The legitimate primary business of the Lucky Southern Cross Club was the collection and tasting of wines and spirits; the illegal Rhode card casino only operated at night. According to Miss Beas, the Church of the Evernight and the Ridgewick Field had conducted a joint search of the premises yesterday afternoon, but failed to find any clues.
Due to the club's connections with high nobility, a full-scale raid was the absolute limit. As a newcomer to the Police Department, she believed she possessed certain special investigative abilities that might allow her to obtain clues.
Shade suspected that Miss Beas might possess some form of mysticism related to reconnaissance, which reminded him of his own spell, "Echo of Blood," which he had used in a club once before.
He knew Miss Beas's true identity and did not understand why she was being so proactive in her investigation. The young lady did not seem like someone driven by a thirst for merit, so he could only temporarily assume she had other connections to [Mercury Blood].
Since Miss Beas was a newcomer to the "Police Department," no one here knew her identity, allowing the two of them to walk directly into the club. Their disguised identities were young merchants arriving to purchase fine wines to entertain distinguished guests. Consequently, after receiving a warm welcome, they were led by a club maid to a second-floor parlor to wait.
"Detective, you are responsible for stalling the club staff and negotiating business with him. I will use the excuse of going to the restroom to conduct my investigation. That is your entire mission; I think it should be no problem."
Before the club's manager on duty arrived with the wine catalog, Miss Beas briefed Shade. Shade had very few objections to this simple plan
"Stalling him won't be a problem. Since you are the employer, of course, I will follow your lead. But I don't know anything about wine, so I might inevitably show some flaws."
"It doesn't matter. You only need to find an excuse to keep him occupied."
Miss Beas shook her handbag.
"I am paying to hire you, so you naturally have to provide value. The longer you stall, the more I will pay. Stall him for at least twenty minutes, and do not let him suspect my departure from the room."
"I'm not even sure I can do it."
"It's fine. Even if your identity is exposed, it won't land you in prison."
Miss Beas patted Shade's shoulder; she looked very confident.
The decor of the parlor was quite tasteful. All the furniture was made of dark brown solid wood, and half of the floor was covered in a red carpet that Shade suspected was made of wool.
Soon, someone pushed the door open. It was a man dressed in a black formal suit, with a serious expression, holding a red booklet.
"It's you?"
The man entering recognized Shade immediately, and Shade recognized him just as quickly. The man was none other than Mr. Neet, the infiltrator detective he had discovered the night he came here to pick up Little Franklin.
Such a reunion was greatly unexpected for Shade; the man knew his identity was not that of some wealthy merchant buying wine.
Fortunately, when Shade accepted Miss Beas's commission, he had prepared himself. He hadn't originally wanted to mix the two matters together, which was why he had agreed to pose as a merchant, but now that he had been outed, he no longer cared about such trivialities.
His mind became more active than ever before. His expression shifted from relaxed to serious, and Shade lowered his voice to speak first
"It really isn't easy to catch a glimpse of you."
"Hmm?"
Mr. Neet and Miss Beas both voiced their confusion, the latter finally realizing that the two knew each other.
"Detective, what are you doing here again?"
Mr. Neet asked, eyeing the attire of the two people in the room.
"You aren't here to pick someone up this time, are you? The casino isn't open during the day."
"Of course not. I want to see 'that lady'."
He said, taking out his portable notebook and pulling out three Rhode cards.
"I heard last time that 'that lady' is also collecting Rhode cards, and I happen to have some good ones. I already sent a letter informing her that I would come this evening. It seems I am a bit early, but that's fine. If 'that lady' is not in, I can wait a little while."
"That lady" had instructed Shade in the letter not to say she was the one looking for him, so Shade had fabricated a reason on the fly. As for why he was posing as a wine-buying merchant to see her, Shade did not mention it, but Mr. Neet didn't care. As soon as "that lady" was mentioned, Mr. Neet suddenly became nervous.
"You wish to see that lady? No problem. I will go upstairs immediately to inquire if the distinguished lady is willing to see you now."
"Huh?"
Now it was Shade's turn to be surprised. He had no idea the person was actually in. Their agreed meeting time was two hours later.
*But it seems it doesn't matter. She wanted to see me anyway; I can use this as an excuse in a moment.*
His heart gradually settled. He glanced sideways at Miss Beas, who was confused by the previous conversation.
"This is my female companion. I believe 'that lady' would not want to see a stranger. Please find a room for her to rest; do not disturb her."
He deliberately reached out to pat the brown-haired girl's shoulder, displaying intimacy between them.
Mr. Neet did not doubt him.
"Of course. Since she is your companion, she is naturally a VIP of the club."
He then summoned a maid from the hallway, arranged another parlor for the two of them, and instructed that no one was to disturb the guests after the tea and snacks were delivered.
During the time the maids were preparing the refreshments, Mr. Neet went to the third floor to ask the maids for information. He was not qualified to see "that lady," nor was he even qualified to knock on her door.
Soon, Mr. Neet brought back an answer allowing Shade to go upstairs, without giving Miss Beas or the detective any chance for a private conversation.
Before they parted, Shade pretended to stand up and straighten the wrinkles in his clothes, secretly giving the young female sorceress of the Church of the Evernight a meaningful look, signaling her to be extremely careful.
But Miss Beas clearly misunderstood, because she actually gave Shade a secret thumbs-up—which, in this world, was also a sign of praise.
*Once this is over, I am definitely going to demand a huge sum of compensation.*
With this thought, he followed the guidance of that familiar, plump maid toward the third floor.
It was still the room with a wall-to-wall bookshelf, and he was still conversing with the lady inside through the door. Only this time, Shade was permitted to sit in the study, and the maid had prepared tea and snacks for him.
The temperature in the room was normal, and there were no strange objects on the coffee table; it seemed this meeting would proceed normally.
"You did well at Lakeview Manor."
After the plump maid closed the door from the outside, "that lady" spoke these words immediately.
Since she had helped the five members of the group escape suspicion, it was impossible for her not to know they were on the third floor at the time. However, Shade was unsure if she knew that the "masked man under the silver moon" was him.
"Speaking of which, the appointment was for this evening. My appearance here is for other matters. So, your early arrival—is this a coincidence?"
The woman asked. Judging by the normal temperature in the room, her mood today seemed to be quite good.