Before long, there was a knock at the door. Charlot Meburg went to open it and found a plump calico cat outside, holding a rge basket in its mouth. The calico cat pced the basket down, meowed twice, and stood there with an air of haughty pride.

  Charlot, who had kept cats ba Earth, skillfully gave the feline a few gerokes. The cat purred tentedly before leaping onto a nearby carriage, curling up for a nap.

  Twes were parked outside the small square in front of 58 Elysée Avenue. One beloo Annie Bretaghe other to Vinnie Arsenault. Since Charlot had moved into 58 Elysée Ave had never been this lively before.

  Well, except for that oime when two evil gods paid a visit, but that hardly ted…

  As he marveled at the practicality of Vinnie’s cat spirit magic, Charlot carried the basket inside and delivered it to the three young dies.

  Charlot had seen Annie’s meical beetles before, but those were only capable of sending messages to servants outside, who then handled purchases. Vinnie Arsenault’s cat spirit magic, which allowed her to directly and cats, was undeniably far more vehan the meical beetles.

  Charlot eve a sudden urge to learn this magi Vinnie.

  Miss Vinnie Arsenault t at versation, and before long, the three young dies had started discussing a peculiar ret case. Charlot listened for a while and gradually pieced together some of the details.

  A series of disappearances had occurred in the Alcatras District retly. Entire families had vanished without a trace—seven households so far, totaling more than sixty people.

  Strangely, in each case, the households appeared pletely normal. It seemed as though the families had simply stepped out temporarily. The homes showed no signs of robbery or intrusiohe missing individuals were never seen again, leaving behind no clues or traces.

  In the Fars Empire of this era, city patrol guards performed a role simir to Earth’s police force. However, their iigative methods were crude, and the rate of solving cases was shogly low—less than three pert.

  As a result, the residents he disappearances had little faith irol guards and instead enerous rewards to private detective agencies. Many were gripped by fear, w that one day they might be the o vanish, which further ihe bounty.

  Vinnie Arsenault was eager to cim the reward. She brought up the case in hopes of leveraging the wisdom of the other two young women. Both Sylvie Martin and Annie Bretagne were rare examples of highly educated women in this era. However, it was clear that this time, Vinnie was met with disappoi.

  Such a mysterious case left the two young dies entirely at a loss.

  Charlot listened for a while, but he, too, had no ideas. Before his transmigration, he had been a high sath teacher, not a seasoned detective. Cases like these didn’t inspire him to ent.

  Suddenly, Annie Bretag out a startled cry. “Oh no! I got so caught up in our versation that I’ve stayed lohan I should have. I o head home.”

  Vinnie Arsenault smiled faintly and said, “I’m here to help Sylvie move to the detective agenitory. I didn’t expect us to chat for so long. We’ve truly intruded on Mr. Meburg’s time.”

  Charlot quickly replied, “Not at all. Spending a delightful afternoon with the three of you has been nothing but a joy.”

  Aood up from her seat, took Charlot by the hand, and led him aside. “I came here today to share some inside information with you,” she said.

  Charlot was slightly surprised. “What is it?”

  In a low voice, Annie said, “Miss Menielman has retly bee embroiled in a case. It’s a highly iial one, so you should be extra careful.”

  With that, she hastily bid him farewell.

  It was ie. Annie was usually quite a proper young dy—except for the occasional time she invaded his dreams to scare him.

  Sylvie Marti upstairs to gather the belongings she had purchased over the past few days. She had twe suitcases, and with Vinnie’s assistahe former fiancée climbed into the carriage. She gave Charlot a polite gesture of farewell as the carriage departed.

  Watg the twes leave oer the other, Charlot returo 58 Elysée Avenue. Although Sylvie’s preseen made him worry about trouble, now that he was alone again, the house suddenly felt emptier than ever.

  58 Elysée Avenue was simply te. Living alone gave it a certain indescribable hollowness. Charlot couldn’t help but wonder, Should I hire a cook? Some servants? Or maybe get a pet?

  Although he had shared some pastries with the young dies, he haden his fill. After a moment’s hesitation, he headed to the restaurant and ordered a meal. After dinner, he remembered the Cat and Four-Leaf Clover Café he had visited before. While the coffee in this era was slightly sour, its rich fvor made it an excellent drink. It was far better than the overly spicy, pepper-like red tea and more suitable for staying awake than the floral teas of the Dongli Kingdom.

  He decided to buy a batch of coffee for both personal enjoyment and to serve to guests.

  When Charlot arrived at the Cat and Four-Leaf Clover Café, he heard soft mewing. The sound was unmistakably from young kittens. Looking closer, he spotted a lithe, half-grown cat watg him warily while guarding three newborn kittens.

  Charlot recalled seeing this cat before and mistaking it for fat. Smiling, he said, “These little ones are adorable.”

  The café owner, an older woman, smiled at his pliment. “If you like, sir, you adopt ohere’s no charge—just be kind to these little creatures.”

  Charlot hesitated briefly before croug down to observe the kittens. The half-grown cat seemed to sehat he meant no harm and rexed slightly, stretg out zily. Meanwhile, the three kittens crawled eagerly onto their mother’s belly to nurse.

  After watg them for a while, Charlot said, “I’d like to buy a batch of coffee—a mix of different types. As for these kittens, may I adopt them all?”

  “However, they’re too young to leave their mother just yet. I’ll have to trouble you to look after them for a few more days. Here’s twenty times as a small tribution for their care during this time.”

  The café owner leasantly surprised. Her coffee shop didn’t make much profit, and even keeping the half-grown cat was a stretch. She couldn’t afford to keep the kittens. Charlot’s willio adopt all three and even pay for their upkeep was a wonderful oute. She eagerly agreed.

  Having adopted the little ones, Charlot felt delighted. His experieh pets in his past life taught him that kittens shouldn’t be separated from their mother too early, as they wouldn’t thrive. Though he was eager, he decided to wait until they were at least a month old before taking them home.

  Twenty times, roughly equivalent to 400 yuan in modern currency, was more than enough to care for the kittens for a while. For text, Sylvie Martin’s weekly sary was only 85 times.

  Sihe amount of coffee Charlot bought wasn’t rge, he didn’t request delivery. He carried it himself as he left the shop.