Chapter 38: Mithril

“Right,” Richter turned his attention back to the documents and asked,

“Will the station be focusing on investigating the identities of those visitors?”

“Yes,” Duquesne answered definitively. Then he continued, “But the station is understaffed. We have to investigate the underground ruins, the cemetery, and patrol the town, and we have to allocate personnel to this… We don’t have enough people, and the quality isn’t that high, either. Though the church is handling some of the workload, it’s still a lot.”

“We should also be taking on some of the work,” Richter said without hesitation, turning to look at Selene. Seeing that she was staring at her cup of tea in a daze, he coughed lightly to get her attention.

“Ah? Oh, I don’t mind. Whatever,” Selene reacted, taking a sip of her tea.

She hadn’t been listening that carefully. On the one hand, the result was obvious—there was more work for her. On the other hand, she was somewhat surprised that Richter was actually willing to work as an assistant, so she was distracted, thinking random thoughts.

Duquesne nodded, not immediately assigning work, but pondering for a moment.

“The two heretics who were captured yesterday mentioned something. I was planning on waiting for assistance from Nymph Fu to tell them, but it looks like that’s not going to happen within the week… We’ll share this information.”

Then he looked at Richter.

“I hear you’re from Mittal. Could you show me your identification?”

Richter pointed to the brooch on his clothes, then took out the silver badge and gave it to Duquesne.

Duquesne examined it carefully, his gaze lingering on the small inscription for a few seconds before handing it back to Richter with a smile.

“There’s someone with your name in Mittal’s capital. His master was a great mage. He served as an advisor to the capital’s police department before graduating from university. He was very famous and often appeared in newspapers a few years ago. But he’s been unusually quiet these past two years. Maybe he joined the military’s secret service.”

Richter said impassively,

“There are many people with that name. I’ve met several with the same name while traveling.”

“That’s true,” Duquesne looked at him for a moment, then adjusted his clothes. “Their situation is a bit unusual. I’m an Inspector, and I don’t know much about those mystical and magical things. You two should go check it out. We’ll talk more when we get more information.”

No one objected, so the four left the station manager’s office and went to the cells.

As Duquesne had said, the station was very busy. More than a dozen people were sitting in the workspace on the second floor, silently flipping through thick stacks of paperwork. Occasionally, they would make notes of something that seemed suspicious. The only sounds were the pages turning and the pens scratching across the paper.

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On the first floor, many guards and trainees were coming and going. Selene even saw a few familiar faces. Even Duquesne’s arrival didn’t attract much attention. They went to the entrance to the basement, and the guard watching the cells, as usual, took a look before letting them through.

The four walked through the dimly lit basement, which was equipped with Fluorit lights. Duquesne led the way. Louise had a half-eaten fried potato in her mouth. Selene whispered to Richter,

“That guy wasn’t you?”

Richter nodded, also whispering,

“Why would you think that? Your name is Selene, right? There are many people with that name in history. Why don’t you think you’re one of them?”

That makes sense.

Selene thought for a moment, then said,

“He’s also from Mittal. And he was still a student two years ago. He’s about your age. He’s been quiet, and you’ve appeared in Lanstier. There’s no conflict…”

“A student of Mittal’s chief mage wouldn’t come to such a place,” Richter sighed. “And according to that logic, Lanstier's Princess Hiathap is around your age, and I heard that she also has black hair and blue eyes, and she’s incredibly beautiful…”

“There was an interview with her in the newspaper a few weeks ago, about her visit to the Holy City’s Great Light Hall. I was busy chasing a cheating couple around then. The timing doesn’t match up.”

Selene curled her lips, countering his argument, but didn’t continue the topic. Instead, she asked Duquesne, who was walking in front,

“How are those two doing?”

“Finished gossiping? I thought you were going to drag the Saintess of the Divine Glory Church into this.” Duquesne made a not-very-funny joke, then turned a corner, leading the three to a large, silver door adorned with the insignia of the God of Order.

It stood silently in the darkness, its heavy, cold presence palpable.

The insignia of the God of Order was practically everywhere in the station—the crossed swords, the stacked books, and the eye of an iris. But this kind of mithril door, able to withstand magical artillery fire, was uncommon. Seeing this door, the four of them became slightly more serious.

The previous times Selene had been at the station, she had been held in ordinary cells. This was her first time seeing this silver door.

“Don’t worry. Besides those two, there are only a few low-level magical beasts being held behind this door. It’s nothing for you guys,” Duquesne casually reassured them, then pressed his hand on the door, the silver mana of the “Inspector” flowing into it.

After a moment of silence, the door opened silently.

Duquesne continued to lead the way. The cells behind the mithril door were clearly larger and more sturdy. A restrained, oppressive atmosphere filled the air, and the surroundings felt as if they could pierce the skin, causing a faint tingling sensation.

But this discomfort wasn’t difficult for the four superhumans to bear. They soon saw the magical beasts Duquesne had mentioned—a strong, silver wolf, a large, hairy spider with needle-like hairs, and a blood-red, two-horned serpent.

They all looked listless and half-dead.

“I told you. They’re just ordinary magical beasts. We’re keeping them because we don’t have the right materials to contain them. So we haven’t killed them yet,” Duquesne stopped, observed them, then added, “Those dangerous magical beasts you’re imagining, the kind that can rival mid- to high-level superhumans, you’ll have to go to the depths of the Loki Mountains to find them. At least, they’re not in the civilized world.

“They’re like vampires and werewolves, evil races that were cleansed by the empire and the church a thousand years ago. The ones who survived are hiding in the shadows, not daring to show their faces. Don’t forget, the Fifth Era belongs to the Four Great Empires, it belongs to the elves, humans, and dwarves.

“Of course, now we have to add magical machinery to the list.”

Duquesne then led the group to the end of this area. The two they were looking for were imprisoned there.