### The 461st Officer
North Coast of the Conquer Sea, Adria.
In a hotel near the church square in Adria, Doro sat on the sofa in the hotel’s luxurious suite, her expression serious as she looked at the “Navigation of the Literary Sea” resting on her lap. The words written by Nephnis before were causing a slight furrow in her brow.
‘Davis’s old servant, the butler of the Boyle Family, went missing last night, and the entire Boyle household has been turned upside down… What on earth happened? Were they robbed? Or was it something else?
‘Nunut is the most trusted servant of Davis Boyle, having been loyal to the Boyle family for many years. Davis didn’t want his descendants to be overly involved with secrets, so he entrusted his hidden inheritance to Nunut for safekeeping. Nunut himself is also an extraordinary being of the apprentice rank, so his sudden disappearance is likely connected to extraordinary matters.
‘Nunut is holding parts of Davis’s other notes and knows the location of the golden scepter that protects the Boyle family. This is crucial for Nephnis, so this incident must be taken seriously.’
As she scrutinized the writing on the “Navigation of the Literary Sea,” Doro pondered gravely in her heart. She then picked up her pen and immediately wrote a response to Nephnis.
“Okay, I have a good understanding of the situation. This matter is indeed serious. I will find a way to contact someone from Tivyán for an investigation. You need not worry excessively.”
Doro’s writing quickly appeared on Nephnis’s page. Seeing the familiar handwriting that emerged from her history book, Nephnis let out a sigh of relief while sitting on her bed, feeling uneasy.
‘Doro will contact the people in Tivyán for an investigation… Does this mean she will notify the members of the Rosy Cross in Tivyán to help find Grandpa Nunut? If the Rosy Cross gets involved, there should definitely be a result.’
Thinking about Doro’s response, Nephnis reflected on the powerful secret society she found herself in, feeling rather confident. Compared to ordinary police, she naturally preferred the Rosy Cross to investigate this matter. Hearing that Doro agreed to let the Rosy Cross members in Tivyán assist, she couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved.
Nephnis had grown up under Nunut’s watchful eye. In some sense, this old butler was also an important relative to her, so she definitely did not want anything to happen to him. When she first learned of Nunut’s disappearance, her heart had been in a panic. Now that the powerful and mysterious Rosy Cross was stepping in, she could finally ease her anxiety a little.
“Thank you, Miss Doro. I am currently in Iwig and cannot help with matters in Prit, so I must trouble you.”
Nephnis wrote her response on the page, and soon she saw Doro’s reply.
“Rest assured, leave the Tivyán matters to us. I will contact people over there right away. If there are any updates, I will get in touch with you. Remember to keep the text with you.”
Such words appeared on Nephnis’s page. After seeing them, she quietly put away her history book, trying to follow Doro’s advice to calm her heart. However, no matter how hard she tried, the effect was not ideal. Then she glanced over at her roommate, who was still drooling and sound asleep on the bed, seemingly oblivious to the world, and sighed.
‘For ordinary people who are completely unaware of the extraordinary, this ignorance is, in a sense, a form of happiness. I have a bit more understanding of Grandpa’s feelings back then.
‘However, for me and the Boyle family, this happiness has likely always been unattainable…
‘As long as… the curse inscribed in the bloodline does not disappear…’
……
In her guest room, Doro, after finishing her correspondence with Nephnis, immediately flipped through her “Navigation of the Literary Sea.” After looking through Nephnis’s contact page, she quickly turned to Gregor’s contact page. After pondering for a moment while biting her pen, she picked it up and wrote.
“I am a detective, Mr. Meyshos. We have a matter we would like your help with. Are you available?”
After finishing her writing, Doro closed her eyes and began to pray in the name of a detective, tossing her prayer content to Gregor.
Once all was done, Doro mentally checked her calendar and confirmed that today was indeed the weekend. The uproar surrounding the Duke’s assassination had passed, and theoretically, Gregor should have time.
Since he had time, he might as well help out.
……
Prit Island, Tivyán.
In the morning, the North District of Tivyán was bustling with people on a commercial street. As usual, the atmosphere that had been tense earlier this year had dissipated almost entirely in Tivyán, the largest city in Prit. The police, who had once been everywhere, were now almost nowhere to be seen, and people were gradually returning to their normal lives.
In a fishing tackle shop on the side of the street, Gregor, dressed in ordinary clothes, was currently standing inside, looking at a fishing magazine in his hands while browsing a plethora of fishing gear in front of him, selecting his favorite items with the enthusiastic introduction of the shop owner.
The large-scale search triggered by the duke’s assassination was coming to an end. The Eight Pinnacle Nest had temporarily withdrawn from Tivyán and had not returned yet. After the search, all the various secret organizations underwent significant losses; some were decimated, while others remained silent. The frequency of extraordinary events in Tivyán had drastically declined, and the pressure on the An Yin Bureau had significantly lessened. For Gregor, this meant he was enjoying some rare leisure days; he hadn’t worked overtime in weeks.
With more free time, naturally, he began to think of other activities to entertain himself further. Gregor was born in a rural area, and as a child, his favorite activities included fighting with other kids and catching fish in the river. After catching one, he would roast it by the riverbank to eat. If he caught more, he’d share with his sister, and if he caught even more, he could give some to his friends. These were among the most joyful moments of his childhood, a time when he rarely ate meat.
Now, thinking of something fun to do, Gregor considered fishing. However, now that he was grown up, wading through rivers like before was no longer feasible. Thus, he decided to buy some fishing equipment and go fishing over the weekend. Although most rivers in Tivyán were severely polluted, there were still some small rivers near the outskirts around Crown University where he could fish. Gregor had already learned of the local spots and was preparing to head there for some action.
As a complete novice to fishing, Gregor could only rely on a fishing magazine and the owner’s advice to buy beginner’s gear. Not understanding much, he nodded along with everything the owner said. Eventually, after paying a high price for a complete set of beginner’s gear that the owner recommended, he stood at the counter before the now-smiling shop owner, but suddenly he froze, his expression turning serious.
Seeing Gregor’s sudden change in expression, the shop owner’s previous bright smile also stiffened, wondering if this big spender had noticed something.
“Um… What’s wrong, sir? If you think it’s too expensive, I can assure you that the items in our shop are definitely…”
“Actually, I’ve bought the items first, but I need to step out for a moment. If I don’t return later, please keep these items for me. I will come back to get them,” Gregor said, and after paying the money at the counter, he directly stood up and left the fishing tackle shop, leaving the still-dazed owner behind.
After exiting the fishing store, Gregor quickly moved down the street. After walking for a while, he entered a small alley. Once he was in an empty spot of the alley, he took out a small notebook from inside his jacket. Opening it, he saw familiar writing inside.
Seeing the writing, Gregor took out the steel pen he carried with him, uncapped it, and began to respond in the notebook.
“I am available now; what is the matter? Is it a serious issue?”
“It’s a matter of life or d*ath, possibly involving a dangerous secret society. I don’t know much about the details here. Sir, this is an incident that arose in Tivyán, and we currently have no personnel over there, so we would like to ask if you could help look into it. We will provide you with a reward based on the situation.”
‘I want to enjoy this weekend properly as my reward.’
Such words appeared in Gregor’s notebook. After reading its contents, he thought to himself. After a moment of complex emotions, he hesitated briefly, took a deep breath, and wrote back.
“I understand. I will go and check it out. Where do I need to go?”
“To the East District. The situation is urgent. You should first find a carriage to take you there. I will inform you of the specific locations and what to do next while you’re on the carriage.”
After seeing the writing in the notebook, Gregor closed it and turned to leave the alley. He flagged down a carriage by the roadside, and after telling the coachman to go to the East District, he sat back and let the carriage head east.
On the carriage, Gregor got a rough understanding of the situation from the detective. He learned that the incident in the East District involved a secret family whose ancestors were extraordinary beings but had since become almost entirely mundane. This unexpected event may have arisen due to grievances from their ancestors, and the Rosy Cross had some connection to this family, hence why they needed Gregor to confirm the situation there.
“This family, which had originally returned to the mundane, may activate its original extraordinary powers for revenge due to this incident. If left unchecked, it could very well escalate into a major malign event, leading to a direct confrontation with the An Yin Bureau. In that case, you would still handle it, and if things escalate, it would become even harder to manage, increasing your workload significantly.
“So if you head over there early, you may resolve this incident before it escalates, and you could even suppress it to prevent it from reaching the level of a malign extraordinary event…”
The detective wrote such things in the notebook to Gregor. Hearing this, his initial reluctance to work on the weekend was suddenly replaced with motivation. If this incident escalated to a malign extraordinary event, then it would be the An Yin Bureau dealing with the aftermath, resulting in possible overtime for him later. A late night wasn’t worth it compared to several upcoming weekends. He might as well resolve this case now.
After all, the future weekends were more important than this one.
During their exchange, the carriage carrying Gregor made its way to the East District. After about an hour or two’s journey, he finally arrived at the destination, situated in a high-end residential area in East Tivyán.
Once he got off the carriage, Gregor hurriedly headed towards the specific address provided by the detective. After passing through an intersection, he spotted a massive Prit-style mansion along the roadside. There were police carriages lined up in front of the mansion, and behind them was a large crowd of onlookers, murmuring and pointing at the mansion, gossiping about something.
Upon witnessing this scene, Gregor quickly moved forward, squeezing into the crowd. Before long, he found a way through and reached the courtyard gates of the mansion. At this point, the gates were cordoned off, with two officers wearing helmets and uniforms watching over it. Inside the courtyard, other officers were busy with something.
After squeezing out of the crowd, Gregor strode straight towards the courtyard gate, hoping to enter through it. Upon seeing Gregor approach, the officers guarding the gate immediately shouted to stop him.
“We’re in the middle of an investigation! Unauthorized personnel step back immediately!”
Upon hearing the guard’s admonition, Gregor did not back down. Instead, he reached into his clothing and pulled out a gray-covered badge book, showing the emblem of the Wind Sword Crown to the officers in front of him.
“Gentlemen, I am also a police officer. Would it be possible for me to enter and take a look?” Gregor said. He wasn’t wrong; secret police were still police officers.
Seeing Gregor’s badge, the two guarding officers furrowed their brows. After a brief exchange of glances between them, one of them spoke up.
“Which district are you from? We haven’t seen you before.”
“Of course you haven’t seen me, but your chief has. Please go and call your chief over.” Holding the badge book, Gregor said to the officers. After hearing this, the two officers hesitated for a moment, and then one of them said.
“Wait here; I’ll go find Mr. Homan. You’d better not be lying to us.”
With that, one of the guarding officers turned and entered the courtyard, soon returning with a bearded officer.
“Homan, he claims to know you?”
Hearing this, the officer looked at Gregor, his demeanor turning derisive as he said, “Who are you, kid? How dare you say you know me?”
As the officer said this, the expressions of the two guarding officers immediately turned vicious, as if they intended to teach this impudent wannabe police officer a lesson.
At that moment, Gregor relaxed his grip on the badge book, opening the first page. To the surprise of the onlooking officers, behind the gray cover was another cover, this one black.
The black cover continued to display the Wind Sword Crown emblem that all Prit police badges held; however, at the center of this emblem, which combined the Wind Sword and the crown, there was an additional new moon.
“My name is Meyshos, Officer Homan. Take a good look; don’t you really remember me?” Gregor asked calmly, looking at the black cover and the unusual emblem before him. The officer’s expression changed, the previous disdain on his face completely wiped away, replaced by seriousness.
“Ah… I remember now; it’s Officer Meyshos. Look at my memory; I barely recognized you. My apologies!”
