Chapter 61

Chapter 61

“The track repairs aren’t finished yet, so we have plenty of time. It’s inconvenient, but let’s go meet Mr. Brown in person and find out.”

Rose nodded.

“We’ll have to assume that possibility and act accordingly.”

If Mr. Brown turned out to be a Mythos, there was something they would have to consider:

He might be one of Ouroboros’s priests.

If Mr. Brown was a priest of Ouroboros, their journey to escape those pursuers could end up catching them right back in their snare.

Rose tightened her grip around the red leather-bound notebook in her hand.

It’s fine.

No matter what happens, I can handle it.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, then knocked on the front door.

“Excuse me. Is anyone home?”

When she rapped on the old door, its rusty hinges creaked open not long after.

“Who is it?”

She’d expected to meet a stubborn, scowling old man, but the one who peeked out from behind the door was, surprisingly, a very charming and lovely young woman.

She was exactly the type James had described: early twenties, with soft brown hair tinged with pink and violet eyes.

Rose’s own rose-brown hair was common enough. Violet eyes were rare, but not unheard of.

Calm down, Rose. This isn’t that surprising.

She quickly smoothed her startled expression and offered a polite greeting.

“I’m sorry to disturb you so late. Is this Mr. Nigel Brown’s residence?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right. Are you here to see my grandfather?”

“Uh, yes. I’m Alice Hampton. And this is…”

“Jack Dillon. We’d like to meet your grandfather.”

She smiled brightly at Rose and James and swung the door wide open.

“I’m his granddaughter, Iris. Come in, please. It’s been so long since we had visitors. He’ll be happy.”

Even though they were uninvited strangers visiting in the middle of the night in a house standing alone in a barren field, her demeanor was very welcoming.

“Thank you. We’ll come in, then.”

Rose, however, kept her guard up as she stepped inside.

They were led to a cozy sitting room, its unfamiliar yet warm atmosphere putting them on alert.

The single-story house was decorated in a simple, rustic country style; it looked like a textbook example of the ideal rural home.

“Please wait here. I’ll go get my grandfather.”

As soon as Iris left the room, Rose lowered her voice and carefully asked James. He hadn’t spoken a word since entering the house.

“Is something bothering you?”

James, lost in thought for a moment, finally replied.

“Rose. I think Mr. Brown might be a Mythos.”

He looked around the room, then nodded with certainty.

“I can feel magic coming from the room Miss Iris just went into.”

“Really?”

“They’re not Ouroboros people. It doesn’t have that sticky, sinister feeling.”

Rose quickly scanned the room.

There were faint traces of magic, but even as a Mythos herself, she hadn’t sensed anything until James mentioned it.

He can feel magic in a house with barely any residual trace at all?

Rose stared at James in wide-eyed surprise, awed by his extraordinary sensitivity.

“Rose. You remember that particular unpleasant feeling we sensed in Robert Burns’s traces, right?”

Of course I do.

But being able to pick out a magic signature or its qualities in a place with barely any residue at all? That was difficult even for a Mythos.

Especially since James was a Revis.

Well… James isn’t exactly an ordinary Revis. Not that ‘ordinary’ really applies to any Revis…

Despite having seen him surpass so many limits before, she hadn’t fully grasped it until now.

“Come to think of it, you were the one who found those surveillance and eavesdropping devices too. Maybe we didn’t even need the identification kit.”

His ability to detect magic so precisely wasn’t a bluff; it was real.

Wait. If Mr. Brown is a Mythos, then his granddaughter Miss Iris must be one too, right?

Her heart dropped.

Not only was she beautiful, but a Mythos as well!

Right in front of James appeared someone who matched all the conditions he was looking for.

“Rose? Do I have something on my face?”

James asked, noticing Rose staring at him with her eyes round and shimmering with questions she couldn’t voice.

Countless worries and doubts crashed through her head. Her mouth just opened and closed before she finally managed to force out a blunt question.

“James. What do you think of Miss Iris?”

“What do you mean? Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?”

“I mean she’s pretty, she’s kind, and she matches exactly what you were looking for.”

“Rose, that’s…”

As James began to reply, a cantankerous voice suddenly rang out from deeper inside the house.

“Hey! Why are you letting in clueless idiots at this hour!”

That raspy, stubborn-sounding voice had to be Nigel Brown himself.

“Oh, Grandpa! They’re visitors who came to see you. They might even be members of the Association…”

“Enough. I’ll throw them out myself, so you stay out of it.”

“Grandpa!”

Moments later, a gaunt, wiry old man stomped into the sitting room grumbling loudly.

“Showing up without warning at this hour—how unbelievably rude. I don’t know who you are, but get out immediately!”

His cane slammed against the floor with a resounding thud as he barked at them.

“Grandpa, please calm down.”

“Iris, you’re far too trusting! How can you just let strangers in without knowing where they’re from?”

Despite his thin, small frame, his deeply etched wrinkles and rigid posture radiated a sharpness. His voice was piercing and cold.

Of course. It takes this level of nerve to keep filing complaints and stirring up trouble so persistently.

“James. What do you think?”

While Brown and his granddaughter bickered, Rose quickly whispered to James.

“Just as you said.”

James replied without taking his eyes off Nigel Brown.

“The magic I’m sensing in this house is identical to Mr. Brown’s.”

Rose felt her theory solidify completely at his answer.

The endless accidents on the Ashville line, the relentless letters and complaints interfering with business—

On the surface, they looked like separate issues. But if that old man was a Mythos? The story changed.

As long as his body and magic held out, even an old man could use magic to rip up tracks or yank out crossing gates.

Of course, being older, he might have lacked the strength to clean up the magic traces properly.

And with the surrounding residents having moved away, leaving the vast Ashville plains empty, he was basically the only suspect left.

The real problem was how to deal with this uncooperative, furious suspect.

“Please calm down, Mr. Brown. We just want to…”

“Enough with the pleasantries. Get out of my house right now!”

Rose tried to sound as polite as possible, but seeing Mr. Brown respond with outright hostility made her decide there was no need for courtesy.

She already knew he was a Mythos, after all. She decided to get straight to the point.

“We’re here to discuss the track damage you caused today.”

“What?”

The old man’s eyes, which had been glaring with fury, now shook violently with confusion.

He was the kind who might shout loudly, but he couldn’t even keep his expression under control after committing such a brazen act.

“Wh-What the devil are you talking about? Accusing an old man out of nowhere without a shred of proof! How would I have the strength to damage train tracks?”

“You did it. Dropped that boulder—boom—right from the air.”

“Good grief! Young lady, you have quite the imagination!”

He lifted his cane and jabbed it at them accusingly, trying to bluff, but it was useless.

“Ah, pardon the late introduction. We’re with the Golden Raven Company.”

“Wh-What did you say?”

Rose smiled brightly at him as Mr. Brown gaped in shock.

“I’m sure you know full well you’re not supposed to use magic to cause harm or disrupt society where Logosi live.”

She pulled out her badge from her pocket and held it up. Mr. Brown’s face immediately drained of color.