Hamoin gracefully took a seat and spoke in a polite manner, "Sheriff, there's no need to say that. It was I who entered your office without seeking your permission. I'm the one who was being impolite."

So, you do realize that... Dogli thought to himself, feeling annoyed. However, considering the other person's higher status, he refrained from saying anything and instead greeted him with a forced smile.

He poured a glass of water for Hamoin, pointed at his own cup, and said, "Kokuqi. Would you care for some?"

"No, thank you. I'm not particularly fond of this drink," Hamoin replied, raising his hand to decline.

Therefore, Dogli simply poured a glass of plain water and handed it to him.

The chief officer appeared to be entirely approachable. He accepted the water and took a gentle sip.

"I'm wondering if there's some significant matter that has brought you, Chief Officer, to our rather remote town," Dogli said as he seated himself at his desk, inquiring in a tone reminiscent of a casual chat among colleagues.

Hamoin put down the water cup and let out a couple of soft chuckles. "Since I'm here, it's naturally a matter of great importance. You should be aware of that, Sheriff."

Just as I expected... Dogli thought, already having a sense of understanding. Still, he asked, "The notice I received stated that the person assigned to handle that matter wasn't supposed to arrive for another two days. Why is it that you..."

"That was the original plan. But I deemed the situation to be rather exceptional, so I left my team behind and arrived ahead of schedule. This is to ensure that everything goes smoothly."

Hamoin's response seemed quite sincere, yet Dogli's intuition told him that the matter was far from straightforward.

The two continued to engage in a casual conversation regarding the matter that needed to be addressed. During the exchange, Dogli made numerous attempts to probe, but each time, Hamoin skillfully evaded the questions with his words.

More and more police officers had gathered at the station. Suddenly, Hamoin extended his wrist and glanced at the exquisitely expensive-looking wristwatch on it. He then said politely, "Sheriff Dogli, it seems that most of the personnel have arrived. Please be so kind as to show me the scene. This is part of our work."

Dogli had no valid reason to decline. Thus, he organized a group of officers, instructed several team leaders to maintain order at the station, and then set off towards the site of the incident.

...

The deer-drawn carriage moved slowly along the bustling street, filled with the hustle and bustle of people.

Glen lounged leisurely against the carriage frame, while Ravel was in charge of driving.

A girl dressed in a clean, long dress passed by. She seemed to be from the middle class.

Suddenly, she felt a gentle breeze stir beneath her skirt. Instinctively, she reached down to hold the fabric in place, but the breeze was too weak to lift the relatively thick hem.

The girl blushed slightly, glanced around, and quickly walked away.

Glen moved the book that had been shielding his face and cast a guilty glance in the direction the girl had gone.

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It seems I still need to practice a great deal. But it was quite a pleasant surprise that I achieved some results... He continued to flip through the book in his hand, using a quill pen to make marks and annotations on it.

He had just come across a wind-casting incantation in the book, which was said to be usable even by beginners. Unable to resist the temptation, he had given it a try and, to his surprise, succeeded.

The carriage had slowed down and was gradually coming to a stop in front of the tavern.

Glen jumped out of the carriage and stretched his body leisurely.

At this time, Luther hadn't arrived for work yet, let alone the two individuals who had been hired just the day before.

After waiting in the tavern for a while, the tall and lanky Luther was the first to push open the door.

As soon as he saw Glen, he began to complain with a forlorn expression, "Mr. Glen, when will we be able to start working officially? I feel so guilty just sitting around here with nothing to do all day long!"

Glen immediately smiled and comforted him, "It won't be long. We've already hired some people, and I'll soon have you all occupied with work."

After a good deal of reassuring words, Luther seemed to feel more at ease.

A short while later, two men arrived. Ravel immediately introduced them as the newly hired employees.

"Hello, sir," the two men greeted Glen in unison.

They were two men who bore a strong resemblance to each other. They were slightly shorter and more robust than Glen, with bushy sideburns, and overall, they gave an impression of being honest and reliable.

"Hello. I'm delighted that you've come to work here," Glen replied with a smile. He then asked out of curiosity, "Are you two brothers?"

"Yes, sir. I'm Carter, and my elder brother is Cagin," the slightly plumper one responded.

"That's wonderful. You both look like diligent workers, and I appreciate that. The wages here are paid on a daily basis. Do you have any objections to that?"

"Yes, that's perfectly fine. We haven't found a suitable job for a long time, and we're almost out of money for food. So, please let us start as soon as possible."

"Well, here's the situation. I'm not in a hurry to open for business just yet. There's still some preparation work to be done. But don't worry. I can advance you a month's salary. In the coming days, I'll hire someone to renovate this place. If you could assist during that time, it would be greatly appreciated."

"That's excellent. We couldn't ask for more. We'll work extremely hard," they said.

The conversation between them went very smoothly. Glen took a square piece of paper from Ravel, which was filled with written content.

"This is the labor contract. It is legally binding. Please read it carefully and then sign it. Once you've signed, I can give you this month's salary."

Of course, saying it was legally binding was just a ruse to intimidate the two men.

The two brothers stared at the paper for quite some time. They had worked in many large factories before, where the supervision was usually strict, but signing a labor contract like this was a completely new experience for them.

They hesitated and then said, "Sir, we can't read..."

Glen had anticipated this. He smiled and explained, "It doesn't matter. I can go over it with you. The content essentially requires that once you've signed, you must abide by the established rules and not violate them. The rules are as follows..."

After reading out the content, the two brothers were impressed, even though they didn't fully understand it. Moreover, there were no clauses that they felt were unfair.

"All right, we understand. Do we just need to sign it?"

"Yes."

"But we don't know how to write our own names. What should we do?"

"..., I'll write them out, and you can copy them."

"Okay."

With the agreement reached, Glen put away the paper, shook hands with the two new employees, and said, "All right, you two can start getting familiar with the working environment here. I'm going to go and discuss the renovation with the construction team now."

Shortly after Glen left the door, Luther quickened his pace and caught up with him, calling out his name.

Glen stopped and turned around, looking puzzled.

Luther came to a halt and asked, "Mr. Glen, why didn't I sign that agreement?"

That's because I just drew it up last night... Glen smiled and patted Luther on the shoulder. "There's no need for you to sign it. I have full trust in you. Don't you think you'll abide by those rules?"

"I will definitely abide by them!" Luther said firmly.

"Then that's settled, isn't it?" Glen gave him an approving look.

"Thank you for your trust! I will redouble my efforts!"

Glen nodded, feeling pleased.

The construction team in Dudd Town was actually a group of workers who knew one another. When Glen was selling meat, he had heard people mention that these workers had been involved in the construction of almost all the buildings and facilities in the town.

The leader of the team was a fellow named John, who lived in the housing area on the west side of Dudd Town.