She is not an investigator.

"Also, I've tried throwing it away, even into the fire, but it always ends up next to my pillow, which is terrifying."

"..."

Igris had a bad feeling.

A bizarre stage play – The Book of Secrets: Chapter Fourteen, The Book of Secrets

"You didn't open it to look at it, did you...?"

"of course."

Isabella said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Only a fool would casually open and read such a mysterious ancient book of unknown origin."

At least in this respect, Isabella is quite clever.

An indestructible, undisposable, and seemingly mysterious book from hundreds of years ago—Igris would never believe you if you said there was nothing wrong with it.

"Why don't you just ignore it?"

Momokawa stroked his chin and offered a good idea.

After all, it's just a book. It can't just suddenly open itself, jump onto someone's face, and force them to read it, can it?

"That makes sense."

Isabella was about to put it away when the book suddenly flew up, began to turn pages in mid-air, and flew directly toward Igris's face to everyone's astonishment.

Igris reacted quickly, slamming the book to the ground almost instantly, but unfortunately, she still managed to see what was on it.

Although she couldn't see clearly at all, a chill still soaked Igris from head to toe.

"I've really had enough..."

Congratulations on winning the grand prize! Your friend has opened a forbidden book for you, and you've unfortunately come across its contents. Now, your peaceful life is over.

New Phase: The Book of Secrets

This is a book that records many precious secrets, which were lost long ago. Now your task is to collect these treasures.

Note: You don't have to actively seek them out, but the Books of Secrets and the treasures themselves are always drawn to each other.

"Igris! Are you alright?!"

Isabella's heart sank when she saw the book actually lunge at Igris; she never expected that what she had brought would only attack Igris.

This doesn't make sense at all. If she brought it, then they should be attacking her instead.

Of course, Momokawa didn't expect it either, since when she saw the book fly up, she thought it was coming for her.

Momokawa has almost gotten used to these kinds of unexpected events.

"It's nothing serious."

Igris sighed, looked at the ancient book on the floor that seemed to have stopped moving, and picked it up anyway.

Under the watchful eyes of the three, Igris slowly opened the book.

"Empty, empty?"

"Yes, there's nothing up there."

Igris flipped through a few more pages, confirming that there was indeed nothing on them.

It's highly likely that because all the hidden treasures there have disappeared, there's simply nothing to record in this book.

It feels like there are so many more tasks...

"Isabella, leave this book to me, you don't need to worry about it."

Igris closed the book and placed it on the table beside her, saying weakly.

"Of course...Are you really alright?"

The book wasn't particularly valuable, but she was more worried about whether something might happen to Igris.

"It's alright, of course it's alright. This thing is nothing compared to the ones I've encountered before."

Igris didn't know whether to feel proud or pathetic.

"And where did you steal this book from?"

"I already said it wasn't stealing..."

Isabella grumbled somewhat discontentedly, but continued to explain.

“It was dropped by a man. He was walking down the street when the book fell out of his arms. And then… how should I put it, I was originally going to pick it up and return it to him, but for some reason, I suddenly wanted to keep it for myself. By the time I realized it, the man was gone.”

This is clearly not normal. Isabella has never been a greedy person, otherwise she would have emptied all the vaults long ago.

The reason someone becomes interested in a book is probably largely because of its uniqueness.

Therefore, Isabella was very wary of the book and did not open it easily. Instead, she wanted to find someone to help her deal with it.

In this regard, the first person she thought of was Nolan.

Even before that, she suddenly had the urge to find Igris.

What kind of man?

"Hmm... black suit, dark skin, and then..."

"Okay, I understand."

Sure enough, he would never let Igris go, even though Igris was already preparing to retire.

However, to her surprise, the guy didn't come to find her in person this time, but instead had someone else bring him over.

Perhaps they're very busy? Or maybe it's just a quirky sense of humor?

Forget it, Igris couldn't possibly use the psychology and thinking of an ordinary person to speculate about an existence beyond common sense.

Maybe he's just bored.

"This is nothing serious. I already know the details. Um... I'll handle it."

When Igris says this, it usually means that she doesn't intend to ask anyone else for help.

The most likely reason is that either the situation is dangerous, or she herself is not quite sure about the specific risks, so naturally she would not be willing to ask others for help.

She's just that kind of weird person.

"besides…"

Igris turned her gaze to Sharti, and the little witch also looked at Igris, nervously touching the raven in her arms.

She didn't know why she was nervous; it was probably just an unconscious reaction when she was being stared at.

"Shaltie, you can go home now."

"...Huh?"

"Nolan has forgiven you, and you should forgive her too. I probably won't be able to take care of you for the rest of the time, so you'll probably have to go home."

"Oh…"

Sharti roughly understood what was going on. Igris was about to do something again, something that she couldn't help with. To avoid any accidents or dangers, returning home was her best option right now.

Although, Sharti still couldn't help but worry a little about Igris.

"Will you be traveling far away? I mean... I might come to visit you again in the future, and if you're leaving, I hope you can let me know."

At least last time, when Igris left without saying goodbye, she didn't say a word to Sharti.

So much so that Sharti only learned later that Igris had left the city.

"It's highly unlikely, don't worry, I'll miss you too."

Igris smiled and touched Sharti's hat, who quickly adjusted his own hat and nodded somewhat helplessly.

They didn't spend enough time together that Sharti didn't even have a chance to become very close friends with Igris.

But it will happen sooner or later.

"That's so cheesy..."

Isabella muttered a complaint under her breath. Although Igris' hearing was always excellent, at this point she could only pretend not to hear it.

The Bizarre Stage Play – The Book of Secrets: Chapter Fifteen, The Broken Key

Isabella left quickly, taking Sharti with her, since she wasn't one to act during the day. Sharti also went back to the academy with her.

Now, only Igris and Momokawa remain in the agency.

“I guess…you wouldn’t want me involved in this either.”

Before Igris could speak, Momokawa spoke up first, revealing her own thoughts.

"Actually, although that's what I think, unfortunately, I don't have much of a clue about it right now."

All Iris knew at that moment was that this was not something a normal person should have, and because an uninvited guest was also causing trouble in the shadows, the matter was unlikely to be very safe.

Of course, the biggest problem is that Igris finds it difficult to react to or deal with a crisis that has no beginning or end, so she doesn't want the people around her to suffer any persecution or unpleasant stories because of it.

"But you know what? Sometimes, trouble just comes knocking on your door."

Momokawa was always like this, and so was Igris.

Just because you're hiding at home doesn't mean danger won't come knocking.

"Maybe... at least I've done what I was supposed to do."

Igris meant sending the little witch home.

As long as Xia Erti stays away from her during this period, he will most likely not encounter any danger.

"So, in the time ahead, do you plan to enjoy some alone time with me, or do you want to study this book?"

Momokawa's eyes were clear and her expression was calm, making it hard to believe that she would say such a thing.

However, Igris was never surprised by this. She always felt that Momokawa looked like a robot, a lump of iron that could only move and react by turning gears.

After all, she rarely reacts most of the time.

"I plan to do some research, and if possible, I might go out for a walk to see if there are any other clues."

Ultimately, Iglesias decided to go to the police station and inquire whether anything bad had happened recently.