The fairy maid cheers for her deceased master today.

In an instant, X's brain, as a puzzle game player, was working at lightning speed.

Countless wild and terrifying speculations flashed through my mind.

Elena's body has been severely contaminated by a foreign species, and in Elena's inner world, this contamination may be more than just "foreign species"...

It might even take on a "human" form to further corrupt Elena's mind.

If that's the case, then Catherine, who knows that she comes from outside the Rain World... in the words of a gamer, is most likely the final boss.

And I've only just arrived in this world, and I've already encountered the final boss!?

What kind of hellish start is this?!

Looking at Ex's expressionless face, Catherine chuckled and continued in a low voice:

"So—you want to marry Irene!"

Wait, wait a minute? Wait a minute, what?

Ex blinked.

Catherine glanced sideways at the tea room. The teapot was bubbling away.

"See? I guessed right, didn't I? As an outsider, you one day met Irene by chance in London and were attracted by her beauty."

"So after you returned, you thought about her day and night, and on a whim, you made up your mind to take your maid and weapons and come straight to London to find her!"

"Therefore, you have only one wicked but noble purpose—to bring Elena home!"

What does "evil yet sublime" mean? It's the classic left-right brain battle, right?

But Ax felt that this reason was more reasonable than the others. No one objected for a moment.

Elena finally returned from the tea room with a tray of tea. She served each of them a cup of hot tea, then sat down next to Catherine, her face slightly flushed.

...Why are you blushing?

Oh right, fairies actually have pretty good hearing.

So Axe decisively changed the subject: "As Miss Catherine said, I've just arrived here, therefore..."

"So you need a place to stay," Catherine added. "And you don't want to attract attention."

Ax nodded; Catherine's judgment of people was quite accurate. Although her reasoning wasn't always right.

"What a coincidence," Catherine suddenly laughed. "I happen to have a spare room here."

She pointed upstairs.

"Elena is moving in too, she lives right next door. Do you want it?"

Don't mention Irene.

Ex glanced to the side and, sure enough, Irena lowered her head slightly, looking a little shy.

"Is it really possible?" he asked.

"Of course, you saved me and Elena," Catherine said frankly. "And I can tell you're not a bad person. Your eyes are even very determined and calm."

This might be because I'm a dead person, so my eyes don't change much anymore.

But then a thought struck X. Perhaps this was an opportunity to stay by Elena's side.

What I need to do is find out what Elena's wish is, and then fulfill that wish.

The first step is to stay by Elena's side. Only then will there be an opportunity to investigate.

"Thank you very much, Miss Catherine, I'm willing to pay," he said.

"Money doesn't matter," Catherine waved her hand. "However, if you really want to repay me..."

She glanced at X, a sly glint in her eyes.

"Perhaps you can do me a small favor."

"What kind of help?"

"Be my assistant," Catherine said. "I've had a lot of cases lately. I need some help. You seem quite intelligent."

Axe considered it for a moment. Becoming a colleague at the detective agency was a good excuse.

This way, I can get closer to Elena and observe her properly.

"Okay!" he nodded. "I'm willing to help."

"Great!" Catherine clapped her hands happily. "Then, from today onwards, you will be my assistant. Miss Angel can also come and help."

Angel, her mouth full of snacks, nodded vigorously. She would go wherever her master went.

"So——"

Catherine stood up.

"Welcome to the 'Miss Detective Agency,' Sir Moore."

So Ax stayed there.

In the afternoon, he and Angel cleaned their room together.

His room wasn't big, but it was very tidy. A bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a wooden box. Simple yet fulfilling.

Outside the window was the street scene. Occasionally, Ax would stand by the window and look at the rain-soaked streets below. He could see carriages coming and going, pedestrians hurrying by, and everything seemed so normal.

It's perfectly normal. Everything is perfectly normal except for the incessant rain.

With her body completely polluted and on the verge of turning into a swamp, Elena's inner world is surprisingly peaceful... Perhaps this is the last pure land in her heart.

For the rest of the day, Ax familiarized himself with the surroundings once more.

The entire "Miss Detective Agency" has three floors: two above ground and one below.

On the basement level, Ax finally discovered the chemical laboratory bench and the corresponding chemical materials. The basement even contained piles of ores, such as magnesite and dolomite. Both the scale of the laboratory bench and the size of the material reserves far exceeded those of the Miss Detective Agency three years later.

You could do almost any high school chemistry experiment in this basement. No wonder it's Miss Catherine.

That was all for today. Finally, late at night, X covered the angel on the box with a blanket, went to bed himself, and passed an unremarkable first day.

According to Samuel, in the real world, there are only about three days left.

However, because the connection with the Church of Jesus Christ has not been severed and time is not synchronized, time does indeed pass more slowly here.

Theoretically, at this moment, X is unable to know the flow of time in the real world.

Fortunately, X has a system! And there just happens to be a countdown timer!

[Status: The deceased has been revived. Time remaining: 439 hours and 43 minutes.]

Making full use of all available resources is the correct approach to solving problems.

Although a whole day has passed here, only an hour has actually gone by.

This conservative estimate puts three days (72 hours) as equivalent to 72 days in one's inner world, roughly a little over two months.

This sanctuary will last for about 70 more days... We must find out Elena's wish and fulfill it before then. The sooner the better, to prevent any unforeseen complications.

■

The next morning, Ax stood at the window again, gazing at the street scene.

With little entertainment available, Ex even started to find it quite interesting to appreciate the street scenes.

"Master." Angel, who had just run downstairs, pushed open the door and came in, carrying a cup of hot tea. "Sister Elena asked me to give this to you; it seems to be from India."

Axe took the teacup and placed it on the table. Although the dead don't need to drink, they can occasionally come alive and taste something.

He casually asked, "Where's Irene?"

"I'm chatting with Sister Catherine downstairs," Angel said. "They seem to be talking about some new case."

A thought struck X. The case? Perhaps, this was the clue.

He waved for Angel to follow, and immediately left the room.

Soon, he also heard Catherine and Elena talking downstairs.

"That's so strange," Catherine's voice said. "The kitchen lock was perfectly secure."

"Yes," came Irene's voice. "And there wasn't a trace."

Axe followed Angel down the stairs and saw Catherine and Elena sitting at their desk. On the desk sat a small, exquisite wooden box, which was empty.

"What's wrong, ladies?" Ex asked. "What troubles you?"

"Sir, you've come at the perfect time," Catherine said with a smile. "We've come across a small case."

"A case?" Ex became interested and listened attentively.

"Yes," Catherine said, pointing to the small wooden box. "My ice cream has been stolen."