees were at work, Wine Cup had no intention of following its advice.
She remained on the fourth floor, her fingertips gliding over the thick stack of employee lists on the oak table. From time to time, she pulled out a page and asked the message book about that employee.
For example, right now—
"What kind of person do you think No. 11 is? Do you suspect her?"
The message book flipped through two pages with a rustle, but it did not object to her choice.
In its view, getting a clear grasp of every employee's background was part and parcel of the investigation. Besides, Wine Cup asking it for information showed that she knew how to borrow momentum and understood who knew the employees of the Shaping Workshop best.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle, let me think... No. 11 was originally an Icewind Banshee. There's no need to give her much thought—she has completely fallen into Candle Smoke. An employee like that could never be the source of the unease."
Wine Cup fell silent for a moment.
During her earlier inquiries, she had already learned from the message book about Candle Smoke—a kind of spiritual hallucinatory mist that could make people addicted.
"Is it really good to make employees addicted and lost in Candle Smoke? And can addicts truly meet their weekly quotas?"
"Looks like my deputy has a sense of justice? Very good. I like righteous young ladies."
"I once scoffed at the Candle Smoke system as well. But later, I discovered that only Candle Smoke could make employees settle down and finish their weekly quotas."
"Without Candle Smoke, they would be unable to settle down. They would fear the endless overtime, and some would even