"So, you are a model?" Detective Alice asked the warlock.
"Umm, not right now. I'm working as a bodyguard," Dante replied, covering his friend's lie.
"Oh, I see. You must work for Camille, then…" the detective continued, but the warlock didn't react to her words.
"Camille? Hmmm, it rings a bell…" said Dante, placing a hand on his chin.
The warlock knew that Camille was extremely secretive with anything related to her, and Dante wasn't the type of person to divulge information—especially not from the person who had been helping him since he arrived in that world.
Moreover, he was aware that the police weren't entirely on their side since Camille herself was the one who told him to be careful around cops.
"You don't really have to hide it—She is my friend," Alice replied, and Dante saw that her flow of energy didn't change, meaning she wasn't lying.
Still, before he could continue denying it, Sophia interrupted their talk as she was finished with her lesson.
"Hi, Miss Alice!" the blonde greeted the detective, giving her a friendly hug.
"Oh, you know each other?" Dante asked, feeling relieved that he didn't have to lie anymore.
"She is an old friend of Camille's. She was very helpful when Megan and I were living with her," Sophia said with a smile, turning her attention back to the detectives.
When the blonde inquired why they were there, Alice said that they had been called to look into a fight that happened a few days ago that left four people in the hospital.
'That was a lie…' thought Dante, seeing the small flow of umbra that came out of Alice when she spoke.
Nevertheless, the only one who reacted to her words was Zac, who flinched when he heard her say that, as he suspected that was the reason they were there all along.
"Oh wow. I hadn't even heard about that!" said Sophia with an innocent expression that showed no signs that she was lying.
Dante, the only one who could see the flow of energy around them, realized it was the first time he had seen Sophia lying, and she seemed quite natural at it.
After the detectives said they would stop taking their time, the group made their way out of the courtyard and returned home.
Meanwhile, June commented that she found Dante to be suspicious, but she attributed it to his name sounding like that of an evil villain from a movie.
On the other hand, Alice had a different perspective of the warlock, saying that he reminded her of someone.
"That guy? I mean, he was sort of handsome but kinda scary—I don't think he reminds me of anyone…" said June as she inspected her notes.
"I'm not talking about his looks—more the way he looked at others. It reminded me of Camille…" said Alice with a pensive tone.
"How so?" the rookie asked.
"People who do bad things for the good of others…" replied the detective as she got into their car.
____________________
Late at night, inside a mansion on the outskirts of Novis, Turner stood before a tall and burly man with a clean beard and dark brown hair.
The man sat behind his desk with a severe expression, listening attentively to Turner, who had his face full of bandages and a cast on his right arm.
"It was that guy, father. His name was Dante… I heard he lives with the bitch daughter of the Jade Dragons leader," Turner said with a frustrated tone.
"I see…" his father said, standing up and walking slowly towards him.
*Slap!* Turner dropped to the ground after getting struck by his father.
"So, the bodyguard of a dead mafia family beat you and your friends?" the man asked, looking down at his son.
"He is not normal, father! —He just appeared on campus out of nowhere!" Turner exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter what he is—If a member of the Jade Dragons disrespects us, then we must teach them a lesson," the father replied, fixing the sleeves of his suit and returning to his seat.
"Do you think the Blood Dragons are going to favor us if this is known to them?" the man asked.
"N-no," Turner stammered, still rubbing his cheek and standing up from the ground.
However, his father smirked. "What if we kill those members of the Jade Dragons?" he asked.
"Heheh, then the Blood Dragons would surely favor us!" Turner responded with his eyes widened, letting out a slightly deranged chuckle.
"You know where they live, right? I'll make some calls," the father said.
"You, on the other hand…" he continued, opening a drawer behind his desk using a key.
"You are my son, and I'm a general of the Scarlett Bullets—If you are weak, then I'm weak," he said, taking out an orange pill container from the drawer.
"Wh-what's that?" Turner asked.
"A gift, my son—from the leader of the Blood Dragons," the father replied with a smirk.
The bully seemed surprised for a moment, but he remembered that the Blood Dragons were the mafia family that annihilated the Jade Dragons, and his father had been trying to curry favor with them for a long time.
The sudden realization that he could become as strong as a member of the Blood Dragons got to his head, and as he delusionally laughed, his father ordered him to start taking the pills that same night.
"You are my son. You will take what you want, whenever you want—nobody will be able to stop you…" said the father as he handed the pill container.