Captain Jack started his cyclical patrol over the perimeter again. He does this every hour to make sure that all the guards are still outside the Baron Vasquez's mansion while also acting as a visual deterrence to any potential intruders as he tours the streets with his squad.

He made the rounds until he arrived at the location where he scolded the sleepy newcomer that he saw before.

"Oh?" Captain Jack interjected with a tone that was not expecting what he is witnessing.

What he saw was Cole, the new guard, standing upright at alert with perfect stillness. This was unusual for Captain Jack as he's a highly-experienced guard. His surprise came from the fact that while they might have undergone training, he would often notice a slight wobbliness in the guarding posture of inexperienced guards. However, what Cole was displaying here is a posture that the Royal Glaives under the command of the Imperial Majesty himself and are guarding the royal palace themselves would possess

"I-Impressive....very impressive..." Captain Jack muttered as he looked at Cole top to bottom.

"I see that you have taken my warning seriously." He continued.

Cole did not answer and stayed perfectly still. His eyes monitored the crowd silently like a feline that would notice any slightest movement of aggression from passerby's.

"No answer? Hmm... You are in the zone, I presume. " Captain Jack smiled proudly and twirled his mustache. " Very well, then. I shall move on. Keep up the good work, boy. You have potential! I shall recommend you to the higher-ups!"

Captain Jack signaled his squad to march again with him. Before leaving, some of the other guards also stared at Cole and felt amazed at his magnificent guard posture.

Their departure from the scene did not leave any mark on Cole's expression. He stayed perfectly still. His throat and chest showed no signs that he even needed to breathe. It was as if he was just a doll.

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Kadota already made his way inside the mansion grounds. He already returned to his original tiefling form and wore his thief's robe and hood to hide his red skin. Being that this was only a baron's mansion, security was considerably lax than what he usually needed to deal with but there was a variable that he was not used to dealing with—it's currently daytime. 

Kadota looked towards the blue skies above to find his familiar owl flying above the mansion. His eyes shined purple and the owl was the same. It was as if they were both connected and relaying information to one another. He returned his attention to the ground again after a while. 

He's currently hiding on top of one of the large trees in the mansion's front courtyard. The tree's shades are the perfect cover from the sun. He noticed that his current obstacle is two guards guarding the front door of the mansion that he needed to go through. But this was an easy fix, Kadota thought. He pointed his fingers at a bush in the opposite direction of him and a few dozen footsteps from where the guards are. The bush started to shake and sounds of relatively loud footsteps could be heard from it.

"Huh?" One of the guards turned towards the direction of the voice.

"I heard that too." The other guard said. 

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"I'll check it out. You stay here." The guard who interjected first walked towards the direction. 

Kadota smiled. He pointed his finger at the guard who was still guarding the door. The guard suddenly felt something in his...loins. Something squishy, with a mud-like texture. He felt this substance moving around his groins and bottom like disgusting living slimes. 

"Uuh..." The guard's eyes turned wide open. "....John!" He shouted to the other guard who was still walking slowly towards the source of the voice he heard. 

"WHAT!?" The walking guard turned his head around abruptly and had quite a pissed off expression. 

"I..uh...I think I might have had too much spicy food for lunch...I'll be back!" The guard suddenly ran away at an incredible speed. However, he was running in an awkward manner with a noise of mud being stepped on coming from his leather pants. 

"What the fuck, Steve!" The other guard shouted. He sighed and returned his attention to the footsteps he heard. 

Kadota held a laugh. "That will never get old" He muttered quietly. 

He dropped down from the trees and made his way towards the mansion building. He did not walk towards the door but rather towards one of the walls. As he arrived, he looked up and jumped and climbed his way towards one of the windows on the third floor. 

"Thankfully, I've already been inside the mansion so I know where the Baron's master bedroom is," Kadota whispered. 

He was now in front of the window on the third floor as his hands were still gripping the ridges along the wall. There was no way to open the lock from outside, but Kadota inserted a small device in one of the gaps and managed to open the lock from the inside. After it opened, Kadota quickly climbed inside and closed the window again. 

Kadota darted his eyes to scan the room in its entirety quickly, something he learned from his father. While a normal thief would look around the vicinity for valuables, Kadota's mission was clear and there was only one thing he was looking for. 

It was perhaps not accurate to call the baron's bedroom a room—not in the peasant's definition of the word. Bedrooms made for nobility often consist of multiple rooms inside one room so that it could function as a private house within a larger mansion. In this particular room, Kadota landed at a small living room that would seemingly facilitate private meetings with important guests. If he looked towards the left, the was a room that leads to a study room with a work desk while on the right, the was another door leading towards the room with a bed and a bathroom. While the designs look luxurious to Kadota, it paled in comparison to the things that higher nobles have. 

"Father chose the perfect time to send this mission to me. The Baron is currently on a trip to the palace." Kadota muttered. 

As easy as this mission was, in Kadota's point of view, he still wanted to finish it quickly. He made his way, not towards the study room but rather the room with the bed. 

"Baron Vasquez is not a paranoid man, from what I can gather. He wouldn't hide things unless they are absolutely essential to his integrity. He was also a man that had no assistant that would carry his appointment book anywhere he went. Finally, he's not a man that would even bring his appointment book with him as being a small Baron meant he did not need to meet someone every hour. So I wager that his appointment book would be in his...."

Kadota made his way inside the room and found a note of red leather situated on the baron's

"...bedside."  Kadota finished his deduction to no one in particular but himself. He was a man of theatrics. 

He smiled and picked up the book and started to scroll through it. 

"Let's see...the last two weeks of appointments." Kadota found two pages detailing the time, place, and identity of the person he's been meeting for the last two weeks. 

"Hmm?" Kadota found something peculiar in one of the schedules. "This one only had a time and place but no name of the person he's meeting. It's the only one like this in the entire book. Let's see... one week ago. Is this what father wants?" He racked his brains for answers. 

Suddenly, multiple footsteps could be heard approaching the main door on the bedroom's living room from outside. With it, the conversation of a voice belonging to man and woman could be heard. 

"Shit!" Kadota exclaimed. "I took too long." He put the book back and darted his eyes to find somewhere to hide. 

The footsteps neared and the door finally opened.