Because Captain Lades had scheduled a visit for the evening, Shade had no other plans for tonight.
After returning home, he placed the bottle of holy water into the hidden space in the basement. He then took the cat out for a lavish dinner. Afterward, using the time before Captain Lades arrived, he finished writing the investigation report on the lawyer Locke Laurel from yesterday and mailed it to the client, Mrs. Lemel.
With that, the only thing left for this commission was to accompany Mrs. Lemel to sign the documents.
Captain Lades, who had promised to visit, finally knocked on the downstairs door at seven o'clock that evening.
The Captain's entire mental state was different from before; when he came to visit, he brought a bottle of wine that looked expensive as a gift.
He excitedly recounted to Shade what he had seen and heard while giving his statement at the Ridwich field, and repeated the news he had obtained from a friend, which he had already mentioned in his letter.
Finally, using his broad, rough palm, he gripped Shade's hand tightly and shook it repeatedly, thanking the detective for his help with an emotional expression
"I have known many people in my life, but Detective, you shall be my friend for life."
"Captain, this was your own choice. I didn't invite you to help me and Mrs. Cook yesterday; you chose to follow along yourself. It was your own kindness that changed your fate."
Shade was happy for him, but even after saying this, the Captain still believed it was Shade who had changed his destiny.
This middle-aged man from a military background, who was relatively kind-hearted, wanted to thank Shade. However, he didn't have much money, so he could only offer his gratitude verbally and promise that he would never forget Shade's kindness.
This actually made Shade feel a bit embarrassed.
On Friday morning, he received a letter from the client. Mrs. Lemel had already made an appointment with Lawyer Laurel to receive the inheritance from that distant relative next Friday; Shade was to accompany her as per the commission contract.
As for why it was scheduled for Friday, it was because Lawyer Laurel needed to coordinate with the notary office at City Hall to confirm that the transfer of inheritance could proceed. Since it involved a significant sum of money, the process was relatively complex.
There was no rush for the commission for now, and opening the new key required waiting time, so life suddenly seemed to become leisurely.
Thus, he left the house at eight in the morning to go to the Black Raven Library to inquire about the occult art of [Echo]. The library did indeed have the knowledge Shade wanted, and [Echo] was not a rare spirit rune. The problem was that while the occult arts they provided were practical, the prices were exceptionally high.
Even though Shade had nearly 400 pounds in cash to spend, he was deterred by the [Power of Echo], which cost 700 pounds including materials, and the [Sound of Natural Void], which cost 1,200 pounds excluding materials.
Shade knew he had no intention of studying the [Echo] spirit rune in depth, and for the time being, he saw no connection between this rune and [Space-Time] or [Silver Moon]. Therefore, even if the Queen's ruby ring and the Rhode cards in his hand could be liquidated, he would not spend so much money on knowledge unless he encountered a truly practical occult art.
He gained nothing at the Black Raven Library, but the library at St. Byron's might have cheaper occult arts. Unfortunately, although the library catalog from last week was still in Shade's possession, the occult arts in that catalog were only related to [Silver Moon], [Space-Time], and [Gluttony].
Therefore, he would have to wait until Saturday—tomorrow—to further research the materials.
He rushed home at nine-thirty, confirming one last time that all sensitive items were hidden in the basement, before welcoming the exorcists from the Church of Dawn at ten o'clock.
Shade had originally thought it would be a high-level Ring Caster, but to his surprise, when he opened the door, a team of people was standing outside.
【All nine are Ring Casters. The man closest to you is of a higher level than your doctor friend.】
In other words, to show importance to the newly converted Shade, the Church of Dawn had arranged an entire squad of Ring Casters to perform the exorcism.
The squad leader was a man of few words but strong execution. He introduced himself as Hells Nidro, a professional exorcist of the Church of Dawn in the Tobesk Archdiocese. After a brief introduction, the group went straight to the second floor.
Mr. Nidro took a slightly rusted black iron key from his pocket. After confirming with Shade that the lock was intact, he opened the door with the key.
"No, Mr. Hamilton, half of us will enter first. Once safety is confirmed, you may enter."
He held the door and spoke to the young detective holding the cat; he truly seemed to have extensive experience.
Five members of the exorcist squad filed in, and it was a while before the others outside were allowed to enter.
Room No. 2 on the second floor was similar to the previously sealed first floor; the gas and steam pipes were completely cut off, and the windows were all boarded up. A layer of dust covered the floor, kicking up clouds as they walked.
They first removed the boards from the windows, and then the nine people divided the labor to inspect the various rooms.
Shade was told not to wander, but he could still see the general layout of the house while standing in the living room of Room No. 2. It was empty of any furniture, but at least the decorative walls were preserved. The layout of the room was identical to Room No. 1, where Shade and Mia lived.
There was no longer any trace of the mass suicide event from the last owner's time. Once the windows were opened, the musty smell and dampness inside the house were alleviated.
Looking around, there were no suspicious signs indoors. He asked in his mind, but only received a reply that everything was normal.
The Church's Ring Caster squad had come prepared. They conducted a thorough inspection of every room. After ensuring Shade was not peeking, they closed the doors and used occult arts and incantations to perform the exorcism, ensuring that even if an evil spirit existed, it absolutely could not survive.
The entire exorcism operation lasted over an hour, finally ending at eleven-thirty. The "exorcist squad's" conclusion was
"This place is safe, there are no evil entities, and therefore it can be used normally."
Shade was half-skeptical of this conclusion; after all, the Church had similarly believed there was nothing strange in the basement. Thus, as soon as the Church's Ring Casters left, he immediately returned to the now-open Room No. 2.
"Echoes of the Past!"
Five times in a row, he heard no suspicious sounds.
"Blood Echo!"
Large, faint crimson halos spread across the floor, walls, and ceiling. The brutality of the mass suicide event from decades ago far exceeded Shade's expectations. However, the overlapping bloodstains provided no effective clues. He could barely make out some blood-stained footprints, but he couldn't discover their value as he had during the basement exploration.
Because of his "experience" in the basement, he finally tried summoning the Life Ring, using the spiritual light of [Space-Time] to illuminate every part of the walls in sequence.
This was a massive undertaking; Shade spent a full half-hour on it. It wasn't until Mia walked out of Room No. 1, meowing impatiently for lunch, that he gave up, having failed to find any more hidden walls.
"It's a good thing. It would be strange if every floor of the house had a problem."
Standing in the center of the living room looking at the empty room, his worries vanished, replaced by an indescribable joy
"The usable area of the house has increased quite a bit."
【But you and the cat don't need such a large space.】
"Seeing the house grow larger gives me a sense of heartfelt happiness. You probably can't understand; in my hometown, it's almost impossible to own a house this big."
He stroked the walls of the room, considering the usable area of his home. The feeling of having a stable residence of one's own, of having a home, is truly important for an outsider.
However, looking at the dust on his hand from the wall and the footprints in the dust on the floor, he couldn't help but worry that as the house grew larger, cleaning would become more troublesome.
At this thought, the image of the black-haired maid, Miss Tifa Servet, suddenly jumped to mind. He immediately shook his head
"That's someone else's maid. I probably need to spend money to hire a housekeeper to come and clean the rooms once a week... maybe helping with the laundry would be nice too."
【Do I need to remind you that the one staring at you from the door is also someone else's cat?】
Her voice was charming.
"That's different. How can people and cats be the same?"
Shade said in his mind, receiving only laughter as an answer.
"Meow~"
Mia sat obediently at the door, flicking her tail, waiting for Shade to take her out for something delicious. The small orange cat knew very well that if no cooking was happening in the kitchen by this time, it meant they were definitely eating out.
Lifting her right paw to rub her fluffy cheek, the cat hated going out, but loved eating out.
After the leisurely morning ended, the afternoon itinerary had been arranged long ago. The Tobesk University Union had placed an advertisement in the *Steam Bird Daily*, inviting members of the public to attend academic lectures.
Shade had planned to attend the lecture, so he set off after lunch. As for Mia, she continued to guard the house at No. 6 St. Delan Square. This timid cat disliked going out, and even more so in the hot summer. Shade prepared a basin of snow for her and used another water basin and a heavy object to press it down, preventing the cat from accidentally eating it.
Presumably, Mia would spend a cool afternoon.
This academic lecture was sponsored by the Kingdom's Department of Culture and Education, the Tobesk City Hall, and a few nobles, organized by the Tobesk University Union, with the venue provided by the Delarion Royal Institute of Mechanical Engineering.
The academic lectures began at one-thirty that afternoon and lasted until eight-thirty in the evening, divided into different sessions based on the discipline. In addition to the educators and scholars of the city, scholars from the surrounding regions of the Kingdom and even from Carsonrick would appear. But overall, it was not a large-scale event.
PS: Of course, it won't be completely problem-free, but it's not time for that side-story yet.
(End of Chapter)