They all call me Great Master

The voice was crisp and pleasing to the ear.

But it made Pendragon, who was yawning, freeze in his tracks.

The Orange Cat slowly closed its mouth, trying to look indifferent as it glanced in the direction of the sound. Four young people—three men and a woman—were approaching from the direction of Mount Gale Town. The two young men carried bows and hunting knives, and the woman was carrying a basket. The exclamation that had sprung up came from one of the women.

She was dressed in simple cloth, adorned with no jewelry, yet her face lacked any signs of tiredness or hunger. Clearly, she came from a wealthy farming family, possibly with some property to its name.

The three young men by her side had a similar air.

'Picking wild fruit and hunting in their spare time to supplement their family income?'

Arthur speculated about the group of four before him.

The woman who had spoken obviously felt embarrassed, her face turning red. She began bowing to Arthur repeatedly and, when Arthur waved his hand, she quickly left with her companions—

"Norma, don't be so presumptuous next time."

"Right, we're lucky that gentleman didn't take offense."

"Besides, that cat was clearly adorable. How could you call it fat? If anything, you should say it's plump!"

The voices of the four young people faded as they walked away, but their words reached Arthur's ears.

The young 'Spirit Medium' confirmed that his own Orange Cat had heard as well, and immediately lifted his hand, allowing the 'Hand of Void' to pick up the Orange Cat from the top of the wagon.

Then—

"Haha!

It really has gained quite a bit of weight!

Pan, you need to go on a diet!"

The young 'Spirit Medium' laughed heartily.

Any notion of 'if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all' was completely absent!

To ensure that the Orange Cat grew up quickly, a bit of prodding was necessary.

Of course, with speed, there could be no happiness. Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire

There's no such thing as having the best of both worlds, right?

Upset?

Arthur pulled out a strip of jerky and, after tearing it in half, stuffed one piece into his own mouth and the other into Pendragon's.

The Orange Cat, visibly upset just moments ago, immediately began to purr with joy.

It was just too easy!

Arthur reveled in the pleasure of a small skirmish with his pet, enjoying the upper hand.

And the feelings of joy lasted until two hours later—

Simon and Hunter arrived together on one mount, with Newt following behind; the three of them had returned.

Simon had a grave expression on his face.

Hunter and Newt looked terrified.

It was clear that they brought back troubling news.

In fact, that was the case—

"Advisor, before we arrived, 'Yumir Manor' had already been visited by three 'Spirit Mediums', who were also invited by the owner of 'Yumir Manor'.

And then, two days ago, almost on the same day, all three 'Spirit Mediums' died.

It was as if there really was a curse!

One died from breaking his neck falling down the stairs.

Another choked on a pie while having a midnight snack in the kitchen, and suffocated to death.

The last one was the most ridiculous, you know?

He drowned while bathing!

Drowned right in the bathtub!"

Hunter said this with increasing horror on his face.

Clearly, the officer was scared.

Meanwhile, Newt began to add more details.

"Ever since that distant nephew of the Yumirs died, the entire manor seemed to be under a curse. First the distant nephew died, and then every year people would disappear near the Mount Gale Region, both locals and visitors to the South Los Territory, especially three years ago on a foggy night. Since the inn in town was full, a caravan of twenty merchants had to camp outside the town, but the next day, it was discovered that the entire merchant group had vanished, leaving behind only their scattered goods outside the town."

Upon hearing this, something stirred in Arthur's mind.

"Who ended up with the goods in the end?"

The young 'Spirit Medium' asked.

"Of course, that was the Police Chief—the goods and horses were all sold by the Chief, with most of the money lining his own pockets, and the rest used to cover up the news.

Most of the people in the town are aware of this, but there aren't many who dare to talk about it.

I was drinking with the innkeeper and got him drunk before I managed to find out about it," Newt quickly replied.

Arthur nodded slightly in response.

For the Police Chief of Mount Gale Town to act in such a way, the young 'Spirit Medium' was not surprised, and even thought that the chief might have been tempted by the sight of riches and decided to commit murder and robbery.

There should be no doubt about whether the other party had the guts to do such a thing.

In South Los, and indeed most of the police chiefs in South County would dare to do this.

In fact, some police chiefs were originally doing this very thing.

Take, for example…

James!

Thinking about the actions of the Police Chief of Dort District, it seemed normal for the Police Chief of Mount Gale Town to do something out of line.

No!

To be serious, for these police chiefs, it's not out of line at all, but part of their duties.

Therefore, a chief like Malz who only had some 'minor faults' was actually a rare breed.

At least Malz wouldn't engage in violent robberies or murders.

As for greed?

Malz would at least take the money and do the job.

To everyone, that made him a 'model police chief'.

"To the police station!"

Arthur boarded the carriage.

There was something he urgently needed to verify.

Three 'Spirit Mediums' had died.

But their belongings would certainly be left behind.

If the three 'Spirit Mediums' were fake, it would not matter much.

But if the three were real, then their belongings might contain Arcane Artifacts, which would be an unexpected windfall.

Arthur would certainly not refuse such an unexpected windfall.

Clatter! Clatter!

The carriage specially used by South Los Police Station, along with Simon who had changed into his uniform, had just entered Mount Gale Town, capturing the attention of everyone.

A patrol officer from Mount Gale Town saw them and immediately turned and ran.

By the time the carriage carrying Arthur stopped at the entrance of the police station, the Police Chief of Mount Gale Town was already standing at the entrance of the police station with two officers and twelve patrolmen.

Unlike South Los.

The Police Chief of Mount Gale Town was only equivalent to a second-level police officer, and that was because of the proximity to Mount Gale Barracks; otherwise, a Third-Class Officer would have been sufficient.

Beyond that, there were two fourth-level police officers.

As for the patrolmen, twelve were the normal number.

Even that was a bit low.

According to the size of Mount Gale Town, there should be 4-6 additional patrolmen.

Of course, Arthur could guarantee that in the police station's records, the personnel of Mount Gale Town Police Station would be at full capacity—the vacancies?

They were at home resting due to illness or injury.

If one wished to see them, they could be seen immediately.

And sometimes, they might indeed be injured.

Smack!

"Westbron has seen your Excellency!"

As soon as the carriage door opened, the corpulent Westbron, along with all present, saluted Arthur. As Arthur disembarked, this portly police chief took a step forward as if to offer his assistance, and at the same time, two large denomination gold notes slipped from his palm into Arthur's pocket.

The movement was swift and light.

It was hard to believe it came from a police chief who wheezed even when walking.

In response, Arthur smiled and then asked directly.

"Where are the bodies and belongings of those three Spirit Mediums?"

The police chief led the way, speaking respectfully as he did so.

But before the police chief had said anything, a strange knocking sound came from inside the police station—

Thud! Thud!

Each knock was unusually heavy.

Each knock exerted full force.

The faces of the officers and patrolmen beside turned suddenly pale.

Because they recognized where the odd noise was coming from.

It was…

The morgue.