To tell the truth, when Mary invited Bai Heqing to go to London again ten years ago, she actually had the idea of pulling him into MI6.

In addition to Bai Heqing's own quite strong ability, the friendship between the two is also one of the reasons.

It was only after hearing the words of Shirakawa Kiyoshi and her on the flight to London that she wanted to retire and live a peaceful life, that Mary silently gave up this idea.

[Would you like to stop by and see Director Stewart?] 】

As soon as she got off the flight, she asked Bai Heqing this question.

Stewart, when Bai Heqing last came to London, as the director of MI6 at that time, provided great convenience for Bai Heqing's operation in London.

However, ten years ago, Stewart had already stepped down from the position of director, and Mary still referred to him as director in private, just out of her old habit.

[Is Mr. Stewart still alive?] 】

When Bai Heqing heard her inquiry, his expression was still a little surprised.

[Of course, after retiring from MI6 more than ten years ago, the director lives in London and has always been physically tough, but ...... Major, he died on a mission a few years earlier. 】

Mary replied with a gloomy expression.

The Major, the one he had seen in the bar when Bai Heqing first went to London, was the calm man sitting next to Mary, who was also Mary's superior when she first entered MI6.

This person's growth on the path of Agent Mary is irreplaceable, and it is a little regrettable that Shirakawa Kiyoshi has never known his name.

[Let's not go.] 】

At that time, Bai Heqing replied.

[After all, my current status, if Mr. Stewart is allowed to see me, I am afraid that I will not have a stable life in the future. 】

Bai Heqing's meaning is obvious, Stewart has an extraordinary relationship with the Hatoyama family where Bai Heqing used to be, and the reason why he takes such care of Bai Heqing in London is also because of this relationship.

Therefore, if Stewart knew that Bai Heqing was still alive, it would probably not be a good thing for Bai Heqing, who was bent on living a peaceful life at that time.

Knowing this, Mary no longer insisted, but she still had something in her heart that she was a little curious about.

[White River, have you ever seen that woman again since the last time you said goodbye to London?] 】

She was referring to Black Rose, the East Asian woman with a strange transfiguration, and the events that Kiyoshi Shirakawa had experienced the last time she came to London: the recovery of stolen artifacts, the mafia trade in Paris, the legacy of the British Empire...... Almost all of them were involved with this woman.

That said, Mary's friendship with Black Rose didn't end there.

After the three of them parted ways in London, she never really saw the Black Rose again, only occasionally in some foreign media and newspapers, she could see reports related to it, the content was basically Black Rose and used some incredible means to steal some special cultural relics, and the country's police played the police around or something......

A few years later, Mary couldn't even see these reports, and Black Rose disappeared as if out of thin air, never seen in front of the public eye again.

The only thing Mary was sure of was that the man was mostly fine.

After all, this woman has set off so many "bloody storms" in European countries in recent years, if she is really arrested, those police will definitely use all their strength to report it, so as to wash away the shame of being teased in the past.

It was only after seeing Bai Heqing again that Mary suddenly remembered this person again, so she wanted to ask with curiosity.

When she asked, she didn't expect Bai Heqing to really know.

[Do you mean Muina? 】

Hearing Mary ask about this, Bai Heqing's expression suddenly became a little gloomy, but his tone was still calm.

Mina Okino, according to Black Rose, is her real name, and she mentioned it once during Kiyoshi Shirakawa's last visit to London.

It's just that the relationship between the two is not very familiar, and Mary is more accustomed to calling each other black roses.

But Bai Heqing called her name directly...... Out of the agent's keen intuition, Mary immediately realized that the relationship between the two men was probably not ordinary, and Shirakawa Kiyoshi's answer later proved this.

[She passed away more than ten years ago.] 】

[More than 10 years ago?! 】

Mary was surprised by this answer.

At that time, only twenty-two years had passed since the last London farewell between the three of them, and this time had been used to subtract more than ten years from White River's clear mouth, and then minus the years when Black Rose continued to operate in Europe after her farewell in London......

That is, did she die within a few years of disappearing from public view?

[Hmm.] 】

Bai He nodded and continued to explain in a calm tone:

[After I left London last time, Mina seemed to continue to be active in Europe for a few more years, and after that, she found someone she wanted to marry, and gave up the identity of Black Rose, moved to Japan with the other party, and found my ......]

This is not unexpected, after all, at that time, Bai Heqing was still a dazzling star in the Japanese police circle, and as long as Black Rose lived a little longer after moving to Japan, he would definitely see reports about Bai Heqing in the newspaper, and naturally he would not be able to find him.

[Although she was no longer a strange thief at that time, she started her work as a folklorist again, even though she was married and had children, she still ran all day long to those remote mountain villages in Japan that were isolated from the world all year round and had various legends. 】

This is very much in line with Mary's impression of Black Rose, as early as when she was in London, she could see that Black Rose definitely has a heart that is not willing to be lonely.

Of course, the "unwilling to be lonely" here refers to the fact that Black Rose is definitely not the kind of housewife who will obediently be at home, in more two-dimensional terms, she is a natural adventurer.

[At the beginning, she only occasionally asked me to do some assistance in her investigation, after all, there will always be a lot of feudal customs in the folk mountain villages she likes to go to, and under the influence of these customs, the villagers in those mountain villages are generally more reluctant to outsiders. 】

[Sometimes, when encountering villagers who are too aggressive, often their lives are in danger, whenever she has this premonition, she will call me over with me, although she ostensibly says that my status as a police officer can make her feel at ease. 】

[But I always feel that this is just because I can play better and are good at reasoning, and for her, I am a very useful tool person.] 】

[It sounds like you haven't turned down any of her invitations, Shirakawa? 】

Mary once again heard the hidden message in Shirakawa's words.

After hearing her question, the expression on Bai Heqing's face became even more gloomy, but immediately, he swept away this emotion, smiled and said.

[For me at that time, she was willing to come to me often, which already made me happy, how could I refuse? 】

(﹃)

(End of chapter)