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?"
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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.
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.
Karl's expression appeared as if he was high on drugs. After all, this was a breakthrough to earn money from the wealthy nobles.
As a Coachman, it would be ridiculous to be in the dark of the current news.
Therefore, he knew about the Kodacrest's Academy early enrollment event.
So with the lockdown in place, the wealthy nobles who eagerly wanted to leave the city would do everything in their power to succeed. That means even paying a skyrocketing price was on the table.
'The Seventh Order is really a generous person despite his scary demeanor.' Karl praised silently. Money was king, and anyone who brought them money was god.
While Karl was determined to do his best, Damien secretly laughed at his behavior.
By allowing Karl to exit the city, it didn't cause him anything. All it required was a simple declaration and the people beneath him would oblige.
However, this simple declaration would return a loyal person who would want to complete the task more flawlessly than him. What a great bargain that was.
"Lead the way," Damien said.
"Yes, Sir." Karl nodded but still suggested, "Sir, you should ride the carriage. The closest sewer is around 10 street block."
Given that sewer was a necessary system but also a disgusted one, they purposely ensured the location of the sewer to be nowhere close to the rich area. Therefore, Damien wasn't surprised to be informed that the sewer was so far away.
'No matter which world you are in. The wealthy always enjoy greater benefits than the poor.' He sneered inwardly.
"Very well, do make haste though." Damien went to the carriage and said.
The culprit or the fake Kyle might have already gone into hiding. It would become problematic by then if the Diamond 3 card completely faded away, preventing him from tracking them down.
Time quickly went by, and they soon arrived.
"We're here, Sir," Karl said and opened the door for Damien.
Upon exiting the carriage, Damien instantly noticed the street here was quite poor and desolate. To be more accurate, it seemed more like a dark alley—similar to the one he had awakened in.
Not to mention, Damien sensed there were a few people hiding in the shadows.
"Sir, the sewer location is over there." Karl remained unaware of the presence of others hiding and was wholeheartedly focused on locating the spot. His objective was to complete the task as soon as possible.
Who knows how long the lockdown will remain for?
Time was of the essence, so Karl couldn't afford to miss the golden time of opportunity to offer his ride to the wealthy nobles.
As he advanced in his steps, the people lurking in the shadows were slowly unsheathing their dagger.
Just when they were about to strike, one of them suddenly paused, and fear quickly consumed their expression.
After all, following behind Karl was Damien, who simply darted his eyes casually at the area where the people had taken cover.
A second later, the sunlight happened to shine on Damien, revealing his outfit for those in hiding. More specifically, the shiny and bright engraving of his insignia nearly blinded these people.
"Damn, it's a Seventh Order TI." One of them muttered in shock and disbelief. Their hands quickly sheathed their dagger and hoped to remain quiet.
Trying to rob a TI? And a Seventh Order on top of that?
That was the most ridiculous joke ever!
They only hoped that the TI didn't sense their presence and unleashed a killing spree. After all, they were low-life people who had the nerve to mess with a TI.
Who would care about their death or even bother to pursue the matter?
As they all sweated profusely, Damien remained nonchalant and pointed at a dark spot.
The dark spot was coincidently the first person who realized they had messed up and sheathed its dagger.
'No, he's just pointing randomly. There's no way he could see us in the dark, not when we got this item.' The person refused to believe they were spotted that easily.
After all, they don't just rob in the alley without any preparation. They had an item that specifically enhanced one's stealth. It was very pricey and it was capable of avoiding the monsters' detection in the wilderness.
However, their futile expectation was quickly shattered.
"You in the dark. Stop hiding and come out." Damien calmly said. "Bald head, tall and somewhat skinny. Dressed in ragged clothes and a 27-centimeter-long dagger. If you don't come out of there now, then we will have a problem."
With the perfect description of their appearance, the person was startled. They had a moment of wanting to attack but realized it would be foolish.
Since the TI clearly could detect him, called out his equipment and appearance despite being in the dark. Then it made sense that his other companion was also within the TI's detection.
It was just that he got chosen as the unlucky one to be forced to come out.
His companion also wouldn't attempt to do anything that might aggravate a TI. After all, only death awaited those who aggravated a TI—especially a high-order one.
As they slowly came out from the shadow, Karl nearly received a fright. His body shrieked, and his eyes darted left and right at other dark spots.
Without needing a genius to spell it out for him, Karl had a feeling there were more people in hiding.
Frightened, Karl hastily retreated his steps and stood close to Damien, but not too close that might offend or displease him.
"I-I'm sorry. We didn't mean to target you." The robber said anxiously.
"I don't care about that." Contrary to his belief, Damien had no interest in the robber's crime.
He didn't sense any blood in them as opposed to the culprit he saw through Olivia's vision and scope. This meant that they hadn't killed anyone, and only robbed.
"Tell me whether you have seen someone or something passed by here recently," Damien demanded coldly.
Meanwhile, the robber was struck in a dilemma.
'Someone that pass by here? They would have been robbed by us already.' He thought to himself. Their first target of the day happened to be a TI.
How unlucky could they get today?
Suddenly, the robber happened to recall a peculiar incident.
"Ah, I don't know if it's helpful, but we did see a cat passed by." The robber said with an awkward smile. Animals like cats were extremely common, so no one really paid much attention to it. The robber also knew that but had to say something, lest his head might become detached.
However, Damien's curiosity and intrigue piqued. 'A cat huh?'