The Monroe Police Post is the only official legal institution on the entire West Coast.
To mention this, we have to start with the systems of many kingdoms on the west coast.
Different from the impression held by most civilians who know little about it, whether it is Avenella or Crant - or Sivalier, the most powerful on the west coast, the king's power is not top-notch and absolute.
To describe this system in detail would be lengthy and boring, so we will only briefly describe it here.
The existence of the king can be seen as an upgraded version of the lord to a certain extent. They also have their own army and their own territory. The only difference from the lords is that their army is larger - but it is only a territory-level army. No west coast king, including King Philip II of Cevalier, had an entire country's army. All they had was the allegiance of their lords, and this allegiance could be obtained through conquest or through marriage.
It is true that the king has his own bodyguards, but the bodyguards alone are not enough to fight a war between kingdoms - or if you put your own bodyguards into fighting such a war, you There is not much time left to be the king.
The Royal Guards were more like a deterrent presence, making the nobles who had surrendered to the royal power dare not make any move, and responded to the king's call to win a war for him.
However, the truth is the same. If you only use sticks but no carrots, one day these lords will unite to resist. Therefore, a wise king will also grant important nobles power second only to themselves - which naturally includes territorial autonomy.
Returning to the original point, Monroe, which has autonomous rights, is the territory of the Duke of Monroe family, and its public security system is also unique, unlike any other city-state on the west coast that directly adopts garrison management. On the contrary, the lords of Monro further developed the civilian security squads that often existed elsewhere, adopting a combination of hired and ordinary civilians. Compared with the army that belongs to the lord and needs to go out to fight all year round, these full-time civil servants are more open-minded and devote more energy to dealing with problems in the city.
Just like building roads. The existence of the security post was also the work of the older generation, Archduke Aubrey of Monroe, seventy years ago. Along with a series of other policies to improve people's livelihood, the late Archduke's good talk among the people of Krant is still prevalent.
In comparison, his descendants were much inferior. Even if no one said this for various reasons, Henry and Mira could judge for themselves.
The security guards at the security post looked a little listless.
Two heavily armed mercenaries walked in. The guard sitting on the wooden stool at the door just raised his chin and glanced, then sat back down.
"Squeak--squeak--"
The internal structure here looks like a compact version of a hotel. The lobby on the first floor is about the size of two or three rooms. Several old tables are stacked next to it. Apart from the guard, there is only one other staff member using a long There is something written on the long yellow paper.
The wooden board made a sound as soon as I stepped on it. As the two people moved forward, the sounds continued one after another.
The reason why the guards at the door are listless is probably related to the environment - the sage can tell that the floors, stairs and tables under their feet are all made of expensive teak. This tropical tree species can make very beautiful furniture. Furniture and decor, but apparently not withstanding the ravages of time.
The security post itself is in such a dilapidated state, so the salary used to hire security personnel will naturally not be large.
If there is a lack of funds and the environment is dilapidated, it is natural that the staff will be listless.
"Pay attention to the place where you put your feet. That piece will be raised. The glue on it has not completely dried due to the weather." The staff member who was writing the paper seriously noticed the two of them and he did not raise his head. That's it. Then he stopped writing and stretched before finally looking at the two of them.
"Blue card, that's a bit rare." The young staff member frowned, but he didn't pay too much attention to it.
"If you want to find the Sheriff, he is on the second floor, in the second cubicle. I suggest you wait below for a while." He said this, Henry nodded, and Mira asked: "Are you at work?"
"No, he had diarrhea after eating too much fruit." The staff member picked up the pen again and started writing. The sage and the Luoan girl, who looked at each other speechlessly, stood there and started waiting.
After almost two or three minutes, the closed door of the upstairs compartment was opened.
"Comfortable, comfortable..." The Sheriff, who had a stubble on his face and turned white at the temples, waved his hand and walked out. He noticed the presence of the two people at first sight. Unlike the indifferent attitude of the staff, the Sheriff seemed full of interest.
"Dan Russo... no, is it a Lamanite? And a Luoan... this is a rare combination." The Sheriff, who was about forty years old, walked carelessly and stepped on the "Squeak" "The creaking teak ladder came down. Mira retreated behind the sage with slight disgust because he was cleaning the internal parts of the human body, while Henry nodded at him in a very educated manner.
"Let me guess, is it because of the magician?" The two took a few steps back because the Sheriff didn't look like he had washed his hands just now. Fortunately, the other party didn't intend to shake hands with them. He walked over from the vacant seat given by the two of them and went to the table next to the staff member who was writing seriously. He sat down and put his feet directly on the table.
"Finally - I've been waiting for it."
The Sheriff took a long breath, paused and then said this in a loud voice.
The excessively high pitch made the listless guard at the door wake up instantly and stand up. He looked around, and then sat back down with a mumble after realizing that nothing was going on.
"..." Henry and Mira looked at each other again, and then walked to the Sheriff in silence.
"Excuse me, what do you mean by what you just said." The girl asked proactively. A sage would like to see this kind of behavior of hers, so he chose to remain silent and let Mira communicate.
"Uh... Is this young lady the leader among you?" the Sheriff said, and Mira shook her head: "That's not important." She replied, while the other party was stunned as if she had been choked. For a moment.
"This temperament is quite interesting." The Sheriff exhaled, then put his feet away. He swept the dirt on the table to the ground, and then wiped his hand on his leather jacket.
The unhygienic action made the clean-loving girl frown slightly, but then the other party started to talk about business, so she forgot about it.
"If you came here to find me, it means you already know something about the situation." The Sheriff said, and the two nodded in agreement.
"Well, most of what you heard should be true, although the number of people may be a bit exaggerated. This is because we have sealed the news." The Sheriff clapped his hands to remove the remaining soil. Then he took out an earthenware cup from the side. What seemed to be tea was inside. From the smell, Henry judged that it was probably brewed from lemon tree leaves.
"I wouldn't have leaked this information to anyone else, but you met my requirements perfectly, so listen carefully to what I say next."
"The general public knows that the deceased's heart disappeared, because the body that was first exhumed was discovered by civilians." The Sheriff took a sip of lemon tea, then put the ceramic cup next to him, supported his chin with both hands, and changed his previous carefree attitude. tone, and began to describe seriously.
"But what they didn't know about it. What's even more terrifying is that." The Sheriff paused: "Including the female mercenary discovered last night, everyone committed suicide."
"Suicide?" Mira asked in surprise, while Henry frowned because of this word.
"Yes...if you have enough perseverance to twist your arm to dislocation or slit your neck completely, that is indeed suicide." The Sheriff shrugged, and this action made Mira look at Henry. But the sage's face was only serious.
"Although she is not a good person, it is really miserable for a good person to die with such virtue." He said this with a slight sigh, and then looked at Henry.
"Wizard's Interference Spell 1..." The tall black-haired sage said this word in a calm tone, and the eyes of the sheriff sitting on the chair became slightly sharper. Then the corners of his mouth curved slightly.
"Brother, you are indeed quite capable." He nodded, and then stood up while his tone became more and more formal.
"Behaviors that can make people go against their will or even interfere with some of their limbs and organs. Making them act contrary to common sense is a wizard's method." The Sheriff walked aside and pulled out a parchment map, and then from a A wooden shelf was pulled out from the dusty debris and placed on it. Mira set her sights on Henry again, and she suddenly recalled what happened when the two met a long time ago.
"This method of killing is very scary and difficult to prevent." It seemed like it had not been used for many years. The hand-drawn map that the Sheriff took out had begun to harden a little, and it made a clear sound when he rubbed it with his rough hands. The gray-haired middle-aged man then fastened the blackened iron buckle on the edge of the shelf. On top, the entire parchment map was fixed.
"But in fact, we have suspected the murderer from the beginning." He swept away the dust on the map, and the two people behind him immediately noticed the place with the huge red cross.
"Although you can't understand Crant's text, judging from the area, you can understand who this building belongs to..." The Sheriff sighed, and Henry and Mira clicked together. nod.
"The current Duke of Monroe, Oscar Monroe Jr., the eldest son of His Excellency Oscar Monroe, is not to mention a commoner. Even someone like me, who can barely be considered a subordinate, has never seen his true face."
"A year ago, a maid from Duke Monroe's house escaped. According to her, she saw the young master secretly practicing forbidden spells at night, and this maid was also the first victim." The Sheriff said His finger was placed on the map.
"In addition to the same way of death, all the deceased have another thing in common, that is, the places where the bodies were found were near the Duke's Palace." He said this, while Mira and Henry looked at the map together. , the big red crosses painted on it are distributed in a fan shape near the Duke of Monroe's Palace, all within reach of the people in the Duke's Palace.
"The eldest son of the Duke is the subject of our main suspicion, and this has led to a very ironic result..." The Sheriff held his forehead and continued with a wry smile: "At the request of his father, the current Duke of Monroe We, the subordinate security officers, come to investigate this matter, and the result cannot be fair and equitable from the beginning..."
"Is that why you said you finally waited?" Henry asked, while Mira on the side nodded thoughtfully.
"That's right! As the Duke's subordinates, we can't investigate the Duke's eldest son carefully anyway, but you are mercenaries and outsiders. No one here knows you, but you can do everything we can't. ." The Sheriff straightened up, and Mira found that this sloppy and carefree middle-aged man showed a capable aura for a moment, but he quickly restrained it.
"Although the reward is not much, I hope you can take over this task." He said to the two of them word by word. Henry glanced at Mira. The girl expressed her affirmation with her eyes, but just when the sage was about to nod in agreement, While they were there, a sudden voice from the door interrupted them——
"Uncle Vega, this is not what we agreed to do!"
The childish voice came from a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy. Henry and Mira turned to look at him. The boy had a green mercenary badge on his chest, and the first moment they met their eyes, He turned around with a sad face and ran away without looking back.
"Ferry! Hey! Ferry!"
The Sheriff wanted to catch up, but then he clenched his teeth and his veins popped out, he arched his body and stopped. His left foot was shaking, as if an old injury had recurred.
"You two... please... go find that child. I'm afraid he will... do something stupid." The Sheriff gritted his teeth and gasped for a while before returning to a normal tone: "Ferry's mother is a year old. The first maid of the Monroe family to die, the reason why she ran away was to take Ferry away from this place."
"After she died, the neighbors helped take care of her. This child has always wanted to avenge his mother, and I promised to help him if he could become a blue-label mercenary."
"I never thought he would actually become a mercenary..." The Sheriff gritted his teeth and sweated, while the staff member who seemed to be a clerk came over and helped him calmly. Got him.
"Please, don't let him get close to the Duke's Palace."
"Don't let this kid do anything stupid!"
…
Note: Interference spells: Different from elemental spells that manipulate visible elements for active attack, interference spells that have been jointly declared prohibited by the West Coast countries are the wizard's unique spell system, and they can literally pass through The unique resonance can interfere with the human body's organs and cause them to fail, or it can violate the subject's consciousness and cause the limbs to perform unnatural movements. Folks usually call this type of spell a curse, or a puppet spell. (To be continued.)
