Valentine was waiting patiently for the mayor to 'finish' with his business inside the room. Without being able to hear anything, he could only try to estimate when the man would come out. To fight off boredom, he was busy observing the two bodyguards standing by the door to get as many details as he could. It would be even better if he could spot any weapons they were carrying or, perhaps, enhanced equipment that they were wearing.

The man on the left, who was called Danny, was the taller of the two. His body was also bigger and looked more muscular. Valentine couldn't see Danny's face clearly, so he couldn't judge what kind of man he was based on the expression he wore.

Lucas was shorter than Danny and his body was a bit leaner. He looked like the better candidate for stealth missions between the two. Judging from the postures of the two men there, it was apparent that they were disciplined, so dealing with them would be tricky.

Click!

The sound of the door being unlocked was heard and a man came out not long after that. It was the same man that Valentine had seen before through Graham's divination, the mayor of Hoorn. In person, the man looked more mayor-like than the one in divination, probably because he was fully dressed and not busy thrusting his rod into someone else.

The mayor of Hoorn was a tall man, perhaps about 180 cm in height-- almost as tall as Danny the bodyguard, and his body wasn't out of shape. He was a little bit chubby, but he was in no way fat. The man was probably still early in his fifties and the expression on his face showed the face of someone who shouldn't be messed with. His naturally gray hair was covered by a top hat that matched the white suit that he was wearing. In his left hand was a cane while his right hand was holding a kind of book.

"Let's go," said the mayor domineeringly.

The door was still unlocked and Valentine was wondering if he could interrogate the woman the mayor just had sex with. Besides, after seeing the mayor himself with his two bodyguards, Valentine didn't think he would have any chance to put him under Interrogation without fighting his way through. The book that the man was carrying was also making him feel uneasy for some reason.

Once the three men were out of his sight, Valentine sneakily entered the room where the mayor had just been in. There was a woman inside who noticed that the door opened on its own and became suspicious instantly. However, before she could do anything, Valentine had dashed towards her and placed her under his control.

"I hereby put you under interrogation!"

The woman's expression became blank and her eyes were staring emptily into the distance. Her hands fell to her sides and the robe that she had been trying to button came undone.

"I hereby declare the sounds I make no longer a secret!" said Valentine as he locked the door from inside. It was just a safety measure in case the mayor came back. He also checked the walls if there were any peeping holes.

The room was secure enough and there was evidence that no one else was there except Valentine and the woman with long, curly hair whose body was half exposed and make-up on the face was messy. He focused on his goal and quickly asked his first question.

"What's the name of the man who was just in here?"

"His name is Hank Krammer," replied the woman in a plain, monotonous tone.

"Tell me everything you know about Mister Hank Krammer," asked Valentine assertively.

The woman began opening her mouth again as the same, emotionless robotic voice resounded in the room.

"He is the mayor of Hoorn and has been one for ten years. He is known to be a caring man, but I think that is false. He is a regular here and every time we have sex, he has always been very rough. I cannot really complain since he is one of the highest paying customers here,"

The moment she said that Valentine began paying more attention to her body and noticed several fresh bruises that were just beginning to change color. The bruises were around her neck, on her wrists that weren't covered by her robe, and the most notable was on her stomach.

"Besides with me, I heard he is also borderline abusive with the other girls, and even to people close to him if the rumors can be trusted," she added monotonously.

"Who are the closest people to Hank Krammer?" asked Valentine while processing all the information the woman had told him. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back against the wall.

"I don't know," replied the woman dully. Since she couldn't lie while under Interrogation, she must really not know the answer.

"Where does the mayor live?" asked Valentine.

"I don't know," replied the woman shortly.

"What about the two bodyguards waiting for him outside? Do you know them?" asked Valentine again.

"I only know their names. The mayor calls them Dan and Luc. I've never seen their faces because they always wear shades and facemasks," answered the woman truthfully with a boringly robotic tone.

After her answer, Valentine felt that the duration of his Interrogation was about to run out. He then quickly unlocked the door and after making sure the corridor outside was safe, left the room. The door behind him made a low click once he closed it.

"I hereby declare the sounds I make a secret!" muttered Valentine quietly. The thin yellowish mist descended again and covered his mouth and his whole body.

"That was a lot of information, G," muttered Valentine, "But not all of it is useful," he added while walking down the corridor quickly.

Since he didn't really get anything he could use from the woman, he would just try to follow the mayor if he could catch up with him. In the worst-case scenario that the mayor was already gone, he could switch with Graham and let him use divination. It should work better now that he knew both the mayor's appearance and name.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"As usual, I don't want any of this to leak out," said a voice from downstairs as Valentine was walking down from the second floor stealthily. It was the mayor speaking to the female receptionist, who nodded compliantly.

"Remember, you've signed this book, so you have no way of breaking the contract," added the mayor with a little bit of threat in his tone. He raised the book that he was holding in front of him while His two bodyguards were standing silently behind him, watching everyone's every move.

The female receptionist could only nod slowly. There was a smile on her face, but Valentine knew it was a forced smile.

"G, it seems our target is a full-blown villain," Valentine muttered, "And judging from the way he said it, that book seemed to be an artifact with some kind of contract effect, I think? We should have also asked that woman about it, but I didn't know enough about it to be suspicious of the book," he added with a hint of regret in his tone.

He could come back upstairs and interrogate the woman one more time, but in doing so, he would lose the mayor. In the end, Valentine decided to leave it to Graham to use his divination later while he kept following the most powerful man in Hoorn, at least to his understanding.

The mayor, followed by his two bodyguards, left the love hotel and Valentine followed far behind, staying hidden under Concealment. Once outside, the mayor's attention was attracted by a faint noise coming from the alley nearby, where Valentine had placed his Concealments on himself before.

"G, normal people shouldn't be able to hear that noise since even to me, it sounds very faint. The mayor should also have boosted hearing then," muttered Valentine.

He approached the man who was walking towards the alley and once the mayor was in range, he cast his Reveal ability.

"I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"

Illusory letters began appearing above the man and after they fully formed, Valentine quickly read the text that they were showing.

'Hank Krammer, mayor of Hoorn. He is a cautious man who only trusts a handful of people around him. His personality is cunning and merciless, and he is perfectly able to hide everything under the guise of kindness and a caring facade. He is currently in a contract with the Deity of Domination and Order and in possession of one artifact and one piece of enhanced equipment on his person.'

The text faded into nothingness like smoke being blown by the wind once Valentine had finished reading it.

"Another Marquis rank Contractbound. Plus his bodyguards, we really can't deal with him on our own. Luckily, your mission is not to kill the man, eh, G?" muttered Valentine.

Mayor Hank Krammer and his two bodyguards kept walking until he turned right towards the alley where the noises were coming from. Valentine hid behind the wall in the corner and leaned in a little to see what was happening.

In the alley, the mayor stood in place while looking down on what seemed to be two people who suddenly stopped what they were doing. Valentine couldn't see clearly who the people were, and he didn't want to expose himself in the plain sight of a higher-rank Contractbound, so he stayed hidden. However, he could hear everything perfectly clearly.

"The two of you have been caught in the act of committing public indecency. What do you have to say in your defense before I call the Police here?" said the mayor threateningly.

The two people were too stupefied to reply. On top of that, the stare of the mayor and his two bodyguards threatened them even more. Valentine couldn't see them, but their faces must have been drained of their colors.

"Are you not going to say anything? Then let your lawers speak for you in court!" added the mayor with an intimidating voice.

"P-please don't! I beg you, Mr. Mayor! Please don't call the Police. W-we promise not to do it again!" said the man finally, after mustering his courage. His voice, however, wavered as he showed his fear and embarrassment.

Valentine could only see the mayor from the back, but his body language showed that he was not so tense now. It was probably because he didn't need to intimidate the man any longer. The mayor lifted the small book in his left hand and showed it to the man.

"If you really feel guilty, then you have to sign this book," said the mayor coercively.

"O-okay," said the man.

"You too!" added the mayor, most likely directed at the woman beside the man.

"Y-yes, Mister Mayor," she replied weakly. Her voice wasn't full of embarrassment like the man's; only fear of punishment.

The mayor looked at the bodyguard on his left, Danny, who took out a pen and gave it to the man. From his spot, Valentine could see the man dragging his body forward and received the pen, still naked. That was probably why he didn't dare to stand up.

"Write in this book exactly what I said," said the mayor while holding the book.

"O-okay," replied the man.

"I will never again go against Mayor Hank Krammer of Hoorn or I will receive severe punishment from him." said the mayor, dictating what the man had to write, "Once you're done, write your full name at the bottom," he added.

The man seemed to be writing and once he finished, a faint grunt left his mouth.

"Ah!"

It wasn't a painful grunt, but more like something had suddenly surprised him. The mayor then looked at the woman again and gestured at the man to hand her the pen while he kept hold of the book.

"Write exactly the same as your boyfriend here," he said assertively. The mayor was surely a man who must get things his way no matter what, judging from the way he spoke and his body language.

"No! No, I can't!" shouted the woman, and then she suddenly stood up and ran towards the other end of the alley.

The mayor gave a gesture and Lucas quickly chased after the escaping naked woman with a speed that was much higher than hers. Just as he was about to catch up, Lucas took out a curved dagger from under his suit and the mayor shouted.

"Don't kill her! She must be judged in front of the law!" his voice hid no malice nor anger; there was only coldness and indifference towards the woman's fate.

Lucas skillfully slit her left calf, causing her to stumble and fall. After that, he grabbed her by her long hair and dragged her across the alley back to where the mayor was. All the while, the woman was audibly whimpering both in pain and fear while kicking and punching, trying to break free.

"Please, Mister Mayor, I beg you, please let her go!" begged the man pitifully.

The mayor looked down on the man and replied shortly, "I'm sorry I can't. She brought this upon herself."

"Then please let me take her place. I don't mind going to jail. After all, it was all my idea," said the man, trying to sound resolute although fear and uncertainty was still showing in his voice.

Some passersby walked past the alley and got curious, but with a glance from Danny, they all quickly walked away as if scared of something. It seemed that the bodyguard or the mayor himself had a reputation around that area.

"That means going against me. Are you willing to do that despite the contract you've just made?" asked the mayor intimidatingly.

There was silence from the man, while the woman hadn't stopped crying and begging Lucas to let her go. However, her efforts were all fruitless. The man didn't even seem to listen to her at all.

"Y-yes!" said the man finally.

There was a faint burst of laughter that got louder and louder. It was coming from the mayor, who seemed to have been having the time of his life.

"Hahaha!! You all are indeed amusing! That's why I like catching criminals like you!" he said joyfully, but there was a hint of depravity in his voice that Valentine could only catch because of his experience with such people.

"But I'm sorry, it doesn't work that way," the mayor's tone was suddenly cold and emotionless, "And the punishment for going against me is death!" he said.

With the words from his mouth, the man was suddenly sounding like he was choking. Valentine leaned in a little bit more and then he could see the man's pained expression as his neck was twisting unnaturally. There was no one touching the man and Valentine didn't hear anyone chanting anything except for the mayor declaring the man's punishment. The man tried to struggle for a short while but without success; he died not long after.

"Call the cleaner to take care of this one. As for the woman, take her to my place. She doesn't look half bad," said the mayor coldly.

He closed the book and then left the alley alone, walking with the cane in his right hand. The two bodyguards were busy dealing with their own tasks, so they stayed behind.