“Sometimes I just wish Lady Elaine could come with us…” Betty said disappointingly.
“Elaine can’t do that. It’s not like she’s a real member of the organisation,” Alice replied as she scanned her eyes across the street as they waited for their turn.
“Can you just call her appropriately?”
“No.”
Clenching her hands into fists, Betty moved next to Daisy, who felt amused by their interaction.
This was normal among them. Ever since these two people have met, the two young women would have to say something to each other aggressively at least. Daisy had given up trying to placate either of them a long time ago, so she just ignored it.
The three girls were outside the school, with a change of regular outdoor clothes of t-shirts, miniskirts, and shorts to avoid being recognised as the academy’s students. Although they didn’t have uniforms, given that the academy was the only one of its kind in this district, anyone could quickly tell where a student was from as they had to follow a specific code of conduct and appearance.
The air was filled with the sounds of car horns and screeching of tires as the ordinary people bustled about in the mid-afternoon when things were busy with their respective work. Just like the rest of the world does.
However, just one sweep by anyone who came here could see something unique about this Kingdom of Asiana.
For one, there were pictures of the current King and Queen plastered in various shops, outside or inside them. Next, the standard of clothes that people wore was different from one individual to another. Not just in terms of types of clothes, but the quality of them too.
Naturally, in a country of few that still practised absolute monarchy and having the existence of aristocrats and nobles, such differences were expected.
In short, a class hierarchy system: Royals, then Nobles, followed by Commoners.
The trio crossed a street, heading towards a derelict section of the small city. This section has a sudden reduction of people passing by, secluded from the eyes of many people.
“I always wonder why one of the organisation’s buildings is located in such a dirty and old place.”
Daisy explained, “That is because this is where people rarely go. Especially for nobles.”
“I suppose that’s true. An elegant lady from a noble family like me wouldn’t dare to come here. Let alone a reason to be here.”
Betty took a large sweep of the sight of older streets and derelict buildings that seemed to be so terrible in contrast to neighbourhoods they previously were in. This was the first time she had ever been in such a place, so she tried to hold back her sense of disgust.
They turned to their left, leading themselves to a small alley that people usually wouldn’t notice if they were unfamiliar with the area. Daisy led the way as she's the only one who knows where they're going. Alice was at the back of the group, ensuring they were not being followed.
Daisy stopped in front of a black door in one of the buildings along the same alley.
“This is it,” she declared.
Quietly, she knocked on the door.
At first, Betty wondered why she kept knocking on the door when she realised there was a particular pattern to it.
Morse Code? Isn't this something all of us students learnt in the academy?
Memories of her being traumatised by many lines and dots during one of her lessons came flooding in. Her body shuddered for a second.
“That's an interesting way to make a password,” Alice remarked, understanding the code.
The tall woman winked at them. “Now, you know. Both of you have a reason to learn it in the academy.”
Then she waited for a reply.
The other started knocking too. When it ended, Daisy said, “All three of us are here.”
The door creaked, slowly swinging outwards. Betty held her breath, wondering who was behind the door. All these environments and interactions were extremely new, so she was both scared and curious at the same time.
The petite girl could only make out a large female silhouette that was as tall as Daisy.
“Daisy, as always, you arrived here earlier than expected. Let’s get in.”
After making sure that no one was tailing them, the three girls entered the building.
Huge.
Betty thought that Daisy’s pair of assets were already large enough and were at the edge of what women could potentially get in this kingdom. But hairHarmony’s size made Daisy look average.
She didn’t want to think of how sad and disappointing it was when it comes to her almost non-existing ones.
“Welcome to Occultatum Secreta, Betty.”
The small woman mindlessly nodded as she stared at the deep ravine showing at the top of the woman’s pink blouse that was almost two heads taller than herself.
A brilliant pink hair sparkles in the light of the small window behind Harmony. Her blouse complemented and matched those colours, making her entirely seemingly filled with shades of pink. She could tell that Harmony put effort into her appearance to fully utilise what she has and had no qualms about showing them off.
Harmony smiled knowingly when she saw the young woman's long gaze.
She took out three chairs for the girls.
“How old are you, Betty?”
Betty’s mind returned to what Harmony had just asked her.
“Um… 20.”
“Hmm… one more year for you.”
How is that relevant? Wait… is she interested in a relationship with-
Harmony immediately answered, “It’s to know if you could integrate and enter our agency as a full member.”
Betty felt relieved that it wasn’t as she initially thought.
Without waiting for any reply, she continued.
“Our agency is a secret organisation to assist this kingdom in various ways. One of which is the detective crime department. As in the name, we focus on solving mysteries and crimes that the authorities nor the common people cannot solve if they are being requested. Sometimes we look for them ourselves. It doesn't matter who our clients are. Nobles, Royals or Commoners, we accept anyone in return for something of theirs.”
“There are entry requirements for someone who wishes to apply. For example, for the young Miss Alice here, she’s been waiting to join in as a full member for quite some time. And by next year, she’ll be able to do that, just like you.”
Harmony raised her palm of her hand towards the said girl, to which the latter nodded stoically.
“Unlike what most movies portray, we don’t feel it to be appropriate to let high school girls join such a demanding activity that requires a lot of work and thinking. They all ignore the limits of what young teenagers could manage and do in their lives. Thus, we put it at 21, the legal adult age of this kingdom.”
“However, that doesn't mean both of you aren’t part of us. For this, you and Alice can be considered as our “probation members” and training period, except that it's as many years for you to turn 21 rather than the usual three to six months. The cases you get involved in won’t be as high profile or important as major international affairs, but you will still get plenty of interesting cases over here now and then. Of course, luck plays a part too.”
Betty indicated that she understood. That sums up pretty well for all the stuff that she wanted to know.
Due to classified information, even her two other clubmates didn’t mention all this to her since she’s relatively new and only recently stated that she intended to join. Alice had prior training before her, so most information was something she already knew.
There was still a question left in her mind.
“Wouldn’t that mean that someone has to teach us? We aren’t expecting to figure it out all by ourselves, right?”
Harmony smiled widely, satisfied with the noble girl’s sense of curiosity and intelligence.
“That’s why you have Daisy here. She’s your mentor as a full member. Just for your info… she’s three years older than you despite being in the same year as you two.”
Betty couldn’t hide the surprise in her eyes as she turned towards the said person. She always thought that Daisy had been the same age as her and Alice. And yet, Alice appeared to be the natural leader of their small group. Even Daisy respected that position and didn't seem to have taught them much at all.
Her previous long-term feeling of envy of her clubmates’ chest size subsided slightly.
Alice hummed as if expecting such things already.
Daisy smiled apologetically and rubbed the back of her head. “Now you all know…”
Harmony laughed, “With all that’s been going on, it’s expected we don’t tell probation members everything. Only necessary-to-know information. So is that all for your questions, Betty?”
“Yes, thank you, Miss Harmony.”
The woman nodded and stood up. Then, she headed towards one of the doors in the room and knocked gently. There was a faint male voice on the other side as she peered in.
“They are already here. Are you ready?”
A middle-aged man emerged from the door a while later.
Immediately, all the three girls recognised the man that had the same face as the one in today’s newspaper. There were some minor differences, however.
The room fell into an awkward silence as neither party said anything.
Daniel Jackson. The suspected killer of his father, Harold T. Jackson.
The man broke the slightly tensed atmosphere.
“Um, hello, girls. I’m Daniel Jackson.”
He smiled sheepishly, visible sweat glinting from the light of the window on his forehead and neck.
“I wonder if you ladies can help me with my little problem.”
