Ch.255016 Investigation Record – Double Compensation (5)

It feels similar to when I went last time. Though I say it’s for reporting, it’s a place that makes me question whether I should even go to such a place. My ears feel like they’re about to burn.

The bigger problem is that this time, there’s no one to guide me. The only person I know here is the madam of Pandemonium. I don’t know if she’ll help me.

I recalled when I was chasing Leonard before. Back then, I hired Willem to come here and then met Michael. I saw that he wasn’t on my side but on the side of Pandemonium’s madam.

At the very least, if someone knows him, maybe we could talk? I tilted my head in thought and headed toward the only building I knew in the red-light district—the Pandemonium mansion. All the windows were open.

Behind Pandemonium, it looked like they were washing and hanging bed sheets to dry. It was such an ordinary, peaceful scene that contrasted with this curtain district. Though this should be normal, it felt strange.

The solid iron gate of Pandemonium was already wide open. You can see children running errands in this district only until six in the evening. Now it was strictly until six in the evening.

The price for desiring what humans shouldn’t want was facing someone who had become inhuman. It was facing an Argonne Invincible who couldn’t be stopped by magic or submachine guns.

This district must have been taught by that tooth fairy. What he wanted to teach was just one thing: if you cross the line that humans shouldn’t cross, he will come—a fact that isn’t even a lesson.

Perhaps it’s a bit more understandable than the lesson Uncle Leonard received. Recalling it made the inside of my throat sting again. As I stood there frozen, the Industrial Spirit approached me again.

The Industrial Spirit, wrapping itself around the hem of my skirt, spoke as if curious. It was trying to understand my reaction. For something that only talks about reason, it was quite kind.

“Tension. Stiff expression. Displeasure? Is it about this district?”

I barely managed to collect myself at those words. Watching people my father’s age fall to ruin because of me was definitely not something to enjoy. At least Uncle Leonard had some hope, but… that’s just how it was.

I shook my head at the Industrial Spirit. Though speaking would surely leave an unpleasant feeling on the tip of my tongue, it was something I had to say.

“No, it’s about what happened in this district and about myself. Sorry for stopping. Let’s keep going.”

I barely managed to move my head, which felt like it was about to freeze up. The Industrial Spirit, with a grinder instead of a head, raised its body high as if trying to smell this district full of irrationality.

I took out the invitation to Bar Dis from my wallet. The head of the Half-God Faction had said that one of their compatriots had given this name to the brothel for them to use. The symbol of being a friend of demons would help.

As I approached the open door, I made eye contact with the madam who had come out to meet the children returning from simple grocery errands. At least there was no displeasure in her eyes.

She had protected Michael before. I still remembered how she tried to distance herself from him to hide the fact that he might have carried out a massacre at the brothel across the street.

The scent unique to succubi was strong. The elf’s overly sensitive senses felt confused. As she pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders, the scent—which seemed both sharp and sweet—diminished slightly.

She knew I wasn’t a customer who had come to Pandemonium too early. Such people didn’t walk around with Industrial Spirits.

“This is a brothel, not some information broker’s den, darling. For someone who knows everything to come here… Ah, well. Something must be happening again. Journalists and detectives can’t live without incidents, after all.”

At her words, I showed her the invitation to Bar Dis. There was no need to hold it right up to her face. She seemed to recognize what it was just by seeing a small corner of it.

After recognizing it, she seemed to be wondering why I had such an item, but it was a question the madam couldn’t answer either. The madam’s eyes scanned me up and down again.

“I can’t imagine how you got this. But you’re not the type to pickpocket, either in ability… or character. Right? Did the patron send you?”

I could have simply said yes, but this time the truth seemed more useful than a lie. I’d never heard of this patron she mentioned.

“Um… no! I’m going around doing interviews at the request of the Industrial Spirit King. If a demon had commissioned me for an interview, wouldn’t I have demon lawyers on either side of me?”

“How honest you are… Still, if you’re someone who can enter Bar Dis, you must be connected to the patron somehow. I’d hate to cause trouble for him. Come in.”

Connections always helped like this in other places. Thinking that I could cross this iron gate because I had covered Sol Invictus, I entered through the thick iron door. I headed to the office.

The only part of this building I knew was this office. Last time, Michael had been beside the madam, and Willem beside me, but this time it was just the two of us.

As soon as I entered, I scanned the office. A newspaper clipping was on the wall. It was an apology that filled the front page of the last issue. It seemed related to the vigilante incident.

It was apologizing for revealing too much about the identities of the children who were victims of the incident. A newspaper dedicating an entire front page to an apology was unheard of. The madam’s gaze followed mine.

Without me having to ask, a very comfortable voice whispered. A pleasant giggle was heard, and a nice smile appeared. She didn’t seem like someone whose company would lead to ruin.

“Ah, the patron took care of it. Other newspapers just glossed over it, but that one newspaper published everything about where those children were from, when they started working there… their names and everything. Then they met a pot-bellied gentleman who came with a group of lawyers grinning like sharks baring their teeth. That’s the story.”

There was a certain intimacy in the way she said “pot-bellied gentleman.” He must be the patron the madam respected so much.

If he was someone who helped the succubi—who, unlike most mixed-bloods who inherit only the good traits, had inherited only the bad traits of both races and had no choice but to live in such places—then he was a good person. Like most demons.

There weren’t many real families in New York. Most were pseudo-families, but they were people who showed that sometimes imitations can be of better quality than the originals. I quietly nodded and said:

“I’m not sure if it’s a good story or a scary one. It sounds like a warning, but also like you’re just talking about someone you know. Right?”

“It’s all of that, darling. So, what brings you here today? These days, I haven’t seen anyone dying in this district or doing things humans shouldn’t do.”

Apart from being the only person I could try to meet in this district, Pandemonium’s madam was more knowledgeable about what happened in the red-light district than any information broker.

I briefly thought that the thick walls and steel doors of this place might be to prevent rumors from leaking out. I told her the whole story about the twenty missing terminals.

Just hearing that much, she made an unpleasant expression. My reaction was also quite defensive, but this time it didn’t seem like she was trying to hide something.

“You’re saying those missing terminals… those people without selves, might have flowed into the red-light district, darling? That’s disgusting. What would a place that puts souls in a meat grinder and sells them in pieces do with soulless bodies? Our Pandemonium is a place necessary for life. People say they get excited by our nature, but we have to feel desire that builds up like poison every moment. It’s not us.”

She spoke calmly about erosion. The Industrial Spirit sat beside me, listening to our conversation as if it would analyze everything for reference material for the machines of the era.

“If we move from talk of souls to talk of money, wouldn’t it sound a bit different? Since these are terminals not connected to any hive mind right now, all the money made from them would go to the establishment, right?”

I shouldn’t stop here. I provided a valid reason to keep the madam’s expression, which was now looking at me gently, from changing.

She was trying to protect this establishment called Pandemonium. If the peace of this place was maintained, she wouldn’t turn her back on me.

“There’s more reason why I came to Pandemonium. With a patron, this place shouldn’t be financially tight. I don’t believe that demons can become penniless.”

At my last words, her expression, which had been stiffening, relaxed. She acknowledged that I was showing a bit of trust, though it wouldn’t be even half of the effort she put into this place.

Just by her tone, she seemed quite similar to Carmen, but Carmen and the madam were fundamentally very different. Carmen was an unbridled person, while she was someone who willingly put a bridle around her own neck.

“Ah, darling. I don’t think any proper journalist would believe such a stupid thing either. A place that’s financially tight and needs a business that’s cheap but profitable…”

She paused for a moment. She wasn’t trying to hide anything from me. Though my senses were ringing due to the scent unique to succubi, there was no sign of unnatural tension.

“Would you like to go to the Amber Room? It’s the most high-end establishment in this district, where even if you pay the full amount plus extra, it’s hard to get intimate with the hostesses. They really think they’re nobles of the amber room. They can hook people with that luxurious image for a while, but with such a high-and-mighty attitude, how can business thrive?”

Elegance and leisure are also bought with money. Not only having money but knowing how to spend it properly is what one needs to live. She continued:

“But wouldn’t it be better to hire someone to go to the Amber Room instead? The Amber Room doesn’t accept female customers. Pandemonium doesn’t care whether it’s a night’s curiosity or a secret hobby.”

My ears fluttered, burning hot again at her smile. Before I could wave my hand and ask what she was saying, the madam continued, as if trying to cut me off.

“Many wealthy people go to the Amber Room. Especially nouveau riche. People who came properly from Europe and remember the noble houses that maintained at least formalities until the Great War find it insulting. So, it would be better to have someone young and rich, or someone who can act like that. Ah, Michael might have been there too?”

It was an uncomfortable name to hear in a place like this. He did seem like someone who would have a colorful history with women, but for it to come up so naturally was a bit… too much. Just a bit, though.

I barely managed to tame my tone, which was about to become a bit curt. I was working now. It seemed like a cheap conspiracy, but I wasn’t leisurely enough to think about other things.

“Did he say he was satisfied enough to go twice? I’m thinking, if I suddenly show up, they might be quite suspicious.”

“He did say he just wasted money. But, as the journalist said, if they’re tight on money, would such people care whether a customer gently closed the door when leaving the shop or slammed it shut? They wouldn’t care as long as someone comes. Still, on your way back to hire someone, at least take a look at the entrance of the shop. That shop only has three rooms.”

The madam not only told me everything she knew but also helped with how to solve the problem. All because of just one invitation to Bar Dis.

I didn’t dare measure with my imagination how great her gratitude to the patron was. I could somewhat understand why Michael kept a strict distance. When you start to care, work gets messy.

The size of the job seemed just manageable. There didn’t seem to be any dangerous entanglements, and it was generally intuitive. I said goodbye to the madam. Or tried to. I definitely did.

“Then, if there are more than three customers, I should be suspicious. Hmm, hmm. Good! Ah, by the way…”

“He doesn’t come often. Only when alcohol can’t empty his head completely. Well, goodbye, darling. You’re a good person, but I hope we don’t meet again. I like a peaceful Pandemonium.”

I decided to take back what I just thought. I thought we had talked as equals, but it seemed I had already been read through to the core. I couldn’t easily come up with the next words.

While I hesitated, the madam finished the goodbye I was about to say by waving her hand. The Industrial Spirit, which had pretended not to be able to speak inside Pandemonium, only opened its mouth after we came out to the red-light district.

“It’s an irrational space. They hide it as if it’s not a space to be proud of, but the scenery is ordinary. The way of communication is inefficient, but somehow they managed the necessary level of communication.”

For something mechanical, it was quite an honest and clean summary. I stroked the Industrial Spirit’s back again as a smile tried to escape from the corner of my mouth, and headed toward where the Amber Room was. I had to check it out.

Contrary to the madam’s words, the Amber Room, which shouldn’t have many customers, had quite a few. It was just a glance, and I couldn’t ask those people why they came to the Amber Room, so it was still speculation.

Even if the Amber Room was really the culprit, I still couldn’t understand how it was connected to the truck drivers. I’d heard the Amber Room was so expensive that wage earners like us couldn’t afford it.

No, that’s not right. Finding the connection can be done after properly uncovering everything. I decided to call the Husband Detective Agency after going home and organizing what I’d found out.

It was the first time I was calling him without needing to leave everything to him, and also the first time I was calling to request something so embarrassing.