The Hollow City

They left the Beck manor, passing through the red wooden gates and hopped into the automobile.

"Where to next?" Desun asked.

"We should split up. You and Eugene investigate the gambling dens. Lieutenant Jang and I will check out the brothels," Jun said.

"Brothels? They didn't mention that Mr. Yang had frequented those," Eugene said.

"Read between the lines. He's gone missing yet his wife is nowhere to be seen. They're either divorced or more likely she's dead. They said he went out to downtown at night. A single man going downtown and returning late? I'd be more surprised if he hadn't visited a brothel."

Shimol groaned. "I don't like the atmosphere of these places."

Jun pulled his ear. "How do you think I feel? I'm eighteen. Aren't you two years older than me? We're not going there for a pleasure trip, so be mature about it."

"It's unfair of you to bring up age only at times like these. You never respect my seniority anyway."

"If you're uncomfortable, how about we swap?" Desun asked.

"Rejected," Jun said. "I know you're going to get distracted while we're there."

Desun crossed his arms. "Annoying, but I can't really refute that."

"The gambling dens and brothels are mostly active at night. Let's get some rest for now and head out tonight." Jun inserted the magitech catalyst crystal, and the dashboard lit up with glowing blue lines. The engine was humming smoothly, much more pleasant than those noisy combustion engines.

The automobile crunched the dirt and rolled out back towards their unit's compound. After returning, everyone but Jun returned to their quarters while she sought out Aria. She was writing talismans in the shrine room.

"Welcome back," Aria said, looking up and pausing her brush. "It must have been a long night."

"Tell me about it. But this long night isn't over yet."

"Oh? Did you find something peculiar?"

"We didn't see it directly, but there was the lingering presence of a spirit more powerful than anything we've ever seen before. Even if we do find it, the danger of confronting it blind is too great. Can you do a divination and ask the local spirits for any information?"

"That explains the disturbance in the air I've been sensing. Alright, I'll do it. But I may not have an answer for a while. The weaker spirits may have gone into hiding if something that powerful is around," Aria said.

"Thanks. I'll go get some sleep before our night investigation." Jun exited the shrine building, only to see the courier.

He saluted her and handed her an envelope.

"What's this?"

"A telegram from the Ministry of the Interior."

There was nothing good that could be in this envelope. "Thank you." Jun saluted, and the courier took his leave.

She sighed and tore open the envelope. It was an official summons, though it didn't state the reason for the summons. Telegrams were expensive per character, so she understood, but they could have just sent a normal letter considering the distance from the Ministry to the Exorcism Unit's compound.

Dreading whatever that unpleasant minister could want, Jun dragged her feet out the gates of the compound. It was bustling outside as people were about their usual morning commutes and cleaning. Jun yawned as she waited for the tram; she was too tired to walk all the way to the Ministry.

Soon, the familiar sound of the bells approached, and she climbed aboard the tram. At times like these, she appreciated the fact that the tram ran on electricity and not magitech. Going faster was nice but only when one was looking forward to the destination. Shinra was both ancient and modern, with people wearing a mix of robes steeped in thousands of years of tradition and modern Western suits and dresses, a place where an electric tram passed by a noble in palanquin carried by human servants. If the government ever managed to mass produce magitech, this age would come to an abrupt end. Whether that was a good thing, Jun didn't know, but they were heading to that destination with ever greater speed, so much so that one might lose sight of everything they had known and overlook the rotting details.

Jun got off in front of the Ministry and showed her ID papers. The guards let her in, and she made her way into the large Western mansion and to the Minister's office. She knocked.

"It's Captain Jun Song."

"Come in."

She opened the twin doors and entered the carpeted room, and besides the bearded old Minister, there were two men in front of the desk. She recognized the short man with circular glasses wearing a suit as Foreign Minister Lee. The tall man, wearing a dark blue police uniform emblazoned with many badges, reacted to her entry with a stern glare, furrowing his bushy brows.

"Do you know why I called you in here?" Interior Minister Yong asked.

"No, I do not," Jun answered.

"There was a diplomatic complaint lodged. Foreign Minister Lee, if you would care to explain."

Minister Lee adjusted his brimmed hat and turned to her with his arms crossed. "Solradian Ambassador Mitsui delivered a formal complaint alleging that some Radiauroran soldier had assaulted their soldiers, but that soldier did not have any visible identification and refused to identify themselves. So, I asked Shinra Metropolitan Police Chief Ahn here to investigate these allegations."

Chief Ahn cleared his throat and straightened out his shoulders, an entirely empty gesture like a peacock displaying its feathers to look bigger. Jun surmised the inside of his head was just as empty. "After looking into these allegations, based on who was in the area at the time and witness testimony, that soldier could only have been you, Captain Jun Song."

"Was this the big event you had to send a telegram for?" Jun asked.

"Do you not understand the gravity of your actions? You've angered the Solradians," Minister Yong barked.

"Keep in mind that these are only allegations. Is anyone interested in hearing the truth?"

"Are you saying you didn't strike the Solradian soldiers at all?" Chief Ahn asked.

"I'm saying they only told you one side of the story. They left out the part where they were attacking a Radiauroran child."

Minister Lee scoffed. "That's irrelevant. You assaulted a member of Solradia's military over some trivial dispute. They would have every right to retaliate against Radiaurora with sanctions."

Their own citizens were irrelevant to them, which then begged the question of whom they served. "They struck me first, so any retaliation on their part is wholly unjustified. The witness testimony should support that. And officially, I don't even exist as a member of the military. Wouldn't it be quite a headache for you to make this public and punish me, Minister Yong?"

Minister Yong fumed as he grit his teeth. "I can't just let you get away with this."

"But you can and will. If I'm gone, who will investigate the disappearance at Count Beck's manor? I'm sure both the Count and you had your reasons for putting my team on this task with such urgency. I won't speculate as to what those reasons are, but it would be inconvenient for you if the investigation came to a halt."

Minister Yong slammed the table.

"Minister, please calm down," Chief Ahn said.

"How about this? Find some patsy in the police department to pin it on and give him a slap on the wrist. Dock his pay for a month or so. I'll compensate him."

"I suppose that would work," Minister Lee grumbled.

Minister Yong sighed. "Can you find someone, Chief Ahn?"

"You're asking me to sell out one of my own men." Chief Ahn bristled.

"No real harm will come his way. We can give him a raise or a promotion later once all this blows over. Let's just get through this."

Chief Ahn lowered his cap to shadow his eyes then bowed. "Yes, sir," he said with no enthusiasm. He turned and left.

"And you, get out of here. I don't want to see your face for a while if I can help it," Minister Yong said.

For once, Jun agreed with the Interior Minister. She bowed, then turned on her heel and marched out of the office.

Outside the gate, the middle-aged driver from the other day was sitting at the front of the carriage smoking a cigar. Jun fanned the smoke away. Seemingly offended, the burly man leaned to the side and blew more smoke at her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jun asked.

"I'm just taking a smoke. That's all. It's supposedly a free country like the Federal Makuranian States, right?" He had an ugly, twisted expression on his square face.

"You'd be picking a fight no matter where you did that. What's your name?"

"Minho. I don't have a last name. You probably know why."

This man clearly had an axe to grind, and Jun decided to play dumb. "No, I don't know why. How about you enlighten me?"

"I was a butcher. No, scratch that. I still am."

"Slavery and butcherhood was abolished in 1895. You're free now."

"Free? You call this free? I'm sitting here taking abuse on a daily basis because I'm dirt poor, and no respectable person will hire a former butcher. I'm here because people like you fought for that corrupt emperor and slaughtered us commoners by the thousands. You even pulled in the help of a foreign army from Centrosis just so people like me would be put in their place. I pray that God brings damnation upon this country." Minho breathed out, having exhausted his supply of rage for the moment.

Damnation? That was an unsettling word to hear, if only because Beksup the spirit had mentioned it in its dying breath recently. Still, Jun had little love for Radiaurora. She wanted to encourage this bitter man, even if only a little. "Yelling at me will do you no good. Many high-ranking officers might have even had you executed immediately for your rudeness. I won't do such a thing, but I recommend you think about what it is you want now, and what you're going to do to get it."

Jun walked past the carriage. Thinking back, his usage of 'God' was unusual. Perhaps he was a Zeroist. The Western missionaries had brought their religion to Radiaurora and their countries' spirits too. Jun wasn't fond of dealing with Western spirits. Being weak to specific passages from some Western holy book or plain old water that had the blessing of a wrinkly old man halfway across the world was silly and not worth the effort. Thankfully, those missionaries hadn't brought any truly dangerous spirits with them.

On the way back, she stopped by Le Doux Paradis. She needed something sweet to wash out the bitter taste in her mouth she had after talking to the ministers.

"Welcome!" Xanam said with his usual morning vigor.

"I'll have the green tea roll cake," Jun said.

"Must've been a tough night at work, huh?"

"Eh? What makes you say that?"

"I've noticed you have bags under your eyes whenever you order the green tea roll cake."

Jun instinctively lowered the bill of her cap.

Xanam laughed heartily. "No need to hide it. Life's tough for everyone." He rubbed his hand in a peculiar manner, focusing on his ring finger, though he had no ring.

"Did you used to be married?"

"Wow, no wonder you work for the Interior Section. Yes, I was. I loved her and my son. But that's all in the past now. You don't have to worry about it." He forced a smile and packaged up her roll cake. "Here you go."

Jun paid and left with the cake in tow, the sweet fragrance wafting from the box she held.

After returning to her quarters in the Exorcism Unit's compound, she ate the cake all by herself and snuggled into her futon and fell fast asleep. She woke up as soon as the sun was setting. Jun took her sword and put on her cap and made her way to the gate.

She was the first to arrive, and Shimol, Eugene, and Desun came soon after in that order.

"Everyone ready to investigate downtown?"

"Yes, sir!" They saluted.

Aria walked over and waved.

"What are you doing here?" Jun asked.

"Did you want to join us on the mission?" Desun asked.

"Of course, not. I'm quite physically frail. I would only drag you all down if the situation became less than peaceful. I came to see you off and warn you." Aria crossed her arms. "A spirit told me during a divination that there is an unsettling voice in Shinra like they've never heard before. I know it's not much to go on, but please be careful."

What did that mean? Nothing pleasant at least. "Thank you. We will," Jun said.

They all climbed into the automobile and sped out the gate towards the glittering downtown where the fading embers of daylight diffused and mixed with the electric lamps.