Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 60: Fifty-five: The person in the mirror

Chapter 60: Fifty-five: The person in the mirror

Colin slumped on the sofa, surrounded by clothes Margaret had bought, some for him, but most for her.

As the manager of a women’s clothing store, the elderly lady prepared a cup of coffee for Colin with a smile and placed it on the coffee table in front of him. Then the old lady sat down in front of him, "It must have been quite tiring, young man."

"Ah...you caught me, madam." Not sure whether it was right or wrong, Colin could only settle for that.

"No, my husband was like that when he was young," the old lady said with a smile. "Accompanying a girl out is truly a draining affair, but that child seems immersed in happiness. Don’t let her down, young Priest sir."

Colin, who was dressed in casual wear with only a Church of the Goddess of Harvest member’s badge pinned on his collar, looked like the boy next door. It was clear that the old lady and he were strangers, and seeing each other for the first time, so mistaking his identity was normal. And Colin had no desire to correct her, just smiled in response.

"Colin! How about this one?" Margaret appeared with a smile, looking at the long, waist-cinched trench coat she was wearing. Colin smiled and nodded, "Looks great."

Margaret liked masculine and androgynous styles because they wouldn’t be a hindrance, whether in daily life or in combat.

"Great, add this one to the list, I still have a few more to try on." Margaret happily returned to her changing room.

Colin looked up to the sky amidst the old lady’s laughter and let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

Sounds of the shop door being pushed open were heard. The old lady smiled and nodded at Colin, then rose to welcome the new customers.

"Hmm, this shop looks good, Faye, let’s check it out over there."

The voice from the entrance made Colin, who was drinking coffee, look up.

He saw Margaret’s sister Faye and Clark’s granddaughter Jessica walking in.

Following them came Malin, looking haggard and laden with bags.

Perhaps feeling something, Malin turned his head and looked at his senior brother across the lounge’s railing.

In that moment, Colin felt a heavy sense of fatalism.

What do the Thainan people say?

Ah, that’s right.

Both in dire straits.

...........

"Let me tell you, the store we just visited is definitely the best. The manager, an old lady, is a very skilled master tailor," Joined by Logan boasted to Lillim and Maya, whom he and Miriam had encountered on the street, and Miriam insisted on accompanying Maya on her shopping spree.

Logan naturally had no complaints—recently, he and Miriam were as close as can be. Besides, the Leopard Girl was Malin’s sister, and getting on good terms with Malin was his own decision.

So, even if Logan had to force a smile, he was willing to flatter these three young ladies to ensure they shopped happily.

Taking them to the store he’d mentioned, Logan pushed open the door, and along with it, the doorbell chimed a delightful sound.

"Ladies first." Carrying twelve bags in one hand and at least twenty packages on his back, Logan mustered his energy to serve with a smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Logan," Maya said with a smile as she walked in first.

"Thanks," Lillim entered with a laugh.

"My dear, you’re very eager to show off today," Miriam commented as she walked in, not smiling, but with a predatory gaze that spoke of her killer instinct.

Logan forced a laugh, worried that this little ancestor might turn around and cast an energy-draining spell on him, after all, she was a notable figure in the Curse Eight.

Following the girls into the shop, Logan noticed they hadn’t headed to the area with the clothes but instead walked towards the lounge.

With considerable effort, he lifted his head and straightened his back to see Colin and Malin smiling at him from the sofa in his disheveled state.

Logan laughed to himself.

What’s there to laugh about? You’re bootlickers too!

...........

Five minutes later, having ordered a heap of snacks and coffee, Malin, Colin, and Logan sat in the lounge area enjoying a rare afternoon tea. Malin received some new information from Colin about the Domingo family—as part of the thirty brave men of the past, now reduced to seven families, the two biggest sons of the Domingo family had both fallen within a day, and furthermore, the death of the younger son led to the entire group of Church of the War God students dying, which meant both the Church of the War God and the Church of the Goddess of Harvest were very concerned about the matter.

The assassination of the elder son was the responsibility of the Church of the War God. They were said to be completely confused at the moment. The assassin’s techniques were unheard of—attacking a tier 7 young man from behind in a crowd and succeeding in one hit without anyone noticing before the victim collapsed. This involved many aspects—using illusionary Spell Formation to disguise the victim’s reactions, applying poison to block the victim’s use of Spiritual Energy. It was far beyond what a simple thug could achieve with a knife stab.

As for the younger son, Colin had led a team that investigated half the day, eventually determining the likely scenario of the murder—the assassin leaped from the rooftop, using a Spell Formation to conceal the alleyway and then killed Domingo’s younger son without making a sound. If the horse hadn’t walked out of the alley on its own, it would have been very difficult to pinpoint when the person died.

Colin and his team were baffled, but Malin was uneasy—where did this assassin come from, jumping from rooftops to kill? As if he should be filming ’Creed of Assassins’ instead.

Of course, that comment was just a gripe, the fact is that the murderer must be a Transcendent skilled in assassination, with at least the hard power to cast spells of the fifth circle or higher. The intended target seemed to be the second son of the Domingo family, and the students at the Church of the War God were just collateral damage.

Then the problem is, neither of the churches can find a suspect—the eldest son of the Domingo family does have several enemies, but they all have alibis for the time of the attack, and there were no significant funds transferred from their bank accounts that could be related to this incident. The Church of the Goddess of Harvest is even more clueless; the second son of the Domingo family was raised as a Proxy in the Church since he was a child, and he barely made any appearances within his secular family, so only a few people knew of his identity.

In other words, even if someone wanted to strike at the Domingo family, there were very few who knew his identity.

So, why the murderer killed this second son remains a mystery.

"What a hassle. If only we had a Great Detective like Sherlock Holmes in the real world," Logan said, clearly confused. As a reader, he sighed with such sentiment.

"That’s fiction. The problem now is that we can’t continue the investigation, so we can only link this incident to the previous case of Mrs. Mischael being murdered. It seems the murderer is targeting the Seven Heroes’ families. We’ve already issued warnings to the other five families. Let’s just hope all this is just our unfounded speculation," Colin said, taking a sip of coffee before looking at Malin, "What about you, Great Detective? What do you think?"

"Of course, why aren’t you worried about Mr. Mischael?"

"What’s there to worry about? His methods are passed down through his family. Although they’re only around level seven, his actual strength is firmly above level five, and there are not many in Carterburg who are above level five." Colin’s words made Malin pause for a second—well, she hadn’t expected him to be that strong.

At that moment, the girls came out. Miss Margaret unexpectedly changed into a black pair of stockings and a knee-length skirt, teamed with a shirt and a small vest on top, which immediately earned a thumbs-up from Colin.

Maya and Faye also wore various clothes along with uniform black stockings; naturally, Malin raised an eyebrow and gave a thumbs-up.

Logan looked over at his own Miriam, who was nearly in tears—she had changed into a neutral shirt and long pants, topped with high heels.

They must be tears of joy.

With that thought, Malin had Maya lead the girls to pay, while Margaret and Colin naturally walked in front. Logan, led by the freshly-recruited career woman Miriam, walked in the middle. Given his hands-off management style, Malin quite naturally took up the rear. The fact that the girls in front were wearing Malin’s favorite kind of stockings made him very happy—after all, it was a direct touch to the heart, a beautiful thing that could heal the soul.

With that thought, Malin noticed Lillim. The girl looked very slim, yet her legs had an unexpectedly fleshy feel.

It was so heartwarming.

Malin sighed and stretched out his hand to help Lillim, who almost fell because of a twisted ankle.

"Tha-thank you, Malin," the girl said, blushing.

Malin nodded with a smile, "You’re not really suited for thick-soled shoes, you should try a different pair next time."

"Yeah," the little lamb nodded.

Malin looked up to see his sister smiling at him, her face full of laughter.

Malin smiled back, and at the same time noticed a huge mirror to the side. Looking at the people reflected in it, Malin couldn’t help but feel happy.

How nice it would be if this world wasn’t so dangerous.

.........

Maya glanced at her brother and then turned her head smiling towards the great mirror. In an instant, the images of the people in the mirror changed.

Colin was gone from the reflection, while Margaret was wearing a black bridal gown, her expression a mixture of smiles and solemnity.

Logan was all grown up, but his left eye was covered with an eyepatch, giving him the appearance of a soldier; Miriam donned a gray mage’s gown, holding heavy books, looking rushed.

The grown-up Maya was holding a little leopard, seemingly very content.

Faye was dressed in a red mage’s robe, looking just like one of those dignitaries from the Mage Association.

Jessica’s armor was damaged and stained with blood, yet she seemed to be smiling.

Lillim... Maya was shocked to find that Lillim’s appearance had changed, her slender red locks gone, and her tail not looking like thin tendrils; she was holding something, but Maya couldn’t quite make it out.

And then there was Malin, who was at the back.

Maya narrowed her eyes.

There was no change in her brother at all.

Maya paused for a moment, then narrowed her eyes, attempting to confirm her observation. But the next second, she felt a pang of pain and staggered back two steps. On the third step, her brother’s outstretched hand was already supporting her: "Don’t wear high heels next time; look, you almost fell," Malin said somewhat reproachfully.

Maya felt a bit embarrassed but quickly noticed a change in Malin’s reflection in the mirror.

He had gotten taller, and then... then there didn’t seem to be any other change.

How odd.

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