books44 Chapter 203 Dracula's Villa: A Visit
Chapter 203 Dracula's Villa: A Visit
"...Mr. Kuromon, Mr. Kuromon? We're almost at our destination."
Pulling herself out of her reverie, Yoruichi Kuromon opened her eyes; the winding coastal highway had finally come to an end.
The rock face no longer obstructed the view, and a villa built on the edge of the sea came into view. It was a Gothic building with distinctive old-fashioned Western European features, with a dark red spire covering the deep walls. The sea breeze kept blowing, pressing the gloomy gray clouds closer and lower.
Click.
Raising his camera, Haruya Kuromon pressed the shutter and analyzed the general structure of the building using the photo: "No wonder it's called Dracula's Villa, it's like a movie filming location."
"I didn't expect our operations department to be assigned this kind of investigation mission." Rolling down the car window, Asahi stretched his hand out the window and casually judged, "Wind force seven, combined with the forecast, there will be a blizzard tonight."
"There's been some turmoil in the intelligence department lately," Kuromon Haruya said, recalling the decreasing number of dispatch requests and reports.
The intelligence department has always had many problems. If we follow the original work, the entire department, except for Binga, is basically disloyal. However, since the problems are not as obvious as those in the action department, no one has paid attention to them.
But things are different now. Not long ago, Pisco was executed for colluding with the FBI, and the Operations Department received a message that there were no rats. The pressure is focused on one thing, and it is only natural that a reorganization is needed.
This investigation was one of the tasks that Rum had given to Gin under the pretext of "internal reconciliation."
[Mission: Investigation - Visit Dracula's Villa]
Executor: Vienna Lager, Butterbeer
Task content:
Visit novelist Daisuke Torakura, explore Dracula's villa, and obtain all the research materials related to "vampires" that he possesses. [Completion method is not limited; establishing a friendly, long-term partnership is recommended.]
*Beep beep*. The phone rang; it was an email from Fanze Zhenren.
"The real information has arrived. Daisuke Torakura, a well-known author in the Japanese horror novel world. Because most of his novels feature vampires as protagonists, and his surname sounds similar to Dracula in Japanese, he is known as Mr. Dracula."
He is married and lives with his 30-year-old wife in a seaside villa. The couple is 20 years apart in age.
Haruya Kuromon: "The reason we are visiting today is to conduct interviews and film a documentary. Narumi, you will serve as my filming assistant."
Asami Narumi was filled with curiosity as this was her first time encountering a mission from the intelligence department:
"I always thought the organization only focused on intelligence related to politics or other forces. I didn't expect they also had the mission of collecting information on strange tales. Is there some special purpose to it?"
After all, judging from the two intelligence members he came into contact with, Bourbon often held multiple jobs while traveling among the people, and Mr. Hanze didn't have any special missions. They both seemed to be more focused on reality.
Yoruichi Kuromon looked away and yawned: "There's probably some information smuggled into the documents."
To be honest, these kinds of tasks were requested by him, the boss.
In fact, the organization's investigation into "immortality" rumors around the world has never stopped.
Now that the existence of the mystical side has been confirmed, Kuromon Haruya's deep-seated fear of insufficient firepower prevents her from being without magic!
The process involved data collection by frontline staff, screening by middle management, and final confirmation by him. The process was highly efficient, but in terms of results...
Currently, the only character I can hold in my hand is the Koizumi clan with the red magic.
Kuromon Haruya sighed: "When I was a kid, I really admired vampires. They were noble and powerful, they could manipulate blood and wear super cool black cloaks."
As a result, he became a demon with mediocre abilities, and could only vent his anger by kicking a few unwanted bird eggs when he passed by downstairs every day.
"When I was little, I wanted to be a mermaid," Asahi smoothly picked up the conversation.
"Because I live on an island, I always have to be careful about storms and other weather conditions when I go out to sea. Becoming a mermaid would allow me to play alluring music and be unafraid of wind and rain..."
Speaking of which, my father mentioned that one of his friends was very interested in mermaids! Apparently, he searched all the islands of Japan for them.
He stroked his chin, searching his memory: "I remember my father commenting on that person, it was something like..."
Kuromon Haruya leaned closer: "What is it?"
"Hmm... I can't remember." After a moment of hesitation, he shook his head regretfully.
As the vehicle drew closer, there was no longer any time for idle chatter; the villa was now right in front of them.
In the meticulously maintained courtyard, a pristine white statue of the Virgin Mary stands in the center of a pool, where a fountain gurgles. A handsome young man puts down his gardening shears and jogs forward to greet her.
"You must be Mr. Kuromon, the photography teacher? It's really kind of you to take the time to come. I'm a student who studies writing under Mr. Torakura. My surname is Tasato."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. This gentleman behind me is my assistant, Sami."
After getting to know each other, Kuromon Haruya set up his camera and, as if he were going to go all out, documented the villa's setting.
On the lawn not far away, an elegant lady in a lavender-colored robe sat gracefully in a chair, occasionally adding a few strokes to the canvas:
Who is that lady?
"She is Mr. Hucang's wife."
Pushing open the door and entering the interior, the ancient and rustic atmosphere becomes even more pronounced.
The sword-wielding armor was stained with dark, splashed dirt. The marble, like dusty, lifeless eyes, was desolate and gray. Occasionally, a strange, eerie wind would blow by, sending chills down one's spine.
With a twitch of his nose, Heimen Yaoye unleashed his senses.
Perhaps it was because of the high humidity by the sea that the air had a dark, damp, and slightly salty smell, but there was no smell of blood.
Led by Tadokoro, they quickly arrived at the reception room, where they could hear two people talking inside.
"Haha, you've really had a tough time, Shuichi!"
Shuichi!
Asahi paused, exchanged a glance with Kuromon Haruya, and saw that the other was equally concerned.
Switching to defensive mode, he moved close to the side of the door as Tadokoro pushed it open, peering inside to scout.
Inside, two men were already sitting at a table, seemingly discussing something.
The businessman on the outside had slightly graying temples, and he was unpretentious in his actions and speech, using polite and gentle language.
The young man sitting by the window wore a pair of retro round-framed glasses and a brown button-down trench coat, exuding an air of elegance and erudition.
Neither of them is the missing Shuichi Akai that Gin ordered to be investigated.
With his hands behind his back indicating that he was unharmed, Asano released his sidearm before entering the room with Kuromon Haruya.
Upon seeing them, the older man was the first to stand up:
"You must be Mr. Kuroba? Good afternoon. I am the editor-in-chief of Torakura-sensei Publishing House. My surname is Doi."
Another young man, known as "Shuiyi," put down his teacup and stood up. He appeared to be nearly 1.9 meters tall.
He narrowed his eyes, his gaze shifting between the two of them before he reached out his hand to Kuromon Haruya:
"Hello, I am Hideichi Hamura. I work at the Institute of Ethnology at Kitakantō University, where I mainly study vampire legends."