Glancing at the anxious Lionheart Duke frantically patting himself down, Jacob’s heart, which had just barely stabilized, immediately leapt back into his throat.
The incident with that guest losing their wallet yesterday already cost him his job as a waiter in the VIP area, relegating him to greeting guests at the entrance. If a similar mistake happened just one day later, he’d probably lose even that gig. Hell, if this moody duke decided to press the matter, getting outright fired wasn’t out of the question! Damn it! Is it really so hard for these damn guests to keep hold of their wallets?
“Y-You… please don’t worry! Let me help you recall!”
After taking two deep breaths to calm his nearly exploding heart, Jacob forced a smile despite sensing impending doom and said, “You’re sure your wallet was still on you before entering our beverage area, right?”
“Is that not obvious?!”
Switching into his “Performance Master” mode, Leon stomped his foot after losing his wallet and snapped irritably, “Didn’t I already show you my ID badge? If I didn’t have my wallet, how could I have pulled out that badge? Did some stray dog fetch it for me with its mouth?”
Was it like that…
Recalling the situation when they entered, it seemed… perhaps… almost definitely like that. Breaking into a sweat, Jacob gritted his teeth and asked shakily, “Then… where have you been since entering?”
“Are you asking me this while you’ve been guiding me around all this time?”
After shouting a couple of times, Leon, who lost his wallet, anxiously explained, “Entrance, main platform, stairs, bar, and this private room! Just these places! Damn it! How could my wallet be gone?”
“You… please don’t worry! Maybe you dropped it along the way; let me look for it!”
Though repeatedly saying “don’t worry,” Jacob’s heart was already in utter panic. He hastily turned around to retrace their steps without doubting for a moment whether Leon truly lost his wallet.
After all, the other party was a genuine noble, albeit mocked by fellow nobles for living off the princess’s generosity, but surely wouldn’t pretend to lose a wallet just to toy with a lowly waiter, right?
If you think about it, the wallet’s most likely location would either be where he dropped it after pulling out the badge or left it carelessly on the main platform. If I find it quickly enough, maybe no one else has picked it up yet…
…
“Wait!”
Just as Jacob was about to leave, he felt a sudden sharp pain on his wrist, as if someone yanked him forcefully.
Turning back in surprise, Jacob fearfully noticed the wallet-less His Grace narrowing his eyes suspiciously, scrutinizing him up and down.
“Why are you running?”
“Huh? I’m going to find your wallet!”
“Finding the wallet is fine, but why are you running?”
In the slightly dim room, Leon’s piercing black eyes resembled two dark fog lamps, devouring the surrounding light and completely sapping what little courage Jacob had left.
“If you want to find the wallet, why didn’t you wait for me? Why are you in such a hurry to leave my side?”
“I… I’m worried someone else might pick it up…”
“Are you worried someone else will take it, or are you worried there won’t be enough time to hide what you stole?”
“Are you suggesting… No! It’s not me! I swear it’s not me!”
Realizing Leon suspected him of taking the wallet, Jacob couldn’t help but tremble all over, shaking his head fearfully:
“I really didn’t take it! I’ve never stolen anything from anyone! I swear!”
It was the truth; he hadn’t taken it…
Looking at Jacob’s soul fire, which though panicked and fearful lacked any “contradictions” or “conflicts,” Leon nodded slightly before narrowing his eyes and continued probing: “I’ll tentatively believe you didn’t take it… but do you really know nothing?”
“What… what do you mean?”
“What I mean is, people working as waiters generally don’t want to make enemies.
For example, if my wallet fell at the bar and you saw someone else take it but realized that person was someone special, fearing trouble, you might deliberately say you saw nothing or didn’t recognize their face… Would you do that?”
“No no! I wouldn’t! I… I probably wouldn’t!”
…
Observing Jacob’s somewhat wavering soul flame, which showed conflict but far from lying, Leon frowned slightly then switched from “Suspicious Duke” to “Furious Duke,” his cold gaze demanding:
“Speak quickly! What exactly are you hesitating about!”
“I… I…”
“I’ve been patient enough!”
Duke Leo, now visibly annoyed, raised a finger with an unfriendly expression:
“One last chance. Tell me honestly what you’re hesitating about, or don’t blame me for having you arrested! And good luck staying as stubborn once you’re in the hands of the Secret Investigation Bureau’s secret police!”
“Don’t! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
Seeing the duke genuinely enraged, Jacob panicked and blurted out: “The reason I hesitated is because yesterday there was another guest who lost their wallet, just like you. I clearly remember seeing someone take her wallet, and I even tried to memorize that person’s appearance.
But… but when the guest came back looking for it, I couldn’t for the life of me recall the face of the person who took the wallet. All I could remember was that someone took it, and I couldn’t even remember if it was a man or a woman…”
No mistakes whatsoever, content exclusively available on 69 Book Bar!
Can’t remember faces…
So it’s a memory erasure anomaly? Or something that lowers presence? Firmly remembering the information, Leon’s expression flickered as he recalled the “Evil Degeneration List” from Gemini Division, and also remembered someone from Gemini Division – that female journalist named Nicole.
If I’m not mistaken, she does have something that can erase presence. Could forgetting one’s face be one of the Sheep Tail’s effects? Without the “Evil Degeneration List,” it might be hard to confirm, but signs of activity by Gemini Division members near anomalies from Gemini Division are quite suspicious…
“I see…”
Muttering to himself, Leon’s tense expression relaxed slightly as he looked at the extremely frightened waiter and said calmly,
“For now, I’ll believe you didn’t take my wallet… sigh… I originally wanted to drink to my heart’s content today, but now I can’t even register, and I’ve lost my wallet!”
Disinterestedly waving his hand, Leon got up with disappointment in his eyes and said, “Forget it, I’m not drinking anymore!”
“Sorry, truly sorry!”
Seeing Leon seemingly giving up on finding the wallet, Jacob couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, then hurriedly followed behind him, carefully descending the stairs. He fetched paper and pen from the main platform and eagerly asked, “If it’s convenient, could you describe your wallet’s style and contents?”
“Hmm.”
Considering that acting requires commitment, appearing too eager to leave after supposedly losing a wallet would seem suspicious, so Leon casually fabricated:
“My wallet… naturally embroidered with the lion crest of the Lane family, sewn with expensive golden thread bearing my name, containing my portrait, and stuffed with plenty of money…
I’ve forgotten the exact amount. After all, someone like me is already doing well just remembering to bring money when going out. Who has the energy to calculate how much? Anyway, whatever I carry is always enough, right?”
“Right right right! You’re absolutely correct!”
Cursing under his breath that the damn noble should die horribly under an eighteen-wheeled steam carriage, Jacob smiled through gritted teeth as he led Leon to the waiting area, then rushed back to the main platform with the noted characteristics.
Meanwhile, sitting on the sofa in the waiting area, Leon narrowed his eyes, pondering what exactly the female journalist from Gemini Division was up to, and whether she knew about the Aquarius Director being sent to the Deathscape…
“Your Grace!”
As Leon furrowed his brow in deep thought, a voice filled with joy suddenly reached his ears.
Surprised, Leon looked up to see Jacob gripping an obviously expensive golden-threaded wallet, rushing towards him with delight, happily reporting,
“Your Grace, your wallet has been found!”
“…”
(｀Д)？！ Huh?????? (End of Chapter)
