Extra's Perfect Ending

Chapter 82: Payment

"This best detective wishes he were that good, but I still have some flaws that need work," Holen admitted with a wry smile. "I knew you’d survive since you’re an Antores, after all. I couldn’t find much information about your maid, but I figured she likely has some power to protect an Antores family descendant. From there, I just needed you to buy the dagger.

If it had been me, I’d have been toast with my meager human body. That’s the extent of my plan."

"Wouldn’t it have been better to tell me all the details?" Reeva asked, still wishing he had been informed about the danger.

"As I said, I don’t have all the information in the world," Holen replied. "All I had were snippets that I pieced together. I provided you with enough information to get the job done. Besides, your reputation isn’t exactly stellar, you know. Word on the street was that you were a womanizer and a gambling addict. It was a risk for me too."

"Guess you can’t trust rumors after all," Reeva said, trying to divert the conversation. He was aware that his past self wasn’t the same person he was now. Besides, he didn’t even know what the past Reeva had done.

"Guess so," Holen agreed, then extended his hand toward the box. "Now that you’ve got your answers, may I have the item?"

"Not so fast," Reeva replied, holding onto the box. "I need more compensation. We deserve a reward for facing a mystic and spending more than the budget."

"What?" Holen looked confused, unaware of the full details. He only knew that Reeva had successfully acquired the item, not at what cost. He had even thought Reeva could keep the leftover money as a bonus.

"There was a guy willing to go up to a thousand stac," Reeva explained. "He dropped out after I bid a thousand and twenty."

Holen’s eyes widened in disbelief. Who would spend that much on a knife? But Reeva’s serious expression convinced him.

Holen massaged his forehead, trying to process the unexpected expense. "What do you want?"

"Information on this guy," Reeva said, presenting a pendant he had obtained from the gray-robed man. Holen took the pendant and examined it, revealing its contents.

"You jest. Merchants pass through here like schools of fish. You want me to find a specific one?"

"At least you know the species, right? The best detective could surely do the job," Reeva replied with a mocking smile.

"Consider it done, then. Do you need anything else?"

"About the wedding—do you have anything?" Reeva asked.

"Oh, right!" Holen stood up and retrieved a single piece of paper from his desk, presenting it to Reeva. The paper contained four pictures of the bride and groom from both events and some information about the dates and guest lists.

Reeva examined the information but found nothing particularly useful.

"Lucky for you, one wedding is in four days, and the other is in two weeks. Nothing out of the ordinary, if you ask me."

Holen couldn’t see the connection to the things Reeva had requested. He barely kept track of Reeva, and the kid didn’t seem eager to do anything significant.

"Don’t worry about it. I’m just trying to track down a heretic," Reeva said.

"You? Hunting heretics?" Holen chuckled as he sipped his tea.

"Believe it or not, I have a feeling this town is going to turn into demon territory," Reeva said with a smile. Holen felt a bit unnerved by Reeva’s tone.

"What makes you say that?"

"I’m sure the best detective has heard some rumors—like the one about a heretic being detained by the church," Reeva said.

"I’m aware. That happened right in front of my office, after all."

"I suspect there are more of them. The pendant I gave you belongs to one of them."

Holen looked at the pendant with renewed interest. It seemed there was more to this investigation than he had initially thought.

"So you think Ulla is housing heretics, buying slaves, and building a cult? How does the wedding fit into all of this?"

Holen had no problem piecing things together, but the connection between the wedding and Ulla eluded him. As far as he was concerned, the wedding had no ties to Ulla.

"It’s just a hunch," Reeva said.

"Quite a mystical hunch," Holen mocked. It was a stretch to connect a wedding to all of this, but the theory about Ulla and the cult was sound.

As the world’s best detective, Holen had encountered cults before. From what he knew, cults needed people with special powers, and the easiest way to obtain them was through slavery. It was a tale Holen had heard before.

"Why are you telling me this?" Holen asked.

"My thought is that you love money, so you wouldn’t want a demon to ruin your money-making place, right?"

"Why don’t you go to the church with this?" Holen still had his doubts.

"I suspect the church is involved. They usually burn heretics in front of the church, but they didn’t this time. There’s more to it, and I don’t trust them," Reeva explained.

Holen considered Reeva’s words and found some truth in them. "I agree, that does make sense..." he sighed. "However, this best detective doesn’t care much about it. I’ll tell you this since you’re my most trusted customer so far—I’m only after the knife. Once I have it, I’m out of this city."

"It’s a shame..." Reeva began.

"But," Holen interrupted, "Sniffing out heretics is my obligation as a good-hearted citizen. So, I’m willing to stay here longer. Just for my dear friends!" Holen said, returning to his exaggerated tone.

Reeva smiled, appreciating Holen’s willingness to stay and help. This time he didn’t stop Holen from checking the thing inside. The detective handled the case with care, and as he opened it Reeva could see stars in the detective’s eyes.

He reaches his hand inside and handles the knife like a baby.