A startled Bishop sat up straight at the news. He leaned forward, his tone rough but his words marked with reservations.

“I think you know what I’m thinkin’. But... d’you think it could be someone else? ❴Hidden Village❵, maybe?”

Tyvan closed his eyes and shook his head. According to the alchemy expert, Fen Xun, ❴Hidden Village❵ did not have the ability.

“We need more information. Keep your senses open... but avoid doing anything rash.”

Bishop sighed, tilting his head down. His fist on the desk was clenched so hard that it shook.

Tyvan continued to stare, expecting an answer. They were potentially dealing with one or more creatures too stubborn to lie still after death. And of the many types that fit that category, there was one in particular that Tyvan preferred the Latorre siblings avoid.

Assigning Bishop and Briar Rose to the case had its merits. Those two were well familiar with the practices and mentalities of ❴Eminence❵. Their actions would inexorably pressure ❴Eminence❵ into better policing their own-- or otherwise discern and discipline the parties responsible.

However, if the siblings were left to their own devices...

No... he couldn’t allow that. ❴The Kingdom❵ lacked the ability to conceal a large-scale bloodbath from the general public.

It was a stifling limitation.

Tyvan leaned forward.

“Respond.”

“Ahh... fine,” Bishop groaned. “I’ll be careful, Boss.”

He took a breath and looked up, returning to his usual cheerful mien.

“I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything! I P-romise!”

“...You do that.”

Afterward, the topic segued to lunch and all the lovely possibilities the notion entailed. Tyvan planned on snacking lightly during the day, as he had an engagement in the evening. Bishop recommended a nearby restaurant that specialised in empanadas. He said the owner was from Argentina.

Walter returned shortly after.

“I never want you with me on one o’ these things again, Valorum,” he said in a low voice. “As soon as you left, that Quigg girl couldn’t stop asking about you.”

“I am a man of great mystery,” Tyvan nodded. “Have you come across anything of value?”

“I took a second look at the cracks on the wall. You... think they’re worth something?”

“Potential evidence of an altercation.”

“Could be circumstantial,” Walter frowned.

“Hence why I said potential,” Tyvan replied in a flat tone. “And-- this, too, is circumstantial, but I identified slight damage to the inside of the missing person’s container.”

“The fuck?” Walter cursed, “Why? There’s no locks on those things.”

Tyvan smirked. His old friend was paying attention.

“This is speculative, but it might have been something that couldn’t control its strength-- and judging by the depths of its claw marks...”

“Hold it.” Walter raised his hand. “Claw marks are beyond circumstantial, Valorum.”

Tyvan furrowed his brows. “Are regular humans... unable--”

“No, regular humans are not able to leave claw marks on stainless steel.”

Tyvan nodded slowly. “Detective... I advise you to keep your peers away from this case now and for the near future.”

----------------------------------------

Shay looked at her school planner. It was the day! She’d been looking forward to the day.

Dad was moving back!

She made plans for it about a week prior. And every day since was a mess of anxiety and wanting everything to be P-erfect. (That was generally normal for her, though, so it was manageable.)

Dad had to pass a standard training test, but he was transferring back to the Rancho police department-- which was really close by! He was even going to keep his rank.

Apparently, they made a special exception, just for him. Grandpa probably had something to do with one or more of those things, so she was planning to have a brainstorming session with Tyvan to think up a good gift.

But, anyway-- Shay made reservations for an upscale Chinese restaurant. And there, she was hoping to introduce Dad to her three favorite people: Heidi, Yeonha, and her super-hot boss.

Just two months ago, the most expensive place she could have brought her dad was Dragon Burger. But then she got a job working for Tyvan. She worked really hard as a live-in custodian at the Elysian Heights apartment complex.

Stolen novel; please report.

But more recently, she’d become a ‘Junior Analyst!’ She even got a huge increase to her base pay with her promotion-- so much, that she didn’t quite feel like she deserved it.

To make up for it, she still helped with things around Elysium: gardening and cleaning and stuff.

--nothing crazy difficult.

Shay woke up early every morning to help Heidi with the plants in the courtyard. She loved spending time with her. And as a bonus, she got to increase her knowledge with plant facts.

After school, she helped out Yeonha with cleaning the dorms. The conversations they had were weird, wacky, light-hearted, and fun. Also, that girl would literally cry if she had to clean by herself. Couldn’t have that.

...It was a little weird, though-- considering Yeonha was a perfectly capable maid. She dressed like one! A French one! And, also, her cleaning power level was superhero high-- or anime protagonist high.

Yeonha probably wanted the help because she was lonely... or lazy... or... a healthy mix of both.

And then for her ‘Junior Analyst’ duties, Shay dealt with what Tyvan referred to as ‘Kingdom matters.’ That was anything that had to do with supernatural stuff that she couldn’t talk to regular people about.

They had an NDA.

Of course, Shay didn’t do anything dangerous, (probably because Tyvan wouldn’t let her.)

She didn’t have to deal with rampaging werewolves, but she did help resolve an incident with a cat-person?

Oh, and she helped out a ⟦Witch⟧ named Paige with her lunar blood ritual two weeks ago? Paige had really, really bad cramps. Shay went to the corner store and got her medicine, a heating pad, and a mid-high tier bar of chocolate.

Paige was super thankful. She was still miserable-- but thankful.

It wasn’t exactly what Shay was expecting when she got her job promotion. There wasn’t a single incident with man-eating ogres; evil demon queens, mad with power; or dragons demanding yearly sacrifices. (Dragons didn’t even exist, which was both a relief and a genre-defying disappointment.)

Still, she was proud to be a member of ❴The Kingdom❵. And since their mission statement was basically to keep the peace of Archangel, no dangerous incidents meant they were doing a really good job!

Ahhh... As exciting as everything was, she was a tiny, little bit disappointed that she couldn’t tell her dad about it. But that was the price she had to pay... for working alongside the hottest guy in the history of... ever.

Her boss, MiSteR Valorum, was a strong, tall, broad-shouldered, super-rich guy. He had silver hair and he made it work! --like maybe a J-Pop Idol would. Oh, and he was half-Italian, which somehow made everything more...

Mm. Chef’s kiss delicious~

He was basically perfect. Shay fell for him at first sight.

Also, he saved her life multiple times, so if anything, it was his fault she fell so hard.

The last time Shay talked to him, he agreed to taxi them all to the Chinese restaurant. And... everything else was a blank.

Tyvan talked about some stuff. It was all very fascinating and with a deep, sultry voice that made her feel warm and melty. She didn’t remember any of it. She kept imagining what his lips would feel like against hers. She hadn’t ever kissed anyone before, so she didn’t have any frame of reference-- nor did she want any. She’d already decided that the honor of her first kiss would belong to him and him alone!

Huh. What was she supposed to do with her hands when they did the deed? Would it be okay to hug him? Or was that a second-base sort of thing? Also, she kept imagining them together kissing on the side of a mountain, watching the sun rise.

Why a mountain, though? They lived nowhere near a mountain.

Shay dug into a pouch on her bookbag for her designer-brand lip balm. Tyvan had gotten it for her as a present. Maybe it was a hint? Maybe it was foreshadowing? The moment of the deed could arrive any day at any time-- so she had to be ready!

She glanced around at the rest of her class. No one was paying attention to her (or the substitute English teacher, for that matter.)

No one at school could know the indecency going on inside her head. She had a certain reputation-- good grades, never any bad rumors around her... someone who pays for group karaoke with a fat stack of cash (even if it was only once and for only two hours.)

But, of course, as a successful Student Council President, she also had people at school she could rely on! (Err... one person. She had one person she could rely on.)

The bell rang, scheduling the end of class. So Shay looked at her desk neighbor: Aquila Davey, her one, vaguely trustworthy school friend. Despite her flaws and eccentricities, she was actually a kind, caring--

Aquila knelt on top of her desk and rolled forward. Her skirt flared up, flashing her bright-blue shorts to the entire class as she landed on the floor.

“Gotta go fast!”

That was her battlecry as she sped away.

None of her classmates looked especially surprised. That wasn’t especially surprising for Aquila.

Bleigh. Aki was a... lot more friend-like in private.

Shay grabbed her things and walked out of the classroom, looking to see where the speedy little brown girl had gone. Toward the back of the school? A lot of after-school clubs met back there, so maybe there was... an event or something. But events had... people.

In the opposite direction was something more in line with Shay’s interests. A small group of students collected in front of a bulletin board, looking at the results of last week’s business exam.

Over the past month or so, all things business-related had become more important in her life. Grandpa basically disowned all his sons except Uncle Pingping, so she’d basically become the Song family heiress.

As cliche as her Cinderella story was, it was nice to finally feel like a protagonist, for once in her life.

But she still had to put in her best effort. She’d been fiercely defending her position as the top student in her grade since the start of the school year. So... she just had to keep doing what she had been doing, with test scores as high as--

92 out of 100.

Oh...

Fuck.