Inside No. 23 Green Shade Town, Corpse Puppet Brandon led Naifnis into the room. After reaching the living room, he gestured towards the seat by the coffee table.
"Please sit."
Hearing Brandon's words, Naifnis nodded and sat down. Then, Brandon used the tea set on the coffee table to pour Naifnis a cup of tea and handed it to her.
"Thank you... I, I'm just here to pick something up. I'll pass on the tea for now." Naifnis said with a smile as she thanked Brandon, who also nodded and sat down in front of her.
At this moment, Dorothy's small Corpse Puppet detected that the two men who were originally monitoring from across the street had now secretly infiltrated to the side of No. 23, attempting to eavesdrop from under the window.
'Seeing someone came over, they want to listen to the conversation?'
Looking at the scene outside the house, Dorothy thought this. The fact that the two of them came to eavesdrop clearly proved that Naifnis was not with them.
While monitoring the two men outside the house, Dorothy controlled Brandon inside the house to speak to Naifnis.
"Well then, let's begin, Miss. To prove that you are indeed the owner of that artifact, I need to ask you a few small questions."
"Ask away, I will answer to the best of my ability." Naifnis nodded affirmatively, appearing very calm, while Brandon spoke after thinking for a moment.
"First, Miss, can you tell me when you lost this item?"
"Hmm... about that, let me think. I lost it on the afternoon of the 10th. I was passing by the clock tower at the time, so I went up a few floors and looked around, admiring some school statues displayed there. I think that's when I lost it."
Recalling the contents published in the newspaper, Naifnis replied. Brandon nodded at her answer and continued to speak.
"I see. I did indeed find the item on the afternoon of the 10th, but I already mentioned this information in the newspaper. Therefore, I need a more specific time. Miss, can you tell me exactly what time you went to the clock tower?"
"What time was that..."
Hearing Brandon's words, Naifnis paused slightly. After thinking for a moment, she replied.
"It seems... it was around 5 o'clock."
"That's wrong, it was 4 o'clock."
"Ah... I'm very sorry, Mr. Brandon. I usually don't have a very good memory, and I can't quite remember the exact time I went. I just know it was on the afternoon of the 10th." Hearing that she answered incorrectly, Naifnis replied with an awkward smile, while Brandon continued.
"I see... Well, it was a few days ago, so it's normal to forget if you didn't deliberately try to remember. Let's switch to another question then." As he spoke, Brandon took a sip of the tea from the coffee table, then looked at Naifnis, whose expression had become somewhat nervous, and continued to ask.
"The item I found is a four-sided triangle... or rather, a triangular pyramid. It has four vertices, but one of them is damaged. Can you tell me how many vertices are damaged?"
"How many vertices..."
Listening to Brandon's words, Naifnis frowned slightly and pondered for a while, then also said with a somewhat helpless smile.
"Sorry, as I just said, I don't have a very good memory, Mr. Brandon. Can I try another question?"
Hearing Naifnis's answer, Brandon's expression turned serious. He looked at Naifnis and replied sternly.
"I'm very sorry, Miss, but this isn't how lost and found works. You couldn't answer two questions in a row, so I can already conclude that you are not the owner of this lost item. Claiming someone else's lost property is not a good quality.
"Therefore, you should go back now. I won't report your misconduct to the school."
Dorothy controlled Brandon to say this. He couldn't just hand over the item casually, because he clearly knew that the other party was falsely claiming it. If he let her guess the answers to two simple questions and take it back, it would make others suspicious. He now had to try his best to make Brandon appear like an ordinary person who had genuinely found a stored item and was trying to find the owner.
Anyway, Dorothy could follow these hooked fish back to their lair later, so it didn't matter whether she gave them the bait or not.
"Uh, this..."
Hearing Brandon's words, Naifnis's expression faltered slightly. After glancing around, she seemed to have made up her mind, and her expression became quite serious as she looked at Brandon.
"Mr. Brandon, to be honest, I am indeed not the owner of the artifact you found, but what I want to say is, the item you found is not something an ordinary person can possess!"
Hearing Naifnis's words, Brandon frowned slightly, then replied seriously.
"The item I found... is not something an ordinary person can possess? What does that mean?"
"Well... it means that item is far from as simple as it appears on the surface. If an ordinary person like Mr. Brandon possesses it, it can easily attract danger! Because of that thing, you... might be targeted because of it."
'I'm already being targeted.'
Hearing Naifnis's words, Dorothy, a hundred meters away, thought this. From the conversation just now, she could already tell that this student in front of her was clearly a secret insider. But how much did she know? Was she an Extraordinary? And was there any connection between her and the two guys outside who were now close by and monitoring? Dorothy still needed to confirm all of this, so she controlled Brandon to continue speaking.
"I'll be targeted because of that thing? Haha... Miss Boyle, you must be exaggerating. It's just a small artifact, how could I possibly be targeted because of something like this? You're not trying to trick me into giving you the item, are you? And even if someone really is targeting me, I can call the police."
"No, what I'm saying is true! If you keep that thing, very dangerous people will definitely target you. I admit I really want that item, but I didn't specifically come here to trick you into getting it. Besides, for those guys, the police are useless.
"So, your best course of action right now is to give the item to me, or even just throw it away, but you absolutely cannot let it fall into the hands of those guys."
Naifnis said seriously. At this point, her tone had a hint of urgency. Looking at her, she seemed genuinely worried about Brandon's safety, which surprised Dorothy.
'Oh, this senior seems to have a bit of a story. She appears to be in opposition to those two guys outside the house, and her involvement in the occult is still shallow. Her scheming is also clearly insufficient. In that case, maybe I can try to extract some information from her.'
Thinking this, Dorothy controlled Brandon to ponder silently for a moment, then continued to speak.
"Hmm... Miss Boyle, I see sincerity in your words and expression. You don't seem to be lying. I can consider giving you the item, but the prerequisite is that you must explain the whole story clearly. Who are those dangerous guys you mentioned? What's so special about this item? Why would it harm me if I carry it? Explain it clearly to me, and I will consider giving you the item."
Brandon said seriously. Hearing Brandon's words, Naifnis hesitated for a moment, but finally made up her mind and spoke.
"Okay... I, I can tell you a little something, Mr. Brandon, but after you hear it, you must not spread it around or tell anyone, including the police!"
"Alright, I promise."
Brandon said this, and Naifnis, after letting out a breath, thought for a moment about how to start, then continued to speak.
"First is the first question, who are those guys... To be honest, I don't know their background very well either, I just know they are very dangerous. They are a... well... you can understand it as a gang in the lower river district of the city, and the most dangerous kind of gang. And the item you said you found is exactly what that gang desperately needs. To get it, they will use many extreme and cruel methods.
"And the name of this gang is—Eight Point Nest."
As soon as Naifnis finished saying the name, there was a sudden sound of glass breaking from around them. A dagger flew out from the shattered window, spinning, and shot straight towards Naifnis.