Leonardo, who had just rushed out of the station, ran as if about to fall through the fierce rain and wind. Though thunder and lightning raged fiercely beyond the gloomy rain clouds and heavy rain struck his cheeks, he didn't hesitate.
He passed the road he had once walked with Signe and slipped into an alley on the main street in front of the station. Using even teleportation to avoid people's gazes, he arrived at 41 Aldenon Street, Riverside. It was a historic street's shopping district, famous for rumors that the same signboard had been hanging for 300 years.
Though he had no time to bring an umbrella or presence of mind to dress in rain gear, finding the magic shop on the street wasn't difficult. People were obviously gathered at one spot, murmuring. Leonardo, who approached the crowd while exhaling breath that had risen to his chin, discovered the control lines surrounding the shop and stopped abruptly in place.
Inside the control lines, two people who appeared to be Council investigation team members were restraining approach. Around them, the wails of grief-stricken residents flowed along with the sound of rain. They had created memorial spaces on both sides of the shop, leaving chrysanthemum flowers one by one.
"We never thought he'd leave so suddenly..."
"Even heaven is heartless."
Someone placed a charm purchased from the shop in front of the nameplate, praying for 'Grimbleton's' peaceful rest. Seeing this, Leonardo couldn't even blink, only his wet shoulders heaving.
When he received Tergio's contact, it didn't feel real. And even this moment of witnessing with his own eyes felt like his mind was floating.
He couldn't believe that someone he had met just a few weeks ago had met with misfortune.
At the same time, he was very anxious that his contact might be connected to his death.
"He did seem listless these past few days."
"Until last week he was still healthy..."
"We should have noticed when he started giving away shop items for free. They say when people do things they never did before, it's time for them to die."
It was instinct to listen to the occasional conversations of people.
"He lived long enough. Stop making a fuss and let him go."
"What are you saying, he was such a warm person. He took in children and helped them establish themselves. How shocked everyone must be."
"Who doesn't know he was a good person? What I mean is—"
Leonardo, who had been standing blankly in the rain, turned his head slightly. He immediately pushed through the gaps between umbrellas and walked relatively forward. He, wearing his hat pulled down low and even the hood of his cloak flipped up, asked a middle-aged woman who was watching the scene.
"Excuse me. What did the old man here pass away from?"
The woman, who had been talking with someone beside her with arms crossed, hesitated and looked back at Leonardo. Rather than eavesdropping on the conversation, she was wary of the suspicious-looking young man. She rolled her eyes up and down for a moment. However, soon feeling that he had no bad intentions from his sorrowful and earnest gaze, she cleared her throat to open the conversation.
"Are you acquainted with Grimbleton? We don't know the cause of death either. The Council recovered the body, so we'll hear news soon."
"Was it murder? Were there bloodstains at the scene, or witnesses?"
"It's not like that. When mealtime came and he didn't show up, Dott went to look for him directly. That's when she found him collapsed alone last night."
Dott runs a restaurant on Main Street, a bit further ahead than the shopping district, and often took care of meals for Grimbleton who lived alone, the woman added.
"That gentleman was of age, so even though he looked fine on the outside, he lived with chronic illnesses. Sometimes he'd talk nonsense... and when he got fixated on something, he wouldn't come out of the small room connected to the back of the shop for days. So the townspeople worried and took turns checking on him, but recently he'd been organizing the items in his shop one by one."
"He was organizing items?"
"Yes, what else could be the reason? He knew it was time for him to go."
The woman said the shop owner, having lived long, would have always been mentally prepared. Looking at his recent behavior of paying off overdue debts or going outside town to meet old friends, he must have sensed death approaching.
"A miser like him donated half his fortune? That says it all."
However, she added that the Council side seemed to be considering the possibility of robbery or planned murder, since the deceased possessed considerable wealth and there were expensive items in the shop. Leonardo, who had suspected the same thing, only nodded without any particular response.
"Now, investigation team personnel will arrive shortly, so please clear the way. Those who witnessed the deceased or had contact before and after the incident occurred, please don't disclose outside and speak to the investigators."
Under a Council member's direction, people who had been camped in front of the shop stepped back one by one. The woman who had been telling Leonardo the story also read the situation and moved to the opposite side, saying she had to go now.
Leonardo followed her retreating figure before turning his head again. Standing blankly among the dispersing people, he approached the memorial space and bowed his head deeply.
There was a reason he had rushed here so frantically upon hearing the death notice. Though he realized it belatedly after leaving Riverside, around the time he met the shop owner, he had a tail following him.
He didn't know when the person had started following him, but the conversation about his collar and curse with Grimbleton, and the process of deriving the result of an old castle from the hint 'turtle that took the train' involved secrets that could be extremely sensitive.
So if the tail had tried to control that secret and considered Grimbleton, who knew too much, a target for elimination?
It meant the mysterious old man who had long protected the quiet street might have died because of him. Because he had visited him and received too much help.
When his thoughts reached that point, Leonardo frowned for a moment. Beyond the throbbing headache stabbing his head, nausea rose. Though the cause of death wasn't revealed, he struggled with guilt feeling his carelessness had dragged in an unrelated person.
He, who had been trying to control his insides, clasped both hands and closed his eyes. Entrusting his entire body to the falling rainwater, he briefly offered silent prayer in front of the nameplate covered with chrysanthemums, grateful for allowing him to feel the warmth of meeting someone like a father.
He felt regret for not being able to get flowers due to lack of time. At least he thought it was fortunate that it rained on a day of mourning the deceased according to Raina Logia's sentiment. It meant heaven was crying with sorrow too.
Meanwhile, he was also worried about what reaction Signe, in her trainee status, would show when she heard this news.
'But if it really was the work of the tail following me, I can't stay here long either. I need to leave quickly...'
His reason, which looked at the situation coldly, constantly persuaded him that he should escape. However, his footsteps didn't easily move away.
Leonardo held his position for a while until the two Council members looked at him strangely.
About 5 minutes passed, when all the people standing around had changed. A low voice rang from behind his left shoulder.
"Hey."
Leonardo, who reacted half a beat late, flinched and quickly turned his head. He also swatted away the hand that was about to rest on his shoulder.
The person he turned to see with full vigilance was quite familiar.
Though his eyes were shadowed due to the hood, he could be recognized immediately by the scar at the corner of his mouth. Tergio, who had brushed off the swatted hand, gestured with his chin and turned his head.
"Follow me."
He, who had exited from among the people first, led Leonardo to a place with few people.
* * *
Tergio, who was walking ahead, remained silent for a while. Leonardo, knowing the reason, deliberately followed at some distance. The place they moved to following him was a narrow alley that appeared when opening a small side door behind Main Street.
With the sky dark due to bad weather and no street lamps around, the deserted alley had an eerie atmosphere. As the drizzling rainwater formed streams flowing into the sewers, the fierce current perfectly concealed the footsteps of the two.
When he judged there were no signs of people passing by nearby, Leonardo approached close behind Tergio and asked in a whisper.
"Where are we going?"
Tergio only glanced back but didn't answer. Since his partner wouldn't speak, Leonardo didn't bother asking again.
He just silently followed the guy navigating between alleys where roofs were haphazardly intertwined. The thought crossed his mind that it was perfect for getting lost due to paths as complex as Libertas. Meanwhile, he wondered how this guy knew to lead the way here, and whether there was another business partner. Just then, Tergio stopped walking in front of a door.
Soon he turned around, looked around, and finally answered the question.
"The first witness is looking for you."
"What?"
"She doesn't seem to know who you are. But she says she has something to tell you."
"Something to tell me?"
Leonardo furrowed his brow and asked back. Instead of answering again, Tergio grabbed his forearm and climbed the three-step wooden stairs.
Though he sent a puzzled look, Tergio, who had stepped onto the stoop, didn't care and knocked twice.
Leonardo, startled, caught his wrist and asked accusingly.
"What are you doing?"
"Lower your voice."
Without time to stop him in his bewilderment, about 3 seconds later the tightly closed door opened wide. The reaction was very quick, as if someone had been waiting. Leonardo reflexively pressed down his hat and covered his face as much as possible.
From inside, a young woman with an unfamiliar face came out. She and Tergio conversed quite naturally.
"I brought him."
"Is this the person?"
Even in his bewilderment, Leonardo scanned her appearance. Her worn dress had an apron hanging over it with mottled stains, and Leonardo could smell the seasoning and food scents absorbed there. Naturally checking the nameplate, the conversation he had with the middle-aged woman in front of the shop earlier came to mind.
[ The Table of Dott, Main Street ]
"Show the card. It reacts to the owner."
Tergio gestured that there was no time to delay. She immediately took out a piece of black paper from her apron's inner pocket.
The woman presumed to be 'Dott' held out the palm-sized paper and asked.
"You know this, right?"
Leonardo's eyelids flinched slightly. He couldn't help but know it.
It was the Renuntio card he had given to the shop owner, telling him to burn it after finding out information.
As he reflexively reached out to receive the card, a vivid magic circle appeared on the black surface and then disappeared.
Leonardo looked back and forth between the two as if asking what was going on.
Having quickly confirmed the owner of the card she was looking for, she pointed inside the door and gestured.
"Come in."