MFM | Chapter 1.7

Meow.

The cat made a strange noise and shivered. It was unclear whether all cats were like this or if this cat was a monstrosity. Initially, Gabriel suspected tuberculosis and even pulled out an old stethoscope, but the cat’s lungs seemed normal. Just like how rubbing its head everywhere wasn’t due to a skin disease.

Gabriel picked up the cat, which stretched like rubber, and placed it under the bed. After shooing the cat to the landing with a gesture, he put a cigarette in his mouth. When he opened the window, the cigarette smoke quickly mixed with the thick fog.

Frowning at the damp wind, Gabriel soon went downstairs. He picked up the newspaper at the entrance and walked to the kitchen. Soup with biscuits, wilted vegetables, and chicken was cooling in a pot.

Gabriel divided it into two plates, placing one on the table and the other at his feet. While flipping through the “Daily Crime” and sipping the clear broth, the cat chewed on chunks of chicken at his feet. Gabriel organized one noteworthy piece of news in his mind.

“Two unidentified bodies found in the slum area of Miser.”

It wasn’t far from Gabriel’s house. Just crossing the Keron River that flowed through Sumnerus would get him there quickly. It would be best to check the police station in that area first.

Even though it was Sunday, Gabriel was as busy as any weekday. People didn’t stop dying just because it was a holy day, and autopsy work was on a first-come, first-served basis.

Still, it was slightly better than usual. If he had continued working at the Lunggen Trading Company, he would have had to visit Lunggen’s house in the afternoon to tutor his second son preparing for university entrance exams. Of course, it was unpaid, so now that he decided to quit, it didn’t matter.

The cat, which had been licking the plate clean, rubbed its body against Gabriel’s calf. It blinked at Gabriel and silently opened and closed its mouth, as if mimicking smoking.

Gabriel stacked the plates and roughly put them away, preparing to go out. First, he needed to buy the cigarettes he couldn’t get yesterday.

A little past 7 a.m., Berkel Street was shrouded in a hazy fog. However, unlike Pimble Street, the front yards were lush with roses, and the houses were larger. From the road to the roof, there was nothing old or shabby in sight.

Arriving at No. 58, Gabriel knocked on the small door used by the employees. It wasn’t long before the maid, Ann, opened the door.

“Gabriel, young master, you’re here?”

She, about the same age as Gabriel, wiped her hands on her apron and smiled warmly. Still calling him young master. Gabriel gave up correcting the title and asked.

“Where’s Mr. Klorine?”

“The master is in the study. He was waiting for you since last night. Nothing happened, right?”

Too many things had happened. But Gabriel quietly shook his head and followed her inside. Going up the servant’s stairs, they soon reached the study.

Ann knocked on the study door.

“Master, young master Gabriel is here.”

“Let him in.”

Ann bowed and stepped back, and Gabriel opened the study door. A middle-aged man with a nervous impression was pacing by the window with a cigar in his mouth. The ashtray on the windowsill was filled with burnt-out cigars.

“I thought you got caught!”

As soon as the door closed, Klorine whispered, scolding Gabriel. Gabriel took a few steps closer and looked at him expressionlessly.

“If anyone’s going to be suspected, it would be you before me.”

“Still, you didn’t come all night…”

Gabriel handed him an envelope as he rubbed his bloodshot eyes.

“Give me the cigarettes.”

“Wait.”

He put down the cigar and rummaged through the desk drawer. The sound of a winding spring was heard, and soon a pack of cigarettes emerged from a secret safe. Klorine pushed it toward Gabriel.

While Klorine counted the bills, Gabriel checked the number of cigarettes. It was exactly a month’s supply. To verify the ingredients, he randomly picked a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Klorine, having pocketed the money, let out a deep sigh.

“I heard your headaches have been more frequent, so I increased the blood volume a bit this month. But if anything feels off, you must come to me immediately. Got it? Damn it, I didn’t want to worry about this.”

Hesitating, he lowered his voice.

“Listen. There’s an internist who specializes in mutants. He’s highly respected in academia, but instead of opening a hospital or being a professor, he became a family doctor for a noble family. He’s more concerned about his reputation than money. I met him at a conference recently…”

“I’m not interested.”

Cutting him off with a puff of smoke, Gabriel felt Klorine’s hands grip his shoulders.

“What if you die at this rate!”

Grabbing his shoulders was a habit Gabriel detested. Easily brushing off his hands, Gabriel met his eyes with a blank expression.

“So, are you planning to spread rumors? That the unfortunate genius Henry Valentin tried to convert his Omega son into a Beta and failed, and now the son is a drug addict? That if he doesn’t smoke for a day, something might go wrong and he could die?”

“I’m trying to save you! I’m just a pharmacist, so all I can do is roughly imitate your father’s medicine and tweak it a bit. There’s a limit to predicting how it will work!”

Of course, Klorine’s medicine was different from his father’s. His father’s medicine was red with a thick, fishy taste, but Klorine’s was white with a bitter taste. Even though he analyzed the ingredients and tried to make it similar, it was like that. But Klorine couldn’t possibly be genuinely concerned for him.

“Just be honest and say you don’t want to suffer financial losses from making the medicine.”

Gabriel looked down at him coldly. The most important ingredient in this bizarre medicine was refined monster blood. Since the manufacturing was done secretly, the procurement route was illegal, and the price was naturally high.

“When I first came to you asking to make the medicine, who was it that threatened to spread the fact that I was an Omega to the university? You demanded a whopping 500 pounds in return. I was barely past twenty at the time. It hadn’t even been a few months since my parents’ bodies were buried.”

It had only been a few decades since male Omegas were removed from the monstrosity category. Medical judgment and cultural perception didn’t always align, so if that fact were revealed, it could have been a significant social blow. Gabriel might not have been able to complete his studies amidst more severe harassment and discrimination.

If Gabriel hadn’t turned the tables and threatened Klorine.

The Kingdom of Arkham still stipulated that only Betas could succeed to the throne. This was because only those who could maintain reason and rationality were deemed worthy of the throne. Even though the traits of mutants had significantly diminished today, with their abilities weakened and their madness somewhat tamed, it was still the case.

However, as long as the succession law was in effect, research on trait conversion was as dangerous as offering one’s neck to the powerful. And Klorine was one of the only two people who knew even roughly about the ingredients of the medicine.

“Whether it’s my father’s dangerous experiments or my traits, two people knowing is already more than enough. You, who boasted of being my father’s only friend, changed your gaze when you thought of money. So what use is the reputation and honor that others recognize? It’s the same as being untrustworthy.”

Gabriel coldly declared.

“We clearly negotiated. We each bear half the risk, so we also agreed to share the cost of making the medicine equally. Don’t ask me for anything beyond that.”

After speaking, Klorine’s face turned pale. He couldn’t meet Gabriel’s eyes and lowered his gaze to the desk.

“I…”

Klorine, who seemed like he was about to say something, eventually gave up on speaking. He then mumbled weakly.

“…I understand.”

His seemingly weak appearance only evoked discomfort instead of sympathy. Gabriel looked at the cigarette that had burned to the end. Judging by how his head felt clearer than when he smoked in the morning, it seemed to be the right medicine.

With the cigarette pack tucked into his coat, Gabriel quickly left Klorine’s house. He wouldn’t have to face him again until a month passed.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

The air in the autopsy room was cold and damp. The faint gaslight spread hazily along with the moisture. Gabriel relied on that light to look at the body that had just undergone an autopsy.

As confirmed in this morning’s newspaper, when Gabriel arrived at the Miser Police Station, there were a total of two bodies in the autopsy room. Just as he was about to examine them one by one, the officer urgently pushed this body into the autopsy room.

The incident reportedly occurred during the dawn service at the Miser Church. About thirty worshippers were present. As they sang hymns, a bright light shone through the long window, and while reflecting on the goddess’s grace, the worshippers witnessed a human figure falling from the nearby bell tower.

With screams, the organ music stopped. The priest, who halted the service, instructed the windows to be covered and went outside. When he returned shortly after, he was dressed in a black priest’s robe, having removed his long white robe to cover the body. The priest, with a face full of sorrow, reportedly made the sign of the cross and said:

“May the goddess grant him rest. We must call the authorities.”

The identity of the still-warm body was clear. There was an ID in the wallet of the coat, and there were witness testimonies. The cause of death was also certain.

“That’s a relief.”

Gabriel, who once vomited and fainted when first encountering a corpse, could now think such thoughts after a few years. He had long since adapted to the subtle stench and the fishy smell of blood.

“Is it all done now?”

The officer, who had applied aromatic oil under his nose but still held his nose, looked at Gabriel with a crumpled face.

Gabriel sprayed water over the stitched-up body. Pretending not to notice the officer taking a step back, he scrubbed the soiled skin clean with rubber gloves.

“Thaum Brody, male, Beta, 34 years old. Time of death is approximately one hour ago, consistent with testimonies. Place of death is the Miser Church bell tower. Cause of death is a fall, and it appears to be a suicide.”

Gabriel scribbled his opinion on the autopsy report. The officer frowned as if puzzled.

“But why wasn’t there a drop of blood from the body when it was found?”

“Of course, it appeared that way externally.”

Gabriel put down his pen.

“When I cut open the deceased’s abdomen, what did you see? Enough blood to fill and overflow this bucket, right?”

“…Yeah.”