Chapter 21

The Noble Vampire Drakel-led zombie commotion, henceforth the Bloody Night Incident.

This commotion finally came to an end with Drakel, the ringleader, being subdued.

Drakel was recognized for his dangerousness and locked up in Nastrond, a special criminal containment facility.

This facility is strictly managed by the Dragon Mayor, one of the transcendents.

Perhaps Drakel would never again see the outside sun.

“Um, you’re really going to request second-class merit?! Capturing a hidden noble vampire in the city is totally first-class commendation material! If it were me, I wouldn’t give up the reward money for anything!”

Several hours after he was captured.

In front of the Night Haven Central Police Station, where the lights remained on even late at night, a female police officer was raising her voice incredulously at Alice.

Based on the traces left at the scene and the situation reports.

The Bloody Night Incident was clearly a Code Orange, Level 2 disaster situation.

The city itself wasn’t in danger but…

It was a chilling incident that could have resulted in outrageous casualties if mishandled.

Yet, in this situation, the person who swiftly subdued the ringleader and handed him over to the police, then backed off claiming they didn’t deserve first-class merit?

The policewoman found it deeply regrettable, even though it wasn’t her own case, to lose out on the commendation and reward money.

“Haha… Actually, I didn’t do it all. The ghost almost caught him, and I just finished the job. I don’t really want to take all the credit. Plus, being on the news makes me uncomfortable.”

But for Alice, this was the obvious choice.

She was the kind of woman who would return money she found on the street to its rightful owner.

Besides, capturing Drakel was only possible because the ghost had nearly incapacitated him, and she merely finished the job.

Thus, Alice insisted to the police side that the ghost’s name must be included for first-class merit, almost throwing a tantrum.

Ultimately, unable to resist Alice’s persistence, the police pushed her into second-class merit and reluctantly wrote down the ghost’s name instead, despite not knowing much about it.

“Hmm… Well, if that’s how you feel about it… there’s nothing I can do. Then, I’ll take my leave! See you next time!”

“Okay, see you.”

I guess that’s enough repayment.

Alice said goodbye to the police officer, who seemed full of regret, and turned around without hesitation.

And as she stepped onto the street with a light step…

A familiar male voice called out from just beside her.

“Yo, Alice. Is everything done? Any injuries?”

“Oh, Mr. Jin! You waited for me.”

“Who said I waited? I just happened to pass by and saw you, so I greeted you.”

The man’s name was Jin Crowley.

He ran the Crowley Fixer Office and employed Alice as his worker while also being a fixer with an expiring license.

Fond of wearing black clothes from head to toe and having jet-black hair, he was occasionally nicknamed Raven by acquaintances.

“Hmm~ My sister said male tsundere types aren’t in demand these days. Like unsellable stock, she said.”

“You should tell your sister to stop reading manga. What era are we living in? Tsundere? That word is like seventy years old.”

Giggle.

Alice couldn’t help but chuckle seeing Jin walking alongside her awkwardly.

At a glance, he might seem like someone who goes with the flow, but his actions naturally blended into always keeping an eye on his surroundings.

After walking silently for a while, Alice finally broke the silence.

“By the way, Mr. Jin. I actually met the ghost Victor mentioned earlier today.”

“…Is that true? How was it?”

“Well, I didn’t see any superpower-like abilities… but like Victor said, he doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

As Alice spoke, she recalled when Victor, Jin’s close friend, visited the office a few days ago.

Victor, a striking man with spiky blonde hair, suddenly showed up and said this:

“Raven. It’s a sudden request, but could you investigate the ghost? It might be related to your… missing younger sister.”

“…Tell me more.”

“A large-scale otherworldly research experiment that caused tens of thousands of casualties, the Nexus Project. That experiment, which uniquely yielded meaningful results regarding superpowers… I believe it’s connected to the ghost.”

A power from another world, belonging neither to science nor magic. Superpowers.

Attempts to transplant this power into humans had been made hundreds of times over several decades since the arrival of other races.

Among them, the Nexus Project was the closest to success.

It was a mysterious group’s large-scale human experiment, suspected to involve Jin’s missing younger sister.

“How can you be sure? The Nexus Project was orchestrated by an unknown group that even the dragon couldn’t catch. I can’t just take your word for it. And how do you differentiate shadowless magic from superpowers…?”

“Yeah, I get it. But what if… the ghost is a small child?”

“A child?”

Jin, surprised, widened his eyes as Victor continued earnestly.

“Yes. I understand what you’re implying. A magician at their peak can wield magic that leaves no trace, similar to superpowers. But would such a magician operate in the underworld, robbing villains? And in the form of a small child?”

“That’s…”

“My instincts tell me. The ghost is highly likely a superpowered individual created by the Nexus Project. And probably went through something unimaginable during the process. You know what I mean.”

The discovered journal of the Nexus Project was truly shocking.

Forcing the transplantation of invaders’ body parts into humans, tampering with brains, injecting drugs causing burning pain, and even making them kill their precious friends with their own hands.

Then, how terrible must the experiences of the project’s supposed success story be?

“So, I’m asking you, Raven. Please investigate the ghost for me. I’ll be leaving this city for a while, so the only person I can ask is you. It’s also for your younger sister.”

“…”

Jin fell silent, deep in thought.

Then, seemingly making up his mind, he looked at Victor seriously and replied.

“One question. What kind of person is the ghost?”

“Well, at least to me, they seem like a very good person.”

“Hmph. Your perspective is too flowery to be helpful…”

Jin adjusted his posture and smirked widely.

“Alright. I’ll take the job. Before you return to Night Haven, I’ll thoroughly investigate what kind of person this ghost is.”

“Heh, alright. Until I return, right?”

Their long-standing friendship wasn’t a lie.

Jin and Victor faced each other boldly, as if in a contest.

The victory condition was investigating the ghost before Victor returned.

Passion flared in Jin’s eyes, as if reignited.

‘More like siblings than friends.’

Recalling those memories, Alice quietly chuckled.

Jin and Victor. Completely opposite in appearance and demeanor—black and blonde hair—but their long bond wasn’t fake.

They shared similarities, perhaps in the way they both ignited passion in others.

Just as she was inspired by Jin’s freedom to abandon a stable police career and become a fixer…

Jin was now burning with genuine passion to find the ghost, thanks to Victor’s influence.

Maybe similar people naturally become friends.

“Ah, this won’t do! I need to go to the Black Circle and protest that the bounty is ridiculous! Practically, the ghost saved the labyrinth. This is too unfair!”

“Ah, I somewhat agree with that. The Black Circle is probably overwhelmed by angry bounty hunters.”

Jin shrugged at her words.

Seeing Alice tilt her head quizzically, Jin briefly explained.

The Black Circle offered a bounty per zombie head to protect their territory.

But once the chaos ended, all the zombie corpses vanished like a mirage.

Some bounty hunters accused the Black Circle of knowing this beforehand and deliberately offering the bounty.

Naturally, bounty hunters who worked hard and got nothing joined in, confronting the Black Circle.

Jin figured this fallout would hinder the Black Circle’s influence in the western labyrinth for a while.

The ghost’s bounty would likely fade away soon too.

“Ugh, whatever. I should’ve stayed with you in the western labyrinth. Why am I so unlucky?”

“Hehe, that’s so like you, Mr. Jin. But… I wonder if they’re doing okay since then. The last time I saw them, they were covered in wounds. It’s a bit worrying.”

“Well… If the ghost was found, rumors would have spread by now. The lack of such news is fortunate, isn’t it?”

No news is good news.

Jin shrugged and comforted Alice, telling her not to worry too much.

After chatting and parting ways in front of the office…

The next day, when Alice arrived at work…

They encountered an unexpected visitor.

“May I make a request?”

“…”

A towering muscular orc and a maid with a tiny fox mask.

What an incomprehensible combination.

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