I teleported inside Maxwell’s office, it wasn’t that late, so I assumed that he was still working. Like the workaholic he was. He tended to most of Predator’s funds and also the dungeons we had in our jurisdiction, as well as the management of the portal we made in the labyrinth.
My assumption was correct, he was still here working…although I didn’t expect him to be sipping coffee in his underwear.
“…”
“…”
I admit I was hasty in opening the portal, and perhaps I should have contacted him first…but this was not what I had expected at all. Hell, having a woman here would be more probable in my mind than this. Suffocated by the silence, and also the curiosity of this, I asked him.
“Why the underwear?”
“… Why the sudden appearance?”
He countered my question with his own. Accepting that maybe I was in the wrong, I answered.
“I need your help with something, and since it wasn’t late, I thought it would be okay to just visit.”
“What do you need my help with?”
He took another sip of his coffee, and cleaned his glasses with a napkin he got from who knows where. He did not, however, answer my question on why he was in his underwear in his office. I assumed he was simply working and due to his responsibilities, he didn’t bother changing.
I explained to him the situation, and it didn’t take long for him to answer.
“It’s probably either behemoth or twilight.” He answered as he finally put on some clothes. I took a look at him and finally found the answer. I was right, this bastard was just too tired or focused on his work to bother putting on proper clothes, probably because he is the only one belonging to Predator still at the guild.
Alice and Kazikato entered Shield as first-years, and Emma and her lunatic of a brother are mostly busy clearing dungeons for the team.
“Why do you think so?”
I asked him for a more ‘proper’ explanation.
“Because of common sense, Whatever you said is correct, the possibility of a hidden mastermind behind the students. However, it’s impossible for the mastermind to come from the guilds below twilight, not even the fourth and fifth rank guilds.
They probably belong to either one of the most influential families, or Titan or Behemoth. It’s highly unlikely for it to be from the families. The Drakmor’s are in the capitol, The Soubuelle’s have only Serena Soubuelle in Shield, and she is a crafty girl, she wouldn’t do this unless…”
“Unless?”
“You did something to provoke her… Did you?”
“No, I didn’t do anything to her.”
“Are you sure? Didn’t you have a conflict at the beginning?”
“Yeah, but we haven’t really interacted with each other afterward, Neither her and I met at all.”
“… Alright.”
There was some doubt in his voice, one that I didn’t really like. I was being truthful! Serena and I may have had a minor scuffle at the beginning of the first year, and we may still not like each other much… But we, or rather Serena, hasn’t provoked me at all. She’s not the type to do this, as well…unless I mess with Elijah or something.
On a side note, she should also be busy with the bunch of girls aiming for Elijah, She doesn’t have the time to do this.
“The Wellington’s are our allies, and considering how close you and Sabrina are to each other. There is no chance it’s her. So that leaves only the first and second ranked guilds, Titan and Behemoth. From that we can…”
“Umm…”
I stopped him before he could proceed. I nervously gulped as I came to the realization that perhaps I may have to add another suspect….
Catherine…
“What happened… Please tell me you didn’t do something to a girl like Sabrina…”
He asked me out of worry, with eyes that looked like they were looking at an idiot. I could almost hear his inner voice. Unfortunately, his assumptions were wrong.
“Her niece just joined, and she is the…”
I struggled to describe her properly… Maxwell noticed my reluctance and difficulty in attempting this and voiced his own thoughts?
“Is she power-hungry? A struggle for power in the Wellington family, perhaps?”
“No… She is the…clingy type. To her aunt. ‘That’ type of girl.”
“Oh.”
He coughed and took another sip of his coffee, he reached down and opened a drawer on his desk, taking out a green file. He opened it and stayed silent for a few minutes. He threw the file to me afterward and said. freewebnoveℓ.com
“Her influence within the family isn’t much, and even if it was her, she doesn’t have the funds nor the power to do this… Of course, if she was still doing it with the help of some associates of her family, Sabrina would be aware of it and would have put a stop to it. But still, regard her as a suspect.”
I checked the file he had given me, and it contained all kinds of information about Catherine, to an extent I was surprised by…it even contained her ‘habits’ I felt uncomfortable reading.
“Do you keep files of everyone like this?”
“Pretty much, This desk of mine is very spacious, you know. Although I only read about her…now. Anyway, It’s most likely Henry Forum, Elaine Parker, and this Catherine behind the students.”
Yeah, I reached that part too…but how do I prove it? That was what was bugging me about it most.
“Why are you thinking so hard about it?”
He reclined in his chair and closed his eyes, lighting up a cigarette and began to smoke. The smell bothered me for a bit. “What do you mean?”
“To prove it. Go talk to them first, and judge by their actions. Go to either Henry or Elaine first. Be gentle with Elaine.”
“Is it because she is your sister?”
“On second thought, don’t. She isn’t the type to do this, but who knows. People can change, after all. Talk to them about it and decide based on their responses.”
“What about the backlash from the other guilds? Twilight can’t take on-”
“Why are you worrying about this?”
“What?”
“Didn’t you say it’s something between the students? Shield is an isolated environment. What happens there, stays there. Deal with it like you would deal with everything else…”
He seemed to hesitate for a moment and changed his statement.
“Deal with it like a normal human would deal with it. Don’t kill any of them, please.”
“…”
Hey, my heart hurts that you think so little of me, you bastard.
“Talk with them first, if you think force is necessary, use it to an understandable degree. Remember, even if they are from the other top 10 guilds…with your own background and our recent accomplishments…”
He stopped for a moment, let out a puff of smoke and smiled.
“We don’t really have to bow down to anyone on Earth, you know?”