Almost instantly, Arthur found the memories of his predecessor related to the "Swordsmanship Competition" and the "Axe Murderer" —
Every three years, a contest called the "Swordsmanship Competition" is held in South Los. Participants are required to fight barehanded or with bladed weapons, and must be under the age of twenty. Not only can the champion win a substantial prize, but they also qualify to compete in the "Swordsmanship Competition" in Inner Bay, hosted by South County.
If you're exceptionally skilled and win the championship in South County's "Swordsmanship Competition," then you will be knighted by the Duke of South County.
A knight, no longer part of the common folk, has stepped into the threshold of nobility.
Even the very lowest of the low, even when everyone is talking about the "decline of the old nobility," every "Swordsmanship Conference" is enough to make all those who qualify strive relentlessly.
Because it's about glory — if one is lucky enough, a small piece of land will be given as a testament to that "glory," even if it means having to pay taxes on it.
His predecessor was deeply obsessed with this, not for the land, but purely for the thrill of being the center of attention!
Arthur, on the other hand, was much simpler.
He was pondering whether there were any XP to be gained from it.
As for the "Axe Murderer"?
That was the most sensational event in South Los recently!
The murderer appeared in South Los two months ago, emerging on rainy nights to hack innocent victims to death with an axe and rob them.
According to the memories Arthur reviewed from his predecessor, this murderer had already killed eleven people, including a family of five in a mass murder case.
The police had set up numerous traps, but not only did they fail to capture the murderer, they also lost an officer in an attack.
A real officer, not just a so-called patrolman.
This left the people of South Los in utter fear, with the wealthy scrambling to hire bodyguards, causing the prices of security companies in South Los to skyrocket.
And the poor?
Those without extra money either chose to stay home, or they would band together in groups during rainy nights to lower the risk.
One could say that aside from the rumored "Jack the Ripper," the "Axe Murderer" has been the most sensational case in South Los in recent years.
"Such a case…"
"If solved, would definitely yield a large amount of XP!"
Arthur thought involuntarily.
For Arthur, who was in desperate need of XP, any action that could earn XP was worth serious consideration.
Meanwhile, as Arthur sat quietly contemplating, the police chief, who had explained to Marinda at length that the Kledos Family were fraudsters yet still had not managed to dissuade Marinda from seeking further help, once again aimed his criticisms at Arthur.
"Even the most inexperienced young man in my force would be better than this charlatan!"
The chief said, glaring at Arthur with inflamed cheeks, looking as though he wanted to devour him.
"No!"
"I believe Mr. Kledos is no charlatan!"
"He is a genuine Spirit Medium!"
Marinda shook her head and then took out today's supplementary issue of the Horn Report from her pocket and handed it to the chief.
"Just some cheap tricks!"
The chief laughed coldly, clearly unimpressed.
In his view, increasing one's fame through the newspapers was an old tactic of the Kledos Family, and nothing to take seriously.
"And there's the matter that just happened!"
Marinda, facing the stubborn police chief, began recounting the incident that had just occurred, about Dockler being cursed.
Arthur didn't pay much attention to such a narrative.
He knew exactly what the lady's intention was: to completely absolve herself of any suspicion.
In Arthur's view, whether it was this lady's insistence on believing in the Spirit Medium or her current argument with Chief Lauke, it was all in order to free herself from suspicion.
This was her plan all along.
Especially when the lady pulled out the supplement of the Horn Report at that moment, it further proved everything.
She had unexpectedly seen the report about him in the supplement of the Horn Report and guessed that Dockler would come to him next, which led to the scene that had just unfolded at the door.
Unexpectedly for Arthur, as the lady continued her explanation, the disdain in Chief Lauke's eyes began to lessen.
By the end, when the chief looked at Arthur again,
A sense of sinister coldness surged in the depths of Arthur's heart!
This sense of discomfort immediately made Arthur's muscles tense up!
It was...
The shadow of death!
In the Talent column, "Death Intuition" began to blink incessantly.
At that moment, Arthur was filled with astonishment.
Just now, when he had confronted the chief with firearm and longsword, the other party had never thought of killing him, even though he appeared extremely angry.
The other was merely trying to intimidate him, but now, just hearing Marinda elaborate on how he cursed Dockler, the other seems to harbor a hidden intent to kill.
Is the other party related to Dockler?
No, that's not right!
It's not Dockler!
If it had been about Dockler, the other party wouldn't have been so calm and indifferent upon seeing Dockler's corpse!
Therefore...
The other party truly began to believe that he could curse others and thus speculated that he possessed an ability similar to communicating with the dead!
If that's the case, then things just got interesting!
The Axe Murderer?
Hey, Axe Murderer!
Arthur opened his eyes and discreetly observed Chief Lauke, who had turned his head back.
At this moment, he was considering how he could maximize his benefits... No, his XP!
And Chief Lauke, completely oblivious to these thoughts, was loudly exclaiming—
"Coincidence! That was just a coincidence!"
"Dockler couldn't possibly have died from a curse!"
"He just didn't see your carriage, which is why such a tragedy happened!"
At this moment, Chief Lauke was once again arguing with Marinda, just like he had before, even his expression was exactly the same.
Even as Arthur had his suspicions, he couldn't help but admire the chief's acting at this time.
For anyone watching would only sigh at the chief's stubbornness and persistence.
Just like the lady in front of him.
However, the lady's stubbornness was also admirable.
"Thank you very much for your persuasion, but I still want to try—not just for Anna, but also for the many more potential victims that might appear.
If there's a chance, why not give it a shot?
What if it works?"
Marinda once again looked earnestly at the chief, and this time, the chief's expression softened somewhat as if convinced by her argument about 'preventing more victims.'
"I worry this is all just a waste of time!"
The chief muttered, then his gaze shifted to Arthur.
"Miss Caesar may choose to believe you, but I don't!
If I find out you've deceived Miss Caesar... hmph!"
The chief huffed coldly, bowed to Marinda, and then turned to leave.
However, the chief did not leave but stayed outside No. 2 Cork Street with the patrol officers, dealing with Dockler's body and questioning Scott, the three others, and coachman Edwin.
Throughout the process, the chief not only guided his subordinates with patience but was thorough in his questioning, not overlooking a single detail. Coupled with just having been convinced by Marinda's argument about 'preventing more victims,' he carried out his duties exceptionally well.
One could say he perfectly fit the role of a police chief.
Arthur, who was silently watching this scene, laughed.
"He really does embody the role of a police chief!
If that's the case, I hope you can stick to it to the end!"
Thinking to himself, Arthur watched the chief who was preparing to leave and said with a smile—
"Chief Lauke, please wait."