Mr. Death in the Steam World

Seeing this, Moen seized the opportunity to raise his hands to show that he had no hostility.

"Don't be nervous, I mean no harm, miss."

He tried to keep his tone as calm as possible.

"I'm just a private investigator looking for a missing little girl."

He took Lily's photo out of his pocket and handed it to the girl.

The girl stared at the photo for two seconds, and the flame in her hand visibly weakened, but she was still somewhat unwilling to give up.

"How...how did you know there were magical fluctuations here? Ordinary people can't sense them at all."

Moen's heart skipped a beat.

Magic fluctuations? So that's what that breathing-like feeling is called.

He didn't rush to answer, but slowly lowered his hand, waiting until he was sure the girl had no intention of attacking before speaking:

"My body is quite special, and I can sense things that ordinary people cannot."

He paused, then added,

"That's why I took on this case. The girl in the photo is named Lily. She has been missing for three days. Her mother is extremely worried, so she asked me to come and find her."

The girl bit her lip, her gaze shifting back and forth between Moen and the photograph.

The flame flickered in her palm, reflecting her inner hesitation.

After a few seconds of silence, the flames finally went out.

She lowered her head, reached out and tugged at her hair ribbon, and said in a muffled voice:

"I'm sorry, I was so nervous just now. I thought you were here to take back... this mirror."

Moen pretended not to notice the girl's slip of the tongue and let her continue.

"My name is Philse Ignis, and I am a student at St. Alice Magic Academy."

She turned to the side and pointed to the mirror behind her.

"I've been following this mirror for a long time, and I want to hand it over to the college in exchange for academic credits—I don't have enough credits."

As she spoke the last sentence, her voice grew softer and softer, and two blushes rose on her cheeks.

St. Alice Magic Academy? A name he'd never heard of before. It sounded like he'd run into a real force.

Moen couldn't help but chuckle.

"So even students in the extraordinary world have to worry about grades."

"What's so funny about that!"

Phils puffed out her cheeks, snorted, and looked somewhat embarrassed, but clearly less nervous than before.

Moen's smile faded, and he said seriously:

"Regardless of your grades, there is now a seven-year-old girl who may be trapped inside."

He pointed to the mirror.

"From what you're saying, you want this mirror, right?"

Phils nodded.

"In that case, our goals do not conflict, Miss Phils."

"How about this, we cooperate: you help me rescue people, and I'll help you solve any potential problems?"

Phils looked at his serious expression, then looked down at Lily's smiling face in the photo.

"Okay, let's save them first."

"make a deal."

But Fils then held up one finger and added,

"But after the person is rescued, this mirror will be mine."

Moen readily agreed.

Anyway, his goal is to collect the contained objects, so if the mirror breaks after he finishes collecting them, it's none of his business.

Phils visibly relaxed and reached out her hand.

"Phils Ignis, second-year student at St. Alice Magic Academy."

Moen took her hand.

"Mount Marcus, private investigator."

Seeing that the atmosphere was gradually becoming more harmonious, he turned to look at the special mirror.

"Miss Ignis, since you've been chasing this mirror for so long, do you even know what it is?"

It's better not to mention this, because just mentioning it makes Phils angry.

She put her hands on her hips and glared at Moen.

"That mirror is a door, and the space behind it is very likely not the material world."

"It might connect to another place, a mirror world created by that thing... Oh dear!"

Seeing that she had let something slip again, Fils was visibly annoyed.

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you then! It's not a big secret anyway."

Moen really wanted to hear how professionals explained containment objects.

"An object of containment is a supernatural object or creature that possesses magical power but is beyond the control of us magicians."

"This mirror is not a containment object; at most, it's part of a containment object. It's the gateway to the real containment object."

"If the little girl really did go missing near the maze, she was likely pulled into the mirror world."

"The mirror world only opens at specific times each day. If you hadn't stopped me, I would have already gone in."

At this point, Phil couldn't help but roll her eyes at Moen, but he pretended not to see it.

"You mean... the time has passed?"

"yes!"

Phils looked indignant and aggrieved.

"I've been watching for a long time; the entrance is only open for a very short time, about a minute. My chance for today is gone!"

Moen was a little embarrassed.

"In that case, when will the next time be?"

Phils pulled a small notebook, about the size of her palm, from her coat pocket. She opened it and found it filled with various data and observation records.

He glanced at it; the handwriting was a bit crooked, but he remembered every single one clearly.

"Based on my observations over the past few days, the entrance opens at a very regular time."

Fils pushed up glasses that weren't actually there and said in a serious tone,

"Tomorrow night at nine o'clock sharp, that should be the next time."

Moen glanced at her with some surprise.

Although the girl acted clumsy earlier, she did a thorough job of preparing.

"Okay, meet at the entrance of the Mirror Maze tomorrow night at nine o'clock."

He nodded and turned to leave.

"etc!"

Fils called out to him from behind, hesitated for a moment, and lowered her voice by half an octave.

"You...you didn't come here alone by yourself, did you?"

Moen stopped and turned around to look at her expressionlessly.

"Didn't you say this door only opens at nine o'clock? What's the point of me sneaking in?"

Phil thought about it and realized it made sense.

But she still added, not entirely convinced:

"It's a date, right? See you at nine o'clock sharp. If you stand me up—"

She paused, as if considering a sufficiently threatening statement.

"I...I'll blow up your detective agency!"

Moen's lips twitched slightly.

Are you worried that I'll come or that I won't come?

Moreover, this girl looks so quiet and gentle, yet her way of threatening people is even wilder than his.

Don't be late tomorrow.

Without turning his head, he left those words, lifted the curtain, and walked out.

Phils's voice came from behind:

"I won't be late!"

Then came a soft muttering, which Moen didn't hear clearly, but he could roughly guess what it was about.

It's nothing more than saying things like, "How can this person be so rude?"

The next morning, Moen went to Wonderland Park again and headed straight for the park's visitor center.

The service center is a small red and white wooden house.

He pushed open the door and went in. A middle-aged woman wearing glasses was sitting at the front desk.

"Hello, I'd like to ask you about something."