Regardless of what secrets the witches held, Shade was very happy tonight.
A specific relic was about to be in his hands, he had secured a documented job, and he even had a lead on the "White Stone Crystal." Presumably, Miss Tifa Servette would explain what she wanted Shade's help with when she delivered the relic.
After finishing her business, Miss Galina left Duke Lucas's residence directly with the people from the Prophet Association, but Shade did not leave. As soon as he stepped out of the study, he was "caught" by the old Duke, who had been waiting for him.
The enthusiastic Duke led him back to the Rhode card salon being held in the banquet hall, introduced him to the guests invited tonight, and carefully, wearing gloves, observed [Genesis: Silver Moon] from a close distance.
Whether it was because of this card or because of Miss Galina, people were very warm toward him. Everyone wanted to get to know the young detective; in one hour, Shade received more business cards than he had since arriving in this world.
Duke Lucas took great care of Shade, even remembering to urge the guests not to reveal the identity of the detective who held the [Genesis: Silver Moon] card, but it could be said that the card had truly appeared.
The Rhode card enthusiasts were so excited that by the time Shade got a chance to sit down and eat something, an hour had already passed since he left the study.
"Thank you."
After finishing a discussion about Rhode card techniques with two gentlemen beside him, Shade took the napkin handed over by a maid. He then discovered that the maid was Miss Bias.
The female warlock with long brown hair winked at Shade, and Shade nodded understandingly. Shortly after, he left the banquet hall and headed toward the restroom. After declining the servant's guidance, he saw Miss Bias waiting at the corner of the corridor as expected; she was still dressed in that maid's outfit.
"Detective, you really are quite something," she whispered.
Shade carefully checked his surroundings, and after confirming no one was nearby, he lowered his voice and said, "Miss Bias, why are you here? Wearing this... aren't you really hot?"
It was already nearly the height of summer.
"This outfit is certainly hot, but there's no other way. There are some things I need your..."
She hesitated. Shade could guess that she wanted his help but didn't want to involve him—a "commoner"—in the incident, which is why she was currently conflicted.
"Need my help?"
He spoke the words for her. Miss Bias nodded shyly and looked at Shade hesitantly. Although she was younger than Miss Annette and Miss Louisa, Iluna Bias was not short; the top of her head reached roughly to Shade's eyebrows.
"Yes."
"I want to hear first what you need me to do," he said. He didn't agree immediately just because he knew her, nor did he refuse instantly out of fear of being embroiled in an accident.
"Do you remember Baron Hull?" Miss Bias asked.
"Of course. The one wearing boots that look like they have horseshoes nailed to them, who was in charge of checking our Rhode cards just now," Shade recalled.
Miss Bias nodded and explained quickly in a low voice: "I want to find out some things from him, regarding the [Mercury Blood]. He is just a commoner, but he is a sponsor of the [Mercury Blood] and might know the location of the Silver-Eyed One. Let me explain: the [Mercury Blood] is an illegal organization, and the Silver-Eyed One, Diak, is their leader."
Learning that the help Miss Bias sought was merely extracting information from a commoner, Shade felt relieved and immediately formed a plan.
He nodded. "I'll go back first and strike up a conversation with Baron Hull."
He would perceive at close range whether the man was a Ring Warlock.
"If it goes smoothly,"—meaning, if the man was not a Ring Warlock—"I will invite him to the corridor to discuss matters."
In other words, he would lure him out.
"Do whatever you like, but remember not to let him keep the memory of this. In other words, don't implicate me."
But Miss Bias certainly had no way to erase memories; otherwise, she wouldn't have been bluffed by Shade after using the Sun Spear last time.
"No problem. I've prepared a very good relic this time."
Seeing Shade agree, Miss Bias immediately smiled.
She carefully fished out a pure black metal rod from the pocket of her heavy maid's dress. The metal rod was of uniform thickness, resembling a part from some precision steam machinery.
Miss Bias gripped both ends and gave a light pull. With the sound of metal friction, a thin rod was drawn out, making the current metal rod the length of two fountain pens.
The sound in his ear indicated this was a relic. Miss Bias explained: "A scribe-grade relic, the [Beast Tamer's Memory Eraser]. It takes effect with a tap on the head. I specifically stole—cough, I mean borrowed—it from the squad. As long as you make sure it doesn't touch blood and don't tap it on the head of a child under six, it won't go out of control. This is the best tool for dealing with commoners... Detective, I won't use it on you."
Shade already put on a worried expression, clutching his head and stepping back. Although, this thing was likely useless against him.
Miss Bias retracted the metal rod and said somewhat bashfully, "You helped me, so I won't use this against you. Besides, you've kept your promise to maintain secrecy these past few days; we will have many more opportunities to cooperate."
"I am just a commoner. As long as you are holding that thing, I will absolutely not approach you easily."
He continued to hold his head with both hands, which made Miss Bias even more annoyed.
Thus, Shade returned to the salon alone, but he did not approach Baron Hull immediately. Instead, he pretended to speculate about this autumn's "Great City Player" Rhode card tournament with the people who came up to talk to him. Once he felt he had blended in with the crowd, he took the opportunity when servants were serving drinks to approach Baron Hull.
"Oh, Mr. Hamilton, this is truly a wonderful game!"
Before Shade could initiate the conversation, Baron Hull, wearing those strange boots, spoke enthusiastically. The friends around him also welcomed the young detective to join their conversation.
Shade naturally extended his hand to Baron Hull, and the two shared a polite handshake. During this moment, Shade heard the answer from the whispers in his ear
[Commoner, no elements on the body, does not possess a relic.]
Although she might not be omnipotent, Shade believed this was not a low-probability error.
He continued chatting with Baron Hull and his friends, learning that the people around him were a major factory owner in the city, a newspaper proprietor, and a shipowner in Coldwater Port who owned an entire fleet traveling between the New and Old Continents.
Shade had a different purpose for Baron Hull, while the others were testing his relationship with Miss Galina, so the atmosphere of the conversation was very pleasant, with everyone complimenting one another.
As an outsider, Shade was not very accustomed to such social settings. Therefore, when the time was right, he gave the Baron a subtle signal, told the others he needed to go to the restroom, and walked out of the banquet hall without looking back.