"Did you hear? The whole Dietstrich damily disappeared overnight," the crowd mummured.
"Good riddance, I was getting sick of them freeloading off our hard work. Its a miracle they made it this far without anything happening already." A man nearby Castille commented.
"Besides that, was the culprint released yet? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy the familys gone, but has the murderer been caught yet?" A table oppisite from Castille whispered.
"No, not yet. I heard the security bureau was looking into it though. You know, it's not a normal thing for a whole noble family to disappear." A woman scoffed, "everyone knows a missing peasant family wouldn't get this much attention."
Castille spat out his coffee. Holy shit, the security bureau's on the case?! The table looked back at the sound of him coughing, but he just waved them off saying that he choked.
Once he regained his composure, he started sweating. The security bureau was made of individuals who were the best investigators in the whole kingdom. They had been maintaining the country's crime cases for the past few centuries. Nothing ever passed by their noses.
All I can hope is that the cleaner didn't slack off. Even though the Dietstrich family wasn't that important, it threatened the other noble's safety. This included the royal family so the security bureau was bound to get involved.
He wasn't too worried though. Taking another sip of his coffee he thought deeply about the situation. In the case the scene wasn't cleared of evidence thoroughly, there still wasn't much that could point back to him. Plus, he'd probably be the least suspected, being a direct subordinate of the royal family.
However, there was one person in the security team that he was wary of. Alice Fletcher. She was the leader of the team and the probably the most successful detective in the country's history. It wasn't just pure luck though, she was in posession of an insanely overpowered skill. With it, she uses her own mana to uncover traces of the culprint's mana and uses it to track them down. Alice was pretty much a human search dog.
Castille had thought about that possibility, considering it was a whole noble family he was taking down. Upon entering the manor he layered a mana concealment spell over the noise cancellation one. He usually wasn't the type to be this careful on missions but the thought of Alice on his trail sent a shiver down his spine.
She truly was scary.
Wiping the thought of Alice acting like a dog from his mind, he brought his attention back to the capital. As expected of the heart of the country, it was truly beautiful. The architecture was definitely more advanced than the cities that surrounded it. It's breathtaking gothic styled buildings rising high over the plaza, giving Castille a nice view. Resting his head on his hands, he watched the steady flow of carriage traffic for a few minutes before checking the time on a nearby watchtower. He had something else to do today besides lounging around at a café.
It was almost time for the blackmarket auction.
Around a week ago he'd attended one of the black market's events and found something interesting.
A dragon egg.
It didn't just come from the mediocore dragons of the present though. The description of the item mentioned it being the only egg of the dragon Smaug, the fire drake who was considered the last "great" dragon to exist on Earth. This monster was remembered to cause the fall of the country's west territories and was a common foe among the nobility. That was more than a century ago though, so he wasn't sure how they managed to find one of his offspring. This was a huge deal among the participants in the auction and was the item of most importance there. This meant that he had to get his hands on it at all costs. Wielding the power of a dragon that strong would grant him unimaginable power.
The only problem was that it attracted such a large number of people. He was sure that he wouldn't be the only noble there to bid on it, so he had to get his funds ready. He already had a large amount of gold accumulated from his missions and the extra money he needed could be taken from whatever his family had.
Next, he needed a disguise to the place. Coming in there as Castille Capell would bring a bad reputation to him. He didn't need people knowing he associated with the black market. Thinking about it, this meant besides a new outfit, he also needed an alias.
Tapping his finger against his teacup, he thought long and hard on what to call himself till one rang in his head; Landon Herring. It was the name of a childhood friend, even though Castille hadn't seem them for at least ten years he still remembered. He was sure they wouldn't mind him borrowing their name. It was a one-time thing anyway.
Besides that, he decided to disguise himself with magic instead of wearing his normal cloak. He didn't want to seem suspicious or attract attention by looking all shady.
After piecing together his plan, he took another peek at the clock and decided it was about time to leave. The auction started in about an hour but he needed the time to get into the market, which was a whole problem by itself. Thankfully he collected information beforehand and recieved a map for a hefty price. Unfolding the ragged piece of paper, it showed messily drawn arrows around the city to where the entrance was. After following the sketches for about ten minutes, he arrived in front of an old antique shop.
Castille lifted a brow. He would have never guessed this would be their hideout, especially since half the building was practically falling apart. Before he went in, he took a detour to a nearby allyway and cast a spell to change his 'Capell' features.
Once he was done, he barged into the shop and searched around for the shopowner. Looking around, he couldn't find anyone among the endless overlapping shelves. It was quite dusty in the place so it really made him wonder whether the place was abandoned or not. Squeezing through the cramped space, he finally made it to the cashier where he spotted an old man humming.
Walking up to him, Castille placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward.
Looking the elder right in the eyes he said, "I'd like to meet the Black Cat."