Lord of the Mysteries

Old Kohler seemed to be a slightly afraid of her ferocity as he subconsciously took a step back.

“Liv, this is a detective, and he w-wishes to help you find Daisy.”

Liv’s wrinkled, peeling face turned to Klein and said coldly, “We’ve already made a police report.”

Although she was perhaps in her thirties, she looked to be in her fifties.

Klein looked around the room where many wet clothes hung. He vaguely remembered the last time he was here. There had been a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, carefully holding a crude homemade iron to iron the clothes which had wrinkled from being hung to dry. Her hands had been covered with burns.

She’s the “missing” Daisy… Klein looked back at the laundry maid, Liv, and said in a neutral tone, “Do you believe that the East Borough police will really be looking for Daisy?

“Are you sure the people who caused Daisy to go ‘missing’ wouldn’t cast their sights on your family?

“Do you wish to lose another daughter after losing one?”

When the cruel yet heart-wrenching words reached Liv’s ears, the indifferent expression on her face slowly crumbled. She turned agape, but she couldn’t say anything. The corners of her eyes gradually turned red.

She abruptly lowered her head and muttered to herself in pain and despair, “I don’t have any money…”

The room suddenly became silent. Even the sobbing girl didn’t make another sound.

Klein pursed his lips and let out a silent sigh.

“I occasionally do volunteer work, simply to help others. Heh heh, I haven’t done so in a long time, so please give me a chance.”

“Volunteer work?” Liv lifted her head and ruminated over the phrase.

Klein nodded slightly and answered, “The job will be done pro bono. No, it is not completely free either. Kindness will bring me great satisfaction.

“Since you have no other solutions, why not give it a try?”

Liv was silent for a moment. She raised her hand, which had wrinkled from being soaked in water for an extended period of time, wiped her eyes, and said in a low voice, “Mr. Detective, you… you really are a kind and good gentleman…”

Her voice suddenly became choked with sobs.

“… This was what happened—at midday before yesterday, at noon, Daisy delivered a load of washed laundry under Freja’s lead. It was just outside East Borough, and they needed to cross several streets.

“In order to rush back for lunch, Freja had chosen a secluded alley, but a momentary distraction left her realizing that Daisy, who had been following her, was gone.

“She retraced her route but never found Daisy, and Daisy hasn’t come back yet.

“Where did this happen, Freja?”

girl named Freja had already stood up, her eyes were

said, “Right here, right here in Broken Axe Lane, Mister

Klein replied without much of an

looked around and asked, “Do you have anything that Daisy often carries? I can borrow a police dog. It has an excellent sense of smell and

moment and said with

if the situation

blinked and said,

“Daisy’s vocabulary book!”

book?” Old Kohler

free school at night.

good mother… Klein couldn’t help but

evening, the school would be free of charge and would even provide stationery and a certain amount of paper. It was an education that was need-blind,

best academic progress, imbue them with the content for that day’s class, and then put them in charge of teaching the different classes.

technical workers’ workshop, which were truly accessible to the poor, and one of the few outlets to

were too few similar organizations, and it was difficult for them to play

the tutor of her class by her teacher. She would put together the vocabulary words she had copied and hugged them in her bed every day. She would wake

she spoke, Freja rushed back to the bunk bed and took out a stack

humid environment for extended periods of time, the

edges of the sheets of paper were worn out, as though they had been turned over and over by someone

vocabulary book, which had no binding at

answered very

Although it wasn’t the kind of items Daisy carried around all the time, it was something that had accompanied her all this while. Moreover, it had been projected with Daisy’s strong will. It was excellent for using

book and said, “Then I’ll start taking

their feelings. All they could do was watch as Klein and Old Kohler leave, repeating the words “thank you,”

should pay attention to those female textile workers who lost their jobs, especially those who have neither found new jobs nor become

to your own safety. Ask less and listen more. If you do this well, you’ll get a

Old Kohler

with a tone full of expectation, “You’ll find Daisy, won’t

say that I will do my best.” Klein didn’t make

Kohler sighed

so I’m very unwilling

waved his hand and

“vocabulary book” around the head of

or misdirection…

all the way out of East Borough and hired a

Borough. It stopped in front of

down inside the carriage and was aimed

patrolling inside

security inside

intuition made him sense that

such a dangerous place?Klein thought