Gun of Ashes

Chapter 6: Chapter 2 The Gift from the North

Lorenzo confidently spoke of all this, enjoying the moment. Although he didn’t say it outright, it felt as if he was insulting Bola’s intelligence.

Bola remained silent, as he always did. Just as he was about to pull the trigger and kill this damned detective, Lorenzo would prove his worth, subsequently infuriating him.

”Is this your plan, using those forensic experts?”

Lorenzo nodded.

”Bola, you have to admit, specialization matters. I attended some classes at the Royal Medical College before.” Lorenzo’s face twisted with an expression that seemed to recall a nightmare.

”Honestly, it was the first time I felt bewildered by knowledge.”

”Of course, you have your uses too; otherwise, I wouldn’t come to this god-forsaken Lower City District to see you.”

Lorenzo was always this confident, not caring that Bola just had a gun pointed at him.

”Bola, I’m mainly here to ask you some questions.”

”What questions?”

Bola placed the gun on the table, falling once again into Lorenzo’s rhythm. Clearly, he was the employer, the head of the entire Lower City District, but when Lorenzo began his lengthy discourse, Bola would unconsciously find himself in deference.

It was like a teacher and his student, with Lorenzo as the wayward instructor who never taught anything but manipulated their minds to demonstrate his own exceptionalism, seemingly deriving satisfaction from it.

”Bola, I need to know the full picture of this case.”

Lorenzo stared intently at Bola, his blurred figure reflected in Bola’s uniquely Ingwig blue-green eyes.

”A sailor carries the secret you wish to know... Bola, I am a detective, not a writer. I need to know the full picture to find out everything; otherwise, I’d just go home and make up a plausible story for you.”

Grabbing the edge of the table, Lorenzo pulled himself over, leaning in close to Bola. The two looked like intimate friends.

”So, interested in talking?”

Lorenzo asked with a smile.

...

The story begins half a month ago.

According to Ingwig laws, from mid-June to mid-September is closed season for fishing. All fishing boats are docked at the port, forbidden from going out to fish. But one foggy day half a month ago, a fishing boat arrived at Reindona Port.

”My people have been tracking that ship for a long time. They set off from the Viking Kingdom’s Novbedo, during which they altered their course through the Ice Sea, finally arriving at Reindona Port half a month ago.”

”It doesn’t sound suspicious. Every closed season, many fishing boats catch from other sea areas, finally delivering here to Old Dunling.”

Lorenzo said while listening.

”The problem is that after docking, their fishing boat didn’t unload, and no one disembarked. It just sat at the pier, and only after a few days of sun exposure when the fish and shrimp started to rot did it attract attention.”

”So... is there anything valuable about this fishing boat?”

This was an essential question. Everything has its value, even this fishing boat. Lorenzo couldn’t understand how it startled a big shot like Bola.

”It is not as simple as a fishing boat.”

Bola revealed the hidden story, the atmosphere enhanced by alcohol, which made him feel much better.

”My business is not limited to Old Dunling; I have connections in surrounding areas as well... That ship carried something it shouldn’t have. My people have been tracking it, using a new steamship, which was more than twice as fast as theirs.

Originally, they planned to intercept it on the North Sea, then let the unfortunate fishing boat sleep forever beneath the sea, sending those Vikings back to their Heroic Spirit Hall.”

Downing the remaining liquor in his glass, he continued.

”But an accident happened, as if Odin himself favored them. The fishing boat entered the Ice Sea, and my men lost their tracks in the storm. Then as I said, they reached Reindona Port, and those fish and shrimp were only a cover; the real goods had long been transported away.”

”So what I need to investigate is that mysterious cargo, right?”

Lorenzo, with bowed head, lit his pipe, nodding while speaking.

”Yes, according to the list, that Wol was a sailor on the Silverfish. Since their arrival, this group of people vanished into thin air, and Wol was the only one I could track down.”

”Counting the captain and the Chief Mate, there were seventeen in total. Excluding the now-dead Wol, the remaining sixteen are still missing.”

”But now the only Wol was killed by you.”

Bola said irritably.

Lorenzo glanced at him, his inner confusion unabated.

”Why wouldn’t you handle it yourself, just capturing someone?”

”The cargo is connected to a duke; my men can’t appear on the scene.” Bola was the king in the shadows, but when faced with that noble duke, he still showed difficulty.

”And the cargo?”

”I don’t know, I only know it’s sealed inside an iron box.”

Lorenzo chuckled.

”Look, another vague request. Can I just take any iron box from the blacksmith and claim my reward?”

This time, Bola didn’t get angry at Lorenzo’s provocation; he remained very calm, atypically so.

”Do you believe in things like a sixth sense?”

”You mean intuition?”

”Probably.”

Bola lowered his gaze to the revolver on the table, the chamber adorned with artwork of ghost gods, mesmerizing him.

”You’ll understand at first sight... It’s like intuition. When you see that iron box, you’ll recognize it.”