[Ice Arrow, Beginner. Proficiency, 24/75.]

  The witch had been a supernatural being above Tier Three. There was no questioning how strong she was.

  She had given Ice Arrow a full fifteen points of proficiency.

  That fight had left Ethan seriously injured.

  By the time Chloe carried him back to town, the witch's curse had already taken hold.

  He had caught a cold.

  Which, as it turned out, proved one simple truth.

  If a person got drenched in the rain, that person got sick.

  Especially if that person also cast Ice Arrow and made himself even colder in the process.

  He left the town guards behind, went back to his room, hung up his soaked clothes, dried his hair and body, then crawled into bed and wrapped himself tightly in the blanket.

  Medical care in this era was limited, and he lived in a remote little town.

  The best prescription available was to sleep it off.

  He slept like the dead.

  And in that deep sleep, he dreamed a string of bizarre things.

  He dreamed that Lucky was walking gracefully through the streets of town.

  The white cat did not seem to notice him at all. She turned and slipped into an alley. When Ethan followed her in, he walked straight into an astonishing sight.

  The white cat leaped down from the wall and transformed into a white-haired girl right in front of him.

  Then Ethan woke up.

  First of all, he was not a furry.

  That needed to be made perfectly clear.

  He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling and felt the warm, comfortable mattress beneath him. There was a faint lingering scent on the pillow, and before long, the smell of meat broth drifted over as well.

  "Drink it while it's hot."

  Ethan turned toward the voice.

  The white-haired girl from his dream had become Ivy, complete with that little cowlick on top of her head. She was holding a steaming bowl of broth, and on her lap rested an open cookbook with a recipe for stewed meat soup.

  She was wearing a loose purple satin robe, which made her look much softer than usual.

  "It was my first time making it," Ivy said, "but the steps were much easier than the practical lessons at the Society. I already tasted it. The flavor's fine."

  Only then did Ethan realize he was lying in a young lady's bedroom.

  The white lace canopy above his head gave the whole place a strangely romantic feel. The decorations made him feel as though he had crossed from some primitive backwater into actual civilization. Every piece of furniture in the room was oak, carved with elegant patterns.

  There was a large bed, a wardrobe, a dressing table, and a mirror.

  Conservatively speaking, Ivy's bedroom was probably the size of half the Guild's upper floor.

  He accepted the bowl a little numbly.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  She had used plenty of seasoning. He could even smell pepper in it. That was the sort of thing you rarely saw in Willowbrook. If you wanted to buy it, you had to go through one of the big merchants in town, and even then the supply was inconsistent. For a working man like Ethan, it was pure luxury.

  As expected of a girl from a wealthy house.

  But before he could take a sip, a warm, smooth hand landed on his head, gently stroked it once, then slid down to his chin.

  "What are you doing?"

  "The book said this helps you relax."

  "What book?"

  "Guide to Caring for Large Animals. That's the only book on the shelf that seemed relevant. I've never taken care of anyone before, so I did some theory study first."

  Ethan's eyelid twitched.

  "Do I look like a large animal to you?"

  "No," Ivy said. "Judging by your size, you're more of a medium-small animal. But the care techniques should still apply."

  "Has it occurred to you that I might be a person?"

  "Doesn't it feel nice?"

  Ivy drew her hand back and lightly scratched at her own chin, looking thoroughly puzzled.

  Her expression did not change, but the little tuft of blond hair on top of her head curled up in visible satisfaction.

  "I thought it felt pretty good."

  Apparently, before he woke up, she had seriously practiced the chin-scratching technique.

  "That isn't the issue."

  At this point Ethan felt the whole room was heavy with conspiracy.

  Just as Ivy had said, she was the daughter of a noble house. Normally, she was the one being waited on by servants. Why on earth would she be making meat broth for someone else? Something this unusual had to mean trouble. And his own situation was no less suspicious.

  There he was, half-naked in Ivy's bedroom.

  What was next?

  Would someone accuse him of trying something improper with a noble lady and drag him off to be executed?

  Until he understood what Ivy actually wanted, he was absolutely not touching the broth.

  "You might as well just say what's on your mind."

  "This incident made me realize something," Ivy said. "One person's strength is always limited. I need an assistant."

  She continued, "Every detective I know has an assistant. You're the most suitable candidate. Any chance you're interested in leaving the Hunters' Guild?"

  "Why me?"

  "Because you didn't run off with my gun. That showed courage. And you're smarter than most people in town."

  She thought for a second, then added, "The wolf-chicken gestured to me that you ran into the witch's followers on the road. You fought beside her and carved your way out alive."

  That was the version Ethan had told Chloe to pass along.

  It was meant to keep Ivy from growing suspicious.

  "If you come work for me," Ivy went on, "I'll treat you far better than the Hunters' Guild ever could."

  "It does sound tempting," Ethan admitted. "But no. That's not my career plan."

  He had to admit, the big house and generous pay were tempting.

  But reason pulled him back.

  In times like these, getting tangled up with high nobility was never a smart move. He still knew next to nothing about Ivy's family. Today he might be a detective's assistant. Tomorrow he could end up dragged into some noble family feud.

  "Then what's your career plan?" Ivy asked.

  "To become a full employee of the Bureau of Containment."

  This was Ethan's long-term plan.

  For it, he had gathered a great deal of information on the Bureau. Over the past two years, he had even sent three self-recommendation letters to the Bureau office in Gearford.

  Just like the resumes he had sent out right after graduating in his previous life, every single one had vanished without a trace.

  His current job as a clerk at the Hunters' Guild was only the second-best option.

  Yes, it let him come into contact with the occasional occult case. But most of the time he was just buried in repetitive, pointless tasks.

  The Bureau of Containment, on the other hand, was the ideal work environment.

  It was the Imperial institution most closely tied to occult cases, and it was not under the authority of the nobility or the Church. If he could get a desk job there, he would be able to stay safely indoors while learning about cases from all across the Empire.

  Ethan had researched it carefully.

  The Bureau had a dedicated intelligence department that stayed behind the lines, and the work was fairly similar to that of a clerk. That was his dream posting.

  Good information flow, light workload, and most importantly, safe.

  An Imperial civil service job with real security.

  The bad news was that the nobles in the Capital knew it was a great position too.

  Based on Ethan's experience from his previous life, jobs like that were usually packed with people who got in through family connections. For someone from the bottom like him, squeezing in was never going to be easy.

  He had considered taking his chances in Gearford.

  But poverty had stopped him cold.

  He had not yet saved enough to survive in a big city. If he rushed there now, he would either end up a vagrant or be forced by circumstance into factory work tightening bolts all day.

  For now, the only option was to keep his head down and build up steadily.

  While practicing Fireball, he had also accumulated two full years of experience as a clerk. Once he had saved enough money to get started in a larger city, he planned to ask the Guildmaster for a letter of recommendation.

  Whether it was magic or career, he was moving forward in a steady, reasonable way.

  "You want to become a full employee of the Bureau of Containment?"

  "I know it probably sounds overambitious to you," Ethan said, "but that is what I'm working toward."

  "I'm not laughing at you."

  Ivy paused, then said, "I just wanted to tell you that I know the Bureau's current director."