Nobody can stop me from drawing cards in Gotham!

Chapter 8 Gordon's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Jaeger wasn't lying; the fog raven was indeed a "messenger."

[Active Skill - Messenger]

[Level: None (This skill card cannot be upgraded in any way)]

[Description: When using this card, you can summon a messenger unique to Jaeger Winchester.]

If the [Wizard] skill card in the initial deck of [Occult Detective] reaches level 2, additional uses for that skill card will be unlocked.

[Note: When needed, the Crow in the Mist will come for you, Detective.]

The moment Jaeger ended the summoning, the familiar achievement notification sound popped up.

[A new achievement has been unlocked!]

[Achievement Completed - "This is my Hogwarts diploma"]

[Unlock condition: First use of magic.]

[PS: First, you did use magic. Second, both DC and Harry Potter are owned by Warner Bros., so this isn't copyright infringement, it's more like a dream collaboration. Third... this is my Hogwarts diploma!]

"In short," Jaeger was speechless with frustration at his achievement, "this is part of what makes me special."

"You're from the magical world." Bruce narrowed his eyes. "What's your purpose in coming to Gotham?"

"Excuse my bluntness, but isn't there a sign at the entrance to Gotham City that says 'No wizards allowed'?"

Jaeger tried to crack a joke, but his smile faded under Bruce's disapproving gaze, and he became quiet.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but I really am here to investigate a case."

After all, if he hadn't checked, Bruce would have found a new tombstone in a cemetery on the outskirts of Gotham City in two weeks, the kind that reads "Yag Winchester rests here."

Considering that he is now penniless and unable to afford a grave, the burial expenses and tombstone costs may have to be covered by the kind-hearted rich man Bruce.

"Just investigating a case?" Bruce questioned. "This case doesn't involve any magic, so why would it capture your attention?"

"You can think of it as me taking on a commission," Jaeger tried to rationalize the fact that he would die if he didn't get the card. "If I don't find out the truth about this case, I will die."

"..."

Bruce remained silent for a moment, but after analyzing Jaeger's constipated expression using his knowledge of psychology, he discovered that the other man seemed to be serious.

"Are the consequences that serious?"

"That's how it is in our magical world." Jaeger also felt that what he said was ridiculous, so he simply blamed the inexplicable thing on the "magical world" that Bruce mentioned.

Incidentally, Bruce Wayne's acceptance of magic is surprisingly high; he even knows the term "magical world"... Has he met other people from the magical world before?

—As expected, the wealthy all have a bit of mysticism. For example, before the transmigration, the real high-end business battles in the country involved secretly killing the money tree that the boss of the rival company was raising.

In any case, Jaeger successfully deflected the blame.

Bruce now suspects that Jaeger's so-called "deal" is just a euphemism, and that the other party may have made a deal with some supernatural being, the kind that involves risking one's life. He has seen many people with similar experiences during his travels.

"No wonder you sought cooperation." Bruce said thoughtfully. "I understand."

"What do you understand?" Jaeger himself didn't know what he had made up, and couldn't help but ask, "Or are you just indirectly agreeing to my request for cooperation?"

Bruce glanced at Jaeger, but didn't answer. Instead, he abruptly said, "Fasten your seatbelt."

"What seatbelt... Hey, wait a minute!"

Before Jaeger could even frantically fasten his seatbelt, Bruce floored the accelerator.

With this kick, the engine of the vintage car, which was produced in the last century but had obviously undergone some kind of bat-like modification, roared and shot off instantly.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Bruce ultimately did not admit that he and Jaeger were now working together.

But this didn't stop him from sharing some information about the fakes with Jaeger while driving, including his guesses about the fakes' true identities.

Based on the information currently available, Jaeger agrees with some of Bruce's conjectures, but as he said before, there is still too little information to pinpoint the true identity of the counterfeit to a small range that can be investigated one by one.

"So we can try a different approach," Bruce said. "Start with the people killed by counterfeiters."

"All I know is that the three who were kicked down the stairs were criminals," Jaeger chimed in. "I heard they were released after being bribed by a judge who cleared their names."

"Mmm." Bruce's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out of his throat, seemingly indicating displeasure. "So that guy was already in jail six months ago for abuse of power. Also, Gotham courts are undergoing a major reshuffle recently, and a new district attorney will be transferred here in a few weeks. Hopefully, the new attorney won't repeat the mistakes of the previous one."

"The previous prosecutor?"

"He went in shortly after the judge fell from power; hopefully they're having a good time in prison."

"..."

Jaeger was at a loss for words.

He could only steer the conversation back to the main point: "So what you just said about starting with the victims..."

"You're right, many of the fourteen victims so far have committed crimes and been exonerated," Bruce pointed out the problem. "But not all the victims are like that; some don't fit that description."

"That makes things difficult," Jaeger pondered. "But I don't think the forgeries could have been made randomly; these victims must have some commonalities..."

"Even further," Bruce added, "Let's put it this way, I suspect the fake has an assassination list."

"You already have an idea?"

"Not really, but we need information from the police right now." Bruce squinted. "But considering the special nature of this case, the GCPD has chosen not to upload the relevant information to the police database, but only to discuss the relevant information within the task force."

Got it, the GCPD is probably trying to prevent Batman from hacking into the police department's database and getting relevant intelligence.

Jaeger then pondered for a moment: "Does this have anything to do with where we're going now?"

"Um."

"...Wait, you're not planning to lead me to storm the Gotham City Police Department, are you?" Jaeger suddenly asked.

"I'm not planning on storming the police station." Bruce gave Jaeger a look that said, "Are you serious?" "I'm just taking you to see someone."

"Oh, so you're just meeting someone..."

Why does this guy seem so disappointed? Bruce was a little speechless, but still continued, "Do you know James Gordon?"

"Gotham Police Commissioner?" Jaeger had heard a little about it at the scene tonight. "I heard he was in a car accident a few days ago, so the task force for the Batman murder case is now led by Harvey Bullock. A new officer secretly told me that he's an arrogant idiot with a donut-filled head, which is why the investigation has been stuck in place."

Bruce almost laughed, but he held it in: "Detective Brock can be a bit...reckless at times, but he's not a bad guy at heart, and the stagnation of the case can't be entirely his fault."

"Is that so?" Jaeger raised an eyebrow with some suspicion. "Well, so you want to take me to see James Gordon now—given what you said earlier, it's hard for me not to suspect that you're trying to pry information about the police's current progress in the case from Chief Gordon."

"If there's anyone in Gotham you'd still want to trust, James Gordon is probably one of them."

"That's very high praise." Jaeger was somewhat surprised. "You...have a collaboration with him?"

Bruce knew that Jaeger was referring to him and Batman.

"That's one way to understand it."

"Wait a minute, if that's the case," Jaeger suddenly thought of something, "could it be that James Gordon's car accident wasn't an accident after all?"

"You mean someone found out about our partnership with Gordon and orchestrated his car accident?" Bruce quickly followed Jaeger's train of thought. "Their goal was to put the real Batman in an even more difficult situation?"

"It might not be that they know, it could just be suspicion—didn't you previously suspect that the real culprit has some knowledge of Batman? That's one piece of evidence," Jaeger said. "I'll assume for now that your cooperation is clandestine rather than overt."

“…Indeed,” Bruce said. “Gordon had been in a coma, and I wasn’t able to confirm this with him in time. His experience might be one of the clues pointing to the real culprit.”

After saying that, the two exchanged a glance and fell silent simultaneously, as if by some unspoken understanding. At the same time, Bruce accelerated again, completely forgetting about the butler who would be worrying about getting him another speeding ticket tomorrow, and sped off towards Gotham Hospital.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.