A Study in Gray · Chapter 2
A Request for Baker Street
One ordinary afternoon.
Inside the office at 221B Baker Street.
Lily
I've brought you some tea, Professor.
Professor M
Thank you, Miss Lily.
Lily
That book you're reading is a detective novel, isn't it?
I didn't know you read detective novels, Professor.
Professor M
I'm disappointed you think that of me. I'm quite fond of them.
It's an admirable genre of literature that dissects humanity's ugliness through intellect.
Lily
I just didn't think mysteries or puzzles would interest you.
Professor M
True... I've always been one to pose problems rather than solve them.
Lily
Then why do you read detective novels?
Professor M
There's only one thing I wish to read about. The culprit's malice.
The clearer and darker that malice, the more vivid the drama becomes.
Vengeance and grudges are delightful as well. How much can a person sacrifice to bring about another's ruin...?
The more I explore the subject, the more I realize that what I know of human evil...
It doesn't amount to even the tip of the iceberg. Barely a speck, really. It's astonishing.
Lily
I guess geniuses like you really do think differently.
Professor M
You flatter me. But there's still so much I don't know.
And there are mysteries everywhere that I simply cannot solve.
Take this very room, for example.
The office that once stood here before we put a new sign that reads Lampadis Investigations.
Lily
Oh, you mean the Baker Street Detective Agency?
Professor M
Coincidentally, they're in the same line of work as us. Though unlike us, they're already famous.
Lily
That's exactly why the boss insisted on changing the name.
Professor M
I wonder if that was really necessary. It felt like this office had been prepared just for us.
Everything, from the furniture arrangement to the overall style.
Lily
That's true. We didn't have to buy anything new or even throw anything away.
Professor M
It almost feels as if the initial cast walked out after the end of the first act, setting the stage for the next players.
And we're the actors who've stepped onto it for the second act.
Lily
Are you saying our lives are like a script someone else wrote?
Professor M
Or perhaps it's the result of someone reaching a singularity.
Lily
A singularity?
Professor M
It's a hypothesis I personally find quite compelling.
Perhaps there is a certain someone who possesses tremendous power and will.
And that someone caused the world's timelines and the fates of its people to become intertwined.
If nothing had happened to this world, then perhaps...
That old friend of ours would be sitting here in my place, pipe in mouth.
Lily
...!
Professor M
Maybe I was meant to be the one who vanished into the gray mist that day instead.
I often think I would have preferred it that way.
Lily
Even with a different fate, that person wouldn't feel as empty inside as you, Professor.
Professor M
I suppose not.
That's why I couldn't understand until the very end.
Lily
You didn't take a single sip of your tea. Again. I'll clear it away.
Professor M
My, I hadn't realized how much time had passed.
I still have a book to finish, so there's no need to hurry.
Just as the Professor turned her attention back to her book, Lily spoke.
Lily
The culprit in that book is the coachman from the beginning.
Professor M
...!
Lily
Mr. Rabbit! No spoilers! Oh, I'm sorry, Professor.
Mr. Rabbit says even though you probably figured out the culprit just from reading the prologue, he's still sorry for spoiling the ending. Right, Mr. Rabbit?
Professor M
Fufu. It's quite all right. Why did the coachman want to kill the lord?
Pondering his motive is an interesting exercise in itself.
In that sense, Mr. Rabbit has given me something worthwhile to think about.
Lily
...If you say so, Professor.
An icy silence fell between them.
At that moment, the door burst open with a tremendous bang.
Gwen
Everyone, we've got a case!!
What? Did you and Lily fight again, Professor? Why's it so tense in here?
Professor M
Of course not. We were having a most enlightening conversation.
Lily
Like the Professor said, we were just talking, Boss.
Gwen
You didn't fight? Good. More importantly, we've got a case! A real case!
With great flourish, Gwen spread a shoddily designed newspaper across the table.
Gwen
Attention, everyone! The case of the Apocalypse's Stolen Dream Whitening Cream!
Could the culprit be the rumored beautiful Phantom Thief Sasha?!
Sasha has slipped through Public Security's ironclad surveillance four whole times!
But if we manage to catch her...!
Professor M
Lampadis will finally become famous, just as you've always dreamed, Miss Gwen.
Gwen
Hehe! Exactly! If you get it, grab your gear!
We're catching Phantom Thief Sasha!
At Gwen's thunderous declaration, Professor M quietly reopened the book she had just closed.
Lily began clearing away the teacups with a clatter.
Gwen
H-huh? What's with that reaction? I said we're catching a phantom thief!
Lily
...Boss. Public Security already solved that case.
Gwen
WHAT?!
Lily
Public Security's investigation team completely outwitted Sasha with a trap within a trap.
They caught the phantom thief red-handed.
And for the record, the phantom thief wasn't a she. It was a bearded middle-aged man.
Gwen
Whaaat?! They even figured that out?! Why is Public Security so competent these days?!
When I was there, all they ever did was yell, "We can't solve it! Get a detective!"
Lily
No, Mr. Rabbit, don't say that... I'm sure it wasn't because Boss was incompetent back then...
Gwen
Gah! That's what you really think, isn't it?!
Lily
Oh, Boss. Mr. Rabbit wants to know...
Were you the investigator who got outsmarted by Phantom Thief Sasha four times?
Gwen
THREE times!! It was three! Team Two handled the first case, not me!
Professor M
I suppose it isn't exactly a fair comparison.
Public Security and the Town Guard have many excellent consultants these days, compared to the past.
Gwen
Enough! Once we get famous, all our problems will be solved!
If our agency becomes famous, maybe the missing Detective H...
Or someone connected to her disappearance will come looking for us!
Professor M
...
Professor M stopped turning the page and looked at Gwen.
Lily
Hmm. Mr. Rabbit says there's something more urgent than our reputation.
He says we should start by worrying about next month's rent.
Gwen
What can we do?! These days, even finding a runaway cat means competing with Savior Parties!
Can't we find a case that no Savior Party, Town Guard, or Public Security wants to handle?
Lily! Did any requests come in while I was out?
Lily
Well, there is one...
One of them did come to us, but the envelope was empty.
Maybe it's just a prank?
Gwen
Huh? Then what about the other case?
Lily
Well, it wasn't addressed to us. It was addressed to the Baker Street Detective Agency.
Gwen
It's Lampadis Investigations now!
People still think we're the Baker Street Detective Agency!
Professor M
It can't be helped. It hasn't been long since we changed the name.
The Professor replied calmly, idly fidgeting with the empty envelope.
Gwen
So what's the request?
Lily
It's a request to investigate the death of the former head of a prestigious magical family.
Gwen
What?! Seriously?
Lily
Uh-huh...
Gwen
Then why are we sitting around drinking tea?!
We need to get there before Public Security or another detective beats us to it!
Lily
It came to us because nobody else wants to take it.
The client is Henry Baskerville, the new head of the Baskervilles.
Gwen
The Baskervilles?!
Lily
Yeah. The family with that creepy mansion in NOA's Old Town.
Gwen
Right. That sinister mansion from all those rumors!
Lily
Even today, everyone's still afraid of the family name.
Gwen
The Baskervilles...
Lily
And he wants us to investigate the mysterious death of the former head?
There has to be some vile conspiracy tangled up in the family's dark secrets.
Gwen
The Baskervilles, huh...
Lily
Exactly. The name that symbolizes Lavistar's darkness and underworld. Basker—
Gwen
Oh, quiet down, Lily! I can't think with you chattering in my ear!
The Baskervilles... I know I heard that name back at Public Security. Was he a singer?
Lily
...!
Lily's eyebrows twitched in a jagged pattern.
The stuffed rabbit in her hand began to tremble.
And then...
Gwen
Whoa! Stop it, Lily! This is insubordination!
You can't beat up your boss like some puppy that made off with its owner's steak!
You looking to get canned?!
Lily
I-I don't want to hit you! Mr. Rabbit's the one who's angry right now!
No, actually, even I think you deserve a beating today too, Boss!
Gwen
Waaah!! Stop! Why does a stuffed animal hurt so much?!
A jaunty series of smacks rang out alongside Gwen's screams.
Amid the chaos, the Professor picked up the black envelope lying on the table.
Professor M
It's no surprise Miss Gwen doesn't know. There are two kinds of old noble houses in Lavistar.
Houses like Stranis and Orlan, who hold lands and operate in the light.
And magical houses that rule the underworld beyond the light's reach.
The power gap was clear, so the magical houses remained hidden in the shadows.
They kept to themselves, so the other nobles left them alone.
The Professor ran a finger over the fang-shaped seal.
Professor M
The Baskervilles were the first to break that convention.
The Hound of the Baskervilles, a chimera created by Hugo Baskerville, the first head of the family...
That monster nearly laid waste to NOA.
And now, the Baskervilles have stepped into the light, asking us to investigate the mysterious death of their former head.
Well... On the surface, it appears to be nothing more than a routine investigation into an unexplained death.
Gwen
Professor, you say that, but you look like you know more than you're letting on.
Did you know the deceased?
Professor M
I'm not sure.
Every old family has old tales attached to it.
Gwen
What's that supposed to mean?
Lily
I'm against it, Boss. There are plenty of famous detective agencies, aren't there?
It's suspicious they'd hire an unknown, struggling agency like ours!
Professor M
A keen observation, Miss Lily.
Judging by the request alone, I'm not even sure this case is worth the risk.
Gwen
Even so, I think we should go.
Lily
Boss?
Gwen
"Looks dangerous"... "Feels ominous"... "It's cursed"...
Aren't those all things people always say about cases worth taking on?
Lily
Right... I forgot how much you love adventure.
Gwen
Besides, Lily, every case has a victim.
If someone caught up in a case has nowhere else to turn...
Who else will help them now that this street's great detective is gone, if not Lampadis Investigations?
Lily
...Honestly, after hearing that, I can't really object.
Professor M
Okay, we're done here.
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