"Sergeant Rood! Congratulations on busting the drug dealing case!"

Rood was walking in the Headquarters towards his office when suddenly another officer stopped him and congratulated him.

"What?" Rood replied but didn't pay more attention to it.

He kept walking in the orange corridor past several glass windows where he could see activities inside. Normal people wouldn't be able to hear anything that was happening inside each room, but he, with his boosted hearing, was able to, to some extent. He went past them and entered the office on the farthest right that was painted in all red.

Rood sat down in his armchair and looked at the documents in front of him for a second before putting them down again. He didn't seem to be in the mood to be doing paperwork right now. His eyes looked tired and there were black circles around them from the lack of sleep. His hair looked like it was combed back in a hurry.

Knock! Knock!

A man with a friendly face was knocking on his office door. Rood gestured and the man let himself into the red office. He then sat on the chair opposite Rood, leaning back against the backrest.

"Morning, Rood. Didn't sleep enough last night?" asked the man with a voice that was full of genuine concern.

"No. I cannot really sleep while we haven't caught a single criminal like this. What about you, Groen?" Rood said with a tired voice.

"I could sleep peacefully enough," he smiled, "I think the Deity I'm in contract with makes me unable to worry too much,"

Rood leaned back on his chair.

"Must be nice. How's the Mrs and youngling?" asked Rood.

"They are doing fine. Evie's birthday is coming up next month and I've book the day off work. I just hope the investigation won't make me have to go to work that day..." replied Groen jokingly.

"Then let's work hard and solve this case before next month. Her birthday is the end of October, isn't it?"

"Yes. She's been wanting to go to a water park and I've always promised her. But you know, I always had to cancel my promises. This time, I'll have to make sure I go or she will hate me forever, haha" he smiled widely. "When are you going to find yourself a partner?"

Rood looked surprised by the question. He frowned.

"Why did you suddenly ask that? I'm not into romantic relationships... and besides, I'm not like you who can manage time to be with family," answered Rood defensively.

Groen smiled meaningfully.

"Anyway, let's head out for a minute. I need coffee. The coffee in this building is just horrible," said Rood, changing the topic.

Groen smiled and nodded.

The two men got up from their chairs and left the office. They walked down the corridor to the main lobby of the Police Headquarters leisurely.

"Sergeant Rood! Thanks for your help in catching the drug dealer! Your help is really appreciated! said a male officer who stood on the side of the corridor. He seemed to have been talking to someone and then saw Rood.

"You're welcome..." answered Rood shortly and then walked away.

"No wonder you didn't sleep enough. You were busy catching a drug dealer, eh?" asked Groen jokingly. He knew his partner didn't know what was happening from his expression.

"Shut up. I really don't know what is going on. I'll have to ask Oranje or Paars later for divination," replied Rood with annoyance. He didn't seem to like being in the dark.

"Why don't you just ask that guy just now?" asked Groen.

Rood raised his eyebrows without stopping his pace.

"I can already deduce it to some extent. Last night I somehow caught a drug dealer. That's what he will most likely tell me. I don't need to know that. I need to know who is behind this," he replied sternly.

The two Police Sergeants left the Headquarters through the main glass doors that looked thicker than walls. The entrance was made that way so people inside could see who was coming. It was a precaution against suspicious individuals trying to slip into the building, although nothing like that had ever happened yet.

Rood and Groen walked to the parking lot where the former parked his motor carriage. They both got into the black metal vehicle and Rood drove away.

"Where are we going to get coffee? The usual place?" asked Groen.

"Yes, the usual. I don't need anything fancy. Just the canned one is good enough-- as long as it is better than the Joe Dirt that they are serving here."

The trip from the Police Headquarters on Openbarestraat to the closest convenience store in Grotemarktstraat didn't take long. It was just one street away. Rood and Groen arrived at their destination less than three minutes later and parked the motor carriage on the side of the street where other people's motor carriages were.

It was still six in the morning, but the street was already busy. Rood and Groen, who were wearing their blue Police coats, caught the attention of the passersby, especially since the former had a giant scar running across his face. He looked intimidating in the eye of commoners.

The two men walked to the convenience store called Tulpwinkel and went directly to the canned drink sections at the end of the aisle. Rood chose the coffee brand 'Meneer's Liking' while Groen just picked up a can of cold orange juice. They both went to the cashier to pay and the young male cashier looked at him in surprise.

"Back again so soon, officer Rood!" said the cashier in a friendly tone.

Rood raised his eyebrows while Groen observed the two of them carefully.

"I haven't come here in a while. What are you talking about?" asked Rood inquisitively.

The cashier now looked confused.

"But you came here last night. You even bought chocolate for your pregnant wife!" said the young man.

Groen looked at Rood's confused expression and couldn't hold back his laughter.

...

In a house without any furniture except a single sofa, a chair and a table, two people, a man and a woman, were sitting in the dimly lit room. The sun had just risen and some of its sunlight was starting to penetrate into the house through the windows. There were piles of newspapers on the table near the sofa that looked like they were stacked from the most recent to the older ones.

The man was wearing glasses and his red hair was tied in a bun. There were freckles on his face whose skin was fairer than snow. He was sitting leisurely with his legs crossed. His light blue eyes were staring at the scenery outside.

The woman who was sitting on the sofa next to him looked indescribably scary despite her modest outfit. Her long black hair was let loose and fell all the way to her back. The woman's plain white dress that fitted her body tightly emphasized her curves, but with her frightening aura, no men would dare approach her. Her sharp nails looked like they could easily tear flesh into shreds.

"How should we go about finding our target, eh, Fright?" asked the woman. Her voice sounded like there was a nail stuck in her throat.

"We need to investigate first where he got his contract scroll from. As a former shroud myself, I can say that we are extremely rare. With some investigation, I am sure we can find out. But it will still be extremely difficult," replied Fright.

"How are we even sure that the Shroud exists? It might have been the Police that killed those guys," asked the woman.

"Because divination didn't work. And also, if it were the Police, it should have been reported in the news. Remember when Mr. Tenebrosity made a whole building collapse? The Police would be more than glad to announce they have caught the perpetrators," explained Fright.

"That makes sense," replied the woman, "Then why is the Shroud killing our members?"

"I believe the Shroud killed our members to get their scrolls, so it is safe to assume he was still an Earl rank at the time. Since they could find Fade and Shade's whereabouts, his other Deity must be Fire Divination or he knows someone like that. That's the only Deity of that rank with divination ability," explained Fright.

The woman nodded but then looked confused.

"How are you so sure? They might have got the help of an Astrologer," replied the woman.

"It doesn't matter what the title of the divinator is, but as long as we can be sure that our Shroud got the help of a divinator or is a divinator himself, we can find him," replied Fright.

"I get what you're saying, but how is knowing that helps us?" she asked curiously.

"Fear, think about it. If we can't find the Shroud directly, why don't we just find the Fire Divinator instead? Or the Astrologer if you would," said Fright with a meaningful smile.

Fear's expression looked like something inside her had just turned on the light and now she could see clearly.

"You are right! A Shroud's activities are almost impossible to trace, but a Divinator is easier to find. We can just ask around to see if there is anyone who suddenly has the ability to solve problems easily. Or we can just find private detectives. That's usually the favorite job of Divinators, right?" said Fear almost proudly.

"Yes, that's exactly it. Although it will still be tricky. We don't know where they died or where they were last seen. And Sloten is a big city. There must be many private detectives around. We should start with the ones who recently got famous first. And also, we should investigate mysterious deaths within the last six months. One of them must be the former Shroud where our target got our scrolls from," said Fright. He then turned his attention to the pile of newspapers near Fear.

Fear looked at where Fright was looking at and then looked disappointed.

"You want me to read these newspapers, don't you?" she asked with suspicion.

Fright's lips curled widely into a creepy smile.

"Of course. Meanwhile, I'll be asking people around to find our detective. Can't have you do that; you'll just scare those people away. And besides, the detective's name might have even been featured on one of the news articles," answered Fright meaningfully.

Fright then stood up and stretched his body a little before leaving Fear who had already begun reading the newspaper from the one on the very top.