She is not an investigator.

"I think I can be of help."

Amelida readily stood up and went to Igris's side.

"Mr. Adam, please lead the way."

"Okay...please follow me."

……

On a corner of West Street, Adam's figure stopped in front of an old wooden house.

This place is very remote, with almost no one living around, but the house is taken care of exceptionally well. Even the weeds in the yard are cleared on time, and a few ornamental plants have been planted.

At least before he ran into trouble, Mr. Adam must have been a man of refined taste.

"This is it... just a moment."

Adam went to the door, took out his key, and opened the door.

Do you live alone?

"Ah... I used to have a wife, but due to some unforeseen circumstances..."

He forced a smile, his expression turning somewhat dejected.

"Feel sorry."

"No, it's okay...you can investigate anywhere."

Igris did not immediately go inside, but began to observe her surroundings.

There are obviously no neighbors here, but it's not completely deserted. At least there used to be some police officers patrolling this area, and the streetlights and other facilities are relatively well-maintained.

There isn't much greenery nearby, which makes it seem a bit monotonous, but most of the scenery is still clearly visible, which is probably one of the reasons why he specifically planted some plants in the yard.

Ilgrif focused her attention on the window. The window of this two-room house was a very conventional open-style window, but she did not find any strange marks next to the window.

If it weren't for the thieves breaking into the place every night, there might really be something else going on.

"Emilydda, what do you think?"

"?"

Amelida looked at Igris with some confusion, and after a long pause, slowly asked in return.

"Shouldn't we...go in?"

"…nothing."

Igris had hoped she could offer some inspiration, but it seems Igris was overthinking it.

She wasn't thinking; she was just spacing out.

"Let's go in and take a look."

Igris and Amelida slowly entered the room. The warm temperature slightly dispelled the chill from Igris' body and allowed her to examine the surrounding scenery.

The living room has a conventional layout with no unnecessary furniture: a sofa facing the fireplace, a table against the wall, and a coat rack and rug in the center of the room.

"..."

Okay, it seems there is indeed a problem.

Why is the coat rack here?

"This is exactly what's troubling me."

Adam sighed, looking at the coat rack that had somehow appeared in the center of the room, his face full of worry.

Amyrida stroked her chin and said softly.

"Perhaps someone prefers this layout?"

"I don't think anyone would like a coat rack placed in the middle of the living room..."

The Gods' Fool - The Rainstorm: Chapter Six, The Investigation Begins

“Mr. Adam, there are some things I would like to discuss with you in more detail.”

Igris couldn't directly determine whether this anomaly was a genuine special circumstance or a cognitive bias stemming from Adam's mental health issues. After all, Adam had a history of taking psychiatric medications, so perhaps that was a starting point for the investigation.

"Of course...please have a seat."

Adam gestured to the only chair in the living room, but Igris shook her head and asked softly.

"You mentioned before that you are taking psychiatric medication because your mental state has not been very good. Could you tell me the specific reason?"

"...Yes, of course, of course."

Adam forced a smile, but picked up an old photo frame from the table.

"This is the only photo of my wife and me. We grew up together, went to school together, fell in love, got married—everything was perfect. I had a stable job and bought my own house, but..."

Adam touched the woman in the photo. Igris noticed that the woman's part in the photo was somewhat worn, more so than the rest. It seemed that no matter how precious she was, he couldn't help but take it out to reminisce about his past.

"We encountered some unexpected problems."

Adam swallowed hard, struggling to recall the history he had experienced that he didn't want to mention.

"I don't know if you've heard of... the Biyanka train tragedy."

"..."

Igris remembered this incident, or rather... it left a deep impression on her.

That happened a long time ago, at least when Igris was still Aaron.

The specific situation is quite simple. Byanka is a coastal city, and through local efforts, the first intercity steam train was successfully built, which opened up transportation routes between Byanka and surrounding cities, and it began to operate officially not long after.

However, there were several uninvited guests hiding on the train that departed from Byanka.

This should have been a simple train robbery, involving more than twelve extremists. After the train was taken into custody, most of them were willing to pay to avoid further trouble. They could have chosen to take the money, stop the train on the tracks, and then make their escape.

However, according to the few survivors of that train, infighting broke out among the passengers after the train first passed through the tunnel.

Perhaps it wasn't an internal conflict, but they did seem to have started attacking each other, and were carrying out indiscriminate slaughter in every carriage.

The train was completely out of control, and the steam train, having lost its conductor, also derailed while speeding, with no survivors in the first four carriages.

Most of the remaining survivors were seriously injured, and the hijackers had disappeared without a trace.

The accident caused a great uproar at the time, bringing train and track operations to a halt. The death toll reached over two hundred, with only about thirty survivors. According to the investigation, the robbers were also thrown out of the windows by the impact of the train derailment and were crushed to pieces.

Many rumors have also emerged regarding this heinous incident, with some saying that what truly caused the "train tragedy" was a terrifying monster that crawled into the train through the tunnel and killed most of the staff.

Some say that the robbers had a dispute over the loot, which led to the indiscriminate massacre.

Iglesias was deeply impressed by the tragedy because some of its details did not seem entirely accidental.

For example, the wounds on the massacred passengers did not appear to have been caused by conventional cold weapons or gunpowder weapons. However, because the train was completely destroyed and none of the crew members in the front row survived, no one knew the specifics of what actually happened.

“My wife was one of the passengers, and I saw her for the last time. I don’t know if that’s lucky or unlucky.”

Adam took off his glasses and rubbed his cheeks.

"She was dragged from the pile of corpses, only half of her body remained. I didn't even dare to claim her body... I don't understand why this would happen to her... but I..."

He took a deep breath, calmed himself down a bit, and continued.

"...Since then, I have developed severe psychological problems, including anxiety, mania, and insomnia. I no longer have the energy to work and can only pin my hopes on medication, hoping to forget that painful experience. So much time has passed, and I thought I could really forget everything, but recently, my condition seems to have gotten worse."

Can I see your medicine?

"Of course... some calming medications, stress relievers, and sleeping pills."

Adam went into the bedroom, took out several bottles of medicine, and placed them in front of Igris.

These do look like medicine prescribed by a hospital, but Igris still believes in the principle that practice makes perfect, so she had them tested to find out the truth.

"I will take some medicine back for testing to confirm that your condition is indeed not caused by the drugs or their effects. Similarly, I will also follow up on other aspects of the investigation to help you get out of this predicament as soon as possible."

"Thanks…"

Igris shook her head, looked at the arrangement of items in the living room, and stroked her chin as she spoke.

"What work have you been doing lately?"

"No, there's nothing left to do."

"So let's look at it from another perspective."

Igris moved the coat rack from the center of the room back to the doorway, supporting the not-so-heavy piece of furniture as she spoke.

"Your problem? It might not be something you caused yourself, or perhaps it's the house itself that's causing the problem. What's wrong? Could you try moving out for a while?"

Adam nodded, but he said somewhat awkwardly.

But I…

“I understand your difficulties. That’s perfect. You can temporarily take over my office until I’m sure there are no problems here.”

If Adam keeps seeing things that shouldn't be in this house at night, then Igris can also try it out. If she can actually see something, then dealing with it should be much easier.

"Also, you said you saw those things, could you describe what they looked like to me?"

Adam frowned and said thoughtfully.

"Like some strange people, eyes peeking out from under the door, figures hiding by the window, feet under the bed, and shadowy figures you see every now and then when you turn around..."

"So, you did see them, but you couldn't determine their specific features, and they were intentionally avoiding direct contact with you?"

"Yes…"

Igris nodded, having gained a slight understanding of the specifics.

But in Igris's memory, such an anomaly was unheard of.

Perhaps after tonight, the specific situation will become a bit clearer.

"I will be back before sunset. When that time comes, please wait at my office."

"OK…"

Igris took the medication that needed to be tested, called out to Emily, who had been listening to their conversation but seemed quite dazed, and then left Adam's house.

She planned to go to the Special Investigations Department first to have the drugs tested to see if there were any problems before making any decisions.

"Emilydda, what do you think?"