~7061 words
Waking up drowsily, Kiyotaka found himself in a dark room.
The back of his head was throbbing with sharp and dull pain. The sharp pain was due to the strike to the back of his head, and the dull pain was just his body's longing for some age-diminishing substances.
He was sitting on a chair, across a table. His hands and feet were not tied but he could smell the dried blood on his neck.
Blinking his eyes a few times, he looked up and saw the man sitting from across the table. It was a burly man with good physique, extremely tanned skin and a receding hairline. His hair was brown, and he had a pair of black eyes. Beside him was another man who was tall and slim, giving him an athletic look.
"So, Williams," the man greeted. "Or is it Williams J. bloody Holmes these days, eh? Fancy."
Kiyotaka craned his neck to the side until it gave a slight popping sound. Then, he stretched his body and looked around. He was currently inside a semi-dark room with nothing but the two chairs and a table. Illuminating it was a single gas-lamp.
Once he had stalled for quite a bit of time, Kiyotaka looked back at the burly man. He was using this time to rattle his memory. After doing some mental gymnastics, he finally remembered. This was the boss of Zmanger Gang, a gang Williams was a part of during his bounty hunter days. There were quite a lot of times when he had used his vast information network to hunt down criminals and other rival gangs.
It was a mutual benefit for both of them. On one side Williams would get money in exchange for giving vital information to the Police, and the Zmanger Gang benefited in a way that their rival faction's main members were taken out of the equation. In other words, he was in a symbiotic relationship with Zmanger Gang.
Of course, he had affiliations to other gangs as well but none of them carried enough significance.
"I am a changed man now." Kiyotaka replied calmly as he let out a little grunt and rubbed the back of his neck. Then, he covered his mouth, as if he was yawning.
After a few seconds, he finally stopped doing whatever he was doing. At that moment, the leader of the Zmanger Gang—Billy Red—smiled haughtily at him. "You and I, Williams, we're the same diseased animal. Once you've supped deep on the filth, you don't spit it out but rather get addicted. You savour it, so cut the bullshit."
"If we're confessing sins, Mr. Billy, I'll need more than a single gas lamp and a cheap sermon on us being eternal scums."
At this moment, the man who was standing behind Billy walked to Kiyotaka and then stood beside him. Taking a glove out of his pocket, he wore it over his hand that had multiple golden rings on it before pushing the barrel of the gun against Kiyotaka's temple.
Billy stared at Kiyotaka for a long while, and he returned his gaze with the same intensity.
"It seems like you really have let go of your old ways where you indulged yourself in endless depravity and debauchery."
Kiyotaka didn't reply. Instead, he took out a cigarette and pressed it between his lips. Then, he turned towards the man who was holding the revolver to his temple.
The man cocked the hammer back as the chamber rotated from empty slot to the loaded one.
Kiyotaka's gaze turned sharp at Billy. "Do it, kill me. But the second I breathe my last, this little performance of yours dies with me... and all the trouble you went to today would be for naught. So, if you want something out of this day besides a corpse, you'll tell your boy to strike a match. I'm having my smoke first."
The man looked at Billy who was looking at Williams with a smirk before nodding towards the man.
Kiyotaka held his hands around the cigarette as the man lowered to light it up.
"You see..." Not waiting for Kiyotaka, Billy started talking, "...you killed Meursault, and as you would know, Meursault was our gang's executioner.
With our executioner gone, we have lost more than half of our manpower. And that is not the end of things." Billy's face grew a little red with anger as he kept talking. "There are gang wars that are on the cusp of eruption. The barbaric highlanders and many other local gangs have already sniffed the tip in the scale of power.
On top of that the Intisian Ambassador, Bakerland, was assassinated. Bakerland gave Meursault a commission and we were the last people associated with him. So now every Intisian dog, government lads, street cutthroats, smugglers—all of those filthy, incestuous lot—have slipped into Backlund. They're sweepin' through Zmanger men like dust."
Billy took a deep breath.
Kiyotaka on the other hand, was a little conflicted. Seeing the look on his face, Billy scoffed as he leaned forward. "I know what you do and I know where you sleep. But I understand your confusion. We tried to subvert the situation by having you killed. One of the methods we employed was to tip off the police officer on our payroll, but for some bloody reason, they won't make an arrest on you.
Un-fucking-believable!"
Kiyotaka let the smoke waft up. "That was done by the Aurora Order, why would the Intisian government be after you? Why would gangs from Intis come to Backlund to hunt a worthless gang who can't kill a single member of police even if they're life depended on it?"
There was no obvious maliciousness or ridicule behind Kiyotaka's words, however, it made Billy extremely mad. He paused and then after a moment, Kiyotaka smacked his lips: "After that assassination, the King's men would have drawn the borders tight as a hangman's knot.
These days, not even an Intisian spymaster could slip into Loen's capital without being sniffed out by dawn. And as for common rabble such as gangs and cutpurses rolling in from afar, they'd scarcely make it a mile past the outposts before the watch drags them off by the scruff.
Since that is the case, there is only one logical conclusion: You are making things up to extort money out of me."
Kiyotaka drew in a slow, deliberate breath and exhaled a ribbon of smoke that drifted straight toward Billy's face as he slipped his hands inside his pants pocket. He had just used "Law and Order" to detect the crimes of "Lying" and "Extortion" veiled underneath Billy's words.
'That said... It is indeed strange. If he knows about me, then definitely the Police know as well. Why is no one making an arrest of me? Is it because they have suspicions about me? Do they want to confirm first that I am a rogue Beyonder?
Hmm... that is quite plausible. One other theory could be the Whitethorn Security Company. If my theory is correct, they are hidden Church force. And since there were quite strange things happening around me, they have decided to take matters in their own hands and have advised the Police, who are normal people, to stay away from it.'
The man beside him suddenly exhaled loudly and was about to press the gun to Kiyotaka's head when suddenly, Kiyotaka stood up with the speed of a bullet and smacked the burning tip of the cigarette in the man's eye.
A cry left out his lips.
Not waiting for the retaliation, he flipped the table over.
This instinctual reaction paid off immediately as a bullet tore through the table but failed to hit Kiyotaka. Kicking the table towards Billy, Kiyotaka flipped back... or well, tried to. In doing so, he slipped and fell face first into the floor.
Not letting the upset affect him, he quickly scrambled and picked up the revolver that the man had dropped and quickly placed his heel over his throat. At the same time, he pointed the revolver at Billy.
On the other end, Billy had pointed the revolver at him as well.
The heel of Kiyotaka's boot was strangling the man underneath him. No matter how much he tried, he could not shake his leg off from his throat.
'How the hell... is he... so powerful...?!'
Kiyotaka shook his head in a provocative manner.
Billy was the first to pull his trigger, however, Kiyotaka had moved the moment he heard the click of the trigger. Before Billy knew it, Kiyotaka was already in front of him, ready to punch a hole through his chest.
At that moment, the smile on Billy's face widened. "I see, so you have turned Meursault into a Mystical Item." The words coming out of his mouth made Kiyotaka's eyes widen as Billy gripped Kiyotaka's hand mid-swing, twisted it and then using his momentum threw him over his bent body.
Not letting the sudden change of events affect him, Kiyotaka took a hold of his body and balanced his center-of-gravity before landing on his feet. At the same time, he rolled towards the other end due to the flaring warnings from the "Danger Intuition" as a giant stream of flames engulfed the region where he had landed.
He suddenly felt a little panic but calmed himself as he took out the revolver and fired at Billy.
Billy, who had a smile on his face, dodged, and dashed towards Kiyotaka, however, his attention was diverted when he heard a scream from behind.
Sparing a look back, he saw that the bullet had punctured the other man's chest, as he convulsed while lifeblood slowly kept pooling underneath him. At the same time, he clasped his hands together as crimson flames began to compress between them.
Kiyotaka's danger intuition flared once again and before thinking, he ran and rolled. However, even after the timely roll, the fireball that had landed beside him threw him like a ragdoll across the empty warehouse. His back ricocheted off a pillar hard enough to rattle his ribs.
'The difference in our power-level is too much...'
If anything, now would be the right time for some help...'
However, Kiyotaka was never the one to completely depend on others. Using the effects of enhanced physique, Kiyotaka kept dodging and tried to fire bullets at Billy, however, the sheer difference of speed between them made it almost impossible to catch him off-guard with a bullet.
Suddenly, Billy clasped his hands together and began compressing something. Using one hand to drag over the other, the flames switched colors as they turned white. The white flames began to solidify as they took the shape of a long base, and then a pointed tip.
Kiyotaka's pupils shrank as he saw the sight in front of him. It was a spear! A spear made out of white flames!
Kiyotaka immersed himself entirely into his powers.
During this fight, he had finally grasped at the full extent of all his powers and the acting method as well.
The stream of information he had received after drinking the potion was 100% accurate, but how the power would be used was left totally to the Beyonder. The description of a Lawyer was as such: "Lawyers are very good at discovering and using loopholes in the rules and the weaknesses of their opponents, possessing excellent eloquence and reasoning skills that aid in this process."
The acting method was closely tied to the broader "description of a Sequence 9: Lawyer.
It involved:
1. Using one's Eloquence to have things your way without breaking any legal confines.
2. Using loopholes in patterns of others—friends and enemies alike—to take advantage of them and benefitting oneself.
3. Being well educated on the laws of the immediate city one is living in.
He had completed the 1st step when he bought different items for his house, the 3rd one before becoming a Lawyer, and the 2nd one was more than 70% achieved when he helped Sherlock defeat Rosago.
This approach coincided with the method he had implemented with Rosago where he could vaguely guess where the next jump was going to be. Since Billy was a mid-Sequence Beyonder, a Pyromaniac from the Hunter Pathway, it took Kiyotaka more than a whole minute to finally be able to find loopholes and rules inside Billy's powers.
By now, Kiyotaka had fished out three "weaknesses" of Billy. They were casting time, vulnerability in the compression phase and the big one being Billy's enhanced danger sense. It helped him detect danger... but made him hypersensitive. This hypersensitivity could prove as a double-edged sword.
Frankly, if Billy had a lot of fighting experience, Kiyotaka was royally fucked as the trigger from Danger Intuition due to a feint would be easily readable. However, if the chubby man's fighting experience did not outweigh Kiyotaka's, he could use Billy's ability against him.
Just as he finalised his plan, the blue of his eyes reflected a bright white flash. He dodged on instinct, but he wasn't fast enough. A pain so sharp it almost cut sound out of the world seared across his forearm as his skin bubbled and fingers liquefied like wax.
At the same time, the pain somehow subsided and he felt the same pain in his shoulder. The skin over his shoulder had suddenly begun to show signs of being burnt brutally while his fingers were completely scatheless. In front of his eyes, he saw Billy's confused look as a few pieces of paper-ashes fell on the ground in front of him.
With silent steps, a figure walked in front of Kiyotaka.
The figure was wearing a jester's tunic sewn from sun-bleached reds, purples, and sickly yellows. Each individual patch was stitched on with thick black thread that resembled surgical sutures.
A floppy three-pointed cap drooped over his freshly painted pastel mask as an ear-to-ear grin stretched from the corner of one side of his lip to another. The bells attached to the ends of the three-pointed hat gave off soft, irregular clicks instead of jingles.
His ruffled collar was lopsided, and it seemed to be dipped in soot. Finishing the ridiculous attire were oversized clown slippers which let out a loud squishing sound with every step.
It was a clown straight out of a horror novel!
A clown with a creepy smile.
The clown let out a jeer before bolting towards Billy.
Billy sneered and pressed his palms together, however, the clown puffed his lips and let out a sound.
BANG!
A bullet tore through the air as Billy ducked and closed the distance between himself and the Creepy Clown. Turning his body to the side, Billy jabbed upwards and hit the clown square in its face. At the same time, flames ignited over Billy's fist as it plowed into the Creepy Clown's skin.
However, his body suddenly began to wither away until it was nothing more like a sheet of paper that turned to ash as soon as it had caught on flames.
Paper Figurine Substitute!
The Creepy Clown arrived behind Billy and took out a long sheet of paper. Then he flicked his wrist as the seemingly harmless sheet of paper solidified into a solid bat! He swung the bat at nearly the same time, Kiyotaka took out the pocketknife he had found on his first day as Williams and jabbed at Billy from the side.
The smile on Billy's lips grew wider.
Suddenly, right underneath the Clown's feet, the flames that had yet to extinguish exploded in a cacophonous explosion!
This was a "Delayed Explosion" from a Pyromaniac!
Taking advantage of that, Billy grabbed Kiyotaka by the arm as he tried to wrestle the knife out of his grasp.
Kiyotaka stopped struggling which suddenly threw Billy off-guard. Using the small window, he immediately found out another weakness. While a Billy—as a Pyromaniac—had an even more enhanced physique than a mere Hunter, one's physical condition really did come into play.
His burly stature caused him to take a few seconds more than required to recover.
This was enough time for both Kiyotaka and the Creepy Clown.
A wave of paper blades that were harder than steel was flung towards Billy as Kiyotaka took the gun out.
Billy suddenly flipped forward and dodged the barrage of paper blades before kicking Kiyotaka's burnt arm so hard that his grip went weak and the gun was thrown into the dark distance. However, Kiyotaka did not spare a single look at his main weapon.
This was his main goal, to get as close as possible to Billy.
He got even closer as Billy's eyes widened. Taking the knife out, he quickly jabbed it towards his neck.
At that moment, flames burst out of Billy as he ignited a layer of Flame Armor over his body. The heat made the tip melt instantly as Billy clasped his hands together. At that moment, two ravens with feathers and wings made out of pure red-orange flames burst out of him and locked on both Kiyotaka and The Clown.
Fire Ravens!
Kiyotaka stepped back and was about to run away, when he suddenly felt... anger. A deep-rooted anger inside him suddenly boiled over as Kiyotaka's eyes turned bloodshot and looked at Billy.
Billy, who was clad in a flaming armour and seemingly had no trouble in breathing, smiled. "What? That's all? Even after becoming a Beyonder, you are still a piece of shit!" Simultaneously, he raised both hands into the air as the temperature of the entire warehouse increased while fireballs of different sizes began to fall in every possible direction.
Instead of running away, Kiyotaka bolted towards Billy. At the same time, The Clown suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Billy using his own fire as a conduit for this "teleportation."
This was a Magician's Flaming Jump!
Just as Billy was about to control the Fire Raven to redirect its trajectory a little to hit Kiyotaka, his eyes flashed as the ring fell from his finger. At the same time, he ducked low and kicked the area between Billy's legs.
The kick caused Billy's Flame Armour to flicker in and out of existence as Kiyotaka quickly took his boot out that was caught on flames and was burning away at the skin on his feet. Before he could stand up and fight Billy back, he saw The Clown kicking Billy in the jewels again and again.
Billy reeled in pain as the armour of flames totally fizzled out. The Clown looked at Kiyotaka before slowly removing its three-pointed hat and pressing it to his chest. Then, he bowed like a gentleman and smiled before snapping his fingers as his entire body was engulfed in flames.
And then, he was gone.
Kiyotaka wanted to finish the job; however, he had other plans. He walked over and kicked Billy between his legs until he lost consciousness. Then, he quickly tore Billy's expensive shirt and used it to make makeshift handcuffs, tying him down.
Once that was done, he took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it before stuffing it inside his throat while stealing Billy's money at the same time. On the way out, he looked at the other man who was shot in the chest. He stooped down and searched his pocket, took the cash out of his wallet and the fake-gold rings off of his gloved fingers before running away.
*****
'Well, well, well... would you look at this guy.'
Klein, while sitting on the high-back chair of The Fool, mused to himself as he stared at the man sitting at the far end of the table. The blonde man was sitting confidently but there were obvious signs of stress on his face that managed to bleed out through the mask of impassiveness.
"So? What kind of predicament did you land yourself in? Is it solved? Are there any latent dangers?" Klein kept his focus towards the man sitting at the seat of The Emperor and asked.
"It's nothing major. It is attributed towards my personal problems... well, it might involve you as well, but I doubt it will be as serious as this."
'Why am I involved in your matters?! First Rosago—well, I suppose I was bound to be involved as well due to assassination of Bakerland—and now this? He's even an even bigger trouble-magnet than me!' Klein lampooned.
Sensing Klein's confusion, Kiyotaka cleared his throat. "You did help me turn Meursault into a ring...and now the boss of that gang is—was after me.
In all honesty, the matter should not pose any latent dangers to either you or me. Billy—the leader of the Zmanger gang and Meursault—the executioner, were the only two Beyonders from this gang.
Even if most people don't know what Beyonders are, it was common knowledge that these two had supernatural powers in the tight-knit circle of the gang. With him gone, it is very possible that gangs with Beyonders will either take over this gang, or loot it.
Long story short, there is nothing for you to worry about." Kiyotaka ended his explanation as Klein lazily slumped into his chair. His mannerisms had relaxed a little, but he still stayed wary around Kiyotaka.
After a few moments of thinking and recalling things, Klein calmed down.
When Kiyotaka pretended to "yawn" and had placed a hand on his mouth, during that moment he had chanted the Honorific Name of The Fool and a little cry for help. Since he knew it was impossible for him to win against a Beyonder who was levels above him, he called for Klein's help.
'Although this is interesting. It seems like The Fool has advanced. He was able to use a lot of powers that were a part of Rosago's arsenal. Well, it is possible that he turned Rosago into a mystical item. Still, how swiftly he helped me end the battle was quite astonishing...
But a Seer's abilities seem to rely too much on flammable objects and paper. He used paper as blades, a bat, figurines and a lot of Flaming Jumps. In a rainy setting, it is quite easy to shut down a Seer's abilities.
That said, as if the name implies, he can divine things beforehand. That means that a Seer will never pick up a fight in a setting where it brings them disadvantage. That implies that if a Seer comes to a fight, they're well-prepared and are positive in their victory...
But if that is the case, why did Rosago die like that? Did he not divine it before attacking us?
Or is it due to the influence of this mysterious space? Or was he just a bad Seer?
There are quite a lot of questions that are unanswered. But regardless, I should thank him.'
On the other hand, Klein was thinking as well. 'To hold off against a pure offense-oriented Beyonder is quite commendable. While most of it is due to the mystical item, it is still very crazy to think he held off that well. And without the constant interruptions from his side, it would've been very hard for me to beat him in a pure 1-v-1.
Of course, I wouldn't have come to his aid if the divination did not mention this as being slightly above average danger. I can do this much for the members of Tarot Club, even if it's this guy... heh-heh, I am getting oddly soft on him.
But well, it is not like it was entirely uneventful. I now know the acting principle of Magician and the performance before helped me digest it a little.
Very little, as a matter of fact. I suppose I need a bigger audience to my "magic show."'
Straightening his back, Kiyotaka decided to speak after this moment of brief silence. "Thank you for your prompt help... uhh, I have a few spoils that I gathered. Feel free to select anything."
Using the same process that the Tarot Club members used to produce pages of Roselle's Diary, Kiyotaka produced a mental image of everything he had "acquired" from the not-so-dead Billy and his dead associate.
He had "acquired" about £200 combined from both Billy and his associate.
"You can take as much as you'd like from the money or the rings." Kiyotaka did not try to monopolise the spoils. While sharing was not ideal, he considered his relationship with The Fool like a trust-fund investment. The more he poured into it, the more this investment would produce yield.
Klein looked at the money and imagined all the bread he could buy with it. Not letting his thoughts go astray, he looked up at Kiyotaka. "We can do a 50-50 split. It was not like I did everything."
'I mean, I did a bigger portion of it but I will give you some transmigrator-discount.'
Kiyotaka nodded his head. Once the decisions were taken on the splittage, Klein spoke again: "Do I need to worry about anything? Or can you handle things from here onwards?"
"I can handle it. I will try to not let you get caught in my matters or to let my matters reach you in any form or way. Once again, thanks for your help."
The corners of Klein's lips stretched into a faint smile. "You don't have to thank me so much. We are just trying to survive—you and me. If helping each other makes sure both of us keeping surviving and stay sane for longer, I am not opposed to it at all.
I am not sure of your motivations but..." Klein paused, feeling a little sentimental.
"I wish to return home one day. My real home... But I am not entirely detached from this one either."
Kiyotaka's lips parted. "Have you ever had the same notion as me?"
His words echoed in the residence of giants as Klein frowned a little.
"That this world might be the same as our previous one? And that we are in the future?"
Klein stared at Kiyotaka for a long moment. His pupils had constricted to a needle's point. However, after about a minute of silence, he sighed and smiled. "I only need to look at the moon and be able to tell it is not. It's red, you see."
'Well, it is possible that there is a higher concentration of Iron-rich dust in the atmosphere and around the moon which could've happened after whatever made this world reset. Kind of like Mars.'
"Right... Perhaps my non-amenability to return made me blind to such an obvious thing. I should return, the maid will be arriving to clean the house by now." Kiyotaka spoke as he stood up.
"Sure..." Klein returned the Emperor back to the real world while he sat, rapping the edges of the table in a non-rhythmic manner.
Hidden behind his hand that was on his face was squirming flesh. It looked like the skin over his face had turned to wax and was going to drip bit by bit on the table.
After 5 minutes of Cogitation, he finally calmed down.
'Calm down... it was just an idea... He's grasping for some kind of meaning... guessing in the dark, same as anyone else in a new world. That doesn't make it true. It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't...'
Klein sat there, calming himself until his spirituality came close to depletion.
*****
Back in the real world, Kiyotaka picked up his cup that was full of sugary coffee and took a long sip from it. With his thoughts that had somewhat calmed down, he assessed the general situation.
'Alright, so I have pretty much digested my potion at the expense of a burnt shoulder, however, it should heal with proper treatment. I just need a little more feedback and then it will be done. Which means that I should start looking for the potion formulas for Sequence 8 of Lawyer Pathway.
I wonder what the next sequence would be. Could it be that it expands on the previous base that was established as a Lawyer? To be a law-abiding citizen and using the law to commit crimes? Find loopholes on a bigger scale?
I can't tell. It is one possibility, but looking at Seer's sequences so far, it is possible that the sequences can be very different from their predecessors, for example: Sequence 9 is Seer, and then Sequence 8 is Clown.
They are very different, but I assume there has to be some similarity in theme.
Well, anyway. The more pressing matter at the moment is Zmanger Gang. Billy should be dead by now, which is good. The presence or the absence of his corpse and Beyonder Characteristic will prove why the Police, that was on Zmanger Gang's payroll, did not make an arrest on me.
Also, if the Zmanger Gang scatters or word gets out that the leader has been killed, there might be a big gang war brewing in Backlund. Due to the tremendous chaos caused, the supernatural organisations of the three Churches—Nighthawks, Mandated Punishers and Machinery Hivemind—will hunt me down, for sure.
That means Zmanger Gang needs to stay alive... Well, not directly. His trademark domination style is his Pyrokinesis. Which means that if I can turn him into a Mystical Item... Hmm, that might work. But still, it depends on what the result of my current arrangements is.'
A devious plan worked up in his mind as he decided to turn yet another Hunter into a Mystical Item.
'Sigh... that is an impulsive decision. But I don't have a lot of other options. The most easy and feasible one of them is to take over Zmanger Gang. But I am not sure if this works in my favour. Sure I can have a big network of informants and people who would commit any kind of crime for me, it is still quite a hassle.
Sigh... well, anyways, let's get this out of the way first.'
Kiyotaka stood up, and chanted the Fool's honorific name and sacrificed £100 to him. After about 30 minutes of waiting, Klein finally returned back to the Space Above the Grey Fog and accepted it.
After he had sacrificed the money, Kiyotaka was now left with £564
Counting his money a few times, he wore his long-coat, picked up his hat and the cheap cane with no engravings before leaving his house once the maid was done cleaning it.
Once he was out, he took the carriage. His destination was the Police Station's headquarters where he was going to flaunt his knowledge of the law and then file a complaint for illegal trespassing of police officers on his private property and attempting to arrest him based on mere suspicion.
Of course, he was not going to act like someone who was high and mighty since people in that police station would recognise him as a former informant. However, it was still necessary for him to do it to overcome the last bit of his undigested Lawyer potion.
While the carriage rolled in silence, Kiyotaka kept his gaze on the outside. This world was intriguing, but not as much as he had considered before. Apart from the supernatural elements, there was almost nothing of interest.
'Perhaps the countryside is different but Backlund can surely make a person depressed. There is no sun, no sight of sky, it reeks of alcohol and puke in most areas, people are conservative, and most of all, if I keep staying in Backlund, I will die in a year or two.
I don't seem to be suffering from lung or heart disease, but my liver is quite damaged. I have curbed the consumption by a lot, by wanting to drink and smoke has become a second nature to this body.
Even if I mentally don't want to, doing it once or twice a day is still necessary.
Well, I suppose once or twice a day won't hurt. I should probably get in touch with a good doctor. Or perhaps an...Apothecary. The nobleman, Glaint, said he was trying to become a Sequence 9: Apothecary.
I am not sure if I should divulge the specifics of my condition, such as the liver and my fear of having some kind of STD's. Hmm, perhaps I will ask Mr. Fool later... but that isn't any good either.
Hmm... Maybe I should attend that Beyonder Meeting once again. It has a lot of things and items that can be of use to me. Hmm, yeah, let's do that.'
After a few minutes, Kiyotaka had arrived at the Police Station. Once he was inside, he went over to the man sitting at the desk. Taking his hat, he placed it on the table and rested the cane by the edge of the table. "Good afternoon." Without waiting for the man to reply, Kiyotaka took a seat on the chair.
The policeman, dressed in formal attire, did not give much of an expression and took out a piece of paper and a pen. He had small, cropped black hair and black eyes. One of his eyes had a small black mark underneath it.
The paper he held was a yellow coloured parchment paper with the police's insignia on top. "How may I help you, Mr...?"
"Williams. Williams Holmes. I am here to file a complaint against two policemen who came to arrest me earlier this morning." Kiyotaka replied in a flat tone.
The policeman's eyes widened as he narrowed his eyes. "You have some nerve coming here."
Kiyotaka lowered his head and raised his eyes. His pale blue eyes were crystal clear and the few strands that had escaped the slickback gave him an intense look. "Nerve? They committed a crime."
The policeman placed his pen and paper down. "That will be overseen by the higher-ups. Thank you Mr. Holmes."
Kiyotaka looked at the man. 'Now is the time.'
"So you won't file a complaint?"
"There is no need to."
"Then I suppose I will enter the office at the far right corner of this establishment and let your superior know that you are depriving me of one of the most basic rights."
The policeman stiffened as his shoulders drew tight beneath the pressed fabric of his uniform. "Hey, that office is restricted to—"
"It is not restricted to complainants," Kiyotaka interjected. "Under Section 14, Sub-clause B of the Public Grievance Redressal Act, every citizen, or resident, is entitled to direct review by an officer of supervisory rank when a constable refuses to process a formal complaint. And you have, quite clearly, refused."
He leaned back ever so slightly, the wooden chair giving a faint creak. His fingers tapped once against the cane resting by his leg.
The policeman's lips parted as his earlier composure thinned into something brittle. "Sir... I'm not refusing. I'm simply stating that—"
"That you will not record the complaint," Kiyotaka finished for him. "Which, by definition, constitutes procedural obstruction. Section 22 outlines it rather elegantly. Would you like me to cite the wording verbatim?" He tilted his head. His pale blue eyes remained unblinking.
The police constable swallowed as a subtle pulse moved along his throat. Kiyotaka took out a cigarette and burned it alight. Tapping the butt and removing the ashes from the tip in the ashtray beside the constable, Kiyotaka raised his brows. "So?" He spoke as the smoke wafted towards the man.
"Mr. Holmes... These things are normally handled internally. The department reviews misconduct claims, and—"
"And yet the department cannot review a claim that you refuse to document," Kiyotaka's voice was soft.
"Two officers trespassed onto private property without presenting writ, warrant, or even basic identification. One even presented the intent to attempt to seize me without articulating statutory cause.
That is unlawful entry, unlawful attempt at detention, and violation of procedural safeguards. All of which I will list, in writing, to your superior. Unless, of course, you wish to handle it here, as you are required to."
He reached forward, sliding the yellow parchment toward himself with a slow, elegant motion. "All you need to do is write. Nothing more."
The policeman stared at him as though trying to decipher whether this was arrogance or absolute certainty. Kiyotaka's expression was relaxed as he smoked the same brand of cigarettes as Fors. The look in his eyes was icy cold, carrying the quiet confidence of a man who knew the law like the back of his hand.
"And if I decline?" the officer murmured.
"Then I will walk into your superior's office," Kiyotaka replied simply.
"And make a report of willful negligence, dereliction of duty, and obstruction of lawful process. I will ensure I include your name, your badge number, and"—his gaze flicked briefly to the small mark beneath the man's eye—"any distinctive identifiers. Accuracy is important in legal documentation, as you might know.
Or well, perhaps you won't know. Sitting in a quiet corner and refusing to do your due diligence might have made your memory dull."
The man's jaw clenched. His fingers twitched toward the pen.
Kiyotaka waited as he dusted more ash off from the tip.
And then, the pen finally touched the paper.
"...State your full complaint, Mr. Holmes."
Kiyotaka sat back down, folding one leg casually over the other. "Gladly."
After that, Kiyotaka recounted all of the events that had occurred in great detail. By the time he finished, the yellow parchment was filled from corner to corner with tight, hurried handwriting.
The officer exhaled, lifted the sheet, and stared at it as if the thin sheet of paper's weight had tripled in his hands.
He stood and called out, "Reynolds!"
A young constable, barely past twenty, judging by the faint awkwardness, darted over. "Sir?"
"Take this to Inspector Hawthorne. Tell him it qualifies for immediate procedural review and that he is to initiate action at once." His tone was sharper than earlier. "Go. Now."
Reynolds nodded vigorously and rushed off, nearly clipping the corner of a desk.
The room that previously had a low hum of conversations and pen scratches, now felt a lot quieter. Several officers pretended to return to their tasks, but their eyes remained fixed on Kiyotaka.
All of them were curious, wary, and a touch unsettled.
The officer at the desk lingered for a few seconds before resting his elbows on the table as Kiyotaka snuffed the tip by rubbing it into the ashtray. Only then did the constable parted his lips.
"Mr. Holmes..." He hesitated, then asked in a lower register, "Are you a lawyer?"
Kiyotaka blinked once, slowly. "A lawyer?" His gaze dipped, and when he looked back up, there was a faint, sardonic softness in his eyes. "No. I am just an alcoholic crammer."
The man stared at him.
At that moment, something shifted inside Williams.
It was a thin, crystalline sensation, kind of like a hair-wide fracture running through a bottle.
And then it cracked.
His breath caught for half a second as the feeling knifed inward.
The Lawyer Potion's final traces had dissolved into him completely!
He straightened slightly on the chair, hiding the flicker of change behind an impassive expression.
The constable cleared his throat. "Very well... Uhh, your complaint will be reviewed thoroughly. Those officers won't be able to sweep anything under the rug. You have my word."
Kiyotaka gave a quiet nod.
A moment passed.
Then, in that same flat, almost conversational tone, Kiyotaka asked, "By the way... what was the accusation, anyway? What kind of murder happened?"
"Ah... Well, perhaps you might know him, a nobleman from the declining Pound family was killed last night. He lost a lot of blood due to a concussion to his head and unfortunately died before people who reported it got to him.
We had received word that you were seen there and hence we allocated the two officers to question you. We had no idea the two would do something like that.
There was also another murder in the vicinity of your house. It would be published in today's newspapers. It was quite a brutal murder... Well, anyway, that's all... Uhh, Mr. Holmes, I can assure you the matter will be—"
Kiyotaka stood up, adjusted his coat and placed his hat on his head. Then he picked up his cane and looked down at the man.
"Do you know who told you about me being present there?"
"Uhh... it was... uhh... maybe we have a record somewhere here..." The man looked frantically around. Since his goal was complete, Kiyotaka decided not to bully the tired and overworked constable anymore.
"I trust you. And do not worry, I will not complain to your senior, so rest assured." Kiyotaka cut him off as the constable nodded.
Tipping his hat, he left the establishment.
*****
A/n: I have a few more chapters stacked, so you don't have to worry about updates for another month or so. I've rewritten this note more times than I can count, mostly because I didn't know how to say what I wanted without it sounding way heavier than it really needed to be.
For some personal reasons, I may be going inactive, not just here, but from social media in general (Discord, Instagram—for those who have me added there—etc). Lately, my hands have been shaking a lot, and while I don't really want to get into details of what caused it, it's been enough that I had to take some measures. I think stepping away for a bit might help.
Not in any way am I saying that it was due to writing or stuff, because if that was true, I would just be a lame person lol.
I know I've said I'll finish this story, and I still mean that. As of writing this, I honestly don't remember how many chapters I have left, and I don't have it in me to check. The updates are already scheduled and will go up at random times on Saturdays or Sundays.
With that said, I hope you all have a belated Happy New Year. It's still the start of December as I'm writing this, but by the time this chapter goes up, it'll probably be well past that.
Regardless, I hope 2026 is kinder to all of us than 2025. Thank you for reading this story, and all the other stories I have written so far. Leave comments, if you wish, I will read them once I am back.
Tchüß