PH1RE'S P.O.V
Cornelius rested his fork against the plate, his smile as pristine as the pressed cuffs of his coat.
"Fine, I'll go first, then," he said, his voice silky-smooth. "As I mentioned, my name is Cornelius Cordell, and I'm an investigative scribe from Bureau-16—government detective agency, Western Capital Zephon Division, Continent of Austeria. Pleased to meet you both."
He extended a gloved hand across the table.
I didn't take it immediately. Instead, I took a moment to study the ID card he'd placed in front of me. It resembled an adventurer's license in shape and function but had a sleeker, more refined design—embedded with golden trim and a faintly pulsing sigil that marked it as genuine. At least as far as I could tell.
After a long moment, I reached forward and shook his hand. It was unnaturally warm.
"It says you're an inspector," I said, gesturing to the slim identification card. "Shouldn't you have a team with you?"
Cornelius smiled again, this time with a slight tilt of his head—like a teacher mildly amused by a student's unexpected question. "Oh? You're rather well-informed about B-16 procedure."
"I read about it in a book once," I lied smoothly. "The thought of joining B-16 was... intriguing when I was a kid."
He chuckled. "Ah, childhood dreams of justice and espionage. Classic."
In truth, I hadn't read it in a book. Back in Raize, since I'd chosen human as my race, I'd spawned in Austeria's southern region—Nostrus. I'd once fought a few MeMs with corrupted files about B-16's hierarchy. They dropped fragmented data: names of divisions, codes, an obscure side quest I never finished.
I'd tried to sell the info to the Scholar's Union. They laughed and told me they already knew. A week later, the exact same information was paraded around the marketplace as a "breakthrough discovery."
Safe to say, I was so salty I could've seasoned an entire army's rations. But I remembered every detail. "You're not wrong to expect I'd have a team," Cornelius continued, easing back into his seat. "I've been asked to handle this case due to my proximity, my team is currently busy with another and I'll be joining them as soon as another Inspector finds their way here,"
"Is that why the guards pretended no one was inside?" Maya asked, still sipping her lemon juice, though I noticed her hand had quietly dropped to her side.
"Standard procedure," he replied without missing a beat.
He took another bite of cake, chewing thoughtfully. Then his voice dropped a little, more serious now.
"All right. I've shared about myself. Now it's your turn."
Maya arched an eyebrow. "What, you want a life story?"
Cornelius chuckled again, but there was no warmth this time.
"Just context. You two were the last ones seen entering the butcher's shop before the incident. Witnesses say the Sparkhogs were calm when you brought them in. Next morning? The room's a bloodbath."
Maya and I shared a look and then decided to talk, at this point if he really was lying about being a Scribe from the capital then even I felt the need to reward the effort, although it's now like we would automatically tell him everything we knew.
If it was confirmed without a doubt that the quest was being undertaken by an unidentified rouge mage then the quest would no longer be a regular beast subjugation quest and would fall under the jurisdiction of B-16 or B-19 and the Red Ravens desperately need this quest.
However, it was already quite obvious this was being undertaken by a mage, so depending on certain factors we had till the official inspectors showed up to solve this quest, thinking about it made me want to sigh. At the very least we wouldn't reveal anything about the ritual or the fact that the enemy was bluffing, as a scribe he should be able to figure it out pretty quickly anyway.
"Listening, you mean to say the enemy could be aware of this very conversation?" he inquired in a curious tone.
"As far as we know, luckily a team member of us has presence concealment so we plan to make use of that to counteract it," I added.
"You don't say," he responded.
"And the spell that killed the two..."
"Sound-based," I answered. "Musical sigils. The butcher saw a note carved into the flesh right before it all... went wrong."
"How interesting. Well, it's not my concern, as long as I have something to drop off for the inspector taking charge. Many thanks," he said standing up from the chair.
"Oh! That reminds me, do keep an eye out, there have been reports of serial murders around this territory,"
"Murders caused by mages are B-16's jurisdiction, if you want adventurer's to get involved make a bounty," I said.
"Merely standard procedure,"
Cornelius straightened, smoothing his coat with a practiced motion. "Well, this has been delightful. Unfortunately, I do have other inquiries to attend to—I'm expected to meet with the mayor shortly. Before I go, though…"
He reached into his coat and produced a slender envelope, sliding it across the table toward me.
"If you come across anything else—anything strange—don't hesitate to write. Enclosed is a low-tier [Message Relay] slip. Simple, undetectable, direct to my office in Zeffon."
I looked at the envelope, but didn't touch it.
"How long until the official Inspector shows up,"
"Hmm, I'd say it would take just over a week,"
'So, we have eleven days,"
Cornelius stood, offering a polite bow. "Enjoy the rest of your morning, Red Ravens. And do try to stay safe."
When he was gone, Maya let out a breath she'd clearly been holding.
"You didn't think that while you spent his money. Honestly, you're the kind of person who skips breakfast."
"I always skip breakfast," she retorted. "Unless someone else pays. Or I'm being paid to eat. That was a double win."
She picked up the envelope with two fingers like it might bite her. "So. What do we do with this?"
"We hold onto it for now," I said. "Ethan should take a look. Although if Cordell is headed to the mayors he might meet Ethan anyway."
As we left the café, I felt a cold pressure leave my shoulders.
Cornelius Cordell.
—————————————————
"So," Maya said suddenly, "what do you want to do today?"
"Not sure," I replied. "We could check up on Bryn. Maybe he needs help."
She groaned like I'd suggested peeling potatoes for a week. "He'll be fine. Probably already punching rocks out of boredom. We should do something productive."
"Such as?"
"Gambling," she said immediately.
"..."
"I'm serious."
I gave her a sideways glance. "Are you sure this isn't an addiction?"
"Everyone knows gambling is only a problem if you lose," she said with a shrug. "And I don't ever plan to lose."
"Right. And if I remember correctly, last time you said that, you lost a month's worth of rations and your boots."
"Strategic sacrifice," she sniffed. "Also, I won them back later."
I shook my head, chuckling. "Well, you'll have to go by yourself. Wouldn't want to interfere with your destiny."
"Hey, Ethan said to spend the day like normal, and our plan to check the scene of the crime has been blocked. So tell me—what's more normal for me than gambling?"
"Therapy," I offered flatly.
She rolled her eyes. "You are absolutely no fun."
"And yet," I said, "here you are. Walking with me anyway."
She didn't respond to that—just gave me a faint smirk.
We walked in silence for a few more steps, the kind of quiet that felt less awkward and more... companionable. The early market crowd had grown. Vendors called out prices, kids ran past with bread in their hands, and somewhere, someone was playing a lute just out of tune.
But beneath it all, I could still feel the echo of Cornelius' voice in the back of my mind.
Enjoy the rest of your morning, Red Ravens. And do try to stay safe.
Maya nudged me with her elbow. "You're thinking again."
"Guilty."
"You know what I think?"
"I'm terrified to ask."
"I think we should follow the scribe."
That made me pause. "Seriously?"
"I know you said he creeped you out," she said, "and trust me, I agree—but creepy guys don't drop [Relay] talismans unless they want to be found later. Which means he wants us curious."
"And you want to give him what he wants?"
"It's not like we've got anything else going on."
I considered that. "He said he was going to meet with the mayor."
"Which means we know where he'll be," she replied, folding her arms.
"Ethan said—"
"Ethan also said to act natural," she cut in. "And for me, naturally, I get suspicious when someone who smiles too much walks into a crime scene and offers to buy me soup."
"...Fine," I sighed, "but we're not confronting him."
"Wouldn't dream of it," she said, already veering toward the mayor's office. "We're just… observing."
"And if he spots us?"
"I'll smile."
"Terrifying."
She grinned over her shoulder. "I know."