The First Case

"No matter what you ask, as long as I can do it, I'll agree!"

The wealthy merchant Hunter made a promise.

"Sir, please calm down. I need to know the whole story before I can help you!"

Qin Ran spoke in a manner that suited his identity as best he could.

In reality, Qin Ran had never dealt with detectives.

Nor did his scant memories contain any image of him "working a case."

So, at this moment, Qin Ran could only imitate—imitate the classic detective figures from books and films.

His tone and demeanor were no exception.

Clearly, Qin Ran's imitation had some effect. The wealthy merchant Hunter calmed down.

"Sorry, I was too anxious!"

"You should understand how frantic a father feels when his daughter has gone missing!"

The man apologized repeatedly, then began his account.

"We discovered Artilly was missing yesterday morning, at my estate!"

"At the time, my wife and the maid went to call Artilly for breakfast, but her bedroom door was locked from the inside!"

"My wife called out several times, but no one answered. Then I had someone break down the door and found the bedroom completely empty!"

"I sent everyone I could spare to search for Artilly, but we found nothing at all. There was no trace of Artilly inside or outside the estate!"

He recounted the entire sequence of events after the disappearance had been discovered in an exceptionally organized manner.

His wife remained silent, but the sorrow on her face grew ever deeper.

"May I see Artilly's room?"

"Of course!"

Qin Ran asked, and the man immediately agreed, personally leading Qin Ran upstairs with his wife to the top floor of the building.

"Only Artilly, my wife, and I live on this floor. Her room is here!"

As he spoke, he opened a room on the left.

It was a typical young girl's room.

The entire room was pink and filled with all kinds of dolls and stuffed toys.

Qin Ran stepped inside and examined it carefully.

At once, he activated [Tracking].

If Qin Ran possessed any skill that could be associated with a detective, it was undoubtedly [Tracking].

This was also the source of his confidence in accepting the identity of a "detective."

As [Tracking] activated, every minute detail before his eyes became visible.

White, chaotic footprints covered the entire room.

After a brief comparison, Qin Ran confirmed that they belonged to Hunter.

Clearly, Hunter had indeed sent people to search thoroughly, while he had searched his daughter's room personally.

However, they had been searching in the wrong direction.

Qin Ran's gaze shifted slightly.

Aside from Hunter's footprints, there were two other sets of smaller footprints in the room.

After another comparison, one of them could be identified as Hunter's wife's.

The remaining set naturally belonged to the missing Artilly.

This set of footprints was remarkably orderly. Unlike her parents' frantic tracks, they only went back and forth between the bed and the window. They rarely appeared anywhere else.

Qin Ran followed the footprints and examined those two places.

There was an inward dented scratch mark on the wooden window frame—the kind left by a three-fingered grappling claw.

There were also two conspicuous drag marks on the carpet beside the bed—from a box, Qin Ran judged from the marks.

After briefly inspecting both places, Qin Ran looked toward the side of the bed.

The window led outside. Even with his proficient-level [Tracking], he could not find anything unusual after yesterday's heavy rain had washed everything away.

All traces

had been completely washed away.

But the room was different!

Qin Ran looked beneath the bed.

"Artilly is a very well-behaved child. She attends a church school, and whether at school or at home, she has always been a lady..."

While Qin Ran searched, Hunter, as her father, subconsciously praised his daughter before an outsider.

However, before he could finish, Qin Ran interrupted him by dragging a box out from beneath Artilly's bed.

The box had been hidden very well, inside a gap beneath the floorboards.

If Qin Ran had not activated [Tracking] and identified the two clear drag marks on the carpet, it would have taken quite some effort to find it.

"What is that?!"

Hunter and his wife looked at each other. Seeing the box Qin Ran had dragged from beneath their daughter's bed, they widened their eyes in surprise.

"I don't know, but your daughter was far less well-behaved than you imagined!"

Qin Ran shook his head as he inspected the box before him. There was a lock on it.

"May I open it?"

Qin Ran pointed at the lock and asked.

"This is Tilly's private property..."

"But Tilly is missing now. We have to find her!"

Hunter's wife, the sorrowful-looking lady, instinctively tried to stop Qin Ran, but her husband immediately stopped her.

The wealthy merchant Hunter walked over to his wife and spoke in a stern tone.

Then, when he noticed the sorrow on her face and her reddened eyes, he immediately realized his behavior had been inappropriate.

"Dear, I'm sorry... I was too anxious. Forgive me!"

Hunter put an arm around his wife, his face full of apology.

"I understand!"

Hunter's wife's eyes reddened again. After giving Qin Ran an apologetic bow, she hurried out of the room.

"I'm sorry. My wife... Tilly is her most precious daughter, and mine as well!"

"I have never been as frantic as I am now. My wife is the same!"

"Earlier, when I asked the police to put all their effort into finding Tilly, they actually fobbed me off by claiming they lacked manpower. They only filed an ordinary report—this is the main reason I came to you!"

"I wasn't trying to hide anything from you. I hope you don't mind!"

Hunter spoke quietly.

"Of course not!"

Thinking of the old butler's earlier dissatisfaction with the police, Qin Ran nodded in understanding.

"I'll find some tools and open it!"

Hunter spoke as he headed outside.

Qin Ran waited quietly.

From their brief contact, he could see that the Hunters were well-bred and properly educated. More importantly, they dearly loved their daughter.

Even after discovering that their daughter had secrets, they had decided to protect those secrets.

Otherwise, Hunter would not have needed to fetch the tools himself.

There were so many servants in the estate. He only needed to give an order.

Qin Ran did not have to wait long.

About five minutes later, Hunter returned with a hammer.

Without another word, Hunter raised the hammer and brought it down, smashing off the lock on the box.

The box was opened.

However, there were not many items inside.

A dagger, a flintlock revolver, and a bag of gunpowder.

That was all.

Yet those items occupied less than one-fifth of the box.

From the items that had been found, Qin Ran could fully infer what had originally been inside the box.

Weapons!

And weapons that were more practical than the ones left behind in the box.

"Tilly!"

Hunter covered his forehead with one hand and cried out softly.

A man capable of becoming a merchant with such a large estate was obviously no fool. Like Qin Ran, Hunter had guessed what items had been taken away.

"Although I don't know what happened, I can be certain that Miss Artilly was not kidnapped. Her disappearance was voluntary—there are traces here, but because of yesterday's heavy rain, I can't learn anything more!"

Qin Ran walked to the window and gestured for Hunter to examine the marks left by the grappling claw.

"Damn it, why didn't I notice these? If I had found them earlier, perhaps I could have caught up to Tilly!"

After examining the claw marks, Hunter was filled with regret.

"Mr. Qin Ran, I hope you can help me find Tilly!"

Qin Ran's excellent performance had earned the wealthy merchant's trust, which he expressed in the most direct manner possible.

He placed a thick stack of banknotes in Qin Ran's hand.

The largest denomination was 10.

There were roughly 500 in total.

Based on his scant memories, Qin Ran knew that this was definitely a considerable sum.

In this dungeon, a respectable man's monthly income was only around 30 to 40.

"This is the advance payment. If you can find Tilly, I will reward you handsomely!"

Hunter gave his assurance.

"I'll do my utmost!"

Qin Ran accepted the money without refusing.

Though the money held no real meaning for Qin Ran, it would be immensely helpful to him, who had arrived in this dungeon with nothing.

[Name: Some Currency]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[Can be taken out of this dungeon: No]

[Remarks: Currency used in a certain dungeon world.]

"Sir!"

Just as Hunter stood before an oil portrait of Artilly as an adult and told Qin Ran more about his daughter, the kind-faced old butler approached.

"Captain John from the police station sent someone over. They said... someone found a corpse matching the young lady's description!"

After Hunter indicated that he could speak freely, the butler said this with some hesitation.

Qin Ran could clearly see Hunter's face turn pale the instant he heard those words. Then his fists clenched, and his entire expression twisted into something ferocious.

A faint, indistinct chill emanated from him, making one's hair stand on end.

Killing intent!

Qin Ran looked at him in surprise.

Without question, Hunter hid far more than he revealed.

However, Qin Ran did not press him.

Everyone had secrets, didn't they?

"Mr. Hunter, it is only similar, not certain—I think we need to see the body!"

Qin Ran said.

"Mm. Mike, prepare the carriage! Remember, do not tell my wife!"

Hunter immediately nodded and gave the order.

"Yes, sir!"

The butler immediately went into action.