Spirit Summoning

Luther raised the lantern above his head and inspected the office by its light.

—The security guards were all asleep, so it did not matter even if the lantern's light reflected off the window glass, as long as it was not too obvious.

Perhaps because Mr. Pound was the manager, the office was more lavishly furnished and larger than the others. Near the back of the room stood a white oak desk and matching chair. The wood had a warm sheen and looked glossy beneath the lantern's light.

"Hm?"

Leonard could not help sounding surprised. "They gave their manager furniture this good? This company is richer than I imagined."

"Did we ask for too little? Ten pounds?"

Luther smiled and looked around.

A locked iron filing cabinet stood against the wall. Beyond it were a sofa and coffee table. The sofa's leather looked high-end, while the coffee table was made of black walnut, which was even more expensive than white oak. A coffee pot and cups sat on top.

The bookcase and the coat rack behind the door also seemed to be of rather high quality.

Leonard leaned close to the desk, sniffed lightly, and frowned. "The smell of paint is still strong. It was bought recently."

"So?"

Luther found Leonard somewhat strange. Were they not here to investigate an affair? Why was he looking at the desk?

Leonard looked up at him. "Business at the docks has been poor for the past three months. The dockworkers barely get work from one day to the next. How can this shipping company possibly be making enough money to replace the manager's furniture with something this expensive?"

Luther froze at the question.

"...But they did buy it. Who knows why?"

At most, it was a little suspicious. Perhaps the company had some private source of income, but they had no way to verify it now.

After thinking it over, Leonard felt that buying a desk really did not prove anything. He smiled casually. "Forget it. Let's get to work."

He spread his right hand toward Luther, signaling for him to proceed.

Luther nodded, took out the candles, herbs, essential oil, and other items he had prepared beforehand, and lit a candle on the floor.

"Go get that hat from the coat rack."

He spoke to Leonard, who quickly did as told.

Luther took the hat, drew his silver dagger, and created a Wall of Spirituality, sealing off the entire office. He sat directly opposite the candle, which now represented himself.

Luther dripped a drop of Black Rot Essential Oil into the flame. It represented the domain of death. The oil sizzled as it burned and evaporated, immediately filling the air with an indescribable smell.

"It feels like we just walked into a hospital morgue."

Leonard commented with a frown.

Luther ignored him and continued sprinkling powdered Moon Spirit Flower into the flame. This flower bloomed only at night, and it was said that if one approached it after dark, one could hear illusory whispers.

The foul smell faded, replaced by another scent—quiet, ethereal, and mysterious. The air around the candle became strange, as though something invisible was stirring it and sending ripples through it.

Caught up in the atmosphere, Leonard stopped speaking.

Luther took a deep breath and shouted in Ancient Hermes, "I!"

The air near the candle trembled, as if responding to him.

Luther switched to Hermes and continued chanting:

"I summon in my name,"

"Spirits wandering amid illusion, Spirit World creatures whose true forms are reflected in this place, friendly beings willing to answer questions."

Whoosh!

The instant Luther finished, the candle flame turned a deep blue and swelled to the size of a human head. Within the flame, an illusory face emerged.

And then there was nothing else.

Just a face!

The face floated in midair, looking at Luther as though waiting for him to speak.

Luther had already witnessed many grand sights, so he was not at all surprised by such a strange being.

The ritual he had used this time was called the Spirit-Summoning Ritual. It summoned creatures of the Spirit World through his own spirituality to fulfill his purpose—the "Spirit World" in the incantation referred, in occult terms, to the Spirit World, a peculiar realm that did not exist in reality.

The benefit of this ritual was that it bypassed the restrictions of the gods and could draw upon the mysteries of the Spirit World to enhance one's abilities. The downside was its great uncertainty: Spirit World creatures were numerous and bizarre, and neither their danger nor reliability could be known.

That was why Luther had deliberately added restraints to the incantation. "Creatures reflected in this place" required the summoned being to know the circumstances here, while "friendly beings willing to answer questions" was meant to make the other party more cooperative.

Now that the Spirit World creature had been summoned, it was time to ask questions.

"Do you know the owner of this hat, Mr. Pound?"

Luther picked up the hat and asked.

The face floated there, seeming to convey an affirmative thought to Luther.

"Do you know who Mr. Pound is having an affair with... uh, can you understand what I mean?"

Luther asked awkwardly. To his surprise, the other party conveyed another affirmative response—it knew.

"Then can you draw her for me, or tell me her name?"

Luther pressed further.

This time, the illusory face did not answer. It bobbed up and down, seeming quite confused.

"Could it be that Mr. Pound has more than one affair partner?"

Leonard quietly interjected from the side.

Huh?

Luther was taken aback.

Then how was he supposed to ask?

After thinking for a moment, Luther stood up from the floor, took a company map from a company brochure on the bookshelf, unfolded it, and laid it on the floor.

"Is the place where Mr. Pound has his affairs inside the company?"

The other party gave an affirmative reply.

"Then can you show me where he has his affairs?"

Luther asked.

If they could determine the location, narrowing it down would be much easier.

After receiving its confirmation, Luther cut open his finger with the dagger and let his blood drip onto the map. The blood landed precisely on the manager's office where they were currently located.

Blood was a material rich in spirituality and could serve as a medium for the ritual.

The illusory Spirit World creature stared at the map. Some strange power began to push the blood across it. Leonard and Luther held their breath together, watching the path of the flowing blood. It represented Mr. Pound's usual route of activity.

The blood left the office, entered the hallway, and made one or two rounds through various offices without stopping. It continued downward until it left the office building.

"An outdoor tryst?"

Leonard's low voice carried suppressed amusement.

The blood crossed the courtyard, went around to the rear of the company, followed the Tussock River, and finally stopped at a bend in the river marked "Abandoned Dock," where it kept circling.

The blood Luther had dripped gradually gathered there. Under the lantern's light, that spot turned a purplish crimson.