"As you can see, I have no tea or coffee. But I do have plenty of chairs."
Angel invited the exhausted-looking Provocateur inside, watching him collapse into the nearest chair.
"Sorry. If I had any other option, I wouldn't want to visit you." Dominic had lost his usual sharp edge, saying dejectedly, "When you were renting your previous safe house, I found your address. This time I've been staking out nearby waiting for you. I would have knocked earlier if I hadn't been worried about being recognized in the daytime crowds."
"Rather than the stalking, I'm more curious why you're still in Backlund. Weren't you supposed to set sail last week, taking Sonia to your beloved Rorsted Archipelago to settle in Byam?"
Angel pulled over a chair and sat across from him. Having just rented this place, she had no tea, much less coffee or hot water. Even if she did, she had no intention of serving this uninvited guest.
"I was planning to leave as soon as I got those 600 pounds—though it was less money than I expected..." Dominic paused, his gaze sliding toward Angel before continuing, "...but still enough to live in Byam. However, Sonia said she wanted to see her uncle one more time before we left—the relative who'd gotten in trouble and was detained. He'd taken care of her for a while when she was young."
"Yesterday we went to the West Borough to visit him. After returning to our place in the East Borough, Sonia packed our things while I went to the steam train station to buy tickets to Pritz Harbor."
"Damn it—just that short time, less than two hours!"
Dominic suddenly erupted, reaching up to grab his black hair as if trying to tear it all out.
"When I got back, the place was in shambles. There were signs of a brief struggle on the floor and furniture, and the room had been ransacked. But there was no blood, nothing stolen—only Sonia was missing. Only her."
"No theft suggests it wasn't a typical East Borough home invasion. So it should be a targeted kidnapping," Angel analyzed. "What about your traps? And you're Sequence 9 Hunter, right? You tracked me without me noticing—why not use your extraordinary abilities to track them?"
"The traps were triggered but didn't injure anyone. I tried tracking them, but they were very professional—all traces that could leave clues were cleaned up. Either they also have a Hunter, or they're well-trained operatives."
Dominic answered despondently. Clearly, Sonia's capture while he'd let his guard down had dealt him a severe blow.
"At first I thought about reporting it to let the authorities investigate, but this is the East Borough—a few people, even dozens going missing daily is unremarkable. What's more..."
He hesitated momentarily before continuing.
"...the authorities might be involved in this."
"You mean the police, or the official Beyonders?"
That little Diviner's disappearance involves such broad implications? Angel leaned forward, pressing him.
"Neither. It's 'Military Intelligence Group Nine'—a special department of the Loen Kingdom. They handle military intelligence work and counter infiltration by foreign Beyonders. I used to be a member there—an outer member..."
Is this really state secrets I should be hearing?
Angel raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt the dejected man's narration.
"I obtained my Hunter potion from MI9. As an outer member, they weren't stingy with potion distribution, but management was as strict as for formal members. I made a mistake during one mission and was punished too harshly. In a fit of anger, I applied to leave."
"After drifting to Enmat Port, I met Sonia. She was only 15 then, just a little thing, asking me if I was a Beyonder. Heh..." Dominic's lips curled upward as if lost in memory. After pausing, he continued, "From that time on, I never left Enmat Port—not until Hansen Claude was killed by the Witch Sect. Only then did I bring her to Backlund."
You didn't fall in love with Sonia, did you? Good grief, she doesn't even look like an adult yet... Angel was somewhat shocked, but she knew the current priority lay elsewhere. She interrupted Dominic's reminiscence, asking, "You told me all this before. But why do you think the authorities were involved in this kidnapping? Do you have any evidence?"
"Evidence? My analysis is the evidence!" The Provocateur grew agitated again, as if he were the one being provoked. "My and Sonia's whereabouts were unknown even to her uncle. Only the guy who helped us come to Backlund to escape the Witch Sect and arranged our false identities knew—he's also from MI9. He must have leaked it."
"Their target must be that manuscript—the design plans for the third-generation difference engine! I should have guessed—if Intis wants it, if Feysac wants it, why wouldn't Loen?"
Taking a deep breath, Dominic's fury faded, replaced by a pleading expression that surprised Angel, who was accustomed to his barbed words.
"It's been less than twelve hours since she disappeared. For the sake of the difference engine manuscript, those people probably haven't done anything to her yet. But once time drags on, who knows..."
"I came to find you because I want to ask for your help—use divination to find Sonia's location and help me rescue her. Don't worry, I'll pay you satisfactory compensation."
Looking at the vulnerability and helplessness in his eyes, Angel fell into thought.
Her instinct was to refuse this troublesome matter. Though she and Dominic had cooperated before—they'd even sold that coveted manuscript to Mr. A together—it was essentially a transactional relationship. They'd divided the spoils and parted ways, with no further connection expected.
But Sonia was just an underage girl. Whether captured by foreign spies who'd infiltrated Backlund or—as Dominic claimed—with official involvement, failing to rescue her promptly made it easy to imagine what might happen next.
Consider it a favor to a future Diviner...
Angel closed her eyes and nodded.
"My magic mirror is damaged. Though I can divine with an ordinary mirror, the effect isn't as good. You go back to your previous residence and wait. I'll return home to prepare, then come find you."
Taking a roundabout route to ensure no one followed her, Angel finally returned home. She used the medicinal paste made from her own blood that she'd preserved earlier to craft a new magic mirror. The substitute staff she'd used last night required more time to brew and needed specific materials—she couldn't replenish it today.
Holding the freshly made magic mirror, she first tried divining Dominic's movements—partly to confirm his sincerity and ensure he hadn't followed her, partly to determine whether any high-level extraordinary forces were involved.
The magic mirror divination quickly yielded results: he was in his East Borough apartment preparing his equipment—daggers, revolvers, rows of ammunition laid out on the table like an arms exhibition.
Moreover, the divination proceeded smoothly without any interference.
This suggests no high-level Beyonders are performing anti-divination... or perhaps the level is so high I can't even sense it?
After a moment's hesitation, Angel still gathered her equipment and left home for the East Borough.
Evening had arrived. Workers from the East Borough's outlying factories were returning home in waves. The already noisy, crowded streets had become even more chaotic. Angel navigated through the most congested thoroughfares, avoiding deliberate pickpockets, and reached the four-story apartment building with its arch-like exterior.
"I didn't expect you'd actually come..."
When Dominic opened the door, his expression was quite strange.
"Never seen a Witch who keeps her promises?"
Angel teased as she entered the two-bedroom apartment. This time her magic mirror gave no warning.
"Bring me something Sonia frequently used—an item or piece of clothing. I'll use it for divination."
Setting the magic mirror on the table, Angel instructed.
Dominic quickly retrieved an item: the kitten mask Angel had once used.
Taking the mask, Angel caressed the magic mirror, channeling spirituality as she murmured the divination statement.
"Magic mirror, magic mirror, tell me—where is the owner of this item now?"
The mirror flashed with familiar ripples, quickly darkening before the blackness receded and it returned to reflecting the room's interior.
The divination failed?
Angel froze, looking at the kitten mask in her hand, then at the Hidden Sage Emblem on her wrist.
Could it be because I've used this mask before, so my anti-divination effect interfered with the mirror's divination?
Setting aside that item, Angel entered Sonia's room—which she'd arranged neatly and warmly—and took a dress from the wardrobe.
She performed the magic mirror divination again. This time it proceeded very smoothly, and moving images soon appeared in the mirror's surface.
The brown-haired girl lay half-reclined among wooden crates and metal cabinets, hands bound with rope, eyes closed as if asleep.
The scene shifted, leaving that warehouse-like room for the outdoors. Red brick pavement was cracked in multiple places, flanked by rows of low, dilapidated buildings stretching toward the distant Tassok River.
The vision faded. The magic mirror returned to its smooth surface. Angel described what she'd seen to Dominic, who frowned briefly in thought before realization dawned. Through gritted teeth, he said:
"That's Red Brick Lane in the East Borough—a Zmanglar Gang warehouse!"