The Lady Behind the Door

"Shade Hamilton. I suppose I'm a detective at present. Good evening, Lady. My respects to you."

Shade chose his words carefully, trying to sound as proper as possible. Before learning the other party's purpose, cooperating in conversation was the right thing to do. Besides, he truly felt sorry about what had happened just now, even if it was not entirely his fault.

"I'll say it again: don't laugh. I know that was careless of me. I'll learn my lesson."

He said in his heart.

"Still, I knew it. Being able to understand every language is definitely not a good thing in a world like this. I have to remember this lesson."

As Shade thought to himself, the woman quickly composed herself and continued in a gentler tone:

"Detective, I called you here so abruptly, but it is nothing important. The Darkness Box was merely an accident. What I wish to learn from you is where that statue is."

"Pardon me, what did you say? A statue?"

Shade, still trying to impress the earlier incident firmly upon himself, was startled inwardly. Yet the words he spoke carried only confusion. He genuinely felt that he possessed an exceptional talent for acting.

"The statue of blood. Or rather, the statue of the Old God, Vampire Duke Lawell. May I ask where it is?"

The woman's voice had completely regained its composure, as though she were discussing tonight's weather with Shade. Yet the pressure brought by her now-cold tone was no weaker than before:

"First Ring Arcanist, there is no need to lie. The spells you used on the first and second floors just now carried far too strong a scent of blood.

"But you are very clean, so I assume you are neither a Believer of that Old God nor a member of the Blood of Mercury organization that possesses the statue.

"Since you are a First Ring Arcanist... an orthodox God Church? No, you do not resemble a Believer of the gods. Yet your method of becoming an Arcanist seems quite formal. Arcane Academy? Given that earlier carelessness, I suspect you are a correspondence Ring Arcanist newly enrolled at some unknown academy. That is even better. Correspondence Ring Arcanists have no loyalty to their academies."

She seemed to know a great deal about correspondence Ring Arcanists, but she did not give Shade a chance to speak before softly saying:

"In truth, none of that matters. I do not care about your identity, nor do I intend to investigate whether you have any secrets. Now, Detective, please tell me: where is the Old God's statue?"

Shade looked towards the half-closed door in surprise, but understood that this was precisely when he needed to remain calm:

"Lady, I am not entirely sure what you mean. You know I am only First Ring."

Tobesk was foggy today as well. When he had encountered that statue in the alley, it had been absolutely impossible for anyone to see him. He never imagined that someone could smell the bloodiness left on him after he touched the statue. After all, even Blood Echo could not see any trace on him.

This should have been nothing more than an exceedingly simple commission. In theory, only at close range could one sense the fluctuations of spirit and the gathering of elements when a spell was cast. Doctor's notebook had never mentioned anyone who could accurately smell traces of a specific spell through two floors of ceiling.

Shade knew he had truly encountered someone extraordinary, but at least she was not one of Blood of Mercury.

"Could she be a Believer of a deity hostile to that Blood Old God?"

For the moment, that was the only speculation he could make.

"I possess a special Spirit Rune and am highly sensitive to the power of Old Gods, so there is no need to panic. Detective, do I need to emphasize my question again?"

The room seemed to grow colder. Shade shook his head. He knew that the person beyond the door could see him as well, so he said:

"No, there is no need. I did indeed come into contact with the statue of the Old God, Vampire Duke Lawell, today."

"Very good. Even if you are unwilling to reveal its location, I believe I can investigate your movements today. But we can save some time, can we not?"

The woman behind the door asked, her voice carrying a trace of pleasure. She awaited the detective's answer, confident that he would not disappoint her.

Shade frowned and pondered for a moment:

"Then, Lady, may I take this as... a commission from you to locate the statue containing the remnants of the Old God?"

This was not because he was immersed in roleplaying as a detective. He was testing whether she intended to take it for free or make a trade. Though he felt sorry for accidentally causing the relic to lose control just now, that did not mean he was willing to hand over something so valuable for nothing.

And the situation was somewhat better than Shade had expected:

"Of course it can be a commission. I have always advocated fair trade. Besides, you and I bear no enmity toward one another. Excluding what happened just now. If possible, conducting this as a transaction is completely No Problem. So, Detective, how much do you require as your commission fee? Name a number. And after this transaction, we shall treat the relic's loss of control as though it never happened. I will not hold it against you."

The possibility of becoming rich overnight stood right before him. The woman inside the door did not seem to be joking. A noblewoman and a High-Ring Arcanist—those two labels together were enough for Shade to imagine just how wealthy she was.

Shade resisted the temptation of money and stopped imagining himself in a study with the Gas Lamp turned off, counting stacks of coins by the light of the desk lamp.

He had something more important to do:

"That statue is in the alley diagonally across from the Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company. On the Right Side of the entrance is an Old Bookstore. Go to the end of the alley, and the statue is located in the blind corner between the pipes and the wall. But it requires an incantation. You must recite a six-syllable incantation to make the statue Appear. This is my show of sincerity. I do not want money."

Naturally, not wanting money was a lie, but it could also be considered the truth. As for immediately revealing such important information, that was a tactic. Shade believed she could find the place simply by investigating his trail, so telling her in advance could earn him some goodwill:

"I wish to exchange the statue's location and the incantation that makes it Appear for power I can use. It need not be an equal exchange. As Long As I can use it, that will do."

The statue was certainly impossible to keep. Besides, Shade had never intended to hold such a dangerous item himself, and he did not even have the means to take it away. In that case, making an appropriate concession in exchange for greater benefit was the best course.

The Lady behind the door was right. Trading the statue to the Academy was no different from trading it to her. Shade still remembered what Doctor and Miss Writer had repeatedly emphasized: they were merely correspondence students and had no particular relationship with the Academy.

Therefore, he would not consider trading that statue to someone else a betrayal of the Academy. Besides, Shade also wanted to make up, if only slightly, for the relic's loss of control. When dealing with a powerful person who was willing to reason, taking a small loss the first time would benefit him in the future.