The man was about the same height as Shade, but his figure under the clothes was very thin. His head was slightly lowered, so that the hat could cover his face. From Shade's angle, his appearance could not be seen at all.
"Are there any traces of elements?"
【No.】
"Is it a ring warlock?"
【You need to get closer.】
Shade put down the newspaper in his hand and looked across the road. He took out the pocket watch that had been damaged by soaking in cold water port from his pocket and took a look at it. Then he shook his head and sighed, as if complaining about the unpunctuality of the people waiting.
Then he folded the newspapers in his hands and walked to the other side of the street.
He passed by Ms. Swann, who was wearing a red top. She was just attracted by Shade's appearance, but she took a look without stopping.
Shade walked straight to the antique shop on one side of the alley, and the voice in his head also gave the answer:
[Neither of them are ring magicians.]
Ms. Swann had left the alley's prying range, and when Shade turned into the alley from the antique shop door, the peeping peep had disappeared.
He took two quick steps to catch up. The alley with the "Black Corner Alley" sign was a rather narrow straight road, and there was no obstruction in the alley. Shade was only a few seconds slower, and there was actually something in the alley.
There is no trace of anyone left.
Since the other party is not a ring warlock, the only possibility is that the other party is hiding somewhere else in the alley.
There are three-story apartment buildings of the same style on both sides of Black Corner Alley. There are moss everywhere under the mottled walls, and the original color of the walls has long been unclear. The section of wall near the entrance of the alley is covered with wanted posters and various leaflets.
There is a clothesline in the middle of the building facing each other, and the clothes that have not yet dried are like gray flags, swaying in the mist.
"I was just slow for a few seconds and then the other party disappeared, which means that the other party entered the building near the alley."
Shade stood there thinking:
"Moreover, when Miss Swan appeared, I kept paying attention to the alley entrance, but I didn't see the door of the house closest to the alley entrance. This means that the possible buildings are the two houses closest to the alley entrance."
Shade looked at the houses on both sides:
"He can appear every time when Miss Swan happens to appear, which means that the building where this person is located can directly see the distance of the street..."
The two buildings closest to the alley have no windows that open to the street, but the attics of these houses are higher than those of nearby buildings. Shade noticed that the attic of the house on the left has windows, while the attic of the house on the right has windows.
The attic windows were completely boarded up.
"This room."
Shade smiled, turned around and walked up the steps in front of the house on the left. The stone steps were uneven, and the door in front of him looked like it had been splashed with excrement.
The hand he extended to knock on the door stopped, and after thinking for a moment, he raised his foot and kicked the door rudely.
It took a long time before I heard footsteps coming from behind the door. The man's voice asked extremely nervously:
"Who is it?"
"Sir, let me check the gas meter."
The mechanical gas meters and steam meters in St. Teresa Square are outside the house. The gas company checks it every month and sends the bill directly to the residents. Most of the gas meters in this old-fashioned building are inside the house. Shade has observed in advance that there are no gas meters outside the door.
Meter box.
"Okay, why are you here so early this time? It's only the beginning of the month."
The door was opened a crack, and Shade immediately reached into it to prevent it from closing, and then pulled the door open all the way.
Behind the door is the strange man dressed in black. But he is not wearing a hat now, so his face is exposed.
Shade was also shocked when he saw that face. The other person's face was completely swollen, with patches of red and white. The upper and lower eye sockets were almost completely covered by swelling.
In addition to his face, Shade also saw his hands. Similar to the skin on his face, they also looked terrible. These should be traces of burns or burns. The man in front of him must have suffered a terrible accident.
"What are you going to do? Oh, you're not checking the gas meter!"
Seeing Shade's dress, the man immediately panicked.
"Of course not. I have other things, but I'm definitely not a bad person."
Shade held the doorframe with his left hand to prevent the people inside from closing it, and stretched out his right hand in a handshake gesture:
"Good afternoon, sir."
Although the other person's face and skin looked scary, they were neither infectious nor dirty, so Shade didn't mind shaking hands with him.
Shade's action of reaching out made the people inside the door feel a little better. He awkwardly stretched out his hand to shake Shade's hand, and then immediately took it back, but the moment of contact was enough for Shade to draw a conclusion.
【They are indeed ordinary people.】
"I'm here because of Miss Swan."
Shad pulled the door frame and planned to stand at the door to talk. The man asked doubtfully:
"Sorry, Miss Swan is...oh, so her last name is Swan! That's a really good name."
There is a vague look of realization on some scary faces.
The corner of Shade's mouth trembled. He already understood that this matter had nothing to do with the extraordinary. It was indeed impossible to encounter relics continuously. But now that the matter was understood, he didn't mind wasting a few minutes to finish:
"Sir, you have been spying on her at noon every day for the past few weeks. Miss Swan was very worried, so she asked the security company for help, and then the security company hired me as a detective. Excuse me, what exactly do you want to do?
What?"
The man's face suddenly turned red. Of course, it was difficult to tell because of his skin.
He hesitated and said:
"Hello, detective. I just...want to take a look at her. You know, it's impossible for me to look like this...I just want to take a look...I
Yes, it’s a bad thing, I just..."
His voice gradually lowered, and Shade waited for a while before saying:
"I'm just here to investigate this matter. The conversation between me and you will be known to the client as it is. She may change her job..."
"No! I won't peek at her anymore, please don't disturb her life."
The man suddenly became excited:
"Don't affect her life because of me!"
"Sorry, I don't have the authority to make decisions for others. This is a commission. I must honestly hand over the investigation results to the client."
Shade shrugged.
He didn't know whether the man in front of him would be quietly peeking aside, or whether he suddenly wanted to do something one day. Therefore, of course, Shade would not just pretend that he had found out nothing just because he believed in love.
.
Fortunately, he doesn't have to judge whether the man in front of him is good or bad, because he just wants to investigate this matter:
"Sir, the decisions each of us make will irreversibly affect the people around us. The impact on her has already appeared since you decided to see her in the alley every noon. I will not judge whether you did this for the right reasons.
For what purpose, I just hope you can understand."
Shade paused for a moment, thinking about what to say:
"Never be swallowed by the darkness in your heart. When you poke your head out of the shadows, you may think it is love, but when the love ferments further, what will be the final result?"
To put it bluntly, Shade is warning the other person to be more honest. But he doesn't know whether the other person is good or bad, so he doesn't want to hurt other people's self-esteem, so he expresses it in a very tactful way.
"You should know better than me the darkness in the human heart. Even if you believe that you are a good person, can you be sure that when a certain idea takes shape, whether the tiny seeds of darkness will engulf your heart in the future?"
Shade shook his head and decided to add some more powerful persuasion methods in addition to the persuasion with words.
So he lifted his clothes so that the man inside the door could see the gun in his waist. The latter took a small step back in horror:
"what are you up to?"
"Don't worry, I just want you to see if my revolver is beautiful. Oh, sir, if you have a crush on that lady, you can actually find an opportunity to send her a letter, but never express your love in this way.
meaning."
"But she will reject me, I look like this..."
The man whispered. He was a native of Tobesk and had a strong accent:
"...She will be angry because I look like this..."
"If she rejects you, then please stay away from her. Isn't this normal?"
Shade said, letting go of the door and preparing to leave, he waved his hand:
"I already know your identity. If you try to do anything to Miss Swan, the police will come here to see you as soon as possible."
"No, I won't, I won't disturb her anymore..."
The man lowered his head and whispered.
Shade nodded, sighed, turned around and left Black Corner Alley. He was not sighing for this matter, but for himself. The second thing was indeed a waste of time.
【But at least it's interesting enough.】
"You think so?"
Not getting a reply from the voice in his ear, Shade thought for a moment:
"It's actually pretty interesting."
Outsiders like to witness different stories, even if they are just ordinary people's stories.
Returning to Lewis Street, Shade first found a restaurant to have his lunch, and then decided to take a carriage to the tax bureau in the North District of Tobesk to process his taxes. The jurisdiction of the North District Tax Bureau includes Saint Teresa Square,
The Swan Castle Street where the office is located is also where the Blackstone Security Company is located. Shade wants to tell Iluna what happened just now and ask the Blackstone Security Company to inform the client, Miss Swan.
If Shade's actions today had other consequences, he would feel guilty.
"Only death and tax filing are inevitable." In this complicated steam age, death is controlled by gods and natural laws, while tax filing is naturally controlled by the tax department of the city hall.
There are three tax bureaus in the entire Tobesk, distributed in three directions of the city. The three tax bureaus are jointly responsible to the financial department of the city hall. Tax evasion is almost impossible. Even if this world is less developed than Shade's hometown, it is serious.
An operating detective agency must have a license. With a license, someone will conduct tax inspections.