She is not an investigator.

"Besides, you're almost six hundred years old, right? And you have a daughter as big as me with you. Do you really think she would accept your proposal?"

Nolan stopped what he was doing, sat down on the ground, and fell into deep thought.

"...That seems to make sense."

Especially today, she noticed that Olivia, with whom Igris seemed to have a special relationship, was also by her side. Olivia was not only a renowned heiress, but even…

He's even younger than her.

"So... you'd better be more realistic, lest you really get rejected and then do something drastic..."

Although Sharti felt she shouldn't speak to her mother like that, she just couldn't help herself.

After all, whose mother looks like a little girl?

"Shaltie, tell me the truth, do I really look that old?"

Nolan grabbed Sharty's arm, but she dodged away in disgust.

"It doesn't seem that bad."

"That makes things easier."

Nolan breathed a sigh of relief and stood up with a serious expression.

"From today onwards, you will call me older sister."

"No way!"

The Gods' Folly—Regret: Chapter Nineteen, Hysteria

Today is the third day since the announcement was sent.

Just as agreed yesterday, the museum was almost completely cleared out, and the newspapers published a reward for the phantom thief. A high reward of one thousand gold coins would be given for catching him on the spot, and one gold coin would be given for providing a valid clue.

This is probably the world of the rich. At least Igris couldn't resist coming here every day to stake out this kind of temptation. After all, if you can catch one person, you can get a lot of gold coins that even your grandchildren might not be able to spend. Anyone would be willing to give it a try.

Of course, this is on the premise that those people don't use the money to gamble; otherwise, they'd probably lose it all in less than a week.

Igris has always had a very bad impression of gambling and hates gamblers, although she often has no choice but to gamble on her luck.

As Igris arrived at the museum entrance, the guards around the entrance, whose numbers were several times greater, surrounded her and blocked her way.

Although they were indeed informed that Igris would be coming here every day to conduct inspections, Igris also added an anti-counterfeiting mark to prevent any accidents from happening, so that the phantom thief could disguise himself as Igris and sneak in.

So, under everyone's watchful eyes, Igris slowly pulled out her pistol.

She certainly wasn't trying to shoot each of these people; her so-called anti-counterfeiting labels were actually the weapons in her hands.

The origin of this gun has always been mysterious. Both its construction and materials look unfamiliar. Even though its appearance is somewhat ancient, it is still quite difficult to replicate.

At least Igris didn't believe that anyone could actually replicate such an exquisite weapon, almost like a work of art, in just one week.

If so, then he shouldn't have become a thief.

After a thorough examination revealed no problems, Igris underwent a brief inquiry and then entered the now unusually empty museum.

Unlike my last visit, when the place was still filled with all sorts of collections of all sizes, the first floor was almost completely cleared out, with only a few display cases remaining in the exhibition hall on the second floor.

Of all the things Igris was most familiar with was the bone flute she had seen in the secret chamber before.

Igris leaned closer to examine it. Under the slightly yellowish light, the bone flute looked exceptionally ancient. Igris didn't know its value or history, or even what kind of bone it was made of.

Fortunately, its display case contains information about the bone flute, as well as the process and time of its discovery, and most importantly, the location where it was discovered.

But before that, Igris decided to take a closer look at the flute.

Its body is yellowish-brown, but some edges and corners appear pale. Although it is unknown whether it can be blown, the craftsmanship looks quite exquisite, and even has a particularly subtle, decaying beauty.

Igris felt that the old-fashioned nobles who liked to lock themselves in their castles would probably like this type of thing; it just seemed mysterious.

Suddenly, a strange noise rang in Igris's ear, causing her to turn her head involuntarily.

The empty exhibition hall remained completely devoid of any trace or noteworthy clues.

The sound just now came from nowhere, but it seemed a bit strange and out of place.

It was a noise that seemed to contain some indescribable meaning, or perhaps some beautiful music, a kind of beauty so exquisite that even the insensitivity of human beings could hardly fully comprehend it—an alternative sound.

The voice only lasted for a moment; it seemed very close to her, yet also very far away.

Igris recalled some inexplicable past, some darkness at the end of time, or the universe that played music outside the palace all day long.

An inexplicable impulse suddenly surged into her mind, making her unable to resist raising her head and looking into the display case at the flute that seemed to be playing faintly.

Her steps became unsteady, and everything in front of her seemed to begin to appear as distinct double images, with specks of red starting to seep into the edges of her vision.

Slowly, she took her first step, but the once hard ground beneath her feet became extremely muddy, slowing her down.

Her eyes began to ache terribly, her movements became sluggish, and her consciousness began to fade.

More and more strange sounds rushed into her ears, bizarre murmurs swirling and circling, almost tearing her brain apart and taking over.

thump--

With a stumble, Igris lost her balance and fell heavily to the ground.

She looked up somewhat awkwardly, trying to escape from the environment that was beginning to change noticeably, but from the illusory wall, a tentacle suddenly stretched out and wrapped around Igris's arm.

Without hesitation, Igris drew her sword hilt, and as the blade extended, she looked at the tentacle.

Her movements were incredibly swift and skillful; each faster counterattack meant another person had fallen by her sword.

She seemed to have returned to that alley, back to that scene that was almost like hell on earth, watching severed limbs fly through the air, colliding with her body and smearing blood on her cheeks.

The cries of agony and weeping rang out again, along with pleas for mercy and curses. The tentacles in front of her seemed to reflect countless people, each with a completely different face, speaking different words to Igris.

They were sometimes strangers, sometimes acquaintances; they could be her friends, or they could be her enemies.

She saw many people, many of whom she had even forgotten exactly when she saw them.

The blade in her hand hesitated to fall, while the figures continued to shift and change.

Gradually, she saw the ocean, the ships, her former colleagues, and the people she had rescued from countless predicaments.

They became quiet, no longer noisy or agitated.

Until, a familiar yet unfamiliar hand slowly grasped her sword blade.

A somewhat aged, yet exceptionally kind voice slowly reached Igris's ears.

Igris could no longer hear what he was saying.

But when she looked at that familiar hat and the white hair hidden beneath it, she couldn't help but tremble slightly.

She remembers it; she has never forgotten it.

That gave her all hope and is the greatest motivation that has kept her going until now.

It was also... the person who gave her the title of investigator.

"It's time to pull ourselves together."

The clear sound finally reached Igris's ears, and an unprecedented clarity spread through her mind.

As she regained consciousness, she subconsciously looked at the sword in her hand, and a pool of blood slowly came into her view.

"...It looks like you're awake."

The Gods' Folly—Regret: Chapter Twenty-One, Olivia's Morning

"Miss? Miss?"

The familiar knocking sounded again, waking Olivia from her sleepless night, which was caused by some worries.

She looked up and saw the sunlight streaming into the room, falling warmly on her bed, which brought a comfortable smile to her lips.

dong dong dong-

The knocking sounded again.

"Miss? Time to get up?"

Olivia stretched, stared blankly for a moment, and looked out the window with a dazed expression.

In the next instant, his eyes cleared and he jumped out of bed.

"What time is it now?!"

Olivia's voice was loud enough for the maid outside the door to hear as well. After a brief silence, presumably to confirm the exact time, her voice came in again from outside the door.

"It's already 10:11 AM."

"Ten o'clock...!"

Olivia rarely stays up late, and naturally, she doesn't often get up particularly late either.

Perhaps because she was at home, she slept more relaxed than usual, so much so that she didn't notice the time at all.

After all, Igris would go to the museum to inspect it around nine o'clock every morning, and at this time...

She had probably finished her inspection and was about to leave.

In other words, Olivia missed her once-a-day chance to run into Igris at a fixed time every day.

Although she already knew where Igris lived and could go directly to her house to find her, this purposeful behavior was completely different from a chance encounter.

Olivia could pretend she was just passing by and happened to meet a cute little girl selling flowers, and she would happen to buy the flowers from her. Then, she would happen to meet Igris and decide to give them to her.

But now, it's all ruined.

"hateful…"

Olivia felt almost as much regret as she had when she wasted so much time learning the piano, when she could have spent that time on something more meaningful instead of learning that damn piano.

She could have gotten up earlier, put on makeup for the first time in a long time, changed into a nice outfit, and then spent a relatively sweet and wonderful day with Igris.

"Miss?"

"I'm up!"

Olivia's loud voice probably tells you what state she's in right now. After all, this lady, who is always very ladylike, rarely speaks in this tone, even to her servants.

This made her look less like a foolish nobleman and more like a relatively intelligent one.

At least she doesn't have to worry about having any conflicts with others because of this kind of thing.

However, Olivia was clearly an unexpected case today, so the maid outside the door also seemed somewhat surprised, even a little scared.