Late at night, on the first floor of the firm.
Inside the living room, Fenri's ears twitched slightly as she caught the sounds coming from her surroundings.
Isaac must have fallen asleep... It waited a while, and when it was sure there was no movement, it slowly stood up, walked to the living room window, and put its front paws on the windowsill.
The latch slid open, and with a gentle push, the window opened. It got up, crossed over, landed on the street, turned back, and used its claws to close the window back into place, leaving a crack.
The Red Maple Street was deserted and quiet under the night sky. Fenri moved along the shadows at the base of the wall, and as a black dog, it did not attract much attention.
Crossing the street and bypassing a squad of officers on night patrol, Fenri stopped at the alleyway opposite the Joint Investigation Bureau building, slipped into the alley, and crouched low in the shadows.
A few minutes later, a gray shadow flashed past the wall by the alley and landed lightly on the lid of the trash can.
Patch sat upright, its eyes gleaming in the moonlight, and slowly swept its tail.
" Fenriskul, we caught a whiff of your stench a few days ago. We never imagined you'd actually return from the Wilderness. We thought you'd died there."
" Parkeichi, I never expected you to submit to Vicania's side."
"It's better than rotting and stinking in the Wilderness." Patch licked his front paw. "Besides, Vicania's strength far surpasses ours. But she's the winner, after all. Losing is losing. Being alive is already lucky. Winners take all, losers eat dust."
"However, besides you, there's another guy who seems to be reviving as well. We can smell it—a rotten, old odor."
" Morzul... No wonder I smelled the scent of Morzul's messengers; I thought he was long dead."
"Are any of us truly dead? Meow. But Morzul probably wants to return through that human, doesn't he? Luckily, the messenger was too dim-witted to clearly convey Morzul's intentions for return. Otherwise, perhaps your new master would be tempted."
Even if you expressed it, you wouldn't have the chance.
"Meow?"
" Carlo Schuster."
"Meow, that's true. With that guy around, it's not easy for Morzul to do anything, unless... he's willing to act like a dog like you, and be walked around on a leash."
"You think being a cat is something to be proud of?"
"Meow, it's glorious for us to be either gods or cats."
Fenri swept its tail across the ground, ignoring the comment. "We still need to get rid of that messenger; keeping it around will only cause trouble sooner or later."
"Are you worried that someone will steal your master?"
Fenri tucked her ears back, and Patch meowed, "That's true. Finding that person first and returning to the mortal world is indeed your skill, but it seems that guy didn't form any formal contract with you. Verbal obedience doesn't count. If someone stronger and more obedient comes along one day, you'll have to step aside, meow."
" Parkeichi, if you don't want to deal with it, fine, just wait to be stank to death by that thing. Anyway, it's on your turf."
Patch's tail slowly stopped wagging, and after a few seconds of silence, it said, "... Fine, I'll do you a favor and get rid of that thing. I don't want to smell that stench every day."
What are your plans to do?
"You don't need to worry about that." Patch stood up.
Seeing Patch preparing to leave, Fenri called out, "Wait."
Patch stopped in her tracks.
" Parkeichi, what's the situation with Vicania?"
Why are you asking this?
"I encountered... a demigod who seems to be Vicania."
"Oh, you mean her? That means Vicania is hiding something much bigger than we thought. How would we know anything?" Patch licked his paw. "We're just living under her roof, begging for food. What she's plotting, she wouldn't tell us, a mere cat, would she?"
"Times have changed, Fenriskul. With that woman's current strength, no one in the entire Western Territory can threaten her. You'd better not pry too much; who knows if that woman will kick you to death."
Fenri gave a low hum.
Patch jumped off the trash can lid. "I should head back. Patrick doesn't really care where I go, but it's never good to go back too late."
"You're quite obedient."
"When you're living under someone else's roof, you have to follow some rules." Patch took two steps toward the alley entrance, then stopped. "Keep your distance from now on. If Vicania thinks we're plotting something bad, we're doomed. We don't want to be trampled to death by her."
Are you afraid of her?
"You're not afraid? Then try baring your teeth at her next time you see her."
"... Long time no see, I didn't expect you to have changed like this."
"Otherwise, what else do you think we can do? But you, Fenriskul, you've changed too. Remember how you used to call me 'I' so aggressively, as if you wanted to tear me to pieces? Now look at you, tucking your tail between your legs like a dog, even changing how you refer to yourself."
Fenri froze for a moment, then Patch flicked its tail. "Alright, I'm leaving. You can rest easy being your dog now."
As soon as he finished speaking, the gray shadow disappeared into the night.
Fenri retraced her steps, returning to 122 Red Maple Street, closed the window back into place, locked the latch, and curled up in front of the fireplace.
The next morning, after Isaac finished washing up and changing his clothes, he went to the living room and found Carlo sitting at the table with a cup of tea and a newspaper in front of him.
Good morning, boss.
"Good morning." Carlo turned a page of the newspaper. "After you finish with Vilka, you can go directly to the Joint Investigation Bureau."
Isaac nodded, finished his breakfast, and picked up his cane and hat hanging by the door.
As I walked out of the office, newsboys were hawking the morning paper's headlines on the street corner. It wasn't about last night's attack; I didn't know if the news hadn't spread yet or if it had been suppressed.
Isaac pulled out a note with the address Vilka had given him yesterday, along with a street name and house number.
He was unfamiliar with the area, but he had money in his pocket, so he simply flagged down a horse-drawn carriage and showed the driver the address.
After boarding the carriage, about fifteen minutes later, it stopped in front of a building. The driver turned around and said, "Sir, we've arrived at the church."
Isaac paid the fare, got out of the car, and looked at the building in front of him. It was a small church, not ostentatious. Compared to the magnificent building of the Glory Cathedral, this small church seemed more like a place for people in the surrounding community to worship.
He stepped into the church. Inside, rows of pews stood, and at the far end, candles were lit on the altar, where a nun was kneeling in prayer.
Knowing that it was inappropriate to interrupt the prayer, Isaac sat down on a bench at the back to wait, resting his cane on his lap, taking off his hat and placing it on his knees, and looking at the idol behind the altar.
Vicania is depicted as a veiled young woman holding Golden Bough branch, her robes flowing down, the Golden Bough extending upwards from her palm, its leaves spreading out at the top as if to touch the dome.