"If this job goes smoothly, maybe I can really stay here as a detective. Once life's stable... then I'll think about finding a way home."
Standing near the club's entrance, watching the world pass by, Shade couldn't help sighing. His thoughts drifted homeward, but hunger dragged him back to reality. Since both Mr. Lawrence and Mrs. La Soya were now inside the club, they wouldn't emerge for at least an hour."Maybe I should find somewhere to rest."
Looking around, he spotted a tavern nearby—the _Screaming Hound_.
It looked quiet. A tavern open during the day on a main road was unlikely to be chaotic, especially at two in the afternoon. Fingering the crumpled ten-pence bill in his pocket, Shade hesitated, then crossed the street and pushed open the door.
Inside, gas lamps lit the walls. The air smelled of alcohol and stale food, which made his hunger worse.
Gas and steam pipes lined the walls—he recognized them now. Thin pipes carried gas; thick, insulated ones carried steam.
Three men sat together at a table near the wall, playing cards beneath a dusty oil painting of a snowy mountain. Their clothes were clean but worn, and their hats lay crumpled on the table. They weren't wealthy—probably laborers passing the afternoon.
Not wanting to bother them, Shade approached the bar, planning to buy a glass of ice water.
But just as he did, one of the card players cheered:
"Won again! Look, exactly twenty-one!"
The middle-aged man stood proudly, tossing his cards onto the table. Then, spotting Shade, he grinned:
"Rye whiskey for this gentleman!"
Surprised, Shade politely declined:
"Thank you... but water is enough."
The three men thought he was being considerate about their money and immediately took a liking to him, inviting him to join their card game. Shade admitted he didn't know how to play but watched as they explained.
The cards looked familiar—four suits, fifty-four cards. But instead of hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs, the suits here were sun, moon, stars, and flowers.
The game they played was similar to Blackjack, called Rhodes Cards, named after its inventor, Rhodes.
They mentioned special edition cards too—rare series with unique illustrations and sometimes even custom rules. The recent _Fairy Tale Series_ had been printed in just 1,000 sets. One noble had paid twelve thousand pounds at auction for a single rare card.
Shade, thinking of the _"Sun 3"_ card he'd inherited, felt conflicted. Could his card really be genuine?
If it was, then perhaps his financial struggles might end after all.
After chatting for an hour, he left the tavern.
When he returned to the newspaper office, his previous spot had been taken by a young man with glasses and a brown vest—probably a real reporter.
So, Shade stood by a nearby black iron lamppost instead. Reading the sign attached to it, he noted the warning: No smoking near the lamppost. Risk of explosion.
Imagining the result, he instinctively stepped away from the danger.
Time dragged on. The sun dipped westward. As the hunger pangs dulled, Shade's body strangely felt clearer. He decided that if Mrs. La Soya didn't reappear by five, he'd head east to the Church of War and Peace to claim the free relief food. It would also give him a chance to observe the church's possible connection to supernatural powers.
But a lingering worry gnawed at him.
"I have that voice in my head… what if I walk into the church and get arrested immediately? Outsiders are supposed to be secret..."
Almost as if responding, the soft voice in his mind spoke again:
[Look at his ring.]
The same instruction he'd heard at noon. But this time, the voice used "his" instead of "her".
Alert, Shade glanced up.
A young man was leaving the club, suitcase in hand. On the middle finger of his right hand, Shade spotted it—the same strange white pebble ring he'd seen earlier on Mrs. La Soya.
Same ring. Same finger. Different owner.
The voice in his mind fell silent again.
"Why did the ring change owners?"
Curious, Shade watched the man blend into the evening crowd, following a fat man with a briefcase eastward.
"Should I follow him?"
The voice wouldn't have pointed it out for nothing.
Opening his notebook, Shade quickly checked the map. The Church of War and Peace, where relief food was distributed, was to the east too. It was nearly five o'clock.
His decision was made.
"Two reasons to head east."
Closing the notebook, he stepped into the fog