The Glorious Club

The Golden Fish Tavern was an ordinary, rather shabby tavern-or, in other words, a cheap restaurant. Its patrons came from the bottom rungs of society. If Li Wei had to draw a comparison, they were like migrant laborers, the sort who got by on boxed meals costing a few bucks.

Of course, the quality of this era's "boxed meals"...

Disguised as a middle-aged man, Li Wei watched the coachman before him stir his bowl with a wooden spoon. The contents looked like a great mass of heated snot, and he had no appetite whatsoever.

I'll go back and have steak.

Li Wei fiddled with the battered wooden tankard beside him and waited quietly. Fortunately, it wasn't long before he saw another coachman enter the Golden Fish Tavern. The man sitting opposite him raised his hand cheerfully and waved him over.

"Hey, Kent! Over here!"

"Hm? What's the matter?"

The coachman named Kent came over and looked curiously at his companion, who looked equally puzzled.

"Why are you so late? Did you have a long fare?"

"Oh, don't get me started."

At that, Kent began airing his grievances.

"I just took a passenger who had me drive around here, then around there, making one enormous loop. I was practically dizzy by the time she got out. Then I took a look around and realized we were only two streets away from the church! What a waste of time! Luckily, the kind lady paid me pretty well..."

"Where did she get out?"

Li Wei spoke up, and Kent paused before looking at him.

"Oh, at the Glorious Club on Squirrel Street."

"Thank you."

Li Wei stood, took out a few pennies, and set them in front of Kent. He nodded to him, then turned and left.

With a lead, things would be much easier.

Li Wei had his own sources of information-or rather, he had the most effective one of all.

"The Glorious Club?"

Inspector Lestrade sat behind his desk, carefully combing the two little tufts of his mustache in a mirror as he frowned.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not sure, but the coachman wasn't lying. Besides, it's our only lead at the moment. Whatever the case, I'll look into it first... What sort of place is this Glorious Club?"

While questioning Kent, Li Wei had also studied him closely. His expression had been open, with no sign that he was hiding anything or lying. That meant the woman really had entered the Glorious Club, and she might even be a member. The next question was how to get inside and investigate.

"It's a private club. You need a recommendation to join... It has a good reputation and no record of trouble... That's all I know. Unless a private club like that is involved in something illegal, the police have no authority to investigate or interfere."

Inspector Lestrade spread his hands helplessly. Unlike Doctor Dolittle's pharmacy, clubs of this kind afforded a certain degree of privacy. Besides, the people who ran them and belonged to them had money, influence, and status. They weren't penniless pushovers like Doctor Dolittle.

So even if Li Wei wanted to repeat his old trick and use a reported offense as grounds for a search, it wouldn't work.

"Thank you. I'll figure something out."

Despite saying that, Li Wei genuinely had no idea how to join a private club. He had been in this world for only a little over a week. These clubs were all about connections, and none of the people he currently knew could offer him any in that sphere...

Leaving the police station, Li Wei sighed. His best option right now was to make good use of his skills, identifying his target through negotiation and observation. But if he couldn't get inside, none of that mattered. However powerful his abilities were, they couldn't rewrite reality. Surely he couldn't simply walk up to the entrance, announce that he was a member of the Glorious Club, and expect them to let him in.

That reminded Li Wei of a prank he had once seen online. Someone had carried a ladder around, posing as a repairman, and visited all sorts of places. Almost every time, he had been allowed inside... Of course, that trick wouldn't work in this era. Still, it was pretty funny to think about.

As he pondered, Li Wei returned to White Oak Street, with the tall clock tower not far away. Just as he was considering whether to have afternoon tea, a pair of hands reached out from behind and covered his eyes. A playful, cheerful voice followed.

"Guess who?"

"Miss Katie?"

Li Wei turned around. Standing behind him was Katie, who had vanished after that day. She was dressed much as before, in a flat cap, long sleeves, and trousers. Her bright blue eyes curved into crescents as she grinned at him.

"Hehe, you got it! Well? Surprised? Didn't expect that, did you?"

"It certainly is a bit of a surprise. Where exactly did you go?"

"Something came up, so I went home first."

Katie pouted.

"My family kept me shut in for days. They've only just let me out."

If you ask me, it's a surprise they let you out at all.

Li Wei had thought that the next time he saw Miss Katie, it would probably be because she had sneaked out of her house. He hadn't expected them to actually let her out. Was this young lady's family really that carefree? Or did they simply not care whether she lived or died? On reflection, though, given her courage and ability to trade blows with a monster, ordinary people probably couldn't do much to her anyway.

"Oh, about that reward..."

"Reward?"

"The reward for catching the Courtesan Killer. The city council paid five thousand pounds. We split it evenly, so your twenty-five hundred pounds is on this card."

As he spoke, Li Wei took a punched card from his wallet-the equivalent of a bank card in this era.

"The code is six eights. It's a bearer card. You can redeem it at Baron Bank."

Katie took the punched card, examined it curiously, then handed it back.

"I appreciate the thought, but a little money like that isn't much use to me. I don't usually have anything to spend money on, either, so you should keep it."

Good grief. She really is rich.

Although he had already guessed that this young lady was of noble birth, her casually displayed wealth still left Li Wei feeling a little breathless.

"Oh, right!"

Before Li Wei could put the card away, Katie leaned toward him excitedly.

"Forget little things like that. Have you been investigating any interesting cases lately? How about letting me join in? You can consider that my reward."

Twenty-five hundred pounds, more than plenty of people earn in their entire lives, is a "little thing" to you.

Li Wei put away the punched card. He knew that people who had no shortage of money wouldn't accept it even if he insisted. And this young lady clearly preferred thrills and adventure to money... That reminded him.

"I'm still investigating the aftermath of that case."

"The Courtesan Killer case?"

"Yes."

As they walked down the street, Li Wei explained the situation to Katie. Sure enough, she immediately showed tremendous interest.

"So you want to investigate the Glorious Club? See whether there's any connection between them and that spellbook?"

"More or less, but I haven't found a way to get inside yet."

"Hmm... I could ask around. You said you've had a Telephone installed?"

"Yes."

Li Wei nodded, then took a sterling silver card case from his pocket, drew out a business card, and handed it to her.

"If anything comes up, you can reach me at this number."

"All right."

Katie took the card and examined it carefully, then waved to Li Wei.

"I'll head back now. I'll let you know if I find anything!"

With that, Katie vanished down the street like a gust of wind. Only after her figure disappeared into the crowd did Li Wei smile and shake his head, then turn to leave.

After returning home, Li Wei enjoyed the dinner Erin had prepared for him-bread, vegetable salad, roast beef, and pea soup. He had to admit that Erin was a very good cook. Or perhaps his expectations for the food in this era... simply weren't that high.

Meat and bread will do. I'll think of it as a burger meal.

Better than heated snot soup, anyway.

After finishing dinner, Li Wei picked up the newspaper and began reading. Erin quickly cleared the dishes, then returned to her room downstairs to eat her own dinner. Maids were not allowed to dine at the same table as their masters; that was the rule. Although Li Wei didn't care about it, Erin was adamant about fulfilling her duties as a maid.

Still, Li Wei found it distinctly uncomfortable to have someone standing behind him the whole time, watching him eat.

Ring, ring-!

Just as Li Wei turned another page of the newspaper, the Telephone mounted on the wall beside his desk, about the size of a public telephone, gave a shrill ring. He put down the newspaper and lifted the receiver. As expected, Miss Katie's exuberant voice came from the other end.

"I did it, Mr. Li Wei! We're going to the Glorious Club together tomorrow!"

That certainly was quick.

Katie was clearly brimming with curiosity and enthusiasm about taking part in the affair. Around noon the following day, a carriage arrived outside Li Wei's clock tower at the appointed time.

Li Wei opened the carriage door and saw Katie sitting inside.

"Come on in."

Katie beckoned proudly to Li Wei with a soft giggle. He didn't stand on ceremony, climbing straight into the carriage and sitting opposite her. Only once the carriage set off again did he have time to study the girl before him.

Unlike before, Katie was now wearing a pure white, long-sleeved gown, with a gold-trimmed black cloak over it and a felt hat. The hair she had previously kept tucked beneath her flat cap was now loose. Her platinum-blond locks cascaded to her waist like a waterfall, gleaming in the sunlight.

Although Li Wei had already suspected that she was a young lady of noble birth, he had never been more certain than he was now.

There could be no doubt: she was not only a noble young lady, but one of very high standing.

Still... recalling the sight of this young lady trading punches with a monster in that secret chamber, Li Wei was at a loss for words. He had no idea what sort of upbringing she had received.

Never mind. Whatever her identity, having someone to help is a good thing.

It was already afternoon when the carriage arrived at the entrance to the Glorious Club. That was the time Katie and Li Wei had agreed upon. Naturally, if they wanted to investigate the club's interior, they needed to come when it was busy. Private clubs like this were busiest in the afternoon and evening. Most members came after leaving work or finishing their business, to drink, chat, play cards, and so on.

Naturally, that was also the best time for a newcomer to make an appearance.

Li Wei stepped out of the carriage, then turned to Katie and offered his hand. With a soft smile, she took it and stepped down.

"Well then, Mr. Detective, let's see what interesting things this place has to offer!"