"Are you sure that's your great-grandmother?" asked Graham with a voice that couldn't hide his confusion and disbelief.

Ruben Arnaud looked at his guest became as puzzled as he was. He shouted the name Paim before, which was the name of the woman the detective was looking for.

"I'm sure this is my great-grandmother, yes. Why do you think this is Paim? Didn't you say earlier that she was of Longese descent? I've never heard my great-grandmother being from Long Empire. Although, I heard that she used to travel a lot, but it couldn't have changed her race, could it? And the woman is already dead. I attended her funeral when I was a very young boy myself, Graham, so she can't be alive and running an antique store, can she? Although, I only vaguely remember about it because I was only five I think at that time," replied Ruben with puzzlement.

"It does sound crazy when you put it that way, but do you know how many crazy things there are actually in this world?" he retorted, "Can you tell me more about your great-grandmother? And do you have another photograph of her? And when was this taken?"

"I'm sorry, Graham, but this is the only photograph we have of her. Back then taking a photograph was a thing of luxury, you see? People couldn't just have one taken whenever they wanted. They had to schedule an appointment far ahead of time and it took hours just to get one photograph done. That's what my father told me. As for the year, I think this photo was taken in 1870 something if I'm not mistaken. If the woman you're looking for truly is my great-grandmother, she would be over a hundred years old now," he paused.

Ruben took a sip of his tea that had gone a little colder to quench his thirst. After talking so much, it turned out the man could still feel thirsty just like normal people.

"As for what kind of woman my great-grandmother was, I don't know much, but according to my father's stories, she was very kind to him. His mother, my grandmother, was very strict with my father and his siblings, and his grandmother was like the opposite of her. She would secretly give my father candy when his mother wasn't around. And she traveled a lot, even after she was old. Whenever she got back, she would give my father and his siblings all sorts of gifts, you see? I'm kind of jealous of my father in that aspect. That's why, Graham, my father took the effort to fly back to Rodin when he heard of the news of her passing," explained Ruben lengthly.

Graham was listening intently to what the man was saying, but even he could get tired because of the man's non-stop speech that had a speed matching a running jaguar.

Looking over his shoulder, he began muttering quietly.

"Val, the description somehow matches the Paim we met: a friendly old woman. But we can't be really sure just with that," he paused, "Oh and by the way, it's rather exhausting to listen to all of his stories because I have to really focus or I won't get his point at all,"

Graham turned back to Ruben and smiled.

"What's her great-grandmother's name again? Carmen Arnaud, is that it?" he asked to make sure.

"Yes, yes, that is correct. I don't know her maiden name, and in fact, I only learned about her name when my father finally remembered it. He had always called her grandma and actually managed to forget her real name! Can you believe that, Graham? Even I remember my grandmother's name in my heart, although I haven't really spent much time with her. I only met her the few times my father took us to visit them in Rodin," he replied enthusiastically. It seemed that he was always happy to talk about any topics at all.

Graham didn't think he would get any more information about the woman herself, so he had to change the question.

"What about your family's protection? Is it related to your great-grandmother in any way?" asked Graham inquisitively.

Ruben seemed to be thinking now. He leaned against the armrest and rested his head on his left hand while tapping his temple with his fingers.

"I think...? I'm not sure, you see? It's what my father always told me but he never actually told me any detail about it. I believe him because of his stories, however. Remember when I told you my family was poor, Graham? My grandfather and grandmother lost all their fortune in the economic crisis that struck Rodin at that time. Strangely, however, they always seemed to be able to manage day by day. My great-grandmother was always there to help them, but still. It all changed when my father decided to move here to the Republic. He became successful here through his hard work, and it took a long time," explained Ruben lengthly.

Graham nodded, but then raised his right eyebrow.

"So where is the protection part?" he asked curiously.

A smile surfaced on Ruben Arnaud's plump face.

"You see, Graham, although they became poor, my grandparents never actually got in trouble for some reason. Do you know how debtors like to target declining families to gain a fortune for themselves? They never met such people in their lives. And also, they've never been targets of thefts and burglary even when they were still rich. At least that's what my father told me. But I believe that it's true because even my father was never in any serious trouble as far as I can remember, you see?" replied the plump rich man.

"But your story still didn't show me the relation between your family's protection with your great-grandmother..." replied Graham.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Ruben showed regret in his expression.

"I'm sorry but that's all I know, Graham. I wish I could tell you more, but alas, I can't. If only there was a way to talk to my deceased father, but then it would be just another crazy thing that you mentioned, isn't it? But then again, I wouldn't want to disturb him even if I could. The poor man's tired, you see? So I'd rather just let him rest in peace and be happy in the next world if there is any," he replied with a more serious tone.

Since he couldn't get any other useful information from the man, Graham could only rely on his divination later. At least with what Ruben had told him, he would have enough information to go by.

"Well then, in that case, thank you very much for your time, Ruben. And also for the marvelous tea! I don't want to keep occupying you and your precious time," said Graham politely.

A burst of cheerful laughter came out of Ruben's mouth. He looked at Graham in a friendly way.

"Thank you, thank you! I do love the tea myself and to be honest, I'm glad you enjoyed it. So where are you going next with your investigation?" he asked merrily.

"I'll probably visit some other people after this. Once again, thank you for telling me all those stories. I'm sure they can be helpful," replied Graham and then got up from the comfortable sofa.

Ruben Arnaud also got up and then walked with Graham to the main door. After putting on his coat, Graham bid goodbye to the man and then exited the large house.

"Come again anytime!" shouted Ruben from the doorway as Graham exited through the gate.

Creak...

Graham closed the gate behind him without locking it, leaving it in the same state as when he first came. Once Graham had walked several meters away, Ruben Arnaud entered his house and closed the door behind him.

"Val, we need to talk with Sabine as well. I have a feeling that she doesn't just work there by pure chance. There are too many coincidences happening that I don't believe they are mere coincidences anymore," he muttered as he headed towards a quiet alley not far from Ruben's house.

He walked into the alley that had no one but himself there. Normally, people wouldn't be in that kind of place unless they were trying to dispose of trash or if they were the trash collectors.

After making sure that he was indeed alone, Graham took out his lighter and lit a fire.

"I ask that you float!"

The flame began rising slowly in the air, breaking contact with the black, classy lighter that he then put back inside his pocket. Concentrating on the flame in front of him, Graham began thinking of a question in his mind.

'Who is Carmen Arnaud?'

The flame burned brighter and brighter. However, after waiting for a while, what he got was not an image that formed in the flame, but a splitting headache that broke his concentration. It felt like several giant needles were stabbed into his brain repeatedly.

"Crap!" he cursed while holding his head tight.

After a while, the headache subsided, leaving Graham breathing heavily. The floating flame in front of him had turned normal as if nothing had happened.

"That settles it. Ruben's great-grandma must be Paim. Normal people won't give that reaction to being divined about, Val..." he muttered, "That means anything we try to divine about her will just result in failure, so let's just try something else,"

Once he had completely recovered from the headache, he concentrated once more on the flame and thought about another question.

'When will Sabine, Ruben's assistant, leave the house?'

The flame burned brighter and this time, an image gradually formed. It showed a clock on the wall with the short clock hand pointing at the number three while the long hand pointing at the number four. After that, the image disappeared.

"She'll leave at three twenty? It's still a while from now, so we have time, Val," he said while looking at his watch. It showed two fifty-seven, so he still had more than twenty minutes to wait.

He needed to prepare first before actually talking to the woman to avoid suspicion. Although he knew her, she shouldn't know about him at all. That was why the fact that she was staring at him earlier was strange to Graham, although she might have done it just out of curiosity-- or she could feel his spirituality.

"I, in the name of the Deity of Cunningness and Transformation, hereby change my whole being to that of Cornelis Haring!"

Once he had finished chanting, his body underwent a transformation process at once that lasted less than thirty seconds. He became Rood, the Police Sergeant, not long after.

"The battle earlier had consumed a lot of our abilities, so we have to make everything count, Val," he muttered and sat on the ground with his back against the wall.

Graham closed his eyes and began concentrating on his breathing to help him fall asleep. Since he was not in a hurry, he didn't want to waste another Order to help him sleep. The battle with the Pale Society had also made him rather tired, so he should be able to fall asleep quicker than normal.

It took him around five minutes to finally fall asleep, and Valentine woke up not long after. He got up from the ground and cleaned the dirt off his coat.

Although Valentine couldn't read Graham's mind, he could guess what his intentions were. He must want to use Valentine's interrogation to ask questions to Sabine to make things easier.

The small alley was quiet and reeked of garbage, so Valentine didn't stay there too long. He walked back to the main street where people were busily walking by. He walked towards Ruben Arnaud's house and leaned against a tree while waiting patiently for his target to come out.

At exactly three-twenty, the door to the big two-story house was opened and a woman came out of it carrying a small purse. It was Sabine, Ruben's new assistant, and also the woman that he had rescued from the deranged Daan Holsten's basement. She was dressed up casually in a blue wool sweater and a pair of cotton pants, so she was probably only going out not for long.

Just as she opened the gate, she saw Valentine, who now had the appearance of Rood, standing under a tree. She looked surprised for a second and then smiled at him.

"Good afternoon, officer, what brought you here?" she asked as she walked towards Valentine.

Although he hadn't been there after the event at Daan Holsten's house ended, he could guess that Rood was one of the Policemen that came to rescue the women. That was why she was friendly toward him.

"Good afternoon, Sabine. How are you nowadays?" asked Valentine, using Rood's voice and pretending to be the man.

There was a smile on her face.

"I'm doing great, to be honest. It's all thanks to you and the mysterious man," she replied.

Valentine let out a friendly smile that didn't go really well with the scar on Rood's face.

"Can you come with me for a second? I need to ask you something," he said gently as not to alarm the woman. Although she trusted him, being asked by a member of the Police would still make most people nervous.

Sabine nodded slowly and then followed Valentine to the quiet alley that he had been before.

There were now only the two of them there, and although she looked relaxed, Sabine was visibly on guard. Her own experience had taught her to not easily trust anyone, even though the man in front of her was her savior. The moment Valentine showed any suspicious behavior, she would definitely run away as fast as she could.

Valentine opened his mouth and at that exact moment, Sabine's consciousness began to fade.

"I hereby put you under interrogation."