Moonshadow Sniper

Joe's secret

Brandon knew that Joe Manni had shown many flaws during his time in the military, but today was definitely his most uncharacteristic moment.

"You're not falling for her, are you?" Brandon wondered. Love among the Dovians came quickly and left just as swiftly, but falling for such a libertine woman would surely tarnish one's reputation.

"Not really, but I bet she's interested in me,"

Joe replied, though his gaze remained fixed on the stage. "I ran into Lady Rosa on the street today, selling tickets. We chatted for a while. These two front-row tickets are from her. I think she wanted me to win this veil."

The veil was too light to be thrown far from the stage, and only those in the front row could catch it.

Brandon found Joe's deduction reasonable.

"Do you know her from before?"

he asked, his eyes following the movement of the stage lights, trying to appreciate the dancer's striptease artistry, but the persistent stench lingering in the air made it difficult for him to concentrate.

"I don't, but she's a Gilda," Joe said, leaning almost over the heads of the front-row audience.

The Gildas, a perpetually wandering people, were known for their licentiousness and mystique.

Brandon wasn't sure if Rosa was truly a Gilda or if this was just Joe's excuse to indulge himself.

"Could you lend me that veil for a moment?" Brandon asked.

"Lieutenant, what's gotten into you today? I won't give up this opportunity to you," Joe replied, taken aback.

"Just wanted to have a look at its weave. I'm buying gifts for people lately, and this one seems nice," Brandon lied casually.

In reality, he just wanted to see what was on it to cause that stench.

Getting hold of the veil, Brandon became even more certain that his sense of smell was correct. The diluted stench in the air had only made him feel vaguely familiar, but now this strong scent could replace the smell of smelling salts and instantly remind him of a past encounter.

During the Loren War, there was a week when supplies were extremely scarce, and frontline troops fought on empty stomachs. Later, when the Royal Navy found out about it, they sent a large batch of jerky supposedly left over from the Great Age of Exploration to support the frontline, sending many otherwise healthy soldiers to field hospitals.

That jerky was the source of this smell.

Brandon frowned, noticing that some people in the audience also had this smell, but he didn't think it was because of a trend of spoiled jerky—that stuff never caught on.

The strange behavior and unusual smell reminded him of rumors about the living dead...

The veil itself was very clean, apart from the smell of rotten meat, there was also a more pungent scent of cheap perfume.

He had ignored the scent of perfume since it was everywhere in the venue. He could tell there was an excessive amount of perfume on the veil.

It was as if its owner could smell that foul smell and deliberately masked it...

Returning the veil to the nervously awaiting Joe, Brandon made up an excuse about needing to relieve himself, and he headed towards the exit of the underground theater. However, he returned after only a few steps.

"Joe, I suddenly remembered an urgent matter that needs my attention, and I could use your help."

Joe turned back again, looking puzzled, and gestured towards the veil. "Please, I have something on tonight."