Believe in the Good

Mermaid Road, Blue Fish Hotel.

Ever since the bloody case occurred, and with this not being peak vacation season, the hotel had seen few guests. The only thing that comforted the owner was that the three inspectors said to be investigating the case had checked into his hotel—and were even using the room where the murder had taken place.

Normally, a room like that would remain unoccupied for a long time. It might even have to be closed indefinitely, affecting the occupancy rate of the surrounding rooms, or even the entire floor.

At that moment, Inspector Lewis and the other two sat around a table in Room 204, where the bloody case had occurred. Many things lay on the table.

There were case files, documents, the diary found at Ain's farmhouse, and a piece of parchment covered in incantations.

Inspector Lewis, whose forehead lines were rather pronounced, adjusted his black-rimmed glasses and picked up the parchment. "The bishop of Saint Witte Church personally delivered this today. Apparently, a child brought it to the church a few nights ago. I suspect this is the incantation mentioned in the diary—the one Paris used to pray to an evil god for power."

Popping an orange candy into her mouth, Martha, with her vivid red hair, said thoughtfully, "A child couldn't possibly have gotten something like this on his own. Someone must have given it to him and told him to deliver it to the church. Didn't the church try to find the child?"

Lewis took out his notebook, flipped through it, and found the relevant entry. "I asked the same question. The church said they did look, but the person who spoke to the child was an ordinary priest. It was nighttime, and because of the poor lighting and other factors, he couldn't remember the child's appearance clearly."

The lady with long red wavy hair quietly said to the colleague beside her, "Looks like that priest is a Nightmare too. Otherwise, why would his memory be as bad as the captain's?"

As if he hadn't heard Martha, Lewis continued, "And there are plenty of children like that in Enqi Town, even more on Qingxiang Road. So the church has had trouble finding him again and figuring out who told him to bring such a thing there."

Holding several flyers advertising discounted goods, Jeffrey said, "I remember the baron's son went into Paris's basement. Didn't the diary also say that the culprit was only one room away from that young master?"

"In that case, could that young master have taken the parchment and then delivered it to the church?"

Martha immediately took up the thread. "But don't forget, it was that young master who reported the case, which was how the police discovered Paris's problem. If Sifa took the parchment, why didn't he hand it over to the police or the church? Why take such a roundabout route?"

Setting down his notebook, Lewis picked up a cup of black tea but did not drink it. "Assuming Sifa really was the one who took the parchment, he must have done so to conceal certain secrets."

"For example, that he can read Hermesian. Or that he is a Beyonder. To hide those secrets, he couldn't use Sifa's identity to do this."

Only after speaking did the square-faced inspector take a light sip of tea.

Jeffrey, whose skin was pale as though he had not seen sunlight for a long time, finally put down the flyers in his hand. "But Captain, didn't you visit him in a dream and confirm that he wasn't a Beyonder?"

Before Lewis could respond, Martha rose and said, "If he were a Beyonder too, he could easily avoid showing anything unusual in the dream. With the help of some mystical items, it would be even easier."

Lewis looked up and gently rubbed the lines on his forehead. "That's what I thought as well. And that young master said he only managed to repel the Monster called Goro because he was lucky."

"But that thing was a 'tool' created from the aura of a deity. No matter how lucky an ordinary person is, it wouldn't be easy for him to repel him."

Martha quickly looked at her captain, whose hair was neatly combed. "You mean he has a problem?"

Lewis flipped through his notebook again. "According to the information provided by Chief Kaoxi, that young master's reputation in town used to be rather poor."

"But after returning from a long journey, he changed. Incidentally, he was one of the survivors of the Alfalfa. You remember that case, don't you?"

Jeffrey nodded gravely. "I do. It has already been confirmed that the tragedy aboard the Alfalfa was caused by an Instigator."

"Right. In such a tragic incident, Sifa not only survived by luck, but also began changing after he returned."

Looking out the window, Lewis said, "Of course, many people reflect on their lives and make changes after going through a major upheaval."

"But he had just experienced a tragedy caused by supernatural factors, and now he has become involved in another supernatural incident. That's too much of a coincidence."

"The odds of experiencing two supernatural incidents in a single year are extremely low, unless he was already part of this circle."

Martha nodded slightly. "I see. No wonder you suspected him."

Lewis smiled again. "He may be a Beyonder, or he may not be. Even if he is, judging from his act of handing the parchment over to the church, at least he isn't one of those believers who worship evil gods."

Martha curled her lips. "Captain, you always look at things from the good side."

Lewis smiled faintly. "Because I am willing to believe in all good things. Only then does what we do have meaning, doesn't it?"

"However."

He added, "I won't place my hopes in matters involving the supernatural. So when reinforcements arrive tomorrow, they will bring something with them."

"I will examine Sifa a second time. Even if he is a Beyonder with a sense of justice, once a Beyonder suffers Loss of Control, disaster will follow. We can't simply leave him unchecked."

"Now then, let's get down to business."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Martha opened it to find a police chief outside, panting heavily. "Something happened, officers. You may need to come take a look."

The baron's residence.

Sifa soaked in the bathtub.

After returning from White Beach, he had quietly slipped back into his room with a Hunter's agility, without alerting his personal valet. He had drawn a tub of warm water and immersed himself in it, easing the tension brought on by the earlier battle aboard the ship.

Staring at the ceiling, Sifa softly said, "The potion residue has digested a little more. The Acting Method really works."

He recalled his experiences acting as a Hunter during this period, sorting them out and drawing conclusions.

"At the most superficial level, acting should be as Mr. Leon said: a Hunter needs patience, needs to actively gather information about prey, and needs to understand its habits."

"A Hunter is not a Warrior, so one must know how to use traps to force prey into a predicament before delivering a fatal blow."

"I have indeed been doing that, and through the process, I have gained some insight. I can now act as a Hunter on a deeper level."

"Tonight's battle aboard the ship was a perfect example."

"A deeper level of acting as a Hunter should be..."