Ch.136010 Investigation Record – At a New Corner of Life (4)

I woke up still struggling with mornings, but fortunately the hard, uncomfortable bed in this cheap apartment made it impossible to sleep in. I barely managed to get up just after dawn.

Even though I’d only had one drink, I felt hungover. I endured another stabbing headache and tried to cure my hangover with water. Carmen… wasn’t on the sofa. Only a neatly folded blanket remained there.

I hadn’t slept long, but had she already gotten up and left? On the blanket was just a note written with my pen on my notepad saying “see you next time.” She’d already told the editor-in-chief she was leaving early.

The apartment felt lonely again. When this job is over, I should invite Paulina over if she’s not busy. Hiring Paulina would cost at least 30 or 40 dollars a day. That’s far too much money right now.

Still, it’s nice not having to spend money when inviting friends over. I used to easily spend 300 dollars for the Cowboy, but I can’t do that anymore.

I had reason to dislike this situation. In this golden age, having a proper job was enough to get by without problems.

My abundance becoming mere adequacy was the result of my own choices. Disliking this adequacy meant disliking my choices.

After slapping my cheeks a couple of times to clear my head, I decided to enjoy the only advantage of this apartment. At least it had decent hot water.

After washing up, the morning sunlight was changing from red to white. I sighed once and called Uncle Leonard. I needed to finish the article I’d been working on before heading out.

Though it was still quite early, my call to Leonard’s office connected immediately. His voice came through.

“Everyone be quiet. Yes, this is Inspector Leonard Price of the New York Police Department. Who is this?”

Everyone? He’s working hard from this early hour. Thinking I shouldn’t take too long, I cleared my throat lightly and spoke.

“It’s Rose, Uncle Leonard. About what I’m investigating… I need to ask something of an anonymous police source.”

Leonard chuckled comfortably at the mention of an anonymous police source. He was more than just my only police contact since falling out with my father. He was like an uncle to me.

“I can answer to some extent. What do you want to know, Rose?”

Last time I saw him, he’d lost weight and seemed anxious about something… but now his voice sounded calm, as if he’d found a way to sort out his thoughts. That was reassuring.

“Well, there’s been quite a commotion about Italian mafia and Irish gangs fighting. I went to Little Eire to check it out myself, but I thought my article would be more credible with some reassurance about safety. I’m just calling to confirm!”

I could have simply written “an anonymous police source said this,” but… if that had been my intention, I would have written the article the detective assigned me and covered up my father’s case too.

Leonard responded again in a comfortable voice. Though there must be people around him, I couldn’t hear anyone else.

“It might be rude to say this to a grown adult, but… you’ve grown so much, Rose. Just like…”

Leonard paused after saying that. I knew exactly whose name was about to follow. I spoke up so he wouldn’t think he’d made a mistake.

“I have to know my father and admire Charles Clichy to fear becoming like the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn and be angry at that filthy cult leader. So… if you were going to say I’m like my father, I’m very grateful.”

Leonard sighed as if relieved. He wouldn’t deny that he’d almost made a slip. Still, a mistake is just a mistake.

“Thank you, Rose. And to confirm… there’s absolutely no evidence of those mafia groups fighting. In fact, someone saw an Irish gang branch leader swimming at the beach with the Italians. New York should be safe. Other mafia groups are quiet too. Anything else you need?”

I’d heard goblin mafia were involved, but is that okay? If Leonard didn’t mention it, it should be fine.

“No, that’s enough! I just wanted confirmation that the city will be safe. I’ll call you again later! And it would be nice to see you sometime!”

Usually I could meet him without difficulty, but this time Leonard answered with some hesitation.

“I’m sorry about this, but I won’t have time soon. Arresting Charles has made me think a lot. I’m wondering if I’m doing the right thing sitting here. So I’ve applied to the education department and I’m quite busy. Would it be alright if we meet after my busy schedule clears up?”

Everyone is moving forward for what they believe in. The fact that I wasn’t standing still either gave me a bit more strength.

“Of course! Take care!”

Just after eleven, I finished my article and gave it to a boy who delivers on his bicycle. He lives on the first floor of this apartment building and has a gentle, good-natured personality that makes him easy to ask for favors.

I took a deep breath. Though it wasn’t my fault, I was going to meet someone who had suffered because of what I’d done. I needed to compose myself. Then I got into a taxi.

I showed the address and arrived at an ordinary row house. While the house itself was ordinary, one house had broken windows… and an orc was standing in front of it, shouting.

It was a large female orc. With her hair tied back, she was yelling at someone to come out, but she turned her gaze toward the stopped taxi. She looked at me.

She seemed to think there was only one reason an elf would come here by taxi… but I ignored her, paid the fare, and got out. Orcs were indeed an intimidating race even just to look at.

The orc approached me. Baring her tusks and making a growling sound, she spoke. She wasn’t as big as Giuseppina, nor was her voice as fierce.

“Who are you? Are you here to meet one of those Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn bastards living here?”

Have I become braver? She wasn’t that threatening. I nodded lightly.

“I’m here to meet an elf who was a Follower of the Forest’s Firstborn. An elf who was so disgusted by the street march that they quit the group, but was photographed by a reporter from The Reveal on their way out and branded as a typical Follower. That’s who I’m here to see. Why?”

Despite my confident response, the orc became angry. She’d asked for my purpose, and I’d answered very honestly, yet she still lashed out.

“You came here believing that? Are you stupid, or are you one of those Followers too? Do you know what those Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn bastards did to our people? And yet you come all the way here to be deceived by one of them? If you were a normal elf…”

She was dogmatic and unwilling to listen. There was only one way to talk to someone like this.

“So to be a normal elf who doesn’t get deceived, I need to listen to an orc who’s screaming and holding rocks at eleven in the morning in front of this house?”

I responded sarcastically. Words were tools for communication. When the other person had no intention of communicating and put up a wall, sometimes you needed to use a hammer. That’s all.

The orc growled fiercely and raised her fist. She was definitely weaker than Giuseppina. Unlike Giuseppina’s hand that had pushed me into the car, this orc didn’t have sharp claws.

Instead of gasping and taking deep breaths, I bit the inside of my lip and maintained my expression. I pretended not to be flustered.

“You’re an elf supremacist to the bone! What? I was trying to warn you not to believe that Follower of the Forest’s Firstborn because you seemed to be getting deceived, but…”

She was still being dogmatic. Though it felt like spitting venom, I opened my mouth to interrupt her and replied.

“I’ll decide who to believe after I go inside and hear from the person directly. As you advised, I won’t believe carelessly. If this person really was deeply involved with the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn, I’ll ask The Reveal to publish a follow-up article. If they were really just dipping their toes in, I’ll give them a chance to correct the facts and apologize through the newspaper I work for. Satisfied?”

Because of the orc’s shouting, people who had been looking outside were now watching us. She raised the rock she had been about to throw at the house, as if she couldn’t stand my words.

I didn’t imagine what would happen if she struck me with it. I’d learned from dealing with the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn that nothing changes by running away out of fear. I’d learned that long before.

Gritting my teeth and hiding my trembling voice, I spoke. I didn’t pull out my gun. Words were more effective than guns when there were many watching eyes. No one volunteers to be a murderer at times like this.

“Go ahead.”

“What?”

The orc made a surprised sound. As her hand holding the rock began to lose direction, I snapped at her.

“I said go ahead. Aren’t you a Follower of the Forest’s Firstborn yourself? Seeing how you’re acting like an orc trying to trample elves, just as they describe, it seems like the remaining Followers must have paid you. So go ahead. You should earn your money.”

I had stood against the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn because what they did was wrong, wrong several times over. So I couldn’t let this pass either. If that was wrong, this was wrong too.

The world asked countless questions, but the form was generally the same: Is this right, or is that right? The answer to that question wasn’t two, but five.

Sometimes one of the two was right, but sometimes there was no answer, and sometimes both were right or both were wrong. That’s why I pushed for the gray area.

I continued speaking to the speechless orc. It might have been fortunate that I hadn’t brought someone to protect me. Just like when facing the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn, the weak standing against something strong would appear impressive.

“If that’s not the case, and you truly believe that throwing rocks and shouting insults here is the right thing to do, then keep doing it. I’m here to do what I believe is right too. As long as you don’t block me or interfere, I have no intention of interfering with you either. What will you do?”

The woman didn’t have the courage to smash my head in front of so many watching people. Her awkwardly raised hand lowered, and the orc stepped aside.

Having lost even the will to curse in front of this house, she just sat down on the sidewalk. Only then could I pass what the orc had been blocking and enter the row house. I knocked on the door.

Someone who might have been the manager or landlord came out and opened the door. They smiled somewhat warmly, let me in, and closed the door again. They bowed their head slightly.

“Oh my, it’s been so noisy every morning since almost a week ago. You can’t imagine. But you made her shut up completely. I don’t know how to thank you…”

My legs felt weak. My clenched molars ached. I waved my hand instead of answering, taking several deep breaths to calm down. The manager continued speaking.

“By the way, was that elf really a Follower of the Forest’s Firstborn? As much as we dislike the orc shouting outside, we also don’t want a Follower of the Forest’s Firstborn hiding here. They might hold meetings or something, and we don’t like police coming in and out. I don’t know what to do about this…”

Now that I’d calmed my breathing a bit, I spoke. That’s what I came here to find out.

“I heard they weren’t involved in any crimes and only attended meetings occasionally. They did do something wrong, so I’ll help them apologize, and I’ll write an article proving they weren’t a hardcore follower. If that’s really the case. Is that enough?”

The manager tilted his head as if unsure. He naturally knew the five answers that had taken me a long time to discover while working as a reporter.

“I’m not sure. But, well, as long as they didn’t hurt or kill anyone, maybe we can consider it a mistake that anyone might make… and if they sincerely apologize, maybe we can believe that. Oh, their apartment is on the second floor. You saw it from outside, right?”

“Yes, thank you! Well then.”

After nodding slightly to him in greeting, I went up the stairs of the row house toward the apartment. Perhaps having heard the commotion outside, he was already looking out into the hallway with his door slightly open.

I smiled warmly. Making eye contact with the trembling elf inside the door, I said:

“I’m Rose Leafman, the reporter who called yesterday. Um, as you probably heard, there was a bit of an incident outside, so I’m a bit later than expected. Could I see the article first?”

Seeing that I seemed fine despite the orc’s shouting, he smiled slightly at the corners of his mouth and opened the door. It was good that I’d caught my breath and calmed my trembling legs downstairs before coming up.

Inside, a human reporter had already arrived and was sitting down. With a neat shirt, vest, bowtie, and glasses… he looked like someone who would fit the name Reasonable Insight.

“I’m James Palmer, reporter for The Reasonable Insight. So… ’20th Century Slash-and-Burn Agriculture: Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn Burn, Clichy Corporation Thrives.’ You must be reporter Rose Leafman?”

I was somewhat moved by how naturally he recited the article title. It felt like I’d become a recognized reporter, and I nodded with excitement.

Nevertheless, he immediately picked up an article from the table and showed it to me. It seemed to be The Reveal’s article that this elf had mentioned.

“Catching a Follower of the Forest’s Firstborn After Undercover Investigation.” The article claimed he was the first elf to enter and exit through the front door for days after the riot, and since he shamelessly and proudly said he had quit, he must have played a significant role among the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn until now. Our reporters followed him…

Those lunatics. The article didn’t include the exact address, but it did have the name of the street where this house was located and a huge photo of his house with the lights on. It was practically the same as spreading his address.