Well, now to look at the crowd... whoever doesn't applaud will be a power-bearer! This is truly a brilliant plan! James thought to himself, understanding why Xiao Ping had applauded so enthusiastically, and went along with him, creating a perfect performance.
They knew the people in the crowd would applaud after anyone clapping on stage, even if they hadn't seen the show yet, because they knew or thought whoever was applauding from the stage must be something amazing and worth clapping for.
But whoever didn't applaud would be an official power-bearer, under strict and high-level training, and wouldn't applaud any performance, no matter how good.
One... two... there are about 11 people who didn't applaud! And there are also people we met today! That woman with the red umbrella, and also the man who was just smoking his pipe and reading the newspaper! And the most important person among them: Loughart! Xiao Ping thought to himself and said, "It seems there are many companions here tonight!" He looked towards that woman with the red umbrella, who seemed lonely and without a partner, unlike the other attendees.
She also looked at James at the same time, and the colors of her crimson dress were reflected in Xiao Ping's eyes along with her pink hair, making him step back a little, saying, "It's deadly beauty!"
"Deadly beauty?" James asked while looking for the reason Xiao Ping had stepped back in front of him. He saw that woman focusing strangely on Xiao Ping, which made a strange smile appear on his face as he said, "Ping! Why not take this opportunity!?"
'Opportunity my ass!' Xiao Ping cursed internally, regretting the performance he and James had just put on, and his gaze remained fixed on that lady with the red umbrella.
"What did you say?" James asked while bumping his shoulder against Xiao Ping's in a strange way.
"Hey! Get away from me!" Xiao Ping said while stepping away from James.
"Hahaha, what do you mean by 'hey'?" James laughed and continued, "We should go meet that famous lady! And maybe you'll get a chance to talk to that woman with the red umbrella there! It's strange because she resembles my umbrella too, but that's not important... what's important now is that we go!" James spoke while grabbing Xiao Ping's arm and pushing him forward four steps.
"Wait! I know how to walk, don't worry!" Xiao Ping shouted while jumping off the stage and heading towards that famous lady, ignoring the woman with the red umbrella. Of course, James followed him, enjoying what he was doing to Xiao Ping now, under the pretext of revenge for what Xiao Ping had done to him in the afternoon.
...
"Oh! Are you ignoring me?" the woman asked, looking at the two figures walking between the many tables. She said, "Don't worry! You'll be mine soon, so no need to run or hide from me, because I'll find you wherever you go!" She said it while touching her red lips in a seductive way.
"Stop messing around, Lizzie! We're here to arrest an unofficial power-bearer and also a serial killer, as that artifact named 'The Viewer' said! Not for flirting and enjoying an evening. Remember, she told us her ability to see the future that the serial killer would be here tonight, but she warned us we'd face obstacles from unknown people tonight. So try to focus at least on this mission!" the person beside Lizzie spoke seriously.
"Yes, yes, I know!" Lizzie said, showing an expression of boredom and gloom on her face, then said, "But I'm observing now, aren't I? Or can't you see?"
"All I see is a woman chasing handsome men with strange expressions!"
"That's none of your business! Are you jealous of him because you're not as handsome as him?" Lizzie spoke, looking at the person beside her with clear disdain after hearing his words.
"No, I'm much more handsome than him!" the person beside Lizzie quickly replied.
"Oh, really? Then where is your partner?" Lizzie asked.
"Ah... I don't have one!" the person replied.
"That's because you're ugly and not favored by women!" Lizzie retorted, looking at that person before walking towards where Xiao Ping was standing in front of the famous lady.
"How dare you, Lizzie! You're just a whore!" that person cursed and wanted to catch up to her, but a hand grabbed his shoulder, so he turned quickly and saw it was Loughart.
"I salute you, commander!" that person shouted and hit his chest while looking at the commander, who was wearing a formal suit and a dark blue coat, but that silver badge wasn't on his chest this time, unlike last time.
"Stay quiet! I don't want you to expose our identity!" Loughart clamped his hand over the man's mouth.
"Understood!" that person removed Loughart's hand from his mouth and said, "Did you find anything from your patrol?"
"No, there's nothing suspicious!" Loughart replied coldly.
"What about the rest of the members?" the person asked.
"I had Marcus blend in with the ordinary people on the west side, and Simon on the east side! And there's Louise too, she's blended in with the band members and observing from the stage!" He paused for a moment and continued, "And Steve is blended in with Miss Shane's guards! The rest of the members are observing from unspecified locations around White Raven Street! And my position is the center! But the question here is: where are you now?" Loughart asked the person in front of him, who started sweating strangely.
"Ah... I'm in the north! I'll go now!" that person ran off, leaving Loughart, who was waiting for his partner who had gone to fetch some wine.
He involuntarily looked towards James and Xiao Ping's location, where Lizzie was heading, dragging her dress and holding her red umbrella in her hand.
'What a coincidence! They seem to be the people I investigated at the fabric shop today! And they're also the duo who were on stage moments ago! What are they doing here, I wonder? Hmm... should I go ask them? No, that's inappropriate and will only draw suspicions to me! Better to wait here and investigate any evidence about that serial killer!' Loughart thought to himself, and a word escaped his mouth involuntarily: "But this is strange!"
"What's strange?" asked a woman wearing an elegant black dress that showed off her slender body's charms, holding two glasses of red wine.
"Nothing! Just some random thoughts!" Loughart replied with a smile as he took a glass from her.
"I told you earlier not to think about anything during our date today!" the woman said, showing angry expressions on her face.
"Ah, I'm sorry, darling, I won't do it again!" Loughart said, looking at her with loving and appreciative gazes.
"Really?" the woman asked, moving her head away from him.
"Yes, believe me! I won't let anything interrupt our evening tonight!" Loughart said while thinking to himself: 'Yes, I won't let anything ruin this beautiful night!'
...
Xiao Ping stood in front of one of the huge, muscular men before him... like a fox standing in front of a rhinoceros or a huge African elephant.
"Excuse me! I want to pass to meet the lady... anyway, I want to meet her!" Xiao Ping didn't know her name, so he got straight to the point with that guard.
'Hahahahahahaha, what a truly awkward situation!' James was laughing inside while seeing Xiao Ping's embarrassment in front of that guard.
"What is your purpose for meeting the lady?" the guard said coldly, looking at Xiao Ping before him.
"I want to meet her because we are detecti... are among the lady's biggest fans!" Xiao Ping landed in another awkward situation.
'Hahahahahahahahahaha, man! He's really suffering!' James laughed internally and was watching the expressions appearing on Xiao Ping's face.
"You can't do that at the moment, so leave!" the guard spoke arrogantly towards Xiao Ping, which made James stop laughing internally, and he prepared to save that person's life from Xiao Ping in a moment.
"Alright, sorry for wasting your precious time! I'll leave now," Xiao Ping said... looking at that guard, and stepped back about ten meters.
That move from Xiao Ping was shocking, making James surprised because he couldn't predict Xiao Ping's next moves.
'Is he going to withdraw just like that? No, that's unlikely, I think! He's thinking of something, or it's like a tactical retreat!' James thought internally.
"James!" Xiao Ping called.
"Yes!" James replied.
"Are we obligated to protect these guards?" Xiao Ping asked an ordinary question, but in James's view, it was a question from a devil who finally showed his mask.
"No, we are never tasked with protecting them, but that doesn't prevent saving them in real danger!" James tried to speak normally to protect these guards from Xiao Ping's actions.
"So, I can kill them!" Xiao Ping said coldly.
"No, didn't you hear what I just told you?" James shouted, looking at Xiao Ping.
"You didn't say that I can't kill them? So I think it's allowed!" Xiao Ping replied, showing a devilish look towards that guard.
"What? Stop playing with words... if you want me to say it literally! Then I'll tell you: Don't kill any of these guards because they are under the command of Viscount Alfred Collasen!" James clarified to Xiao Ping.
"And no one will know I killed them! And who would believe that anyway? So no need to make a fuss, I want to try something on them!" Xiao Ping said coldly.
"Are you crazy? I don't mean the problem of killing them, but that you'll arouse suspicions about us! Because we are the last ones to have a conversation with that guard! And also, there's no need for all this because of one word directed at you! And there's another thing: I don't want you to kill them for two reasons, and I've already given you the first reason, so now I'll give you the second: Did you forget that I accepted an investigation request from that Viscount?" James spoke, advising.
"..."
Xiao Ping fell silent at that moment and realized that he had let his devilish thoughts overpower him.
"You're right—" He wanted to say something when he felt something moist and soft rubbing against his back.
Xiao Ping looked at James, who had an extremely shocked expression, and then that expression of shock turned into strange expressions on his face.
Xiao Ping tried to turn around to see what was rubbing against his back, which had caused catastrophic changes on James Beyond's face.
But at that moment, he felt a delicate hand extend from behind him before pulling his head back and placing it on something extremely soft.
Sad expressions appeared on James's face at this moment, as if his entire family had been killed and only he remained.
Xiao Ping was surprised by the turn of events, so he looked up with his bright green eyes and saw a red umbrella attached harmoniously to his black umbrella. But he wasn't surprised by this; he was surprised when he saw a woman with long pink hair and a crimson dress hugging him between her breasts!
At that moment, Xiao Ping jumped away and looked at James, who was depressed and drawing a circle on the ground, his appearance truly pitiful.
Xiao Ping turned his gaze towards that woman after seeing that James wasn't in good condition now. He saw that woman laughing in a very seductive way while looking at him.
'It's her! Why did she do this? Is she planning something?' He thought while his eyes gleamed with clear coldness and said, "Why did you do this? Are you crazy?"
"Huh! Crazy? No, I'm just in love... with someone!" Lizzie said with a strange expression on her face.
"And what does that have to do with me? You should go and hug him like this, not me... wait!" Xiao Ping was surprised by what she said... He wanted to clarify some logical things to her but realized something unexpected!
'What? Is she in love... with that fool? How, when, where, and why?' Questions flooded James's mind, who had recovered from his brief and intense depression.
...
End of Chapter ~ To be continued