Ch.100009 Investigation Record – Towards Gremory (7)

I was merely holding back until I heard the truth. That detective would surely find all the necessary information today and come here. He had worked with Gremory before.

In this office with red velvet carpeting, I was a visitor with a purpose, but not someone blinded by it. Buried in the guest sofa, I looked at Gremory before me.

There was certainty in her eyes. A clear conviction that she was doing the right thing. It was a strange feeling to see someone else possess the certainty I lacked.

From Gremory’s fingertips, the distinctive ozone smell of mana reacting with air wafted through the room, and a water droplet slightly larger than a baseball floated in the air. A round droplet like a falling tear hovered in empty space.

She briefly stood up, took some tea leaves from a shelf, sprinkled them into the water droplet, and after another waft of ozone smell, the water began to boil. It seemed more natural to use magic than to boil water in a teapot.

“I should serve tea to my guest. If you don’t like it made with magic, please let me know, Miss Rose. Oh, what was your last name again? I’m sorry. Even I forget things sometimes.”

“It’s Leafman. And while it might be more convenient to boil it directly, magicians do this for atmosphere sometimes, don’t they? I’ve had it this way many times, so don’t worry!”

The tea boiled in midair. The steam that evaporated while boiling turned back into droplets and mixed with the water, preventing the surroundings from becoming humid.

I was staring at the sight when Gremory blinked her characteristically moist eyes and looked directly into mine. She shook her head briefly.

“I’m giving you a chance to properly introduce yourself, but you’re not taking it? Demons are sensitive about names. Since you’re not hiding it out of malice, I thought I’d ask once.”

A chill ran down my spine. Gremory’s face still had those moist eyes and even a faint smile, but the sensation of having something hidden discovered was quite chilling.

Still, I looked directly at Gremory’s face. My hiding my name wasn’t disrespectful to her. Leafman was my mother’s surname, so strictly speaking, I hadn’t even given a false name.

“There couldn’t be a more honest introduction than Rose Leafman from Golden Age Press, Madam Gremory. I’m not here as a member of my family. I came for a journalist’s interview, so I used the name I’ve been using throughout my career as a journalist. You said demons are sensitive about names. Could a name I’ve rarely used while working as a journalist be my real name?”

Gremory, who had been quietly listening, burst into a small laugh and poured tea into a cup. This seemed to be another test question. I must have answered correctly, but I felt completely drained.

“I like you a bit more now, Miss Rose. Still, looking at the request you made to the detective, I think I should be speaking to Rose Clichy rather than Rose Leafman. You won’t bristle at that, will you?”

I took the teacup she pushed toward me. Despite the pleasant warmth and the nice aroma of well-blended tea leaves, this comfortable atmosphere didn’t change the fact that I had been investigated.

“I don’t understand why people these days start with power plays before saying anything. How much background checking have you done?”

Gremory tilted her head with wide eyes as if she didn’t understand what I meant, then smiled again.

“I didn’t go as far as background checking. It’s just that you resemble Charles Clichy. To be precise, you resemble him about halfway? Half is completely opposite, but half is exactly like that man.”

Ysil had told me the same thing. Ysil didn’t keep in touch with my other siblings. And whenever she called me, she would say she was glad I didn’t take after my father.

“But you said the detective’s request suits Rose Clichy better than Rose Leafman. What does that mean? I… I don’t know. I don’t even know what I know and what I don’t know, but everyone around me seems to be moving busily as if they already know everything. It seems like they’re trying to hide things from me, or maybe I’m just being paranoid. Yes.”

If Gremory knew something, I wanted to know. I wanted to know what kind of person my father really was. To me, he had only been a thoughtful and good father, so I wanted to know.

I was leaning forward, staring at her, when her snow-white hand reached out and tapped the tip of my nose. My tense body couldn’t help but flinch.

“You already know all the clues, don’t you? Charles Clichy. And the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn, and… probably Clichy Corporation too. And the Pennsylvania library is open to visitors. Would my answer even matter? It would only feed your suspicions. If Rose wants to believe, Rose needs to find out for herself. Right?”

She also knew what I was curious about. It felt like everyone in the world knew except for me. Words slipped out through my gloom.

“Ah, yes, I suppose so. But I originally came to interview Madam Gremory…”

I barely managed to suppress the heat rising to my face. Coming here saying I would conduct an interview, but then receiving advice, calling a detective, and receiving more advice—that was all I had done.

“That’s just an excuse, isn’t it? You were only curious about what kind of person I am, right? If so, you can stay until you find out. By the way, are you getting proper travel expenses? Our company tends to be generous, but many other companies are in bad shape. I hear some only give enough money for train tickets.”

I couldn’t verbally match Gremory as she spoke so naturally. Right. The interview subject is saying it’s okay to put the interview on the back burner. After making up my mind, I nodded.

It was already getting quite late. I hadn’t heard from the detective, and the library where I could look for newspapers would already be closed. There wasn’t much else I could do now. Except for one thing.

“But I need to ask you something, Madam Gremory. I’m not asking for answers about my problem. So, why are you giving me clues and helping me like this? We’re complete strangers except for having used the same detective.”

A deep smile appeared around Gremory’s eyes. Words close to a whisper came as if they were obvious.

“I’m just helping with the feeling of buying a betting ticket, Miss Rose. In the world, while some people bet on horses they think will win, others bet on horses they want to win. Now, let’s go home! I have quite a few spare rooms at my house. I’ll lend you rooms for the lawyer too. It’s better than wandering the streets at night looking for accommodation.”

I still didn’t know what kind of big game it was that made even Madam Gremory want to take a seat. But I could tell that it was a game that started with that one train attack.

Now I decided to be certain rather than suspicious. My father must be related to the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn. Madam Gremory knew. Paulina knew too. Would the detective know? That I couldn’t tell.

I wasn’t sure how he was related, or if the company was involved too… No, no. The company must be involved too. Gremory had mentioned Clichy Corporation.

I form a hypothesis. My father is the Forest’s Firstborn. He used the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn to grow his company. He was a good businessman in legal areas, and he was powerful enough to handle illegal matters through the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn, so until now, even people who knew this fact avoided getting involved with my father.

But this time, he failed. And the true face of the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn was revealed. Not an army of fanatics in green masks, but simply fools wearing masks and staging an anachronistic train robbery, only to be completely wiped out by two gunmen.

People who had been silent because my father was powerful are now showing their teeth like hyenas drooling at an old lion, now that his weak side has been exposed.

It’s a hypothesis. For now… for now. After thinking for a long time, I realized I hadn’t answered Gremory and nodded briefly. My voice was subdued.

“I’ll gratefully accept your kindness.”

Gremory’s mansion was close to downtown, and except for the fact that you could see factories and the city center from the second-floor terrace, it was the size that reminded me of our home in Texas. There seemed to be about thirty employees.

I received a guest room in such a house out of kindness, and in the room was a plate piled high with teardrop-shaped chocolates from Gremory Chocolate Company. Chocolates I couldn’t eat when I was young because they would rot my teeth.

Unlike the chocolates I had eaten at home, these had a sour taste mixed in, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sourness. The pleasant sweetness that followed that sourness… I could immediately understand why Gremory chocolates sold well—not just because the president, Madam Gremory, was kind. I felt my complicated and gloomy mind being somewhat healed.

That night, I used a different room from Paulina. It wasn’t even the room next door, so I couldn’t hear Paulina’s voice. I felt like I might be here alone. But I wasn’t scared.

The next day, I got up early in the morning and went to Paulina’s room. Since I was Gremory’s guest, the employees didn’t stop me as I hurried around from the morning.

Paulina indeed needed little sleep. Dressed neatly in a gray suit with her shield fixed to her wrist, she was looking in the mirror.

Although it was her back view, she seemed to have pinned up her bangs, but when someone entered, she immediately pulled out the hairpin and covered her eyes. How could I have never seen her eyes even once in three years?

She had stopped abruptly at the sound of the door opening and covered her eyes, but when she turned around and saw my face, she smiled, raising the corners of her mouth.

“Good morning, Rose. Unlike you, you’re up early? Ah, what’s the schedule for today? Madam Gremory giving us rooms is nice, but I’m not sure if the interview is going well.”

I took a step in and closed the door. Paulina looked at the door behind me and tilted her head slightly as if puzzled.

“I’m going to find out what kind of person my father is, Paulina. I’m just going to search through newspaper articles. And if I find something, I’ll write an article about it. You know, don’t you? But you won’t tell me.”

Paulina was visibly flustered but immediately twitched her cheeks and gave an awkward smile. Even with her eyes covered, I could read her expression.

“That’s, that’s not possible, Rose. You know better than anyone what kind of person your father is.”

I wasn’t disappointed. Paulina wasn’t the type to remain silent for my father’s sake. Believing she was keeping quiet for my sake, I told her what I had found out so far.

“No, it’s the opposite. It seems like everyone except me knows that my father has a relationship with the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn. Yesterday, Madam Gremory even boldly told me to look into Clichy Corporation and the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn.”

Seeing Paulina trying to hide her embarrassment with a fake cough, I continued. I had no intention of lying to Paulina.

“And to be honest, yesterday when I separated from you and went into Madam Gremory’s office, I also asked the detective to investigate the train attack. He’ll be here by this evening. That’s the kind of person he is. So, I’ll do the finding out. It’s okay if you keep hiding it, Paulina. Because you’re doing it for me. I’m going to investigate before the detective arrives. Will you come with me?”

To persuade someone who was hiding something from me, especially someone who didn’t dislike me, it was best to be honest and pour everything out.

Paulina couldn’t open her mouth and just gaped. Silence continued as if she had no voice to give, but eventually she nodded.

“Of course I’ll go with you, Rose. But… Mr. Clichy doesn’t want Rose to know. Really. And he wants to protect his family and company even more than he cares for Rose. So, it might be better if you just… pretend not to know…”

“Presenting a blank page when something needs to be written down is also lying, Paulina. We’ve already tried submitting. We both tried to do something, but in the end, we had to bow our heads and submit the article. I’ve already felt that feeling. I don’t want it a second time. I won’t let it happen a second time.”

A throbbing headache hit me. I gritted my teeth. I couldn’t tell which memory had become painful and stuck in my mind, and there was no need to care. I couldn’t let a mere headache interfere with my work.

Judging by Paulina’s reaction, my hypothesis seemed to be correct. My father had carefully examined my train ticket to hand over the train I was on to the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn.

I also had some idea of what the game was. The game was whether I, having discovered this fact, would investigate my father and expose him, or whether I would dismiss it as a simple suspicion and remain silent even after finding out.

If I chose to expose him, the game would change. It would depend on whether I succeeded or failed. Gremory had bet on me, thinking I would expose him. That’s what she meant by a horse she wanted to win.

The odds were low. My father was my father. He was a man with numerous connections even in New York, a week’s train journey from our hometown. Police, legal professionals… just too many people were my father’s friends.

What did I have? Nothing. All I had in my hands was a young and fragile sense of justice that wrongdoers should be exposed.

The first thing I needed was evidence. First, I needed evidence that my father was connected to the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn. I would get that today by searching through newspaper articles in the library.

Second, I would need evidence that my father was the Forest’s Firstborn. Could the detective find that out? Was he on my side? No, no. That man would still be weighing which side to take.

I had to show him when the detective came here. I found out this much, and I don’t know what you’ve brought, but this is enough. I needed to show him that so he would take my side.