Morning broke through the warped window of The Crooked Door, throwing a distorted beam of sunlight across Perry's floor. He blinked, already half-awake.
The barrel he'd wedged against the door last night hadn't moved. Good.
His foot poked the bedframe—checking for loose floorboards. He ran a fingertip along the window frame. No new dust. No tampering. No signs of magical interference.
No one broke in. Still paranoid.
He combed through the remaining copper in his pouch.
Three coins. Enough for half a meal or one careless bribe.
"Guess I'm working today."
He slid the token into his inner coat pocket and left the room. The hallway creaked under his steps, groaning as if in protest. A sleepy goat stared at him from the lobby floor.
No one questioned why there was a goat.
---
At the Bureau's public notice board, a few people stood gawking at new case postings. Perry waited behind a crate of onions, watching the board without drawing attention.
Most of the postings were mundane.
> "Lost satchel – Tier-0 – Unpaid"
"Spell misfire in alley – Tier-1 – Claimed"
"Barn ghost (possibly drunk farmer) – Rankless – Pending"
He moved closer.
On the far side of the board, a new sheet had just been nailed in place. Fresh ink.
> "Enchanted Ring Stolen — Urgent"
Merchant: Alvus Faroth. Reward offered.
Item holds private value. Suspects unclear.
Location: Eastwell Manor. Tier-1 priority.
Perry tilted his head.
Enchanted. Private value. Unclear suspects.
Perfectly vague. Suspiciously so.
A group of junior detectives gathered behind him, two of them chuckling as they passed.
"Hey, isn't that the guy investigating himself?"
"Rankless. Probably thinks the ring floated away to reincarnate, too."
Perry didn't turn.
He let the remarks wash over like wind against a stone.
---
Inside the Bureau, the clerk barely looked up.
"Back already?"
"Came for a job."
"You mean a real one?"
He slid one silver across the desk.
Her eyebrows lifted.
He tapped the ring case listing.
She stared at him.
"That's Tier-1. You're not Tier-anything."
"Is there a law saying I can't take it?"
"No," she sighed, "but if you falsely accuse someone, even once, you lose eligibility to apply for a month. And if the client files a complaint, it sticks."
She glanced sideways and muttered, "Not that it matters. That arrogant Tier-2 already dropped it—said it was a waste of time."
Perry said nothing.
The clerk rolled her eyes and muttered again, "It's your funeral."
She stamped a slip, then slid it toward him.
> Case Accepted: Enchanted Ring Theft — Eastwell Manor
Detective: Perry (Rankless)
Status: Active. Immunity Granted.
Case registered: Enchanted Ring Theft
Investigation immunity: ENGAGED
Truth-Lock Barrier: INACTIVE (no suspects in sight)
Next report due: 7 days
---
Eastwell Manor looked more like Eastwell Cottage with ambition.
Whitewashed walls. Wooden fence. Small stone path winding to a mismatched double door.
A man stood out front with his arms flailing wildly at a maid.
"You dusted the room and just didn't notice it was gone? Were you using your elbow to clean?!"
The maid's lip quivered.
"I—I only looked away for a moment—!"
"Moments don't steal rings!" the merchant roared.
Perry cleared his throat.
The man turned, eyes narrowing. His collar was embroidered, his hair gelled back stiff as bark.
"Who're you?"
"Detective," Perry said, producing the token. "Here for the ring case."
The merchant brightened. "Finally. Took long enough. The other guy just sniffed and left like I'd asked him to chase chickens."
So the Tier-2 did drop it.
Perry gave a brief nod.
The merchant frowned. "You're not… you don't look like a real—"
"You want the ring found?"
"I—I'll pay two silver if it's recovered in two days," he said quickly. "At this point, I'd take a one-eyed goblin if it finds my ring. That enchantment cost more than this manor."
---
The sitting room was small but well-kept. One table at the center. Three chairs. A candle melted to a stub beside a tea set. A few books lined the wall.
The table, however, had a strange energy to it. Perry noticed subtle arcane etchings glowing faintly along the grain. Faint remnants of an enchantment—illusion-based.
"The ring," Alvus said dramatically, "was here."
Perry circled the table.
"You put it down?"
"I was reading. Took it off to stretch. Set it down right there."
"And?"
"Ten minutes later—gone."
Perry said nothing. He crouched beside the table.
A faint scuff mark curled beneath one leg—darker than the rest of the floor. That leg was slightly warped, aged differently than the others. Probably an old replacement.
The goat, tied just outside the open window, was staring at him.
Actually, no—it was licking that same table leg.
Perry narrowed his eyes.
---
Suspects:
1. Mara – the maid. Slim build, nervous. "I was dusting shelves. I didn't even see the ring."
2. Jonas – the apprentice. Flushed, kept wringing his hands. "I was in the bath."
3. Fenrick – the tailor. Sipping tea. "I was invited for measurements. Didn't know a ring existed."
Perry didn't respond to any of them.
He watched.
Mara's hands were calloused but clean. Jonas smelled faintly of soap, but his towel—dry and neatly folded—sat untouched beside the basin. Fenrick kept glancing at the goat.
"I'll begin my examination," Perry said quietly.
Mara blinked. "Should we… do something?"
"Just don't lie."
---
The apprentice fidgeted again.
"The other detective already said it was probably the maid."
"Did he now?"
"Yes, he—"
The door banged open.
A young man with slicked-back blond hair strutted in, Bureau badge gleaming.
"Figured I'd drop in," he said, voice dripping with condescension. "Just in case you made a mess."
Perry glanced at the badge. Tier-2.
The blond man gave him a sideways look. "You the one with the existential investigation?"
"Still unsolved," Perry said calmly.
He gave a slight smile.
The Tier-2 turned to the merchant. "My money's on the maid. Past record shows she had sticky fingers in a previous post. Caught swiping silverware."
Mara paled.
The merchant hesitated. "Well, I—I mean, I trusted her—"
"She's clearly nervous. Avoiding eye contact. Obvious sign of guilt."
Perry stood up and dusted his hands.
"Finished?"
The Tier-2 detective raised a brow. "Excuse me?"
"I meant your deduction."
"…What about it?"
"I suggest you don't write it in ink yet."
The man scoffed.
Perry crouched again beside the goat.
It was still licking the same leg.
He tapped the wood. Noticed the faint shimmer of illusion magic embedded in it. Old enchantments didn't always vanish—they soaked into porous material.
If the enchantment shifted… the ring might not have disappeared. Just moved.
He looked up at the merchant.
"You moved the table recently."
"How did you—?"
"The floor," Perry said, pointing at the scuff. "That leg was dragged recently. Probably when you opened the window?"
"Oh. I—I did slide it over so I could feel the breeze."
Perry nodded.
"The enchantment likely sank into the wood. When the ring fell, it was cloaked by residual magic. The goat licking that leg tells me it still holds mana residue—likely scented."
He stood, walked to the open window, and looked at the yard.
"Release the goat."
"What?!"
"Let it go."
"I—I paid two silver for—"
"Let it go."
The merchant sighed, untied the rope.
The goat ran straight to the other side of the yard… then stopped. Turned.
Began pawing the base of a wooden cart leg.
Perry walked over, crouched—and reached beneath it.
His fingers brushed something smooth and cool.
He pulled out a simple silver ring.
Illusion enchantment still flickering weakly around it.
He held it up.
Silence.
Then the merchant gasped.
"That's it! That's—how the hell did it get there?"
Perry shrugged. "Goat likely nudged it when licking the wood. The enchantment's residual signature stayed with the leg—and masked the ring when it fell."
The Tier-2 detective's mouth opened. Closed.
Perry offered him a dry look.
"You can put away your ink now."
---
System Message:
Case "Enchanted Ring Theft" marked as RESOLVED.
No suspect. No penalty. Payment received: 2 silver.
Progress toward Tier-1: +1 case
Investigation immunity remains active for ongoing case: "Why Was I Reincarnated?"
---
Perry pocketed his payment and walked away.
Behind him, the goat sneezed. The merchant fainted.
And the Tier-2 detective stared at the floor as if it had personally betrayed him.