Chapter 57: Disappearance

Levi had not expected that a single séance could stir up so much trouble.

The dead were no issue.

He had already been mentally prepared for deaths, and since the one who died was that half-witted innkeeper, Levi cared even less.

People always sought their own doom.

Levi had already warned him before, but the man had refused to listen.

Levi could do nothing about that.

But a disappearance………a disappearance was another matter entirely.

Levi circled around the guest room, inside and out, and finally had to admit that he had encountered the kind of case most suitable for a detective but least suitable for himself.

A locked-room case!

If it had been one of those so-called “famous detectives,” they would have perked up at once, more excited than if they had taken drugs.

But Levi was a detective who had only taken up the profession halfway through life, and the thing he disliked most was precisely this kind of locked-room case.

The couple’s guest room had the same layout as Inspector Lestrade’s: the room was not large, containing a bed, a wardrobe, a bookshelf, and a chair.

There was no balcony.

The window was sealed shut, the door was locked from the inside.

There was only one key, kept on the wife’s person.

She had said that after she brought the child back to the room, she locked the door from the inside.

Even if someone outside had a key, they would not have been able to open it.

Levi relied on 【Investigation】 to sweep the room carefully, but he found no trace of the girl’s footprints near the doorway.

It was as though she had vanished into thin air from within the room.

“Go downstairs.”

Levi frowned as he looked at the guest room he had just searched.

What vexed him was not so much the disappearance itself, but rather the couple’s wailing and crying.

Even when he wanted to search carefully, the pair’s frantic screaming made it extremely difficult.

So Levi made a decisive choice.

“You two should go downstairs first.

I will continue the search later.”

“How can we do that!”

The middle-aged man immediately protested when he heard Levi’s words.

“If we can’t find her……….”

“You’ve practically torn this guest room apart already, and still haven’t found her.”

Levi cut him off.

“Right now what we must do is remain calm, collect clues, organize the facts, and then find the child………arguing and screaming here will not solve the problem.”

“But……………”

The man still wanted to protest, but the wife was the first to regain her composure.

She grabbed her husband’s arm and nodded at Levi.

“We’ll go down first.”

It seemed someone at least had sense enough to listen.

When the group came back downstairs, they saw the recreation room door tightly shut, with Inspector Lestrade watching as a maid locked it.

Seeing Levi approach, Lestrade was briefly stunned, then simply waved him over without saying much.

“Everyone, to the dining hall.”

After the others walked toward the dining room, Inspector Lestrade slowed his pace, waited for Levi to catch up, and asked in a low voice.

“What happened?”

“Trouble.

That little girl has disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

Inspector Lestrade was shocked, staring at Levi.

Levi nodded, recounting what he had just discovered.

When he finished, Lestrade frowned deeply, his expression grave.

“This complicates matters.”

“Isn’t that the truth.”

Levi knew exactly what Lestrade meant.

To be honest, when the innkeeper had first died, neither of them had taken it too seriously.

From 【Diagnosis】, it was clear he had not died from poisoning, nor from external wounds.

The likely possibilities were sudden illness—or ghosts at work.

If one factored in the typical plots of detective novels, then perhaps he had ingested poison at dinner, which only took effect during the séance.

But regardless, the man was dead.

With no way to perform a dissection here, the only option was to send a telegram to the Police Station and wait for them to collect the corpse the next day.

Until then, as long as Lestrade and Levi kept the others under watch, all would be fine.

But now the little girl had vanished, and things instantly became complicated.

Never mind the cliché “is the killer among us” question—what Levi had seen so far strongly suggested it was the work of a ghost.

But here was the real problem.

A death could be left alone, but a disappearance could not.

And outside, a storm was raging.

What if something happened to a four- or five-year-old girl?

Or had she been seized by a ghost?

Should they send people out to search?

But splitting up—anyone who had watched horror films knew that was taboo.

Divide into two-person teams, send out three or four groups to search, and before long half the group would be dead.

That was standard horror movie script-writing, wasn’t it?

“I’ll go search.”

After weighing “acting according to horror movie tropes” and “not acting according to horror movie tropes” for a while, Levi finally gave his answer.

“I’ll leave it to you to keep them under control.”

“All right, leave it to me.”

At his age, Inspector Lestrade had no problem keeping a group of ordinary people in check.

Besides, he trusted Levi’s abilities.

Since Levi was volunteering to investigate, it was likely indeed to be something supernatural.

Sending ordinary people to look could very well lead to more corpses.

After a few more words with Lestrade, Levi turned back upstairs.

He did not go to the guest room again, but instead returned to his own room.

He hefted his briefcase, then set it on the floor.

In the next moment, the rectangular briefcase suddenly twisted and warped, transforming within seconds from a case into a black cat.

Or rather, a feline.

Its entire body was pitch black, without the faintest glimmer of reflection.

Its size was slightly larger than an overfed tabby, slightly smaller than a leopard.

Its limbs were well-proportioned, carrying the imposing air of a predator.

“Mm.

Very good.

Not bad.”

Levi nodded in satisfaction at the black cat sitting upright at his feet.

This world did not possess advanced robotics, and certainly could not produce something like a “terminator.” Normally, something like this was impossible.

And indeed, it was impossible—unless one cheated.

Levi had only been able to make it thanks to 【Puppeteer】.

The ability of 【Puppeteer】 was simple to describe: Levi could use threads of “soul threads” to control whatever he created, just as a puppet master controlled dolls in a marionette show.

The difference was that this was far more efficient.

Levi only needed to will it, and the puppet moved.

Even if it was just a pile of blocks—if Levi had built it, it could transform or do backflips at his command.

Whatever he imagined, it could do.

At first, Levi had considered creating a humanoid puppet, but immediately rejected the thought.

A grown man lugging around a doll—who wouldn’t find that odd? Besides, what would it look like if, in danger, he tossed a doll at the enemy? Playing house like a little girl?

So Levi decided instead to borrow the idea of transforming robots from his own world’s animations, creating this.

The choice of a cat was deliberate.

Considering the skills of 【Puppeteer】, this was the most fitting.

With 【Puppeteer】, Levi controlled his puppet via soul threads.

At the same time, he could also share his abilities with the puppet.

Skills such as 【Soul Sight】, 【Eye of the Reaper】, and 【Shadow Step】 could be used by both Levi and the puppet.

That meant he could send the puppet to investigate in his stead, especially in places where he could not go.

Therefore, it could not be human-shaped, or it would immediately give him away.

But a cat was far more convenient.

Cats roamed freely everywhere, arousing no suspicion.

With its slightly larger build, this one could even fight.

Of course, there was one drawback: the puppet only moved when Levi concentrated on controlling it.

Left unattended, it was a lifeless cat, unable to move at all.

This was why he usually kept it in briefcase form—after all, he could not focus on it twenty-four hours a day.

It had taken him three days to make this prototype, with considerable help from Irene.

Her family had once sold and repaired mechanical parts, and she had grown up immersed in the craft.

Many joints, components, and design features were her work.

Without Levi’s 【Puppeteer】, it would have been nothing more than a hand-crafted toy that could transform between briefcase and cat.

With 【Puppeteer】, it became a weapon.

The cat’s claws hid sharp blades—next time he encountered a monster, Levi was confident it could shred flesh, even leave marks on that giant bat.

In short, if anything lunged at him again, Levi could just smash the briefcase into its face, then pull back and kite it from a distance.

And among his skills, this was the only one that did not shorten his lifespan.

Aside from the limitations of range and puppet size due to his low level, it had no real flaws.

As 【Puppeteer】 activated, Levi’s vision shifted instantly, as if a computer screen had appeared in front of him.

On it, the black cat ran and leapt—like the third-person view of an action game.

It was not the cat’s actual perspective, of course, since Levi’s mind was linked to the soul threads, not the puppet itself.

In theory, he could switch freely between first-person and third-person views, but Levi naturally preferred third-person, which gave a wider field of vision.

With first-person, he risked being blindsided by an attack.

This was no game.

Why handicap himself for “immersion”?

Levi tested the controls—WSAD, spacebar for jumping—and then opened the window.

In the next instant, the black cat leapt out, swiftly scrambling up onto the roof.

Then Levi activated 【Soul Sight】.

Immediately, the cat lowered its head, and the entire building came into view beneath it.

The cat now resembled a satellite.

If only Levi’s level were higher, his control range greater—then he could have built an eagle instead, using it as a UAV.

Paired with 【Soul Sight】, it would be better than infrared.

For now, the cat would have to suffice.

Better days lay ahead.

From the rooftop, Levi peered down through the cat’s 【Soul Sight】.

Soon, he spotted several white light points moving.

Most were clustered together, with a few wandering about—clearly Inspector Lestrade and the others.

Levi’s own light was in another room nearby.

That left one more light—surely the child.

Levi hoped so.

Seeing a light meant the person was alive.

If there was no light—that would be a problem.

Fortunately, luck was on his side.

As Levi guided the cat to the roof’s edge, he suddenly noticed a faint, tiny light below!

It was small, weaker than the stars above.

But to Levi, finding it was victory enough!

Now there was only one thing left to do.

Levi’s thought shifted, and at once the cat sprang forward, vanishing into the shadows.

【Shadow Step】!

With X-ray vision and phase-walking—I refuse to believe I can’t handle this!

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