The Next Step

The hillmen had already fled in a panic under the priest's leadership, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

They had been overjoyed as they left, acting as if they had just narrowly escaped death.

According to the priest's description, the aura released so casually by the personage in the attic possessed the boundless majesty of a deity, resembling a supreme existence walking the mortal world—likely a top-tier powerhouse only a step away from godhood.

Fortunately, that benevolent personage had been in a good mood, allowing them to leave the cabin alive. They were grateful for the powerhouse's mercy; the female journalist was gone anyway, so they didn't dwell on it—survival was the priority, and they needed to leave quickly and figure out the rest later.

And so, the group of ghoul hillmen showered the attic with thanks before scrambling into the sparse forest. A while later, Officer Natalie and Lynch carefully emerged from the attic.

They had actually bluffed a high-level powerhouse, allowing them both to survive. They stared at each other for a long time before breaking into expressions that were neither tears nor laughter.

The officer hugged Lynch, holding him until he could barely breathe before letting go, whispering in his ear, "That's the second time. Thank you."

"What second time? Aren't you still owing me three?"

Seeing the officer's complex expression and strange gaze, Lynch wasn't sure what she was thinking. Surely she wouldn't try to welch on one of them? Unfortunately, before he could ask, he felt a kick to his shin.

Why did this officer just hit people? Truly violent.

"Get lost." Officer Natalie retorted in Lynch's own style. Thinking of how such a powerful high-level Soul Severer had been deceived so pathetically, she couldn't help but bite her lip and laugh. "I really didn't expect you could fool it. You've given me too many surprises these days."

Lynch shrugged. In truth, he wasn't entirely surprised. Many people in this world were prone to overthinking—take Duke Vane or Archbishop Trinlais, for example. Coupled with the fact that this old ghoul's perception was perversely keen, tactics that wouldn't work on others yielded miraculous results against it.

It was just too difficult to explain. Lynch had already concocted several reasons in his head and waited nervously for the officer to ask, but Officer Natalie didn't ask a thing. She just smiled at him, making his preparations feel like a punch thrown into empty air.

"Everyone has secrets. Many things can only be known by one person. Keeping a distance is a necessary condition for a lasting and harmonious partnership."

Officer Natalie patted Lynch on the shoulder meaningfully:

"Since the ghouls were so cooperative in clearing the path, we should leave as soon as possible, at least to report their true identities."

But Lynch stopped her, telling her a story about someone who scared off thousands of pursuers only to have their lack of real strength exposed by tearing down the bridge behind them. For the sake of safety, they could not leave in a rush; they had to remain calm and composed.

Whether the story convinced the officer was hard to say, but she seemed to enjoy listening to it. Before they knew it, they spent over half an hour telling stories while thoroughly searching Maya's cabin.

They truly found nothing. The journalist hadn't left a single clue behind when she fled.

The officer felt a bit regretful, as this meant the trail they had been chasing so hard had gone cold, but Lynch shook his head.

"Your goal is to identify the true mastermind behind the square incident and make them pay for disrupting the order, and I have a deeper objective, but at this stage, they are consistent." Lynch, having grown fond of the act, climbed up to the attic to pull up the ladder, then whispered as he activated his ability. "Actually, I feel the trail hasn't gone cold; it's become clearer because many threads have come together. There are at least two leads in this case we can continue to pursue."

The kerosene lamp had been lit. Under the orange glow, Officer Natalie rested her chin on her hand, staring at Lynch. Perhaps it was the light, but her typically fierce gaze was flickering, leaving Lynch feeling puzzled. She then curled her lips and shook her head. "Nothing. I think you're right. Our goals are aligned. Continue."

"In the Norin-Rhine Railway incident, the thread involving Maya and Donnie has become entangled with the hillmen's path. Maya's encounter began with the hillmen, and the hillmen are looking for her. Since we have no leads on Maya herself, we can start with the hillmen. This includes what happened to Maya, why she was subjected to that... uh, curse, and even where Maya is now—all of these might find answers through the hillmen. You said you reported the powerhouse among the hillmen that afternoon. What was the result?"

"It has been reported to Victor. I heard he dispatched quite a few informants and even mobilized police resources, but there has been no progress. The hillmen's movements are too secretive; they are hard to track. Now that we know they are ghouls, it's even harder to search for them."

"It doesn't matter. These ghoul hillmen clearly still have reservations. They stated themselves that they didn't want to alarm the humans in the city, so as long as we stay vigilant, our personal safety shouldn't be an issue."

"Yes, just like that afternoon; they didn't use lethal attacks."

"Exactly. So our follow-up investigation should focus on them. We don't necessarily need to find them, but we must understand them indirectly. Although we don't know their movements, the Valente family, who had contact with them, is a breakthrough point."

"That family isn't easy to investigate." It was the first time Lynch saw the officer look troubled. "The main body of their family is in the capital, Norin. Only their eldest daughter is stationed in Rhine City because she is a nun in the church of Fiona, the Lord of Suffering. So to investigate them, we have to start from the capital. The problem is... although this family has declined, they have produced at least two queens, and their relationship with the royal Rose family is quite close. In short, this is a very thorny target. If we try to investigate them without any evidence, official channels will certainly encounter great resistance. So I wrote to a friend in the capital for help; getting basic information is fine, but it will take some time."

"Hmm, then we'll wait slowly. I can also use my status as a special consultant to the Governor's Office to ask them to help investigate the family."

"Are they reliable? They won't be like the City Hall, will they?"

"Hmm." Lynch didn't explain in detail. Without sufficient reason, one usually assumes the employer is fine; otherwise, if you suspected the employer from the start, there would be no need to accept the commission.

"Fine. According to Mr. Klin's experience, Maya should have at least ten more days. Waiting for news from the capital might be a bit tight; it would be best to get information from the Governor's Office." The officer also began to rack her brain.

"When we ask the Governor's Office for help, we should also ask about those criminals from the Railway Workers' Union. I don't know if their interrogation has yielded any results." Lynch frowned. "Though those people shouldn't be important; it's hard to get any valuable clues out of them. There is one most important thing now that we must clear up as soon as possible."

"Hmm?"

"Mordiggian. The priest used the word 'also,' implying that the Shadow Alliance isn't the only party interested in this thing. The importance of this object must be quite high."

Lynch took out his detective notebook and neatly recorded the name.

"I have a premonition that this name is the real big fish. We must unmask his identity as soon as possible."