I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 78 Detection
Years of experience made the old guard realize something was wrong, and he instinctively took a step forward, standing between DuPont and Deva.

Those gangsters deserve to die. If we take it seriously, we can use our position to investigate and give those unruly gangsters a good beating.

But if the killer is a mage apprentice from a local academy, then the situation is somewhat different.

Mage apprentices are still mages, and their crimes are not under the jurisdiction of the guards. They cannot even be supervised without evidence. The only option is to report the behavior of these potential suspects to the city hall, which will then coordinate with the Mage Association. The association's arcane spies will then investigate, and whether a crime has been committed ultimately depends on what the association says.

These are the mages of the Land of Mages, the cornerstone that made this country glorious. If you disagree, keep quiet.

The person in front of us, who may have just killed six professionals, is even more terrifying, simply because he is young.

Young people are impulsive, and their emotional management is far inferior to that of older people. If the other party feels threatened and suddenly attacks, can he and the young paladin behind him, who has an unusual background but lacks experience, save their lives?
He didn't dare to gamble, and he couldn't gamble.

If someone dares to attack guards, then killing a group of civilians and stealing the roster is naturally not a big problem. By the time the Arcane spies finish their investigation, this person may already be abroad.

However, Deva didn't sense anything amiss in the atmosphere. She simply turned to the side and continued, "Do you remember the explosion from earlier?"

"Explosion? What explosion?" DuPont looked annoyed. "My room has a soundproof barrier. I have no idea what's going on outside. Are you done asking? I'm going to sleep."

Just as Deva was about to speak, the old guard interrupted, "What's your purpose in coming here?"

“Time to sleep. Mages are very particular about their sleep. By the way, the beauties in Tiflin here are quite stunning.” DuPont tilted his head. “What, is it illegal to pick up girls here? If it is, go find that proprietress who recommended me. If you dare to take me to the guard station, I will definitely go to my mentor and report you for collusion between officials and businessmen to set up an illegal operation.”

"Please don't worry, sir. We're just conducting a routine check. We apologize for disturbing your rest," the old guard said soothingly, then asked, word by word, "One last question: Did you go out tonight?"

"When?" DuPont scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled. "I was looking for a hotel to sleep in the first half of the night, and I haven't left through this door since. Is there a problem, sir?"

Hearing the still-calm breathing behind him, the old guard breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you for your cooperation, let's go."

"Hmm." Deva was a little disappointed. Suddenly, a question came to her mind, and she asked, "What level of mage are you?"

The only response she received was the closed door.

"Wait!" Deva suddenly spoke, blocking the closed door with one hand and grabbing the mage's wrist with the other. Her words made the old guard break out in a cold sweat.

"Detect evil."

However, to his relief, DuPont only emitted a faint white light.

"Hey, isn't this a provocation?" DuPont took out his staff and looked coldly at the young female guard who was staring at him: "We mages have never had a tradition of not hitting women."

"Your Excellency has misunderstood." The old guard tried to smooth things over, but at that moment a red glow emanated from the room, a light that made DuPont turn his head away.

It was that Tiftin who was lying in bed sleeping.

"No, old Martin, are you out of your mind? We Tieflin are half-human, half-demon, and some of our evil nature isn't normal, but which law in Harua says that those in the evil camp are prisoners? How can you prove someone did something wrong without evidence? Are you deliberately coming to my shop to cause trouble?"

Chaos erupted at the Enchantress's House at night, with the bewildered Tiflin girl being bailed out of her room. DuPont's reasoning was equally compelling: staying with an evil person was too dangerous, and nothing he said mattered—he got his money back.

After the detectives proved the maid had nothing to do with tonight's events, the two guards were thoroughly berated. The farce only ended after the culprit paid off the girl's loss with a gold coin.

"I'm going to file a complaint against you!" The landlady angrily waved her fist at the old guard.

She felt a little numb, but no matter how she looked at DuPont, she felt that he was a suspect, and he was the most suitable target she had encountered tonight.

Apart from not finding any accomplices.

“Alright, if you’re interested, let’s go to the next one.” The old guard patted Deva on the shoulder. “There are other hotels around here; the suspect might be there.”

"Probably." Deva was also a little discouraged and said in a low voice, "I usually feel that Whitestone City is not big, but now I find that it is actually quite big."

“That’s right, it would take time to explore the whole city on foot.” The old guard said, taking out his pocket watch. “Our patrol is over, it’s time for the next shift.”

"Let me go with you to hand over the work first, and then I'll investigate whether it's against the rules, okay?"

"Of course not, this is our duty." With that, the two went downstairs, handed the roster back to the landlady, and walked back to the guard post with lanterns. The person who was supposed to take over the shift was already on duty and joked, "I thought you were going to work a little longer. I should have known better than to get up early and wait for you to call me."

The old guard succinctly stated: "There has been a murder case; six professionals have died."

Upon hearing this, the other guard was startled: "Goddess above, which direction is it? I need to take cover."

Be careful at the Wild Boar Tavern, and if necessary, blow your whistle more often.

Upon hearing this, the incoming guard couldn't help but mutter, "It's the black market again. These people are truly lawless."

Deva was somewhat surprised when she heard this: "Black market?? Where is it? Is it the kind of black market for tax evasion?"

"It's nothing." The old guard glared at the man upon hearing this. Realizing his slip of the tongue, he whispered, "Rumor has it that it's some underground deal run by gangsters, but I don't know the specifics..."

The lie detector ring on Deva's finger, which was still active, lit up.

The guard's face froze, and he hurriedly looked at the older guard: "Uncle..."

"Get back to your post, what are you babbling about?" the old guard snapped. The two men scrambling to relieve him fled as if their lives depended on it, leaving only the two guards in the duty room.

“Uncle Martin,” Deva frowned, “the black market doesn’t have the habit of paying taxes to the council, does it? If this information is reported, there will be no problem with promotion or making a fortune. How could you know about it and not report it?”

"Promotion and wealth?" The old guard smiled, sat down in a chair and closed his eyes: "I'm already very old. I'll be retired in two more years. Do you know how difficult it is for a guard with only the strength of a level 3 soldier to live to 50? I'm the only one left among the guards who were trainees with me. There are very few who can retire due to injuries. Most of them have moved into the silver box in the ladies' cemetery."

"There are never a shortage of spies from gangs in the security detail, and some of these gangs even have surnames that people dare not mention. As long as they are still around, there's not much we can do. Maintaining the status quo and letting ordinary people live in peace is all we can do."

(End of this chapter)