Chapter 732
Inspector Vena and Viscount Konalei
As Alistair and her party approached the White Dove Opera House, they could tell something had happened. A large crowd had gathered at the entrance, reporters’ flashbulbs were constantly going off, and frightened citizens were being interviewed, gesticulating wildly. Meanwhile, police cars from the local precinct had already arrived.
The entire Leipzig, or rather, the entire political structure of Star Antinomy and Avalon, operated differently. Because there was no “Avalon’s Eye,” nor Griffins that could quickly travel to their destination… Most importantly, the Path of Authority was not very popular here. Naturally, there was no Inspection Bureau, an organization symbolizing the “surveillance of the authoritative.” The institution managing most public security cases in Star Antinomy was called the “Royal Security Police Department,” with the Minister of Internal Affairs as its highest leader. As for intelligence departments similar to the Inspection Department, responsible for handling espionage and counter-espionage, that was the “Secret Chamber.” It was essentially the Star Antinomy Army’s First Special Operations Unit, whose highest leader was the Minister of the Army.
Although both were institutions directly responsible to the royal family, they were not actually working together. The “Secret Chamber” was called the “Secret Chamber” precisely because all its actions and measures were not disclosed to the public. For large public cases like the one currently sparking widespread discussion, people from the “Secret Chamber” could hardly intervene – at most, they could only get involved during the interrogation phase. Otherwise, it would be considered overstepping.
It was precisely because of this… that despite the many people present, not a single one could recognize “Alistair,” whose “true identity” they had created brick by brick.
The terrifying steel monster parked at the entrance of the opera house caught Alistair’s attention. It was a square, bulky, and heavy behemoth, resembling an iron house blocking the road. But Alistair was sure it wasn’t there when she left. It stood over three meters tall, like a barricade, blocking more than half the road and casting a terrifying shadow in the middle. It had a turret gun, two machine guns on each side, and a ritual platform to amplify ritual effects – its essence was a staff built directly into the structure of a building. Since portability was not a concern, materials could be easily stacked.
Intricate ritual patterns were carved all over the vehicle… Alistair’s knowledge of Ritual Studies allowed her to easily identify them as powerful defensive magic circles used to resist curses and interfere with aiming, specifically designed to counter methods that “bypassed defenses to attack personnel directly.” Upon activation, it could also raise a shield to strongly reinforce the barrier itself… It was a genuine steel fortress.
Since Alistair didn’t know its power source or driving mode, she didn’t know how it operated. But judging by its weaponry, a full complement would require at least sixteen people. Its exterior was covered with a thick layer of black steel armor – a true “monster.”
“Whoa, it’s so cool!” Alistair stared at it, her eyes shining. If this thing were placed at an intersection, its firepower could suppress all four directions! The blessings applied to the magic circles should be able to imbue the fired bullets – this was clearly a more cost-effective method than directly attacking enemies with spells. Alistair even began to imagine how cool the barrage of enchanted bullets would be if this thing fired at full power.
Xiardo, having just turned back to speak, noticed Alistair’s shining eyes and focused gaze. He followed Alistair’s gaze and suddenly understood. “What are you looking at… Oh, that. That’s the ‘Cordon’ from the Sixth Directorate.”
“Sixth Directorate? Cordon?” Alistair heard unfamiliar terms after a long time: “I know about the Fifth and Seventh Directorates…”
The number of balance was five, the number of adaptation was six, and the number of authority was seven. Therefore, the Fifth Directorate of the Star Antinomy Police Department referred to the Dangerous Alchemy Incident Countermeasure Team – primarily responsible for handling major crises involving the power of the Path of Balance, such as alchemy, chemistry, and explosives. Everyone in it was a highly skilled Alchemist. The Seventh Directorate, on the other hand, was the police department’s highest combat force, symbolizing the protection of power. It was a unit composed of Extraordinary beings of the Fifth Tier and elite Extraordinary beings with a combined combat power equivalent to the Fifth Tier, mainly responsible for confronting top-tier powerhouses and the greatest crises within the territory – in short, they were all deployed for these Dungeons, even having a large-scale Dungeon designated for them.
“Because the Sixth Directorate is mainly responsible for covert operations and influence control, such as… suppressing rebellions,” Prince Xiardo replied simply. Hearing this, Alistair understood: “I thought those dirty jobs were handled by the ‘Secret Chamber’.”
“In principle, yes, but the Secret Chamber is not part of the police department, so command, deployment, and leaks are issues. It’s normal for them to have their own people…” Prince Xiardo narrowed his eyes slightly: “However, the ‘Secret Chamber’ directly recruits from the military. After the police department has assigned personnel to the Seventh Directorate, there aren’t many left for the Sixth Directorate. Therefore, the Sixth Directorate mainly compensates for combat power by using advanced technologies that are still in the experimental stages. As users, they also provide timely and crucial ‘user feedback.’ The ‘Cordon’ is a relatively high-level security fortress, designed to control several streets for extended periods. Higher than it are only ‘Silence’ and ‘Pacifist.’ Neither of the latter two is suitable for direct deployment on the streets.”
“…Is it okay for you to tell me all this?” Alistair was somewhat surprised. Although she had used “Charm Aura” on the car earlier to enhance the persuasiveness of her words, Prince Xiardo wouldn’t be so easily manipulated, would he?
“You’ll know sooner or later,” Prince Xiardo shook his head. “Because the ‘Advanced Researchers’ who cooperate with the Sixth Directorate are all in Leipzig. If this incident is investigated, it’s highly likely to involve them.”
Alistair’s gaze towards the “Cordon” shone brightly, and she didn’t even turn back to look at him. Xiardo was silent for a moment before adding, “If you really like it, perhaps I can give you one after this is over.”
“Really?” Alistair turned back, her face full of surprise and a hint of reluctance. “But if it’s just ‘perhaps’…” Wouldn’t that just be an empty promise? Her eyes revealed clear distrust. This feeling pricked Xiardo’s proud self-esteem – he could not tolerate being suspected of being a liar who didn’t keep his word. He had said “perhaps” earlier because he felt he might not be able to negotiate it, so he didn’t want to speak too confidently and worried that his promise might not be kept. Now, he said without hesitation: “No ‘perhaps’ – I’ll give it to you. I’ve decided.”
“Really?”
“Of course,” Xiardo replied calmly, his expression unchanged. “This thing just looks good… The doctor who developed this fortress is my friend, and also like an elder brother to me. I can take you to see him later – but for now, help me resolve this matter first. Let’s get out of the car, Miss Alistair.”
Alistair’s expression immediately changed, and a triumphant smile appeared on her face. She briskly pulled the dark-haired girl, who seemed a bit carsick, out of the car, smiling and saying softly, “Thank you, then.”
…What a cunning woman. She’s as sly as a fox. Xiardo frowned deeply, realizing he might have been provoked. But it wasn’t a big deal. After all, in his thirty years of life, he had been deceived by all sorts of men, women, old people, and children more than once or twice. As long as he didn’t care about what he was deceived out of, it meant he wasn’t deceived at all. Moreover… Miss Alistair had indeed taught him many lessons and was planning to help him solve the current troublesome problem. This couldn’t be considered being deceived; it was just a negotiation of compensation. Compared to the swindlers of the past, she was quite reasonable. Thinking so, Xiardo’s mood quickly calmed down.
He strode quickly to his only acquaintance and asked, “Mr. Vena, what happened here?” A tall, strong half-elf police officer, wearing a black uniform and slightly hunched over, turned around at the sound. Seeing Prince Xiardo, he immediately stood at attention and saluted him respectfully, saying in a low voice, “Your Highness, greetings!”
“Shh… Keep your voice down.” Xiardo raised his hand in front of him, signaling him to lower his voice. Then, putting his arm around his shoulder, he led him closer to the “Cordon” and disappeared into its shadow. It was clear that even if someone overheard their conversation, they wouldn’t dare approach the cold and murderous behemoth to eavesdrop. Alistair, pulling Selene, also approached with a smile.
The half-elf police officer called “Vena,” about to say something, saw Alistair. His expression immediately tensed, and he swallowed his words. Prince Xiardo noticed his reaction and introduced them in a low voice: “This is Inspector Vena, my friend at the police department, and he should be in charge of this case. This is Miss Alistair… also my friend. She can stay here to listen, or she can provide us with assistance.”
“Oh, nice to meet you, Miss Alistair.” Hearing this, Vena did not inquire why Alistair was here or ask for her full name and origin. Instead, he respectfully extended both hands to shake Alistair’s outstretched right hand, holding only her fingertips. While shaking hands, he bowed slightly to Alistair, never looking directly at Alistair’s face or body, but always staring at the ground, appearing quite solemn. Alistair simply smiled and nodded, her hoarse voice saying softly, “Nice to meet you, Inspector Vena… Perhaps we will meet again.”
“Call me anytime if you need anything—” Saying this, Inspector Vena immediately took a business card from his chest and handed it to Alistair with both hands, emphasizing, “My private number.”
…Has Star Antinomy adopted private phone lines already? Alistair raised an eyebrow at this, keenly noticing the black brick-like phone resembling a “brick phone” at Inspector Vena’s waist, and immediately realized the technological gap between Avalon and Star Antinomy. She looked down at the business card. Vena Griffin Delain von Heuberg, Third Class Inspector, Ph.D. in Psychology from Helsing University. Below were three phone numbers, one private and two office lines.
…What rank is Third Class Inspector again? Alistair thought indifferently. —But it doesn’t matter, it’s not as high as Eivass anyway. She smiled politely and solemnly accepted the business card. Then she proactively asked, “What happened at the opera house?”
“…Well.” Inspector Vena hesitated for a moment, organizing his thoughts. “There was a homicide inside, with extremely serious implications.”
“A normal homicide wouldn’t warrant your personal appearance, would it?” Prince Xiardo directly asked, “Is it related to the case a few days ago?” What he wanted to ask was whether this case was the “Rage Trip” from today.
“…Most likely.” Inspector Vena nodded, speaking very cautiously. “But the specific situation still needs to be investigated…”
“—Who is the murderer? And who are the victims?” Alistair asked.
“As for the murderer… it’s Viscount Konalei,” Inspector Vena said, taking out a notebook from his chest and reading. “He’s a regular patron of the White Dove Opera House, so it’s impossible he would kill someone out of excessive agitation. There are four victims, all ‘VIP Service Staff’ of the opera house. Three are female, and one is male. One of them is underage, and all of them are under thirty years old. Since everyone in the room is dead, there are no witnesses from the scene.”
“Are there no surveillance cameras?” Alistair asked. Although she didn’t know if Star Antinomy had developed surveillance technology yet… she felt they probably had. As expected, Inspector Vena showed no reaction to the term.
“Certainly not,” he replied without hesitation. “The White Dove Opera House wouldn’t dare install surveillance cameras in the VIP rooms – they aren’t that bold. All the surveillance cameras are only aimed at the first-floor audience seats, with no angle that can see what’s happening on the second floor. The incident was discovered because Viscount Konalei, after killing everyone, voluntarily turned on the knob to display everything in his room to the public. The bodies were torn into at least thirty pieces, and the entire room was completely soaked in blood. Otherwise, if he had left quietly, these people… according to the rules of the White Dove Opera House, their deaths would not actually be reported. After all, they had effectively sold their human rights to the opera house, and the opera house had the right to ‘process’ and ‘resell’ them…”
“How would they account for that?” Alistair asked.
Inspector Vena nodded. “You’re asking if Viscount Konalei is pretending to be insane to commit murder, right? I don’t think so. Therefore, if Viscount Konalei were rational, he would only pay a sum of money, and the matter would be settled. Those who were killed by him would be listed as ‘resold to other organizations.’ In fact, their bodies would indeed be resold to the ‘Academy’ or the ‘Spirit Tower’… After all, the price of corpses is quite high now, even close to that of living people.”
“Then what about Viscount Konalei? Has he been arrested? Or shot?” Prince Xiardo asked. Inspector Vena looked troubled. “As you know, he is a Viscount…”
“So?”
“He went home to clean himself first, and we can only interrogate the remaining guests – this was decided with the guarantee of other VIPs and the manager.” Inspector Vena replied with some reluctance in a low voice. “Perhaps… you could also participate in the interrogation?”
(End of this chapter)
