According to Ronald’s original assumption,
Nicole was either dressed in her investigator uniform or in some casual clothes when she visited his home.
Her upper body was clad in a neat pearl white blouse, over which she wore a small winter coat for warmth; her lower body was draped in a pale green printed long skirt that hid her legs, revealing only a pair of slightly raised heel leather shoes at her feet.
Especially noticeable beneath the slant of her beret,
the investigator’s smooth hair cascaded from beside her ears, resting upon her shoulders.
The negative effects of casting spells had streaked a strand of her hair white, resembling a trendy highlighting technique.
Had Ronald met her for the first time in this attire,
he probably would have thought this beautiful young woman was an artist or musician walking the artistic path.
But Ronald knew in his heart that this was merely a guise for Nicole.
She was, after all, an investigator who battled society’s dark underbelly and sinister forces in Greenwich every day!
Soon, Nicole sensed Ronald descending the stairs.
She watched him pause at the stair entrance, and with an air of elegance natural to investigator girls, she greeted him in a calm tone:
"Ah, Ronald, you’ve come down."
"I received the note you left at my home last night and rushed over immediately."
Just as Ronald was about to respond to Nicole, a voice suddenly came from behind him:
"Mr. Ronald, please make way."
The usually amiable landlady appeared from the direction of the stairs, brushed past Ronald, and then headed to the kitchen across the spacious hall.
Despite the ample space on the first floor,
Mrs. Hudson made a point of walking very close by Ronald, inadvertently interrupting the response he was about to make.
At the same time, Nicole, seated on the living room sofa, caught sight of this scene and her face instantly flashed a very cheerful expression.
She then leaned forward slightly, rising gently from her chair—an ordinary movement
yet performed with the same grace as a pianist standing for a bow after a performance.
With each step measured exactly the same,
Nicole approached Ronald with an air of elegance and then spoke:
"Shall we talk in your room?"
Immediately afterward, without waiting for Ronald’s reply,
Nicole glanced towards the direction of the kitchen from the corner of her eye, then stepped forward and wrapped her arm around Ronald’s:
The moment the investigator girl’s arm came to rest, Ronald gasped in surprise:
—The reason was simple.
From Nicole’s arm, he felt an overwhelming strength that was impossible to resist.
Even with his current physique, he couldn’t put up any effective resistance.
Nicole had certainly...
used her own rune magic to enhance her body strength for this effect.
Like a doll being dragged, Ronald was pulled upstairs,
and he glanced at her face.
The expression on the investigator girl’s face was clearly that of a child’s pure, undiluted mischievous grin after pulling off a prank.
Silently, Ronald was hauled to the second floor.
Having left the door ajar on his way down, Nicole didn’t bother to ask and simply pulled Ronald into the room.
it was clear she must have learned his exact address from the bureau’s intelligence.
Moreover, even the fact that Ronald lived on the second floor of the apartment was also known to her.
After Ronald was thrown into the room, a soft click was heard from behind.
Nicole skillfully closed the door at the entrance and then sighed with relief,
"Ronald, how was my performance just now?"
"Did I really have that noble lady’s demeanor, didn’t I!"
Watching Nicole, whose expression had come alive again, Ronald was silent for two or three seconds before he finally spoke,
"Hmm, you did seem quite convincing."
The investigator girl smiled and then went on to explain:
"Last night, I was assigned by the bureau to secretly guard a nobility party, and these clothes are what I wore for work. This morning when I saw the note you left in my mailbox, I hurried over without changing."
"So, Ronald, what’s so urgent that you came to my place at night?"
"And if I remember correctly."
"Aren’t you supposed to be working at that exhibit on the outskirts?"
As she asked, Nicole’s expression gradually turned serious.
Clearly, she understood that whatever had Ronald seeking her out in the middle of the night was definitely no trifling matter.
Seeing the investigator girl’s expression, Ronald naturally nodded.
His tone also turned serious:
"As for the exhibit, it probably won’t be held for a while."
"There was a murder there yesterday, and it involved some rather complicated matters."
Nicole’s eyebrows shot up, and she immediately pressed:
"So, you came to find me because of this exhibit?"
Ronald shook his head to deny:
"The reason I came to find you at night has to do with something that happened on my way back to Greenwich."
"Do you remember Lama?"
Hearing Ronald’s response, Nicole’s pupils constricted:
"You mean, the demon summoned by Salaman?"
"The one we caught at the vineyard?"
"Exactly." Ronald nodded and then continued, "Last night when I was returning to Greenwich..."
Without waiting for Ronald to finish, the investigator girl immediately interrupted:
"Don’t tell me you encountered that demon again on your way back to Greenwich?"
Watching Nicole’s surprised expression, Ronald silently nodded.
For a moment, the room on the second floor of the apartment fell into silence.
However, Nicole soon broke the silence.
Stepping forward and closing in on Ronald, she looked at him with a very serious, steady gaze before continuing to ask:
"Ronald, did you fight him?"
Ronald shook his head and denied:
"It wasn’t a fight, just an encounter."
To be honest, last night’s confrontation with Lama was essentially him launching a fierce attack and then the demon vanishing after managing to pass on a message. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t to the level of fighting that Nicole was thinking of.
Hearing Ronald’s explanation, the investigator girl continued to inquire:
"So, the demon didn’t fight with you?"
"Then what did that thing want with you? It’s not like he came to give you a pitch: ’Excuse me, sir, might I take a moment of your time? I would like to talk to you about the finer points of using Summoning Magic.’"
Observing the investigator girl’s puzzled expression,
Ronald didn’t plan to keep her in suspense, and he explained straightforwardly:
"What Lama mentioned had to do with an invitation."
"Invitation..." Nicole began to repeat Ronald’s words, then opened her mouth only to become speechless. After a few breaths, she exclaimed in amazement and with a skeptical tone: