Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 470 - The Death of the Blind Man

Mr. Frank Bondi, the blind musician, was born with his eye condition. He was forty-one years old this year, unmarried, and lived alone in an apartment in the Lower District. Shard admired such solitary blind individuals; although over forty years of life might have accustomed him to groping in the dark, the courage to live on his own was still highly admirable to Shard, who had never experienced blindness himself.

The alley where Mr. Bondi lived was called Rotten Fish Alley, a name that suggested its insignificance within the city. This alley couldn't be found on the city's travel maps, only on the maps left behind by Detective Sparrow, in a nondescript corner of the north part of the city.

With a pencil, Detective Sparrow had annotated the map to note that around Rotten Fish Alley, one could find gangsters who loaned money at exorbitant rates and, through certain secret signals, even encounter sellers of forbidden drugs.

Shard left from Saint Delan Square, first taking a carriage to Hymn Square in the Lower District and then continuing north on the bustling streets of Hymn Square, walking alongside the runaway children.

The weather was not bad today, and Shard wasn't in any rush.

At the end of the street, at the Five-Forked Road, he chose the northwest direction, turned into the street, then turned into the second alley. Carefully avoiding the feces and piles of trash on the ground, he covered his nose and mouth with his raised collar and crossed the alley to reach a slum road centered around a large pagoda tree.

Continuing westward along the slightly wider alley, he maneuvered between the ancient decrepit apartment buildings, knowing he was on the right path by observing the route of the gas pipes under the wall.

After passing a dark, uninhabited building burnt by fire, Shard finally saw the towers on both sides and the gray stone suspended corridor connecting the two towers in the middle.

Past the long corridor's doorway was the boundary of Rotten Fish Alley, and upon entering, Shard understood the reasoning behind the alley's name. The entire alley was suffused with the stench of dead fish, a smell different from the merman scent and the aroma of fresh live fish he had smelled at Coldwater Port.

He speculated that a nearby house might have been used as a warehouse by a seafood operator; otherwise, such a strong smell had no reason to be present here.

Shard was worried that Mia might be overwhelmed by the stink on him when he returned home.

The solitary blind musician, Mr. Frank Bondi, lived on the first floor of apartment number 13 in Rotten Fish Alley. Following the faded, rusted door numbers, Shard found the house and knocked on the door, hesitantly noticing that the door was ajar.

The door was not locked at all.

Of course, he would not barge into someone's home, so he stood at the door and called out,

"Is Mr. Frank Bondi at home?"

If the gentleman was not home, he could only be performing at the Noan Opera Troupe.

He was initially worried that no one would answer, but almost immediately after he called out, an irritable man's voice came from inside the house:

"Bondi? He's dead."

Footsteps followed, and out came a man with a large beard, shorter than Shard but slightly plump. His voice was irritable, yet he looked rather amiable.

"Dead?"

Shard was somewhat surprised on the doorstep:

"Sorry, I am looking for the blind musician, Mr. Frank Bondi. Is he really dead? How did this gentleman die?"

he hastily asked.

"I am the landlord of this building. Who are you?"

But the bearded man did not immediately answer the question and instead asked with a frown. Shard swiftly reached into his pocket and then pulled out a shilling:

"I am this."

"Oh, I see."

Squinting at the coin and taking it in his hand, the man's tone then became much gentler:

"You're late. Frank killed himself in the middle of last month. He procured some illegal drugs, consumed them in large quantities, and, while shouting and thrashing about in the house, slammed into things. When the tenants from upstairs came down to check, Frank was already gone. That poor man gave his suicide note to a neighbor upstairs before he died on the way to the hospital... Oh, such a pitiful person."

The man shook his head sadly.

From the information provided by Detective Sparrow, Frank Bondi had lived here for many years. As the landlord and someone who presumably knew the blind musician for many years, it was normal for him to be emotional about his death.

"The middle of last month..."

Shard was troubled; the affair of "Blood of Mercury" was nearing its end last month, and he hadn't expected this commission to undergo such a change at that time.

He originally just wanted to check on Frank Bondi's recent condition and then go to submit his report to the client after the visit. Now, it seems, he should be more cautious and investigate further:

"Sorry, before he died, were his eyes still in the healed state?"

"Yes, so we all cannot understand. Having recovered his eyesight after so much difficulty, he had no reason to give up hope of living,"

said the landlord.

"Then, have you seen his suicide note? Where is the suicide note now? I would like to know the reason for that gentleman's suicide."

Speaking of which, Shard once again handed out a shilling.

He did not use his MI6 credentials because it was completely unnecessary. If he used his credentials for every trifle, it would greatly increase the risk of exposing his agent identity.

"We did not see the will, Frank asked us to send the will to the Noan Opera Troupe. He left all the furniture he bought to me, and he gave his other properties to the opera troupe. Sir, if you want to see the will, you can go to the opera troupe."

Shard bit his lip. He had not expected the mission he thought was simple to become complicated. After thinking it over, he asked:

"Then, did that gentleman say anything before he died, or did he exhibit any strange behavior?"

The bearded landlord hesitated at the doorway as if wondering whether or not to speak. Shard immediately reached into his pocket again, but the man waved his hand and declined:

"I am only wondering whether it is appropriate to talk about that poor man's situation after his death. Sir, you look like a dignified person, you probably won't spread around what I am about to say."

"Yes,"

Shard nodded immediately.

"Alright then, Frank was having some mental issues before he passed away."

The bearded landlord pointed to his head and made a helpless expression:

"He seemed to be afraid of something. Even though he had been blind before, he was extremely fearful of the dark and of sudden noises. These mental issues intensified before his death. So, regarding his suicide, we were shocked, but not very puzzled..."

The bearded man sighed and lowered his voice:

"We suspect that he had been consuming those illegal drugs before, which caused his gradual mental deterioration."

Shard was skeptical about this. It seemed to him that the mental issues of the blind musician, Mr. Frank Bondy, had started after his eyes were treated.

"If you want to know more about his situation before death, you can go to 'Noan Opera Troupe' and the 'Three Cats Inn' at Hymn Square. He used to spend time there. Moreover, he left a message before his death—I once dwelled in darkness without lamenting fate, but why must I now be forced to see the light?"

Shard frowned:

"Did Mr. Bondy's eyesight deteriorate again? Did he commit suicide because he couldn't bear being blind again?"

"We don't know about that."

The landlord shook his head, then gave Shard the contact information for the Noan Opera Troupe. Next, Shard could go to the opera troupe and Three Cats Inn to gather information, but since he was more eager to see the will first, he decided to go to the Noan Opera Troupe to check the situation first.

Sizeable opera troupes generally have their own premises to facilitate daily rehearsals and administrative work. Unfortunately, as a locally quite renowned opera troupe, the Noan Opera Troupe's premises were not in the Lower District in the northern part of the city, but near Tobesk Grand Opera House in the southern part of Tobesk.

In the Tobesk City Area, the geographically situated Southern Nobility (higher terrain, mostly aristocratic residences), Northern Poverty (Lower District, lower terrain, more slums), East Wealth (wealthy people and rich merchants), Western Filth (textile factories, steam machinery factories, and foreign merchants) and Central Power (Yordle Palace, Kingdom Administrative Department, City Hall, diplomatic embassies) areas prevail, with the University District located between the core city, Southern District, and Eastern District. Hence most renowned opera houses are found in the southern and eastern parts of the city.

Thus, seeing it was getting late, Shard first took a carriage back to Saint Delan Square, had lunch with his cat. After staying at home for an hour reading books, avoiding the midday rest period, he then again took a carriage.

Although the daily life of a professional detective was quite leisurely, once he was busy, time really became tight.

Finding the Noan Opera Troupe posed no trouble at all. The troupe's premises were in a yellowing office building, where the opera troupe's sign hung on the rooftop. Perhaps due to its age, the gas pipe-formed letters mostly lacked some horizontal or vertical lines.

When Shard arrived downstairs, the doorkeeper treated him as a fan visiting actors, only letting him in after he presented his business card.

The building inside was also very lively, not just from clerical staff bustling around with files. Shard even encountered a group of young girls laughing downstairs, their faces heavy with makeup and dressed in rough cloth long skirts patched up at the stairs' corner.

One of them even whistled at Shard, which got everyone laughing.

In any case, after some effort, Shard finally met the head of the Noan Opera Troupe. They met in a somewhat cramped office hung with performance photos, and the yellow wallpaper made the already small office feel even smaller.

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After Shard explained his purpose, the middle-aged man, tall and wearing a monocle, looked surprised at Shard's business card:

"Rejed's Hamilton?"

"You know me?"

"How could anyone in Tobesk not know you... would you like me to get you a better black tea?"

"No, that won't be necessary. I am on a mission and wanted to inquire about Mr. Frank Bondy. May I see his will? And, did this gentleman display any unusual behavior after his eyes were treated?"

The Knight title saved Shard a lot of trouble, and the head of the opera troupe was very willing to assist Shard.

He not only took out Mr. Bondy's will from the filing cabinet but even showed Shard Mr. Bondy's belongings left in the troupe.

As for the blind musician's behavior during the last period of his life, the head allowed Shard to casually talk to anyone in the opera troupe, visiting those who were familiar with Mr. Bondy.