Myths Reawakened

Study, Wayne’s residence.

That night, after tutoring Wayne, Kristen seemed hesitant about whether to say something. That rang an alarm in Wayne’s mind. He wondered if she had found out that he was ranking up to Silver.

“Is there something wrong, Senior Kristen?”

“No, the church just gave me a mission...” Kristen blushed as she said with embarrassment, “The church’s preparing to build a library in Londan recently, so we’re told to raise funds through our connections. The revenue will be divided between the investors. Are you interested?”

“Will it be profitable?”

“Um, probably.”

If you’re being so roundabout even when trying to fool people into investing, it has to be a losing proposition.

Wayne stroked his chin and scrutinized Kristen, flustering her. With a blush, she darted her eyes around, avoiding his gaze.

She feels guilty!

Oh, yeah, it has to be a fraud.

When the Church of Moonlight needed money, Kristen thought of him before Veronica, the young lady of a rich family. That was a welcoming sign. He hadn’t been chauffeuring her to and from school for nothing. However, he would have to be a fool to go into a money-losing business. Did he look that gullible to her?

What stood out to him the most was the fact that the Church of Moonlight was building a library, which had profound implications. The construction of the library was only a front. The church already had a base in Londan, so building another wouldn’t do much. Upon dissecting the action, it was clear that the church wasn’t expanding its influence, but rather undergoing an overhaul. The Church of Moonlight’s presence in Londan would be upgraded to a scale similar to that of the Church of Nature, assigning a High Reverend to join the present priests.

Interesting. No wonder the Church of Moonlight needed money. They had surely paid a heavy price to persuade the royal family.

Based on what Wayne knew about Windsor, the royal family had signed an agreement with several churches, increasing the status of the Life Alliance in exchange for suppressing the Church of Heavenly Father. With all the factions acting as checks and balances for each other, the royal family was able to maintain their dominance. What had happened for the royal family to allow the Church of Moonlight to expand? Did it have something to do with the descent of the Thousand-Eyed Demon?

After pondering, Wayne nodded and said, “Since you’ve asked for my help, I can’t possibly disappoint you. Give me a number. How much do you need?”

“Um...” Kristen mumbled uncomfortably. “Although it can be profitable, it can lead to losses as well. Why don’t you reconsider, Wayne?”

Good girl, this isn’t the way to raise funds. You’re lucky that you’re asking for money from me; a real pervert would’ve made depraved demands and cheated a child out of you!

Wayne’s eyebrow jumped up. “It doesn’t matter if it’s profitable. I should be thanking you for tutoring me every night. Given our relationship, I’m fine with suffering losses.”

Speaking of their tutoring sessions, Kristen had something to say. She had a feeling that whatever basic magical theory she was teaching him, he always learned it quickly and could apply the knowledge without issue. He got full grades for all her quizzes as well. Could it be that he already knew everything and didn’t need her tutoring?

However, she wasn’t in a position to point it out when she was asking something from him. Besides, the snacks at Wayne’s place were delicious, and the butler was respectful of her. She loved the atmosphere here; it was much more relaxing than staying at the church.

“That’s a deal,” Wayne said earnestly. “You should ask the church how much money they need to build a base—a library, I mean. If it’s not a lot, I’m willing to invest. The losses won’t be that bad.”

Kristen responded hesitantly, “If you know it’s going to lead to losses, don’t invest. I’ll ask around at school. Maybe someone...”

“No, what if you run into a degenerate?” Wayne waved at her. “I owe you a lot, Senior Kristen. You introduced me to the world of magic, tutored me every day, and helped me with the quality control of stockings. You’ve given me so much, so it’s only right for me to suffer some losses for you.”

Kristen thought about his reasoning. He was right. Then... he would accept the losses.

“Oh, speaking of quality control, I’ve got an idea for a new outfit for female office workers. I hope you’ll be my model.”

Wayne took out a pen and a sheet of paper and sketched a white short-sleeved shirt and a black formal skirt. The combination was mature yet fashionable, accentuating a woman’s confidence and charm. It would work for any workspace and was certainly going to set a new fashion trend.

Kristen studied it and pointed at the black skirt, saying in surprise, “Won’t it be too short? It doesn’t even reach the knees.”

It was shorter than that, only covering the bottoms. Combined with black stockings, the pencil skirt would look incredibly alluring.

“It’s a necessary iteration in the design process. You think it doesn’t work, and neither do I. However, we must be scientific rather than just making assumptions. Only when we’re looking at the actual clothing worn by a model can we confirm the skirt’s length.” Wayne spouted nonsense with such a serious expression that it seemed like he was upholding justice.

Kristen narrowed her eyes at him before putting two more lines on the sketch, extending the skirt to the knees. It couldn’t be any shorter, or she would be too mortified to wear it!

Wayne nodded. He had expected as much. The final product would go below the knees. He had only drawn a short pencil skirt to push Kristen’s boundaries. The length of the skirt didn’t really matter; in fact, not even the skirt itself mattered. The point was that a precedent had been set. He got himself a model.

“Stand still, Senior Kristen. I’ll measure your waist and hips. The design will be done in two days.”

“...”

***

Wayne’s Detective Agency, Commercial Street.

The Dawn Detective Agency across the street was as busy as ever. The followers of Death sought not to earn money, but to spread the fairness and justice of Death, working so hard that they risked losing their hair.

“If I open a wig shop here, it’ll be popular,” Wayne muttered, parking the car. He had visited Cambrook County in the morning to make an appearance and then visited the Lando Estate to learn magic in the afternoon. Now, he found time in his busy schedule to check on his agency. His days had been way too productive recently.

“Earning money is difficult!”

He got out of the car and shut the door. After taking a few steps, he sensed a heated gaze looking at him from a lecherous angle behind. Shuddering, his bottom clenched subconsciously. One could never be too careful in Windsor.

He turned around and found to his surprise that it wasn’t a bald thug eyeing him, but a tall, beautiful lady with long legs.

“Detective Mona, why are you tailing me?” he asked darkly.

“Oh, Boss. Is that you?” Mona responded in surprise. She had been too focused on his behind to realize who he was.

“Even if it weren’t me, you shouldn’t... Where are your manners as a lady? You—forget it. Just don’t do it again.”

He scolded his employee with a long face. It was his fault. He had to take responsibility for her developing a strange fetish. Still, the Church of Heavenly Father should receive the most blame. Why hadn’t they arranged counseling for their undercover agent after so many days?

Realizing that her search had led her to her employee’s bottom embarrassed Mona so much that her toes curled up, almost drawing a cathedral on the ground[1]. She smiled awkwardly and made terrible excuses for herself.

Bruce had gone missing without anyone hearing any news. The church had given up on finding and rescuing him, opting to pretend that he didn’t exist. They claimed that his thoughts remained, and so he wasn’t dead. When pushed, they would admit that they didn’t know, and that was it.

Mona admired Bruce greatly. If not for his staying undercover as a demon’s subordinate and risking himself to send out information, the Church of Heavenly Father would’ve paid dearly to banish the Thousand-Eyed Demon. And it was very likely that the demon would’ve opened the gates of hell fully and caused millions of deaths in Londan, turning it into a living hell.

She wanted to know who Bruce was. A hero like that shouldn’t remain anonymous and end up lost in history. Perhaps the man didn’t care, but she wanted to say thanks to him.

It was what the hero deserved!

What she knew was limited, and the only way for her to identify Bruce was through his rear end. She had memorized the way it felt and etched it in her soul. She was certain that she would recognize him with a pinch.

There were more than six million people in Londan. Assuming half of the population were male, that would be three million, too many for her to pinch one by one. She had to do an eye test before finding an opportunity to confirm through touch. Wayne’s bottom seemed promising. At least it was quite shapely.

“Don’t pull a terrible prank like that again. If someone sees, the reputation of the detective agency will be stained.” With that, Wayne turned around... and let Mona walk in the front.

Inside the office, he checked on everyone’s work. It had been close to a month, yet Wesley still hadn’t found the rich family’s pet dog.

“Can’t even find a dog, and you call yourself a famous detective...” Wayne muttered. However, he trusted Wesley’s competence. If he couldn’t find the dog, it was likely related to a supernatural matter. After consideration, he summoned Mona and entrusted the task to her.

“Hurry up and get it done. Whether the dog lives or not, we need to give the client an answer,” Wayne instructed. “Wesley has been on the case for a long time. Just ask him about it.”

Mona nodded, leaving with the case files. She had some guesses about the missing pet dog. Some time ago, the tactical unit had slaughtered numerous magical creatures in the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s lair. Most of them had been stray dogs before their modification, caught by Geoff’s lackeys.

“Maybe I can use this.”

She lowered her head slightly, her glasses glinting. She had been looking into Wayne for quite some time. Finally, an opportunity presented itself.

1. Toes curling up is a common expression to describe embarrassment in Mandarin, and that leads to expressions like ‘toes creating the layout of a whole flat’ or other similar expressions. ☜