"I should get out of here before the police come here to check up on what happened. It won't be good for me to be caught here."

I told myself as I looked at the five flights of stairs in front of me. Now I needed to climb these back up.

"Ugh, I am not looking forward to this."

I told myself as I started to walk. But surprisingly enough, it was easier for me to climb up.

"Is this because my stamina and strength increased? It looks like something good did come out of this whole mess."

I told myself as I walked toward the exit of the sewage tunnels. But I had a feeling I was forgetting something important.

"Hurry up-! The center is this way."

I heard voices and quickly avoided them. And as I pressed myself against the wall, I realized just what I was missing.

"Did I… leave my mask back there? I'm sure it will be just fine… probably… should I go back and get it now?"

I asked myself, but even if I wanted to turn back, I had no chance to do that. The police had already crossed me, and I would be found out if I turned around now.

So I did the only thing I could at the moment—I walked away and promised to pretend I did not know anything about this whole mess.

As for that mask and identity, I likely won't be able to use it anymore unless I got a new mask. But that was a future-me problem to take care of.

I dragged my body up the ladder and got out of the manhole as soon as I noticed no one was near me. And then it was time for me to head home and take a bath.

As soon as I opened the door to my shop, Fenrir ran toward me.

"Master, you are back…ugh, you smell so bad. Where were you? I have something exciting to tell you. It's about the—"

"The curse? I know. I took care of it. Can you feel it anymore?"

I asked, and Fenrir paused to tilt his head around.

"Eh-! Now that you mention it, I cannot feel it anymore. But how did Master know that there was a curse? No wait-! Master is a higher being so he surely knew before I did. Why was I even worried?"

Fenrir seemed to have the same misunderstanding as Officer Henry and the Duchess had about me.

And just like the pair, I saw no point in correcting Fenrir either.

Those who have made up their minds would only see the truth their way. There was no point in me wasting my time and energy on them any more than I already had.

"Ah, that reminds me. Someone came here to meet you before, Master. It was a lady with blonde hair and blue eyes who smelled weird. She left once she saw that the door was closed."

Fenrir told me, and there was one person who came to my mind with that explanation—Reeze Spencer. Unfortunately for her, I was not at the shop.

"It's fine. She will come back if she needs to tell me anything important. For now, come and have dinner. I'll go take a bath and then prepare your bath."

I told Fenrir, and the puppy forgot all about what he needed to tell me.

________

The police department had a lot of capable people, and currently, a dozen of those capable people were heading down the sewage pipes in order to reach the underground passage.

Lina Bergs was the first one to reach the center of the tunnel, and she looked down at the new opening that had appeared down there.

"B-Boss, look here. It seems we are not the first ones to make it down here."

She told General Henry as she ushered him over. She needed the general to confirm whether it was safe for her and the others to head down to check or not.

General Henry walked over to where she was pointing, and he looked down as well. His expression became twisted as he tried to make sense of what he was feeling.

"I can feel the remnants of a curse, but not the curse itself. It feels like someone has destroyed the curse already. There is only one person who could have done such a thing. Truly, the shopkeeper is looking after us in every way."

General Henry praised the shopkeeper, causing Lina's eyes to twitch.

Without acknowledging her boss's words, she decided that it was better for her to start heading down the stairs.

Due to her mixed nature as a werewolf, her eyes were apt enough to see in the darkness. That made it easier for her not to trip on the stairs.

Once she reached the ground, she looked down, only to be shocked to see the patterns that were left inactive.

Along with the pattern was a small box on the side with still-clinging crimson liquid on the edges.

"What the heck is this? I don't think I have ever seen this before… but it has an ominous feeling to it, right? And this mask…"

Lina picked up the familiar-looking mask from the ground, and she frowned. It belonged to the person the shopkeeper had sent.

"Oh my-! Looks like the shopkeeper decided to take care of this trouble for us before we even got here. He must have not wanted us to worry and instead focus on the cleanup. What a considerate man."

General Henry commented as he looked at the scene in front of him.

'What the heck, General-? How can you even say that-! Don't you find this situation even a little bit suspicious?'

Lina wanted to ask this, but she couldn't when her boss looked so excited. She had a feeling that whatever she was about to say would be twisted by her boss anyway.

So instead of hearing him yap about things, she started to plot to meet the mysterious shopkeeper.

Lina had only considered how to meet him so far but never actually acted on her plan. But now things were different.

The shopkeeper was getting far too involved in everything that was happening. No matter where she turned, she could see the shopkeeper's shadow following her around.

And it was even starting to bleed into her cases and reality.

'I need to get rid of the shopkeeper and his influence. If this continues, then my promotion…I mean, my life might be in danger. I should go and have a talk with the shopkeeper.'

"Anyway, for now, just clean everything up. I will take the Duchess here to clean up after we are done. Do you all understand?"

General Henry's orders were clear, and everyone quickly got to work.

They knew that if they finished quickly, then they would get to go home quickly as well. That was what motivated most of them to act as quickly as they did… or that was what Lina liked to believe, and not the fact that most of them were cutting work hours.

Under her watchful gaze, they all quickly finished work before they bolted back home.

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