Oh?
What a coincidence.
Could this man be the replacement Moses Ascetic Order member taking over from Delin?
Vincent kept his expression neutral. "Another disappearance. One does start to wonder whether it's coincidence, or whether Backlund just makes people vanish."
"Ha. I'd say the latter."
The man's eyes tilted slightly upward with a brief flash of contempt — quickly gone. He produced several ten-pound notes. "Here's twenty pounds as a deposit. If you find a lead, I'll give you another thirty. If you locate either of them — either one — I'll pay two hundred more."
Vincent asked in his mind: Should I just take him in now?
"No rush," said Bernadette.
After a moment's thought, Vincent said: "Understood."
"The rest is in your hands, then. One thing to mention — you're the fourth detective I've hired today. As for who actually collects the remaining fee, that's down to whoever finds them first."
"Of course."
Vincent said pleasantly: "And if I do find a lead, how should I contact you?"
"I'm staying in the Saint George District... My name is Louis Ell."
He left a hotel address and took his leave.
"Strange," Bernadette said once he was gone. "He was far too composed throughout all of that."
"Is that a problem?"
"As a member of a cult run by an evil god—" Bernadette said, "—upon learning that his fellow member has disappeared, he chose to hire detectives. Multiple detectives. That's also rather odd."
"You're right. If I were in his position, I'd be extremely cautious — do everything possible to avoid drawing attention."
Vincent arched an eyebrow. "Which is exactly why I should have grabbed him on the spot."
"..."
He pinched his chin and thought. "Here's what we'll do — I'll contact him this afternoon and tell him I've found someone. Then bring him to meet Stephen..."
Hiss—
Another stab of pain. Both of them winced at once.
Vincent couldn't help but laugh through it. "Actually, I should count my blessings."
"What do you mean?"
"I've heard plenty of women say that during their monthly cycle they turn irritable and short-tempered. You at least seem... unaffected in that regard."
"Shut up."
Vincent drank a large glass of hot water and rested until the discomfort eased. Then he had the Invisible Servant carry a letter to Stephen, laying out the general situation and returning the Teleportation Ring along with it.
Shortly after, Stephen emerged from the Spirit World, face pinched. "Your Majesty... you're not going to ask me to be a spy again, are you?"
"Not necessarily."
Vincent adopted Bernadette's manner. "But I need to understand what's happening inside the Moses Ascetic Order."
"Why not just use Spirit Channelling on him directly?"
"Louis Ell is likely only a peripheral member. Spirit Channelling would give us limited information. But using him as a stepping stone to reach deeper members — that changes things considerably."
"...Right. Which means I'm the spy again."
Stephen bowed with resigned formality. "As you command, Your Majesty."
"Off you go."
Bernadette said under her breath: "Perhaps you should stop impersonating me."
"???"
"It's embarrassing to watch."
One o'clock that afternoon.
Vincent brought Louis Ell to the hotel directly across from the Delin Law Office.
"You're certain Attorney Delin's assistant is here?"
Louis Ell's expression showed confusion, though something behind his eyes tensed.
Understandably so. The other three detectives were still circling the law office, and this "female detective" had already found the man — and he was across the road?
His guard went up, but he wasn't afraid.
"I was surprised too, honestly."
Vincent spread his hands. "While searching the area for leads about the attorney, I happened to hear from the hotel owner that, on the day after Attorney Delin's disappearance, a young man checked in. He's been keeping a very obvious eye on the law office ever since. I kept watch for a while, and confirmed he's the assistant."
He stopped walking. "Third door on the left, up ahead. I find people — what happens afterward is outside my remit."
Louis Ell gave a nod. "As long as the identification is correct, you'll receive every penny owed." He moved to the door Stephen was renting — and knocked.
"???"
Vincent paused. He just... knocked? How very polite.
The door opened. Stephen looked out with a puzzled expression. "Can I help you?"
Louis Ell reached into his coat and produced something. "Let's speak inside."
And just like that, Stephen let him in.
In his mind, Vincent asked: What's happening?
"Wait and see."
About ten minutes later, Louis Ell came back out, walked over to Vincent, and counted out a small stack of notes. "Here's the remainder. Thank you. Should you have further commissions in future, I'll be back."
"I look forward to your business."
Vincent walked with him out of the hotel, continued alongside him for several dozen metres, then the two parted ways. He flagged a horse-cab back to the Catch-All Agency; Stephen was already there waiting.
"Your Majesty, you will not believe who that man actually is."
The moment he walked in, Stephen said with undisguised shock: "Louis Ell is an official operative of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery!"
"Hmm?"
Both Vincent and Bernadette were genuinely surprised. No wonder his behaviour was so peculiar. If he's official Church, that would explain everything. He has nothing to hide.
"How interesting. Why would a Church of the God of Steam and Machinery operative be approaching Moses Ascetic Order members?"
"Have you forgotten, Your Majesty? Attorney Delin's letter."
Stephen said: "In that letter, he mentioned wanting to align himself with a certain faction. Looking back, that faction was almost certainly the Church. And this Louis Ell seems to have been unaware of that detail."
"In his account, Attorney Delin was merely a civilian informant the Church was cooperating with. Louis Ell was deployed from Trier to Backlund for this assignment; his superior had told him, before he left, to find Attorney Delin, who would hand him a very important lead."
"The lead about your ancestral tomb?"
"That's what I assumed too."
Stephen said: "But I didn't tell him the truth. I said that Attorney Delin had instructed me to wait for his replacement, then disappeared, and I knew nothing beyond that."
"Did he believe you?"
"Hard to say. But he didn't press further — likely went to report back to his superior."
Vincent nodded slightly. "The Church of the God of Steam and Machinery pulling members out of the Moses Ascetic Order is understandable enough. But why such a specific interest in your family tomb?"
Stephen thought it over. "Strictly speaking, anyone and everyone would have an interest in a relic connected to Emperor Tudor from the Fourth Epoch, regardless of their faction."
Fair enough.
Stephen's ancestral tomb was connected to both the Red Angel Medici and the Blood Emperor Tudor — one a King of Angels of the Red Priest Pathway, the other the Sequence 0 god of the same pathway.
And Intis, of course, was the heartland of the Red Priest Pathway. Could that be the connection?
"Did he say anything else?"
"Yes — he said once Attorney Delin's replacement surfaces, I'm to go to the Church and find him at once."
"Understood. You can go."
After Stephen left, Vincent asked: "Any thoughts?"
She said carefully: "Perhaps... it relates to underground Trier."
"Underground Trier?"
To be continued…
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