Shade held the relic in one hand and reached his right hand toward Miss Bayes. She stared at him, then looked at the finger bone.
In the shadows of the alley, the expression on her face shifted subtly. After quite a while, she grabbed Shade's hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Detective, you need to explain yourself."
Her voice no longer held the casual ease it had when discussing payment with Shade a few minutes ago.
"Of course. I'm sorry—could you relax a little?"
Her grip was very strong.
"Hold on for a few seconds."
As she spoke, the Destiny Ring behind Miss Bayes unexpectedly appeared. Shade thought there would be another fight, but none of the Spirit Runes activated. Instead, the Destiny Ring itself began to shine.
The light fell upon Shade, and a golden phantom of a pair of Scales appeared beside him and Miss Bayes.
"Detective, you need to earn back my trust."
"Hmm?"
Looking at the phantom Scales, Shade immediately recalled Miss Annette saying that the Chosen One's ultimate manifestation was turning their Destiny Ring into a weapon. It seemed that although Miss Bayes had not yet succeeded, the power she had mastered was steadily growing.
"Detective, if you want me to continue trusting you, relax your thoughts and do not resist."
"What?"
Shade did not understand.
"Good, evil?"
The Sorceress gripping Shade's hand asked. The light of the Scales flickered before his eyes, its brilliant glow illuminating part of the alley. Then, almost instantly, the Scales tipped overwhelmingly to the left.
The wariness on Miss Bayes's face changed.
"Oh? Detective, I couldn't tell—you are this kind-hearted? No, where did such an extraordinarily good person come from?"
She looked at Shade in confusion. He had some guesses about this; perhaps because he had only been here for