Richard thought for a moment before asking,
"Do you think... we can suppress this before they dig a new well in the city?"
Old Big raised his hand and placed the cup back on the table.
"Maybe we can, maybe we can’t."
Richard sighed.
"Old Big, you should be more careful for a while."
"Heh." Old Big let out a dry laugh.
He once again took the copper penny from his pocket and spun it on his fingertip.
"There you go again."
"I’m not joking."
"Neither am I." Old Big flipped the penny over. "I’m telling you, I’m the safest person in Brighton."
"...You’ve said that before."
"And I’ll say it again."
The penny between Old Big’s fingers flipped again.
"I don’t have any children."
When Richard heard this, he shifted his gaze from the leather case.
In the few months he had known Old Big, he had never heard the man bring up his family.
Old Big sighed to himself and put the penny down.
"...Years ago, I had a sweetheart. She was a young waitress at a teahouse in the Southern Imperial City District."
"Back then, my teacher had just sent me to Brighton to work as a coroner.
Every year when I returned to the Imperial Capital for Christmas, I’d often go on house calls with my senior in the Southern Imperial City District.
I’d do some odd jobs, and gradually I started talking with her."
"What happened later?"
"...She got sick."
Old Big said this placidly.
"It was a lung disease. She’d had it for a long time, but she never told me."
"I hadn’t been a coroner for many years back then, and my monthly salary was meager."
"By the time we got together and I found out, she had run off somewhere."
Old Big raised a hand and unconsciously pressed it against his chest.
"She was a good girl. Never asked me for money."
Richard didn’t know what to say.
He opened his mouth.
"So you’ve been alone ever since?"
"Yeah." Old Big nodded. "Nothing to regret."
"The longer I’m in this line of work, the more I think it’s better to be alone."
"No attachments, so my hands don’t shake when I’m working."
"In case one day I end up on this table myself..."
"There you go again."
"Don’t interrupt me."
Old Big raised his hand, cutting Richard off.
"...If I end up on this table myself one day, no one will lose sleep over my death."
Richard hugged the leather case a little tighter.
He wanted to say something comforting, but the words died on his lips, feeling that anything he said would be inappropriate.
Old Big had already raised his teacup again.
"Go on. Don’t you need to see the chief?"
"...Yes."
Richard stood up and walked toward the door.
When he reached the door, Old Big called out to him again.
"Kid."
"Hm?"
"When you get that book, you can skim through the first three Chapters, but take your time chewing on the rest."
"When my senior was studying it, she finished the first three Chapters in a week, but she spent a year on each of the later Chapters."
"Got it?"
"Got it."
Richard pushed the door open and left.
On the third floor, the door to Winterworth’s office was open.
Richard knocked.
"Enter."
Winterworth looked much better today than last time.
The aftereffects of that hit from [Moon Nail · Reflection] should have worn off by now.
"Sit." Winterworth closed the document in front of him.
Richard sat down at the desk.
"I’d like to request a few items."
"Go ahead." Winterworth took out a blank internal request form and placed a fountain pen in the center of the desk.
"Two types of herbs. One is Many-eyed Black Moss."
The pen scratched a line across the paper.
"For the other, I’d like to request Fog Bell."
The pen paused. Winterworth looked up.
"...How do you know the name Fog Bell?"
Richard ran the answer through his mind before speaking.
"I was recently reading some materials my aunt sent me, and there was a review article that mentioned it."
"It said that Fog Bell and Silent Fern can be used interchangeably in some Sealing-type Techniques."
"I know Silent Fern is hard to obtain through proper channels."
"I heard Fog Bell still circulates among the public, so I came to ask."
Winterworth stared at him for a moment.
The pen lowered again.
"You’re quick on your feet."
He didn’t press the matter and added "Fog Bell" to the request form.
"I don’t have the authority to request Silent Fern for you either. Even the Northern Headquarters doesn’t have much; it’s all treated as precious research samples."
"Fog Bell, however, is possible. The Hunter Clans in the Gael Highlands submit a certain quota to the Northern Headquarters every year."
"How much do you need?"
"Just a small pinch to start," Richard replied. "I need to see if I can even handle it first. Otherwise, it’ll just be a waste."
"Five grams." Winterworth wrote down the number.
"Five grams is enough for you to practice with for a while."
"I’ll approve twenty grams of Many-eyed Black Moss for you."
"It’s much cheaper, more than enough for you to practice with."
"Thank you."
"Next."
Winterworth put down his pen.
"What else do you want to request?"
Richard lifted his bag onto the desk and took out two small parcels wrapped in oil paper.
He opened the first one, revealing three canine teeth from a Soul-Devouring Beast.
Winterworth’s eyebrow twitched.
"...What are these?"
Richard casually made up an excuse. "I traded for them with a Hunter I know. Canines from a Soul-Devouring Beast."
"I see." Winterworth nodded, assuming it was through the Ashford Clan’s channels. "Something from the Ashen Zone."
"You recognize it."
"I do." Winterworth pushed the oil paper parcel aside.
"One of the members of my field team follows the Moon Hunter Series. He’s had similar things displayed in his cabinet."
Richard opened the second oil paper parcel.
Inside were two jet-black Shadow Eater scales.
"Shadow Eater scales." Winterworth glanced at both items.
"Both are good materials."
"I want to have them processed into two separate items."
Richard pushed both materials toward him.
"The Soul-Devouring Beast canines, I want them made into a Casting Medium."
"The canines themselves are hard enough, and they conduct Ether well."
He gently spun one of the canines half a turn on the desk.
"I’d like to ask a craftsman to fashion them into three needle-like objects."
"The body of the tooth would be made into a small handle that can be held between the fingers, inscribed with some basic guiding Inscriptions to channel Ether to the tip."
This was an idea he’d had ever since getting the Soul-Devouring Beast teeth. Once made, they could replace ordinary Silver Needles as the Casting Medium for Moon Nail.
The piercing power would be much greater than an ordinary Silver Needle, and the damage on the Ether Layer would be stronger as well.
Their durability would be countless times greater than Silver Needles, which are ruined after just a few uses of Piercing Needle.
A needle body forged from a canine could be used repeatedly for at least several thousand times.
Of course, for use on allies, he would still use standard Silver Needles... A wound from a Soul-Devouring Beast tooth wouldn’t heal so quickly.
Winterworth turned the canines over in his hand.
"A good idea. That move you used last time was [Moon Nail], wasn’t it? I’ll report your request."
He didn’t comment further. "Whether it can actually be made will depend on the craftsman’s skill."
"According to your request, three canines for three needles."
"Yes."
"And the second item?" Winterworth’s gaze shifted to the two scales.
Richard’s fingertips rested on the two scales.
When hunting, an Evil Being like the Shadow Eater creates an extremely strong light field. The intense light causes its target to cast a very deep shadow on the ground.
The Shadow Eater uses this intense light to stretch the target’s shadow to its maximum size, then waits for an opportunity to devour it.
The scales on its body function to reflect this intense light. Each scale is equivalent to a convex mirror, securely containing the light field around it.
He stated his request:
"Can the properties of the Shadow Eater scales be used to make a ’Light Storage Device’?"
Winterworth nodded. "That’s about the only thing Shadow Eater scales are good for. Their strength isn’t high enough to be used as armor."
"I’ve heard of a similar ’Light Source Instrument’ in Manchester City before."
"The finished product is about the size of a pocket watch, with a silver case and an interior inlaid with these Shadow Eater scales or a similar reflective material."
"A full charge can release light equivalent to a gas wall lamp in a lightless environment for a duration of... no more than thirty seconds."
Richard’s eyes lit up.
’Thirty seconds is enough.’
’The Casting for [Shadow Armor] only lasts a dozen or so seconds. As long as there is light during that time, it’s sufficient.’
"I’ll list both of these requests." Winterworth picked up his pen again. "I’ll send them to Manchester City tomorrow morning."
"What level of craftsman is needed for each of these two items?"
Richard was a little worried it would be too expensive.
"The canines just need a slight modification, very simple." Winterworth replied as he wrote, "The most ordinary craftsman will suffice."
"Making the Light Storage Device from the scales is a bit more particular, but an old craftsman at the Senior Practitioner Level can do it."
"And the cost?"
Winterworth set his pen down and looked up.
"It’ll go through the Branch Office’s internal processing channels."
"For the basic modification of the canines, the labor cost is calculated by the handiwork fee plus the Inscription fee.
There are no extra material costs, at most some silver plating. The total will be three or four pounds."
"The Light Storage Device is more expensive. Because it involves reverse-processing and delicate mechanical structures, plus some extra material costs, it’ll be about twelve pounds."
"The Branch Office subsidizes half, as is customary. You’ll pay about eight pounds yourself."
Richard did a quick calculation in his head.
’He still had some of the prize money from the Cicero Cup, plus what he’d saved up from tutoring fees and field allowances. The cash he had on hand, even after regularly contributing to household expenses, was still over thirty pounds. Eight pounds wouldn’t break the bank.’
"Alright. How long will they take to arrive after they’re made?"
"Two weeks."
Winterworth finished filling out the request form and signed his name.
"Leave the canines and scales here. I’ll send them out with an internal express shipment tomorrow morning."
"Once they’re done, Manchester City will send them back to Brighton via an internal special line, and I’ll notify you to come pick them up."
Richard solemnly handed over the items.
"Thank you."
Winterworth placed the request form into a stack of files on the right side of his desk.
"It’s all on the official account. Nothing to thank me for."
Richard pushed the door open, hugged his leather case, and headed downstairs.
By the time he got home, it was already three in the afternoon.
Evelyn was at the kitchen table, drawing her "Mr. Rabbit."
"What do you want for dinner?" his mother, Margaret, asked, poking her head out from the living room.
"Whatever’s fine. I’m not picky."
"Oatmeal again, then," Evelyn said without looking up.
"...How about something else?" Richard stopped in his tracks.
"You just said you weren’t picky."
"...I’ve changed my mind."

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