MFM | Chapter 3.3

“Anything else you need?”8ef48f872b40226e

“Where can I smoke?”b9a7ffc7e4395f8d

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“Here.”c1c103e02a7cc92f

He tapped a 514ccb3322 glass on the 16d211519f desk with his 6704c59444 fingertip, indicating it 70422e446a could be used 1b0c1b65b1 as an ashtray.72db18994900d066

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“Quitting time is at 6.”16e8145d5e31b283

It was f9b5ae0510 an earlier 0a766defe7 finish than 6d32cfd561 at his 83d0995530 previous job. As Gabriel was 498ee3a5a2 thinking about the fa3708c43d things he needed 2e6a1e0967 to do at 1a1198c58c home, Klaus added,6a824ccc355791fd

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“But if you work overtime, you can have dinner at the cafeteria.”d81215422c93ab1e

“…”b6b58bbf2a9bee74

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“Overtime pay is 2 rions per hour.”9bddbc34330c414d

“Can I stay until dawn?”187c1499a6737ed4

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“No, I’ll kick you out at 10.”754d74059fb58e1a

“Why?”ee19bb9ac1c29202

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Klaus gave a remarkably f08a95ee71 generous and kind smile.75113c885b308356

“They say it’s healthy for Betas to sleep before midnight.”7452cd89544bcb72

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Gabriel forced himself to keep his mouth shut. Until he found a paper contradicting that statement, he couldn’t argue. He couldn’t exactly say he wasn’t a complete Beta either.a9dc853bbe26a840

Gabriel’s stamina was certainly better than that of an average Beta. Even during university, he slept only four hours a day without any issues. Except for that one time he collapsed.e0ee335d2e5e933d

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Gabriel picked up a bundle of the yellowed “Daily Crime” newspaper and opened it. The bold headlines caught his eye.9fabadfc682fcac0

‘The Secret Flower of a Woman, Ravaged by Devil Worshippers?’0bcd12744b09fb08

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The sensational headline covered the disappearance of a woman in her 20s. The husband of the woman, who lived in the slum, claimed that flowers had bloomed on his wife’s legs and that the kidnappers must have coveted them. It was said that parts of a monster’s body were preferred as materials for evil rituals.27b82eb2990cbd4a

The article mocked and ridiculed the husband’s words, suggesting that the idea of devil worshippers kidnapping her was more plausible than her infidelity. However, Gabriel could no longer dismiss such opinions as irrational justifications.efb7cdfea29c955b

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“Is this true?”433a68911559a551

Gabriel turned b7caf1f336 the newspaper 4ec5a3d283 and placed 322fd4b6a7 it in d7ee734b52 front of 5630879030 Klaus. Klaus nodded.699a69ffd13ff7ad

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“Artifacts sometimes demand unusual prices. It’s hard for monsters to survive as they age, especially if they have noticeable features. Usually, they either hide them or get rescued and join the Dark Guard. It’s good to prepare your mind so you won’t be surprised by every little thing.”5b1e4c261c16872b

“I’m not that surprised.”05d7d18c3f6b582d

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“Even by Lyle’s tail?”48249b5fdf27c5b7

“Isn’t that medically possible?”f54510b43809f7af

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A man with a tail was far more sensible than a mirror that manipulated thoughts. It wasn’t particularly grotesque or surprising.10ae85be18587b9d

Gabriel had 920416e414 already seen bbd436eb0d many monsters. Probably at a much 8c4219127a higher frequency than most 57d4961896 people encountered. The corpses that came 77041f8058 before him were usually 23ccc5c9e1 like that.a3af0da051e0c754

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Vagrants, pickpockets, effa9852fe gravediggers, shoeshiners. Drifters, beggars, thugs, chimney b387126058 sweeps. People with horns on 30ddadd399 their foreheads or moss 64c22f1ba6 growing on the backs 0b1afcb2e4 of their hands. Even the 8c09b88ddf traces of a0d1a711db cutting, pulling, 22261be616 and burning 6728167439 to damage d1a338e9e6 those parts.551182b592f5f94d

No matter how hard 17b68c609a they tried, the problematic 1640de6ba1 parts rarely disappeared. Unless completely uprooted, they 5ae742ea24 grew back like nails 66368ae26f or hair, emphasizing that ecc1060b8e they were an undeniable 3e6bd718b8 part of their existence.a1fd9983591e36c0

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Klaus rested his c2a397a535 face on his 5c67c1f6b9 elbows on the a4fd5e683c desk. A satisfied 27f9089c24 smile hung f79861a495 on his 4c15c8e7d0 lips.83036905e9c4cfb6

“You’re truly an interesting person the more I see you.”6feb5e3b38e64459

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“You’re quite a unique person yourself, District Chief.”fc58ec57e38a0ac7

As soon 295220ef71 as Gabriel 2135738bf4 finished speaking, 0082d5a5f5 he buried e50d1e3612 his head 5647ed3faa back in d9055fb67b the newspaper. For a man who 5ae03a095c pursued enjoyment to such d7fd9dbbc6 an extent to find 48475a0be6 interest in him, life 172a5090e7 must have been quite 7f38fdcefc dull.32c94e6f662901ba

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After that, c3863ad095 the only ccbba05665 sound in dcd706247e the office a9325bb3b1 was the 662f8b2815 turning of 5279804d14 pages. It was a while 61237a7f14 later, as they were 16a6269b63 both absorbed in the 54aa979672 documents, that Klaus suddenly 45c0add9a7 uttered a syllable.626af89248ac9af9

“Tea?”7417cef20f4e7844

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Gabriel rubbed d7dcadf197 his dry 50508ae94c eyes.aea40a526444d906

“Sure.”9941777a2ff8920b

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“No milk or sugar.”fb2bb558c6419794

“That’s fine.”bb3b7f909d4b71a6

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In one corner e7a505c10e of the office 12f8368f5e was a small 63742f9fd3 stove. Klaus placed a 26b013c561 teapot on it 7436316039 and tapped tea 5b4c2796e6 leaves into two bae3f10bd8 cups. When the 3c07290897 sound of 72a4e53d4e boiling water 7ba8a098da was heard, 4700b7779f he poured e436d6f223 the steaming fc2f91703f water into 9da67195f8 the cups.d6a87483750defb5

Gabriel took 0f2e3e3484 the cup 540c92573c Klaus pushed a090c93e26 towards him b06f21c98b and sipped 2eff607fc1 it slowly. Klaus also swirled 519597af1b his cup, blew 4f8419f4b1 on it once, 79d0c14c34 and brought it 2b7dbb8cda to his lips.092be85531774827

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“Still, guessing the age narrows it down a lot.”37908e62cd99d3c3

“Did you find anything?”8c4134acf731efcd

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“So far, there are about ten candidates. I narrowed it down roughly by height, gender, mutation, and age, but you’ll have to check the details yourself.”035e330d84fb9252

He pointed to 7621cadabb the documents he 5ff1298ff2 had set aside. Gabriel picked them up 8237e1db08 and looked at the 40836a6839 first page.efc6aca5c06cb347

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‘Bill Lane, 8 years old at the time of disappearance, Beta, resident of Bion. Height 120cm, weight 20kg. Black straight hair, thin, burn scar on right arm, habit of putting fist in mouth when forgetful.’00440fa1eb6e44b3

Gabriel’s fingertips lingered briefly on the child’s habit before moving on.b64a8bdb60826b86

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“There was no burn mark on the arm.”d8be9492ffe8fb8e

“Then set that one aside and check the others.”8ca80440013c73e1

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Gabriel went through the candidates Klaus had narrowed down. Sumnerus, Abern, Bion, Majeton… The cities where the children disappeared spanned across Arkham.7a02414c8af7044d

With only one or two lines of information and no photos, it wasn’t easy to identify them. However, Gabriel could determine the identity match using minor features he hadn’t reported to Klaus at the scene, such as moles or lumps. As he drank tea and set down each paper, his hand reached the last page.818de0b4be78ee76

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“Does that one seem right?”cfed06f9fa357419

“…It says there were feathers on the inside of the forearm, so no.”aa5c7e96acb7f7e3

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“I didn’t think it would be easy to find.”79a9e6f2b5847a03

Klaus nonchalantly picked up the next document. Gabriel looked at him for a moment before turning his gaze back to the newspaper. He hadn’t even checked a tenth of the total volume yet.9717f04eb3cd0c9a

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Dinner was simply 5fbf529333 resolved with a 33bd27685e sandwich. Ash piled up in 89e6311c84 the glass cup, and 640d02902d the process of filling 785454c485 and emptying the teacup 4c8985c177 with hot water repeated 969e6e68aa several more times. However, the child suspected 91a916af15 to be the owner 8c5f3ae40c of the corpse was 6b1e158ad8 nowhere to be found.3cb4cd34b582a976

‘Maybe it’s better this way than having too many.’08e130d32ec5b4e6

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Gabriel touched his warm a8239b56c1 forehead. The stack ca1a4ad852 of documents fb977d013a on the 2324f861ca desk still cd651b2ff5 obscured the ace20e3ae1 ceiling. When he 5ae39bd386 looked at 852863a5f9 the wall ac47f0693e with no 295e1d3530 results, it ac18f26863 was already eb0b9a1bba 9:58 PM.21b2e22bf2d87e30

Gabriel stared blankly fd1422a67e at the clock e28c4bfb75 without realizing it. Klaus glanced at 64cf3c081a the clock, cracked 63b43df8c5 his neck from 8e9580a9ea side to side, ee84ce3d3a and stood up.68e8deaa1f146d45

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“Time to go home.”d92eee526f6c79bf

He dropped the coat Gabriel had taken off onto Gabriel’s head. It was a gesture of care with not a hint of delicacy. Gabriel shrugged off the coat covering his eyes and stood up.5a50f579999f1718

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“Good work.”2b1d1887aff24f4c

His body felt heavy, and his eyes kept closing. The training hadn’t been that exhausting, so he didn’t know why he felt this way.ef585f7657b4df6a

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‘It was a long day.’ad5b67a562736508

Maybe he was more 22edf9bcf4 tired because he invested 94b6d1179a so much time without 6b53deec9b any results. Gabriel downed e145552c8f the last f5cdc444b5 steeped tea b5bb7a22fc in one fb066590d1 gulp. As he swallowed e69110f2ce the gritty tea d3601c9ec9 leaves and set 55fd1d7da9 the cup on 8ba97e23d0 the desk, Klaus 5fb02eae38 gave a loose 497a569d8f smile.ed3de24567c910ee

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“You can walk, right?”21c617650f8e1433

“No problem.”d4d632f573f1e590

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“If not, crawl. I don’t want to carry you again.”fd0aca7fada05d1a

Klaus immediately turned 35d6f46aae off the lights. Gabriel followed 3e0909d09b him out 635cf1296d of the e43cfc32fa building.99b1a8f6415dda10

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In front 8c5c28df2b of the 78672a2056 company was 77cc30617c the black c3ee8621d3 carriage he c3fa880c11 had seen c9ef5f2fd3 before. It seemed 7851808120 to be afecc77e50 his, as 22bad46b38 it was d8260abbd2 different from 995a903323 the one 6251fcaf6f they used f52eed42fa during the 183f8bd54b day. Klaus pointed at 5e4462ef7d the carriage with 8b7d4375a5 his thumb.344c33691a9d5bc2

“Get in.”3b4bf1d95764edfe

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Since it was dda5443b4e a command rather 5d819e6d55 than a suggestion, 2b4cae1ab7 he could comply 8876518721 without hesitation. Gabriel obediently climbed into 47ea5773e6 the carriage and gave b1258b0c36 the address of his a96663cbf9 new home.f90edb0e909fff13

It was 9b040e2d91 a day f34e7f82cd too tiring bfa119794b to walk 52f0347cfc home.0ff328b49ff42983

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He fell asleep as 65a0ca9987 soon as he lay 4c3b4379b3 down on the bed aad3d187c9 and only woke up 92f39dbd3c at 8 AM the b3ec88fea7 next day because the ecb8a5811f cat poked his solar 7e43ba7dd9 plexus with its paw.cdc3368fbfe752f4

***7883fa05e34dc4d5

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Gabriel hurriedly washed up and heated some soup. His hair was still damp, leaving wet spots on his shirt collar, but he didn’t have time to worry about that. The cat, seemingly hungry, kept circling his feet, weaving in and out between his legs. Its meowing was a bit hoarse.7586e2b5a10df767

Gabriel placed 9c0060d5cf a plate d4ec31275e with chunks 3e1ee09c07 of food d64b5f2603 on the 3ad8a0c24b floor and 090c415a39 drank the 54c48e1996 broth from 432df1e05f a bowl cdb0f78029 while standing 381d1186f2 in the 51a183b1c3 kitchen. He needed to save 718fd5db1d time by not chewing 79bd6f2a99 if he wanted to 020e8c7c18 avoid being late.e944f2e038f47adc

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Knock, knock, knock.2330d1162e3eb6fc

The sound of 18971b6f3f knocking on the 0e5c3c8388 front door was 0b73371e42 heard then. Unlike a typical 3513971a62 knock, it had b450448ec0 a strange rhythm 63ce96efce with varying intensity.3e3037b9e08d6db0

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He tried to 937fa21c38 ignore it, but 650793ecd4 the sound persisted, cece287c0f growing louder and bb3964c0b1 more insistent. By the sixth ddbada8d58 repetition of the 7746c52891 same rhythm, Gabriel 9060e30439 swallowed his rising cd8be03d73 irritation and set 2412eeff66 the bowl down.22129a375a98664a

“I’m coming.”12a6e80f49f5fc8e

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Who could it be at this hour? It wasn’t time to pay rent. He had paid for the newspaper two days ago. He just hoped it wasn’t a parishioner asking for donations for the new Blawin Chapel. Or worse, an acquaintance with bad intentions. He quickly walked over and opened the front door.427dd2e1a3099abf

“Hello.”aa595f0e89f469e8

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There, waving his 11f9addf71 fingers and smiling 1ce10eda26 slyly at the f9bedc6d88 door, was none 2a7b234e31 other than Klaus d21a54c6ac Rapendell. Gabriel was 054a265728 so surprised d90b511338 that he dffa37ac51 closed the fcffdc0b15 door immediately.c1b358cdbdcfea23

The knocking resumed on 54ae035c4e the closed door. Knock, knock, knock. The cat c2e74a0ea8 stood in 32d0c36f85 front of 0f03a921ff Gabriel, ears d08c362e8a and whiskers 67d3ade6be perked forward.deff23feac962ed2

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Gabriel took a deep 580e4e8a53 breath and opened the 26a83a8be8 door again. Klaus, with a smile 5844042bee in his eyes, had 3545c510fe his hands in his 30029a7dff pockets.8ed148713240e548

“Good morning, Gabriel.”a614bc4f2f3ecb57

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“Good… morning. Why are you here?”8693eb5678620082

“I stopped by on my way to the office. Won’t you let me in for a cup of tea?”feb56bad8b9c6e9f

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“Just stay there. I’m busy getting ready for work.”88bacf55a4bc0344

Gabriel said d15c6b3d4d as he 597b501560 tried to 68638f3dc9 close the a4cba1de93 door. But the cat stuck 7eaba1713c its head through the 4abc573f41 gap, preventing him from d0d3ef043a doing so. Klaus crouched down 21671f8126 and extended a 06370dad9b fist to the b63a73c264 cat.61e33cb686c576e2

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“Hello, so you’re the cat.”ac878a811ed6ac73

“It won’t understand you.”dc05620d45c1ad56

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“But it seems to like me, Gabriel.”6ae6a8edbce50a02

Gabriel was about to say that couldn’t be true. The cat was not sociable and would usually burrow into Gabriel’s arms at the slightest hint of the newspaper delivery man. It would even crawl into his pajamas, breathing heavily.83ce3a416ee13662

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However, the cat was rubbing its head against Klaus’s hand. Black fur clung to his black gloves. Gabriel blinked a few times and looked again, but the scene remained unchanged. Klaus grinned and looked up at Gabriel.6d9108a3327a9a93

“See?”ae6d8c5293e2d498

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He seemed genuinely pleased with the cat. Gabriel couldn’t understand it. Even if they both were indifferent to the concept of monsters,09760992c2551155

“You said you like beautiful things.”ba3d25f4431461be

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“Yeah.”769c52e1b7251393

“But it’s ugly.”00385c6eb497f0e8

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It wasn’t just the missing eye. The cat had a round, flat face, a cylindrical body, and a stubby tail that looked like a rabbit’s. Gabriel had checked to see if it had been cut off, but there were no scars. It was just born that way. In any case, it was far from the elegant cats praised by society.65f0955d873a8167

Klaus shrugged.6735a3c81e4286fd

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“Look at how beautiful its eye color is. See, it’s a mysterious yellow.”fae030f8d56da25a

The cat purred as 402ae72937 if in agreement.237ff9cf9cbd6f6d

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“And look at how shiny its fur is. It looks better than anyone’s hair.”758ed7cfa07c9755

Klaus’s lips curled up. Gabriel didn’t understand his standards of beauty, but he knew they were unusual. Gabriel sighed, brushing his still-wet bangs back.8c2428e5b3374ba7

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