She is not an investigator.

"Let's talk about it later. How's Emilyda doing?"

"She thought she had caused you trouble, so she didn't want to go back and said she planned to follow me from now on."

Alex clicked his tongue and said with some distress.

"But I don't know how to take care of children, all I can do is teach her how to fight."

After saying that, she turned her head to look at Igris, who was deep in thought, and asked with some curiosity.

"Besides, don't you mind? She's planning to stick with me like this. I thought you'd have some objections."

"I'm not good at taking care of people, so at least she'll be a little safer with you."

"He's just like a heartless old father."

Alex shook his head and clicked his tongue.

"If she knew you really didn't want her, she would probably be quite heartbroken."

Igris pursed her lips, not intending to answer the question.

She had never been in a relationship in either of her lives, and now she suddenly has a child to take care of. It's not her fault no matter how you look at it.

Besides, isn't Igris herself someone who needs to be taken care of?

I kind of miss Olivia…

Igris followed Alex's example and lay down on the table.

Alex glanced at Igris furtively and began to speak casually, as if making small talk.

"She went home, didn't she tell you when she would be back?"

She said it would be around springtime, which means I probably won't see her again until then.

Iglesias suddenly began to miss Olivia's meticulous care for her and the way she cut her steak.

Although it reminded her of the disastrous way Olivia cooked steak, she still felt a little nostalgic.

"I see. So you really like her."

Alex snorted, unsure of what emotion to use to say such a thing.

Igris sighed and stood up from her chair.

"I'm not going to talk to you anymore, otherwise it'll feel like your work every day is going to turn into chatting with me. That won't do if other people see us. I'm leaving now."

"It's actually okay..."

But Igris just made up an excuse and, completely ignoring what Alex was about to say, prepared to return to the office.

With Olivia gone, her greatest source of comfort has probably disappeared as well.

Igris even had to start recalling exactly when she had become so dependent on her.

Perhaps it's not so much dependence? It's just that I enjoy being with her?

It can't be because she's rich, since Serafina is also very rich.

But now that you mention it, it does seem like it's been a while since I've seen her.

"I wonder how they've been doing lately."

……

Inside the Rose Agency, Igris sat in a chair, trying hard to learn how to fold the newspaper in her hand into origami cranes. But after failing countless times and being mocked by the Mirror Demon, she simply threw it into the fireplace.

There weren't many customers at the office today. It seemed that those guys who used to come and chat with Igris all the time were too cold to go out.

Igris could understand, because she was also afraid of the cold, but she still had to go out to buy herself food instead of huddling by the fireplace and waiting for food to be delivered to her.

jingle--

The wind chimes on the door rang, and without even looking up, Igris spoke naturally, drawing on her experience from working there for so long.

"Welcome to the Rose Detective Agency. How can I help you...?"

Igris stopped speaking silently, and her expression became somewhat strange as she looked at the uninvited guest in front of her with some confusion.

"I'm sorry, we... do not serve non-human customers here."

The Gods' Fool - Torrential Rain: Chapter Twenty-Five, A Special Request

"Then I suggest you put up a sign at the entrance that clearly states that witches and dogs are not allowed to enter."

She tugged at the wide brim of her hat, her long, bluish-green hair swaying slightly with her movement, revealing her resentful and impatient expression to Igris.

“I don’t discriminate against witches. I’m sorry, but most people wouldn’t want to help a witch. At least in my opinion, you have always been quite dangerous.”

"Arrogance is the original sin, Miss Detective. If I hadn't been forced to, I wouldn't have sought help from ordinary people like you."

"Ok."

Igris shrugged, gesturing for her to sit down in the chair in front of her.

"Let's talk and see how I can help a witch."

She scoffed and took two steps forward, her heavy, multi-layered robes billowing with her movements. If she had feathers, Igris wouldn't doubt the possibility that she was a raven.

“Listen, I’m just a tourist in this city, but I’ve run into trouble.”

"You mean, you most likely came from the western region and traveled a long way to visit such a heavily polluted industrial city that even recently suffered a terrorist attack."

Igris tapped her chin with the pen she was using to record information. If the other person wasn't a witch, she would most likely have blurted out what she wanted to say without hesitation, but to avoid being turned into a frog, she dismissed the idea.

The witches seemed very impatient; they always lacked the opportunity to patiently communicate with normal people because most people would simply avoid them as much as possible.

"Yes, yes! So what? I don't want to hear your nonsense."

She was enraged, which was the last thing I wanted to happen.

"Please don't mind, please continue."

"...Anyway, today is my fourth day here, but yesterday, someone stole my things."

Igris stopped recording the movements, and although she hesitated, she still patiently reminded him.

"In these kinds of incidents, the police will usually help you."

"They'll just send me home! Are you going to help me or not?!"

"...Don't get too excited."

Igris raised her hands to avoid looking like she was up to something and ending up as a pitiful bastard who could only squawk.

But Igris at least knew that the witch had probably run away on her own.

Witches are different from normal people in some ways. Although you can often see beautiful women in robes and wide-brimmed hats on the streets of western cities, this is only true in the west, after all, there is the largest witch academy there.

For this reason, most witches are not allowed to appear in other regions. Every witch should be subject to strict control and restrictions. This is a rule that was agreed upon long ago by the higher-ups of witches and the higher-ups of humans.

To prevent the tragedy of witch hunts from happening again, this rule protects not only ordinary people, but also the witches themselves.

Therefore, if a witch is discovered by public officials without special permission, the most likely outcome is that she will be sent home.

With a better understanding of the situation, Igris also began to scrutinize the witch before her.

She had seen the witch before, in her past life, but that witch was probably over two hundred years old, and Igris only had a brief conversation with her and did not have any further contact.

Witches seem to possess a natural magic that allows them to live longer and age less easily.

That's why most witches are young and beautiful, including the one in front of me.

However, she clearly lacks the composure of an older person; instead, she is restless and even has a bad temper. Perhaps she doesn't look much older than her actual age.

"Could you please tell me a detailed description of the items you lost? This would be of great help to me."

"You're willing to help me? I thought you'd have to see payment first."

Igris forced a smile and kindly offered her advice.

"You're probably referring to a deposit, and you've never indicated that you'd pay me back."

"?"

She raised an eyebrow, clearly dissatisfied with Igris's statement, but faced with Igris's attitude, she seemed unable to make things too difficult for her.

“I’m not like those guys who are greedy for small gains. I’ll pay you, provided you can really help me find that thing.”

"My honor... So, what have you lost?"

To find lost items, Igris would go directly to the Special Investigations Department and seek Alex's help, since Alex would be more familiar with the city's streets than Igris herself.

“My…familiar.”

"Oh…"

Her pet is missing, and at least for now, Igris does feel that this is the kind of work she should be doing.

It's probably easier to find a lost pet than to look for stolen items.

"So your pet... no, your familiar—what kind of animal is it?"

"A raven."

Igris twirled the pen in her hand, her body slowly leaning forward, pressing half of her body onto the table, while leaning forward to ask the witch in front of her a question.

"You mean your crow has flown away and you need my help to find it?"

"It's a raven!"

Igris didn't want to argue with her about the difference between a raven and a crow; she just wanted to know why this woman thought the raven could be found.

Maybe it has already flown across the ocean with Olivia's parrot to the New World.

"I will help you look for it, and I will let you know when I have any news."

Igris casually leaned back in her chair, verbally agreeing to the request, but what did she actually do?

During this season, birds and animals are extremely rare, and Igris will certainly not be able to find the raven, but that is not her fault. It is only because the witch in front of her made the same mistake as Olivia.

"You never intended to help me find someone, did you?"

She guessed it, but Igris couldn't admit it, otherwise she might be turned into a raven by the angry witch in front of her and captured as a pet.

Although the law wouldn't allow her to do it, Igris always managed to think of the worst possible outcome.

"I really want to help you, but when it comes to a crow that may have already regained its freedom, I guess I can only think about it."