Old days, dice and investigator's manual

Finn stroked his chin: "Well, it all started today—oh, early yesterday morning. Tsk, if that guy hadn't given me his name, I wouldn't even know what he was called."

……

Yesterday, in the early hours of the morning.

Finn carried two sacks through an alley. The sacks contained the things he had just withdrawn from the bank. One sack contained a bunch of boxes of various sizes, and the other sack contained a stack of books.

Even while carrying those two bags, Fein walked with remarkable speed.

The operation went more smoothly than expected. All I had to do was hand the books over to the contact person, and the rest would be sent back in batches according to plan. That should be enough to get the job done... As Finn thought this, he suddenly stopped in his tracks near the alley exit.

A person was standing at the exit of the alley.

Finn narrowed his eyes warily, scrutinizing the figure. It was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, wearing a trench coat, with unusually gray hair under the streetlights. He was currently weighing a cane in his hand.

"Hey, buddy, could you move aside?" Finn lowered his voice, put the bag on the ground, and was ready to make a move at any moment.

"Well, I'm sorry, I can't grant that request," the young man said with a smile. "After all, I've been waiting for you right here."

Finn's pupils contracted. Had his plan been exposed?

"Don't be nervous. I'm not an official. I won't invite you over for tea." The young man held his cane in one hand and tapped it on the palm of his other hand.

"...Who are you?"

"Generally speaking, I wouldn't honestly give out my name, but..." the young man paused, "Carlo Schuster, you can remember this well, it might come in very useful later."

Carlo Schuster, the name echoed in Finn's mind, but he didn't have any particular impression of him.

He exhaled, forced a smile, and said, "Well, Mr. Schuster, it seems you've been waiting here for me on purpose. Could you do me a favor, since I am...?"

"James Finn, ostensibly a freelance mercenary, actually works for some big shot." Carlo nodded. "Should I reveal that person's identity as well?"

Finn's expression changed: "Since you know..."

"Hmm, I know. So what?" Carlo tilted his head. "Then you should know even better that since I know, the fact that I'm still here staking out people means I don't care about the 'big shot' behind you, right?"

"...What do you want to do?"

"It's nothing, I just really like your sack of books. Could you do me the favor and let me have them?"

"What a joke," Fein thought. "Even if this guy wanted all the jewels in the other bag, I'd give them to him. It's not like I'd be the one losing out. But he insists on taking these books."

"Looks like you and my superiors are eyeing the same thing." Finn reached for his waist with his right hand, gripping the hilt of his short sword. His left hand reached for the holster under his arm.

Carlo showed no sign of suspicion when Finn touched the weapon, instead casually bringing up something else: "Did you see this thing in my hand?"

"Hmm?" Finn was somewhat surprised by the change of topic, but remained alert.

"An ebony cane, inlaid with silver, custom-made by a local Palmer master craftsman," Carlo chuckled. "While gentlemen in the West are always used to carrying these, I'm not used to always having a cane in my hand. But I still bought one yesterday, you know why?"

Finn didn't answer, and Carlo continued, "Since you need to use this thing to smash someone's head, it would be too undignified to just use your fist. Using a cane is much more gentlemanly, isn't it?"

Faced with clearly hostile remarks, Finn no longer hesitated, drawing his short sword from its sheath in his right hand and his revolver from his left.

Sword and spear are the mercenaries' usual way of fighting. In the wilderness, when facing those dangerous alien species, guns alone cannot guarantee absolute safety. After all, some alien species can charge at people while being bulletproof, and you can't do without a melee weapon that can directly cut through them.

However, before Finn could make any other move, Carlo's figure suddenly disappeared from the alley entrance.

"What—" Finn tensed up completely; he hadn't seen the other person's movements before they disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, Carlo's voice rang out, seemingly echoing in the alley, or perhaps right beside Finn's ear.

"Guess what the chances are of my cane making intimate contact with your head?"

Finn immediately turned around to defend, but there was no one behind him.

"What the hell..." Finn's heart raced. With this method, he was almost certain that the other party was a superhuman.

Then he heard a sound, like a pebble falling to the ground, coming from right beside his feet.

Finn immediately looked down. Something was rolling around and gradually came to a stop in the light of the street lamp.

It is a black twenty-sided die, with each side marked with a white number.

……dice?

Finn paused for a moment. He had only seen this thing in taverns and casinos before. Why would it appear now... Could it be a medium for some kind of supernatural power?

"Oh my, what great luck! It's a huge success. Looks like you really need to rest for a while and have a good, baby-like sleep."

Carlo's voice rang out again. Before Finn could react, he felt something suddenly hit his head, and then—

When he regained consciousness, he didn't know how much time had passed. It was still dark, but one of the two sacks beside him had disappeared.

Fein struggled to his feet, rubbing his head as if still feeling the lingering pain from being struck by something—probably a cane.

What's going on, that guy...

Confusion, anger, and fear mingled in Finn's heart, but it was clearly impossible to track down the suspicious man's movements. Finn had no choice but to pick up the remaining sack and head towards the Amorton Mansion.

The mission failed, but more important than the failure itself is the question: who exactly is Carlo Schuster?

……

"So, when you heard me mention Carlo Schuster, you guessed that I was also one of the people tracking him down," Isaac said.

Finn nodded: "Of course, after all, the reason we can track down that guy is most likely related to this matter."

Okay, can I say that I was actually the one Carlo called to the Amorton Mansion? Isaac suppressed the urge to twitch his lips.

He never expected that instead of finding the mysterious "private detective" at Amherst Mansion, he would end up attracting the attention of someone who had been tricked by Carlo. Well, wasn't he himself also tricked by Carlo...?

And more importantly, if what Finn said is true, then...

So, his book is now in Carlo's hands?!