"Tengu, Ame Onna, Kuchisake Onna..."

Richard scrolled through the search results of spirits and other beings that make people disappear.

"So? Why are we tackling this mystery again?"

Cindy came up to Richard, they were now in a small office building in Japan. A recent purchase made by Richard and one which he planned to turn into a business.

"Publicity, Paranormal investigators need to do something big. If we just advertise ourself with flower words and promises, our business that is already shady to begin with would fail"

"Why do I need to help out? Also, wasn’t the plan to investigate Agartha? What about your revenge?"

"The FMC, Nova Munda, Salem, FBI and maybe even the CIA spent years monitoring them and still failed to stop them from acting under their noses. You think we could deal with that?"

Richard’s explanation was sound, it was rational and there was no hole in his logic but-

"Why Japan?"

"I got a feeling~🎵"

"Stop joking around"

Richard rolled his eyes at Cindy who started to become the straight man ever since he dragged her to Japan.

Even Ragnar was able to quickly adapt himself and was now going around the city as a tourist. Some people even walk up to talk to him.

Of course, most of them were women and not the kind who’ll drag him to some shady bar but the kind who want his number and to "know more about him".

Although Richard didn’t want to admit it, Ragnar was quite attractive.

With his tall and muscular physique coupled with his blonde hair and blue eyes.

The dude was basically the hallmark of "Western Beauty".

What was even more appalling was his sense of fashion though.

He was from an age where people wore wool, animal skin and other "ancient clothes". Yet he adapted quickly to modern fashion and was now going around town wearing a semi-fit white button up shirt, straight cut jeans and aviator glasses.

He tied his long hair in a braid that did not look girly at all and instead gave him a strong manly air. Moreover, his beard was neatly cut and when all of those were combined-

Ragnar became an eye-catching sight in the streets of Tokyo.

Unfortunately for the women who approach Ragnar, the man was not interested in women who couldn’t lift an axe.

It wasn’t purely because of a viking stereotype though.

Ragnar, despite doing his best to adapt to the modern era, was still a man of the mystical world.

He was a danger to both his enemies and his allies, while he could strike fear into his enemies, his allies would be his weakness and a woman who could not defend herself was a liability that Ragnar was unwilling to take.

Though he won’t question Richard’s attachment to Andrea, Ragnar did believe that Richard should look for a woman who could stand by his side instead of one that could only ride on his back.

But unlike Ragnar who was now slowly becoming a local celebrity, Cindy, despite having the ability to quickly fit in, decided to stay indoors and hide away helping Richard research the recent disappearance.

Many young men and women have disappeared in the recent months, not years but months.

While Japan had a culture of just vanishing from the earth that got so big that there were support groups working to help these "vanished" individuals come back.

The recent disappearances were completely unrelated to those disappearances.

"These people had no reason to disappear. Look at this woman, Kanata Tamashiro, the investigators found that she had a successful online career and had just recently made deals with entertainment giants. Yet, she somehow vanished one day with no warning, her life was not so bleak or suffocating that disappearing was an option for her"

Richard presented a file to Cindy who answered with a scoff-

"Divorced parents, forced to live apart from family by her father, an outcast in middle school, high school and university. A reclusive woman who chose to hide behind a virtual avatar to chase after he dreams of stardom... doesn’t seem stable to me"

"There are some worrying details but it’s not like there are people without issues right?"

Richard’s response silenced Cindy who had no way to respond.

After all, she too had her own struggles but that did not resolve her initial problem-

"Still, why Japan?"

"... If we can’t trace Agartha then we let them come to us, but the US is already infested with them, remember the rule? Find one and a thousand more are hiding, we found a couple hundred of them so how many do you think are still roaming the US?"

"You talk as if the members of Agartha are cockroaches"

"They might as well be with the way they act"

Richard did not show blatant anger but the hostility in his words were palpable.

"So? Japan is a prime place for battle because?"

"Europe is likely under their thumb, China would lead us to a three way battle, South East Asia has too many random mystical groups that it might as well be the warring states and South Korea is too small while North Korea is a strong dictatorship that I don’t want to deal with"

"The Middle East?"

"Too much American and European presence"

"Africa?"

"Extremely high European presence"

"South America?"

"I don’t like dealing with mosquito’s"

"The arctic?"

"Too open"

"..."

Richard responded with as much "logic" as he can but Cindy could tell that he had other reasons aside from the things he stated.

But she didn’t push anymore and instead passed him the file on Karen Tamashiro.

"I have a few contacts, let’s meet with them before we start this "business" of yours. Of course, you handle the official stuff and I’ll deal with all the mystical problems"

Cindy showed off her capabilities, the mysterious network she had that somehow spans the whole world.

Richard did not question how and when she got it but since she was helpful to him, Richard didn’t ask.

She respected his silence and so will he to hers.

But...

"About the official matters, I already have someone deal with it"

As if on cue, Hana entered the room, she brought with her a suitcase filled with money and papers.

The money was not in cash though but on a stack of cards.

Not credit cards but debit cards for multiple bank accounts.

"Why so many cards?"

Cindy asked while picking up one of them, they were not the legendary cards known to contain lots of money or those that "obviously belonged to someone rich"

Instead, the cards were of the "standard" variety that every normal person would carry.

"While it’s a bit more complicated and annoying, bigger wallets attract more eyes, smaller wallets on the other hand could be used like gun magazines. We fill them up to a certain amount, use it all up and then refill it when it’s empty."

"That would still get traced right? Also, won’t banks see through the false identities?"

"What do you think data brokers are for?"

"Isn’t it for ads?"

"You think every single one of the eight billion people on Earth would have accounts?"

"... isn’t that a crime?"

"But who do you think gave us these cards?"

Cindy recalled the man who Richard left his company to.

"Edward Moore..."

The man who created a financial empire and had connections to many banks in the world. The man whose main company was moving trillions of dollars each day.

"Bingo"

Richard pocketed a few cards and stood up.

"So? About this connection of yours"

He flashed a bright smile at Cindy who scowled at his act.

"Hmph! I’ll introduce you but since you’re soooo capable, then deal with it yourself"

Cindy stormed through the door leaving Richard and Hana to stare blankly at her departing back.

"Wow... and here I thought you’d end up being toyed around by her. How the hell did you do that?! Teach me!"

Hana was obviously a victim of Cindy, likely one of those that had to endure her acts for a long time.

But Richard quickly saw through Cindy’s weaknesses and while she was quite capable, the only reason she was able to act freely was because of the sense of control she had.

"I just pulled out the funding I gave her and since we’re now equals in magic, she could only suck it all up. Also, I threatened to sell the house and ranch to Nova Munda and a few of her secrets to Salem"

"..."

"Don’t worry, the goddess backed me up and told me a few of her secrets"

"THAT’S WORSE!"

Hana could already see why Cindy acted the way she did, Richard stopped letting her do what she wanted and turned off the lights.

"Well, I can’t be an emotional wreck forever right? Also, I need to move on"

Richard said with a smile before turning to follow behind Cindy.

"This is going to be bloody..."

Hana sighed to herself as she thought about going back to the US. Why did she have to deal with these people?

But her thoughts could only be kept in her own mind. After all, her job was to work as a bridge that connects with Richard.

Moreover, if she decides to leave now the goddess...

’Haa~ a bunch of manipulators playing their game of chess... can’t they just be more straightforward with their methods?’