Shadow's Hand-Chapter 19: Velgrave Lockdown

Shortly after compiling the mysteries and some other information, Damien exited out of the mansion.

He was soon greeted by the sunlight, and multiple uniformed officers patrolling the vicinity.

Upon his emergence, a male uniformed officer quickly stepped forward, saluted, and greeted. "Greetings, Investigator. According to your instruction earlier, Velgrave has been placed on lockdown, but there's been protesting by people since then."

"Protesting?" Surprised, Damien didn't anticipate some people would dare to protest against an order passed down by a TI.

Were they not afraid of the TI's presence?

"Who are the protesters and why are they doing so?" Damien questioned.

"The protesters were of noble status and they stated about their invitation to an event that would be held at Kodacrest."

'Kodacrest?' The city's name was familiar and it took a second for Damien before he recalled it being the deceased daughter's academy location.

"What kind of event was it?" Damien wanted to learn the correlation between the two cities. He refused to believe it was a coincidence.

Meanwhile, the male uniformed officer remained unaware of the circumstances and simply responded based on what he knew.

"According to the nobles, the event was a gathering for artistic value and it was essentially a scouting for potential youths. Kodacrest is the heart of the institution, so many nobles wished to have their offspring sent to it."

"They're scouting for youths now?" Damien raised an eyebrow. The conversation with Sheila and Jasmine previously clearly mentioned the academy was still in session.

"Ah, Investigator might not know this, but recently, there's been an influx of monsters causing turmoil on the public roads and wilderness. The academy decided to start early admission in hopes of training more talented individuals to confront them." The male uniformed officer explained.

This kind of information and event was naturally insignificant in the eyes of the Seventh. But it was an important event for people of low status and those with barely influence.

Being admitted to any of the five prestige academies located in Kodacrest was equivalent to having a step into the higher hierarchy.

Nodding, Damien appreciated the information and realized the murder here might just be the beginning. 'Even a fool could smell the heavy stench of conspiracy being in motion.'

"Tell them that the lockdown will be in place for as long as the culprit remains. If they wish to complain, then tell them to seek after me." Damien declared.

"Also, if they want the lockdown to be lifted, then inform them to reveal anything about famous paintings being sold." He added.

The male uniformed officer nodded as he received the order. He then proceeded to take out his communication device to relay the order.

"Is there anything else you need, Investigator?"

"You can stop blocking off the perimeter and only prevent unauthorized entry to the mansion."

Sometime later, the uniformed officers began to disperse, with only a few remaining on guard at the front and back door of the mansion.

Although some of them wondered if they had to accompany Damien, they breathed out a sigh of relief when he rejected the notion.

Naturally, their sense of relief was detected by Damien, but he kept silent on the matter.

It was better to be feared than loved according to a once famous quote. Being feared last longer and the chances of them trying to pull any trickery against them would be slim.

With no uniformed officers escorting him, Damien walked out of the premises and spotted Karl from afar.

Coachman Karl was dozing off on the mounted seat and seemed exhausted.

However, what caught his attention was the faint Diamond 3 card appearance.

'Hmm, did the impostor also interact with him?' Damien furrowed his brows. As he stepped forward and cleared his throat, he subsequently awakened the fatigued Karl.

Upon opening his eyes, Coachman Karl was startled by the sight of Damien.

"G-Greetings Sir!" Coachman Karl hurriedly got off his seat, bowed, and greeted with respect.

'He's still fine. Then doesn't that mean it's a real Seventh?' Karl exclaimed inwardly. He overheard the conversation earlier and knew that the two Ninth Orders had gone ahead to detain him.

Given that Damien was still unscathed, it made perfect sense that the two Ninth Orders messed up extremely bad. They could either be dead or detained. No matter the result, Karl was glad that he didn't offend Damien.

While Karl was relieved that he remained respectful, Damien raised a question.

"Coachman Karl, do you happen to know any underground tunnel road around the vicinity?"

"Underground tunnel road?"

Alarmed, Karl didn't anticipate a random question out of the blue.

Nevertheless, he racked his brain and answered, "There's no underground tunnel road, but there is the sewage system. Usually, the sewer area is unprotected because no one would willingly go under there."

A sewer was always filled with a foul smell and contained many things that no average human would wish to enter.

And Karl was quite clever in understanding the meaning behind Damien's question. By stating that it was unprotected, it meant that anyone could enter the sewer undetected.

"You're quite clever to be a mere Coachman." Damien complimented. He had to admit that Karl was quick on the uptake and didn't bother to waste any time.

"Thank you." Karl nodded and bit his lips.

Finally, he put up an awkward smile and suggested. "I can guide you to where the sewer is. Although I don't venture there, I know where the sewer leads to."

Without a doubt, Karl knew it was going to be requested soon.

Rather than waiting and making it seem like he was forced to do the task. He might as well take the initiative and offer to help. At the very least, assisting a TI had its merits.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Sure enough, Karl made his bet correctly.

"Good, if you can be the guide and draw a layout of the sewer, then I'll allow your carriage to be authorized to exit the city," Damien said.

With Velgrave on lockdown, Karl knew precisely what that reward meant. His carriage was permitted to leave, so any person who hired him would be allowed as well. Since that was the case, then the payment fee would equally be high.

"Thank you, Sir!" Karl made a 90-degree bow. His determination and motivation to accomplish the task soared to a new height.