"You're looking at me strangely."
The girl with beautiful brown hair said this, then rose to her feet.
"It's already very late, so I'll be leaving first. Detective, our cooperation will continue. If anything comes up, I'll write directly to you."
"Miss Bayes, where are you staying? Sun Church?"
"Of course not. Otherwise, wouldn't that be directly telling everyone that Blackstone Security Company is a Church stronghold?"
She gave him her address—an apartment she rented, much like Miss Louisa's.
"I'll continue investigating the whereabouts of the Silver-Eyed One. Goodbye, Detective Hamilton."
Shade saw Miss Bayes downstairs. Watching her leave Saint Derain Square, he suddenly realized that his current relationship with Miss Bayes was extremely similar to the "friendship" Miss Annette sought.
"If Miss Annette's side doesn't go smoothly, perhaps the progress on my side can let Miss Bayes learn about the Chosen One and make her willing to cooperate with us."
He shut the door, picked up Mia, and started upstairs. He learned the time within his heart: it was eleven o'clock late Sunday night. Although he had been invited to play cards again this Sunday, no accident had happened this time.
A woman's soft laugh sounded beside his ear.
"All right, no major accident happened. Last week, I ran into an evil god. This week, it was only Ring Arcanists and a Keeper of Secrets Level relic. Compared to that, could this even count as an accident?"
He asked the woman in his heart, but she did not answer.
In a cheerful mood, Shade carried the cat upstairs. It was time to rest.
And so, Shade safely arrived in Thunder Month—the second week of July, 1853, in the Sixth Epoch Common Calendar. When he woke on Monday morning, he was still reviewing the gains and losses of the previous