Upon reaching the street where the clothing store was located, Grayson slowed his pace, felt in his pocket, took out his pipe, but didn't empty it; he simply held it in his hand, seemingly to ease the awkwardness or distract himself.
He cleared his throat. "Mr. Lessing."
"Mr. Grayson," Isaac replied.
Grayson didn't turn to Isaac, continuing to look at the road ahead, "Section Chief Schuster explained the general situation; the victim is currently unharmed. We'll go through the formalities and file a report. The subsequent investigation will be handled by Section Two."
"Thanks for your hard work."
"Cases involving curses fall under the jurisdiction of the Section Two." Grayson paused for a moment. " Schuster said you handled the curse case."
Isaac figured the boss had probably just mentioned it casually without explaining how it was resolved, so he said, "We were lucky. The curse itself wasn't very potent, so we didn't encounter much resistance in dealing with it."
Grayson shook his head. "Being able to handle a curse on your own is already quite impressive. In Section Two, only the section chief and one team leader possess the ability to exorcise curses independently. If they have more important tasks to attend to, we'll have to ask the church for help from clergy."
He paused for a moment, seemingly feeling that his words were a bit too blunt, and switched the pipe to his other hand.
Isaac understood what Grayson really meant behind his words. Even though Grayson was a little uncomfortable, he still had to say these things, probably hoping to establish a good relationship with him so that he could ask for his help when the two agents from Section Two who had the ability to exorcise curses were unavailable in the future.
He didn't bring it up directly, carefully considering his words before saying, "Mr. Grayson, you flatter me. I'm just a newcomer, still learning a lot. Perhaps I'll have to ask the seniors in the Section Two for advice in the future."
Promising to help out immediately and taking on the responsibility of being available at any time is not only unwise but also makes the other party misunderstand your importance. However, it is not necessary to close the door completely; it is better to leave some room for maneuver.
Grayson understood Isaac's tactful meaning, breathed a sigh of relief, stuffed his pipe back into his pocket, and gestured with his chin toward the clothing store. "Sure. Let's go in."
The two entered the clothing store, and the shopkeeper, seeing Isaac, said, "Sir, you've arrived."
His gaze shifted to Grayson beside Isaac, and his smile faded slightly. He thought to himself, "Why is it that after a whole morning, someone else has come along?"
Isaac said, "Mr. Harper, this is Agent Grayson from the Joint Investigation Bureau, who's in charge of following up on the case."
Grayson also took out his identification to show him, Harper quickly went around the counter and gave Grayson a slight bow. "Oh! Thank you for coming all this way."
Grayson didn't start questioning immediately. He walked around the store, looked at the clothes on the racks, and then went to the back door to peek into the yard.
Harper followed behind him, a mixture of nervousness and confusion in her eyes. Grayson finished his rounds, returned to the counter, and pulled out a booklet and pencil. "Sir, there are some things about this case that need to be confirmed..."
Under Grayson's questioning, the shopkeeper roughly recounted what he had told Isaac, though Grayson frequently interjected with follow-up questions.
Isaac listened from the side, thinking to himself that when he asked questions that morning, the shopkeeper's answers were brief, and both of them were communicating within a broad framework.
Grayson, as a professional agent, asked completely different questions, pressing for specific details on every vague description: Was the jacket the same one? Was the accent a problem with pronunciation or word choice? Where was the person standing?
The shop owner was sweating profusely from the questions, and several times he had to stop and think carefully before he could give an answer. This type of questioning forced him to draw on deeper memories, rather than just relying on vague answers like "probably," "it seems," or "it appears."
Moreover, some questions that have already been asked will be suddenly brought up again after a few questions to confirm whether the shop owner's answers are consistent.
Isaac knew he couldn't match that level of meticulousness. He was able to extract the information about the shopkeeper's curse that morning thanks to Carlo's prior indication that "there was a problem" and his own improvisation, but when it came to questioning details, verifying information, and finding contradictions like Grayson did, he was still far from it.
After asking these questions, Grayson said, "Thank you for your cooperation. The Joint Investigation Bureau will be making follow-up visits periodically to confirm that the curse has not recurred and that no new anomalies have occurred. If any similar customers come to the store again, please report to the nearest Joint Investigation Bureau outpost immediately, regardless of whether they buy anything."
The shop owner nodded quickly, "Understood, understood."
Grayson nodded, put the pencil back in his pocket, Isaac seized the opportunity to cough lightly. "Mr. Harper, my clothes should be altered by now, right?"
The shop owner, still caught up in the serious atmosphere of the previous conversation, was taken aback by this abrupt change of topic. It took him a few seconds to react. "Oh, right, your clothes have been altered. They're in the tailor's room on the second floor. Shall I take you up?"
The shop owner said to Grayson, "Please wait a moment, I'll take this gentleman upstairs to get his clothes."
Grayson didn't say anything about it, and it was unclear whether Carlo had mentioned it before or if he simply didn't want to ask; he just looked through the records of the previous inquiries.
The shop owner led Isaac upstairs to the tailor's room where the exorcism had been performed, and took out a set of clothes. "Sir, please try these on. You can change over there."
Isaac walked to a corner, pulled up the curtain hanging on the rope, took off his old clothes, and put on new ones.
The hunting suit was slightly looser than a regular suit, but after the shop owner's alterations, it fit his body better than before. Isaac buttoned up the middle button, moved his arms, and found that raising his arms and turning around were smooth and effortless.
He stepped out from behind the curtain, and the shopkeeper's eyes lit up. He exclaimed, "Sir, this style suits you perfectly! This hunting attire was originally a casual style worn by nobles when hunting. Wearing it, you look like a nobleman on an outing."
Since the mirror in the tailor's room was broken, Isaac couldn't check the overall effect, but he probably looked better in his current form than before, which would make him more suitable for activities in Vista.
Compared to Vista, Palmer was rather lifeless. He had always worn ordinary clothes since childhood, with little attention to detail in terms of workmanship, not even tailored alterations. Now, dressed in this gentleman's hunting suit, which still had a touch of fashion in Vista's style, he did indeed possess a certain charisma he had never experienced before.
As for the so-called air of nobility, it was probably just the shopkeeper's flattery. In Isaac's mind, he would be considered successful if he didn't dress like a nouveau riche.
However, the shop owner was also wondering to himself, since the man in front of him had changed a lot in terms of demeanor just by changing his clothes.
Is it really possible for a single piece of clothing to change a person's overall aura? Although the shop owner often said this when promoting his products, he knew very well that it wasn't that simple.
After all, a person's temperament cannot be changed by just a piece of clothing; manners and upbringing also determine the overall presentation.
In the shop owner's view, rather than saying that the clothes enhanced Isaac's temperament, it was more like he was wearing clothes that suited his original temperament.
... Could he really be of noble birth? The shopkeeper wondered.