Chapter 25: The Cat-Finding Commission

By the time he left the doctor's psychological clinic, the sun was already setting. The setting sun shining through the misty city gave Shard a sense of profound displacement, as if he were in another world.

Only half a day ago, he was an ordinary person; now, he could ignite a piece of paper with nothing but his thoughts.

"It's not actually that different."

Thinking carefully, he had gained everything he had now while having sacrificed almost nothing. It seemed a bit too fortunate.

"But according to the doctor, besides the compulsory credits earned through study, one must also complete the academy's practical tasks every academic year to earn practical credits. Otherwise, even if one advances to the Second Ring, they will be held back."

Life seemed to be getting back on track, creating a slight sense of unreality for the outsider who, just yesterday, was still considering how to claim relief rations. His plans could now be further updated; with power, the work at the detective agency could continue.

Shard intended to complete the three-month task left by his predecessor—provided, of course, that he completed at least one formal commission to test whether he was truly suited for the job.

To save money, he walked home, but to celebrate, he ate dinner at a restaurant.

It was already seven in the evening by the time he returned home. After studying the doctor's notes briefly, he learned that the academy actually provided formal instruction for both mysticism and sorcery. However, corresponding to the spiritual runes, everyone had their own unique explorations, which could lead to the creation of personal mysticism. These could be used for exchange or kept for personal study.

In that case, rather than researching mysticism on his own, it would be better to wait until he had textbooks and learn some basic mysticism first. Nevertheless, unable to resist his curiosity, Shard spent the entire night exploring spiritual runes.

Thought influences matter; the mind interferes with reality. Yet, by the time he went to bed, he could not trigger the power of [Space-Time] at all. Shard could only make his fingertips emit a faint silvery glow—the mysticism of the [Silver Moon] rune.

The light was incredibly tranquil; gazing at it brought Shard a sense of peace.

"It's useless, but at least it can save some gas money... Speaking of which, do I also need to pay the water, gas, and steam bills for this house myself?"

Carrying such pessimistic thoughts, he drifted into sleep amidst his exhaustion.

The moon hung high in the night sky outside the window. The brightest phase of the Silver Moon had passed, but it still shone upon him.

Although both the doctor and the lady writer believed that the impact of a Circle Practitioner's inauguration would not be easily ignored—suggesting a detective might need three days of bed rest—Shard, who woke up punctually at 6:30 the next morning, felt no different from yesterday.

He lay in bed for a while, contemplating the relationship between the world and life, before his thoughts were dragged down to a lower, more realistic level by his embarrassing financial situation.

Only then did he hold his finger up to his face and see the faint silvery light at his fingertip. He stared at the light for a long while before letting out a small sigh of relief. His sour mood, caused by the thought of his empty wallet, instantly improved, and he even stopped worrying about the gas bills he had thought of before sleeping.

He got up to wash, and at just past seven, he waited punctually at the door for the newspaper and milk. He hadn't seen the newspaper yesterday because he had woken up too early; in fact, he had seen the *Tobesk City Morning Post* and the *Kingdom Early News* lying on the doormat when he returned home last night.

Of course, starting next month, he would have to pay for the newspapers himself.

After drinking two bottles of milk, he went out for breakfast and placed the empty bottles in the milk box by the door. Although Dr. Schneider had told Shard to rest well for three days, Shard felt no abnormality in himself and attributed it to the strength of an outsider's soul.

Therefore, he still intended to try the commissions left by the previous detective today.

Only if the commissions went poorly would he consider pawning the detective's estate to repay his debts.

He did not plan to involve himself in Mr. Lawrence's mistress investigation for the time being; he would wait three days and consult the doctor and others about that pebble ring before making a decision.

Among the remaining three commissions, finding Miss White's missing sister and inquiring about a doctor who could treat eye diseases were both somewhat difficult. Thus, today's task was to find a lost orange cat for Miss Mia Sang Gaude.

In truth, the predecessor, Detective Hamilton, had already found the cat, but he had not handed over the case to leave Shard with a simple task. Therefore, Shard only needed to pick it up and return it to the client.

After eating breakfast at a restaurant near St. Dean's Square, he tucked the rolled-up newspaper under his arm and walked east along Charid Avenue. He waited at the next intersection for a moment, watching the crowd preparing for work in the Monday morning mist.

Then, he turned left into the somewhat narrow Iris Lane, glancing at the wild grass growing unusually lush due to the arrival of summer, and carefully avoided the barefoot children running wildly through the alley. According to the detective's notes, he stopped in front of the building bearing the sign "Good Old Peter's Pet Shop."

His nose had already caught the scent of fermenting animal manure, but just as he was about to knock, the door of the pet shop actually opened on its own. A girl with long brown hair walked out; she looked very young and was clutching a red lady's handbag.

She was startled upon seeing Shard, then nodded politely and walked past him, heading east along Iris Lane.

Shard's gaze followed her, watching the brown-haired girl merge into the flow of people at the mouth of the alley.

"She..."

It wasn't love at first sight, of course; rather, the moment he saw her, Shard suddenly experienced a strange sensation.

"It was as if, in that moment, the surrounding light suddenly dimmed, and a single spotlight fell upon her. She was the protagonist of the stage..."

"That is someone from the Church of the Sun, young man. You'd best not harbor any unnecessary ideas."

Only then did he notice a middle-aged man with a bulbous nose standing before the pet shop door behind him, watching Shard as he turned around.

The man's scent—a mixture of fermenting animal manure and food—was even more pungent. He wore blue overalls with a faded outer garment over them and mud-stained black boots.

"Is there something I can help you with?" the middle-aged man asked.

"Hello, I am from the Hamilton Detective Agency. I've come to pick... please, wait."

Shard withdrew his momentary, wondrous sensation and looked at the note in the predecessor's notebook

"An orange cat, about half a year old, with a pure white tail. It has orange markings on its left front leg, while the other legs are pure white. Its name is Mia."

He described the characteristics of the orange cat, and to his surprise, the man's expression changed drastically.

"You're not trying to tell me that cat is lost, are you?"

Shard's expression also changed drastically as he pressed against the doorframe and asked in a low voice. The predecessor had paid to board that cat here, and the client—described as a "generous lady"—had offered two pounds and three shillings to find the cat, even allowing for the reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred during the search.

Such an offer was extremely unreasonable, but it also indicated the owner's desperation. Given such a high reward, if it weren't for the fact that "Good Old Peter's Pet Shop" was closed on weekends, the first commission Shard would have chosen would definitely not have been Mr. Lawrence's mistress.