When Edward saw Christine again, it was already the next morning, in the Nighthawks squad's basement.
Edward pushed open the door, carrying two cups of coffee, and handed one to her.
"Have some coffee, it'll help you wake up."
"…"
She took the cup, silently took a sip, then lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.
"Let me reintroduce myself. I'm a Nighthawk of the Church of the Evernight, stationed here in Tingen—I'm just going to ask you a few routine questions, so there's no need to worry. Oh, and for the record, we're the ones who saved your life from that monster earlier."
Christine was stunned for a moment. Thinking back to her earlier behavior, she suddenly found it all rather absurd.
After a long silence, she rasped, "What do you want to know?"
"Why were you looking for Hood Eugen?"
"For a book that was lost from our family."
"Oh? The one that contains the pathway formulas?"
She shook her head. "No. The book is indeed related to formulas, but it doesn't contain potion recipes. Instead, it holds a map. With that map, one can find a treasure trove hidden by our family a thousand years ago. It contains not only formulas but also several powerful sealed artifacts."
Edward cupped his coffee in both hands and shook his head with a sigh. "Miss Christine, your story changes every time. That makes it very hard to trust you."
"You don't have to believe me."
"Alright, let's skip that for now. Why was that book in Hood Eugen's hands?"
"On the surface, it's a professional book about psychology. After being passed through several hands, it eventually ended up with him."
"And how did you find that out?"
"…The Psychology Alchemists found out I was looking for the book, came to me, and gave me the information."
Edward nodded, took a small sip of the slightly sour and bitter coffee, and frowned slightly, "Mn…next time I'll add a sugar cube."
"What was the price?"
"What price?"
"The Psychology Alchemist wouldn't have helped you for nothing, right?"
Christine was briefly startled. She lowered her head and thought for a moment before replying in confusion, "I…I forgot."
"You forgot?"
She rubbed her temples, and her expression grew more pained as she tried to recall. "I think…I agreed to some condition, and then someone from the Psychology Alchemist erased that memory."
"Hm, that explanation is quite reasonable."
Edward lightly tapped the rim of the cup with his finger, producing a crisp ring. "So then, how much do you know about Hood Eugen?"
"I only know that he's also a member of the Psychology Alchemy Society. He's a Sequence 7 Psychiatrist. Beyond that, I don't know much."
"Was it Hood Eugen's idea to hypnotize the asylum director into holding a magic show?"
She shook her head. "Not exactly. Before I met him, he had likely already received orders from higher-ups. They told him a Trickmaster—at the time, I hadn't yet advanced to Astrologer—would be coming to ask him for a book."
"But when I found him, he had already gone mad. I told him I was the Trickmaster, but he didn't believe me and demanded proof." Christine looked helpless as she continued, "I performed some sleight of hand, but he said it wasn't good enough."
Edward rubbed his forehead. So that whole magic show had been nothing more than the arbitrary demand of a lunatic. Christine had gone through all that trouble just to prove she was a Trickmaster.
"Do you know where the book is now?"
"Before I found Hood Eugen, he had already passed the book to someone named Lanevus."
"Lanevus? Do you know him?"
"When I first arrived in Tingen, I saw his wanted poster."
Edward let out a long sigh, as if trying to breathe out the fatigue brought by using legilimency, though it was clearly ineffective. He took another large gulp of coffee and continued, "Who was trying to kill you before?"
Christine's expression darkened, and hatred flickered in her eyes. "The Aurora Order. The traitor who betrayed the family and caused the death of everyone I cared about."
"A Secrets Sorcerer?"
Edward was genuinely surprised. "That's a demigod-level figure. You actually managed to escape from him?"
"Not him. One of his subordinates."
Christine gave a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. "Just a Sequence 7. He didn't even need to act himself."
Edward fell silent, contemplating for a moment, then gave a slight nod. "Alright. I don't have anything else to ask for now. Is there anything you want to say?"
"That notebook you took from me last time…"
She looked steadily at Edward. "I borrowed it from a senior of mine. If possible, I hope to return it to him." She met Edward's gaze and continued, "He likely possesses at least the potion formulas up to the middle Sequences of the Apprentice pathway."
"Tsk…you're trying to get me into trouble here."
Edward stood up with his coffee in hand. "Wait for my reply."
As soon as he opened the door, he was met with Klein and Leonard, who had been eavesdropping the whole time outside. Klein immediately asked, "So? How did it go?"
"You both should've heard it too—she doesn't seem to know much about Hood Eugen or Lanevus. Her involvement appears to be purely driven by her own goals."
Leonard frowned. "Could she be lying?"
"Hmm, I can be fairly certain that most of what she said this time was true," Edward said, rubbing his chin. "Of course, she's still hiding a few things, or it could be that someone's tampered with her memory."
With that, he turned and walked toward the captain's office. "Let's report to the captain first."
The three entered the office. Dunn was reclining in his chair with his eyes closed, resting. Upon hearing their footsteps, he opened his eyes, picked up the pipe from the desk, took a dry puff, and asked, "How'd the questioning go?"
"We've got the general idea."
Edward recounted his entire conversation with Christine and then gave the same summary as before. "So, she likely doesn't know much about Hood Eugen or Lanevus, and she has no clue what kind of plot Lanevus might be cooking up with him. Captain, what should we do with Christine?"
Dunn thought for a moment. "She needs to stay here for now. I'll report the full situation to higher authorities. What happens after that will depend on their decision."
"Understood. Then I'll take my leave."
The three had just reached the door when Dunn's voice called out again, "Wait."
They exchanged glances, their expressions showing they had expected this.
"Remember, investigating Beyonder incidents is our duty as Nighthawks, but if something exceeds our capabilities, you must abandon the mission immediately."
"Understood!"
Edward returned to the partition where Christine was being held.
"Sorry to inform you, but you'll probably have to stay here for a while."
She didn't seem surprised. "Mm."
Edward took out the notebook and waved it. "As for this…naturally, I can't return it to you now. If you ever regain your freedom, you can take me to meet that senior of yours. I'll hand it back to him in person."
"I can't guarantee that he'll give you any formulas."
"That's my business. This slip of paper has the method for summoning my messenger. I hope you'll get a chance to use it."
"I will."
"Good luck."
It was already quite late. After stepping out of the Church's building, Edward apparated straight home.
Pop.
The dim light of the gas lamp pushed back the darkness of the night. Lilith lifted her head from the sofa, let out a kittenish yawn, and chirped, "(0`)"
She hopped lightly to the floor, rubbed against Edward's leg, and stretched in an exaggerated arc. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of her tail, and startled, she smacked it without thinking. (っ°Д°;)っ
Cats and tails truly weren't of one mind.
Edward refilled her water and food bowls. Lilith stared at him with her big round eyes for a while before walking over and disinterestedly chewing a few bites.
"Not hungry?"
She shook her head, curled her tail around her hind legs, and started grooming her paws.
"Probably caught another mouse again."
Ever since Edward told her not to eat mice anymore, Lilith still occasionally hunted them at night, but never brought them to him again, nor had she eaten one in his presence since.
After freshening up, Edward took off his shoes and climbed into bed. Normally, Lilith would jump up right after him, but tonight she stopped at the foot of the bed.
She looked at Edward's slippers, then down at her own paw pads. As if thinking something through, she suddenly trotted into the washroom.
A moment later, she returned, carrying Edward's towel in her mouth. She leapt onto the nightstand, dropped the towel, and one by one, wiped her paws on it before finally hopping onto the bed.
Edward stared at her, dumbfounded. He picked her up and held her in front of him.
"Lilith, have you gotten smarter all of a sudden? And stronger, too! Tell me the truth—did you secretly take a potion behind my back?"
"Meow (ω`)?"
"Was this Susie's doing?
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.