At the dining table.
Russell was surprised to see a poached egg, bread toasts, and a glass of milk served on the table. He looked at the figure opposite him and then back at breakfast.
"Didn't you say that you don't know how to cook?"
"Yeah, but it doesn't mean I am completely clueless. A simple breakfast is well within my capability."
"Good."
He didn't comment any further and sat down to eat his breakfast. He took a bite and it was… eatable!
"Did you read the newspaper? A royal family member was apparently attacked by rebels during their stay at the neighboring provincial capital and nearly perished. It's a big mess!"
"Everyone at the high position, starting from the head of the civil administration, the Governor, to the head of the police department Deputy Commissioner, and the head of the military garrison Vice General, all of them were severely implicated."
"They had been stripped of their positions and summoned to the royal capital to accept their punishments. Goodness! How high their arcana realm was and how much power they used to possess but now with just this one incident everything has crumbled to dust!"
Samantha chatted with great enthusiasm.
He listened with interest and took the newspaper she handed over. With a cursory glance he confirmed her words. It seems there will be a general meeting at the police headquarters today regarding this incident.
It could be said that the entire province was now trembling and nobody dares to act rashly lest they invite royal wrath upon themselves.
The Caalmira Kingdom had a clear division of power in the matters of civil administration, law enforcement, and military.
Judicial authority, however, was exercised by a specially dispatched individual from the royal court at all township and above grade places.
In charge of the Karmic Purgatory and also the head of the local judicial branch in all parts of the kingdom except the royal capital, the King's Judge.
They were mysterious individuals never seen venturing out of the courthouse after it was first established and they took their office. There were also no decrees from the royal court of neither their promotion nor any demotion or about any transfer orders.
Let alone meeting the King's Judge, the heads of the three local powers couldn't even visit the courthouse without proper reasons otherwise they will face all sorts of punishments depending on the severity of their transgression.
This law naturally extends towards their subordinates and any citizen of the kingdom for that matter without any partiality.
Truly deserving a place as one of the unsolvable mysteries within the kingdom.
"Walls have ears, be mindful of your words."
Russell promptly warned her when he noticed that she was about to carelessly comment on the attacked royal family member in their conversation.
Samantha paused for a second before she wisely shut her mouth and continued to eat her breakfast silently.
In this world, the biggest watershed of someone's status was the amniotic fluid.
Some people, from birth, were destined to be revered by the sheer virtue of their background.
After donning his uniform Russell checked the mini-field array that guarded the building from intrusion. Seeing no signs of malfunction or any external tempering he left the house and headed towards the headquarters.
Just as he left a sneaky figure barged into the building without any hindrance. The so-called protection granted from the mini-field array seemed to be non-existent in front of him.
This person was assassin Deep Observer who had been hiding outside.
This former detective agency was the main operating base of a Three Symbols Valiant Mage so undoubtedly the mini-field array casted on this property was capable of handling any reckless intruder in this town.
He had checked and it was indeed a Peak Third Rank mini-field array that consumed more than a dozen units of ether dust daily in consumption. It was just a pity that it had to bump into a guy like him who hailed from the prefecture.
Bypassing the surveillance and protective measures within a residence was the most basic quality for an assassin in the Purple Dusk List. He used to handle far more complex and profound mini-field arrays of this rank back at Coldstone City.
With the arsenal he was carrying this wasn't any difficult for him to overcome.
Deep Observer's entire body was invisible, neither his scent nor any sound from him could be detected by others in the same realm easily. He saw a girl in the kitchen and quickly identified her as the receptionist-turned-housekeeper who was lodging in this place.
He thought for a second and… decided against making any move.
It may produce variables so it was best if she remained unaware and unaffected in the upcoming operation. So, he moved with swift steps and planted recording devices the size of a wheat grain in various unfrequented spots within the first floor.
Then the second floor and the third floor!
These devices had a magical camouflage function on it that was enough to hide from a Novice Mage's perception barring any physical contact that would otherwise expose it.
When at the third floor his movements paused after seeing a safe placed in the study room, "Legacy of Richard Auburn, well… forget it. According to his psychological profiling there might not be anything inside but traps and alarms."
"No rush, the deadline for this bounty is in a week. It would be a huge joke if my presence was exposed on the very first day of observation because of an impulse."
He took a breath and suppressed the momentary greed while keeping a cool head and staying rational.
Deep Observer looked around and took out a crystal ball. He operated by injecting ether and checked if the recording devices were feeding back properly. Images from the devices appeared in the crystal ball rapidly along with the captured sound.
"Alright, no problem over here. I am really looking forward to your performance, Russell Auburn. Show me your life and I shall craft a beautiful death for you! Hehehehe!"
His bear-like body trembled as he laughed heartily, his expression twisted in glee from being able to satisfy some kind of fetish. His stealth spell was indeed of higher proficiency to be able to hide so many activities.
Russell couldn't have imagined that his house was no longer safe to live in.
He didn't rush to the police headquarters after leaving but headed to an establishment on the way to buy his lunch in advance. He was now patrolling with his team instead of drifting off solo after being advised by the chief that day.
Their assigned patrol route for today would make it inconvenient to go there for lunch so he opted for a takeout.
Russell arrived in front of a five-story tall inn with the plaque "Bright Light Inn" above the entrance. This inn gave off a refined and expensive vibe just from the exterior and when one walked inside the interior decorations would further enforce that point.
"Welcome! How may I serve you, sir?"
At the counter he nodded back as he pondered for a second before replying, "I will order a takeout: One serving of spicy roasted leaf-feather chicken, four fuming flatbreads, and a bowl of happy-face tomato soup!"
The girl on the counter quickly wrote down the order and replied with a smile, "Yes, sir! That would be… 4 units! Would you like to receive it now or have it delivered to your address later?"
"I will take it with me."
Soon, Russell left the shop with an added lunchbox in the space of his Magic Hat. He liked the dishes in this inn not only for its taste but also for the fact that it was one of the few public business fronts backed by the government in this small town.
The safety of the food and quality of the ingredients were naturally guaranteed.
He had heard from his late mentor that this inn was one of the industries under the Department of Arcane Crafts Development dedicated to Magic Culinary and Monster Herding.
People can seek employment over here and if they were confirmed to have talents in those crafts then they would not only get a public job but also receive training and teachings from professionals.
This served to open up employment opportunities for the local mage population and also provided needed services.
A very precious spatial treasure called a World Fragment was used for herding monsters within this inn's bounds. The products from those monsters such as meats, bones, or even grains and vegetables from plant-type monsters become the supply for culinary activities.
It also provided temporary lodging for travelers and newcomers.
Foods consumed by mages differed from what dullards ate. If too much mundane ingredients were consumed periodically then despite the cleansing after absorbing the arcana treasure Dew of Dawn, the body would gather impurity again which would needlessly add difficulty in increasing one's arcana attainment.
Only by consuming food of magical origin could a mage be worry free.
The breakfast he ate earlier was naturally not made of mundane stuff. After all, housekeeper Samantha was also a Novice Mage, though with a symbol count of four.
Russell still didn't hold any high regards because of it as she was far older and became a mage much earlier than him. Just a Low-tier aptitude of a bottom dweller with no background, how could she possibly garner any respect from a highly qualified connected individual like him?
It wasn't that he had a utilitarian mindset but this was simply how this kingdom worked and in a broader sense the entire arcane civilization's norm. The four essentials of a mage was first their background, and then their qualifications, at third was the resources they could access, and finally their very fate and fortune in the unseen.
The significance of each essentials could be gleaned from how they were placed in order, in this case the earlier the better.
After arriving at the police headquarters Russell keenly sensed the tension in the air. His colleagues had solemn faces and the mood was exceptionally heavy.
Undoubtedly, the news from this morning had put everyone under pressure.
Soon, an officer informed everyone to promptly assemble at the conference room under the order of the Chief Constable. He followed his teammates after greeting them and speculated together about the upcoming instructions in low voices.
Russell had always been a social butterfly so his teammates hadn't found him off-putting when it came to his seamless integration within their group despite only having few interactions.
At the conference room.
He saw the other two out of four police officers specially dispatched from the prefecture.
[Name: Jose Evans]
[Age: 33/79]
[Identity: Constable of Little Clover Township's Police Department, A Member of House Evans from the Coldstone Prefectural City]
He was a guy with sunken eyes and sparse hairs on his head.
[Name: Adam Rees]
[Age: 29/88]
[Identity: Constable of Little Clover Township's Police Department, A Member of House Rees from the Coldstone Prefectural City, Liaison Agent of Throne's Shadow]
"Hmm?"
Russell couldn't help but inwardly exclaim when he glanced at the officer standing left of the chief, a man of tall height, heroic face, and sharp eyes.
He showed no abnormality in his expression nor any sudden eye movements due to the unexpected discovery. After a casual glance he calmly looked away and stood in attention just like others around him.
In the front Agent Adam didn't seem to have noticed anything amiss as it wasn't only him among the assembly who were glancing at him either curiously or casually.
"Throne's Shadow? Never heard of this organization. I didn't expect a Valiant Mage in the high position of this town to have been infiltrated. Damn! Should I tip off the chief… but I wouldn't be able to explain the source and neither be able to show any evidence. Let's wait and see for now."
So, despite his discovery of a hidden agent mixed among the higher-ups he could only sigh inwardly for being unable to act even with the willingness to do so.
Faced with the choice of earning another merit and prudent caution he chose the latter without any hesitation.