༺ Having Lots Of Fun During Exams (3) ༻
Most seasoned thieves are veterans.
That was the only way to enjoy your life as a thief after all.
Having exceptional talents.
In that sense, the ‘Old Thief’ of Freesia had skills.
“I tend not to forget what I’ve seen. I’ve greatly benefited from this memory since my youth. I was particularly good at memorizing maps and blueprints.”
The old man stroked his beard as if lost in deep thought, gazing into the void.
For a few seconds, glimpses of the past seemed to flicker in his eyes.
“These days, I’m getting older and tend to forget things more often. But I remember vividly about this instrument. Even the one who had bought it.”
The old man looked around cautiously like a spy in a foreign land, making contact with a colleague.
As his white eyebrows quivered, creating a curious tension, he finally added, once he was sure there was no one nearby to overhear our conversation.
“That fellow was definitely a demon. They looked human, but my keen eyes can’t be deceived. Usually, I don’t care about the buyer’s business, so I haven’t told anyone, you see.”
An instrument purchased by a demon for 1.5 billion─
It could simply be the old man mistaking an ordinary person for a demon.
But anyone who’d spend 1.5 billion on a single instrument is clearly not ordinary.
I asked.
“Any information on the buyer’s identity?”
“Yes, I was concerned, so I had some of my trustworthy disciples follow up. According to what my disciples found out, the buyer lives on the outskirts of 61st Street, here.”
“On 61st Street.”
A place I had a bit of a history with.
It was the place that was teeming with vampires.
“Cecily, let’s go.”
Believing I had gathered enough information, I took hold of Cecily’s wrist. Just as it was with Naru’s, I realized how incredibly slender a child’s wrist is—pondering this, the old man interjected to dissuade me.
“Hold on a moment. This isn’t just the ordinary outskirts of 61st Street. Do you know why 61st Street was erased from the records, turned into a numberless Street by the Duchy of Freesia?”
“I don’t know. Wasn’t it just that we assigned numbers from 1 to 60 based on importance? 61st Street is the slums within the slums.”
“That’s true. But there’s a reason why 61st Street was abandoned and sealed off. It’s because of the deserted research facility. A lab where all sorts of strange phenomena occur is located on 61st Street.”
A research facility, huh?
Some kind of factory or something like that?
Just as I was listening to the old man’s words, Cecily, who had been listening for a while, opened her lips as if she knew something.
“I’ve heard it from my grandfather and grandmother too. There used to be a magical engineering lab on 61st Street. They said it was closed down after a massive accident caused by a failed experiment.”
I see.
It seems there might have been something like a radioactive leak.
That’s why it was abandoned and became a haven for criminals like vampires and the Tenebris.
As I found the story interesting, the old man added.
“The last time I lost contact with my disciples was near this deserted lab. The demon who had bought the musical instrument entered the lab. I sent ten disciples, but only one returned.”
“Did the demon get them?”
“It doesn’t seem like it. It felt more like they were swallowed up by the lab itself. The guy rambled on incomprehensibly for days…”
The old man seemed about to say something but glanced at Cecily.
Then he spoke in a whisper only I could hear.
“…He ended up taking his own life. And this is a note he gave me. He told me not to unfold it until I entered the lab. I hope it will be of help to you.”
I took the note from the old man.
It was an ordinary piece of paper folded neatly.
I thought about unfolding it to see what was inside, but I had a bad feeling, like spiders crawling on my neck, so I left it be.
“Thank you, sir.”
I expressed my gratitude to the old man for providing me with various pieces of information.
Information about the buyer of the flute, words gained through the loss of his disciples-.
These would normally be secrets one should keep.
Telling me these things meant that the old man was also taking on a certain amount of risk.
“Cecily, you should thank him too.”
Tap— Tap—
As I tapped Cecily’s back, she bowed her head and expressed her thanks gracefully.
“I am Cecily Von Ragdoll. Raised with the education that one must repay kindness with even greater kindness. If I ever find my parents, I will reward you handsomely. You can look forward to it.”
Soon, the old man burst into hearty laughter.
“What a charming young lady…! I’ve come to realize in my old age that watching children grow up is surprisingly enjoyable. Little girl, I truly hope you find good fortune.”
* * *
“Going to the abandoned lab on 61st Street? You must be crazy. I know nothing about it.”
“Ask for directions? No way. That place isn’t fit for people. Did you not know that even those vicious vampires haven’t come near the lab?”
“Hey, are you suggesting we go die together right now? No matter the amount, I won’t go!”
The above responses were received when asked for guidance to the lab on 61st Street.
Even the people who survived that terrible vampire hunt on 61st Street were like this.
They seemed to want nothing to do with the lab.
They refused even when offered money.
Was it because the amount was too small?
Having no choice, I just casually looked at the street signs or asked around and arrived at the so-called lab.
Caw— Caw— Caw—!
The building, heavily settled by crows, was quite large.
About the size of a city hall in a decent city?
That was the feeling when compared.
Of course, unlike the clean city hall buildings, the abandoned lab had broken windows, the paint on the walls was peeling off, and the concrete was crumbling, revealing the steel bars.
“It looks more like a mental hospital than a lab.”
Just as I casually made my observation, a gust of wind blew from somewhere and rattled something.
A sign?
“I see.”
It was a place that studied the human mind.
A building that seemed perfect for gangs, thieves, or homeless people to make a den, yet there was no sign of life inside.
Even though it was still broad daylight, this area was particularly gloomy.
Swoosh—
My chest felt strangely uneasy, as if this was not an ordinary place.
“Cecily, do you want to wait nearby?”
“Is it because you want to slack off while I, Cecily, am not looking?”
“No.”
I lightly shook my head.
I had intended to leave Cecily behind because I didn’t know what might happen inside.
But Cecily had no intention of leaving my side.
“We need to find Mom and Dad! If the demon with the flute is in there, we better go in quickly and snatch it!”
Saying so, I now noticed Cecily’s shoulders were slightly quivering.
She seemed to have been frightened.
If Cecily had a real cat’s tail, she would have hidden it between her legs.
Yet, her reluctance to retreat seemed due more to the desire to see her parents than to the fear of this nightmarish building.
With no choice, I decided to venture into the building with Cecily.
After all, there’s no place safer than by my side in this world.
Thud Thud—
I passed through the abandoned garden of the laboratory and stood at the entrance of the building.
“Look at this! It’s locked!”
As is common with abandoned buildings, the entrance was locked with chains and a padlock. Such a seal was as good as open to me, so it was no problem.
Swish—
I grabbed the chains with my hands and snapped them.
With a strength of 14, I could be considered somewhat superhuman.
Creeeak—
Opening the locked door, a wind mixed with the stench of decay brushed past my face.
It felt like an unpleasant tongue licking all over my body.
“Is anybody there?”
Cecily called into the building.
Of course, there was no answer.
Only the tic-tac of a clock could be heard in the silence.
Honestly, I didn’t care.
Now to quickly search for whatever traces of that demon─.
Tonight, Brigitte said she’d make sweet and sour pork.
I need to finish work early, go back, and enjoy the sweet and sour pork, dipping and devouring it, just eating it all messily and deliciously.
With that thought, I moved forward.
That’s when Cecily tugged at my arm and asked.
“That note from the old man. Can we open it now? He said it would help. Maybe there’s information about the demon. Hurry!”
“Ah, right.”
I almost forgot, but it worked out.
I carefully unfolded the paper received from the old man.
On a piece of paper slightly smaller than A4, there were haphazardly written letters in a dark red color.
Could this be written in blood?
No, what’s important now isn’t what the letters are written with, but their content-.
Must-Read, Visitor Code of Conduct for the Freesia Institute of Mental Science
1. Let’s abide by the rules.
2. Near the entrance on the first floor, visitor passes are always available. Please wear them around your neck.
3. The institute’s working hours are from 9 AM to 6 PM.
4. If remaining in the main building after 6 PM, researchers and visitors must move to the ‘Break Room’ located on the 3rd floor and wait until 9 AM.
5. There are no mirrors, telephones, or clocks in this research building. Any laboratory found with these items will be closed for 34 hours before it can be used again.
7. The top floor of this research building is the 3rd floor; there is no 4th floor. If the elevator stops and waits on the 4th floor, immediately call the administrator. If the elevator you are in stops on the 4th floor, quickly operate the ‘close door’ button.
8. All researchers have been trained to memorize all the codes of conduct. If a researcher addresses you and asks about the code of conduct, do not answer and avoid eye contact.
9. The only entrance to this building is on the first floor.
10. If there are any contradictions or abnormalities between the code of conduct written on this paper and the template, please immediately escape and close down the research building, then contact the Freesia Duchy’s emergency response office.
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