Madam Nancy had been waiting outside Machu Picchu.
Just as Charlotte was about to board the carriage, he saw Aubrey Teuton Atwood step down from his own. The president of the Fiery Steed Detective Agency had never left.
Charlotte shrugged and said, "Sorry, I wasn't able to recover Mr. Harriet's body. There was something strange in those fortress ruins."
Aubrey Teuton Atwood stared deeply at Charlotte and asked, "Did you choose this place because you made a contract with some magical creature?"
That was the most reasonable explanation!
Charlotte neither denied nor admitted it. He merely gave a slight bow, handed Harriet's saber to Aubrey Teuton Atwood, and said, "This is Mr. Harriet's personal effect. Please return it to his family."
"Although I didn't want such a tragedy to happen either, there was nothing I could do."
After saying that, Charlotte boarded the carriage. Once the two ladies had settled in, he opened the speaking tube and said, "Madam Nancy! Back to Strasbourg."
Aubrey Teuton Atwood stood before the ruins of Machu Picchu Fortress and watched Charlotte's carriage disappear into the distance. Only after pondering for a long while did he board his own carriage.
He found Charlotte Mecklen increasingly impossible to fathom.
If time could turn back, Aubrey Teuton Atwood would never have accepted Magru Teller's commission.
For the paltry profit of a few Écus, he had not only lost eight detectives, including three Transcendents, but also lost a military connection like Harriet. Harriet had become a High-Order Transcendent at such a young age. His future had been boundless, and he would surely have become a powerful supporter of the Fiery Steed Detective Agency.
On top of that, he still had to answer to the Orc Assassin Alliance.
The Orc Assassin Alliance did indeed keep sending assassins after their