23 Strictly talking

Business went on as usual, and as always, very few customers came in. However, it was steadily rising, albeit very slowly.

It was now Sunday.

Currently, Isaac's cafe is closed, and he intends to keep it that way every Sunday so that he'll get some proper rest.

On the second floor, inside Isaac's room, the golden tinge of sunlight shined down from the window and illuminated a small part of Isaac's room.

Isaac, on the other hand, woke up and didn't bother to get out of his bed as he lay on his stomach in silence. 'There's so much to do today... It won't hurt to rest more before doing my second mission today...'

That's right. Today was the day Isaac was finally going to do his second mission.

Due to some series of events, Isaac was forced to do his main mission sooner than expected.

'Those Confrerie of Cabriere lots...' Just remembering the name of the people who harassed his precious cafe, Isaac felt slightly annoyed. He then shook his head, 'No, keep those emotions in for now. Save them for later...'

Isaac then opened the system interface as he browsed for anything interesting. 'It's too bad that the system doesn't sell any weapon...'

This was one thing Isaac lamented a bit regarding the system.

There were no weapons!

'I could really use a gun right now...' Isaac thought as the image of an eagle appeared in his mind. 'That would make things easier...'

Isaac continued browsing before opening the system map. He then looked at the two teleport waypoints he had placed.

Looking at Poisson, Isaac caressed his temples. 'It's gonna be a pain approaching the Confrerie. After all, their Headquarters is just right next to Spina Di Rosula— the people I'm trying to help...'

"Hmm... But that does beg the question..." Isaac then buried his head on his soft and fluffy pillow as he started pondering. "Which identity should I use to approach the? Gehrman or Moriarty?"

In Isaac's mind, his Gehrman and Moriarty identities hold specific roles.

What Isaac wants the others to see is Gehrman, a highly enigmatic mercenary who follows Moriarty, a similarly mysterious highly intelligent mastermind.

In this way, it will make people think that these two "people" are the ones involved in Isaac's missions.

In the future, Isaac might need to use more identities— which is why he left tarot cards. It was to indicate that there could possibly be a group of people out there doing his missions for him.

With this, nothing can be traced back to him.

Each identity mattered as they were practically his precious masks— as such, he should be wise in which one he should use.

"..." After contemplating for a few minutes, an idea finally formed inside Isaac's mind. "Right... This should be a job for Gehrman."

"However, there's one problem..." Isaac sighed heavily. "...I'm not good at combat."

The only reason Isaac was able to beat five men a few days ago was that the way they fought was sloppy, giving way for Isaac to easily read their movements with the help of his quick observational ability.

If he goes to their Headquarters right now, the only outcome for him is getting surrounded by dozens of people, plus reinforcements!

It was just a death wish going there without any weapon or combat ability.

"...however..." But of course, Isaac immediately wrapped his mind around it and came up with a possible solution. "This personal matter also aligns with the system mission..."

A sinister smile soon curved up from his face. After pondering for a few moments, he softly chuckled. "Yes... This could work..."

"Breaking news! The infamous Sinthe Vendors turn out to be using the Waters from the Primordial Sea— which supposedly dissolves people!" Isaac started imagining the headlines for tomorrow's newspaper.

"All because one of Spina Di Rosula's "informants" managed to find it." Of course, in this line, Isaac was the informant.

Soon, the frame of the plan started appearing inside Isaac's mind. 'This could work...'

"Spina Di Rosula finds out about the Waters from the Primordial Sea, I finish my mission, and the Confrerie's anonymous Sinthe vendors get purged— cutting off one of their major finances." He laughed softly at this conclusion. "It's perfect."

"Right..." Isaac then started getting to his bed. He then sat straight as a languid smile formed on his lips. "Now it's prep time."

Just when he was about to leave, he was reminded of something.

"...by the way, why do my bedsheets smell... Nice?" Isaac couldn't help but ask himself as he brought his white bedsheet near his nose. He then took a whiff. "Yeah... It smells like peaches... That's odd..."

He smelled it a bit more and found that he liked the smell. The smell was sweet and a bit intoxicating, but not too strong. "How refreshing..."

"It must be part of the system's auto-cleaning function." Isaac didn't pay too much mind to it as he shrugged.

He then got off the bed and started preparing.

---

Poisson, inside Spina Di Rosula's headquarters.

"It seems like the bounty for the Masked Clown had risen to 320,000 Mora, Demoiselle," Melus said as he placed a paper down on a desk. "Lady Furina really doesn't want to let this grievance go."

On the paper, a rough sketch of what seems like Isaac's Gehrman persona was seen with the latest bounty placed beneath.

It was a sketch provided by Lady Furina, after describing what she saw to the journalists.

What was quite terrifying was how accurate it was. If Isaac were here, he would have thought that Furina took a picture of him.

"If they've raised the bounty to this much, that must mean even the special force under the Chief Justice hasn't found anything yet." Navia, with her elegant bearing and beautiful blonde hair, said as she leaned back in her chair. "This Masked Clown is really stirring Fontaine..."

"Of course, after all, it not only concerns the painting, but the nation's security." Melus nodded his head as he crossed his arms. "If the government can't even find a thief who stole something right under their noses, it would be a massive loss of face for them."

"I believe that if the Masked Clown is not found sooner, he'd be placed on Fontaine's top fugitives," Melus added.

"Which brings up the question, who really is the Masked Clown?" Navia asked as she and Melus started brainstorming. "Besides the Tarot Card and intimidation he left behind, no other information about him has yet to surface."

"Fontaine's top investigators are on this case, but just like the Case of the Serial Disappearances, it's as if the culprit is a ghost." She sighed faintly after saying this. "Even we can't find anything..."

"Perhaps—" Navia was just about to say something, something interrupted her.

Knock*

Two firm knocks came from the door, interrupting the two's discussion.

"Is it Silver?" Melus asked as he looked at the door behind him. "But he should be helping Antoine fetch the other papers right now..."

Just then, a hoarse and refined voice came from behind the door. "Please forgive my rudeness."

After saying this, the door opened and a figure walked in before closing the door behind him.

Thump—*

Navia, who saw the person who came in, widened her eyes in shock before immediately standing up and touching the revolver on her desk.

"You!" She aimed the revolver at the person who walked inside. "The Masked Clown!"

The person who came in and the person in the wanted poster looked too similar!

"Demoiselle! Behind me!" Melus quickly ran in front of Navia before pulling out his revolver and pointing it at the man. He then shielded her behind him.

"..." The man who entered, who was wearing a clown mask, looked at them in silence.

A moment later, he spoke.

"...There's no need for such hostility." The man said with his hoarse polite manner of speaking. "I'm here strictly for talking."

"Hah, the highly sought-after criminal of Fontaine as of this moment want to talk?" Navia made a wry smile as she became cautious towards the man. She then sarcastically spoke, "Should I also get tea for you?"

"There's no need, I already had one this morning." The man raised one hand as he shook his head. "Moving on, I'm here on behalf of my colleague's request."

"Colleague?" Navia didn't dare to let her guard down. After all, this man can escape the eyes of many. Who knows what he's capable of?

"Who's this colleague you speak of?" Navia was quite interested in this colleague he mentioned. 'He has a partner? Or perhaps... He's inside an organization?'

"I believe he had already contacted you." The man said. "He has quite the eccentric personality, so I believe he had more or less left an impression on you."

Hearing this, a memory suddenly flashed inside Navia's mind as she remembered the "gift" from the other day. "...Moriarty?"

The masked clown responded with a light nod. "Due to some circumstances, he cannot convey this information to you directly, so he asked me to do it."

'...an information that even the infamous criminal of Fontaine has to deliver...' Navia curled up a wry smile at this thought. '...Is that Moriarty the Mastermind?"

A thought formed in her mind. 'Perhaps Moriarty is the one that instructed the Masked Clown to steal the Dame des Eaux...'

She then observed the Masked Man for a moment before pondering something in her mind. A moment later, she spoke. "Melus, stand down."

"Are you sure, Demoiselle?" Melus asked. He trusted her, but he just wanted to confirm.

"Yes, stand down," Navia confirmed with a nod. Seeing this, Melus hesitated before lowering his revolver.

Navia then sat down on her seat. She then gestured to the seat opposite from her. "Please, take a seat."

"Thank you." The Masked Clown responded before walking over and sitting down.

Seeing him sit down, Navia quickly glanced at Melus. "Melus, get our guest our finest beverage."

Melus, who saw the glance, understood what she meant. "Very well, Demoiselle."

With that Melus left the room, leaving the two of them alone. In reality, he left to call for reinforcements.

"I'm surprised you didn't stop him," Navia said as she looked at the Masked Clown.

"This would be quick anyway." The Masked Clown responded with a solemn tone.

"So, what is it that you want to talk to me about?" Navia crossed her arms as she looked at him cautiously. "To go all the way here to Poisson, it must be something important—"

"Sinthe." Before Navia could finish speaking and stalling for time, the Masked Clown interrupted her. "My colleague found what Sinthe is made of."

"...what?" Hearing this, Navia's voice trembled slightly. She then stood up. "What do you mean? How is that possible? We have been investigating Sinthe for a decade and haven't seen anything that could possibly lead to its creation—"

"You don't..." The Masked Clown interrupted her once more with his hoarse solemn tone. "But WE did."

"..." Hearing this, Navia's eyes became complicated for a moment. She then sat down again as she looked at him with disbelief. "Then tell me, what is Sinthe made of?"

"...what if I told you that there's a special kind of water that has unique properties exclusive to Fontanians?" The Masked Clown started speaking.

"And I suppose that this special water is Sinthe?" Navia predicted what he would say next. "And it's unique properties are it's exhilarating effects?"

However, contrary to her expectations, the Masked Clown shook his head. "No. On the contrary, this special water— which is called The Water from the Primordial Sea— is highly dangerous. A splash is only needed for it to become extremely lethal— deadly, even."

"However, when extremely diluted, it becomes a special drug." The man continued explaining. "I believe you already know what it is."

"Wait... You don't mean..." Soon, Navia immediately understood what he meant. She then grasped her elbow tightly. "Do you expect me to believe that? An extremely dangerous substance, when diluted, becomes a highly addictive drug?"

"In the first place, the substance itself sounds surreal." Truth be told, she was actually interested in the subject of that substance. But right now, she was stalling to keep him here longer until Melus returned.

The Masked Man looked at her silently for a few moments before standing up, "Well, it's up to you to believe it or not. I'm only here to relay the message."

After saying this, the Masked Clown stood up. He then turned around and started walking towards the door.

"Wait!" Navia also stood up and shouted at him. "If— and only if— what you said is true, what merit does it have to share it with me? Surely there's something behind it."

"Furthermore, just who are you? And why are you and Moriarty helping Spina Di Rosula?" She added.

The Masked Clown paused for a moment as he stood quietly for a moments before turning his head.

"Gehrman."

"Huh?" Navia didn't know what he meant.

"You may refer to me as Gehrman." With that, the Masked Clown stepped through the door, closing the door behind him.

Navia saw him leave and quickly ran towards the door, hoping to capture him with Melus who was arriving.

Just when she was about to open the door, it opened first and Melus, along with twenty other people, entered. "Demoiselle! We're here!"

"What are you doing? He just left!" Navia didn't know why Melus entered directly without stopping the Masked Clown.

"Pardon? Demoiselle, there was no one in the hallway when we arrived!" Melus said with a complicated expression.

"...what?" Navia asked, perplexed. "How..."

Without anyone noticing, the enigmatic clown had mysteriously vanished.