Chapter 48: Fear and coldness
As soon as the fat man noticed the duo barge into his office, a sharp light appeared in his eyes. Mayor Clacius’ Wave Talent and fear of battle made it he barely reached Level 2, but that was also a testament to his sharp mind. Or else, there is no way he would have become the mayor of a city with almost a million people with such poor personal strength.
Cain and Levi’s mission consisted of hunting down a group of criminals that broke into the city’s armory, stole military goods, and killed a guard. All that took place two days ago, and the criminals had since vanished into the forest beyond the city’s walls.
Rouk City had soldiers and a well-structured police force, as one would expect. Still, while they were enough to keep order inside the walls, sending them after the criminals into the forest would result in significant casualties. Not to mention that it could provoke chaos among the city’s population.
The Imperial Military Force handled all problems beyond a city’s scope to avoid unnecessary losses. Those missions helped train their soldiers in other aspects beyond the battlefield, so it was a win-win situation.
The fact they were detected and forced to use violence made it clear that the criminals were beneath Level 4, which is why the higher-ups a.s.signed the mission to cadets.
As the mayor, Clacius should have been doing everything in his power to a.s.sist the cadets so that they would resolve the crime in the shortest amount of time possible, but anyone could see by now that things were not so simple.
Although Cain and Levi looked imposing with their Wave Armors, there was no fear in Clacius’ eyes. The G.o.dslayer Humankind Empire had rules, and even if not, there was still the Level 4 Astral Wave Warrior by his side.
.....
‘Damm brats, how dare they barge into my office like that.’ Clacius was furious but did not dare his emotions to show themselves and greeted the duo with a cordial smile.
‘Those Wave Artifact are definitely at the High Bronze grade, with would make sense for scions, but it is odd for someone of the Jarken Family to take a mission like this one. Those of powerful n.o.ble Families usually disdain anything that would require investigation and the likes.’
All those thoughts crossed Clacius’ mind when the squad leader guarding the gate informed him that Zamir Jarken had marched into the city. Although part of him did not believe the duo, he needed to be careful as the wrath of the count’s son was not something he could endure. That is why he had already crafted a plan to search for the truth, and even if the duo were not lying, it would buy him time.
Unfortunately for Clacius, before he could open his mouth, Cain marched toward him and slammed his desk with so much strength that it almost broke it.
“How dare you make us wait like that?”
Clacius was slightly surprised, but that sudden outburst did not prove anything. However, what happened next changed things.
“Less than two months ago, you beg the Jarken County to solve an internal problem, yet now you dare to make me wait. You really know how to repay a favor!” Cain spoke with a voice full of certainty and arrogance.
Although it was just a small phrase, it immediately changed the att.i.tude of Clacius and the Level 4 Astral Wave Warrior. It was not that they cared about the favor, but the fact that the cadet knew about it meant that he was privy to secret deals between Rouk City and Jarken County.
Cain was still furious on the outside, but internally, he was thrilled. After using Zamir’s name, he immediately asked Apex to dig up secret information between Rouk City and Jarken County.
The System Spirit focused all the power of [Basic Hacking] tool on that task, and just as the duo got out of the military truck and headed to the City Hall, he got that information.
“Every minute you make us wait is another minute those criminals have to run. Are you ready to answer for your sins to my father if we fail our mission!?” Even with his voice distorted, Cain made a perfect copy of the tone Zamir used when they first met.
Clacius’ face grew pale as he heard that threat. He could not bare to offend a scion, much less a G.o.dslayer Humankind Empire’s Count.
“There... there is no need to do that. I had just canceled my previous appointment when I learned that Young Lord had come into my city. Vina will guide you to the crime scene, and I will send a detailed report of the events of that day to your A.I. Chip immediately.” Clacius did not dare to delay and called the woman, who walked into the room shortly with surprise on her face.
Cain could see that Vina was confused by the sudden change in Clacius’ att.i.tude toward the crime, but he did not care. While furious at the mayor’s corruption, he did not have the luxury of time.
“Hmph, you should have done that from the beginning. I wonder how someone so incompetent as you got a mayor’s position.” Cain left those final words as he and Levi walked away under Vina’s guidance.
Despite being insulted, Clacius only smiled toward Cain. However, rage appeared on his face once the doors to his office were closed.
“Has everything been taken care of?”
“We took care of all the visual evidence and tracks but did not complete the decontamination process. It required a total of seventy-two hours, so we were forced to leave the job half done.” The Level 4 Astral Wave Warrior spoke in a solemn tone.
A sharp light appeared in Clacius’ eyes as he heard that. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath of air and relaxed.
“That should be more than enough. I refuse to believe that a couple of brats could solve it. Still, it is better to be cautious. If they find anything, we will erase any trace of our involvement. I a.s.sume you know what to do in that case.”
Clacius’ eyes were cold as he uttered those words, just like those of the Level 4 Astral Wave Warrior.