As expected, the story of the deranged killer abducting children and brutally murdering them still made it into the Valentine Daily. But the storm had certainly done the Valentine Police Department a favor.
Starting the next day, the storm grew even fiercer than it had been the night before, making it difficult for Valentine's residents to leave their homes. Naturally, sales of the Valentine Daily were severely restricted as well, limiting the spread of news about the murders and easing the pressure on the Valentine Police Department.
However, the high winds also hampered the Police Station's plans to catch the criminal. With the deranged killer injured and facing such terrible weather, he certainly would not be able to strike again anytime soon.
Three days had passed. Mulan felt that the hospital's sanitary conditions were poor and would hinder Leo's recovery, while Leo had thoroughly had enough of the hospital food. So, after staying there for two days, they insisted on hiring a carriage home when the wind eased.
But no one had expected that the storm would fail to weaken and dissipate afterward. That day's lull had seemed to be nothing more than the calm before the storm. Starting today, the winds had grown even fiercer, accompanied by frightening lightning and torrential rain.
Rumble...
Thunder rolled outside the window, and rain came pouring down. Between the powerful winds and the downpour, any ordinary person's desire to venture outside was utterly extinguished.
In the Jonester Household's kitchen, water was boiling on the stove, while some freshly washed bandages were drying on a small rack beside it.
Leo lay in a reclining chair beside the stove, with quilts beneath and over him. With the warmth of the fire as well, he felt snug and comfortable. A plate rested on his knees, holding the little cookies that were Old Buck's specialty.
Leo munched on the cookies as he watched the lightning and pouring rain outside, voicing his relief.
"Thank goodness we came home. Staying in the hospital through this damned weather would've driven me absolutely mad!"
Mulan sat at the dining table nearby. Several recent issues of the Valentine Daily lay on the table, carrying reports on the disappearances and murders. One issue had even slightly altered the account of how the killer had been injured, describing Officer Jonester and his younger brother as having wounded the vicious criminal together, salvaging a little dignity for the Police Station.
But Mulan's attention was not on the case. Instead, he was studying the Valentine Daily's forecasts for the great storm.
"Mulan, what are you reading? Are you expecting them to catch that fellow right now?"
Although Leo was a detective with the Valentine Police Department, he had no intention of sparing his colleagues' dignity. Mulan glanced at him.
"I'm reading the weather reports. The meteorologists previously thought the storm would weaken soon, but today's paper says it may continue for a while longer."
"Young Master Mulan, we have a fairly good supply of food at home. Please don't worry."
Mulan put down the newspaper and stood, approaching the window to look outside. The ferocious rain was testing Valentine's drainage system. Even though no water had accumulated yet, the rain fell so densely that the road outside looked more like a sheet of water.
"I'm not worried about our supplies, or about that killer. I'm wondering when this rain will stop, when the storm will end, and whether Valentine's drainage system can withstand this test..."
Huh? Oh, right!
Leo had only just begun to understand when Mulan added something else.
"But even if Valentine's old drainage system can't cope, the rainwater will collect and flow toward the harbor, then out to sea. It shouldn't cause any major flooding."
Leo visibly froze, struggling to follow Mulan's train of thought. Lately, he sometimes felt that his younger brother had him beaten in intelligence. His ability to think and react fell far short of the brother he had bullied since childhood.
At Valentine's harbor docks, loading and unloading had long since ceased, and only a handful of large ships remained moored. Some small boats rose and fell violently with the waves battering the harbor, while the distant sea churned endlessly beneath the wind and rain.
The city had received an enormous amount of rain in a short time. Much of it flowed along the roads and gathered at the docks, rushing into the sea like a series of knee-deep rivers.
These "rivers" passed through every corner of the city, sweeping up great quantities of rubbish and becoming filthy. They had even polluted a large stretch of seawater near the docks, leaving broad swathes along the coastline murky and tinged with black.
Yet even in this dreadful weather, the open air around the docks was not deserted. In fact, there was more than one person outside, and their position would have astonished anyone.
On the rooftop terrace of the warehouse building nearest the docks, two men stood perfectly steady. Apart from their coat hems whipping rapidly in the wind, the storm seemed to have no effect on them. They did not even sway.
One wore a black formal suit, dressed as a gentleman, and held a black umbrella. Despite the raging wind and rain, he kept the open umbrella remarkably steady, without it turning inside out.
The other man stood beneath the umbrella as well, enjoying the gentleman's service. He wore white clerical robes with lines of gold thread worked into the details.
An umbrella naturally could not keep out rain like this, yet neither man's clothes were particularly wet. They gazed at the sea just beyond the docks-or, more precisely, at that polluted stretch of "black sea."
From where they stood, they could occasionally see an enormous shadow writhing beneath the murky surface.
"Your Excellency, the situation seems much as we expected. The Otherworld has become more active. Hmm, what do you think that shadow in the sea is?"
The bishop had been praying silently with his hands crossed over his chest. Only when he heard this did he speak.
"Whatever it is, it has form but no substance. To ordinary people, it is as distant as a nightmare is from reality, and poses no true major threat. What we must watch are those wicked heretics. Since they truly managed to perform a successful sacrifice, they must have a 'sacred relic' in their possession. Please remain vigilant, Sir Walton."
"Rest assured, Your Excellency. We will handle this properly. There is no need to trouble you to come in person."
The bishop turned and looked intently at the refined nobleman before him. Only after a long while did he withdraw his gaze.
"May the Holy Light protect you, Sir Walton. I shall take my leave, then."
"Of course. May the Holy Light protect you as well, Your Excellency!"
The bishop nodded and turned toward the door at the rear of the terrace. Sir Walton followed with the umbrella, stopping only once the bishop had gone indoors. Then he turned to look out at the sea again.
In fact, the storm had swept not only through Valentine, but across the entire western coast of the continent. Its impact varied from place to place, with Valentine suffering the worst of it.
It was safe to assume that specialist scholars everywhere were studying the storm, and its origins could also be confirmed as connected to the Great Vortex. It signified the Otherworld's further merging and expansion, as well as increased activity among the world's magical elements. Whether this was ultimately good or bad was difficult to say.