A Tale of Forgotten Gods

Chapter 139: The Financial Records

The next day, no more bodies arrived.

One of the Midnight Wings members, an Ascended, had arrived at the police station, nearly at 3:00 AM.

As he entered the building, he found the inspector sitting on his chair, reading the documents. Looking at the man in front, the police stood and walked toward him. ”Thanks for the efforts of your organization, but someone had already solved the case. By this time, a body should have arrived, but today it didn’t.”

The man nodded and sat down on the public chair. ”Ah, yes, I heard about the detective. May I know his name?”

”It was Murphy Law.” The inspector sat down and called out to his subordinate for a cup of tea as his head slightly ached from the night duty.

The Ascended also took one cup and drank it smoothly before placing it on the nearest table that was made of oak tree wood; it had some rough edges that could sting. Although one of the legs of the table was half broken, it was only stable from a fabric used to balance it.

”Murphy Law? I have heard this name before. He was also the one who stopped a demonic cult and massacred royals in the Clockwork City. But it was not the only thing...”

The police closed his eyes to savor the taste of the tea, then chuckled slightly. ”I even got news about the train incident, then the murder of the chief and his wife in Emerald Town, from that day, even the endless stairs disappeared. People said that his name was also Murphy.”

”For whom does he work?” The man asked as he heard the multiple mid- and high-grade mysteries.

Hearing that, the inspector put his arms on his table and examined the Midnight Wings. ”We do not have much information about him, but he only said that he is a Detective enforced by the central government; this is what I heard from others.”

”His rumors had said he came here only a month ago.” The man said before standing up. ”Anyway, he is doing a great job, maybe the Midnight Wings should work harder.”

***

Murphy walked through the Latvensa city. In a while, he reached near the Pacian bank.

It was built in neoclassical style, like the Greek or Roman temple Mo Fei had seen in his history books.

In the beginning, a wide, open central corridor, known as the public floor, was flanked by long counters. The floors were made of terrazzo tiles with mosaic patterns.

Near the entrance stood heavy mahogany writing desks where customers dipped steel-nib pens into glass inkwells to fill out their deposit slips.

As he entered and examined the whole place, he found a few small arched cutout metal windows labeled with different names, such as ’Cashier,’ ’Teller’ and ’Receiving,’ which allowed the customer to slide passbooks, paper currency, and heavy gold or silver coins across the counter.

Atop the counters sat floor-to-ceiling brass scrollwork grilles, often called by people ’teller cages.’ This metalwork featured elaborate details and served to protect the cash from being grabbed.

Finally, he looked at the base of the counter made of dark hardwood.

Stepping through the line, the Detective reached the counter as a few people called out. Although, he didn’t look back and only let them bark behind.

Murphy’s gaze locked at the man who handled the transactions. ”I’m Murphy Law, a Detective, simply here for an investigation. Tell me first, is this bank managed by the government?”

The counter clerk nodded, his eyes widening slightly as the name Murphy Law registered. The rumors of the Clockwork City and Emerald Town had clearly reached the city’s financial heart. ”Yes, Mr. Law, we are under state charter. How can I help?”

”Can you provide me with the details of the transactions?”

Hearing that, the clerk blinked; he spoke in a confused, hesitant manner. ”Financial transactions... of all people, sir? That... that would require looking through the master ledgers. Bank policy requires a formal ministerial audit decree for such a massive disclosure.”

”Yes,” Murphy said firmly. He asked for all the transactions so the man couldn’t know who he was after even if that man was with Asterion. Without flinching, he leaned closer and let the shadow of his coat fall over the counter as he reached into his pocket, brushing his fingers against the manifested card of Murphy from 1926.

Finally, he continued with a monotonous voice, leaving no argument. ”A standard investigation. The central government sweep looks for a web. I’m only here to map the flow of treasonous wealth entering Latvensa from the capital. You can either walk into the back room and bring me those ledgers, or I can execute a formal ministerial warrant. Which might cost you a bit or two, or central investigators will audit this entire vault by tomorrow morning, and if I do that... your bank will remain locked for a month. Which choice makes both of our days easier?”

A bead of sweat formed near the clerk’s temple. He stared at Murphy’s unblinking cold gaze, then down at the mahogany counter, terrified of being the government officer who stood in the way of a man who had connections with the central government.

If he hid behind and didn’t show him that, then it might even cause the whole bank to pay, at the correct moment, it was better to follow the Detective.

The clerk nodded, unlocking the side partition of the teller cage, and looked back toward the door leading to the archives before opening it. ”Y-yes, Detective Law. Come through this way. I shall grant you access to the record room immediately.”

”Good boy.” With a cruel small smirk, Murphy entered through the path where gas lamps flickered along the narrow walls.

Thousands of master ledgers rested here, stacked as if they were tombstones of financial history. ”These are the master ledgers for the current fiscal cycle, Detective.”

”You may go now. Make sure no one disturbs me. If anyone asks, I am auditing a routine discrepancy. Understood?”

”Y-yes, sir. Absolutely.” The clerk bowed slightly and shut the door, leaving Murphy alone in the dim light of the chandelier.

Murphy looked at the stacks, adjusted in a numerical manner. He went for the A-line, moving his hand through the papers, being careful to not ruin them.

In a while, he found the documents of transactions with the name Asterion Hetten.

There were multiple papers, most of these were the transactions related to a secret organization, Asterion funded them throughout different cities. He had recently bought a small town where no one lives.

Two of these documents caught his attention, which was entirely related to a company that created the gunpowder and explosive weapon; then the second one was a company that was directly established by Asterion and funded recently. It was a company of medical-related things, including venoms and medicines. While it also bought a newly experimented gas that was called Argon-94, a heavy asphyxiant extracted from the very air itself.

The company’s records stated that it sold a high supply of a chemical that could make someone unconscious if in contact.

’Interesting, why would he need poison gas?’

Murphy quietly pulled out a cheque that was signed by Asterion and swiftly hid it in his coat before putting the records back.

He moved toward other records with a random name and slightly messed them up, then fixed the Asterion’s ledgers, making the scene seem like he looked through the random name.

’Heh, next destination, the Pacian Bank. By tomorrow you wouldn’t even know what happened.’