Next Step

Led by their Priest, the hillmen had fled in utter panic, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

As they left, they were overjoyed, wearing expressions as if they had narrowly escaped death.

According to the Priest's description, the mere trace of an aura casually exuded by that lord in the attic carried the boundless majesty of a deity. It was practically like a Supreme being walking the mortal realm, an apex expert likely just half a step away from godhood.

Fortunately, that benevolent lord happened to be in a good mood, allowing them all to leave the cabin alive. Thank the mighty expert's benevolence—since the female journalist wasn't here anyway, there was no need for idle chatter. Survival came first; getting away quickly was top priority, and they could figure out everything else later.

And so, after profusely showering the attic with endless gratitude, the pack of ghoul hillmen hastily fled into the sparse forest. Only after a while did Officer Natalie and Lynch cautiously crawl out of the attic.

To think they had actually bluffed a high-tier expert and saved their own skins. The two stared at each other for a long while before their expressions turned into a strange mix between laughing and crying.

The female officer threw her arms around Lynch in a tight embrace, squeezing him so hard he could barely breathe before releasing him, whispering softly in his ear, “That's twice now. Thank you.”

“Twice what? Don't you owe me three times?”

Seeing the female officer's complex expression and peculiar gaze, Lynch couldn't quite tell what she was thinking. Is this woman trying to renege on one of them? Unfortunately, before he could ask, he received a swift kick to the shin.

How can this police officer just hit people at will? Truly violent.

“Get lost,” Officer Natalie snapped, mimicking Lynch's earlier rebuke. Remembering how such a powerful high-tier Soul Severer had been deceived so thoroughly and fled in such disarray, she couldn't help biting her lip and giggling again. “To think you could actually deceive it—I truly never expected that. You've given me far too many surprises these past few days.”

Lynch shrugged. In truth, he wasn't terribly surprised. Many people in this world were remarkably good at overthinking and filling in the blanks themselves—like Duke Vane and Archbishop Trinlais. Moreover, this old ghoul's perception was freakishly sharp; a trick that wouldn't have worked on ordinary people had instead yielded miraculous results against him.

It was just difficult to explain. Lynch had already concocted several excuses in his mind and was anxiously waiting for the female officer to inquire about the details. Yet Officer Natalie asked nothing at all, merely offering him a smile that made all his mental preparation feel like punching empty air.

“Everyone has secrets, and many things are meant for only one person to know. Keeping a proper distance is an essential prerequisite for lasting harmony between partners.”

Officer Natalie patted Lynch's shoulder meaningfully:

“Since the ghouls were so cooperative and cleared the way, let's head out as soon as possible. At the very least, we need to report their true identities.”

However, Lynch stopped her and even told her a story about someone who bluffed tens of thousands of pursuers into retreating, only to expose their lack of strength by tearing down the bridge afterward. Therefore, to be safe, they definitely couldn't leave in a rush; they had to remain calm and composed.

Whether the story convinced the female officer was hard to say, but at least she quite enjoyed listening to it. Before they knew it, while sharing the story, they spent more than half an hour thoroughly searching Maya's wooden cabin from top to bottom.

Indeed, they found nothing; the female journalist had left no information behind when she fled.

The female officer felt somewhat disappointed, as this meant the lead they had painstakingly pursued had gone cold. Lynch, however, shook his head.

“Your goal is to uncover the real mastermind behind the square incident and make them pay for disrupting order, whereas I have a deeper objective, but at this stage, our interests remain aligned.” Having gotten a taste for it, Lynch climbed back up to the attic, retracted the ladder, activated his ability, and explained in a low voice, “Actually, I don't think the leads have broken off at all. If anything, they're clearer now, because many threads have converged. In this case, there are still at least two leads we can pursue.”

A kerosene lamp had been lit. Under its warm orange glow, Officer Natalie rested her chin in her hands and gazed at Lynch. Perhaps it was due to the lighting, but her usually fierce gaze was softly shimmering at this moment. Staring until Lynch grew a little bewildered, she finally curved her lips into a smile and shook her head. “It's nothing. I think you're absolutely right—our goals are aligned. Do go on.”

“In the Norin-Rhine Railway incident, the lead involving Maya and Donnie has already become intertwined with the hillmen's route. What happened to Maya began with the hillmen, and the hillmen are also searching for her. Since we have no leads regarding Maya herself, we can certainly start with the hillmen. That includes what happened to Maya previously, why she ended up under that... er, curse, and perhaps even where she is now—we might find answers to all of that from the hillmen. That afternoon, you mentioned reporting the expert among the hillmen. What were the results?”

“I already reported it to Victor. Supposedly, he sent out many informants and mobilized police resources, but made zero progress. The hillmen's movements are far too elusive; finding them is extremely difficult. Now that we know for sure they are ghouls, searching for them will be even harder.”

“It doesn't matter. It's clear that these ghoul hillmen still have misgivings. They said themselves that they don't want to alert the humans in the city. As long as we stay vigilant, our personal safety shouldn't be an issue.”

“Mm. Just like that afternoon, they didn't use lethal attacks.”

“Exactly. So our subsequent investigation needs to focus on them. We don't necessarily have to track them down directly, but we must investigate them from the side. Although we don't know their movements, the Valente family, who previously had contact with them, is our breakthrough point.”

“That family won't be easy to investigate.” It was the first time Lynch had seen the female officer look troubled. “The main branch of their family resides in the capital, Norin. Only the eldest daughter was stationed in Rhine City because she is a church sister of Fiona, the Lord of Suffering. Therefore, if we want to investigate them, we have to start from the royal capital. The problem is... although this family has fallen into decline, they have produced at least two queens, and they still maintain fairly close ties with the royal Rose family. In short, it's a very tricky target. If we investigate them without any evidence, going through formal channels will definitely face immense resistance. So I wrote a letter asking a friend in the royal capital for help. Getting basic information won't be a problem, but it will take some time.”

“Mm, then we'll wait patiently. I can also use my status as a special advisor to the Governor's Guard to ask them for help in investigating this family.”

“Are they reliable? They won't turn out like the city hall, will they?”

“Mm.” Lynch didn't elaborate. Without sufficient reason, one typically defaulted to assuming the employer was fine; otherwise, if one doubted the employer from the very start, there would have been no point in accepting the commission.

“Alright. According to Mr. Klin's experience, Maya should still have at least a dozen days left. Waiting for news from the royal capital might cut it close, so it would be best if we can get information from the Governor's Mansion.” The female officer also racked her brain, thinking things over.

“While asking the Governor's Mansion for help, we should also ask about those criminals from the Railway Workers' Union by the way. I wonder if their interrogations have yielded any results yet,” Lynch said with a frown. “Though those people probably aren't important; it's unlikely we'll extract any valuable leads from them. Right now, there is one most important matter that we must clarify as quickly as possible.”

“Hm?”

“Mordiggian. That Priest used the word ‘too,’ which means the Shadow Alliance isn't the only faction interested in this thing. The importance of this matter must be exceptionally high.”

Lynch took out his detective notebook and neatly jotted down the name.

“I have a premonition that this name is the real big fish. Let's dig up his identity as soon as possible.”