At the mistress of the house's word, the maidservant stepped aside and gestured for Ais to enter.
Stepping through the door, Ais was greeted by a brown-haired, blue-eyed woman of middle age. She was dressed lightly but far from shabbily — nothing like the typical Ruenish housewife's style. Though the sight of Ais clearly surprised her, she hid it smoothly and welcomed her with a warm smile:
"A pleasure to meet you, Detective Fal. I'm Mia Dalton. My husband, Snep Femi, is the owner of this house."
For the people of this world, whether a married couple shared the husband's or wife's surname depended on their faith. Storm Church followers naturally took the husband's name, as did adherents of the War God, whose views on gender roles were similar. In the south, Feynport people who worshipped the Earth Mother Goddess — placing great importance on fertility and the cycle of life — would take the wife's name instead.
The remaining four churches took a more practical approach: whether to share a surname came down to whether it would affect one's career. Most people still considered sharing a name a kind of commitment, a symbol of closeness between spouses. Only the Evernight Goddess's faithful tended not to see it that way.
In fact, the Church of the Evernight Goddess 's openness about names extended well beyond married couples. Zoe Freya was a perfect example: though Zoe followed her father's faith in the Evernight Goddess, she was likely to inherit her mother's trade and provide makeup services to others. So while her father was still living, the two of them had decided she would take her mother's surname.
"A pleasure to meet you as well, Mrs. Dalton." Ais removed her deerstalker cap and gave a small bow.
When visiting a family rather than specifically a woman, addressing the wife by either her own surname or her husband's was acceptable. So Mrs. Dalton's expression only softened further as she led Ais toward the sitting room sofa:
"Please sit, Detective Fal. If only all detectives were as well-mannered as you."
The sitting room isn't actually much larger than my own — just more things in it, and at least five servants… Ais took a quiet mental note of this and said nothing about the furnishings that could have covered years of her own rent.
After asking Ais's preference, the mistress sent the maid to brew tea.
Glancing once more at an oil painting of a steam locomotive on the sitting room wall, Ais got straight to the point without any pleasantries:
"Mrs. Dalton, could you describe specifically what trouble you've been having? I only know that you've been looking for a capable detective and wanted to see whether I could help."
The woman looked mildly embarrassed as she explained:
"Actually, we'd welcome anyone capable of helping us — it's just that the ones who came forward on their own were all detectives.
As for the specific problem — it sounds a bit like a haunting. This house has been experiencing strange occurrences at night for some time: unusual sounds, shadows that seem to move and writhe on their own, objects relocating by themselves. We've sought help from the church, but it hasn't held. The anomalies return after a while, and in recent occurrences they've escalated to actually affecting and threatening people. Which is why we've had to seek help from others."
Since the other party had already performed a divination, Ais dropped the pretense of being an ordinary person:
"Even with the anomalies starting to threaten people, the church couldn't do anything lasting?"
Seeing Ais's composure, Mrs. Dalton was relieved enough to speak frankly:
"That's right, Detective Fal. Before the war ended two years ago, our family was still among the followers of the God of Steam and Machinery. Now, however…"
She trailed off with a sigh.
Mostly because you can't tell the church about the supernatural element involved — your family's own hands aren't entirely clean, after all. Ais had no intention of revealing her own abilities just yet, so she asked as though genuinely puzzled:
"I see — that would explain why you turned away the detectives who came to you. So how do you know I'd have what it takes to handle this anomaly?"
Mrs. Dalton smiled and answered directly:
"Because I've been able to confirm that you can bring a favorable change to our situation. That's also why we've only dismissed and compensated the servants who were injured, dared to stay here ourselves, and haven't been too frightened."
Quite wealthy, then — five servants and that's not enough… Ais accepted the cup of Marquis tea from the returning maidservant and continued:
"Mrs. Dalton — do you believe these disturbances are connected to something you've done, or purely coincidental?"
After dismissing the maid, Mrs. Dalton shook her head and waited until the maid was gone before continuing:
"I'm not certain. My husband and I both work with machinery, and our son rarely leaves the house due to his vision. We don't have any deep enemies as far as I know. After the war ended, we've kept a very low profile — I even gave up my job to stay home and care for our son. And I haven't heard of anyone in a similar situation having this kind of problem. But calling it coincidence seems too convenient."
Quite a clear head. Ais nodded and asked:
"And the reason you don't dare tell the church — could anyone else know about that?"
"I don't think so." Mrs. Dalton paused, then added with some resignation:
"After all, even we ourselves can't guarantee we wouldn't eventually confess to the church. If we truly had no other option, we'd have to set our hesitation aside."
Keeping a realistic grasp of things. Ais noted this approvingly, then asked:
"Since the anomaly appeared, Mrs. Dalton — have you encountered any strangers who struck you as unusual?"
"No. The only thing that's surprised me so far, Detective Fal, is your height." Mrs. Dalton thought it over carefully and shook her head.
The situation isn't particularly complicated. The one unknown is what the anomaly is actually after. As a Church of the Evernight Goddess informant, Ais didn't hesitate. Unless this might involve the Witch cult, there was nothing to hesitate about — if things got out of hand, she could always call in the Watchers. She had backup now.
And reporting supernatural-related matters to the church earned her credit toward exchanging for the Pleasure Witch's supernatural traits.
"I have a general picture now, Mrs. Dalton. I'll take the commission — though I can't promise I'll be able to resolve it. I am, after all, only a detective."
Faced with Ais's measured response, Mrs. Dalton was understanding rather than disappointed:
"Of course, Detective Fal. Whatever the outcome, our family is very grateful for your help. As for the payment — I'll give you 50 pounds now as a retainer. We'll also provide a room and meals. And if you identify or resolve the anomaly, we'd be very happy to offer compensation reflecting the effort involved."
What kind of deep pockets — and living near Green Park is apparently them being discreet. Ais was somewhat taken aback by Mrs. Dalton's generosity, but kept her composure:
"I'm grateful for your generosity, Mrs. Dalton. I'll also need to speak with everyone else — sometimes the most overlooked detail leads somewhere unexpected."
Mrs. Dalton naturally had no objection. Since Ais had no fear of them reneging on payment, neither party brought up a contract.
After a perfunctory round of questions to the five servants, Ais confirmed that the young man with the divination ability was almost certainly the son. So after receiving the 50-pound advance from Mrs. Dalton, she went directly upstairs and knocked on the door of this Extraordinary's room — intending to learn what she could from someone who actually understood what was happening.
Mrs. Dalton was forthright — but that didn't mean she had the whole picture. As an ordinary person, her understanding of phenomena this clearly tied to supernatural forces might not be entirely accurate.
"Hello — I'm Ais Fal. I imagine I don't need to explain further. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
Her clear voice filtered through the door, and she waited for the Extraordinary on the other side to respond.
Author's Note (this chapter):"Very pleased to meet you, Detective Fal. I'm Mia Dalton. My husband, Snep Femi, is the owner of this house."