Ch.133010 Investigation Record – At a New Corner of Life (1)

I felt like I had barely crossed the threshold into adulthood, yet still felt inadequate in so many ways. I couldn’t even bring myself to call Paulina, not knowing how to properly maintain friendships.

I wanted to ask the detective about the normal way to make friends, but I knew he’d just make some snarky comment. His answer would inevitably be that I already knew how, followed by a rebuke.

I wanted to change the subject somehow, but there was nothing to pivot to. Since he had effectively silenced me, I just sighed deeply before answering.

“Anyway, anyway… I’ll contact Paulina when I get back. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have called her once until I’d saved enough money to hire her.”

The detective responded with his usual air of indifference. I’m sure he’d been told many times that being indifferent was bad, but sometimes it made things easier. There were things you could only say to someone who kept a certain distance.

“That lawyer would have been quite hurt if you’d done that.”

Our evening continued with such conversation. After having a cup of coffee, we got up around seven-thirty when we ran out of things to say.

Since the detective seemed like the type who would just turn around and disappear, I took another step forward and grabbed his collar. I handed him my business card as he turned his head. The opposite of last time.

He accepted my card without asking any questions. He didn’t examine it front and back, but simply put it in his wallet without even reading it.

“Would it be okay if I called on you as a source occasionally, Michael? Oh, and since I used the card you gave me to introduce you to someone else, could I get another one?”

“I can tell you things that aren’t problematic for a meal or a drink. And it’s funny that someone whose house burned down thinks I’d have cards left, but…”

Even as he said this, the detective pulled out a crisp new business card and handed it to me. Husband Detective Agency, Michael Husband—I looked at his name again as if to engrave it in my memory, then smiled.

“It may be funny, but you’re the type who’s prepared for everything, aren’t you? Well, see you next time, Mr. New York!”

To me, he embodied New York itself. A gray man in a gray city. But as he waved goodbye and turned away, I saw loneliness in him for the first time.

I’ve always been surrounded by people… but I’ve never seen the detective with anyone. Many people seemed to know him, but I’d never once seen him together with someone else.

I had seen him with his war comrades, but it was hard to tell if they were together or just bound to each other. They were all tied to the same stake—a stake they had driven in themselves.

When the detective told me about what happened in the Argonne Forest, I saw anger in his eyes. This time, I could empathize with his loneliness. The more I learn about the city, the more I learn about him.

Still, it would be funny for me to worry about him. Among all the detectives I’ve met, none handled cases as skillfully as he did.

As for the rest… no, wait. Shouldn’t I be concerned about someone who drinks that much? Maybe… he’ll be fine.

On my way back, I took a taxi to my apartment. It wasn’t like my previous place where so many empty rooms made me feel hollow inside. This was a small apartment with a bedroom and bathroom.

Since I hadn’t brought much from home anyway, the new place didn’t feel cramped. All I needed was a drawer to store the Cowboy’s gun and hat.

Another empty home. But at least I’d heard from the detective that there wouldn’t be any gang warfare, so it should be safe to move around a bit. My new source wasn’t someone who cared much about safety.

To be more honest, I couldn’t say for certain whether I was going out because it was safe or because I didn’t want to be cooped up inside on a day like today. Probably a mixture of both.

I called the editor-in-chief’s house again. At this hour, she always answered. After a couple of rings, a relaxed voice came through.

“Hello? Who is this?”

Her voice flowed comfortably, completely at ease. It sounded almost like a cat purring… my source was right. I cleared my throat before speaking.

“It’s me, Carmen. Rose, the reporter who works with the editor-in-chief. You remember me, right?”

Laughter flowed from the other end of the line. She seemed quite pleased, her voice full of energy.

“I’m not stupid, Rose. Do you have another favor to ask? If so, Carmen welcomes it. I have nothing to do tonight.”

Her voice asking if I had another favor was relaxed, but I had never actually asked her to be my source in the first place.

She was the one who suddenly appeared while I was organizing articles at the office, said she would be my source, asked me to take care of her, and then disappeared with my business card.

Then the next day, she suddenly called and rattled off things she’d discovered wandering through back alleys. For some reason, she just showed up and started working as my source.

It was useful, so I wouldn’t tell her to stop, but… I was a bit taken aback by her asking if I had a favor. I was speechless both from surprise and because I actually did have a favor to ask.

Reading my momentary silence, Carmen laughed again. She spoke as if she knew exactly what I was thinking.

“You’re transparent, reporter. You thought I was being shameless, right? I was just teasing, but your clear reaction makes Carmen happy. So, what’s the matter? You really do have a favor to ask, don’t you?”

I sighed. How is it that everyone around me is like this…? Even though I knew the person on the other end of the line couldn’t see me, I nodded as I spoke.

“Yes, I do have a favor. I asked a source who handles these kinds of matters, and he said there won’t really be any warfare between the mafia groups… Now that I’ve confirmed it’s safe, I want to go out to investigate and report. But Carmen is the only informant I know in that area. Would you come with me?”

Carmen was still laughing. She was always as relaxed as a cat curled up in a ball. I envied her composure a little.

“Alright, Rose. Alright. But you’re buying the drinks. Carmen only goes out when Carmen wants to go out. That’s not the case right now. I need something in return.”

Was Prohibition still in effect? Between the detective and Carmen, no one seemed to care, making me feel like the strange one for remembering it.

The word “bystander” remained the same both before and after my independence, but the people it referred to had changed significantly. Now these were the people around me.

“I don’t look like someone who carries speakeasy invitations, do I, Carmen?”

“Then you shouldn’t have made me your source. You’re a transparent person too. But your insides aren’t ordinary, which makes you fun to watch. I have invitations, so you just pay for the drinks. Let’s meet at the bar where I work. Shall we meet now?”

Carmen, as usual, only said half of what she meant. She mixed metaphors or cut her sentences short, acting as if she wanted me to figure out what she hadn’t said.

I had already packed my camera bag, and my notebook was inside. Though I didn’t want to carry it, the pistol was in my bag too, so I could head out right away.

“Yes, let’s meet now! We should go around before it gets too late.”

Eight o’clock might as well be dawn in the back alleys, but I said it anyway. Carmen’s relaxed humming could be heard as she hung up, and I took the gun out of my bag to check it once more.

I clumsily followed Paulina’s instructions while checking the gun. It was in decent condition. Though my aim would be shaky if I had to shoot again.

I walked out of the home I didn’t want to stay in. Taking the elevator, then a taxi… thinking about taxi fare, something I’d never worried about before, I headed to the bar where Carmen worked.

The bar where Carmen worked was in Little Eire. It was a street of lights that never went out at night, and Carmen had said the Irish gang had a tight grip on this neighborhood. She added that it wasn’t bad.

She’d said something about the organization being led by a boss who was an unworshipped god who wasn’t swayed by authority but could wield it, so the protection fees were reasonable. Still, thugs were thugs.

When I got out in front of the bar, two human doormen with fish-like faces—their eyes set wide apart—were talking with Carmen.

“Carmen! What’s up? Can’t resist coming to sing today? We welcome it, of course. The customers were sad when they heard you weren’t coming today.”

They must be selkie hybrids. I could faintly see gills below their necks wrapped in wet cloth. They seemed to like Carmen too. Carmen, enjoying their attention, laughed brightly.

“The boss told me not to. Says it ruins my voice. Carmen is here for Carmen’s work… Ah, there she is. My employer when I’m not working at the bar and… well, that kind of person. Rose, over here. Over here.”

Wearing a short skirt, she twirled halfway around and waved at me, her skirt fluttering. I still couldn’t even begin to understand why she was so friendly with me.

She seemed to have lost interest in the selkie hybrid doormen she’d been talking to until now, not even looking back at them, and approached me with a smile.

“You’re here, Rose. Shall we go look for information? Follow me. I know this area well. Ah, except for Bar Reno. Only people employed by Lady Morrígan and members of the Fianna can enter there, so I can’t go. Even though I work with them, I only work at this bar.”

She spoke in a soft voice as she tapped the wall of the building next to her with the back of her finger. It made no sound.

According to Carmen, what happened at Bar Reno would be most important… As my mind seemed to be sold on the words “Bar Reno,” Carmen turned around again and approached the doormen.

She went up close to those selkie hybrid doormen and deliberately looked up at them with her gaze raised high. Standing so close, she whispered:

“Martin, Oliver. You know what people are saying outside. They say you’re going to fight. With those Italian guys. This reporter lady here seems to want to say that’s not true…”

As she lowered her voice and whispered, the two doormen flapped the gills on their necks. They naturally smiled guilty smiles and opened their mouths as if wanting to score points with Carmen.

“No, uh, then we welcome it. Just need to say a word or two? Even though we’re low-level, to survive as low-level, we need to know what’s going on…”

Carmen shook her head. Despite having asked for information herself, she stopped the doormen who nodded too easily at her words. She approached as if within reach, then fled, swishing her tail.

“How could you reveal internal organization matters to a reporter, Martin? That won’t do. But, just… since we can see Bar Reno from here, how about just telling what you saw today? That’s not acting like a rat. Besides, it’s proving your innocence. Carmen wants to hear that. Okay?”

I wasn’t sure if it was the right approach, but it would certainly yield a better answer than a reckless testimony. After Carmen’s words, they calmed down briefly to gather their thoughts, then started speaking again with grinning faces.

“Well, that’s true. So… nothing much happened at Bar Reno either. Just, around morning and lunchtime, the branch manager came by as usual, and one human went in and out, that’s it. If we were planning warfare, the bar would be bustling even at this hour, but it’s not, right? During the last conflict, weapon crates packaged as fish boxes were coming in non-stop, I tell you!”

One branch manager dropped by. One human visited… Indeed, as they said, the area around the old-fashioned building across the street was nothing but peaceful.

I wrote down what the selkie hybrid said, and though only the two doormen were guarding the front, I took a front-facing photo of Bar Reno, where no customers could be seen entering. This should be enough for the article.

Only after seeing me finish my recording did Carmen raise her hand and tap the selkie hybrid’s round, flat nose. She let out another high-pitched laugh.

“You said too much, Martin. How embarrassed would Lady Morrígan be if an article was written about the last conflict? But Rose won’t do that. Right?”

I had already thought she brought me too much information, but seeing her today, I understood why. She was the type of person who had people flocking to tell her what she wanted to know, even when she was just standing still.

So this is how Carmen gets things done. What I wanted was an article refuting the false rumor that the two mafia groups were at war, so I nodded emphatically.

“An article about the last conflict wouldn’t be a scoop, would it? I can’t write an article based on just hearing one testimony without discovering anything. But now, coming all the way to Little Eire, I can report on how peaceful Little Eire is, and the Irish ga—”

The selkie hybrid cleared his throat briefly. It seemed he didn’t want them to be called a gang, so I changed the word. Different word, same thugs.

“Yes, yes. The Fianna’s stronghold, Bar Reno, is also peaceful—that’s what I’ve investigated, so I can write an article with this.”

What I wanted to do was prevent people from feeling unnecessary anxiety, but this time I decided to say something else.

“When such an article comes out, you won’t be suspected because of false rumors either. I believe no one should be pointed at because of false rumors.”

Fortunately, it worked well. The selkie hybrid smiled, raising the corners of his thick-lipped mouth as if very satisfied. It seemed less like he was impressed by my words and more like he was still trying to score points with Carmen.

“Hey, now. That’s some proper journalistic integrity, unlike most reporters these days. No wonder Carmen hangs out with you. For sure. So, is this the end of your investigation?”

I was about to shake my head when Carmen reached out and poked my waist, nodding her head. She seemed to be telling me to nod like her and say yes.

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but at the very least, she was the expert here. Hoping there wouldn’t be any danger, I nodded emphatically to indicate that the investigation was over.