MFM | Chapter 2.3

Pablo firmly denied, his lips set. It was then that a familiar voice was heard.

“I’ll go.”

Gabriel looked at the man who appeared from behind the door.

It was Klaus Rapendell. His shirt was unbuttoned, and his tie was loosely tied in a casual manner. Leaning halfway against the doorframe, he met Gabriel’s gaze and smiled with his eyes.

“Then you’ll feel reassured, right, Gabriel?”

…Probably not.

Eugene turned to Klaus, still with a frown.

“This isn’t something the district chief should handle. You must have a lot of paperwork piled up, so take care of the urgent matters first.”

“If it’s so important and urgent that you can’t even speak, lead the way. I’m curious.”

Klaus gestured with his cane toward the hallway. Eugene, who had been watching him with a displeased expression, turned and extended his arm forward.

“If you insist, follow me.”

The word “insist” was laced with intense irritation. Gabriel lightly greeted Pablo and Lyle before stepping out of the room. Klaus, who had been waving his hand at the members, only started walking after the door closed, looking back at Gabriel.

“Did you fix the bag handle yourself?”

Gabriel, who was following him, looked down at the bag he was holding.

“Yes. How did you…?”

“It’s surgical thread. You sewed it meticulously.”

He grinned and lowered his voice. It was almost a whisper, so Gabriel had to get closer to him.

The distance was uncomfortable, almost shoulder-to-shoulder, but there was no choice. There was no easier distance to be caught off guard than asking stupid questions. Despite listening intently, what Klaus said was trivial.

“You can speak comfortably like last time.”

“I care now.”

He said firmly, and his cheek was suddenly pressed. Gabriel turned to Klaus, bewildered by the unexpected contact. He withdrew his finger and smiled gently.

“I thought you might have softened, but you’ve become even more rigid. Relax. It’s not a dangerous place.”

“How do you know that?”

“Eugene is irritable, but he’s not the type to cause trouble.”

Gabriel instinctively looked ahead. Eugene, who was walking briskly about three meters ahead, didn’t seem to have heard Klaus’s words. Klaus continued speaking cheerfully.

“He’s just busy dealing with the tasks at hand, so he’s not trying to drag you into a trap. Even if working with an inexperienced newcomer is cumbersome and unappealing, if he really needs you, it’s probably for… an autopsy.”

Gabriel didn’t completely relax. He still couldn’t trust Klaus’s judgment.

“Do you usually guess people’s minds like that?”

“You can tell by looking.”

Gabriel paused for a moment at his words. He suppressed the chills and looked back at Klaus.

“Do you have… an artifact like that?”

“What?”

Klaus burst into laughter. He waved his hand dismissively at Eugene, who was looking this way, and then bowed his head towards Gabriel.

“No, I just like people. When you’re interested in something, you end up knowing about it.”

He spoke in a whispering tone as if revealing a great secret. It was truly a difficult taste to understand.

“Why is the reason I joined the Dark Guard a secret? Is it because it’s an unusual precedent?”

“Yeah. We can’t have any controversies.”

It seemed like there were still controversies in other areas. Still, this seemed better than dying. Gabriel gripped the handle of his bag.

“Why are you accompanying me when it’s not even a dangerous task?”

Was he planning to keep an eye on him? When Gabriel looked at Klaus with a tense body, Klaus tilted his head.

“Because I’m curious?”

His tone was lighter than a surgical thread. It was absurd, but it sounded better than a hollow statement of concern. Gabriel, feeling relieved, moved his feet silently instead of answering.

When Eugene, who was walking ahead, opened the door in the hallway, a street appeared. A carriage was waiting right in front.

Eugene got on the carriage first, followed by Klaus and Gabriel. Even after the carriage started moving, Eugene remained silent with his arms crossed, as if even light conversation was a waste of energy.

He didn’t pay attention to his superior, Klaus, nor to the apprentice, Gabriel. It was an equal disregard regardless of rank.

The carriage didn’t travel long before it stopped. Gabriel got off the carriage and looked around. It was Arve Street, where upscale houses were clustered among the middle-class residential areas.

The house in front of him was also four stories high, with three windows on each floor. However, the tightly closed windows with double curtains gave a closed impression.

Eugene led the two inside through the servant’s entrance. Near the entrance, well-finished planks and a few sacks leaned against the wall. Until they passed the servant’s bedroom and kitchen, no sound was heard from inside the house.

Klaus, who stopped briefly in the hallway, lightly brushed a small table with his fingertips. Gray dust faintly stained his black gloves.

“It seems the homeowner has been away for quite a while.”

He flicked his hand, casually shaking off the dust. With his hands behind his back, Klaus, who had his head raised like a sniffing hunting dog, still had a fresh face. He looked into the air for a moment before turning to Eugene.

“Did they find a body while renovating the house before moving?”

“Yes. This way.”

Eugene, who answered with a frown, continued walking down the empty hallway. At the end of the hallway, they descended the stairs to find an iron basement door.

Eugene swung the door wide open. A foul stench burst out, and the messy interior of the basement came into view. The floor was dug up about a meter deep like an archaeological site, and in the middle lay a decaying corpse.

Next to the corpse stood a Beta woman wearing a mask. She was dressed in a simple dark blue walking dress. Holding a file in one hand, she gave a slight nod to Eugene and then froze momentarily when she saw Klaus.

“District Chief?”

“I’d like an explanation now. I followed along obediently because I was worried the poor apprentice might get kidnapped.”

Klaus raised his hands as if being held at gunpoint. The woman turned her head and glared at Eugene.

“Eugene, you didn’t tell Valentin anything?”

“It’s better this way.”

Eugene replied coldly.

“Coroners are the type to fit the time of death into the circumstances. They’re no different from fraudulent necromancers. No, considering they tear bodies apart and spread diseases, they’re worse.”

It was a level of distrust similar to that of an ordinary officer. There was nothing to be surprised about.

Such cases were common. Being tested without being given any information. Gabriel was never even allowed to visit crime scenes. Compared to the usual remarks, it wasn’t even a significant insult.

Unlike the silent Gabriel, the woman’s expression quickly hardened.

“You need to watch your mouth.”

She said through gritted teeth, removing her mask and extending her hand to Gabriel. Though it was formal, a smile worthy of the name lingered at the corners of her mouth.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Anna. I called Mr. Valentin to estimate the time of death of the body.”

“Just call me Gabriel. Is the Dark Guard handling this because it’s not an ordinary corpse?”

“Yes, that’s right. If the body is damaged, there’s a high probability that parts of it were taken for ritual purposes.”

Anna kindly pointed to the clutter around the corpse.

“There were crystals and burnt animal bones buried around the body. They’re among the tools used in rituals.”

Gabriel bent down to examine the items she pointed out closely. The charred bones were still solid and quite distinct in shape, but they were small, about 10cm, and piled up in a haphazard manner.

“What animal’s bones are these?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a piglet or a lamb? It doesn’t seem to be a rabbit or a chicken, at least. Anyway, it’s important to know when this happened since the house has changed owners quite often. We’ve already sought advice from the medical department, but I heard Gabriel is a coroner.”

“I’ll take a look.”

Gabriel descended into the pit, knelt beside the corpse, and put on rubber gloves instead of leather ones. There were no signs of a scalpel, suggesting the medical department had only conducted an examination. After donning an apron and mask, Klaus suddenly squatted beside him.

“Need help?”

“There’s no need. If you’re going to stay close, wear a mask. Do you need some aromatic oil?”

“No.”

“Could you give me some? Eugene, do you want some too?”

“Stop wasting time on unnecessary things.”

Eugene grumbled. Gabriel handed the bottle of aromatic oil to Anna and asked.

“When was the body discovered?”

“Yesterday morning. The homeowner immediately reported it to the police, and we got involved as an insurance claim.”

“Was the homeowner conveniently insured?”

Anna applied the aromatic oil under her nose with an ambiguous smile.

“He probably thinks so.”

It seemed like some kind of confusion had been induced. Instead of asking further, Gabriel measured the height of the corpse with a tape measure. The body was unclothed and without any accessories. Due to severe skin discoloration, it was difficult to confirm any signs of congestion. The completely excavated chest was filled with dirt.

While checking the inside of the thigh, Gabriel paused. There was a black mark. Initially, he thought it might be a mole or a scar, but it felt smooth, unlike the skin. It was cracked in a regular pattern, resembling reptilian scales.

‘It was a mutant.’

After checking down to the toes, Gabriel returned to the face. When he lightly pricked the swollen facial skin, the outer and inner layers separated and slipped off.

Gabriel opened the corpse’s mouth to thoroughly check the inside. He noticed one of the lower front teeth was missing. As he turned to pick up a scalpel, a rounded handle was suddenly thrust in front of him.

“Need this?”

Klaus wiggled the scalpel. Gabriel accepted it.

“It’s sharp, so don’t play around with it.”

“Just give the order.”

Klaus’s eyes curved into a smile. Gabriel plunged the scalpel into the left shoulder of the corpse. The blade, drawn downward, formed a rounded arc and rose again to the right shoulder. Gabriel made a straight cut from the bottom of that line to near the left side of the navel.

“Scissors…”

Before he could add “please,” scissors were handed to him. It was undeniable that the uninterrupted flow was convenient.