Old days, dice and investigator's manual

Harper gave an awkward laugh upon hearing this.

The customer's use of "make do" didn't seem like a polite way of saying it. It was indeed wearable, but since the customer had come to his shop, if he really made do with it and sold an ill-fitting garment, letting others see how it looked, he would be ruining his own reputation.

Besides, although the young man in front of him was dressed shabbily when he arrived, he recognized Isaac, who came with him, as an exorcism expert. He hoped to get along well with Isaac and couldn't just dismiss the guest he brought.

But is it some kind of tradition at their firm to wear shabby clothes to exchange for new ones...?

Harper sized up the young man in front of him. He had the typical brown hair and brown eyes of Vesta, and his appearance was not particularly special; he could easily blend into a crowd. His physique looked unhealthy, and he was currently inhaling and trying to straighten his back.

Harper secretly compared the young man in front of him with Isaac, finding it hard to believe that the two were colleagues in the same firm.

"Sir, you're not too thin, but you don't have enough muscle mass to fill out your clothes, so the standard size you just wore looked loose on you." Harper gestured to show his shoulder width. "A size smaller would be too narrow in the shoulders and sleeves, restricting your movement."

"What should we do then? Do we have to order a custom-made set?"

"I can take a finished product and adjust the waistline and bust line according to your figure." Harper took out a tape measure and measured Li Jiehao's shoulder width, arm length, chest circumference and waist circumference while writing down the numbers in his small notebook.

"How much more money do I need?" Although there was reimbursement, Li Jiehao couldn't help but ask again after experiencing life in this period of time.

"It depends on the extent of the alterations. For this one, the estimated cost after alterations is..."

"Nine pounds and fifteen pence?"

"...Sir, this is not a shady business."

"Oh, sorry, it was just a subconscious reaction..."

Harper listed a price, and Li Jiehao looked at Isaac, who nodded, indicating that he had enough money to pay.

Li Jiehao breathed a sigh of relief and took off his coat: "Then I'll have to trouble you."

Harper put away the measuring tape: "Just come pick it up in the afternoon two days from now."

"Okay, thank you." Li Jiehao put his coarse cloth jacket back on.

Harper clipped the measured measurements into the ledger, and Isaac went to the counter, took out his wallet, and paid.

"Nothing unusual lately, right?" Isaac asked casually.

Harper knew exactly what he was asking: "Everything's normal, nothing strange has happened."

"That's good."

Li Jiehao looked around and wondered if these two actually had a past that no one knew about.

Harper filled out the pickup form, and Isaac put it in his wallet: "Let's go."

The two walked out of the clothing store, where Fenli was waiting for them. Li Jiehao picked up the rope hanging at the store entrance and said, "Brother Gou, sorry to keep you waiting."

"Dog Bro?" Isaac glanced at Fenri.

"Yeah, it protects me, so it's like an older brother to me." Li Jiehao paused, then suddenly realized he had also called Isaac "older brother." "Uh, sorry, I didn't mean you and the dog were of the same generation..."

The two walked back towards the FBI headquarters. Seemingly trying to avoid an awkward silence, Li Jiehao tried to start a conversation: "By the way, I was thinking in the store just now, wouldn't Dog Bro look even more handsome with a bow tie? A big black dog with a red bow tie, so stylish...right, Dog Bro, want a bow tie?"

Isaac looked at Fenri and saw that Fenri was walking with her head tilted back slightly, a very small movement that was almost unnoticeable.

Could it be that Fenri actually wants a bow tie? Isaac's thought had barely crossed his mind when it was overtaken by another possibility.

Fenri's actions didn't seem to be a response to Li Jiehao's words, but rather a deliberate glance back at Isaac as he looked over, as a kind of... reminder?

Isaac didn't look back, but continued walking, becoming increasingly wary.

Fenrir's perception of its surroundings is far superior to that of ordinary people, so what could elicit such a reaction from it is probably not something trivial.

...Is someone following them?

The thought crossed his mind, but Isaac showed no sign of it and continued chatting with Li Jiehao.

As he reached the corner ahead, he raised his hand, straightened his hat brim, and quickly scanned the area.

There were quite a few pedestrians on the street, some carrying shopping baskets, some leaning on canes, some chatting by the roadside... everything seemed normal.

Isaac put his hat back on and continued walking.

Li Jiehao was oblivious to the little incident, still muttering about the color of the bow tie: "Red might be too flashy, how about black? Something understated, but still tasteful..."

"Fenri is also black, so you probably won't be able to tell once you put it on," Isaac replied, still pondering to himself.

Fenri wouldn't look back for no reason; she must have sensed something. But since she didn't show any stronger warning signs, it means that "something" doesn't pose an immediate threat.

However, if there are indeed trackers, their return to the FBI might cause them to give up the tracking, since the trackers probably wouldn't dare to follow the FBI directly. Whether they can run into a tracker on-site next time depends on luck.

Since Fenri is here, we don't need to worry too much about safety. Why not take this opportunity to lure the other party out and see what kind of tactics they have?

"Where would you like to go next?" Isaac asked Li Jiehao.

Li Jiehao was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this: "Aren't we going straight back to the FBI? Where else are we going to wander around?"

"Anywhere is fine, there's still plenty of time."

Something was clearly off about that, and Li Jiehao noticed it too: "What's going on?"

"Someone's following us." Isaac looked straight ahead. "Behave yourself, don't turn around."

Li Jiehao's expression froze: "I-I understand, I'll try my best..."

As he said this, a series of thoughts flashed through Li Jiehao's mind: Someone's following him? Who? The Ghoul Cult? Or was it sent by that Morzul...?

He steadied himself, forcing himself to keep his eyes forward, but his heart was racing, and his gait was noticeably stiffer. Knowing someone was following him made it difficult to remain natural; not everyone has the experience of being followed.

"Is my current state normal?" Li Jiehao asked.

"Hmm, something doesn't seem right."

"What should we do then...?"

"Go ahead and try thinking about bow ties."

Li Jiehao tried to steer the conversation back to the topic of bow ties: "So tell me, if we were to tie a bow tie on Dog Bro, would we put it around his neck or on his collar? Would putting it around his neck choke him...?"

His voice was unmistakably stiff, but at least he kept the conversation going.

Li Jiehao seemed to be walking on his own two feet, and just wandering around like this wasn't a solution... Isaac pondered, glancing ahead: "There's a coffee shop up ahead, shall we go in and sit down?"

Li Jiehao didn't expect the topic to suddenly shift to coffee shops again, but he nodded in agreement: "Okay, my legs are sore from standing for so long."