Ch.107The Third Entanglement – Clichy and Ragtime (6)

Sodom is falling. Only two people escaped before angels, wrapped in gold that shone like fire, struck down upon the place. Fortunately, they never looked back.

“I was… I was Number 13. I joined for the same reason as him… Yes, similar reasons. Everyone who gathered that day had similar motives. I thought there was a future with the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn. But… the Forest’s Firstborn just abandoned us! Like garbage! We wanted to see the future, not become corpses halfway up a mountain of bodies!”

Everyone craved a future. They believed that this six-letter word could quench their burning thirst, the burning thirst of this era.

Most failed. All that remained was New York’s chronic smokiness. Everyone just wants everything. Desires glittered like gold, but not everything that shines is gold.

“That’s when I realized I was wrong. We shouldn’t expect a future from people. When I realized that, everything I’d done seemed truly horrific. That’s why today…”

It was a lie. People don’t repent and change this quickly. Could it be considered a willingness to change? Whatever the motive, they were genuinely trying to sever ties with the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn.

Looking for somewhere to turn her gaze, the reporter peered outside at the chaos, where all traces of green and noise had vanished, replaced by crimson darkness and silence.

It was horrific, if one could call it that, or perhaps not horrific at all. The Gremory workers gathered in front of the broadcasting station were barely exchanging words of relief that they hadn’t been the ones attacked.

Some of them turned their heads, not out of pity for the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn, but because they probably felt like they were seeing versions of themselves from when they worked at other factories.

The detective was nowhere to be seen among them. She wasn’t worried about whether he had escaped properly. Nothing could be more foolish than worrying about him.

The reporter turned around with ease. As if it were the most natural thing, the detective had silently made his way up here and was waiting for her, crouched in front of the broken window, watching her as she looked outside.

His hands smelled faintly of gunpowder, but he wasn’t holding a gun. It was probably somewhere out there. A pistol meant for elves, with one shot fired and no fingerprints, would be rolling on the ground somewhere in that crowd.

“Your work was perfect again. If I write an article about this, it would be a declaration of war, right? I mean, these elves testified. They said they did this for an elf company that’s been buying up radio stations lately. If we look into it, it would obviously be Clichy Corporation…”

The detective didn’t bother to respond. So the reporter continued talking. Every moment felt like a time to prove her abilities.

“Since my father is also in New York, he’ll act quickly, so after contacting Ysil to assess the situation, even if no one else wants to publish the article, we can rely on Ysil’s backing to publish it. Right?”

“Yes. That alone would certainly intimidate the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn. But you’re not going to stop there, are you? After the train attack failed, what did your father ask me to do?”

The reporter briefly recalled. She felt a stinging headache again but ignored it and answered.

“He sent you to deal with the two people who failed the job. Are you saying someone’s head will roll because of this Pennsylvania incident too?”

“That’s what I’m saying. But I’ve already taken care of this side, and the branch is being completely destroyed by the angels. So it’s not here. Someone will be sent after whoever fails to prevent the article from being published in New York. Since he’s entrusted you to me, he’ll use another operative. I already know who it is, and we just need to follow them and catch them in the act. If you’ve seen the broadcast properly, prepare train tickets right away. It’ll take quite a while.”

The reporter suddenly thought that having the detective switch sides was the most helpful thing. It would have been difficult if someone who knew her father’s filth and his methods hadn’t changed sides.

He was a man who bet on winning horses. From his perspective, the reporter herself must have looked like a winning horse, and she wanted to know why, so she asked the detective.

“Ah, yes! But why am I the winning horse? Or… why is my father the losing horse?”

After greeting Madam Gremory, they walked out of the broadcasting station with Paulina. The smell of blood was unpleasantly strong, and angels could be seen circling in the sky.

They didn’t seem to care about the reporter who wasn’t wearing a mask. Perhaps they had seen her coming here with Gremory. Fortunately, she wasn’t harmed.

They got into the car and headed for the train station. Only then did the detective answer. He was a man who seemed not to know the concept of wasting time.

“Well, if he wanted to deal with just one broadcaster, it would have been faster to hire me, but he used the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn instead. And after learning that they almost killed you, he spent at least a day anxiously waiting before calling me. The elf showed weakness because of your connection, and even if you hadn’t interfered, others would have found out soon. That’s why the Clichy president is the losing horse.”

The reporter looked at the detective and chuckled softly. Then she quietly added to his words.

“So it’s about money and survival. The things that matter to you. Don’t you believe in anything?”

The detective responded with cynicism. Still, just having this kind of conversation made her feel a bit of human warmth.

“Do you think praying at the God-President’s temple for a week, a month, or a year will erase the rituals performed with comrades’ blood? No matter how many times you kiss the feet of a sacred statue, what happened has happened.”

“No, I suppose not. Not at all. And I like the fact that you, Michael, don’t believe in anything. You’re literally only pursuing money and survival, which is why you’re by my side now. And honestly… I think I understand why my father was your regular client, Mr. New York.”

The reporter thought the detective would ask a question in return since she had asked one, and deliberately added the nickname she had given him, but the detective didn’t bother to ask.

The reporter didn’t particularly want to spend time explaining why she had given him that nickname. Instead of being so frustrating, she decided to savor the small moment of honesty she had just felt.

It seemed they would be taking a night train again. All the seats appeared to be sold out, but there were still many empty compartments, so the reporter booked one that could accommodate three people.

The detective didn’t have much luggage. He had already disposed of the body. He came in with just one duffel bag slung over his shoulder and placed it under the compartment seat where it would always be within reach.

They had listened to the eight o’clock broadcast and boarded the nine o’clock train. The Lancaster evening radio would still be talking about those two people, but now it could be left to Nina and those elves.

They would be arrested too. Whether their tears today were crocodile tears or human tears, they would be taken into consideration, and they would be able to reduce their guilt by the amount of their apology today. That was enough.

The reporter, who was quite sleepy, briefly planned the content of her article and then fell asleep on Paulina’s shoulder before eleven o’clock. As if it were natural, she leaned on the lawyer’s shoulder again.

The lawyer, who had been staring at her, spoke with an uneasy expression. Only after seeing the reporter fall asleep did she speak in a barely audible voice.

“Do you remember what we talked about last time? About me being a despicable person.”

“I remember. Why, you seem to have parted ways with that despicableness now.”

This lawyer was the elf’s weakness. She might not have been such a strength normally, but this time she was a weakness. Like a lawyer, she seemed to have the ability to choose sides.

“Ah, yes. I was lucky. Things progressed so quickly that I didn’t have time to consider my rights and wrongs. But Rose’s reaction was… unexpected. Honestly, I thought she would be shocked.”

The detective, who was reviewing information about the Clichy president’s other operatives in his notebook, nodded as if telling her to continue. It meant he was listening.

He wasn’t ignoring her. The detective was the kind of person who knew that this level of appropriate indifference would make the ogre half-blood comfortable.

“But she had already figured it out and boldly told me that it didn’t matter whose side I had been on until now, just help her now. She even told me not to be afraid because I seemed anxious. So… I don’t know what I’m trying to say. I just needed someone to vent to.”

At those words, the detective raised one corner of his mouth in a smirk. As if he had finally taken some interest, he looked at an appropriate spot.

“If you said that to Gremory, she would have prepared warm herbal tea and snacks, then rested her chin on her desk and looked you in the eye while telling you to speak. That kind of atmosphere would make you clam up.”

Paulina chuckled too. It wasn’t quite a burst of laughter. The Madam Gremory she had seen seemed like a demon who would definitely do that.

“Anyway, don’t worry about it. The reporter said she doesn’t care either. I boldly switched sides too, so what’s stopping you? Did you handle dirty work for the Clichy president?”

“If I had, we would have been acquainted already. I just hoped tomorrow would be like today, but everything seems to be changing too much. Sigh, thanks for listening… even though this conversation will disappear once I fall asleep and wake up.”

Paulina finally decided not to give the detective wary looks anymore. He was no longer someone who would kill Rose. Rather, until this matter was resolved, he would desperately keep Rose alive.

The detective didn’t react much to the thanks. There was no weight to gratitude received for doing nothing.

“Tomorrow will be like today once this is over. Do you think tomorrow would have been like today if the reporter had found out her father was the Forest’s Firstborn and decided to swallow it? The emotional gap between you and the reporter would deepen, and even small arguments would bring up the Forest’s Firstborn. It would wedge between you like a spike between boards.”

Paulina just quietly nodded. She still had her bangs covering her eyes completely, but the corners of her mouth were slightly raised.

“Settling accounts with the Forest’s Firstborn will make tomorrow somewhat like today. The reporter will go out reporting again, and I’ll… have to pound the pavement looking for a regular client who’s less shitty but pays as much as the Clichy president, but it’ll be fine. Don’t get excited already. It’s too early to drink celebratory drinks.”

The train continued to run, and the night grew deeper. Paulina and the detective chatted about trivial matters like how to get invitations to the orc pub they had visited last time, and Paulina fell asleep first.

Despite staying up for two nights in a row, the detective remained awake due to a cursed vitality that prevented him from feeling tired, though he managed to get a brief sleep from two to four in the morning.

The reporter, who didn’t seem to find it uncomfortable to lean on his shoulder despite knowing he had been on the Forest’s Firstborn’s side, slept for a full eight hours. She really sleeps a full night even at times like this.

By the time she woke up, they had almost arrived in New York. The elf’s husky voice was exactly as it had been on the phone.

“Oh, you did get some sleep, didn’t you, Michael? Ah, about the article… well, um… Oh, I see. I plan to start by introducing the statements of the confessing elves, then point out that Clichy Corporation is the only company that fits those conditions. So, even if our reasons are different, since we’ll be the only ones publishing this article… maybe this could be an opportunity for Golden Age Press to make a comeback. Hmm, just imagining it feels good…”

The elf, speaking in a sleepy voice, suddenly widened her eyes. Whether she was trying to wake herself up or strengthen her resolve wasn’t clear. She clenched her small hand into a fist.

“I shouldn’t just imagine it! As soon as I get to a house with a typewriter, I’ll write the article immediately and publish it in the evening edition.”

She seems to reach conclusions well on her own. The lawyer also woke up not long after, and soon the smoky New York air began to seep into the train.

It was their city. A gray city. Not gray because it was colorless, but gray because if all its vibrant colors were mixed together, they would become gray.

They had to take a taxi to get to the reporter’s apartment. After returning home, the reporter immediately sat down at the typewriter and began writing the article. There were no typos. The content flowed smoothly.

The confession in Pennsylvania, the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn follow neither elves nor the future. The headline came first.

With the feeling of condemning her father’s sins in detail, the reporter presented evidence about how Clichy Corporation’s competitors had died off, and how even the company that bought up the radio stations mentioned in the elves’ confession was Clichy Corporation. She questioned why the actions of the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn seemed to help them.

The reporter knew that if she just showed people, they would think for themselves. She believed it. After finishing the draft of the article, she immediately called Ysil.

Despite it being quite early in the morning, Ysil answered the phone right away. Her voice, cool and pleasant like moonlight, rang out without any trace of sleepiness.

“If someone’s calling at this hour, it’s probably not business-related… Rose, is that you?”

“Ah, yes! Ysil! Have you heard about Pennsylvania? I mean, about two Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn confessing on a radio program called ‘Lancaster Evening’ yesterday. Oh, it’s not time for the morning papers yet! If there’s nothing about it in today’s morning papers… I was wondering if you could back me up. I’ve written an article exposing Clichy Corporation.”

Although she rambled a bit, she had followed the plan well. The detective watching from the side didn’t particularly react, and of course, Ysil didn’t hesitate to help the reporter.

“I’ll help you as much as needed, so publish freely. But before that… you do realize that if you publish this article under your name, it’s like declaring war on Charles, right, Rose?”

Though actions couldn’t be conveyed through the phone, the reporter nodded vigorously.

“Of course I know. And I have no intention of being afraid. In fact, giving in scares me more. If I give up again because I don’t like it, I’ll develop a habit of bowing my head to the mafia, to my father, giving up on speaking the truth at the slightest provocation and postponing to the next opportunity… that’s what I’m more afraid of.”