Correspondence Education

Only after leaving the house and stepping onto the street did Shade truly enter this world. Compared to the bustle of the city, he was as inconspicuous as a drop of water merging into the sea.

He spoke little, merely heading toward his destination, the Nightingale Club. As he walked, he listened, learning about this world, this city, and everything around him.

Simply put, this world resembled the Steam Revolution of the nineteenth century in his old world. But compared to that world, Steam Industry here was far more prosperous, as though it had chosen the path of steam and would never turn aside.

While harmful black smoke poured from factory chimneys, all manner of strange inventions were created, and the economy soared with the growth of productivity.

Just as Shade had guessed, the city where he now stood was Tobesk City, capital of the Northern Kingdom of Dellaireon Kingdom. It was the jewel of the continent's north, the gathering place of human Civilization, the essence born of the age.

A great city naturally had to look like a great city. Though constrained by the limitations of the era, leaving the main streets for the alleys inevitably meant encountering piles of filth and garbage, the city's grandeur had still entered Shade's eyes during that brief hour-long journey.

Fortunately, the Nightingale Club was not far from the city center. If he had needed to cross the entire city, Shade likely would not have arrived even by midnight. The key issue was that he had no money for a carriage.

Along the way, he also gained more information about this world from the perspective of an observer. Most importantly, he learned the currency system. At least in this country, the common currencies were Gold Pound, shillings, and pence: 1 pound = 20 shillings, 1 shilling = 12 pence.

Of course, these names resembled the currency of the United Kingdom. It was not merely a coincidence; Shade had translated the names of three different currencies from the language of this other world into familiar terms, since their conversion system was so similar.

The unfortunate truth was that the banknote Shade had found with the number "10" on it was worth 10 pence. At current prices, that was not even enough to take a carriage from his doorstep to the club entrance.

But if he scrimped and saved, then went to a bakery about to close in the evening and competed with children and housewives from the slums for the cheapest bread crumbs, those 10 pence could at least keep him from starving for three days.

"At least it's a time of peace. Dellaireon Kingdom, one of humanity's largest kingdoms, has some local friction with the powerful Kassenric United Kingdom in the south, but comparatively speaking, this is an age of peace and development, an age of progress. My luck isn't too bad."

Shade was good at comforting himself.

This world was temporarily at peace. Dellaireon Kingdom in the north of the Old Continent and the Kassenric United Kingdom occupying the south had nearly divided the world between them. The full-scale war had ended decades ago. Though undercurrents still stirred, there was peace on the surface, at least.

Club culture seemed to be a distinctive culture of this era. Shade had learned from the investigation report that the mistress under investigation, Lassoya, visited the Nightingale Club every weekend and stayed there for at least three hours.

Hamilton Detective's report guessed that this was where Lassoya met Mr. Lawrence in secret, because whenever Lassoya appeared at the club, Mr. Lawrence inevitably entered as well.

This was a private members' club, and Shade had no permission to enter. Therefore, after turning from the street corner onto Valente Pedestrian Street, he stopped outside the newspaper office opposite the club and observed, as described in the investigation report.

It was the office of the Töbesk City Evening News, said to have royal investment as well. Saturday was the newspaper's busiest day, because it was customarily the time for the King's speech and the Council's reports.

A crowd gathered outside the newspaper office at such times, waiting for new information to arrive. The professional reporters had long since set out, while those remaining at the entrance were all people hoping to get lucky.

Shade's plan was to blend in with them. Though it was already noon, Lassoya usually did not appear at the club in the morning. So if luck favored him, he would soon spot the target.

As Long As he recorded That Lady's arrival and departure times, the report would be complete.

Completing the task so easily gave Shade an unreal feeling. But Hamilton had already completed almost everything, so this was in fact another part of the dead man's "inheritance."

Shade held one of Mr. Hamilton's inherited items, a pocket watch. Thus, after standing beside the mailbox outside the newspaper office for quite some time, pretending to wait for someone while casually surveying the surroundings, he finally saw the target. He immediately compared her repeatedly with the black-and-white photograph tucked into the report. After confirming her identity, he recorded the time: 1:23. This was when Lassoya arrived.

That Lady was fashionably dressed. The lace trimming on her skirt and the jeweled ornament in her hair were obviously expensive. She had arrived directly at the club entrance by carriage, and despite the gloomy weather, she still held a cloth parasol.

She appeared to be around thirty years old, of average height but a voluptuous build. Although she had applied her face powder a little too thickly, it was clear that she was a Beauty.

Worried about being noticed, Shade knew he had no experience with tailing people. Once he confirmed she was the target, he immediately shifted his gaze away.

Observe her ring.

"What?"

The woman's whisper sounded in his mind again. Though Shade did not know exactly what she was, he still turned his gaze back to Lassoya.

The club's doorman was already saying hello. When the woman turned around, Shade clearly saw the ring. It was strange: set into it was neither a gemstone nor a diamond, but something resembling a small pebble.

Of course, he was observing from across the street, and pedestrians occasionally blocked his view, so he could not be certain that he had seen it correctly. Lassoya quickly entered the club as well, giving Shade no chance to observe it again.

"What does that mean? Why did you make me pay attention to that ring?"

He questioned the voice in his mind again, but the whisper did not respond simply because he had asked. That irritated Shade somewhat, but he knew he had to control his emotions. He was not someone who angered easily.

"Sir, what time is it?"

Lost in thought, Shade suddenly heard someone speaking beside him. He was startled, thinking that standing beside the mailbox and openly watching the club entrance across the street had made him too conspicuous. But after hearing the voice clearly, he realized someone was merely asking the time.

"Sorry, I forgot to bring my pocket watch."

The one explaining his abrupt question was a Middle-aged Man of around forty, who looked quite refined and easygoing. He wore a black silk hat, formal evening attire, and a white shirt. His face was somewhat broad, and he had a carefully groomed small mustache on his chin. His blue eyes were extremely likable.

The Middle-aged Man smiled at Shade. After hesitating for a moment, Shade took out the pocket watch he had just placed in the Right Side pocket of his coat.

"1:30."

As he spoke, he could not help wondering why the Middle-aged Man had appeared here. That outfit did not resemble someone waiting for news at all; Shade, with his notebook tucked under his arm, looked more like one.

As if he had heard Shade's thoughts, the Middle-aged Man said with a smile:

"Thank you for your time. I have an appointment with the newspaper's editor-in-chief. I didn't bring my pocket watch and thought I might be late, but it seems I arrived Just Fine."

As he spoke, he handed over his business card. Shade accepted it politely and offered his own card in return. In truth, it was the card of the deceased Mr. Hamilton. It bore the detective agency's address and scope of business, while the name simply read "Hamilton Detective," without a given name.

Since Shade had chosen Hamilton as his own surname, he could naturally use those business cards. He was delighted that there was no household registration system here. He did not even need to forge identity documents.

The Middle-aged Man was named Bill Schneider and ran a private psychological clinic. Unlike Shade's as-yet unstable profession, Schneider Psychological Clinic was quite legitimate. Its income was clearly greater than that of a Detective like Shade, who was conducting his first investigation with inherited funds. The proof was that Shade's business card looked somewhat shabby compared to the Doctor's; the other man's card was far superior in both paper quality and printing.

"If you need anything, you can find me here."

Mr. Schneider said this quite kindly, pointing to the clinic address on his card. It was located in Tobesk City's East District.

"My treatment covers a wide range."

He Looked Towards Shade. For no apparent reason, Shade felt a chilling illusion that those blue eyes were about to see through him.

"Including schizophrenia."

The psychological Doctor said it very amiably. He was very skilled at communicating with strangers.

"What?"

Shade's Heart lurched, but before he could ask anything, Bill Schneider quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, Detective, have you ever considered receiving adult education? Correspondence Education."

"Correspondence adult education?"

The subject changed so quickly that Shade could not follow the train of thought.

"I have no plans to study psychology for the time being."

He mistook the man for an enthusiastic graduate of some psychology college.

And after Shade refused him, the Doctor did not press the matter.

"Then very well. Goodbye."

The Doctor nodded to the Detective, slipped the Detective's business card into his pocket, and only then turned toward the newspaper office courtyard.

"Correspondence Education... Come to think of it, what did Doctor Schneider mean by specifically mentioning schizophrenia?"

Shade stood where he was and thought silently. Then he realized that hearing a voice in his mind did seem rather like so-called "schizophrenia."

"You don't have to laugh in my head. I admit your laugh is pleasant and charming, but you definitely aren't a product of my schizophrenia."

Shade spoke to the voice in his head.

Though he was certain that his condition came from contact with the mysterious and was absolutely not schizophrenia, what he could not determine was whether this psychological Doctor he had encountered by chance had noticed something.

"I only just left Home, and I've already run into someone who may be involved with supernatural power. Is my luck that bad? Or is the density of Supernatural Being in this world greater than I imagined? Or did this psychological Doctor merely mention it casually, and I'm overthinking it?"

As Shade pondered, he carefully put away Doctor Schneider's card. No matter what, the current commission was most important. Now that he knew the psychological Doctor's address, he could visit whenever he wanted.

At least from their brief exchange Just Now, Doctor Schneider did not seem hostile. But a brief conversation could not reveal someone's true thoughts. Shade still wanted to understand this world a little better before engaging in deeper conversations with others.

PS: Please add the new book to your collection. The author has an older work with five million words on another site, so quality is guaranteed. It will not be abandoned or end badly.