East Borough

"What problem?" Confusion filled Xio's eyes.

Uh... Fors sighed silently, raised a hand, and poked the long, pointed beak extending from her friend's nose. The corners of her mouth twitched despite herself.

"Are you planning to wear that while tracking your target?"

Xio fell silent, her eyes widening.

She slowly turned toward the full-length mirror against the wall. Just as Fors's had earlier, her expression froze little by little.

Dead silence filled the bedroom.

After a long while, Xio pressed her lips together hard and murmured blankly, "I didn't think of that... Fors, what should I do now?"

Fors asked curiously, "How many pounds did you spend?"

"680 pounds."

There was an indescribable regret in Xio's voice as she gave the number.

Then she immediately added:

"That was a year's savings.

"And I still owe the seller a promise. I have to carry out a commission for him, provided it's within my abilities and doesn't go against my principles."

Steam above... Fors, who had written more than one bestselling book, was at a loss for words. She stared straight at Xio for a long time before finally managing a subdued question:

"Can you return it?"

"Of course not," Xio said irritably. "Mr. A personally witnessed the transaction. Do you want me to die?"

At the mention of that name, the image of the powerful gathering organizer instinctively surfaced in Fors's mind. She gave a dry laugh and said nothing.

She sighed and reached out to pat her friend's messy blond hair.

"Then you'll just have to accept your bad luck.

"Xio, use it for now. Apart from its appearance, this Mystical Item really is quite good. We'll sell it when we get the chance."

"...I suppose that's all we can do." Xio reluctantly accepted her friend's suggestion, but her face remained so woeful that Fors couldn't help feeling amused.

"Oh, right, Xio."

Trying hard to divert her roommate's attention, Fors reminded her, "Don't forget that Miss Audrey arranged to meet you at Phillips Department Store."

"I remember." Xio's eyes lit up, regaining their sparkle.

This was an exceptionally generous young lady. Completing her commission would go a long way toward replenishing Xio's depleted purse.

"And, Xio..." Fors's expression was both teasing and helpless. "Remember to take me along the next time you attend a gathering."

"Stop looking at me like I'm a child," Xio grumbled unhappily, irritably batting away the hand resting on her head.

Thursday morning, Iris Street.

Lorry had enjoyed a rare good night's sleep and felt full of energy when he got up. The spirituality he had consumed performing the ritual the previous night had also fully recovered during his deep sleep.

He made do with a quick breakfast, dug a set of slightly worn work clothes out of his wardrobe, and put the water flask and pocket watch he had prepared into their large pockets.

As for the Serrated Dagger, he concealed it in the dagger sheath on his right wrist.

It was an ingeniously designed sheath. A light tug on its cord would trigger the mechanism and eject the Serrated Dagger.

It had cost Lorry a full ten soli, or half a pound.

He had no intention of carrying the modified revolver. After all, his purpose in visiting East Borough today was reconnaissance, not a fight.

If a patrolling police officer discovered it, that would only cause more unnecessary trouble.

Once everything was ready, Lorry took False Face to the dressing mirror and carefully laid it over his face.

He clearly saw the translucent film of water, as light and thin as a feather, slowly writhing. A dozen or so seconds later, it had fitted itself perfectly to his features.

A cool, tingling sensation spread across his face.

The next second, Lorry saw his face in the mirror suddenly blur, as though it had been pixelated, before becoming clear again in an instant.

When he looked again, he had an entirely unfamiliar face!

"His" skin was dark, not naturally so, but as though from years of working under the sun. His features were ordinary and unremarkable, his skin rough as grit and covered in the marks of exposure to wind and rain. Numerous wrinkles had already formed at the corners of his eyes, making him look far from young-an excellent match for the impoverished, middle-aged Southern Continent man described in the newspaper.

Lorry carefully inspected his new appearance and commented with some amusement:

"Good thing this outfit has a high collar, or I'd have to wear a scarf. But wearing a scarf now would practically announce to everyone that I have something to hide."

False Face could only disguise his face. The skin tone of the Southern Continent appearance it currently retained was vastly different from his own, creating a sharp dividing line at his Adam's apple.

Anyone who wasn't blind would be able to see it.

He exhaled heavily and opened his pocket watch for a look.

"To be safe, I'll take off False Face every twenty-five minutes and soak it in clean water for five minutes. That makes each cycle exactly half an hour.

"It's 9:02 now.

"Time to head out."

Neeson Street, East Borough.

After paying his fare, Lorry stepped down from the carriage.

He looked at the rental notices posted on the noticeboard by the entrance, scanning them line by line in search of the room with the best view.

Suddenly, Nono, the coachman, who had yet to leave, spoke up:

"Sir."

Surprised, Lorry turned back and gave him a questioning look.

The coachman's gaze shifted evasively. Avoiding his passenger's eyes, he lowered his voice and said, "Sir, I know a good doctor."

"He's very good at treating men's ailments, though his fees aren't cheap."

"If you need him, I can recommend him to you."

Lorry was shocked at first, but quickly realized why the man was saying this. He replied woodenly, "...No, thank you. I'm perfectly healthy."

The coachman said:

"Yes, yes, I know.

"His clinic is at 21 Hope Street in Cherwood Borough, very close to the Golden Rose."

With that, the coachman flicked his whip and drove toward the area where carriages were allowed to wait for passengers, disappearing at the T-junction ahead.

Well, thank you very much... I'm halfway to Sequence 9. I really am healthy... I kept asking you to stop at public lavatories because of a Mystical Item's negative effects... Both annoyed and amused, Lorry turned back to the rental notices. After silently noting down a room number, he walked toward the apartment building's main entrance.

This apartment building was at 198 Neeson Street, directly opposite Apartment Building No. 3, which Detective Stuart had investigated. Between them lay only Nee-

-son Street.

The only difference was:

Apartment Building No. 3 offered upscale apartments, with a modest living room, a terrace, and a private lavatory that residents didn't have to fight over;

Whereas Apartment Building No. 198 was a typical shared tenement. Even a single room could hold four or five people, and there were only two communal lavatories on each floor.

Of course, it was much cheaper.

The weekly rent for a single room was only three soli, and short-term rentals were available.

Lorry knocked on the door of Room 104. After five minutes of bargaining, using arguments he had prepared in advance, he successfully signed a one-month lease with the landlord at a weekly rate of 2.5 soli, on the condition that he paid the entire amount up front.

His room was 713, in the row of rooms facing Neeson Road on the seventh floor.