Fran rubbed her hands together with lingering satisfaction, the upward curve of her lips almost uncontrollable... This was normal. Her mood visibly improved every time her Parsing Rate increased.
"Alright, Miss Vivian, please keep this autopsy report safe..."
She handed the notebook filled with a page of writing to Vivian, then intended to first give the survivors in the "swaddling clothes" some emergency treatment.
Just as Fran turned, Professor Terence quickly reached out to stop her.
"Wait a moment!"
"What is it, Professor Terence?"
Fran looked curiously at the elderly professor who had instantly appeared before her.
Terence's expression was somewhat anxious, seeming out of character with his usual stern demeanor. However, Child's expression remained normal, as if accustomed to this... Most White Cup professors became like this when faced with academic intelligence.
"Dr. Fran, can we share this autopsy report?... The White Cup cult is willing to pay a corresponding price."
"A minor issue. I'm quite happy to share this information..."
Fran first expressed her attitude, then pivoted, her expression troubled as she began officialese.
"However, I am currently a Secrets-Hunter coroner. Therefore, whether related documents can be disclosed requires Sister Haida's approval."
Terence immediately shifted his gaze to Haida.
Haida pursed her lips slightly. In the ancient relic expert's deep eyes, she saw a trace of nearly eager entreaty...
"No need to worry, Professor Terence. This type of 'information during active operations' can be shared freely with collaborators. Even if you don't see it now, the General Affairs Division will later send the shared documents to the White Cup cult."
She then took the autopsy report from Fran and handed it to Terence.
"Thank you very much, Sister Haida."
Terence relaxed upon receiving the notebook containing the report, his expression returning to its usual composure.
How much valuable content such intelligence materials would retain after being processed once by the General Affairs Division before reaching the White Cup cult was debatable... It was better to humble oneself and see the first-hand version directly.
Taking some time, Terence concentrated intently as he read through the autopsy report.
Professional, concise, yet also revealing the writer's casual, offhand manner... It truly had Dr. Fran's style. He noted several key pieces of information. Then he returned the notebook to Haida.
"Given the potential threat within the sewers, I will apply to Headmaster Grantham to jointly execute the purge mission."
"I look forward to working with you three again. May the Great Pioneer's thoughts flow within your minds."
This was merely a preliminary reconnaissance mission, aimed at clarifying the reason for the corpse pile and the previous anomalies near the academy. There was no need to delve deeper.
After giving a slight bow, Terence turned and left with Child.
"Huff..."
During the time Terence spent reviewing the autopsy report, Fran had already rescued all the survivors from the birth-womb swaddling clothes and provided some emergency care.
"Fifteen people in total. An interesting number."
"These patients have been in darkness for too long. I've covered them with a cloth to prevent eye damage from sudden light. Also, they all have some degree of muscle atrophy and cannot move independently. We'll wait for the Medical Division to bring stretchers."
Pale gray mist quietly spread. Fran stretched, seeming ready to leave as well.
Before leaving, she seemed to suddenly remember something. Then, with her hands behind her back, she gracefully walked up to Haida.
"What is it, Dr. Fran?"
Looking at the meaningful smile on Fran's lips, Haida felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
"This case was quite interesting, so I've decided to give you a little extra 'reminder.' Bring your face closer."
Though not entirely sure what Fran intended, out of trust in her... Haida lowered her head and leaned closer.
Tap, tap, tap.
A gentle tapping sensation followed.
Fran extended her index finger and tapped Haida's forehead three times with her knuckle.
After that, she waved her hand and stepped lightly into the pale mist in a dark corner, leaving a perplexed Haida and Vivian behind.
...What did that mean?
---
North District 13, Fog Street Clinic.
Warm mist steamed. Hot water dampened Fran's pale white hair, then splashed onto the bathroom floor, producing a fine, dense sound.
She reached out, her fingers tracing smooth, fair skin, evenly spreading the shower gel that had already foamed up luxuriantly.
"Although the vampire autopsy was indeed interesting, this kind of work really tends to leave one covered in strange smells... Not to mention walking around in the sewers beforehand."
If a Blood Kin self-immolates in sunlight, only a pile of ashes remains... If death is by other causes, the corpse generally becomes gruesome. Opportunities for such a complete dissection are relatively rare.
Come to think of it, [Drive Away Dust and Filth] can clear away odor-carrying particles in the vicinity.
However, that microscopic-level application is rather mentally taxing, so it's not often used. Last time, using it to cleanse the surrounding corruption within Norlington's Shadow exhausted her enough.
After drying off the remaining water droplets, Fran put on her clothes and walked out of the bathroom. Sigrid stood by the door with her hands at her sides, seemingly having waited for a while.
"Dr. Fran, would you like me to help dry your hair?"
"Thank you, that would be helpful." Fran nodded in agreement.
What a professional attitude. Miss Sigrid truly excels at whatever she does...
Though her tenure hasn't been long and she's only nominally a maid, she's already quite proficient in her duties.
Sitting before the dressing table mirror in the bedroom, Sigrid carefully dried Fran's wet hair.
"Dr. Fran, the feathers on your head... seem to have grown out again?"
She noticed two tufts of fine, frost-white down feathers had appeared on the quills among Fran's hair, looking somewhat wilted from being damp.
"Since it's molting, of course they'll grow out. A perfectly normal physiological phenomenon."
Fran explained as if it were commonplace, even reaching up to pinch the soft pink quill shafts, coaxing out the newly grown ear feathers.
She glanced at the brass pocket watch. It was nearly eleven o'clock.
According to her usual biological clock, Fran would probably be preparing for sleep around this time...
But today, Fran showed no signs of preparing to rest. She neatly put on her little suit jacket and white physician's coat, and even had Sigrid braid the strands beside her temples.
"Going out again today?"
Seeing Fran not putting on pajamas as usual, Sigrid inquired curiously.
"No need to go out, but I might be working some overtime. I need to complete the research on the 'Black Cornucopians' biomechanics before the last cross-dimensional house call of the year... Time is tight, and the task is heavy."
"Don't mind me, Sigrid. Just maintain your normal routine."
Fran's brows relaxed slightly. She pulled on a white heavy-duty hazmat suit and entered the operating room to begin identifying the consultation fee from this month's house call.
I hope it's something useful for the research. The toys gathering dust in my collection room are almost overflowing...
...
[Portable Ace Ice Maker.]
[Quality: Ordinary.]
[Effect: You know, the effect is just that... It makes very pure ice for you, convenient for you to have cold drinks anytime. The machine is portable and can draw moisture from the surrounding air to slowly replenish its water tank (The product absolutely has no addictive properties).]
[Note: "I am awake... Let's cook." — Not Heisenberg.]
Looking at the exquisite little instrument on the operating table, Fran narrowed her amber eyes, falling into prolonged silence.
Finally, she slightly pursed her lips, raised her hand, and thumped it heavily on the countertop.
"Why on earth would you specifically state 'absolutely no addictive properties' and 'not Heisenberg'?! You're protesting too much, aren't you?!"
Without a doubt, this instrument offered no help to Fran's current research.
Moreover, whether its product was harmful to humans remained unknown. But judging from both the effect description and that note, this thing's safety was very concerning...
Fran tried pulling the machine's lever. Immediately, many neatly formed square ice cubes fell from the discharge port into the metal container below.
"Let's have a little taste."
Since she herself was the most stable testing equipment and experimental subject, this individual unhesitatingly picked up a piece, tossed it into her mouth, and began chewing.
"Oh, it actually is just pure water..."
Feeling the ice melt in her mouth, Fran narrowed her eyes, her words inexplicably carrying a hint of disappointment.
"Haven't thought of a use for it yet. But the 'portable' description is quite fitting. Compared to a conventional ice maker, its size is much more compact and can be stuffed into a medicine box for when the need arises."
Judging by the current effect description, it seemed it could provide water in extreme environments.
Although Fran herself didn't have such a hard requirement, people around her might need it sometimes.
"Next, time to debug the biological device prototype. Currently, I don't have enough material data on Wraithbone. The barely cobbled-together coccyx prototype also has various flaws..."
Although the advanced experiment was still in its initial stage, she had planned for it for a long time, and most technical hurdles were resolved. Now she just needed to accumulate experimental models according to the established framework and weed out the flawed products...
"If my concept is correct, the final product should reach 'Flawless' quality."
Before the arduous work began, she inexplicably remembered the joke she had just played on Haida, a smile curling her moist, gleaming lips.
"Sister Haida is smart, but truly understanding the intent of the 'reminder' might still take some time."
"Of course, I hope she gains some inspiration from this mysterious number, rather than actually coming to my bedroom in the middle of the night..."
---
Secrets-Hunter Headquarters.
After completing the mission debriefing and returning to the Secrets-Hunter Cult's ready room, Haida did not, as usual, immediately throw herself into training or study secret arts literature.
She sat calmly on the sofa, her fingers interlocked, deep in thought.
Vivian sat opposite her. Looking at the statue-like Sister Haida, she momentarily didn't know what to say to break the heavy atmosphere. She could only take a soda cracker from the wicker basket on the table and put it in her mouth.
As the faint sweetness and vanilla aroma of the soda cracker spread in her mouth, Vivian quickly felt relaxed and relieved. Leaning against the sofa back, she even felt a hint of drowsiness.
Let Sister Haida rest quietly for a while. The amount of training she usually does is a bit scary even for me to see.
Haida had been thinking about the meaning of the "hint" Dr. Fran had given her the entire way back, so deeply absorbed in her own thoughts that she was nearly entranced.
Although she maintained flawless rigor when reporting mission details to Director Alwin in the General Affairs Division, Vivian, who had been with her day and night recently, could easily sense she was in a somewhat absent-minded state...
For the purpose of replenishing sugar, Haida also picked up a cracker and put it in her mouth, then resumed her statue-like pose.
What exactly does Dr. Fran's three taps on the forehead mean?
Three. Is it indicating sequence? Referring to this being the third Red Cup-related case this year?
No, that's not right. That conjecture as a 'hint' holds no value. And if counted from Mrs. Solani's incident onward, the drainage system reconnaissance doesn't even count as the third task.
Is it indicating time? We entered the sewers around 19:00 and left before 23:00.
Forcing a connection between three and time isn't impossible, but it seems a bit far-fetched.
Or perhaps it's just the number itself... but carries some special meaning.
Earlier, when Dr. Fran counted the survivors, she said, 'Fifteen people, an interesting number'... That might also be a hint. But what does it represent?
For a moment, Haida felt she was on the verge of touching the key to the entire event.
...But the fleeting inspiration vanished in an instant. She ultimately failed to reach a clear, definite conclusion.
"Sister Haida, it's almost 24:00."
Looking at the somewhat unhappy Haida, Vivian offered a rather nervous reminder about the time.
Although, due to operational reasons, Confidential Division agents weren't opposed to night shifts... under the premise that the reconnaissance mission was already complete... she still hoped to get off duty early.
Hearing this, Haida was slightly taken aback. Her gaze towards Vivian held a hint of apology.
"Sorry, I was a bit distracted. Vivian, you go rest first. I'll stay in the ready room a little longer."
As she spoke, she pointed to the nun's habit loaded with weapons. Removing them one by one indeed required some time.
"Alright. Goodnight, Sister Haida."
Vivian really wanted to add, "Don't overwork yourself, take care of your health," but considering both Ms. Marian and Dr. Fran were overseeing her health... it probably didn't need her concern.
+++
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL