Ivo steps across the clearest route into the tram underpass, blocking it with his newspaper bundle held against his chest. He never touches Lufy or the sealed ledger.
The newspaper bundle unfolds into a clipped report, its brittle columns describing a courthouse records scandal from several years earlier. A handwritten note in the margin refers specifically to the black ledger.
Ivo Kells
That scandal was buried because the ledger made the wrong people nervous. This reference proves I am not inventing the connection.
Ivo angles the clipped report toward Lufy without surrendering it. Behind him, the underpass remains open, its tiled passage splitting toward the tram platforms and the eastern street.
Ivo Kells
Let me inspect the sealed wrapping more closely. I will not break the seal, and you will learn why the cane man cared about that ledger.
The report's lower edge bears a courthouse filing stamp, though part of the date is obscured by a fold. The handwriting beside the ledger reference is fresh, darker than the printed text.
Lufy
The handwritten reference was added after the report was printed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine whether Ivo Kells's ledger claim is genuine
Director's notewhole tale
questions ivo kells about his interest in the case while trying to determine his motives for handling the ledger
“Before I hand over evidence and possibly lose my job, what makes you so interested in this scandal?”
SUCCESS (Great Psychology, rolled +0)
Lufy
Before I hand over evidence and possibly lose my job, what makes you so interested in this scandal?
Lufy keeps the ledger in its evidence wrapping between them. Ivo’s gaze drops to it before he answers, and his thumb stops worrying the newspaper’s folded edge.
Ivo Kells
Because my brother vanished after reporting on it. The paper called him unreliable, but he had copied entries from that ledger before he disappeared.
The confession explains his interest, but not his timing. His eyes return to the spine, not the report, revealing that access to the ledger matters more to him than proving its history.
Ivo Kells
I am not asking to take it. I need to know whether his notes are still inside. If they are, I can identify the man who arranged his disappearance.
The answer is credible, and the ledger gives Lufy leverage: Ivo has admitted a personal motive without claiming official authority. Yet the partially hidden filing date remains unchecked, costing time and leaving his brother’s account unverified.
Director's note
asks kells why wait so long to pursue this matter if your brother disappeared after the scandal
Lufy
If your brother vanished after the scandal, why did you wait so long to pursue this matter?
Ivo Kells
I did not wait by choice. The paper dismissed his work, and I was young, broke, and afraid of the men he named.
Ivo lowers the clipping. The underpass wind lifts its brittle corner, exposing a courthouse filing number written beneath the fold, while his attention stays fixed on the ledger.
Ivo Kells
Years later, I found his notebook in a storage lot. The final page named this ledger, but not the person who took it from him.
Lufy
The filing number may place his brother's report before the disappearance.
Ivo Kells
I want only a glimpse of the spine and the evidence label. If the entries are there, I can compare the handwriting without touching your custody.
A tram bell sounds beyond the tiled passage. Ivo shifts aside from the platform branch, leaving the route open, but keeps the report extended between them as proof he expects to be tested.
“ok i will let you glimpse the spine and label but thats it”
SUCCESS (Great Psychology, rolled +2)
Lufy
All right. You may glimpse the spine and evidence label, but nothing more.
Lufy raises the wrapped ledger to chest height, keeping both hands around it. The spine and label face Ivo while the evidence remains entirely in Lufy’s custody.
Ivo Kells
That is enough. The label matches the reference in my brother’s notebook.
Ivo studies the printed filing mark, then the ledger’s spine. Psychology makes the sequence plain: his relief is genuine, but his attention seeks confirmation rather than an opening to handle the evidence.
Ivo Kells
The initials are right. My brother copied them beside the courthouse number. He was tracking entries removed from the records before he vanished.
The black ledger has given Ivo a precise confirmation without giving him access. He steps back from the evidence, and Lufy lowers it without releasing his grip.
Quest Complete
Determine whether Ivo Kells's ledger claim is genuine
Skill Upgrade: Psychology Great→Superb