The Devil’s Cage

Kieran believed that there were things that he foresee, and so did John.

John might knew better than him too.

After all, Kieran had just arrived at this place, and he was just a detective, while John was a native. He was of a higher status and held a more important position among the citizens.

Natives. That’s what Lawless had said that the other veterans had nicknamed the NPCs of the game.

Apparently, it was because of the realism of the characters.

Kieran was fine with that nickname. Although he was not quite used to it, but he believed that the realism would eventually grow on him.

”What should I do?” John redirected the question at Kieran, but Kieran did not need an answer anymore.

John had been hiding his rage under that rugged look of his, but he was done doing that.

Although the Chief Officer had kept silent before, that still did not mean that he was going to back down.

He still had a sense of justice, and he would never allow such things to happen.

”Those damn maggots! I’ll teach them to obey the law!” John said through clenched teeth.

To other people, John’s words might have seemed funny, but to Kieran, this was not a laughing matter.

John was very serious, both in his tone and attitude.

”Need any help?” Kieran offered his aid.

It just came out naturally, mostly because he knew that it would mean another Sub Mission. There might also be trivial stuffs within the Sub Mission, but Kieran decided to ignore the small problems.

At Kieran’s words, John raised his head and looked at him with a startled expression.

He looked at him for about two seconds before he burst into laughter. An honest smile formed on his rough face. It somehow still looked vicious, though.

”Thanks, but it’s not the right time yet. I need to call the others in. You and me alone could not pulls this off by ourselves.”

John headed outside. Before he stepped out of his office, he halted and turned around. Looking at Kieran, he said, ”Don’t worry, I still haven’t forgotten about Altilly Hunter. After all, you are one of my best allies!”

Then he left without looking back.

Kieran looked at the space where he had been standing blankly. He was not used to his friends messing around with him.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say that he was not used to having any friends.

For someone like him, who was always struggling to survive, a friend was a luxury that he could not afford.

Maintaining friendships required time and money, both things that Kieran lacked.

”Seems like this Sub Mission has already exceeded the first-time difficulty level of the dungeon!” he thought to himself.

He didn’t have any proof. He was basing his theory on Shuberg’s power.

Normally, a first timer would not even have had the chance to turn that situation around.

Even if they had managed to blow up the building like Kieran had, they might still have blasted themselves to pieces.

”Another tough Sub Mission...”

As Kieran sat in the Chief’s chair, the corner of his mouth lifted.

He was not afraid of the difficulty of the mission. He was more worried that the missions would not be enough.

Of course, he had thought about it before, but trying anything else would bear a certain amount of risk. With his life at stake, what choice did he have?

The answer was self-explanatory. He had none. That was why he was willing to take the gamble.

It was not really his style to take such risks.

”Seems like I don’t have much of a choice,” Kieran mumbled before he stretched his body. As the pain caught up with him, he could not help but clench his teeth.

If he had to chose between a chair and a bed, he would definitely go for the latter.

His back would hurt if he spent the night on a chair.

...

The bright dawn broke the silent darkness of the night.

The people on the streets started their daily routines, the city instantly filling with life and noise.

The newspaper boy was going through the pedestrians one after the other.

”Extra! Extra! The great detective Kieran solved the dead woman’s case!”

”Extra! Extra! The great detective apprehended the local underground gang!”

...

The loud, clear voice of the newspaper boy could be heard from afar, attracting people’s attention.

After the explosion the previous night, one would have to be dead not to notice that something was going on.

The explosion had been too dangerous for common civilians, so they had not dared step outside their doors to inspect the situation.

However, that only made them more curious.

People who usually did not read the news bought the newspaper to read what was going on. There were a lot of people willing to pay for a newspaper.

Every paper boy was surrounded by customers. While normally it would have taken them a half a day to sell out, now it only took them half an hour.

The paper boys were ecstatic, and so were the people who had finally satisfied their curiosity.

The businessmen had had to print more copies of the newspaper, so they were pretty happy themselves.

Almost everyone had read the newspaper headline that took up almost half the front page. On it there was a picture of Kieran with his deerstalker, smoking his pipe.

Kieran was the only one who was not happy with his achievements.

When he woke up in his soft bed, it was already afternoon.

After changing into his clothes and taking everything that he needed, he headed to a restaurant not far from his house.

Although he was living on the second floor, there was no Mrs. Hudson on the first floor to prepare breakfast for him.

When he entered the restaurant, he noticed something weird.

Everyone’s eyes were locked on him.

There was curiosity, contempt and jealousy in their stares.

He sat down, ordered food and ate it, all the while feeling like he was surrounded by hundreds of swords.

The situation got even worse as more people joined the crowd staring at him.

The chatter of the crowd let Kieran know what the commotion was about.

When he saw two women walk towards him with two pairs of passionate eyes, he packed his breakfast without a second thought and left the restaurant in a rush.

Shaking off those women would not be hard for Kieran, as long as their number did not increase. If there were a dozen or twenty such women staring at him, even his Master Level [Undercover] skill would not allow him to get away safely.

In the end, Kieran had no choice but to head towards the St. Paolo School to get away from them. The school had been his original destination, anyway.

Kieran had to ask the help of the outpost policemen and the School Security Force to get rid of the fanatic ladies.

”Attention seeker!” Reed showed clear contempt at Kieran’s behaviour.

However, he did not stop him from entering the school.

It seemed like he had received orders to allow him to pass through.

Still, that did not change Reed’s opinion of him.

Kieran did not mind. After all, it was a small price to pay for peace.

”Sister Mony is praying right now, and she will be busy with schoolwork afterwards. She will have time for you in the afternoon,” Reed told Kieran.

”May I see Sir Guntherson instead, then?” Kieran asked.

The captain did not reply. He just brought Kieran to Guntherson’s cabin and left him there.

”I’ll be watching you!” Reed warned Kieran before he left.

Kieran could do nothing but smile back awkwardly.

After Reed left, Guntherson came out of the wooden cabin. Just like the previous day, he was wearing gunny sack clothes, and his feet and arms were bare.

”Morning!” Kieran greeted Guntherson.

”Any clues yet?” Guntherson asked in a clear voice.

”Not yet. I was planning on doing some investigating, but I was caught up in a sticky situation. I had to come here to escape it!” Kieran shook his head with a bitter laugh. He looked embarrassed as he told Guntherson how he had arrived at the school.

Guntherson replied with a loud laugh. ”A man should not avoid such a situation, but embrace it instead! It’s kind of a reward!” Guntherson said.

”Don’t you think that such words sound awkward coming from a Knight?” Kieran asked.

”How do you know that I didn’t become a Knight to become more popular?” Guntherson’s reply left Kieran speechless.

”I think we should talk about the investigation instead. The one I am supposed to be doing now?” Kieran switched back to their original topic.

”I’m all ears!” Guntherson became serious as well.

”When I left the school yesterday, I was followed. I couldn’t tell who my stalker was, but I’m quite sure that it was one of those scoundrels. They are monitoring St. Paolo’s closely. They’re watching anyone who enters the school,” Kieran described the situation briefly.

”You should have exposed that bastard! With your skills, it should not have been that hard!” Gutherson expressed pity at the missed opportunity.

”Well, I guess. Provided that no one else had interfered...”

Kieran told him about the street assassination the previous day in an embarrassed tone.

The story seemed to excite the last Knight of the Church of Dawn even more.

”You are one unlucky young man! If you had grown up in my generation, you would have been famous!” he said.

”Yeah, by the title ”The Unlucky Bastard”? Kieran said, curling his lips.

Guntherson laughed. ”Yes, yes, you’re right about that! It would have showed everyone what a ”great” detective you are, smartass!” Guntherson laughed again. He looked more entertained than ever as he clapped his knees, laughing at Kieran’s bad fortune.

”I think such mockery is shameful for a Knight!” Kieran reminded him.

”It would be if Knights were still recognized by people! Now I’m just the night guard of St. Paolo School!”

Guntherson seemed to have no intention of holding back his laughter. Instead, he laughed even louder.

It made Kieran realize how rotten he was.

It seemed that he did not mind drawing pleasure from other people’s pain.

Kieran was sure that whoever had vouched for Guntherson to become a Guardian Knight must have been blind.

”I really think we should get back to the topic at hand, which is the investigation!” Kieran reminded Guntherson once more.

When it came to such a serious matter, Guntherson managed to maintain some integrity. He stopped fooling around and held back his laughter. ”Go on!” he said in a serious tone.

”I was planning on luring them out,” Kieran stated his plan.

Guntherson frowned. ”But your plan was messed up. You can’t carry it out anymore.”

”Quite the contrary, actually. My plan is even easier to execute now, because they will definitely read the headlines today!” Kieran could not help but smile.