Seren donned his full suit of knight's armor and fastened his knight's emblem before inspecting himself in the full-length mirror. Using the excuse of assisting the local police in investigating serious crimes, he managed to find a way out beyond feigning illness and speaking in an official tone.
He had spoken with the chief last night and learned that the number of missing persons had reached double digits, with no clue as to the origin of the creature responsible. This was a serious situation, prompting him to proactively assist based on his knightly duties.
The scope of the Holy Shield's work was extensive; they would do anything for the country and its people. From disaster relief to warfare, apprehending criminals to catching corrupt officials, they would take action if they deemed it important.
Since the disappearances all occurred at night, and until the culprit was caught, the police were diligently apprehending girls found wandering the streets at night, ensuring their safety by sending them back home.
This task was exceedingly difficult.
Like many countries, ours prohibited minors from being out on the streets at night. The minors were well aware of this, so they would do everything in their power to evade the police and avoid being sent home!
As for undercover police catching them without wearing police uniforms, that was even more challenging. Trying to approach girls at night on the streets without looking like a police officer was nearly impossible; nine out of ten times, they would be perceived as creeps, and the girls would flee with all their might, refusing to stop!
Every night, the police had to endure punches, kicks, and a barrage of foul language from the girls as they chased them through the snow. The chief didn't assign Seren to this part of the job; he believed prevention was more critical. Instead, he sent Seren to visit the homes of some girls who were out every night, hoping to speak with their parents and ensure they kept their children indoors. Some families they had already visited, but for others, Seren's presence as a knight was necessary to have any effect.
With the notebook provided by the chief, Seren found the address of the first home.
When the door of the house opened, the first thing Seren saw wasn't someone's face but a bucket full of water, aimed right at him. The person preparing to splash him urgently halted, but water still spilled out due to momentum, soaking Seren's shoes.
The chief had warned that every police officer sent here would return drenched. Seren, relying on his status as a knight, at least kept his upper body dry and was successfully invited into the house.
He waited for quite some time, finishing half a pot of tea, before finally meeting the lady of the house. She appeared to be around seventy years old and required assistance to walk. After she sat down, just as Seren was about to explain the purpose of his visit, she spoke up first: "I don't have a daughter; I only have one son!"
"But the records show that you have five children—"
"How would I know who the other four belong to? I only gave birth to one!"
"Your daughter—" Seren sensed the complicated nature of the family and quickly changed tack: "The girl living in this area—"
"I don't care! Let her mother deal with her! But her mother is now at the bottom of the sea, so she can't do anything about her anymore!" The old woman laughed shrilly as she spoke.
After leaving the house, Seren made a note in his notebook: "Possible homicide case; recommend further investigation."
He proceeded to the second home. Welcoming him was a beautiful and gentle woman, dressed stylishly yet exuding a sense of stability. After Seren explained his purpose, tears immediately welled up in her eyes, and she said, "Are you saying I can't discipline her? If you think that, he will take her away! He's been telling everyone that I can't take care of our daughter alone, and he wants the court to award him custody!"
Seren quickly reassured her, telling her that he knew many successful single mothers and that she should not worry. He also informed her that her ex-husband was lurking nearby and trying to take their child away, advising her to keep the child indoors until the police could ensure their safety.
Leaving the house, Seren made a note in his notebook: "In this household, 'ex-husband' is referred to as 'beast.'"
At the third home, the girl who had been caught by the police every night was the one who answered the door. Seren asked her, "Where are your parents?"
"I haven't seen them in six months."
"And have you eaten today?"
She shook her head.
So Seren took her away and brought her to the social worker, noting below the address about foster care and providing the contact details of the responsible social worker.
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Seren went from house to house, making visits. Although many households were polite to him and offered him cookies and tea, he felt more exhausted than standing watch all night. He felt like he needed a halftime break, so he walked into the park marked with signs prohibiting non-magical pets and trampling the grass.
From afar, Seren saw pedestrians showing fearful expressions, dodging to the sides of the road or turning back. When he saw young girls discussing whether to call the police, he walked over to see what was going on.
To his surprise, he saw Seake in tattered wizard robes, walking openly. When the girls saw a knight, they ran over and said to Seren, "Sir, arrest him! He must be the culprit in the disappearance case!"
"Do you have any evidence?" Seren asked. "Investigations require evidence."
"We do! He looks so similar!"
"What does 'similar' mean?" Seren remembered that nobody should know what the culprit looked like, and certainly nobody should think Seake resembled the culprit.
"He just looks like the type who would do such a thing! Look at him, dressed like that, walking in such a beautiful place. He must have antisocial personality disorder and maladjustment syndrome, ready to kidnap girls at any time!"
"Let me ask him." Seren approached Seake, who turned and fled. Seake realized after a couple of steps that the passersby were giving him strange looks. If he continued to run away from a knight in formal attire, it might lead to a situation where the police and the public worked together to maintain order, and he would be subdued by the crowd and handed over to Seren.
So Seake stopped and waited for Seren to approach.
"Seake, have you been kidnapping girls?" Seren asked bluntly.
"No," Seake replied firmly.
"Then there's no problem."
The girls, realizing that Seren knew Seake, immediately changed their impression of him. Instead of wanting to call the police, they retreated to a distance and discussed, "His grungy style is so trendy. Maybe he intentionally dresses like this to test whether people judge others by appearances. Look at how he confidently walks the streets in such attire. That's the level of confidence everyone should aspire to!"
It turns out that caution in making friends is more important than appearance. Seake muttered to himself. He asked Seren, "Why are you dressed like this?"
"Investigating. There have been many girls disappearing here."
"I saw the notice. Aren't you supposed to come out at midnight? You're a few hours early."
"This is for prevention."
Seake didn't understand what Seren was talking about, but he wanted to take a stroll around town while the sun was still up. "If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."
Seake turned around and saw the crowd that had just walked over. They saw Seake talking to Seren and thought Seake was being questioned by the knight, so they began discussing what Seake might have done. If Seake didn't want the already overloaded police to be constantly notified to arrest him, it would be better for him to not blatantly flee from Seren.
So he followed Seren for a while, chatting about this and that.
"Do you remember the old lady in black at the last banquet?" Seren asked.
"I do. She said society was sick. Looks like I'm the tumor of society."
"Did she say that? You misunderstood; it's the opposite." Seren said, "When I visited her, she mentioned seeing you. She said, 'This society has changed. In the past, people like him should have been the backbone of society, commanding others to do good deeds. But now, he is being commanded by a group of people who are not qualified to do so.'"
"Was she overestimating me?" Seake felt a bit embarrassed but also a bit pleased. For some reason, he felt that the old lady's approval would be much more valuable than Hana's approval (if Hana intended to approve of him).
"I don't know." Seren answered honestly. They arrived at the next house Seren was going to visit, and Seake couldn't follow inside, so they parted ways there.
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That evening, the magic circle set up by Seake in his room still glowed brightly at midnight before dimming out. Seake considered this as a regular disturbance caused by the land contamination and decided not to stay up late to observe it anymore.
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The next day, Hana returned to work looking radiant, as if she had undergone a full-body makeover at the expense of the company. She didn't mention anything about Seake's salary. Seake figured she would wait until payday to bring it up.
Seake did odd jobs while mentally calculating how much he should be paid, making sure to check if Hana was being stingy.
Around two o'clock in the afternoon, Seake was in the workshop smashing a pile of bones to prepare powder. Hana was in the break room reading the sequel to "Love in the Spiral Tower," where the female wizard finally understood the feelings of the chairman of the Scroll Company at the end of the first book. However, she mistakenly drank juice spiked by a new character—the chairman of a spaceship company—and was taken aboard his luxurious spaceship, where she was about to be assaulted. The chairman of the Scroll Company stormed into the spaceship company's headquarters, hijacked a spaceship, and pursued to rescue her. A showdown between the chairmen of the spaceship company and the Scroll Company was imminent!
At that moment, Valru knocked on the door and entered, saying, "Miss Hana, I need to borrow your assistant for a moment."
Hana quickly stuffed the novel under a cushion. She reached for her wand, pretending to practice magic, but accidentally grabbed a cocktail glass nearby and quickly put it down.
"Just need his assistance with some routine matters," Valru said with a straight face and hands behind his back, maintaining a professional demeanor.
"What matters?" Hana asked, widening her eyes and pouting slightly, pretending to be friendly. "Is Lady Rof's precious Mimi not feeling well again? Or does Little Jida need a divination? I'm always available to help."
"It's not about the ladies; it's about the maids needing assistance," Valru replied.
Hana's face instantly fell, and she sank back into her chair, pulling out the novel to continue reading. "He's in the workshop."
Seake had already heard their conversation. He quickly packed up his tools, separating the bones from the powder.
Valru opened the workshop door and said to Seake, "Come with me."