Chapter 32: Clue

Knight Training Academy, Entrance Gate.

At that moment, two muscular gatekeepers stood at the entrance gate and glanced at each other occasionally.

One guy had a bald head with a scar on his left cheek, while the other was a brown-haired man with a Zappa mustache.

“Damn it, Lian! If those kids’ parents come back searching for them or register any complaint at the police station, we are screwed! If I lost this job just after getting it, my wife might put poison in my food. She is already mad at me for quitting the previous bartender job.” The bald guy said in an anxious tone.

“Don’t worry too much, Conrad. And you should remember that the reason we became the gatekeeper is actually to help the ‘Vipers’ to distribute ‘Miraclo’ among the students. As long as we do this without others finding out, our side salary would be ten times higher than the main one. And we are not even involved in this work but only turn a blind eye to the suppliers.” The other brown-haired guy named Lian responded calmly.

“You still don’t get it. What if something happens to those two kids?”

“I don’t think that young master Scott will do something dangerous like killing those kids. If I’m not wrong, he will beat them for a while to vent out his anger and send them home. I heard the short kid called ‘Dante’ has been his toy for more than 6 months already. Even after his parents complained at the academy head office, the headmaster didn’t even take that complaint seriously.”

“Seriously?” Conrad couldn’t believe it.

“Well, that kid’s background is too small. From what I heard, he is the son of a dress shop owner and doesn’t even have any background. That’s why teachers and even the Headmaster didn’t take this matter seriously.”

“What about the other kid?” Conrad asked.

“I don’t know. It’s only been a month since we got this job, so I only did some background checks on a few high-class students. Well, he must be from a low background too. On the other hand, the Millers family is one of the four wealthy families in the whole town and almost has an equal status as a fallen noble family. So, don’t worry too much.” Lian said while waving his hand.

But the worry in Conrad’s heart grew more.

“Even if the back alley thugs are backing the Millers Family, aren’t they too daring? What if this deal got exposed?”

“Don’t poke your nose in these types of matters. Do you think the Millers family dared to supply ‘Miraclo’ to students without any backers from inside? And don’t forget that the one behind Miller Family is the ‘Vipers.’” Just as Lian talked, he suddenly saw a black hackney carriage drive through the lone street and soon arrive in front of the Knight Training Academy gate.

A second later, a young lady in a green dress jumped from the driver seat and started walking towards Conrad.

‘Police?’ A startled look appeared on Conrad’s face.

“Don’t panic. They must be doing some patrol.” Lian whispered as he saw the change in Conrad’s expression.

At the same time, Shirley also walked out of the carriage house and followed Athena.

Within a few seconds, both arrived before a bald guy and gave him a deep look.

“May I ask a few questions, Mister? I’m Athena, Superintendent of Police.” Athena spoke as she took out a star-shaped iron badge with some unique numbers engraved and showed it to him.

As soon as Conrad saw the badge, his whole body stiffened.

He was a bartender in a famous bar and also worked as an informant for the Blue Pearl gang. So, he was well aware of all the police badges and instantly realized it was a real badge.

Alas, he didn’t show it on his face and quietly responded with a nod.

“May I know what you want to ask my partner, Lady Athena?” Lian didn’t expect a high-ranking police officer to appear out of the blue and asked cautiously.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Oh, it’s nothing much. For how long have you been working as gatekeepers? Your face seems new. What happened to Cedric and Axel?” Athena didn’t even look at Lian and asked.

“T-They quit their job, ma’am. We both started working as gatekeepers from the last month.” Conrad answered truthfully.

‘Cedric and Axel quit? It’s acceptable if Cedric quit his job, but that old man Axel did? He always talks about this security job being a blessing for his family and even expecting a salary rise.’ Athena raised her eyebrows and stared at Conrad quietly.

“W-What brings you here, ma’am?” Lian showed a humbled look and asked.

“I’m here to look for a boy named Raven. He is a third-year student of this academy and always a quiet type. He has deep-blue eyes, and black hair, and is around 13 years old. Did you guys see anyone?” As soon as she spoke, Conrad’s mind went blank.

“N-No, ma’am. Most of the students left the academy at 5.30 P.M itself. And we already checked all classrooms, so there is no one in the academy right now.” Lian spoke while showing a nervous look.

Athena suddenly turned her gaze towards Lian, unsheathed her long sword in a blink, and placed the tip at his throat.

“Hmm, did I ask you to speak?”

It happened in a blink of an eye, causing Lian to step back in fear.

‘No good! I couldn’t follow her hand movement at all! She must be an Elite Rank Walker!’

Only then did Conrad snap out of the shock and respond stiffly.

“W-We didn’t see anyone like that, ma’am.”

“Really? Is there any incident or fight break out between kids? Even if it’s a small quarrel, please tell us about it.” Athena asked.

“Nothing like that happened, ma’am.” Conrad instantly shook his head.

At that moment, Shirley walked towards the compound gate, opened it after unlocking it, and stepped into it.

As Athena asked more questions, Shirley searched the surroundings, soon arrived where Raven confronted Scott, and suddenly squatted down.

A few seconds later, Shirley found a ripped blue cloth and a white shirt button.

“Athena. Come here.” Shirley said in a cold voice.

Athena stopped asking Conrad more questions and hurriedly entered the compound gate.

Before long, she arrived beside Shirley and looked at the ripped cloth in her hand.

“School uniform? Why is it ripped? Did the kids fight each other?” Athena couldn’t hide her curiosity.

“School uniforms are made from East Cotton, and also one of the most durable fabrics. If I’m not wrong, even a strong adult human finds it hard to tear such a dress. And from the looks of it, the shirt tore down from the attack.”

“The kids used mana to fight?” It was forbidden to use mana or any attack skills within the Academy without an instructor's approval.

“I’m not surprised by that. After all, kids break the rules all the time. But there seems to be a different story in this case.” Shirley stood up and turned her gaze towards the gatekeeper duo.

“You said no fight happened between the kids. But why is there a ripped shirt at the entrance?” As she spoke, she unsheathed her sword and started walking to Conrad.

Meanwhile, Conrad and Lian also realized their current situation and gripped their spears.

“Oh... Look at that! It seems you guys know something.” Athena coldly looked at them and suddenly took a step forward.

A second later, her form turned illusionary and disappeared from there.

Before Conrad and Lian could understand the situation, Athena appeared before Lian and placed her sword at his throat.

‘H-How?’ Shock appeared on Lian’s face as he felt a sharp pain in the throat region. He didn’t even have the time to move his spear and block her sword.

‘T-This speed! I feel her strength might even higher rank!’

Conrad also seemed to have realized her true strength and felt fear for the first time.

‘Wait a minute... There are only a handful of police officers who are as powerful as Elite Walkers in this town. And she looks a lot younger, too.’ Suddenly, a certain person’s name appeared in his mind.

"A-Athena, the Hero of Darkcross!” His voice quivered.

“W-What?!” Lian went pale and staggered while dropping his spear.

Upon noticing his partner had already lost his will to fight, Conrad also dropped his spear and raised his hands in surrender.

“W-We have no intention of fighting you, My Lady! I’ll answer your all questions.” Conrad said anxiously.

“Kneel!” Athena only spoke one word and made Lian kneel forcefully.

Conrad didn’t even show any resistance and knelt on his own.

“Tell me what happened here,” Athena asked.

Lian didn’t even dare to look up as he realized how terrifying the opponent was and started talking in a trembling voice.

But as he continued speaking, Athena’s eyes turned bloodshot. Without Shirley stopping her, she might have chopped off Lian’s head!

“Millers Family! If anything happens to my brother, I’ll erase not only the Millers but also all the thugs in the alleys and slums.” Athena said in a chilling tone.

Meanwhile, Shirley was deeply shocked by the news.

“You guys dare to bring ‘Miraclo’ into Knight Training Academy and spoil the kids’ future? Haa, I didn’t expect that even the academic professors are corrupt to this level and even involved in drugs.” But she soon shook her head and added.

“Let’s go to the Millers Family and rescue our child first. Although those guys won’t do anything reckless to academy students, it’s better to hurry.” Saying so, she fastened her footsteps towards the carriage and entered.

Athena also didn’t say anything and followed her.

Before long, Athena hopped on the driver’s seat and started driving the carriage.

As the black carriage disappeared into the night, Conrad finally managed to take a deep breath and looked up.

“We are f*cked!”

Lian also managed to calm down the trembling hands and finally spoke.

“I-I thought I was going to die for sure. It’s better to escape this town while they are focusing on the Miller family.”

Conrad and Lian glanced at each other and hurriedly stood up.

After that, they looked at the surroundings and soon ran toward the town’s square.