Episode 63
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 63
The moment Elysia saw the case request window, her expression turned cold. Siene’s eyes narrowed at the sight, and her hands began to move faster.
Unaware, Elysia was lost in thought. Help? With what? She glanced down at her own hands. First Lucian, now this guy. Is everyone who gets their ass kicked here destined to beg for my help or something?
Sighing, she placed a hand on her hip and asked Blair, “Help with what?”
“I think we need to find Hertz.”
“Of course we have to find him. Find him and beat the shit out of him. I was planning on killing that bastard anyway.”
It was only natural. Catching him alone would yield a mountain of information through persuasion and threats. He had to be caught. Blair, flinching at her murderous words, answered with hollow eyes.
“...This is why I didn't want to come to you.”
“What?”
“But I'm starting to get seriously worried, so I have no choice but to ask even you.”
What’s with this guy? Elysia’s face soured. He’s asking for a favor but talking like I’m his worst possible option. As she scowled, Blair stammered.
“It’s been a month since Caden Hertz was last seen. Even on days he skipped school, he’d still meet with me. But now, I haven’t heard from him at all, and I’m starting to worry.”
“Ha, some sense of urgency you’ve got there. It takes you a whole month to feel a crisis?”
Having nothing to say, Blair clenched his jaw and glared at the floor in frustration. Elysia slowly picked up a pen and jotted down what she’d heard in her notepad.
「Caden Hertz’s whereabouts are unknown.
Missing for one month. No contact with acquaintances.
Appearance is so plain it’s hard to describe.
Average height (around 174cm), unremarkable chestnut hair, black eyes...」
Trying to put it into words, his appearance was truly a pain. He had no distinguishing features to speak of. Even if someone had seen him, would they even remember? She irritably scratched the paper with her pen nib and asked, “Why the sudden fuss?”
“What?”
“You’re fundamentally dense. You’re not exactly someone accustomed to danger. That’s why you were so nonchalant even when that guy was out of contact for a whole month. For someone like you to be panicking this much, there must have been a trigger.”
After a moment of silence, Blair pulled something from his coat. A single sheet of paper appeared with a rustle. He handed it to Elysia and said in a low voice, “This letter arrived a week ago. Read it.”
System: You have acquired a clue. The evidence has been collected in your inventory.
What Blair handed her was a single letter. Elysia’s expression soured as her fingertips touched the paper; it wasn’t the kind suitable for writing.
A member of the upper class, who took privilege for granted, left a message on such low-quality paper... It was definitely written in a hurry. The writing on the thin sheet, about the size of two palms, was in red.
「Blair.
You know better than anyone how much they've ignored me. Ever since we were kids, but that’s about to end. They'll never look down on me again never again
The world has changed the days of solving everything with a title are in the past honor and money don't go together anymore so you just need money. Then you can talk big. I already have honor so money is the real thing this is what's real
The new business is the way. The path has opened. The path has opened for me!
I'm not going back for a while no need to attend Minerva. The real world was here. I was promised that I'm the one who will open a new world and that I'm the first one to know the truth of this world
You have to see the big picture. To see the big picture you need to be dedicated. I'm not going back for a while
Take care
Caden,」
...Did he write this while he wasn't in his right mind?
The sentences were a mess of subject-verb agreement and grammar. He might be an immature and frivolous person, but he was still a noble. He should have received a proper basic education. To have writing skills this poor, he must have been high on something when he wrote it.
Tapping the letter with the fingers of her free hand, Elysia asked, “Does he usually send letters like this? Honestly, the whole thing looks so suspicious I can’t even tell what’s the most suspicious part.”
“When he was absent from school for a long time, he used to write to me to let me know he was okay. Caden and I are cousins, so I can easily contact the Hertz family. He’d write to me to assure me of his safety, just so my uncle wouldn’t find out about his escapades.”
“Has he ever been this out of his mind before?”
Blair lowered his head as if troubled by a headache and replied, “...This isn't the first letter he's written while high on drugs.”
“Then what are you so worried about?”
“Because this is the first time he’s written that he’s ‘not going back for a while.’ And, here...”
Blair pointed to the last part of the letter. He tapped the area where the sender’s name was written with his index finger.
“He used a comma, not a period.”
“What about it?”
“I might be overthinking this, but it’s a kind of code Caden and I used when we exchanged letters as kids.”
Elysia held the letter up to the light, closing one eye as she asked, “What a damn long-winded introduction. What does it mean?”
Blair’s lips trembled before he answered, his face hardening.
“‘This letter will be inspected by someone before it's sent.’”
“...”
“...That’s what it means. Caden got into trouble so often and never filtered what he said, so my uncle would sometimes inspect his letters. He’d write lies in the letters my uncle checked, so it was a symbol we started using to mean, ‘Don’t worry if this sounds unnatural.’”
Elysia’s gaze, which had been scanning the letter’s contents, snapped back to Blair.
She looked at the <Panic in the City> status window still floating before her. There was no need to hesitate, nor did she intend to.
You have accepted the ‘Case Request.’
Client: Blair Linton
Request: Track the whereabouts of your missing cousin (Caden Hertz).
Without delay, Elysia selected ‘Y’ to accept the request and turned her head toward Siene. She expected to see an annoyed expression, but surprisingly, Siene was smiling.
Forgetting what she was about to say, Elysia stood there in confusion as Siene strode over from the window where she’d been sitting and pulled her to her feet.
“The sketch is done.”
“What? You kept tearing up every sketch you drew, saying it wasn't right—”
“I found it. Your most captivating moment.”
Smiling sweetly, Siene straightened Elysia’s wrinkled school uniform skirt and beamed. My most captivating moment? When was that?
As Elysia reached for the sketch in Siene’s hand, Siene slapped her hand away. Elysia glared at her with daggers in her eyes.
“You crazy... did you just hit me?”
“Not now! You have to see it when it's finished. Anyway, aren't you busy? Go on! Get going!”
“Ah, ah! Are you pushing me now? Hey! You wanna die?”
Siene burst out laughing as she pushed Elysia out of the classroom. The door slammed shut in her face. Elysia glared once at Blair, who had been kicked out of the classroom along with her.
Siene had gestured somewhere as she pushed her out. Lucian must have caught the signal like a ghost and thrown this man out as well.
A small question crossed her mind. Weren't those two on bad terms?
Tilting her head at their sudden closeness, Elysia turned to Blair, who was about to walk away.
“By the way, why are you asking me to do this?”
“I intend to pay you for your services.”
“I don't need your money, you bastard. I'm asking why me. Wouldn't it be better to use your family's power?”
Blair spun around, an annoyed look on his face, and strode back toward her. He covered her mouth as if to silence her and whispered.
“Be quiet! Please, keep this a secret—”
In that instant, Blair felt as if he’d witnessed something snap inside the woman’s eyes. He flinched, about to step back, when an immense force slammed into him.
In an instant, Blair was shoved back against the wall. Elysia slammed her palm against the wall next to his shoulder, leaning in and glaring at him with a chilling gaze.
“Has this bastard lost his mind...? You think we're friends just because we exchanged a few words?”
“...”
“Use your words. Got it?”
Her hand patted his shoulder in a placating manner, but it made his body freeze solid.
“Y-Yes, I got it...”
He had to admit it. He was properly terrified. Elysia clicked her tongue, irritably brushing the spot on her mouth his hand had touched, and asked bluntly, “A secret about what.”
“He’s a kid who ran away from home often. This time could just be him out having fun again. So... I’m not asking you to do anything dangerous. Just investigate whether he’s run away or if he’s truly caught up in something dangerous. If it’s the latter, I’ll involve the family. If it’s the former, I want to handle it myself.”
He froze, flustered by the ‘Oh, I’m sure you do’ look she gave him next. Elysia clicked her tongue as if looking at someone pathetic and muttered.
“What a load of bullshit. He's acting all tragic while spouting nonsense about covering for his cousin so he won't get killed by his parents if he's just screwing around...”
It was a mutter not meant to be heard, but due to Elysia’s carelessness, he heard every word and stood there, speechless. The woman’s eyes shot up as she asked sharply, “Anyway, where was the letter sent from?”
*
“...And that's the story.”
Elysia addressed the two people sitting in the Prefect Office before flopping down on the sofa in the corner.
Adrian was holding the letter Elysia had placed on the desk, studying it intently. Evan, who had speed-read it the moment it appeared, was staring only at Elysia.
Adrian frowned and grumbled, “I don't understand what any of this is supposed to mean.”
“Hm, you're normal then. I didn't get it either.”
Elysia shot up from the sofa, deep in thought. First, we need to figure out where that letter was sent from and through what route. She took a notebook from the inner pocket of her jacket.
「It was one of the letters collected from the newspaper stand in the Central Plaza.」
That was the answer Blair had gotten after frantically tracking down the mail carrier as soon as he received the letter.
There were five collection points for mail in the Central Plaza, and Hertz’s letter had apparently been left at the newspaper stand.
“...We’ll start there. And after that... ugh.”
Maybe it was because she’d sat up so suddenly, but her head spun. Come to think of it, she’d been skipping meals because it was a hassle. Back when she was max level in <Panic in the City>, she could go three days without eating and be perfectly fine.
Sighing lightly, Elysia reached a weary hand toward the cookie basket on the table. Adrian had brought it for them to snack on while studying, and the thick cookies looked like they would be quite filling. I’ll just make do with this—
“No.”
“What?”
“Eat a proper meal.”
Just then, Evan, who had sat down beside her, pushed the basket away with a displeased look. Elysia glared at him with an aggrieved expression and grumbled.
“Fine, I get it.”
“The student cafeteria closes in thirty minutes. Let’s go.”
“Huh?! I’ll come too!”
Adrian and Evan put down their study materials and began dragging Elysia out into the hallway.
After ducking through the low doorway, they waited for Adrian to lock up, chatting amongst themselves. Adrian pounded on the still-creaky lock with his fist, struggling to secure the door.
Staring blankly at his pathetic-looking back, Elysia asked, “Where do you think he wrote it? That letter.”