Chapter 1 Agatha's Examination

Agatha inspected the hidden compartment where the Queen's likeness was concealed. It was indeed as her subordinates had reported—simply a place to secretly commemorate the Frost Queen, with no traces of extraordinary power remaining.

She looked at the items that had been searched out: a plaster statue, commemorative coins, and a handbook.

Fifty years ago, this would have been worth a noose.

But the terrifying years that had strained everyone's nerves were over. The current Frost authorities had to consider the long-term stability of the city-state and their own image of justice. They couldn't make a big fuss over people's private commemorations—nowadays, such harmless acts of remembrance would usually only result in a warning, perhaps a fine at most.

And even the warning and fine were matters for the magistrates to consider—secular decrees and laws were not the responsibility of the Cathedral.

"This isn't something we should be concerned with," Agatha shook her head. "Compile this information and notify the magistrate authorities to handle the follow-up. But we need to take these souvenirs back for inspection, in case there's... something hidden inside."

"Yes."

After briefly arranging the final cleanup of the scene, Agatha stood up from the sofa and took a deep breath.

There were too many things to deal with; she couldn't afford to linger here any longer.

"Remember to keep track of the investigation at the sewage treatment center and monitor the piping system in this area," she instructed her subordinates before striding out of the room.

Outside was a narrow corridor. The old staircase extended upwards in the dim light. Two other households had quietly opened their doors, watching the activity. Several pairs of slightly panicked eyes peered out from the cracks.

Agatha waved to those eyes.

"Go home, pack your belongings, and await instructions. Temporary evacuation is required here—rest assured, we will resolve the problem here as soon as possible, and you will be able to return home soon."

After saying this, Agatha didn't pay attention to the residents' reactions. She walked down the stairs towards the exit on the ground floor.

She didn't use "Gray Wind" to travel, even though she usually enjoyed doing so—but today her thoughts were chaotic. A jumble of matters swirled in her mind, and she felt she needed to sort out her thoughts. Walking slowly would help her think.

At the same time, she also wanted to sense the residual aura in the entire building, to see if she could observe any remaining "Prime Element" pollution in other places.

Lost in thought, she walked down the old stairs to the exit and arrived at the open space outside the residential building.

The musty, stale smell instantly dissipated. The fresh, cold air invigorated Agatha, even giving her the momentary illusion that she had emerged from a dark, damp cave into the sunlight.

The crowd that had gathered outside the residential building had dispersed, leaving only a few curious onlookers lingering at a safe distance, pointing and whispering. And after Agatha appeared, those onlookers also quickly left.

No, there was still someone here.

Agatha frowned. She saw a young woman wearing a veil, with long golden hair and a large bag in her arms, standing in the open space in front of the residential building, looking as if she were in a daze.

"This area is sealed off, please do not linger," Agatha walked up to her, reminding her in a slightly stern tone. "Are you a resident here?"

The veiled blonde woman seemed startled, jolting awake. She turned her head to look at Agatha, pointing at herself in confusion, "Are you talking to me?"

"Of course, who else is here?" Agatha frowned. For some reason, she was somewhat concerned about this stranger, even though she was sure she didn't know her. Yet she felt that the outline of the woman's eyes and eyebrows seemed familiar, as if she had seen her recently. "Are you a resident here?"

"Ah, no, no," Alice quickly waved her hand, pointing to the distance, "I live over there, quite far away—what happened here? I heard someone died?"

"The Guardians are handling the matter," Agatha said casually, while also feeling somewhat puzzled—the blonde woman's reaction was a little odd. Didn't she recognize her, the city-state's Gatekeeper?

Alice didn't notice any change in the eyes of the woman in black, wrapped in bandages—she just thought her outfit was interesting.

It was very similar to the Captain's current appearance.

But the Captain had told her not to casually comment on other people's appearances, and not to say too much about herself to strangers—the former was impolite, the latter was imprudent.

Alice couldn't quite spell those two words yet, but she thought the Captain must be right.

It was time to say goodbye.

So she waved to Agatha, saying in a cheerful tone, "Then I'll be going now! Thank you for answering my question!"

The veiled blonde woman left like that, looking joyful. But Agatha, watching the woman's departing back, felt only strangeness in her heart.

What… was she here for?

She had lived in this city-state for more than twenty years, but had never seen someone like that—someone with an indescribable, simple, and happy aura, speaking with a tone of complete innocence, and smiling without any gloom.

Agatha frowned, then suddenly froze. It seemed that only after the other woman had left did she notice something odd.

"No breath or heartbeat?!"

The young Gatekeeper suddenly raised her head, looking in the direction the blonde woman had left, and instinctively wanted to chase after her. But just as she was about to take a step, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly interrupted her movement.

A black-clad Guardian ran over, holding a piece of intelligence in his hand, looking quite anxious.

"What happened?" Agatha frowned, asking sternly before the other could speak, while also involuntarily muttering in her heart—things were already chaotic enough, let's hope nothing else happened.

"An urgent 'Swift-letter' from Cemetery Number Three," the black-clad Guardian stood up straight, speaking quickly, "A clue about the 'Mysterious Visitor', the original is here."

Agatha's breathing noticeably paused, then she snatched the letter from the other's hand. After unfolding it, her eyes quickly scanned the words.

The young Gatekeeper fell silent, standing motionless as if frozen in place, without moving for a long time.

The black-clad Guardian looked worriedly at his immediate superior, and after a few seconds couldn't help but ask, "...Gatekeeper, this matter..."

Agatha slowly turned her head, looking into her subordinate's eyes, "If someone suddenly told you that a being similar to an ancient god had descended into the city-state in physical form, and that their way of walking in the mortal world was to rent a two-story house with a terrace at the Citizen Assistance Center... what would your reaction be?"

"...I would seek psychological counseling at the nearest church, or consult a well-known psychiatrist," the black-clad Guardian said honestly.

"You're right, but unfortunately, I'm already the spokesperson for the highest-level church in the city-state, and a psychiatrist can't solve the problem of an ancient god descending," Agatha sighed, slowly putting away the letter. "Every matter is important, and the priority of every matter must be set to the highest... alas."

She raised her head, looking in the direction mentioned in the intelligence—Oak Street.

Which was exactly the direction the strange blonde woman without breath or heartbeat had left.

Chapter 2 The Two-Story House

Nina excitedly ran around the entire house, then burrowed into the kitchen, studying the cooking utensils, which were noticeably better than those at her home in Pland.

Shirley and A'gou wandered around the living room and dining room on the first floor, pretending to "inspect" the place, occasionally stopping to comment on the surrounding furnishings.

They had been cooped up on the *Lost Starship* for so long; they were going stir-crazy.

A'i landed on the nearby dining table, her entire body buried in a huge pile of French fries—today was her day to feast.

Duncan sat on the sofa in the living room, watching the scene with a smile—although all his smiles were hidden behind thick bandages, Vanna standing next to him inexplicably felt that... at this moment, Captain Duncan's eyes were like those of a kind old father.

Vanna quickly shook her head, tossing the somewhat outrageous association aside, and looked at the two girls (and the dog) running around in the house.

"There's an empty room upstairs, reserved for you. Did you go look at it?"

"We did, we did!" Nina trotted over, nodding repeatedly. "It's very nice, even bigger than my room in Pland!"

"This place is really great," Shirley also ran over, her face beaming. "If I had known you were settled in so well in the city-state, I would have come over a few days ago—it's so boring on the ship! There's nothing to do every day..."

Duncan slowly turned his head, "The homework I leave you every day is enough for you to write for three hours—why would you have nothing to do?"

Shirley immediately realized she had said the wrong thing and instantly shrank her neck.

"You wrote it for her?" Duncan lowered his head slightly, looking at A'gou, who was trying hard to hide himself in the shadows.

A'gou's head almost shrank into his neck. "I... I did it to practice more, to live up to your hard education..."

Duncan laughed—he laughed out loud, sounding very happy.

"Relax, I brought you over to play, not specifically to criticize you," he waved his hand, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Alice should be back soon. There's at least an hour before dinner. Shirley, go catch up on your homework, starting from page sixteen of the vocabulary book."

Shirley's wails echoed in Vanna's and Morris's ears, a sound they hadn't heard in a long time.