No wonder you and Klein got along so well in the original story, Professor—you're both masters of the "art of reporting." You must have had plenty to talk about!
While secretly teasing his teacher, Ebner also carefully considered Detective Isengard's advice. A moment later, he seemed to come to a realization and asked, "Professor, do you have a specific plan in mind?"
Detective Isengard did not answer immediately. Instead, he smiled knowingly and asked, "What do you think we need to do to 'report' those two Witches skillfully?"
Realizing this was a test, Ebner carefully responded, "First is the timing. We can't act too early; we need to wait until I've completed Ms. Rae's commission. Otherwise, if she's reported just after giving her commission, it would be difficult for her not to suspect me." Although Ebner said this, he privately believed the timing should be delayed until Rae had approached those noblemen and gathered all her information. Only by doing so could he avoid disrupting that unmentionable organization's plans and maintain the intended flow of events. If things proceeded as intended, no one—nor even that "He"—would care what happened to those two Witch pawns.
In fact, Ebner even began wondering whether his reasoning itself might be part of a narrative written by that angelic author himself.
"Good. What else?" Detective Isengard nodded approvingly and continued his questioning.
"Next, we need to decide who will do the reporting. If Xio or I handle it, we lack concrete evidence and prefer not to reveal that we're Beyonders, which means the report might not be taken seriously and could risk the Witches catching on and retaliating." At this point, Ebner glanced over at his teacher, noting that, with his connections to the Church of the Evernight Goddess and the Machinery Hivemind, he was the ideal person for the job.
Detective Isengard understood his student's implication but shook his head and explained, "Even I'm not the best choice for this. If I report, it would reveal that we knowingly accepted a Witch's commission to gather intelligence on nobles. Reporting immediately could mitigate this, but if done after the fact, there would be grounds for accountability. This isn't Lenburg; though I have a level of understanding with the Church of the Evernight Goddess and Machinery Hivemind, certain boundaries can't be tested."
Ebner frowned, contemplating for a moment before cautiously proposing, "If you can't report, how would we inform the authorities? Could we perhaps leave behind clues to draw their attention?"
"You're on the right track, but fabricating evidence could backfire. As Emperor Roselle once said, 'you can't be too clever.' The authorities possess many investigative methods, so there's no guarantee they wouldn't trace it back to us." Detective Isengard warned.
Taking this to heart, Ebner's mind began formulating a new idea: "Then, rather than creating evidence, we could expose traces the Witches have left behind, subtly guiding the authorities toward them. That way, we stay out of sight and avoid suspicion from both sides."
"Now that sounds like a plan," Detective Isengard said approvingly. "Based on what we know, the Sequence 7 Witch, Lena, is careless in her actions; otherwise, Xio wouldn't have been alerted, and the Machinery Hivemind wouldn't have caught wind of her. 'All who pass leave traces,' as Roselle once said, and a person that careless will leave signs everywhere for trained professionals. Once the authorities pick up her trail, they should be able to follow it straight to Rae."
"Then the last issue: what do we do about Xio until the authorities step in? Lena has already tracked her down." Ebner asked, glancing at Xio for her input.
Xio simply waved off his concern. "I'll be fine. I just won't show up in the East Borough for now. They won't find me that easily."
"My advice would be to leave Backlund altogether and lay low in another city," Detective Isengard suggested with a smile. "The two Witches clearly have tasks from their organization and are unlikely to leave. Investigating Turner was just an incidental task for them. Once the target leaves, they won't waste any further time or energy."
"For how long?" Xio frowned slightly, clearly reluctant to leave Backlund, where her chances of growing stronger and clearing her father's name lay.
"A month should do it," Ebner said, believing the Witch would have ample time to gather information on Baron Gramir by then.
"A month… that's not too bad," Xio exhaled with relief. She could handle a brief absence.
With that, Ebner teased her in a low voice, "Maybe when you come back, you'll find Fors has networked with the most prominent noblewoman in Backlund!" Fate worked in strange ways, after all; her return would align with the timing of her release from prison in the original story.
"She'll probably lie around at home for the whole month without me around to push her…" Xio responded worriedly, increasingly certain that Fors was likely to do just that. She wasn't concerned for Fors' safety, as no one besides Ebner knew they were connected.
"Ebner, my suggestion for leaving Backlund wasn't just for Xio. It applies to you as well," Detective Isengard interjected.
"What? Why would I need to avoid them?" Ebner asked in surprise. As long as Xio remained free, they shouldn't be able to trace anything back to him, right?
"The East Borough's 'Arbiter' Xio has frequently been seen sharing breakfast at the Darce Street Café with a certain gentleman… Word of this has even reached me, and I wasn't actively investigating. Do you think the Witches would be clueless about it?" Detective Isengard tapped the table meaningfully.
Ah… if they can't locate Xio, they could certainly come looking for me… I hadn't considered that before. What an oversight.
After briefly reproaching himself, Ebner raised another concern, "But if both Xio and I leave, won't the Witches turn their attention to you?"
Detective Isengard chuckled and said, "Unlike you, I'm a Sequence 6-level Beyonder. To target me, they'd have to consider whether it's worth it. After all, they have other duties and would hardly seek additional enemies without cause."
"But how will they know you're Sequence 6?" Ebner frowned, skeptical.
"If the Theosophy Order, or rather, the Demoness Sect, does have ties with MI9, they should be aware of my capabilities," Detective Isengard replied. Then, with a faintly amused tone, he continued, "Even if they did attack, they'd have a hard time holding me down. I'm quite confident in my ability to escape. An attempted attack would simplify things; we wouldn't need to plant evidence, as the assault itself would be proof."
Why not lure them into attacking you from the start, then? Ebner thought but refrained from saying it out loud, not wanting to risk a reprimand. Besides, the probability was low. As the professor had pointed out, a Witch might not mind killing a Sequence 9 Beyonder as an afterthought, but she certainly wouldn't go out of her way to challenge a Sequence 6 Beyonder without considerable incentive.
As Ebner mulled over these thoughts, Detective Isengard said, "It just so happens I have a commission that requires travel… Normally, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving this entirely to you, but if Ms. Xio accompanies you, there should be no problems. Of course, I'll provide a commission fee."
"Mr. Stanton, there's no need for that. You've helped me so much already. It's only right I assist you with a commission at no charge," Xio replied, waving off his offer.
Curious, Ebner asked, "What's the commission, Teacher?"
"It's a request from an old friend of mine in Damir Port. You'll need to handle a Beyonder-related incident… You'll head east from Backlund, cross the sea from Port Pritz, and reach Damir. After completing the task, you'll return through Enmat Port, then head back to Backlund via Chester County, possibly passing through Tingen. This entire journey should take about a month."
(Chapter End)