Chapter 9: Suspected Transcendent

“Very well, since the direction and timing are both suitable, I shall follow him. If I lose him, I’ll just head straight to the church. In any case, I cannot go hungry on the first day in a new world. I mustn't think like that, or I’ll start feeling sorry for myself.”

With this “simple” thought in mind, Shade gathered his belongings and set off along the low wall by the street, trailing the man.

To avoid being discovered, Shade didn't dare to follow too closely, even though the fog prowling through the city grew thicker with the arrival of evening. He was self-aware enough to know that he possessed no skills in tailing others.

And so, quite naturally, ten minutes later, when they turned past the back wall of a milk delivery company and ducked into an alley, Shade completely lost track of the man.

“Ha~ should I say, as expected, I lost him.”

Standing in the alley, looking around blankly and confirming that he had truly lost his target, he shook his head and gave up on the search. He didn't dwell on it; since he had lost him, he would just go collect his “relief food.” However—

“Where is this?”

In a completely unfamiliar city, while trying to avoid being spotted and tailing someone, Shade hadn't had the time to memorize his route. He only knew he was now in a narrow alley that smelled terrible.

To his left was the outer wall of the milk delivery company, and to his right was the side wall of a three-story apartment building. On both walls, besides rusty pipes climbing and connecting in various directions, there were layers upon layers of messy, filthy words and graffiti, while the base of the walls was littered with trash and excrement.

Only near the alley entrance were two or three large-caliber, rusted steam pipes piled up, abandoned by someone.

“I’ll check the name of the milk delivery company, then find my current location on the map.”

Having made up his mind, Shade stopped worrying about the person he had been trying to follow.

He turned around and headed back the way he came, carefully avoiding stepping on the indescribable filth in the alley. As he was about to exit the alley, he cautiously stepped aside, as a squad of police officers in uniform hurried past on the street in front of him.

The tall, middle-aged man with a stubbly face at the end of the line glanced at Shade. Shade returned the look with an innocent expression, so the officer paid him no mind.

“Did something happen over there?”

Shade stood at the alley entrance, peering in the direction the police had run. Since he didn't know which street this was, he had no way of identifying what lay in that direction.

“None of my business.”

He whispered to himself, clutching his notebook as he walked toward the entrance of the milk delivery company. This wasn't a factory, just the office building for the delivery department. The courtyard enclosed a small, two-story yellow building, and an old-looking dog was lying at the entrance.

The dog glanced at Shade as he approached, but seeing that Shade only stopped at the gate and didn't enter, it lazily stood up and moved to a spot where the setting sun could reach it.

The name of the milk delivery company was “Silver Parrot.” A strange name, but it was indeed on the map; the previous detective had even noted that a murder had occurred here three years ago.

The murder had nothing to do with Shade. He walked forward while holding a map unfolded to a quarter of its size, constantly confirming that his position was correct.

There weren't many pedestrians on the street, and he could walk with his head down without bumping into anyone. Before he knew it, amidst the sunset glow and thick fog, he followed the direction of the pipes venting white steam along the wall until he reached the end of the street. Ahead was a five-way intersection. According to the map, taking the road that slanted to the left, which had a dessert shop, would likely be a shorter route.

But the intersection was already almost blocked by a crowded mass of people. Near the mailbox on the east side was a silverware shop; the sign had been scrubbed very clean, but something seemed to have happened there. The squad of officers Shade had seen at the alley entrance was maintaining order, preventing people from getting close.

While he stood and observed, more four-wheeled carriages arrived from behind him and other intersections. Within a few minutes, even more police appeared. There were even some people who looked like scholars from a school stepping out of carriages, though it was unclear what they were there for.

Shade hadn't intended to join the crowd; the relief food was his priority. But because there were so many people rubbernecking, he found himself squeezed to the front of the crowd while trying to pass through the intersection.

He wanted to back away, but the people behind him wouldn't have it. The police in front kept shouting for people to disperse, saying there was nothing worth seeing.

Perhaps noticing that Shade, who had been pushed to the front, had no intention of getting closer, a young officer with a pen in his breast pocket kindly warned him to watch out for pickpockets.

This made Shade a bit nervous, and he subconsciously reached for the ten-penny note in his pocket. After confirming it was still there, his peripheral vision caught another squad of armed police escorting three men in plain clothes into the silverware shop.

The tallest of them was exceptionally burly, and the young man in the middle had the air of a scholar. The last man looked familiar to Shade; he seemed to be the missionary who had handed him a flyer that afternoon.

“Do the missionaries of this world moonlight as police officers?”

He thought of a conclusion he didn't even believe himself, gripped the coins and pocket watch in his pocket, and planned to leave quickly, otherwise, he would be late.

The moment he turned to squeeze backward, a strange warning flashed in his heart. Before he could understand why this feeling had appeared, he heard a sound—

BOOM!

The explosion caught everyone by surprise. The sound, which nearly tore his eardrums, caused screams to erupt from the crowd. Although he couldn't see the flames, the silverware shop’s glass display window shattered instantly, and the wall seemed to tilt, causing the metal pipes on it to emit a harsh, screeching sound of twisting metal.

Fortunately, the police hadn't allowed the crowd to surround the shop entrance, so no one was injured when the panicked shouting began.

The crowd dispersed like a dam breaking. Shade, standing at the front, remained calm and wanted to leave, but he saw a middle-aged man with brown hair running toward the silverware shop entrance

“I’m a reporter! I’m a reporter! What happened here?”

He clutched a notebook in one hand and waved his credentials with the other, rushing toward the scene more excitedly than anyone else, only to be deftly stopped by the young officer

“Gas pipe explosion, sir. Please do not approach.”

Shade, hearing this conclusion, didn't believe it at all. How could a gas pipe explosion—

BOOM!

Another explosion, which nearly stopped his heart, rang out inside the silverware shop. The vibrating air almost generated enough force to push people back.

This time, even the glass on the second floor of the silverware shop shattered. The falling glass shards forced the police maintaining order to temporarily flee. As Shade retreated, he saw through a window that on the exploding second floor, two people seemed to be fighting in a cloud of white mist, and one of them appeared to have light glowing on their fist.

The distance was too great, and the fog brought by the sunset was also obscuring his vision, so Shade couldn't see very clearly.

“Transcendence?”

He thought to himself.

【Yes.】

The woman’s voice startled Shade, but knowing she wouldn't offer further explanation, he didn't ask, instead leaving the area quickly.

“The three men from earlier were definitely from the church, and this happened right after they entered... As expected, the churches in this world are likely transcendent powers themselves, and they seem to be closely integrated with the kingdom’s order. In that case, the probability that the Orthodox Churches can be trusted has increased significantly. I wonder if I might have a chance to use the church’s channels...”

This meant he now had two options. Not only the psychologist, but the five churches in the city also offered Shade a chance to come into contact with the transcendent and figure out the voice in his head.

“But why did I happen to run into something like this?”

He walked along with the dispersing crowd toward his original destination, while the woman’s voice in his mind spoke the sentence he had already heard

【Observe his ring.】

Although he still didn't know who the woman in his head was, Shade at least knew she didn't have any obvious malice. He immediately obeyed and looked around, and to his surprise, he saw the young man with the pebble ring and the suitcase walking not far ahead.

“Such a coincidence... I know it can't be that coincidental. Wait, the explosion earlier—could it have something to do with him? Why would I have such a thought? There’s no evidence at all right now.”

With this thought, Shade actually didn't want to follow anymore. If the other party could create explosions with their bare hands like the two in the silverware shop, following him was practically asking to replicate the tragic end of the previous detective.

“No, no.”

Shade slowed his pace, wanting to let the man naturally disappear from his field of vision. But to his surprise, the young man also stopped, took out a map to check it just like Shade had earlier, and then carried his suitcase into a nearby alley.

“Follow or not?”

The woman’s voice in his head had prompted him about the ring three times; she couldn't be doing it just out of boredom. But Shade, who knew almost nothing about this world, had to maintain necessary caution.

He continued walking according to his original plan. As he passed the alley the young man had turned into, he glanced inside quite naturally and saw the man turn a corner and disappear.

“Follow or not?”

He asked himself again, suddenly realizing that the decision he made now would affect his life for a long time to come.

“Follow or not?”

He asked the woman in his mind. He heard laughter, and heard a whispered reply

【The path of destiny unfolds before you, traveler from afar. Are you content with the mundane, or do you crave immortality? The world is like an ocean; do you have the courage to explore the horrors beyond the peaceful islands? The path of destiny unfolds before you—one leads to the transcendent, the other...】

“Follow!”

Shade gritted his teeth and pressed against the wall as he entered the alley.

(End of chapter)