Chapter Text
Tonight's the night, outside it's drizzling still, the floor wet from rain and pedestrians with their umbrellas pass by, no one is keen on going outside during a storm, what with the cold winds threatening to blow one's top hat away every second. Most would rush home, or in Leonard's case, remain seated at an establishment that provides heating to wait it out, and a fine establishment it is indeed, inundated with the smell of cigarettes, an occasional peal of laughter ringing out in the background. Indeed, this is no place for common folk, for even the cheapest drink here would cost two soli, even with his modest pay check and savings, he balked at the thought of frequent visits.
Not that Leonard has any say in the matter though, not now, remember the mission, he repeats to himself in his head as he cuts into his dish of poached cod with mashed peas, the seasoning is light, clearly meant to highlight the natural flavour of the fish, it's certainly delicious that he would not deny, especially paired with a glass of white wine. However, knowing that he'll be forking over nearly five pounds later on does dampen his mood somewhat, he consoles himself by thinking, he'll finally have some results to show after weeks of him patiently waiting, he just hopes that the target takes the bait.
'Sir, would you like an after meal dessert? I'd be happy to recommend-'
'There's no need, thank you but I'm not terribly fond of consuming sweets past noon.'
Leonard smiles, and he swears the waiter grew three shades redder on the spot, the young man trips over his words as he apologises for disturbing his meal, to which he merely brushes off, sending the man off with teasing wink. He brings his attention back to his meal, while inwardly he can’t help but wish his target would show up sooner, there's only so many ways he can cut a piece of fish before it completely turns to mush.
Why did Captain have to assign this mission to me… sure it's easy compared to dealing with Beyonder cases I guess, but it’s getting tedious.
Regardless of his opinions, Leonard is a professional Red Glove first and foremost, and if his captain thinks he's the best man for the job then he's going to make sure he doesn't disappoint, and while he would appreciate a chance to act as a Soul Assurer sooner, he can't fault Soest for giving him a milder case after his recent advancement. After all, it's not like he can give a proper reason as to why he doesn't need a respite, the Parasite living within Leonard's body is helpful but a secret he can never divulge, it's fine, once this mission is done he'll have time to catch up, and acting as a Soul Assurer is thankfully, rather straight forward.
'Sir Briarthon, it's such an honour to welcome you to our humble little gathering.'
It's him.
Leonard finishes off the last morsel on his plate, wiping his mouth with the napkin while bringing up his wine glass into the air for a drink, of course, that's what everyone else would see, he catches sight of his target in the reflection of the glass, a jovial middle aged man conversing with a younger man in his thirties, walking upstairs to a private room. His task for tonight, is to make sure 'Briarthon' isn't secretly participating in any illegal Beyonder gatherings, typically such tasks would be handled by the Nighthawks, it certainly seems rather overkill to have the Red Gloves investigating, but apparently, this man has proven a difficult case for the usual Nighthawks, and thus, Leonard was brought in to confirm whether or not anything was going awry.
Leonard called to settle the bill, ensuring to leave a two soli tip for the service, once again he finds himself grateful for Emperor Roselle's invention of reimbursement, otherwise these past few months would've been terribly expensive, he adjusts his tailcoat and puts on a pair of brown gloves on his hands, walking to the direction of the stairs without a care in the world. Nobody notices, not even the staff member standing by waiting to tick the names of attendees off his clipboard, they had been drawn into a dream, of course Leonard ensures to affect as little civilians as he can, he has to be wary of his target possessing Beyonder abilities as well, be cautious, he reminds himself.
He makes it to the second floor without a hitch, walking confidently forward as though he belonged, naturally, with his dashing good looks and the attire of a gentleman, any staff member would likely never question his appearance, perhaps he's a guest, or perhaps, a toy of one of the VIPs just searching for the washroom. However, the floor is jarringly silent, not a single squeak or muffled voices to be heard, it's weird, he activates his spirit vision, finding signs of life on the final room on the end of the hallway, seven people in total, five males, two females.
Leonard walks forward, a slumber charm in hand just in case there was someone capable of resisting his Nightmare powers, he doubts it though, it's likely this is a secret gathering involved with the occult, but definitely not a gathering of Beyonders, the price of renting out the entire floor isn't cheap, and the place isn't hidden enough. He draws all the people he can sense into a dream, remembering to single out his target for questioning, the moment he enters the dream he resists the urge to recoil in disgust.
Blood, crimson red blood stains the bed, there, a naked man in his twenties lies, moaning in pain as a thick whip cracks across his torso once more, a spurt of fresh blood splashes onto the floor, the metallic smell of it wafts across his nose, and he takes a brief moment to compose himself. 'Briarthon' has a twisted sadistic grin across his face, his strikes were wild, lashing out at the blurred image of a man in what he assumes is his bedroom, stay focused he reminds himself, he brings out his badge like it's second nature, showing it to the man before asking him a few questions. ‘Briarthon' is cooperative, his sneer drops and in an instant he changes back into the visage of a jovial middle aged man, directing him towards the sofa with an offer of refreshments, the downright politeness a jarring contrast to his blood stained face and coat.
---
*bang* *bang*
For a brief moment, Leonard contemplated the level of detail he is to describe the scene within the dream, he taps his pen against his notes, once, twice, before deciding to write the entire process from start to finish. Ending off his report with a note stating, 'nothing noteworthy', for it is truly the case, other than each individual's twisted desires, there were no signs of this case that points towards there being Beyonder elements involved, no Aurora Society mentions, not a single sequence name was so much as uttered, all in all, a completely normal case.
Old man, you didn't sense anything strange did you?
Hmph, if I did I would've told you during, not after the entire debacle was over.
Right, that means a 'No' then, great, now that that's over, hopefully Captain will assign me on a Beyonder case next, preferably one that'll let me act as a Soul Assurer.
'New case just came in-'
'Captain! Can I take on the task, I've already finished my report.'
'Calm down, Leonard, let captain speak first.'
'Ahem, as I was saying, a new case just came in, it’s objective, 'Investigate the origins and factions related to Gehrman Sparrow'.
'Gehrman Sparrow!! The crazy pirate hunting adventurer!!'
Who is that, Leonard wondered, and why did a pirate hunter come to Backlund of all places, you'd think he'd remain in Sonia Sea where laws are lax and the lands infested with pirates galore, Backlund isn't just strictly protected by the Three Orthodox Churches, but also the MI9, the Loen Military, it's like a shark walking into a jungle full of tigers, it's just plain stupid. The more he listens to Soest's report on the man, the more shocked he becomes, until the end where he's been convinced that Gehrman Sparrow truly does deserve the title of 'Crazy Adventurer', with a bounty of a whopping 50,000 pounds, hunting the man down could let a normal family live comfortably for generations.
High likelihood of possessing Creeping Hunger, formerly owned by Qilangos? Suspected powers include, changing appearances, Devil's Language, Psychic Piercing, etc...
Old Man, what do you think, this Gehrman Sparrow isn't just cunning but also strong, it'd be a difficult fight even with a proper team of Red Gloves, eh?
What would I know? Right now it's all just words on a paper, you never know the true extent of another's ability until you experience it for yourself, besides, the focus of the mission is on reconnaissance, not hunting the man down and you'd do good to remember that boy! Don't think I'll bail you out of every situation!!
Leonard engraves the image of the man into his memory, tidy black hair with dark brown eyes, cold yet refined, dresses similarly to a typical Loen gentleman with gold rimmed glasses, it's unlikely that the adventurer would be foolish enough to dress similarly when entering Backlund, it's probable that he changed his appearance entirely, but it never hurts to remember the face of a wanted man. Who knows, maybe he would be lucky enough to spot him in the corner of a bar or something, and while Old Man says not to rely on him for everything, if it's just escaping he'll at most grumble at him for 'not respecting one's elders'.