Lilac Mansion was now shrouded in gloom and desolation.
The news of the Drunk Investigator's death had been confirmed. The female security guard felt weighed down, but had no idea what to do.
As a student of Lilac Mansion, even in death, the Drunk Investigator's corpse and lingering spirit could reveal many secrets. Under their contract with the Disaster Management Bureau, Lilac Mansion had the right to reclaim the body and dispose of it themselves.
But to everyone's surprise, the old man showed no interest in any of it. After confirming the Drunk Investigator's death, he had gone to the hall and sat hunched in silence before the copper statue.
That evening, she went out on her usual patrol. But with three-quarters of the rooms pitch-black, Lilac Mansion seemed strangely lifeless.
She knew perfectly well that Lilac Mansion would never again be as lively as it had been when her senior fellow student was alive.
The recent events had left her with plenty of questions, but the old man had no intention of explaining anything, and she didn't dare ask. These days, he seemed practically mad, cutting off Lilac Mansion's ties with every faction.
The scholars, the investigators, even Secretary Number 5's people had all disappeared, while the old man himself kept his doors shut.
What could possibly frighten an old monster like him, a man who had lived nearly two hundred years and broken through the limits of his species?
As she thought this, the female security guard led her team past the hall. At the end of the patrol, she still had to ask whether the old man had any special instructions, though she knew he didn't seem interested in anything these days.
She had already planned to return to her room after checking the last place, take