Outside the mansion grounds, Andrew and Garin walked past the primary police perimeter.
Several patrol officers immediately recognized the veteran detective and nodded respectfully as he passed.
However, one younger officer paused, his eyes tracking the small girl walking tightly by Andrew’s side.
“…Sir?” the officer called out.
Andrew looked over, his expression gruff.
“What?”
The officer pointed a thumb toward Garin.
“Who’s the kid?”
Andrew answered without thinking, his mind still preoccupied with the case files.
“Diana’s daughter.”
The young officer froze instantly, his jaw dropping.
“…What?”
“Diana’s daughter,” Andrew repeated, continuing to walk.
The officer stared at them for three full seconds.
Then, he violently spun around toward the nearest group of personnel.
“OI!”
“What?” a nearby sergeant grunted.
“Lady Diana has a daughter!”
“What?!”
Several heads immediately snapped around, the conversation dying instantly across the lawn.
“She has a WHAT?”
“A daughter!”
The reaction spread through the ranks faster than a wildfire through dry brush.
Within moments, police officers, investigators, and forensic technicians from every direction were abandoning their tasks just to stare at the pair.
Garin instinctively shrunk back, moving closer to the shelter of Andrew’s large frame.
A female officer was the first to break formation, quickly approaching them.
She stopped, looking down at Garin, then looked again as if trying to verify she wasn’t hallucinating.
“Oh my God.”
Another officer arrived, crowding in.
Then another.
Then a fourth.
“That’s really Lady Diana’s kid?”
Andrew let out a long, long sigh, realizing his mistake.
“Yes.”
“When did this happen?”
“Yesterday,” Andrew muttered.
The gathering officers looked utterly horrified.
“YESTERDAY?!”
“You found out yesterday?”
“I found out yesterday.”
One older sergeant put both hands on his bald head, staring blankly at the sky.
“How does somebody like the Devil Huntress adopt a whole human child without anyone in the municipal district knowing?”
Andrew pointed a stern finger toward the shattered entrance of the mansion.
“Considering everything that’s happened on this lawn today, I think that’s pretty low on the master list of mysteries.”
The sergeant reluctantly grumbled, admitting the detective had a valid point.
Meanwhile, Garin was receiving the absolute full force of intense police curiosity.
The officers crowded around her, their tough, hardened expressions melting into weirdly protective concern.
“You alright, kid?”
“Is Lady Diana treating you well?”
“You need anything?
A jacket?
Water?”
“Did she…
actually remember to give you food?”
Andrew couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh.
That last question was surprisingly, entirely reasonable given Diana’s usual domestic track record.
Garin nodded nervously, her fingers twisting the fabric of her sleeves.
“Y-Yes.”
The surrounding officers visibly relaxed, a collective sigh of relief passing through the group.
“Good.” This story is hosted at g.com.
“Thank God.”
“She actually remembered.”
Andrew didn’t even bother trying to defend his daughter’s honor; they weren’t wrong.
One of the detectives folded his arms, looking down at Garin’s quiet demeanor.
“So, why bring her to an active crime scene, Sir?”
Andrew tapped Garin on the shoulder.
“She says she’s a demon hunter in training.”
Several officers blinked in unison.
“And she wants to investigate the perimeter with us and her mother,” Andrew added.
The officers exchanged silent, amused glances.
Then they looked back down at Garin, then looked at each other again.
A slow grin spread across the female officer’s face.
“Oh my,” she murmured.
She crouched down smoothly, bringing herself to eye level with the girl.
“Let’s see what our little huntress has got, then.”
Garin immediately stiffened, her shoulders squaring defensively.
“I-I’m not little…”
The officer’s smile only widened.
“Of course you’re not.”
Garin could tell from the look in her eyes that the woman absolutely, definitively thought she was tiny.
Another nearby officer pointed toward the grand, broken facade of the building.
“Alright then, trainee huntress.
What do you think happened here?”
Dozens of experienced, cynical eyes turned entirely toward Garin.
Under the sudden weight of the collective gaze, Garin instantly regretted existing.
Andrew watched silently, stepping back a inch.
This was a test.
It wasn’t an official academy evaluation, but it was a test nonetheless.
Garin forced herself to look away from the intimidating crowd.
She looked toward the ruined mansion pillars, then toward the black body bags being loaded into the medical vans, and finally at the specific positions of the patrol cars guarding the outer fence.
She took a deep, steadying breath, her mind clicking into place.
“The attack happened recently.”
The officers nodded slowly.
That much was basic observation.
Garin continued, her voice growing slightly more stable.
“The demon wasn’t the first attacker.”
The officers paused, the casual smiles instantly vanishing from their faces.
Now, she had their undivided attention.
“W-Why do you think that, kid?” the female officer asked, her tone turning sharp and professional.
Garin pointed toward the tight clusters of bullet holes near the outer courtyard.
“Because somebody was already trying to kill Mr.
Marvin before the demons ever appeared.
The standard ballistic patterns don’t match a sudden monster breach.
The security was already out of position.”
A few detectives exchanged surprised, heavy glances.
That detail perfectly matched the classified preliminary data from the ballistics team upstairs.
Garin swallowed, looking at the dark windows of the second floor.
“The demon attack…
it feels completely different.”
“Different how?” Andrew prompted quietly.
Garin hesitated, choosing her words with careful precision.
“Like somebody else suddenly joined the game.”
The gathering of officers became noticeably quieter, the dry wind rustling the caution tape.
Andrew raised an eyebrow, a flicker of pride touching his eyes.
That deduction was surprisingly close to the exact phrasing Diana herself would have used.
Garin quickly lowered her head, the sudden silence making her nervous.
“I-I don’t know if I’m right…”
“No.” She smiled genuinely.
“That was actually pretty damn good.”
Several seasoned investigators nodded in silent agreement.
One of them grinned, leaning against a patrol car.
“Looks like Lady Diana’s kid really is studying the books.”
Garin’s face immediately flushed a deep crimson from the praise.
“I-I’m trying…”
Andrew couldn’t help but smile.
For the first time since they had arrived at the bloody estate, Garin looked less like a frightened, displaced refugee and more like a real, future demon hunter.
The officers were still quietly discussing Garin’s tactical observations when a small, hesitant voice interrupted the murmurs.
“G-Grandpa…”
Andrew froze dead in his tracks.
Several patrol officers immediately turned their heads to stare directly at the veteran, hardened detective.
Andrew suddenly found the gravel beneath his boots intensely interesting, his ears turning slightly red.
“…Yes?” he grunted.
Garin fidgeted with her oversized sleeves, oblivious to the emotional damage she had just inflicted.
“I-I think you should continue your investigation out here.”
Andrew blinked, clearing his throat.
“And?”
Garin glanced toward the heavy, open front doors of the mansion.
“I-I’m going inside.”
The officers nodded.
That made perfect sense; the perimeter was secure anyway.
Then, Garin added in a quiet, resolute whisper: “…to her.”
Andrew’s gruff expression softened completely.
He knew exactly who she meant by *her*.
Not “Miss Diana.” Not the “Legendary Devil Huntress.” Just her.
The strange, unpredictable person Garin had actively chosen to follow into the dark.
Andrew reached out, placing a heavy, warm hand gently on top of her head.
“Alright.”
Garin looked up.
“But don’t push yourself,” Andrew warned, his voice dead serious.
“This is your very first case.”
Garin nodded immediately, her eyes clear.
“Y-Yes.”
“Good.” Andrew removed his hand, stepping aside.
“Go on then.”
Garin gave a small, polite bow to the gathering of police.
Then, she turned and hurried up the stone steps, disappearing through the grand entrance of the mansion.
The officers watched her small figure leave until the doors obscured her.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then, one detective looked at Andrew.
Another officer shifted his gaze to Andrew.
A third turned around with a massive grin.
Andrew already knew exactly what was coming.
The female officer’s grin widened to her ears.
“Grandpa?”
Andrew closed his eyes, his jaw clenching.
“Don’t.”
“Grandpa Andrew,” she repeated gleefully.
“Don’t do it.”
Another officer joined in, chuckling loudly.
“Congratulations on the promotion, Grandpa.”
Andrew snapped his eyes open, pointing a stern finger at every single person in the circle.
“I will personally assign three months of backlogged municipal paperwork to every single one of you breathing on this lawn.”
Nobody took the threat remotely seriously.
The sudden wave of laughter followed Garin all the way through the heavy mansion doors.