At the very start, Duanmu Huai had approached the matter with a simple "hand it to Ranni and it'll be fine" attitude.
But before long, he noticed something seemed...…off.
He didn't know what exactly Ranni had done, but Mary's expression was looking very abnormal.
At first it was a pale face going "it's so scary, it's really so scary."
Then it shifted to hollow, vacant eyes murmuring "I have to survive, I have to survive...…"
And finally it became "I just have to kill them, right...…I just have to kill them, right...…"
"...…"
Honestly, she was looking dangerously unstable.
"What exactly have you been putting her through?"
Duanmu Huai finally couldn't help himself and went to find Ranni to ask. He had gone to all that trouble to get hold of someone with the Golden Eye — he wasn't about to let her get broken.
"Ah, nothing much really."
Ranni seemed perfectly calm in response to his question.
"I just threw her into the underground catacombs."
"The catacombs...…you don't mean those hero graves, do you?"
"Of course that's where. Real combat experience is what matters most, isn't it?"
"..."
Duanmu Huai finally understood why Mary looked the way she did.
"Is she alright?"
"She's fine. That girl might look the way she does, but she's actually quite tough. And her escape techniques are really something else."
Well, that was fair. Duanmu Huai had always thought Mary had come out of her initial training without any real combat ability — only her escape techniques had developed. Now it turned out that was actually quite useful. Though "escape techniques" sounded simple, hiding from monsters in the City of Darkness wasn't as easy as running around like a headless chicken. It required sharp reflexes and the ability to assess and choose a route in an instant — otherwise you'd bolt down a dead end and be at someone else's mercy.
From that perspective, Mary's escape techniques were at least professional-grade.
Assuming that was a recognized profession.
The only problem was that Mary in her current state absolutely could not be seen by her friends — otherwise there was no telling what kind of commotion it would cause.
Fortunately, the Academy had been on break during this period. Mary had told her friends she was going out for an off-campus internship, which was just as well, because otherwise it really would have been hard to explain.
"That said, the Golden Eye really is something remarkable."
According to Ranni, Mary's Golden Eye could not only effortlessly track an opponent's attack trajectory, but could even pinpoint the convergence points and direction of magical power as a spell was being cast. For area-of-effect magic, even the caster themselves couldn't always determine the exact range — yet Mary could dodge all of it with ease. By her own account, all she had to do was look, and she could instantly understand the direction and endpoint of any spell...…
This Golden Eye was an absolute [bug].
Thanks to this, Ranni had actually developed a keen interest in Mary's Golden Eye — perhaps unfortunate for Mary, but considering the genuinely dangerous battles that lay ahead, Duanmu Huai let Ranni do as she pleased.
Better than dying on the battlefield.
After that, Duanmu Huai also observed Mary in combat...…well, how to put it — perhaps because she was so accustomed to running, Mary's fighting style leaned heavily toward evasion and counter-attacking. She almost never initiated an attack on an enemy, and she certainly wouldn't strike first. She would only dodge and counter after an enemy had already come at her.
Honestly, from Duanmu Huai's perspective this was a bit too passive — he preferred to strike first rather than take a hit and then retaliate. But going from doing nothing but fleeing to now being able to fight back and counter was already quite significant progress.
Well, probably.
Though Ranni had put real effort into teaching her, she noted that Mary's magical capacity wasn't particularly high, so she had only helped her master a handful of spells — "Glintblade," "Carian Slicer," "Carian Retaliation," "Starlight," and "Composure"...…according to Ranni, once she had a handle on these, Mary should have no trouble looking after herself in most situations.
And judging by how she looked in training, that did seem to be the case.
As for more powerful magic...…well, Ranni said Mary simply didn't have the magical capacity to use it.
"After a few more rounds of real combat experience, she should be about ready."
"Hm? Wasn't what I just went through real combat?"
Hearing Ranni's words, Mary went visibly pale.
"That was only training. Real combat is...…still quite a ways off. Either way, I'll leave the rest to you."
For Ranni, teaching Mary those few spells was probably considered mission accomplished. And really, it was — if the goal were to train her as a proper mage, there was obviously no way to see results in less than two or three years. But since Mary only wanted to learn how to use magic rather than study it deeply, it wasn't that difficult. Like learning to drive — put in enough practice time behind the wheel and you'd get the hang of it eventually.
Advanced techniques like drifting could wait until later — though for most people, they'd probably never need to know how to tackle a hairpin bend through a drainage ditch in their entire lives.
Conveniently, the Academy's new term was about to begin, so Duanmu Huai brought Mary back to her world.
"Mr. Duanmu, if you receive another commission, please make sure to take me along!"
Unlike before, Mary was now quite enthusiastic about it. Duanmu Huai understood — having finally learned how to use magic and deal with danger, Mary was eager to put it into practice. Like someone who had just learned to drive, always full of excitement and wanting to get behind the wheel.
"Don't worry. If a commission comes in, I'll definitely call on you."
That was the promise Duanmu Huai made to Mary.
And the result was...
"It really is so dull..."
Sprawled on the sofa, Duanmu Huai stared blankly at the television with a thoroughly bored expression. He had assumed that being in a new place, there would be no shortage of commissions — and indeed there had been quite a few at first. But over the past half month they had dried up dramatically, leaving Duanmu Huai feeling thoroughly restless. Some letters had arrived, but after reading through them, he found none of them were anything worthwhile — at least from an investigator's standpoint, looking into marital infidelity held absolutely no interest for him.
Unless the person they were having an affair with was an Evil God, that would be another matter entirely.
Incidentally, by contrast, business in exorcism items had been surprisingly brisk — there had even been a number of repeat customers who, according to the maid and Lorena, had come back excitedly saying "this thing works so well, please give me a few more."
Well...…the people of this world really were something else. They'd rather deal with the problem themselves than go to a detective?
And after dealing with it and finding it useful, they wanted to buy more? Meaning they planned to handle things on their own in the future?
From the Inquisition's perspective, being able to recruit souls was a good thing, but on the other hand — competing with your own business was something else entirely!
Duanmu Huai found it thoroughly baffling. The people of this world were truly something else in this regard.
Then again, thinking carefully about it — if they weren't this way, the profession of investigator probably wouldn't exist in this world at all.
And fortunately or unfortunately, when a person complains about how bored they are, they rarely stay bored for long.
Just like now.
"Sir Knight, there's a letter for you!"
Lorena came bounding into the room and handed Duanmu Huai an envelope. He reached out and took it with mild curiosity, confirmed it wasn't some tedious banquet invitation, then opened it and pulled out the letter inside.
The letter read as follows.
Dear Sir, I write on behalf of my client, Mr. Best Hank of Cornwall County, to extend his greetings. I imagine this letter has left you somewhat puzzled. In truth, what you did for the Baskerville family is no secret among those of us in certain circles. We are all well aware that you are an exceptionally capable expert in resolving matters of this difficult and unusual nature. On behalf of my client, I therefore take the liberty of inviting you to my office to discuss certain matters that are not suitable for correspondence. If you are willing, please come to 139 Knight Street, where I shall await you at your convenience...…
"Well now, this is interesting."
At that, Duanmu Huai sat up. This was the first letter that had mentioned the Baskerville family. Of course, Duanmu Huai naturally hadn't gone around broadcasting what had happened there. He was a detective, and had an obligation to confidentiality — whether the Baskervilles had chosen to speak of it was their own business. The fact that the sender had brought it up meant they were signaling a connection to the Baskerville family.
In other words, it was essentially the equivalent of "a mutual acquaintance referred me."
At least that was more credible than the sort of commissions that came from people who'd heard vague rumors on the street, or the idiotic clients who wouldn't listen to reason.
So Duanmu Huai called the number provided in the letter. The voice on the other end belonged to a refined, courteous-sounding man, and after arranging a meeting time, Duanmu Huai headed out with Lorena to the address in the letter.
In a rather modern-looking office, Duanmu Huai met the letter's author — Schiller Bost, a legal advisor.
"Welcome, Mr. Duanmu."
The moment he laid eyes on Duanmu Huai, the mustachioed legal advisor was visibly startled, but he quickly recovered his composure and broke into a warm smile, showing Duanmu Huai and Lorena to their seats.
"Though I had heard something of you, seeing you in person is truly...…impressive."
"That's not important. I think we can skip the pleasantries and get to the point — you didn't ask me here just for a cup of coffee."
As he said this, Duanmu Huai reached out and took a sip of said coffee.
Mm, not bad actually.
"Of course not. As stated in my letter, I've invited you here on behalf of my client, Mr. Best Hank, to request your assistance."
At that, Schiller set aside some of the warmth in his expression.
"In truth, some very strange things have been occurring in Cornwall County recently. To put it simply...…"
He then laid out the situation for Duanmu Huai.
In brief: over the past few years, Cornwall County had seen no shortage of trouble. Local residents had been disappearing at irregular intervals, only for their bodies to turn up later. Of course, if that were all there was to it...…
"Vampires?"
"Yes."
Schiller nodded and produced a folder, laying the photographs inside it out before Duanmu Huai. They showed a corpse — on the neck were marks resembling puncture wounds from a snake's fangs, and the entire body was drained of color. Well, corpses did tend to look that way.
"According to the coroner, these bodies had large quantities of blood drained from them. But beyond that — shortly after burial, the bodies were found to have disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Yes. The graves were dug up, and the bodies within were gone without a trace...…and so the local population has grown very frightened, and believe it to be the work of vampires."
"Hmm...…that does sound like a classic vampire story."
People bitten by vampires would turn into vampires themselves, then disappear from their graves and go on to attack others.
"What has the police said about it?"
"Not much."
Schiller spread his hands helplessly.
"The police have simply concluded it was most likely the work of some criminal gang. As for the disappearing bodies, they have no intention of investigating further."
"Then why does your client concern himself with this?"
Duanmu Huai looked at Schiller with curiosity. Anyone who could retain a legal advisor of this caliber was clearly not without means — if it was simply a matter of personal safety, moving away would have been the simpler answer.
"Because my client is also a person of standing in the area. As things continue, the population there will only dwindle further, and he wishes to investigate the truth and put an end to it. He had previously engaged detectives and similar professionals to assist with the inquiry, but none made any progress. While my client was troubled by this, he happened to learn of what occurred in Devonshire, and after contacting the Baroness of Baskerville, she recommended you to him."
"I see...…out of curiosity, is your client also a nobleman?"
"Yes. Mr. Best Hank is an Earl."
"I see...…understood."
No wonder the Baroness had told him everything — noble circles being what they were...…that sort of thing was inevitable in the Old World.
"So...…would you be willing to travel to Cornwall County and conduct an investigation? My client is prepared to cover all travel, lodging, and living expenses for yourself and your assistant throughout the duration, and if the matter is truly resolved, a generous remuneration will be provided as well."
"Hmm...…"
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai thought it over. Whatever the man's motives might be, this looked genuine enough for now. After all, covering food, lodging, and transport for his entire party was no small sum — and as for the specifics, he could always ask the Earl directly when the time came.
"Alright, I'll need to go back and make some preparations before I give you a final answer, but consider the commission accepted."
"That is wonderful news."
Schiller smiled at that.
"Then please feel free to contact me at this number at any time. Once you have settled on a date, I will inform my client as soon as possible — I'm sure he will be very pleased to hear it."
After wrapping up his conversation with Schiller, Duanmu Huai returned to his apartment and sent Lorena to deliver the good news to Mary.
And for Mary, it truly was good news.
"So we're heading to Cornwall County to investigate?"
Mary had rushed over the moment she received word, her eyes lighting up, practically bouncing on her feet like a puppy whose owner had just offered to take it for a walk.
"More or less."
"But the vampire rumours in Cornwall...…I have actually heard some of my classmates mention it."
"Oh? It's spread all the way here?"
"There were reports in some of the street papers. I didn't pay much attention, but quite a few people seem to enjoy that sort of story."
"Ah...…street papers."
Fair enough. That kind of rumour was never going to make it into a proper newspaper — it was exactly the sort of thing those street tabloids and gossip rags loved. The same way old railway magazines used to run stories about "the mysterious secrets of the Bermuda Triangle." Same principle.
"By the way, do you have the time?"
"It depends on how long...…"
"About half a month. Possibly a month if it runs long."
After all, Duanmu Huai still didn't know what kind of creature they were dealing with, so he couldn't say how long it would take.
"Hmm...…that might be a bit long...…"
"Depending on the situation — can you manage?"
"I, I'll find a way! If it's an off-campus internship, I should be able to get leave — it's just a bit awkward to explain to Shirley and Ashelica."
After all, Mary's area of study was ancient languages and archaeology — claiming to be going out on an archaeological fieldwork placement wasn't entirely implausible.
"Oh?"
"Because Shirley and Ashelica don't have the best impression of you, Mr. Duanmu...…ah, I personally think it's fine, but they always feel like you look a bit dangerous...…they're not very keen on me spending too much time around you."
Well...…from an ordinary person's standpoint, that wasn't wrong.
"Can't you just make something up?"
"If they find out, I'd have to cover it with more lies — and Shirley and Ashelica are both very sharp. If they caught on, they'd only worry more. But please don't worry, I'll do my best to convince them!"
Since Mary said so, Duanmu Huai left it in her hands. And she wasn't wrong — spinning too many lies made them a pain to maintain.
Duanmu Huai did lend a hand as well, putting in a request through Professor Palmer. Going through a full-time Academy professor made applying for leave considerably smoother. And after the Antarctic expedition, Professor Palmer seemed to have sensed something — though he didn't ask any questions, he agreed to Duanmu Huai's request without hesitation.
With that settled, Mary had the Academy's official approval to take leave under the guise of an off-campus internship.
(End of Chapter)