Since I had only gone to the newspaper office to place an ad that morning, I wasn't expecting any guests in the afternoon. Shard thought there wasn't much to do today—just needed to visit the Prophet's Society tomorrow to have "Genesis: Silver Moon" appraised again. With no major plans for the week, he decided to spend the afternoon reading and translating.
Shard considered himself quite diligent, and even the cat, accustomed to its nap, consciously avoided disturbing him.
But this leisurely afternoon was quickly disrupted by the sound of the bell downstairs at one-thirty. The sleepy cat leaped off the sofa in a flash, and Shard, puzzled, got up to tidy away the sensitive textbooks:
"How strange, who could be looking for me? Could it be another person seeking Detective Sparrow Hamilton?"
Looking down from the living room window, because of the angle and the canopy over the door, he couldn't see the visitor's appearance. He descended the stairs to open the door and was greeted by a young girl with long brown hair.
Standing at the doorstep of the Shard residence was a young girl, possibly not even eighteen, with long brown hair. She wore a white blouse with a ruffled collar and two rows of silver decorative buttons on the chest, over which she had a brown vest, unbuttoned—quite a practical summer outfit.
Around her neck was a black silk scarf, and in her hand, she held a brown checkered handbag. On her right hand, she wore a delicate gold ring. She wore a simple skirt which ended just above the small black leather shoes on her feet.
Although women wearing trousers had become a phenomenon in this era, ladies still primarily wore skirts.
There she stood at the doorstep of the Shard home. Shard had the illusion again that all the light in the world seemed to focus solely on her.
Shard's face froze instantly; it was Miss Iluna Beath of the Sun Church, the girl whom Miss Annette regarded as "one of the thirteen Chosen Ones" and the woman in his head regarded as "the main character of destiny."
[It's not what I believe, it's what you believe.]
Last time, Miss Annette had said she would try to pretend to be a prophet to approach Miss Beyas. Now, unexpectedly, Beyas herself had taken the initiative to appear before Shard.
"No, Miss Annette is a prophet indeed, it wasn't pretense."
Shard reminded himself, then recalled Miss Annette's advice—to act like an ordinary detective in front of Miss Beyas.
"Are you Detective Hamilton?"
Seeing that Shard had only opened the door a crack, clutching at the door without fully opening it, the girl outside asked, her eyes studying the detective's expression. This was the first time Shard had heard Miss Beyas speak, her voice crisp, conveying a sense of youthful vitality distinct from Miss Luisa and Miss Annette.
"Why has she come looking for me... have I been implicated?"
Shard thought to himself but didn't forget to reply:
"Yes, this is the Hamilton Detective Agency... Good afternoon, madam. Hmm, have we met before?"
At this question, Miss Beyas blinked but did not respond. After all, during their last encounter at Lakeside Manor, the captain of the Circle Sorcerer squad she was part of had made Shard forget about their meeting, leaving only residual memories now.
She then introduced herself:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hamilton. My name is Iluna Beath, an employee of Blackstone Security Company, but also a nominal officer employed by Riddlevitch Field in Tobesk City. I've come today to inquire about Lady Lassoya, Mr. Lawrence's mistress. There's been a shortage of personnel at Riddlevitch Field lately due to the ribbon-cutting event for Queen Diana, so that's why I'm here.
This is official business as part of the cooperation between Blackstone Security and Riddlevitch Field, and I hope for your cooperation."
"Riddlevitch Field" is the name of the Tobesk City Police Department, responsible for the security management of the entire capital of Tobesk and surrounding areas of the Draleon Kingdom, and sits on Silver Cross Avenue, alongside Yordle Palace and the Prophet's Society Tobesk Branch.
And "nominal officer," like the title of "detective consultant," is an official status that employees of security companies or detectives cooperating with Riddlevitch Field can obtain. After all, the police are always limited in funding and perpetually short on manpower. For private security firms and inept detectives like Shard, having an official status makes many things more convenient.
Since Miss Beath claimed to be an officer of Riddlevitch Field as well as an employee of a security company, Shard understood the ways the Circle Sorcerers of the True God Church cooperated with the Kingdom's officials.
It was indeed efficient and also convenient for concealing identities.
"Alright, Miss Beath, I will cooperate," he said hesitantly, nodding his head while maintaining the character setting of a regular detective, and then he stepped aside to let Miss Beath in. Mia Cat, who had been following at Shard's feet, darted up the stairs ahead of him upon seeing a stranger, apparently frightened.
As he went up the stairs, Shard couldn't help but marvel at the lady's youth, and that despite being a woman she could actually be an officer in the police department.
"Detective, do you think women are incapable of this?"
Miss Beath casually asked while looking at the blocked-off downstairs passage, and of course, Shard denied it:
"Of course not, Miss Beath, I have always believed that women are also an important productive force in society. It's just that you are very young," he replied.
Probably having never carried out many missions on her own, Miss Beath remembered to take out her credentials to show to the detective, thinking that the detective's comment on her "youth" was a doubt cast on her identity.
Because there were some sensitive items in the study, Shard hosted Miss Beath in the living room. He used the fine tea left by the previous detective for their meeting, and when thanked by Miss Beath, she also praised the detective's taste as being very good.
She looked around the interior decorations of the detective agency, and after they both took their seats, they started on the actual business:
"Detective Hamilton, I don't know if you're aware that Lady Lassoya, once investigated by your uncle, Detective Sparrow Hamilton, is now listed as a wanted criminal by Riddlevitch Field."
"Are you referring to Mr. Lawrence's mistress? How could this be? I saw Mrs. Lawrence, the client, just last week, and she didn't mention anything about this."
Shard feigned surprise:
"I have also met Lady Lassoya. I wouldn't have thought such an upper-class woman could become a wanted criminal!"
He thought the tone of this statement might be a bit exaggerated, so he planned to make his next comment more subdued.
In reality, the two people face to face both knew that "Lady Lassoya" was already dead, reduced to nothingness. But Shard knew the girl opposite also knew this, and he also knew that the girl opposite didn't know that he knew, which provided great convenience for Shard's disguise.