The interior matched the exterior. Polished wood floors, glass display cases with artifacts I couldn't even begin to price, soft lighting that made everything look like art.
Behind a counter sat a woman in her forties, examining something with a jeweler's loupe. She had graying hair pulled back in a neat bun, wearing clothes that screamed "professional but expensive."
She looked up as we entered.
Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Melissa.
"Melissa?" She set down, taking in our appearance. The blood. The dust. "What happened to you?"
"Hi, Aunt Vera." Melissa's voice was carefully neutral. "We need to talk."
"Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. We just... had a rough night."
Vera's gaze shifted to me. Assessing. Her eyes caught on my wrist—the fresh Stage 1 marking—then moved to my face.
She frowned slightly.
"Your eyes."
"Hm?" I replied, caught off guard.
"They weren't blue in your detective registration photo."
How does she—
"Path awakening side effect," Melissa said before I could respond. "This is Hiroto Takatana. The detective my father hired."
"The fourth one," Vera said quietly. "The other three haven't been heard from in days."
"Yeah. We're aware."
Vera studied us both for a long moment. Then she stood up, walked to the front door, and flipped the sign to "CLOSED."
"Come to the back."
"Your father called me yesterday," Vera said, sitting across from us. "He's worried sick. Told me he'd hired another investigator but couldn't reach you."
"We've been busy surviving," I said.
"Surviving what?"
"Shadow Covenant assassin tried to kill us last night," Melissa said flatly. "Stage 4."
Vera's expression went carefully blank. The kind of blank that meant she was very much not okay.
"I see."
She paused for a moment and continued.
"That's what happens when you investigate the Veridian Lens." Vera stood up, moved to a cabinet, pulled out a bottle and two glasses. "You want?"
"It's six in the morning," Melissa said.
"And you were nearly killed by professional assassins." Vera poured herself a drink. "I'd say that warrants morning alcohol."
Fair point.
I shook my head. Melissa did the same.
Vera downed her drink in one go, then sat back down.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything," I said. "Starting with what you learned during the authentication."
"That's confidential—"
"Three investigators are missing. We were attacked. Someone with the Lens showed up and told us the truth is worse than we think." I leaned forward. "Confidentiality is dead. What does the Lens actually do?"
Vera was quiet for a moment.
Then she sighed.
"It doesn't just detect lies. It shows buried truths. Hidden events. The past itself, if you have enough essence to power it."
"How far back?"
"Theoretically? Fifty years. Maybe more. I spent over an hour testing it during authentication. Every test showed more capabilities." She refilled her glass but didn't drink it yet. "Point it at an object, you see its history. Point it at a place, you see what happened there. Point it at a person..."
"You see their sins," I finished.
She nodded. "Every secret. Every lie. Everything they've buried. It's not just an artifact—it's a confession device. A truth excavator."
I activated my Evidence Window, started scanning this conversation into it.
"During the viewing, who seemed most interested?"
"Gerard asked very specific questions. How far back it could see. How detailed the visions were. What its limitations were." Vera finally took a sip. "Lord Treylow kept asking about business applications. Market value. His wife looked bored."
"What about Magistrate Cross?"
"Helena barely engaged. She seemed... distracted. Almost nervous. She left early, actually. Said she had another appointment."
Nervous.
I made a note.
"And after the viewing? Did anyone contact you?"
Vera hesitated.
"Vera," Melissa said. "What happened?"
"Two days later, I received an anonymous offer. Fifty thousand Gold Argentum for my authentication report. All my findings, technical specifications, everything."
My head snapped up. "Fifty thousand?"
"I refused. Told them the information was confidential." She looked down at her glass. "They raised it to seventy-five thousand. I refused again."
"Then?"
"Then they sent me a photograph. My daughter. At her school. With a note saying they hoped nothing unfortunate would happen to such a bright young girl."
Silence.
"I gave them the documentation," Vera said quietly. "What choice did I have?"
"When?" I asked.
"Six days ago."
Two days before the theft.
The timeline was clicking together.
"Did you keep copies?"
"Of course." She moved to a locked drawer, pulled out a thick folder. "I'm not stupid enough to give away the only copies of dangerous information."
I opened it and started reading.
Technical diagrams. Capability assessments. Detailed notes on the Lens's functions.
My eyes widened as I read.
The Lens was way more powerful than Regiran had implied.
It could track bloodlines. Identify family connections going back generations. It could show not just what happened, but who was involved.
"Wait." I stopped on a particular page. "This bloodline tracking feature. That's not in any of the marketing materials."
"Because Regiran didn't want people to know," Vera said. "It was the whole point of building the Lens in the first place."
I looked at Melissa.
Her jaw was tight.
"To prove Gerard's connection to the trafficking victims," she said. "Some of them were Thorne bastards. Evidence of his crimes."
So the Lens wasn't just a truth device.
It was a weapon. Built specifically to destroy Gerard Thorne.
"How many people know about this feature?" I asked.
"Regiran, Elena, myself. That's it. I didn't include it in what I sent to the anonymous buyer." Vera met my eyes. "Too dangerous."
Smart.
I scanned the documents into my Evidence Window, then activated the analysis function.
Processing... 34%
I pulled out the photograph from last night. The one the auburn-haired operative had left.
"Have you ever seen this symbol?" I turned it over, showing her the mark in the corner.
Vera leaned closer.
Her face went pale.
"Where did you get this?"
"Someone left it for us. Last night. Right after showing us they had the Lens."
"Melissa." Vera's voice was shaking slightly. "You need to stop investigating. Right now."
"What? Why?"
"Because that mark..." Vera pointed at the symbol—the eye in the triangle with three wavy lines. "That's the Archivist's seal. They're not criminals. They're not thieves. They're collectors."
"Of what?"
"Of everything. Secrets. Artifacts. People with dangerous abilities." She looked at me. "They've been operating for centuries. They have resources you can't imagine. Connections in every government, every major organization. And if they're interested in you..."
She didn't finish.
She didn't need to.
Vera nodded slowly. "The Veridian Lens was just bait. They took it to see who would investigate. To find someone with the skills to track it down." She gestured at me. "Someone like you."
Are you fucking serious?! This was my damn first case!
The system pinged.
Recommendation : Cease investigation immediately for survival.
Then I closed the window.
"I'm not stopping," I said.
"Hiroto—" Melissa started.
"Three investigators are missing. Your father is in debt to the Syndicate. We've been marked by the Archivists." I looked at both of them. "Stopping now doesn't make us safe. It just leaves loose ends!
I thought back to the original game.
There were no archivists, Hell there wasn't even magic.
How was this a difficulty option when everything was different?!
"There is one thing. During the authentication, I noticed something odd about the Lens's construction. There's a secondary chamber. Hidden. I couldn't figure out what it was for."
"A secondary chamber?"
"Regiran said it was for future upgrades. But..." She frowned. "I think he was lying. The chamber was too integrated. Too deliberate. It was built for something specific."
Interesting.
"Could you draw it?"
She grabbed a piece of paper and sketched quickly. A cross-section of the Lens, with a small chamber highlighted.
I scanned it into my Evidence Window.
"Thank you."
"Be careful," Vera said again. "Both of you. The people you're investigating... they don't play fair."
"Neither do we," I said.
We left through the back exit—Vera's suggestion. Less visible.
The alley was empty. Cold morning air. The sun was finally starting to burn through the gray sky.
"You really think we can do this?" Melissa asked as we walked. "Two people against organizations that have existed for centuries?"
"No," I said honestly. "But I don't think we have a choice anymore."
"That's not reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be."
We headed toward the main street, planning our approach to Magistrate Cross.
Neither of us noticed the figure watching from a nearby rooftop.
A small smile.
The detective was learning.
Good.