Perhaps he felt a pair of eyes staring intently at him.
He locked eyes with one of the Herbert Clan’s members.
The tracker and the tracked.
Under normal circumstances, they should have been in a relationship where one had to flee the moment they met. But that didn’t happen.
‘There’s no way they can see through my disguise.’
This was the third time he had run into a Herbert Clan member.
The first time was when he was pushing Walter in a handcart through the park in front of the Grand Duke’s mansion. Back then, he had pulled his hat down low and pretended to be a gravedigger.
The second time was when he was carrying Walter like a princess, fleeing the pursuit. That time, he not only wore a hat but also a black robe. The disguise was so perfect that he was almost mistaken for Walter himself.
This was the third encounter, and now he was disguised by Walter. There was no way they could recognize him.
As expected, the gaze that had been glancing at him soon turned toward his companions. Even though someone was clearly listening, they started talking as if there were no reservations. Probably confident that he wouldn’t understand their words.
“So, if the boss hadn’t told us not to talk to that gravedigger back then, we would’ve caught him and finished it already. Instead of dragging it out like this.”
“Shut up. You thought he was the real gravedigger too, didn’t you? Don’t you know that if you talk recklessly to a gravedigger, you’ll soon become a corpse and have to see the gravedigger yourself?”
“I know that, but still…”
The one who seemed to be the underling grumbled, as if still dissatisfied.
“I even went out of my way to stab him. How far could that girly bastard have run in that state? If only I had caught him back then…”
“Oh, stop your yapping! Are you talking back to me now? Do you want to be the boss instead?”
“No, big bro! That’s not it. I’m just regretting it…”
He could roughly guess the relationship between the two.
‘So that thuggish face is the leader.’
The man called “big bro,” roughly in his forties with a rough impression. It seemed that his superstitious tendencies had prevented the gravedigger (him) from being caught.
Let’s call that man the boss from now on.
‘And that sleazy face is the one who stabbed Mr. Walter.’
A short man whose mouth never stopped moving. He seemed to be a chatterbox, and judging by his words, he looked like the type to hold a grudge.
Alright. That guy will be Chatterbox from now on.
‘Finally, that person.’
A muscular man with his arms crossed, not participating in the conversation at all. It was hard to tell if his eyes were open or closed.
At first glance, it was hard to even consider him a companion of the two in front, but he remembered seeing that man among the Herbert Clan’s group.
‘In comics and such, those types are always the most dangerous.’
To be careful, let’s call that man Slit-Eyes.
Just as he had been observing the Herbert Clan members for a while.
“Excuse me, sir?”
A staff member wearing a green bowtie approached him hesitantly.
“I’m sorry, but this is the waiting area for people who came to apply for the security guard interview. If you’re not here for the interview, could you please vacate this spot?”
“Hmm…”
He glanced at the Herbert Clan members once more and made a decision.
“I came for the interview too.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s no rule that says a customer can’t become an employee, is there? I don’t know if you heard me talking to the boss over there, but I’m a retired athlete. I happened to be looking for a job, and this seemed perfect.”
Before the staff member could say anything, he plopped down next to the Herbert Clan members, just like the other interview applicants.
“I’m going to work as a security guard here too.”
It didn’t matter whether he actually got the job or not.
‘First, I need to figure out their plan.’
Using the Herbert Clan members to approach the vault wasn’t a bad plan.
But to use them, he needed to know what they were up to.
So for now, sticking close to them seemed like the best move.
“A retired athlete?”
Chatterbox spoke to him, apparently interested in his conversation with the staff member.
“What sport did you do, mister? I read every sports magazine out there, but I’ve never seen your face before.”
His tone seemed somewhat belittling. He smiled good-naturedly, pretending not to notice.
“Baseball. It’s similar to cricket.”
“I’ve never even heard of that.”
“Ah, I guess they don’t play it around here. I’m from… yeah, Oswan.”
“So that’s why I’ve never seen you before.”
Chatterbox nodded as if he finally understood. There was no sign of suspicion in his words.
“Do you really believe I’m an athlete? I said a sport you’ve never heard of, and no offense, but I don’t exactly look like a strong guy.”
He tested the waters.
“The boss here said so, didn’t he? The owner of this place is famous for being an incredible fortune-teller, so what he saw must be right.”
His tone was assertive, without a hint of doubt.
‘He knows about the Vault Keeper’s ability well.’
Come to think of it, Posha also knew the owner of this storage facility.
It wasn’t that strange if the Herbert Clan knew too.
‘Which makes it even more puzzling…’
Playing dumb, he asked cheekily.
“And you, big bro? What did you do before coming here?”
“Me? I just did this and that to make a living.”
Chatterbox hedged.
“Oh, this guy here used to be a sailor. He says he’s fed up with hauling nets.”
“Is that so? It figures. I thought his forearms looked extraordinary.”
“What? What ‘forearms’?”
“His arms, I mean.”
“Right? Our boss is amazing. He can probably lift a woman or two with just his arms.”
“Haha, impressive.”
He played along, nodding appropriately, while his mind worked furiously.
‘A sailor, my foot.’
Maybe in the past, but the boss’s current occupation was probably a thug. All three of them here were likely the same, and Chatterbox especially must have worked in some shady line of work even in the past.
Yet, all of them had come for the security guard interview. They must know about the owner’s ability.
‘The person conducting the security guard interview must be the Vault Keeper.’
A man thorough enough to guard the front door himself and check visitors’ identities wouldn’t fail to look at the applicants’ faces and verify them.
Considering the Vault Keeper’s ability, the moment they faced him, they would surely be filtered out.
But there was no way they applied just to fail, right?
Whatever their plan, to get close to the vault, they had to pass the security guard interview, didn’t they?
‘There must be some way for them to pass, but I can’t figure it out…’
Was there a way to deceive the Vault Keeper’s ability?
Just as he was racking his brain.
“I think that’s everyone who came to apply for the security guard interview.”
The green bowtie staff member said.
“Now I’ll hand out number tags. When your number is called, please enter for the interview in order.”
The staff member started handing out number tags in the order they were seated.
He received number 12.
The Herbert Clan members got: Boss 11, Chatterbox 10, Slit-Eyes 9.
‘Good thing I sat right next to them.’
Just as the staff member who handed out the tags turned to leave.
Chatterbox called out.
“Excuse me, sir. You dropped this.”
He pretended to pick something up from the ground and handed it to the staff member.
‘Already at it.’
He saw it clearly. That wasn’t something the staff member dropped; it was a piece of paper from Chatterbox’s pocket.
“Oh, thank you. I dropped a slip. That would have been a big problem.”
But the staff member accepted the paper casually.
From a glance, it was a piece of paper filled with unknown numbers. But there were spaces and punctuation marks in between the sequences of numbers.
‘Posha’s cipher!’
They were still using that within the Herbert Clan?
For them to pass a note with that cipher so nonchalantly meant…
‘He’s been recruited. Or bought.’
That green bowtie staff member was a spy for the Herbert Clan.
Just like the murderer who killed Posha’s husband, Utu.
His mind raced.
The reason for recruiting the staff member was obviously to pass the interview.
But if the Vault Keeper conducted the interview, the staff member could do nothing.
Then…
“Whoa!”
He stood up abruptly, without thinking.
The staff member bumped into him and let out a surprised cry.
“W-what are you doing all of a sudden?”
“Sorry, but can I change my number?”
He spouted nonsense.
“Number 12 seems too late to make a good impression on the interviewer!”
“Is that possible?”
The staff member looked at him incredulously, scanning him up and down.
“If you don’t want number 12, then leave.”
“I’m sorry!!!”
He apologized profusely and sat back down.
Stares fell on him as if he were crazy, but his mind was elsewhere.
‘Just as I thought.’
Looking closely at the staff member, his front pocket seemed bulging.
He had pretended to bump into him and pressed against him to confirm. His gut feeling was right.
The staff member’s front pocket swayed heavily.
It was only a brief contact, but he clearly heard the sound of liquid sloshing inside a small, hard object.
Considering the situation, only ominous thoughts came to mind.
‘What if that’s poison?’
What if it was poison prepared to incapacitate the Vault Keeper?
—Thump, thump.
His heart beat uneasily.
Feeling the intense stares from beside him, he closed his eyes tightly and lowered his head to hide his expression.
And he thought.
‘If they plan to use poison, should I just stand by?’
Of course, the Vault Keeper was a pitch-black shadow.
A shady person, and he didn’t even know his face.
Even if he had felt a momentary closeness, it was just his one-sided feeling.
The Vault Keeper’s ability was a nuisance.
To get his hands on the items in the vault, the Vault Keeper had to be neutralized.
If he just closed his eyes for a moment and things worked out, the clue would fall into his hands.
The clue to catch the serial killer who had dyed the Imperial Capital’s nights red for five years.
This crime had already claimed countless victims.
To prevent more victims, shouldn’t he accept this level of sacrifice?
But still…
‘Can I still call myself a detective after that?’
He knew the criminal.
He knew a crime was about to happen right before his eyes.
And yet, would he accept the sacrifice to achieve his goal?
‘…I have to accept it.’
He recalled his initial resolve.
He was a detective lacking in ability, and his head wasn’t that great either.
So to catch the criminal, he couldn’t afford to be picky about methods and means.
‘My specialty isn’t deduction. It’s nabbing the criminal.’
By any means necessary.
‘…Besides, even if that is poison, it won’t be enough to kill the Vault Keeper.’
Thinking about it, it was obvious.
If the Vault Keeper died, the interview couldn’t proceed properly.
There would be a huge commotion in the storage facility, and it would reach the Princess’s ears.
The Princess would urgently come to retrieve her belongings.
And she would move them to a completely different, safe place.
That wasn’t what the Herbert Clan wanted.
So what they wanted was probably just a minor incident.
‘If I had to guess… maybe just causing a stomach ache.’
The Vault Keeper would be temporarily unable to work.
But since the appointed interview time couldn’t be changed, a trusted staff member would conduct the interview instead.
Probably that green bowtie staff member would take his place.
That much misfortune would be light enough for the Vault Keeper himself to just chalk up to bad luck.
‘If it’s just that… can I compromise with my conscience?’
Gradually, his heart rate calmed down.
He opened his eyes and looked ahead.
The scenery was exactly the same as before.
At the same time, it was a scenery that had changed a great deal for him.
‘It seems my guess was correct.’
He saw black shadows that hadn’t been visible until a moment ago.
The green bowtie staff member, Chatterbox, and Slit-Eyes were all gone.
Just masses of black shadows squirming among themselves.
It was such a familiar sight that he thought it wouldn’t surprise him anymore.
‘…Huh?!’
He couldn’t help but be startled.
A man with a thuggish face and an annoyed expression.
He could still recognize that face.
He must be the Herbert Clan’s field boss.
Mixed in among the black shadows.
Though he should have been dyed along with them.
That man alone was shining innocently in the pitch-black darkness.