A Regular Customer

Over the next few days, Ivy threw herself into the case of the Containment Bureau's former investigators being murdered one after another. She stayed cooped up in her apartment all day and never went out. Ethan, meanwhile, kept to his usual routine, going around with Captain Haig during the day to put up notices and urge the hunters at the guild not to leave town for the time being. At night, he explored Fireplace Bay.

Fireplace Bay's layout was more or less what he had imagined. The merchant ships docked at the pier all housed legitimate businesses, mainly there to facilitate trade between civilizations from different regions. The goods connected to the occult were all pretty low-grade, too.

"If you want to buy anything with a bit more kick, you'll have to find a way to check out the town."

The young man holding a beer and chatting away was a bartender whose stage name was Shepherd. He was as thin as a monkey, and he had come to Fireplace Bay to work so he could help support his family. His father had been a worker for Imperial Military Industry, but had died in an explosion a few years ago. The compensation still hadn't come through, and his mother had remarried and left. Now he had to support his three younger siblings all by himself.

So when Ethan offered Shepherd a cut of three Gold Lions from every deal, they became best friends almost at once.

With an incentive, Shepherd put even more effort into his work. He not only helped drum up business, but also made little cards by hand, with Heisenberg's name and the Magic Scroll Shop's information printed on them.

As he put it, his younger siblings couldn't go to school anyway, and they had nothing to do at home, so he might as well have them make some cards.

Ethan was grateful to Shepherd, but when he saw the pretty, sexy woman on the cards, he couldn't help falling into thought.

If not for the words "Old Sen Magic Scroll Shop" printed on them, he would have thought he'd set up some disreputable business.

Shepherd thumped his chest and assured him that the cards were popular in their city. Almost every resident had one. Since they couldn't afford to print their own, they went to the alley behind the Pink Lady Club to pick them up. Then they painted over the original information and wrote in details about the Magic Scroll Shop.

The night he got his cut, Shepherd took his younger siblings to a restaurant in town for fried beef. Now they were all working with plenty of enthusiasm, too.

Ethan saw how far Shepherd had gone to explain himself, so he didn't bring up any objections.

That night, he bought Shepherd a beer and a slice of smoked-meat bread, then asked him about the town.

He might be able to find the textbooks on Teleportation Magic he needed there.

"How can I qualify to enter the town?"

"An Imperial Union Bank savings card at Black Gold level or above. That means you've got at least five thousand Gold Lions in savings."

It was just what he had expected. Five thousand Gold Lions was an unimaginable sum to the Empire's common folk, but for the nobles, it was only the price of admission to a party. Ethan had heard that the town's nobles might spend that much in a single night.

They were so wealthy that even sacks couldn't hold all their money. The Lofik Consortium had set up a special card-payment service for them.

"What else?"

"I heard through the grapevine that if you're an occult master certified by the various associations, you should be able to get an invitation from the consortium."

A high-level supernatural's status could open doors anywhere, but the title of "master" usually required a certified license of Third-tier or higher. No one would take a "Black Household" like him seriously.

Shepherd caught Ethan's look and said regretfully, "That leaves the third option: get someone you know to introduce you. You offer high-end custom work, right? If you meet a few important clients, you might be able to get a letter of recommendation from one of them."

Ethan's eyes lit up. That was the option most likely to work in the short term.

But it still wasn't good enough.

Ethan had never believed in getting something for nothing. Rather than wait around by the Black Sea, he decided to seek out an opportunity himself. "Give me a few cards. If this works out, I'll give you five Gold Lions as your cut."

"Five Gold Lions?! It's a deal! Don't go back on your word!"

Shepherd was startled by the amount. Of all the customers he had met, Ethan was by far the most generous. He hurriedly pulled a thick stack of advertising cards from his jacket pocket and handed Ethan a third of them.

His heart thumped wildly. With those five Gold Lions, he could get someone to fix the roof that leaked rain and snow, and buy some thick clothes and blankets. Winter was almost here, after all.

"Do I look like the kind of person who'd go back on my word? We're partners now."

"Partners? What's that?"

"It means we make money together."

Ethan thumped his chest and promised, "Once I start making real money, I'll make sure you get your share."

With that, he took the cards and headed straight for the town entrance. He didn't approach it, but waited by the path instead. It was the only road into town, and everyone who came out was someone of high standing in their country. He needed to wait for the right moment and find someone who looked like they needed help.

He waited for most of the night.

When he saw a little girl in a white lace dress and high heels storm out of town in a rage, Ethan knew his chance had come.

The girl was only a little over ten, and she clearly needed some magical help.

As she ran, she cursed under her breath. "What kind of magic expert can't even handle such a little thing? Bunch of crooks and liars!"

A butler in a black tailcoat hurried after her, his face wreathed in an awkward smile.

The girl ran out of steam and stamped her feet in fury.

Holding an advertising card, Ethan seized his chance and stepped in front of her. With a smile, he delivered the line he'd been rehearsing. "Miss, have you run into some trouble?"

The old butler immediately moved between the girl and Ethan, wary. His eyes even darted toward the guards on duty in town.

"I overheard you mention a magic expert. I happen to know a little Elemental Shaping Magic, and I offer custom services. Here's my card."

The old butler snatched the card before Ethan could hand it to the girl. He only had to glance at it before making up his mind.

"Guards! We've got a pimp here!"

The guards' stern looks, as if Ethan had been trying to abduct an underage girl, destroyed the carefully staged encounter.

"Hey! Don't shout. Look at it properly before you say anything. I run a Magic Scroll Shop. I make magic scrolls!"

"Magic scrolls?"

The old butler gave a cold laugh and raised an eyebrow. Turning to the girl, he said, "Miss, this is the fraudster I told you about. They use honeyed words to lower your guard, then trick you into going to some filthy, sordid place!"

The guards clearly agreed. One look at the sexy woman on the card told them all they needed to know.

They surrounded Ethan.

"This is blatant slander! We don't even know each other. How can you assume what I do for a living?"

Ethan loudly defended himself.

"Slander?"

The old butler looked at him with disdain. "One look at the card tells me everything. Are you still going to deny it?"

He didn't even need to read the long explanation on the back. He understood perfectly.

Ethan demanded, "What exactly do you think you've figured out?"

"What else could it be?" The old butler narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the card, then suddenly raised his voice. "I'm a regular customer at this shop!"

His bold declaration left the scene in silence. Even Ethan stared at him in disbelief, forgetting to reply for a moment.

The guards were the first to react.

Before the old butler could deliver another speech, they grabbed him by the shoulders.

"—Take the old man away, too."

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