Chapter 2162: Abnormal Misfortune
Although Mr. Benhart knew it would become dangerous here, he probably wouldn’t leave Moon Bay City for a short time, after all, every corner of the material world is not peaceful now.
The two of them were drinking, and Shard was teasing the well-behaved cat that had followed them out today. The cat was patiently expecting Shard to turn into a cat. Of course, Shard also talked about the past story of the coroner he heard from Mrs. Dubois when accompanying Miss Belindel to a book salon yesterday.
Mr. Benhart showed a very helpless expression:
"I’ve said before that Ptolemy Albert is a very talented person. Although he didn’t come from a prominent family, he was educated at school and went to the New World with the army. He could have had a promising future not inferior to mine, but... he is a righteous person who can’t stand unjust things. I know this story too, but it’s best not to mention it in front of him, after all, it’s also a sad matter for Ptolemy."
Shard still had a letter that Mrs. Dubois entrusted him to deliver, so after arranging a meeting time for tomorrow with Mr. Benhart, he turned the cat into a toy and put it in his pocket, then went to the morgue alone to deliver the letter.
At that time, the coroner in a brown cloak was quite busy, and there were two other coroners working there as well. So Shard just left the letter in his office, greeted him, and left.
When he arrived home at noon, it was just eleven thirty. Shard had just changed his clothes when the three ladies also came back.
"So, did you find out the problem?"
Shard asked them curiously, Emilia still looked very energetic, and Luviya and Dorothy didn’t seem tired either:
"We searched her room this morning and brought back three suspicious items. See if you recognize them, if not, go ask Old John for help."
Emilia then handed the paper bag she was holding to Shard, who initially thought it was a bag of bread.
Upon pouring out the contents, there was a small black 20-sided die, a yellowed leaf made into a bookmark, and an oxidized blackened silver-plated brooch in the shape of a leaf.
Mia glanced from afar, making no attempt to approach. Shard reached out and touched them one by one, then frowned:
"Emilia, where did you get these from? The leaf and the die both contain the Desecration Element, the brooch has the Whisper Element."
Luviya and Dorothy exchanged a glance, knowing that the morning’s search hadn’t been a waste of time. The elf girl had been asked about this by Luviya, so she didn’t need to recall it again and timidly said:
"The leaf was given to me by an old lady selling flowers when we, along with other students, were transported by the academy’s train to Draleon Northern Winterhold City for the summer practice activities;
The black die was given to me by the storyteller in the train’s dining car after we transferred at Waterson County;
The brooch was purchased at the black market here in Tobesk on our second day. See, it’s in the style of elf jewelry."
"Oh~"
Shard sighed with his hand on his forehead:
"Before leaving school, didn’t the teachers tell you not to keep things whose effects you don’t understand around you?"
"They did, but I didn’t notice anything wrong with these... I didn’t detect any traces of elements."
Lowering her head, her right index finger touched her left index finger. Her pointed ears were red, knowing she made a mistake:
"Now that I think about it, it feels wrong, but at the time I didn’t think these things would attract those dangerous relics."
"Alright, alright, Shard isn’t blaming you, just worried about you."
Dorothy comforted her from the side, allowing the young elf girl to purse her lips and raise her head:
"But which item is the problem? Surely not all three are harmful to me?"
"That’s not certain. Divination told me, all three are accumulating misfortune for you."
Luviya said, and Shard nodded:
"Let’s have lunch first, then we’ll study it. I don’t have other plans today, I’ll take Emilia to handle this in the afternoon. Luviya, continue with your work, Dorothy, don’t you have an interview this afternoon for the ’Nathan Family Poisoning Case’?"
The two ladies nodded, and Luviya reminded:
"If you can’t find the cause, come to the Prophet’s Society. I’ll ask the president to help with a divination, Emilia’s safety is the most important."
All four of them had lunch together at a restaurant. Shard initially planned to take the cat home before taking Emilia to Old Man John’s place. Unexpectedly, when they just returned home, a guest visited.
The knock on the door surprised Shard. The elf girl glanced out of the living room window, noting there was no carriage below. Upon opening the door, Shard saw his superior, Director Anlos. Although it was still midsummer, the cooling weather prompted Director Anlos to wear a yellow-brown scarf.
He first glanced at the girl peeking from the stairs behind Shard, and after Shard gently nodded, he said:
"There’s a task, but it’s not mandatory, nor do you have to do it right now."
"It’s okay, what exactly needs to be done?"
He invited Director Anlos inside, and Emilia wisely took the cat upstairs. Director Anlos then slid a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Shard:
"The ’Boatman’ is still responsible for communication on this matter. We’ve received reliable intel that ’Lion Ryan’ has already given orders to Grey Glove, asking them to stir trouble in the city before the completion of the Moon Bay Bridge. They plan to organize protests during the construction period by using the seven great families’ corruption as an issue, hoping that City Hall and the police station might ’accidentally’ clash with the citizens, allowing the Anjou Royal Family to seize the opportunity to revive discussions on reclaiming Moon Bay City’s autonomy."
Shard listened with surprise:
"So we’re going to take advantage of this opportunity to stir trouble in the city too? Is my task to contact worker organizations for a united strike, or to give speeches at Moon Bay’s university inspiring students to skip classes? Or, perhaps, I’m supposed to organize a secret society, secretly connecting with progressive intellectuals in Moon Bay dissatisfied with the seven great families to establish..."
"Stop, Shard, why would I arrange for you to do those things?"
Director Anlos shook his head:
"You’re not trained as a professional agent, and that lady wouldn’t allow you to take on such a task.
However, you did get one thing right. We do need to do something during this period. Grey Glove’s specific plan is still unclear, but you can see the situation between the two southern and northern countries on the Old Continent. Looking at this year’s autumn harvest, a full-scale war might break out this winter. Despite the superficial calm, both countries are actually preparing for war mobilization. Food issues are not our concern, but Moon Bay must not come under Velindale’s complete control, otherwise once war breaks out, the situation on the West Coast will be very unfavorable for us."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"I wouldn’t come to you for easy tasks, and we have professional agents for complicated ones. After you read this letter, destroy it immediately; it contains someone’s identity information. He was planted as a covert operative by Section Six in Moon Bay City about twenty years ago. Back then, I was just like you, a field agent, not the director, so I have never met him.
Recently, Section Six is attempting to awaken this batch of long-dormant ’Bottom Fish.’ Coordination and loyalty tests for others are underway, but this person has disappeared."
Shard frowned slightly:
"You haven’t contacted him all these years?"
"This batch of ’Bottom Fish’ is quite unique; it’s not something that can be explained in a few words. Anyway, Section Six’s personnel in Moon Bay is searching for him, but it needs some time. Moon Bay isn’t our territory, and in this season, Grey Glove is also tense; it’s not easy for us to take many actions.
Keep this material in mind. If Section Six truly cannot find him, we hope you can help investigate this missing person’s whereabouts. Just confirming life or death will suffice, we’ll take care of the rest."
Director Anlos said, then was pleased to see Shard nod:
"No problem, Director, when exactly do you need me to step in?"
"I’ll contact you when the time comes. I won’t activate this line unless absolutely necessary. Oh, if it really comes down to using you, apart from the fieldwork allowance, all investigation expenses during the investigation will be reimbursed, rest assured."
He patted Shard on the shoulder and then took his leave.
Once Shard closed the door again, the Elf Girl from upstairs curiously came down:
"Shard, was that a client just now?"
"No, he is... my superior. Besides being a detective, I also have other jobs on the side; otherwise, where would I get the money to live alone and raise a cat? Correspondence students all have their own legal sources of income; look at Luviya with wages from the Prophet’s Society, Dorothy made big money from writing books, and the team leader you met has his own psychology clinic."
Shard turned and headed upstairs, Emilia blinked:
"I thought it was the Duchess giving you... Sorry!"
She blurted out her thoughts and immediately shut her mouth upon realizing. Shard was not bothered by such "offense," for most people in the city now believed that despite Detective Hamilton’s real skills, he surely received many benefits from the Duchess:
"My relationship with Duchess Galina is quite special; although she indeed wants to help me, I usually firmly refuse."
Emilia quickly nodded vigorously:
"I knew it, you must be a very independent and self-respecting person!"
[I’ve learned a new phrase from you, freeload with dignity.]
Shard refused to discuss this hometown phrase.