In a nursing home ward, the lights were off, and only natural light from outside illuminated the room. Decorative paintings hung on the walls, family photos, and a green plant Ethan had brought were on the counter. An elderly woman sat in an armchair, with Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha on her lap. She adjusted her silver-rimmed reading glasses and turned to the next page.
On the movable table beside, her was the leftover food she had just eaten. Ethan leaned against the door frame.
"I heard someone hasn't been taking their meds."
He spoke. The elderly woman closed the book, took off her glasses, and, seeing it was her grandson, smiled slightly.
"That's because they're poisoning me."
"That's impossible, Nana. Dr. Boussac promised me she wouldn't poison you until after January."
Ethan placed his bag on the floor by the bed and picked up a paper cup filled with small pills from the table. He walked over to the elderly woman, kissed her silver hair, then sat on the bed.
"If she does it before then, it wouldn't count toward next year's quota."
They both chuckled. She took the cup but set it down on the armrest.
"Well..."
"What is it, Ethan?"
"Someone wants to hire me—a... detective agency."
"Oh, are you planning to accept?"
"I don't know..."
"Did you receive your RMIT acceptance letter?"
Ethan nodded. The admission letter from the RMIT School of Architecture had arrived a month ago. His design had been selected, but he had been too busy investigating Hex to take a closer look.
"But I don't even know if I really want to be an architect. I feel like I'll regret passing up this opportunity. It's like a door to another world... But wasn't that acceptance letter what we've been working toward all this time?"
"Listen, Ethan, you have a talent—a talent that many people don't have. No matter what you choose, promise me, you'll live the life you want. Live up to your potential."
"Hmm... I promise."
The elderly woman held his hand.
"Good boy."
"I made a new friend. Her name is Hex. I really wish you could meet her."
"Haha, you remind me of your father. He said the same thing to me after he met your mother."
"Grandma, we're really just friends."
"Ah... did you know, your father received an offer from a newspaper halfway through college too, just like you."
"Like father, like son."
"When your parents died, I lost my son and daughter-in-law. I was alone and too old, but I had no choice, because who else would take care of my grandson?"
Ethan placed his hand over hers.
"So promise me, whatever you decide to do, promise me, the only reason you'll leave is if they drag you out like a tumor."
"I promise."
...
"お帰りなさい!イーサンさん!"
Hex, wearing gym shorts and a white T-shirt, sat cross-legged in a chair, staring at the anime playing on the screen. She shouted when she saw Ethan enter.
"God, have you been staring at the computer all day?"
Ethan shoved his bag into the closet, took off his shoes, and walked in. They had been living together for almost a week... The longer they spent together, the more he realized how childish she really was.
"Hmph! None of your business!"
Then, the young man froze because he noticed his bed had been pulled open... A bit of an explanation: his bed was actually a foldable double bed, which he thought would be convenient, but he had hardly ever used it that way. Now, half of the foldable bed frame lay on the floor.
"Uh... I can explain."
"Don't want to hear it, you said there wasn't enough space, so I had to sleep on the floor! And now look at this!"
She had indeed been sleeping on a floor mat these past few days. Mostly because Ethan didn't want to share a bed with someone who kicked so wildly in her sleep—otherwise, he risked getting kicked in the face while peacefully sleeping.
"It's just that you..."
"Oh! No! You don't love me anymore! Boo-hoo-hoo."
She said, stepping onto the pulled-out bed frame and suddenly flopping onto Ethan's bed, rolling around and quickly messing up the neatly made covers. It felt like she was doing it on purpose...
"Quit the nonsense... I never loved you."
"That's it... I can't take it anymore. I don't want to live... Ah, waaaah."
"Okay, okay, I love you. Can you settle down now?"
"Hehehe."
She giggled foolishly and sat up... He had a bad feeling.
"How do you love me?"
As expected, Ethan raised the bag of groceries he had just bought.
"Ice cream?"
He asked. He knew it was a tempting offer, and indeed it was. Though he didn't quite understand why, every time after eating, she'd go to the bathroom and throw up everything she'd just eaten.
"Hmm... not enough."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"The workers demand the right to sleep on the bed!"
She raised an imaginary hammer over her head and declared it with righteous indignation. So Ethan, like a capitalist, straightened an imaginary tie.
"If that's the case, let's negotiate! Every Monday, you sleep in the bed; the rest of the time, I do."
"I get the odd-numbered nights."
"You get the even-numbered nights."
"Hmph! We share it, one half each."
"The mattress will be the boundary. No crossing the line! Whoever crosses will sleep on the floor for a week."
"Deal."
She reached out her hand, and Ethan shook it, then she burst into laughter at his puzzled expression.
"What?"
"Is this the first time a girl is willing to sleep with you? You little pervert."
"..."
She fished out a tub of ice cream from the shopping bag, popped off the lid, pulled a spoon from the overhead cupboard, and dug in. Her eyes immediately turned red—a telltale sign of a blood iris reaction—but she wore an expression of bliss.
"Oh, right, I'm joining Speck's detective agency."
"Who?"
She dug another spoonful, and if Ethan didn't stop her, she could finish the whole tub in one sitting.
"You know, the blond one... I told you about him, didn't I?"
She stuck out her tongue.
"My memory's not as good as yours. Whether you join or not is up to you. Anyway, didn't you promise they wouldn't come after me anymore? That's all that matters."
...
E: I'm joining.
H: Start by reading the books I gave you on Monday.
Harvey lifted his head from his phone. A woman between 25 and 30 sat at the workbench, her hair the color of autumn leaves. She looked at the man.
"I guess it's that kid?"
Harvey nodded.
"Rayon will be happy. Anyways I've registered that ghoul with the Syndicate, so there shouldn't be too many issues."
"Did you submit the capture report to the association?"
The woman nodded.
"They've sent a new Breach of Veil case. After all, this is a newly born ghoul, and her transformer broke the rules."
"Did V give you the list of registered ghouls in this area?"
"Haha, very funny, Harvey. Do you think there are any Cainites left around Australasia?"
"Well... last time I checked, Melbourne was still Prince Taylor's domain, Jindabyne was crawling with werewolves, and the spirits of the Dreamtime still whispered in the ears of the outback's First Nations people."
"You know what I mean."
"Fine, then. Let Phoebe divine his name. I'll have him bring the ghoul in."