"Go on." Rorschach didn’t make any grand promises in response to the receptionist’s request, deciding to first hear what kind of help she needed. At the same time, he noticed a hulking man sitting in the lobby. The teacup in his hand looked positively miniature, forcing the brawny man to sip from it with care.

Seeing that Rorschach hadn’t immediately refused, the receptionist quickly explained, "The previous tenant in your room was also a Mage. She claimed to be one of the Valois people, and since your registered place of departure is also Valois, I was wondering if you might know her. We tried contacting the Magic Guild, but we didn’t get a response. Does this name ring a bell?"

’Are they trying to collect unpaid rent? But why ask me... Even though there aren’t that many Mages, the odds of us knowing each other within a single Kingdom should still be pretty low.’

After speaking, the receptionist handed over the register. Rorschach glanced at it. Although the receptionist had said the tenant was one of the Valois people, the registered place of departure was the Empire. ’Could it be Teacher Caroline?’

Rorschach took a look and saw a name he didn’t recognize.

"Sorry, I don’t know her." After Rorschach replied, the receptionist said quickly, "My apologies for bothering you."

Just then, the man drinking tea moved. His teacup returned to its saucer with a crisp clink. As he rose fully from the sofa, Rorschach watched as a man built like a wardrobe walked toward him. He strode over to Rorschach, his shadow nearly enveloping the young man.

"You are..."

The man’s voice matched his towering, burly frame, its low tone seeming to make the entire hall vibrate. "I am Perceval, a Knight of the Iron Crown Knight Order. I need to investigate the room you are currently occupying. Please cooperate."

The Knight stood very close to the young man. He seemed to be giving an order from on high, his tone leaving no room for argument. Rorschach felt the man was pressuring him, not making a genuine request. Feeling offended, Rorschach’s expression soured. "I don’t feel like cooperating."

"In Istani, no one refuses to cooperate with the Iron Crown."

"I’m from the Empire, and I don’t know anything about an Iron Crown Knight Order," Rorschach added. "Of course, I’m willing to respect the local laws. If you have a search warrant or a similar document, I’ll gladly check out and let you search the room."

Perceval hadn’t expected a kid to have the nerve to talk to him like that. "Sir, I don’t need a search warrant. We *are* the law of the Kingdom."

"Then what’s your reason for searching the room?"

"That’s none of your concern."

"Then I have nothing more to say." Rorschach tightened his grip on his staff, preparing himself in case the other man resorted to force.

"You’re refusing me."

"You are offending me—a Middle Level Caster. The main branch of the Magic Guild in Istani is right next door; we can go there for arbitration. And I heard the previous tenant was also a Mage. That’s all the more reason the Guild should be involved."

The Knight’s eyes widened. They were deep-set, and for a moment his expression was ferocious and terrifying. But Rorschach remained unmoved, allowing Perceval to continue his intimidation.

Unexpectedly, the Knight backed down. "My apologies. I was inconsiderate." After speaking, he turned to the receptionist. "Thank you for your cooperation, ma’am."

Rorschach only lowered his guard after the Knight left. He spun around to confront the receptionist. "Did he put you up to asking me if I knew the previous tenant?"

The receptionist was flustered. "Yes, I’m sorry! I have to cooperate with the Knights..."

’Knights, always Knights!’ Rorschach hadn’t expected Istani to be just like Valois.

"Is he from the Ise Church?" Rorschach asked, subconsciously drawing a parallel to the Holy Kingdom and assuming this was the Church’s armed force.

But the receptionist denied it. "No. The Knight Orders all answer to Her Majesty the Queen."

"I see. Thank you."

Rorschach returned to his room and locked the door. He scanned the room again, feeling it was no longer safe.

The previous tenant’s luggage had already been packed up and removed by the hotel, and Rorschach had no idea where it went. Since the Kingdom was investigating the mysterious guest, he suspected the luggage had been taken by the Iron Crown Knight Order as well.

He activated [Arcane Vision]. The whole room looked normal. Wait, there was one point of light—the Balan’s Pearl Rorschach had brought with him, which couldn’t be placed into his Storage Ring. Rorschach didn’t believe for a second that the investigators would just give up after being turned away at the door. He had no choice but to risk carrying the pearl on his person.

However, after he placed the pearl into an inner pocket, it began to vibrate.

’Something’s up?’

A new round of searching began.

Rorschach didn’t have any sophisticated methods; he just started searching everywhere. Using [Mage’s Hand], he checked under the rug, rifled through the desk drawers, and searched the bed... 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

He actually felt something in the gap between the mattress and the headboard. ’This means... the inn didn’t change the bedding! I’m going to complain!’

Whatever could fall into such a gap obviously wouldn’t be very large. Rorschach pulled out an envelope.

’Did I actually find something?’ After a moment’s hesitation, Rorschach used [Mage’s Hand] to lift the envelope. Seeing the outside was blank, he carefully extracted the letter, never once touching either with his own hands. ’There shouldn’t be any fingerprint-tracking technology yet... what I really need to guard against are Prophetic Spells...’

With that settled, Rorschach began to read. There were several sheets of paper in the envelope, and the salutation on the first one was...

"Teacher Caroline?"

Rorschach was stunned and quickly read on. They were his own letters, neatly folded and pressed flat, with his own handwriting on them, all arranged by date.

They ranged from last winter to this past spring. Because Teacher Caroline had stopped replying at the start of the year, Rorschach only knew she was somewhere in Istani, without a specific address. As a result, he had redirected all his subsequent letters to the academy in the Empire.

He never thought all the letters he’d sent to Istani would be here.

’But that wasn’t her name in the register.’ Rorschach quickly skimmed his own letters before putting them away and hurriedly searching for any other items his teacher might have left behind.

However, he found nothing else.

’I can’t stay here anymore.’ Rorschach was worried that the members of the Knight Order had backed off too easily and would return to make trouble, so he quickly packed his own bags.

The receptionist saw Rorschach, who had just gone up moments before, now rushing back down with a floating suitcase trailing behind him.

"I’m checking out."

"You’ll only get half of your deposit back..."

’I’ll just consider it money I lost in a fall...’ Rorschach insisted, "I’m checking out immediately. Also, where is the previous tenant’s luggage?"

The receptionist didn’t know what was going on. "It’s already been... handed over to..."

"Handed over to who? The Magic Guild?"

The receptionist thought for a long moment before forcing out a term she was permitted to use: "...the relevant authorities."

’Damn it...’ Rorschach hesitated for a moment but decided to risk one more question. "What did the tenant before me look like?"

All he received in reply was a shake of her head. "I’m sorry, sir, I don’t remember... I wasn’t on duty when the lady checked in..."

To eliminate any loose ends, Rorschach feigned a threat by gathering a bit of blue light on his fingertip and using [Mage’s Hand] to cover the woman’s mouth. "You are not to tell anyone about my last question. If you speak a single word of it, you will be punished immediately! Do you understand?"

As he finished speaking, the blue light flowed into the receptionist’s head. The woman, tears streaming down her face, nodded frantically.

It was only two in the afternoon, a time when the sun should have been strong, yet the autumn streets of Storm City were shrouded in a cold, white curtain. ’This inn doesn’t change its bedding, and on top of that, it forced me to play the villain...’ Rorschach cursed his bad luck, dragging his luggage, which was enchanted with the [Floating Skill], and disappearing into the thick fog.

By the time the receptionist had dried her tears and fixed her makeup, three more burly men burst in out of the fog, led by none other than Perceval. It was just as Rorschach had predicted: upon learning that the "kid" was a Middle Level Mage, Perceval had immediately called for backup. It wasn’t just more Knights, either; several detectives in black uniforms followed close behind them, filling the entire lobby.

Perceval got straight to the point. "Take me to that room. You know which one I’m talking about."