Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Looking at the dark sky being lit up by streaks of lightning, Derrick didn’t knock on the doors of the few acquaintances he knew. Instead, he walked along the broadest road and walked all the way to the training field at the edge of the City of Silver.
After each exploration team returned, they were forced to stay here for a certain period of time. Not only would it be convenient for them to communicate and report on the things they encountered in the darkness, but they would also be quarantined in a tactful manner to guard against strange things that might latch onto any member’s body and suddenly erupt after a certain amount of time.
This was the result of the City of Silver’s two thousand years of experience. It wasn’t that complicated, but it was quite useful.
As soon as he entered the training ground with the Axe of Hurricane stuffed behind his waist, Derrick Berg’s eyes suddenly lit up. He saw the gorgeous Elder Lovia, who seemed to be in her thirties, as well as two familiar faces that were his age.
Due to the City of Silver’s limited environment, its population was unable to grow any further. The number of people of a certain age group was an adequate number, and although Derrick wouldn’t dare say he knew all of them, he had seen a majority of them before. He was classmates and partners with some of them during general education classes and on the practice grounds.
The person Derrick was most familiar with on this expedition team was Darc Regence, who had once been his patrol teammate.
The youngster named Darc was of medium height and was slightly chubby. He was strong, optimistic, and cheerful. His face often beamed with a friendly smile. Currently, he was a Sequence 8 Gladiator of the Giant pathway.
At this moment, the two parties were separated by a translucent wall that was as hard as steel, making it impossible for them to make any effective form of contact. They had to wait until the members of the exploration team were confirmed to have no problems before they could meet directly.
Derrick, who had become silent and withdrawn since the death of his parents, waved to Darc.
Noticing this, the Gladiator turned his head to the side and looked over.
“Darc, how was it? You didn’t encounter any danger, did you? ” Derrick shouted.
The material used to create the black wall in that area came from somewhere that wasn’t far from the City of Silver and was called Dark Amber. It was hard as steel, but at the same time, it possessed a certain degree of transparency and had properties that made it good for transmitting sound. Derrick’s speech went through unobstructed.
Derrick imagined that Darc would definitely smile brightly and wave his arms out of habit, saying, “Take a look, I’m not injured at all, so shouldn’t it be obvious that we didn’t meet with any danger. It was nothing!”
Hearing his voice, Darc walked a few steps closer to the wall and answered with a smile, “No, everything went smoothly.”
Looking at his smile without any faults, Derrick suddenly felt a chill run through his body. It was just like he was camping in a ruined tower or a ruined city at night. Darkness was all around him as they accumulated into overwhelming horror.
…
Inside the Quelaag Club, Klein and Dr. Aaron agreed on the remuneration: two pounds!
I have to say that a doctor’s money sure is easy to earn… If it were me in the past, such a request would have cost at most 10 soli… Klein, who already had the intention to take the mission, sighed in his heart.
He remembered that during his time with the Nighthawks, he had heard Corpse Collector Frye mention that famous doctors had very high incomes.
At the time, in a response that was unlike the poet, Leonard Mitchell, he said that as far as he knew, if a house was bought in a busy borough in Backlund for a storefront, the quickest option would be to turn it into a clinic.
They agreed to call on Will Auceptin’s place after dinner. It wasn’t three o’clock in the afternoon, so the equestrian teacher, Talim, gathered the three of them together at a table, and they began playing a game of Upgrade, the game which was invented by Emperor Roselle.
What I expected was to play tennis, practice shooting, flip through the books in the library, and live a healthy life… But why did it become like this… Klein spontaneously thought in between the card game.
Frankly, with his current accomplishments in “magic,” he could’ve easily cleared out all the money Dr. Aaron, Reporter Mike, and Talim had on them.
But I’m an honest man, and I believe more in my skills and luck… As the red-vested attendant shuffled the cards, Klein picked up a cream cracker and took a savory bite.
He couldn’t help but marvel from the bottom of his heart, This is life!
During the game, Klein noticed one thing—the equestrian teacher, Talim, was no longer in a daze or as upset as he was before.
Has the matter of his friend falling in love with someone he shouldn’t have been resolved? Klein thought curiously as he sipped the marquis black tea.
As a detective, he knew that this wasn’t something he should ask in front of others, so he restrained himself and concentrated on his card game.
By five o’clock, Mike Joseph had to go back to his company, so the game was suspended and Klein won five soli.
My luck has been quite good recently… While Klein sighed with relief, he saw Dr. Aaron leave the table for the washroom. He controlled his voice and said with a low laugh, “Talim, has your friend’s problem been settled?”
Talim, who was throwing the cards in his hands onto the table, paused for a second before sighing with a smile.
“You could say so.”
He added with a certain desire to continue, “Actually, it wasn’t too serious. It was because I was thinking too much at the time.
“Simply put, it was an illustrious young gentleman who fell in love with a commoner. You should know that a man of such status has to marry a noble lady. Heh, to him, not even the daughter of a rich man can do.”
So that’s how it is… To think that I made up all sorts of contrived and bizarre stories, such as falling in love with a man, a monster, or a person that isn’t permitted because of moral principles… Klein was disappointed and said with a laugh, “As far as I know, gentlemen of high society don’t mind having a mistress.”
“No, Sherlock, you don’t understand. Love, do you get it? Love! That young gentleman only wants to marry that commoner woman,” Talim exclaimed with a sigh.
No, I don’t understand, I’m just a bachelor dog 1 . Klein opened his mouth, unable to respond.
Talim sighed to himself.
“For the sake of that young gentleman’s future, I once thought of asking you to find people with some miraculous abilities to covertly, heh heh… Anyways, I’m a law-abiding citizen, so it was just an idea.”
“How was the matter resolved afterward?” Klein asked with interest.
Talim picked up his highlander coffee and took a sip.
“The solution was much simpler than I thought. I went straight to the lady and told her of the dilemma. She sensibly expressed her willingness to leave the gentleman and asked for my help.
“I must say that she’s truly a considerate, kind, refined, and beautiful girl. If it wasn’t for the consideration of my identity, perhaps I would’ve knelt in front of her and kissed the back of her hand.”
“Well, it seems like I couldn’t have helped.” Klein picked up the golden-rimmed white porcelain cup of black tea.
As a visitor from Earth, he was completely uninterested in the task of breaking up couples.
However, listening to gossip was another matter altogether.
…
After having dinner at the Quelaag Club and tasting the limited-supply of Sonia Lobsters, Klein and Dr. Aaron took the latter’s carriage to Will Auceptin’s house at 66 Dalton Street in North Borough.
This was the address that Dr. Aaron had long since memorized. He didn’t return to the hospital to look up the appropriate medical records, and according to Klein’s conjecture, any relevant information pertaining to Will Auceptin would likely have been taken away by the Nighthawks.
As a former Nighthawk, I know exactly how they do things… Klein smiled bitterly and sighed.
Pulling the doorbell, the two waited for a while before they saw the door open. A maid in a black and white dress puzzledly asked, “Gentlemen, who are you looking for?”
Seeing that Aaron was still as cold as usual, Klein took the initiative to speak up.
“We’re looking for Will Auceptin. This is his attending physician. He came back to check on his health.”
“I-I don’t know him. I’ve only been here for a few days… I’ll get my master. Please wait a moment,” the maid answered blankly.
While they were waiting, Aaron suddenly said, “I almost believed the reason you came up with just now.”
“This is a basic quality of being a detective.” Klein chuckled.
At that moment, an old gentleman in his fifties walked to the door and said with a deep voice, “Will Auceptin and his family have already moved away on…”
He gave a date.
Aaron did a slight count before frowning.
“Why would they go through the trouble to move two days after being discharged from the hospital after the operation?”
He acted like he was really on a follow-up visit.
Klein was slightly puzzled and asked, “Sir, how do you know the date so clearly?”
Typically speaking, subsequent tenants would only move in after a certain period of time.
That old gentleman snappily replied, “Someone came to ask before, and I even went to look for the landlord just for that.”
The Nighthawks… Klein asked without much hope, “Do you know where Will Auceptin and his family moved to?”
“No,” the old man said tersely.
“Did they leave anything behind?” Klein hesitated for a moment before continuing with his questions.
“Some stuff,” the old man took a deep breath and continued, “but they were all taken away by the previous group of people!”
Meeting colleagues truly is a helpless matter… They can always think of the things you think of ahead of time… Klein couldn’t help but sigh.
Seeing that there were no further clues, Klein and Aaron politely excused themselves and left 66 Dalton Street.
“It seems like you’ll have to wait a long time before you can resolve your doubts.” Klein turned to Dr. Aaron.
Aaron was silent for a few seconds, then he slowly let out a breath.
“After what happened just now, I’m not so troubled anymore. I’m just a doctor, and it’s good enough to mind my own affairs. I should return to do a follow-up check-up and not question the situation, what other people think, or why they’re not kind. That shouldn’t be something I should be concerned with. In the future, I should just try to maintain the relationship between a doctor and a patient as much as possible.”
“It’s for the best that you can think this way.” Klein agreed from the bottom of his heart, then he casually asked, “At the time, what was wrong with Will Auceptin’s left leg?”
“His left calf grew a strange tumor that coincidentally formed a ring that pressed down heavily onto his blood vessels.” Dr. Aaron recalled as he said, “But the kid didn’t look too upset, just a little scared, and we wanted to preserve the leg at first, but it was getting worse.”
