The meeting at Nebula Academy not only established new policies for the Resource Department but also appointed a position long left vacant: Chief of the Inspectorate Department.
The incident on the high-60 floating island, including the disappearance of four team members, sank like a stone in the ocean, stirring no waves.
It seemed everyone deliberately ignored the event.
The two survivors of the accident were also intentionally distanced by others.
Despite the insistence of two senior officers from the Inspectorate Department that it was a case of murder, the lack of evidence due to Anthony's disappearance led to an unresolved conclusion.
On Monday, after a week of recuperation, Nathan's Blood Burning was suppressed once more, allowing him to return to normal.
At eight in the morning, Nathan arrived at the Inspectorate Department.
He went straight to Daniel's room, but no one was there.
Coincidentally, Sophia was coming downstairs with a stack of documents.
Nathan asked Sophia about Daniel's whereabouts.
Sophia mentioned that Daniel had been sent on a mission to the elite floating island and might not return for a few days.
She then leaned in to whisper, "The new Chief Rudis wants to see you."
Nathan was taken aback; he had heard that the Inspectorate Department's chief position had finally been filled.
He had thought it would be Lam but was surprised to hear the unfamiliar name of Rudis.
Seeing Nathan's astonished expression, Sophia cautioned, "Don't argue about what happened last time. Let my master and Lord Lam handle it."
At that moment, Luna also stepped out of her room, greeted Nathan with a smile, and left.
Nathan didn't dwell on it and headed upstairs.
In the Chief's office on the second floor, "I don't want you pursuing the last incident any further!"
Across from Nathan sat a muscular middle-aged man with a goatee.
Dressed in casual attire, he had long, well-maintained fingers, and his gaze was oppressive.
Recalling Sophia's warning, Nathan nodded.
"But I want to know how the Inspectorate Department is characterizing Anthony's involvement!" Nathan couldn't help but ask, despite knowing it might be a foolish question.
Yet, it was a critical one, as the academy's attitude towards Anthony could reveal much.
Rudis's expression turned grave, he paused for a few seconds before speaking in a deep voice, "Anthony disappeared the day before your incident occurred, so it's impossible to ascertain his connection to the high-60 floating island accident."
Nathan scoffed internally.
"There's insufficient evidence on this matter, and the academy doesn't want it to cause too much of a stir. So, you'd best not take matters into your own hands," Rudis said sternly.
Nathan remained silent, the atmosphere becoming somewhat tense.
Suddenly, Rudis's tone lightened, "This time, the Inspectorate Department has compensated both you and Luna with 200 credits each, and the Resource Department has also provided each of you with an additional 500 credits. Don't forget to collect it later."
"Thank you for your concern, sir," Nathan replied, without betraying any emotion.
"However, after the last incident, I feel our Inspectorate Team lacks a reliable warrior. If we had had a dependable warrior during the last incident, the loss wouldn't have been so severe."
Upon hearing this, Rudis furrowed his brows and said, "I am currently scouting for personnel for the Inspectorate Department. However, this incident has had a negative impact, and many are hesitant to join the Inspectorate Department. If you have any suitable candidates, feel free to recommend them. I will consider it."
Nathan recommended Aaron.
Rudis agreed readily.
The rest of their conversation was filled with small talk.
Nathan tried his best to cooperate, and the interaction was relatively harmonious.
Eventually, Nathan stood up to leave, and Rudis seemed satisfied.
After descending the stairs, Nathan began to organize the backlog of documents accumulated over the past few days.
In the afternoon, he attended a class for magic freshmen and then went to the martial class to find Aaron.
Aaron was thrilled to learn that Nathan had recommended him to the Inspectorate Department and stated he would follow Nathan's instructions.
Two days later, Aaron officially joined the Inspectorate Department.
Three days after getting everything in order, on the fourth morning, Nathan, having observed a scene in the Resource Department's first-floor hall through the magic eye, immediately called Aaron and headed straight for the Resource Department.
At that moment, the first-floor hall of the Resource Department was crowded with people exchanging resources.
Nathan, accompanied by Aaron, made a beeline for the magic equipment exchange window.
There, a freshman, just like Nathan had been previously, was being coerced into buying a piece of junk magic equipment for thousands of gold coins.
The freshman reluctantly took out a stack of gold coins.
The same female magus as before was at the window.
Nathan had already investigated; the female magus was named Connie, an advanced magus.
The freshman had just paid the remaining gold coins and was about to leave angrily when Connie in the counter was about to take the gold coins back.
Nathan stepped forward, holding down the gold coins and stopping the freshman.
"I'm from the Inspectorate Department. We suspect there's fraudulent activity happening here. According to school regulations, please come with me for an investigation."
The freshman, seeing Nathan actually making a move against the female magus behind the counter, hesitated at the door.
However, after hearing Nathan's words, he walked back.
Upon hearing that Nathan was from the Inspectorate Department, the female magus immediately became frantic, "If you have any issues, go to the Inspectorate Department. What's the point of finding me, a mere salesperson!"
Her shout prompted a warrior from the adjacent counter to approach Nathan quickly.
Getting close, he threw a punch at Nathan without a word.
Aaron swung a punch, blocking the attack.
Another guard tried to flank them but was quickly knocked down by Aaron, along with the first attacker.
It took less than ten seconds to subdue them both.
These two were also advanced warriors, but they were no match for Aaron.
This scene was witnessed by a middle-aged warrior who rushed over from behind.
The middle-aged warrior approached quickly and launched a punch.
Aaron countered with a punch of his own, forcing the middle-aged warrior to retreat.
Aaron then took advantage of the situation to press the attack, cornering him until Nathan activated an Inspectorate Department's cage spell, trapping him in a cage of flames.
Seeing this, the two downed guards tried to get up and call for help.
Nathan, not holding back any longer, placed cages on both guards under the astonished gazes of many in the hall.
Then, Nathan cast three silence spells, leaving the three completely dumbfounded.
The freshman, who had been swindled out of his gold coins, was also stunned by the turn of events and tried to leave in the commotion.
Nathan said, "Fellow student, take back your gold coins. I need you to help me with a statement."
Left with no choice, the freshman nodded in agreement.
As more people gathered around, Nathan commanded Aaron, "Take these three away."
This shocking scene left many bystanders bewildered.
They expressed confusion about what was happening.
The Inspectorate Department actually arresting people from the Resource Department?
"This is going to be interesting," remarked a third-year senior, witnessing such a scenario for the first time, somewhat schadenfreude.
"Why arrest someone from the Resource Department of all places?" another senior was equally puzzled.
"I think it's a good move. They've been deceiving people, and when caught red-handed, they even dared to initiate a fight. They really don't regard the Inspectorate Department highly, do they?"
Upon hearing this, the two seniors immediately turned around.
Indeed, the speaker was a freshman.
"You don't understand anything, don't talk nonsense!" the senior warned.
"Young fellow, once you know what the Resource Department does, you'll regret what you said today! Ha ha!"
...
On the fifth floor of the Resource Department, someone entered the office.
"Sir, Manager Benson has been taken by the Inspectorate Department!" Frank was lounging with his legs crossed, enjoying the view outside the window, a bit slow to react.
"Why would they take him?" Frank asked casually.
The subordinate replied, "It seems there was an issue at the magic equipment exchange window! Connie got caught by the Inspectorate Department while exchanging gold coins."
Frank nodded, standing up from his seat, "Go to the Inspectorate Department later and get him back!"
...
Nathan returned to the Inspectorate Department.
After the freshman recounted the entire exchange process, Connie admitted to the presence of fraud during the transaction.
Nathan didn't make it too hard for her; after fining her ten times the transaction amount in gold coins, which she had to pay within ten days, he let Connie go.
However, Nathan detained the two guards and the middle-aged warrior.
Their actions constituted an attack on the Inspectorate Department's officers, which was tantamount to resisting the academy's administration.
As long as Nathan insisted that these three had attacked him first, no one could argue otherwise.
The next step was to confirm the identities of these three individuals.
The two guards were just ordinary security staff.
The middle-aged warrior named Benson, however, was a minor manager in the Resource Department.