Chapter 102: All Clues Lead to the Supernatural

"Are you sure that it's the right thing for him to investigate that case, Captain? It has been less than a week since he joined our ranks. Well, he successfully survived through the mutations, but he still doesn't have his class-specific Aspect. Will he be fine?" Ashlynn asked.

Ashlynn was a fine woman ripe with age. She seemed to be younger than the Captain of the Cavaliers for half a decade, but despite the fact that her age wasn't so far away from the remaining member of the Cavaliers. That man didn't dare to disrespect her due to her authority.

The Captain of the Cavaliers, Ron Samuel raised his head and said, "I don't know... But he will undoubtedly become one of us anyway..."

"Seeing that he's so young, there needs to be a whetstone that would make him get used to how we do our jobs, you understand? Small jobs like these that the Church gives to us for some reason is what he needs to adapt."

"Those that cannot adapt after becoming a Cavalier are people that we do not need."

Ashlynn nodded her head.

James Branzuela who sat on the table across Ashlynn also nodded and gave out a small smile, "Is that the reason why despite having so many candidates. We only have four employees in this coffee shop?"

Ron Samuel shook his head, "I don't know..."

Indeed...

Cavaliers were a bunch of people that would never die in their sleep.

Fighting against monsters...

Protecting the believers of the Church of Lumiere, the Church of the Goddess of Compassion and Light from the supernatural, and the influences of other Predators.

These thankless jobs were the jobs of the Cavaliers. It was understandable that not a lot of people would willingly abandon their future just to join the Cavaliers.

"This place still stinks as always..." Bruce lifted a bitter smile on his face.

It was past high noon, but the heat of the sun was still as dizzying as ever. Bruce was never a man who liked to be under the sun. As a night owl, he found the night more comforting than the light of the sun.

Furthermore, though moonlight illuminated the world with its light that could never compare to the all-encompassing light of the sun...

At least, it wasn't scorching and it brought him a sense of peace and catharsis whenever it was night and he was basking under the moonlight.

The Southern Borough in the afternoon was a mess. Most jobs started as early as dawn and ended past noon.

Of course, sweatshops, matchstick, and textile factories from the Northern and Western Borough was an exception. For some reason, only the companies within the Southern Borough had the health of their employees in mind.

The differences were so vast that the Southern Borough seemed to be a different world compared to the Western and Northern Borough. However, despite these differences, there was still something in common. It was the perpetual stink of feces and all sorts of crap lingering in the air.

Most of the people living in Southern Borough were seafarers and seamen working in cargo. They worked from dawn until past lunch and it was an understatement to say that they carried heavy objects more often than they changed their knickers.

The smell was overwhelming, particularly for Bruce who had a strong sense of smell.

Suppressing the nauseous sensation rising up from his stomach to his throat, Bruce finally reached the wet market wherein he started the very first steps of conducting an investigation based on the Cavalier's way.

First...

Ask questions.

Bruce approached the merchant named Slyvester and started asking his questions. He then found out that the reason why he handed over the notice to the Church of Lumiere was after the police's recommendation.

It was because when the police and Sylvester had cornered the thief into a nearby alleyway.

They became distracted for a second, and when they realized it...

The man had vanished into thin air without any traces.

It was as if he didn't even exist in the first place.

But when questioned by Bruce as to how he was so sure that the thief exists.

Sylvester showed him the records of wares that Sylvester bought from his supplier. Comparing the values of the sales and the initial purchase that Sylvester made from the factory. It was revealed that Sylvester had about a dozen wares missing from his stalls.

All of those items were allegedly stolen by the thief.

The stories of the merchants that had goods stolen from them by the thief were the same. They all said that whenever they managed to corner the thief, they would be distracted for a brief moment and when they realized what just happened, the thief had already disappeared, similar to a ghost.

The merchants were so scared of these events that Sylvester lost a few members of his Merchant Coalition. What's more, the Bountiful City Trade Act dealt a lot of damage against the merchants, so now... Sylvester only had a handful of members in his coalition.

His previous merchants retired and went to do other businesses unaffected by the Trade Act.

There were no glaring holes in the stories of the merchants. Summarizing what he had heard, Bruce proceeded onto the second step of his investigation using the Cavalier's way.

One must do their own research!

Bruce took out a few vials from his pocket.

These vials were filled with oils, herbs, and a monster core.

Placing the small vials in his hand.

A crunchy sound rang out as Bruce simultaneously crushed them with the sheer strength of his palm.

Afterwards, he walked towards a nearby alleyway and silently prayed.

"Oh, Beloved Goddess of Boundless Compassion..."

"The Magister of Light and the Commander of Compassion..."

"Your lowly servant offers you this sacrifice, Oh, beloved Goddess!"

"Guide your servant..."

Bruce took a deep breath before taking out a pair of divining rods out his pocket.

Wiping the remains of the sacrificed ingredients onto the surface of the dowsing rods. The metal rods started twitching until it pointed in a general direction. Bruce's eyes gleamed with excitement when he saw that the divining rod had discovered something.

It was pointing towards the Yang Bridge!

Bruce promptly stuffed the divining rods back into his pocket and rushed towards the Yang Bridge. Upon scaling the bridge, he walked near the railings and took out the divining rods once again. But as soon as the divining rods came out, they started spinning uncontrollably.

"Ah!"

Bruce was so startled that he let go of the divining rods.

"Oh no!"

Splash!

Being so close to the railings...

Bruce accidentally let go of the divining rods out of panic and the rods fell into the Revoir River down below.

"Fuck..."

Bruce softly whispered a curse.

But the shock in his eyes was still evident.

It was because the uncontrollable spinning of the divining rods only meant one thing...

Something connected to the supernatural happened here!