The Church

"Come in." Hearing the knock, the kindly-faced Horamick looked up from his desk and called toward the door. Ikanser Bernard pushed it open, closed it behind him, and walked up to the desk.

"Archbishop, I received word that Sherlock Moriarty has returned to Backlund and collected the dividends from his bicycle shares. He also collected the dividends for his friend, Neph Dumbledore."

"And afterward?" Horamick asked gently.

"We lost him." Ikanser Bernard shook his head, his expression grave. "He entered an inn and didn't come out all day. Our people suspected he had already left, so they questioned the owner, only to discover that he had never seen the man."

Horamick shook his head and asked again, "Do the Mandated Punishers know about this?"

"They probably do." Ikanser Bernard nodded. "They're paying close attention to that girl, so they probably have informants watching the inventor named Raypard too. But our people don't know who their informants are."

"Let them investigate." Horamick shook his head. "Keep watching the places that need watching. Leave the rest alone."

Ikanser Bernard frowned and asked with some confusion,

"Archbishop, aren't we going to do anything about this? There's clearly something wrong with that girl, and that other person-"

His voice gradually trailed off. Archbishop Horamick smiled at him and slowly traced a triangular symbol before his chest.

The Archbishop said nothing, but Ikanser Bernard understood something from his gesture. His expression turned solemn, and he likewise traced a triangle before his chest before leaving the office without hesitation.

Archbishop Horamick watched him close the door, then took out a blank sheet of paper and wrote:

"To the Holy Cathedral."

"You lost him?" The Deep Blue High Priest, Randall Valentinus, stared coldly at the man reporting to him. "We finally had a lead, and you're telling