Support in the Drizzle!

Maltz and Audo walked side by side, with a squad of twelve Patrol Officers following behind them.

"Are you really sure the mastermind behind the Baby-Theft Case is on Kirk Street?"

Just before they turned from Dale Lane onto Kirk Street, Audo questioned Maltz again.

His tone was blunt, almost accusatory.

Everyone in the Shire District knew that Maltz was no longer the man he had once been. Bent on retirement, he had long since become weak and easy to bully.

Even when someone went too far, he would swallow the insult.

At first, Audo had been cautious around Maltz.

But after the other officers tested him and Maltz never fought back, Audo grew bold.

This time was a perfect example-

Maltz had clearly found the mastermind behind the Baby-Theft Case, yet he had called Audo over to help. Had anyone else offered to share the credit like this, Audo would have refused and wondered whether they were setting him up.

But because it was Maltz, Audo felt no suspicion at all.

After all, Maltz wanted a peaceful retirement!

Chief Woolt, however, had no intention of letting Maltz off so easily.

A Third-Rank Police Officer was a valuable pillar of the Shire District's force. Wouldn't it be better to replace him with one of their own?

Everyone knew what Woolt had in mind.

Everyone was watching Maltz make a fool of himself.

Audo included.

Audo knew perfectly well why Maltz was sharing the credit with him. He simply wanted to win him over.

Unfortunately...

He already belonged to Chief Woolt's camp.

He couldn't help it. Chief Woolt had promised him far too much!

And he wasn't the only one. As far as Audo knew, plenty of officers in the Shire District had thrown their lot in with the Chief!

As for the Patrol Officers?

A bunch of temporary workers had no business pledging themselves to a Chief. They were lucky if they could cozy up to a Fifth-Rank Police Officer.

"Absolutely."

"I paid a high price for this information."

As before, Maltz answered with certainty, his expression also showing how much the expense pained him.

Seeing that pained look, Audo knew Maltz must have paid a hefty sum.

Then he heard Maltz continue.

"That bastard Joseph deserved to die. He owed me ten Gold Tickets, and then he just went and died! That was my retirement money!"

"Then you can kiss it goodbye!"

Audo curled his lip in undisguised contempt.

He was a Fourth-Rank Police Officer, and so was Joseph. Though he indulged in drinking, gambling, and prostitutes too, compared with Joseph, he was a good officer.

At least he didn't casually take innocent lives.

Unlike that bastard Joseph.

Slipped it in?

How exactly did it slip?

With someone tied to a pillar, it could still slip in?

They'd at least have to be in bed.

Still, Maltz seems to have quite a retirement fund. Should I find a way to squeeze some of it out of him?

As the thought crossed his mind, Audo was already speaking.

"Maltz, I hope we can enjoy a good friendship. What do you think of the houses in the Shire District?"

Maltz nearly laughed at those shameless words.

Audo might as well have openly demanded to rob him.

Houses in the Shire District weren't cheap. Even on streets inhabited by ordinary working people, they cost around three hundred Gold Tickets. On streets like Dale Lane, which approached middle-class standards, the price was around four hundred Gold Tickets.

Simply put, buying a house somewhere like Dale Lane would take roughly four years on the highest average income of an ordinary Shire District household.

And that assumed the household had at least two able-bodied adults working full-time, without spending anything on food, drink, or illness.

Otherwise, it was all a pipe dream.

Yet Audo had just opened his mouth and demanded four hundred Gold Tickets.

Maltz didn't consider three hundred. Given the greed Audo had shown, he certainly wouldn't ask for the minimum, though he wouldn't ask for the maximum either.

Why not the maximum?

Not because he had found his conscience, but because he feared scaring Maltz off.

At the same time, he was testing Maltz.

If Maltz backed down again and also showed that he had money...

Maltz knew perfectly well what would follow.

Fortunately, he had come to his senses in time.

"Hmm."

Maltz paused thoughtfully, then gestured for Audo to step aside with him for a talk.

Audo was immediately delighted.

He had only meant to try his luck.

He hadn't expected Maltz might actually agree!

That was four hundred Gold Tickets!

Enough for a long vacation in the Inner Bay!

No!

I need to squeeze more out of him!

With that thought, Audo called to the Patrol Officers behind him.

"Keep moving!"

Then he headed straight into an alley, undoing his belt as he walked, as though he intended to relieve himself there.

South Los had banned relieving oneself in public long ago, but outside the busiest parts of its five major districts, the practice persisted in the smaller streets and alleys despite repeated prohibitions.

Even the Shire District, the most prosperous of them all, was no exception.

Maltz stood to one side and waited.

The squad of twelve Patrol Officers suspected nothing and continued straight ahead.

Only after they had gone a dozen meters did Maltz enter the alley.

"I'm taking a considerable risk by offering you my friendship..."

"Hmm, what's that?"

Audo, already prepared to squeeze out another payment, had begun rambling. But he had barely finished one sentence when Maltz looked behind him in surprise.

Audo instinctively turned.

Shhk!

A dagger plunged into his back, piercing his heart. Audo instinctively opened his mouth to cry out, but a hand clamped over it, smothering the scream before it escaped. Then the dagger swept across his throat.

"Don't worry. Feeling dizzy is normal."

Even as he died, Audo couldn't believe Maltz had dared to kill him.

Why?

Through the last remnants of his consciousness, Audo dimly saw Maltz smile at him.

That smile was utterly unfamiliar, brimming with cruelty.

How could such a cruel smile appear on the face of honest, dutiful Maltz, who was about to retire?

Audo couldn't understand.

As his remaining consciousness faded, he saw only Maltz turn and bow toward the mouth of the alley.

But he could no longer make out who stood there.

Arthur stood at the alley's entrance. Watching Maltz slit Audo's throat, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. Maltz was smiling too as he turned.

This was the "support that would help advance our cooperation" Arthur had spoken of.

And just as Maltz had promised, he had "taken care of it within an hour."

Their cooperation had taken another step forward.

"Mr. Credos..."

"Maltz, you can call me Arthur. After all, we're friends now."

Arthur pointed at Audo's corpse on the ground, its eyes still open in death.

Audo hadn't been chosen at random.

He was highly active in the Shire District and a staunch supporter of Woolt.

Woolt had therefore devoted considerable effort and resources to him.

So if anything happened to Audo, Woolt would certainly hurry from the Harbor District to the Shire District overnight.

As it happened, Woolt also had a mistress in the Shire District.

And Woolt certainly wouldn't spend the entire night in the morgue.

Then, if some accident befell Chief Woolt while he was devastated by grief and exhausted from staying up all night, wouldn't that seem perfectly reasonable?

At least, it only needed to look reasonable.

Once certain positions became vacant, they were enough to draw everyone's attention.

That had been true of Lark.

Woolt?

He would be no exception.

"Arthur!"

Maltz changed how he addressed him, but his tone remained respectful.

They walked side by side. Arthur grew increasingly pleased with Maltz, but his wariness also rose sharply.

This harmless-looking old man was the truly frightening one.

Just look at Audo's corpse on the ground!

There was no doubt that anyone who stood in the way of this old man's goals would be eliminated.

Yet Arthur's expression grew even friendlier as he looked at Maltz.

Because their goals aligned:

He needed Maltz's help to eliminate Woolt.

Maltz wanted Woolt eliminated too.

With Audo's murder as their foundation, killing Woolt together would surely cement their friendship. If they did a few more things together, it would become unbreakable.

So Arthur was deeply invested in catching the mastermind behind the Baby-Theft Case.

It was for his present self as much as his future self.

A genuine win-win!

If I, Arthur, am going to win, I'll win twice!

As they approached 14 Kirk Street, Arthur stopped following the patrol squad. He simply handed Maltz several vials of "Holy Water," then vaulted onto a house.

Seeing Arthur leap straight onto the roof with nothing more than a running jump made Maltz's pupils contract, even though it was only a low, single-story building.

Maltz had already associated Arthur with certain things from his past. Now he was even more certain Arthur was connected to those things.

Especially when he saw Arthur open his umbrella in the drizzle, carry the Medium's Case, tuck "Anna" into his coat, and walk along the roof ridge. Maltz immediately averted his eyes.

That strange feeling rose in him again!

He feared that if he kept watching, he would fall into that nightmare once more.

Then he might not even be able to lift his sword.

"Switch your crossbow bolts!"

"Get the Kerosene Bottles ready and wait for my command!"

"Three, two, one..."

"Throw!"

Six Kerosene Bottles packed inside earthenware jars were hurled straight at 14 Kirk Street, followed by two torches.

Whoosh!

Even in the rain, flames surged upward.

And the next instant-

Bang!

The front door of 14 Kirk Street burst open, and a figure rushed out.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Patrol Officers, who had switched their crossbow bolts for the rainy weather, pulled their triggers together. The bolts struck the figure directly.

But the sound was wrong!

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

It sounded as though they had struck wood. Only when the figure hit the ground did the Patrol Officers realize it was a coat rack draped in a coat.

And just then-

Whoosh!

A figure rushed out, heading straight for Maltz.