Two days later. April 4th, afternoon.
After enduring two quiet nights, Ais put on her second detective work outfit — a dark grey set — and prepared to take a carriage to the gathering Leel's father had described. She wanted to pick up some of the supernatural materials she might need: the "light-drawing dust" for the invisibility spell, or perhaps a proper wand for a Witch.
"Ais, didn't I say I have a hooded robe with a large cape? I don't see it." Beside her, Leel — in black formal wear — asked suddenly.
Leel had no actual need to attend an Extraordinary gathering, but after learning of Ais's plans he'd spent two days convincing his parents to agree to come along.
Ais had picked up a fair amount of new knowledge from Leel over those two days, so she had no reason to turn him down. Attending a gathering was nothing dangerous, especially with the church's crackdown in force.
"Don't worry, I have it. Where it is — you'll find out soon." She answered Leel's question with deliberate mystery.
As for herself — regardless of how large the robe was, brief contact would immediately reveal she was a woman. And at 185 centimeters, disguising her height was impossible. So she'd only brought Leel's robe.
"Your face freckles look a little different today from last time. Is there some reason for that?" Leel had been wondering for a day and finally decided to ask.
Ais replied without expression:
"Because the original freckles were my friend's work, and these past two days have been mine. I've tried to replicate them as closely as possible, but my hands aren't as precise as hers."
"Oh. Actually the difference isn't that noticeable. Without the Eye of Secrets, I don't think I'd have spotted it." Leel added, somewhat awkwardly.
Obviously. Though Ais knew that aside from Leel, only Mrs. Dalton among the Femi household — servants included — seemed to have noticed. So she hadn't been troubling her best friend every day about it. The point of the disguise was just to prevent anyone from thinking she was a Witch.
Ais gave a small nod and didn't continue the conversation. Instead she pressed a hand to her stomach. For some reason, since waking up that morning, she'd had intermittent mild discomfort in her lower abdomen. Not quite pain — more of an inexplicable irritability.
"And I ate more than usual at breakfast today, somehow." She noted with puzzlement.
When the discomfort eased a little, Ais suddenly became aware of an ache in her back. None of it was severe, but it was enough to take away any desire to talk. She pressed her left hand to her lower back and leaned against the left side of the carriage, closed her eyes and rested.
Leel, who had noticed Ais was slightly out of sorts since morning, thought nothing particular of it — he assumed the three sleepless nights had finally caught up to her. Meditation could substitute for rest to a degree, but only to a degree.
About ten minutes later, the coachman announced:
"Mr. Leel, Detective Fal — Williamson Street."
After stepping down, Ais told the coachman:
"Thank you for the trouble. You can go — I'm not sure how long we'll be. We'll take a public carriage back ourselves."
Listening to the carriage fade into the distance, Leel suddenly noticed that Ais, who was standing beside him, seemed to have grown a little — her height now appeared to approach 190 centimeters.
Noticing his look, Ais offered:
"I deliberately raised the heel of my shoes. It doesn't do much for disguise. But it does tend to deflate a lot of people's confidence in approaching me."
"Is that right?" Leel tilted his head, genuinely puzzled.
"More effective than covering my face, at any rate. Come on — let's go. Once we're near the gathering, I'll do a trick for you."
Since the Femi family's servants were simply hired help, Ais hadn't had Leel change into the hooded robe in the carriage — no need to give the coachman the destination near the gathering point either, for the same reason.
Leel, still not entirely clear on the plan but untroubled by it, picked up his cane and followed Ais.
A few minutes later, behind a building, Leel watched Ais pull her dark grey hooded robe out of a palm-sized compact mirror.
"This is a spell that comes with my potion — using any mirror surface to open a gateway to the Mirror Realm. I can't go deep into it yet at my current level, but it works well as a personal storage space."
Ais kept the explanation brief, knowing Leel's knowledge of mirror-related occultism was limited to its most basic concepts.
Leel donned the robe and gave her a thumbs-up:
"Even knowing this spell, I don't think I'd have thought of using it that way."
Ais smiled:
"Also thanks to you for teaching me divination. With divination, I was able to confirm that things without a strong personal connection are safe to store inside."
A short while later, Ais — in round-framed glasses, dark grey deerstalker cap, matching coat and trousers — arrived alongside an immediately-conspicuous-looking Leel at the front door of a perfectly unremarkable, perfectly quiet building.
Three short knocks and one long. A few seconds later, the door opened slowly — and the sound of people speaking in low voices immediately reached Ais's ears.
She and Leel, head down, walked inside. The door was closed by the doormen on either side.
A scan of the room: a fair number of people. Many had concealed their faces completely with masks and robes like Leel, but some — like Ais — sat openly. The collective volume stayed tactfully low. Quieter than a library, but not far off.
Strange — I've already used the washroom. Ais felt another slight wave of abdominal discomfort and ignored the brief looks cast her way, finding an unoccupied sofa with Leel.
Suddenly feel like hitting someone. Noticing a few persistent glances in her direction, Ais felt an irrational spike of irritation.
A server-dressed attendant approached shortly, introducing himself to the newcomer:
"Welcome, ma'am. Everything currently available is listed on the board over there…"
He'd barely started when Ais cut him off without ceremony.
"My eyes work fine. For requests, I write them down for you, correct?"
She saw him nod. Ais said:
"Then give me paper and a pen. And if there's a problem with a transaction, who do I speak to?"
"The gentleman beside the board is the gathering's organizer…" the attendant began, gesturing toward a similarly hooded and black-robed figure near the board — and then Ais waved her hand to cut off the rest.
As the attendant's footsteps receded, Leel asked quietly:
"Ais — do you know that attendant?"
"I don't. I just found his voice annoying." Ais replied flatly.
His voice sounded perfectly normal to me. Having spent two days with her now, this was the first time Leel had heard Ais speak with any edge to someone. He had the sense to keep that thought to himself.
Leel had already begun to suspect that whatever was off about Ais today had less to do with lack of sleep than with something else.
Ais herself also sensed her emotions were slightly off. She drew a slow breath and tried to rein in the inexplicable irritation. The mild abdominal cramping wasn't painful enough to affect her concentration or movement — it was just making it strangely hard to settle her mind.
She found herself, with no particular intent, locking her eyes onto the gathering's organizer beside the board. Which drew his attention briefly in return.
He held the look for only a moment before his gaze moved on — completely at ease.
Confident. And relaxed. He's looking down on me, I suspect. Just as Ais was calculating whether to actually test his strength, the attendant returned with paper and pen.
The chastened attendant handed them over wordlessly and stood silently waiting nearby.
Author's Note (this chapter):Strange — I've already used the washroom. Ais felt another slight wave of abdominal discomfort and ignored the brief looks cast her way, finding an unoccupied sofa with Leel.
Her period is coming.