Joachim passed on the suggestions from Zich and his companions to the city’s top authorities. The authorities thought their suggestions were valid and began to search for the culprit by going through the whole city. Since the lord of the estate, the mayor, and a lord from another estate were greatly invested in this case, the managers moved quickly and efficiently. Not long afterward, they identified some basic suspects. Since they were looking for a large organization that had the power to cover the entire back alleyway, their choices were limited.
“I was able to narrow down some of the suspects.” Joachim handed Zich a few pieces of paper. There were a total of three suspects written on them. They were all people who had a strong influence in the underworld.
“These are the people who perfectly match our descriptions. I hope we can get something out of these guys.”
“Certainly, sir.”
Yet, Zich didn’t seem to show that much interest as he flipped through the papers, and he thought, ‘I suppose it’s at least not these guys.’
If these people were the guys that they had easily pinpointed with Glen’s suggestions, it seemed right to exclude them out of the equation. Instead, Zich seemed more interested in the documents that Joachim had brought instead of the ones in his hand.
“What are those documents?” Zich asked.
“We also think of them as the suspects. But we’ve set them aside since they didn’t match some of the descriptions.”
Zich’s eyes shone. These were what he had been looking for.
“Could I take a look at that?”
“Please do.” Joachim handed the documents over, and Zich looked over them carefully. Like Joachim said, they were all people who missed the descriptions they had named by one or two points. Some had no connection to the underworld, some weren’t members of an organization, others had never lost a lover, and so on. After skimming through the description, Zich tapped the papers on the desk and stacked them.
Then, he said, “Sir, could I borrow these for a bit? Seeing the number of our most likely suspects, I don’t think we all need to join the search. Lyla and I will search for these people here.”
“That’s true. I understand. If you find anything, please tell me.”
With Joachim’s permission, Zich took Lyla outside. Lyla craned her neck past Zich’s shoulders and looked at the profiles in his hands.
“Do you think our culprit is one of them?”
“I think they seem much more likely than our most likely suspects.”
“If Zenard is really the mastermind, isn’t there a possibility that he could’ve led us off even more?”
“I don’t think he would’ve hidden the culprit so thoroughly like that. There’s no need for him to continue hiding the culprit’s identity, and they just have to bide time for the city to fall into fear.”
Zich returned to his lodging and gathered Hans, Snoc, and Elena. Then he said, “We are going to meet people who might be suspects from now on. If you find something strange about these people when you meet them, don’t hesitate to tell us no matter how small it is.”
It was better the more people they had. At Zich’s serious words, the three nodded. Thus, Zich’s search for the suspects began. Since one of the conditions of these suspects were people related to the underworld, they met many rough people. Thus, when Zich and his companions went to meet them, they often tried to intimidate Zich and his group by creating a high-pressure atmosphere. Yet, Zich’s sheer might and the authority that Joachim gave to Zich and his group were more than enough to make them obedient and meek. Like that, Zich and his crew went around the city looking for the people on the documents. Yet, no matter how long they searched, they couldn’t find any clear evidence to pinpoint one suspect. Finally, the sun began to set.
‘I have to leave now.’
There was a meeting today. If they left now, they would probably match the time for their meeting.
“Let us go.” Zich dragged his companions to the direction of their lodging and began to walk. Even on his way back, Zich widened the scope he sensed to anticipate for any possible future incidents. Hans and Snoc did the same. Under Zich’s commands, Hans widened the scope they sensed as much as possible and Snoc sensed the vibrations of the earth. Yet, they couldn’t retrieve much from their search.
‘Will I not even be able to spot those robed figures?’ Zich wondered.
Joachim said that the robed figures had been spotted in this city. Yet, Zich hadn’t been able to see their traces since he began his search in this city. It could be that he had missed them, or the information was wrong. It could also be completely something else.
‘Those guys might have already completed their missions.’
When the guys finished making a Demon Person, it seemed likely that they would drop their involvement with the case.
‘That will make things more complicated.’
Zich’s power was formidable. However, that didn’t mean he could easily remove all Demon People.
‘Even among the Demon People, there are different ranks.’
Some of them could be strong or some of them could have a really special power.
‘I should be prepared for troublesome matters.’
At the same time, Zich couldn’t be certain that the makings of a Demon Person had already been completed.
‘These kidnapping cases might be part of their path to gain power.’
Nevertheless, if the culprit was a new Demon Person that the robed figures had made, it was better for them to find them as fast as possible.
‘Well, the investigation is over for today though.’
If they hurriedly pushed the investigation forward from their feelings of anxiousness, it would be worse than going slow. Zich lifted his hand up and stretched as he walked below a sky turning orange and red.
* * *
The next day, Zich and his companions continued their search. After they circled through many paths and met many people, they stopped in front of a building.
“You…”
Lyla narrowed her eyes and glared at Zich. The place they stopped at was the casino that Zich had brought Lyla to for a date. Zich defended himself while shrugging his shoulders.
“Don’t look at me like that. No matter how trashy I am, I won’t gamble in the middle of a case…” Zich trailed off and said, “…Now that I think about it, I am that kind of trash. Since we have a lot of time, should we continue our search after a round or two?”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Hans, Snoc, Elena, and of course, Lyla stared at Zich blankly. Koo… Even Nowem joined.
“It was just a joke guys.” Zich smirked and lightly tapped Lyla’s shoulder. “Let’s go in. Every second matters.”
“Really, you never fail to amaze me.” Lyla let out a sigh.
Hans asked, “Sir, what kind of people are we going to meet here?”
“We’re going to meet this casino’s owner.” Zich took out a piece of paper and read the profile written on it. “The owner’s name is Condel Siede. He used to work as a private loan shark in the back alley, and then set this casino up after getting rich. I guess you could call him a success story in this sort of field.”
Lyla asked, “Then he must really know his way around the back alley.”
“Yep. He’s famous over there, and I heard that he had a lot of power. Well, no matter how you see it, he’s a great suspect.”
“Then why did we take him out in the final list of culprits?”
“Because the lover part is absent.”
“You’re saying that he doesn’t have a lover.”
“Yep, apparently he doesn’t. And not just recently. He hasn’t had a lover since his earliest days. From what the others said, he’s so cruel and violent that if he did have a lover, he’ll sell her right away for money.”
Lyla and the rest of Zich’s companions’ expressions soured. Condel Siede wasn’t the type of person that people with normal mentalities would like. Of course, in Zich’s standard, Condel Siede wasn’t a human who could even be considered evil.
“For that reason, he was taken off from the final list of culprits. But who knows? He might be secretly dating someone, and he might secretly be a romanticist who’s willing to throw away his life for love.” While saying this, Zich opened the door of the casino.
As usual, a great number of people were gambling inside. It was an ordinary scene in a casino where people let out sighs, insults, and sometimes cheers from all across the room. However, unlike before, Zich didn’t join the gamblers in their insults and cheers; he did not even glance at the gambling tables.
“Hey!” Zich called the security guard standing close to the wall and watching to see if there was anyone causing a scene.
The security guard asked, “Sir, what is the matter?”
“I need to meet with the casino owner.”
The security guard frowned; sometimes people like Zich appeared in the casino—people who came into the casino without notice and said they wanted to meet the casino owner. Most of the people who did this were those who lost a lot of money from the casino and held ill feelings or they wanted to get close to the owner to get some of their money back. In short, they were not proper customers.
The security guard stretched his shoulders as if he was trying to increase his size. He made a scary expression and threateningly stood in front of Zich. In most cases, people withdrew with just this amount of pressure.
“I apologize, but the owner is not someone whom you can meet so suddenly.” Even though the security guard’s words were still polite, his voice was extremely low; it was to the extent where a person passing by them flinched and increased their distance from Zich and his companions.
However, Zich did not even blink his eyes. “That’s not for you to decide.”
The security guard wondered if he had to use force against Zich, but before he could make this decision, a badge was pushed towards him.
“I need to see your owner because of the recent serial kidnapping cases in the city. If I don’t meet your owner, and your owner becomes liable for not complying with the city’s request, would you be able to take the responsibility?”
The security guard’s threatening force was immediately dampened when he saw Zich’s badge. A small-fry like him couldn’t do anything against a badge that clearly had the mayor’s seal on it.
“…Please wait a bit.” The security guard’s threatening pressure was nowhere to be seen as he politely asked Zich and quickly went up the stairs. He walked towards where the casino’s VIP or VVIP members gambled. The floor on top of that was probably where the casino’s owner stayed.
Zich and his companions waited for the security guard to come back. Lyla glanced at Zich. Whenever they went near this casino, Zich would sing songs about wanting to gamble. However, Zich looked like he had zero interest in gambling right now.
‘As he expected, he really gets the job done when necessary.’ Zich looked like a gambling addict whenever he went inside a casino, but he looked like his usual self right now. ‘Well, he has the potential to become a Demon Lord, so there’s probably no way he’s going to get his mind shaken up by something like gambling.’ While Lyla thought this, the security guard came running towards them as fast as possible.
“The boss says he wants to meet you. Please follow me.”
Zich and his companions followed the security guard and slowly walked up the bright red carpet that decorated the stairs. They passed the second floor for VIPs and reached the 3rd floor for VVIPs. When they reached the 3rd floor, Hans, Snoc, and Elena let out sounds of admiration. Even though the first floor of the casino was very luxurious, it was incomparable to the 3rd floor. The 3rd floor had decorations that were as extravagant as those in a high-ranking noble’s mansion. However, even this floor was not their destination.
While passing through gambling tables that had mountains of chips, they went up another floor. The atmosphere changed when they reached the 4th floor. The extravagance of a casino completely disappeared and a simple but well-polished interior welcomed them. At the end of the staircase, they saw a door.
The security guard knocked on the door. “Sir! I’ve brought the guests!”
“Bring them in!” A voice was heard from behind the door.
The security guard opened the door. Then, he looked at Zich and his companions and pointed his arms inside the doorway. “Please go in.”
As soon as Zich and his companions went inside the room, the security guard quietly closed the door from outside. The first thing that Zich did was scan the inside of the room. The interior design was similar to the design outside the 4th floor. It gave off a serious and calm atmosphere. There wasn’t much furniture inside the room. If spoken favorably, the room was modest, and if spoken unfavorably, it was empty. Since the room was very large, it further heightened that feeling.
Zich looked to the front. A person was sitting at a large and grand desk in the center of the room.
“…Are you the people who came because of the kidnapping cases?”
“Yes. My name is Zich, and the people behind me are my companions.”
The man slowly got up from his seat. Zich scanned the person in front of him. The man had his hair slicked back, and his eyebrows were thin. His eyes were long, and the whites of his eyes were clearly visible. A scar cut across the side of his left eye. A man who unmistakably looked like a mob boss slowly walked towards Zich.
He put out his hand, “Nice to meet you. I’m Condel Siede, the owner of this casino.”