Book 7: Chapter 28: Meeting |
The more prosperous a city was, the more darkness it bred. Maplefall Town was no exception. In a dim, narrow alley at that very moment, several burly men clutching daggers had cornered two delicate, seemingly fragile young girls. Their throats rattled with harsh, grating chuckles as they loomed closer.
“Heh heh, little ladies… nowhere left to run now, huh?”
“Y-you… what do you want from us?”
The two girls huddled together in the corner, trembling as though a gust of wind could scatter them. They looked pitiful to the extreme.
“We don’t want much,” the leader said, rubbing his fingers together with a greedy grin. “Just a bit of pocket money to get by.” He smirked, voice growing rougher. “Haven’t had a single score in days. We’re practically starving. And judging by how this young lady’s dressed, she’s got to be loaded, right?”
His gaze fixed on one of the girls, and the moment he caught sight of her delicate, beautiful face, a savage, wolf-like greed flared in his eyes.
“But… we don’t have any money…”
“No money? Who are you trying to fool?” The man eyed them suspiciously before letting out a cold sneer. “One look and it’s obvious. A young miss and her maid. How could you possibly not have money?”
His gaze shifted again, settling on the plainly dressed girl with an unremarkable figure and ordinary looks, the very image of a servant. “The young miss wouldn’t carry money herself. That means the cash is on you, maid. Hand it over!”
“Heh heh, go on, scream,” the man sneered. “This place is so out of the way that even if you scream your lungs out, no one’s going to hear you.”
“Really?” The “maid* suddenly stopped trembling, her fear vanishing as if it had never existed. “No one will hear us?”
“Hm?” The leader instinctively felt something was off, but he still answered with confidence. “Of course. We know this area like the back of our hands. No one’s coming.”
“Then that makes things easy!” The moment the words left her mouth, a small fist slammed hard into his face.
“AAARGH!” The man howled in pain, staggering back. But just as quickly, he froze. ‘…Wait. That didn’t hurt as much as it should have?’
The *maid* shook her hand and gave an awkward laugh. “Ah… whoops, forgot to apply my buff.”
“You little—how dare you toy with me!” Fury exploded across the man’s face as he waved his arm. “Boys, teach her a lesson!”
The thugs surged forward all at once. What they didn’t notice was the faint golden gleam that flickered in the depths of the *maid’s* eyes.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve used this power.” She clenched her fist, feeling the long-forgotten, overwhelming strength surge through her body once more. A bold, unruly grin slowly spread across her lips. “Guess I’ll use you lot for a bit of rehab.”
……
A dozen seconds later. The alley was filled with groans. The once-ferocious men lay sprawled across the ground, bruised, battered, and utterly unrecognizable. One of them, the former leader, had both arms twisted at grotesque angles, resembling some absurd and horrifying piece of human art.
The *maid*…or rather, Lilith, squatted beside them, rifling through their belongings to plunder—cough—confiscate their ill-gotten gains. After all, if you robbed bad people, it wasn’t robbery. It was righteous black-on-black justice.
That’s how it was written in novels. And yet… After turning out every pocket, Lilith only managed to gather a pitiful handful of copper coins.
“What’s this supposed to buy?” Lilith asked, glancing at Liana, who was enthusiastically helping, occasionally stomping on a groaning thug for good measure.
“Let me see…” Liana leaned in, carefully counting before answering, “About two steamed buns… or maybe one stuffed bun.”
“Two buns…” Lilith’s mouth twitched. Then, she kicked the still-wailing leader. “You b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲, where’s the rest of your money? Where’d you hide it?”
“Mercy, miss, please! Th-that’s really all we have!”
“That’s all? Who are you kidding?!” Lilith snapped, fuming. “You roam the streets looking this miserable? With faces as vicious as yours, you’ve got the nerve to be this broke? Even beggars make more than you!”
“Beggars really do make more than we do…”
The burly man looked utterly miserable, his face crumpling as he complained, “Lately, because of the Moon Demon, the Inspection Bureau has been sweeping the city nonstop. We barely dare to make a move anymore. Didn’t we just say it? We’re practically starving. Coming out to rob people this time was already a last resort. If you two hadn’t wandered into such a remote place, even if we had ten times the courage, we wouldn’t have dared to act!”
Lilith fell silent.
‘Unbelievable. In this day and age, even being a bandit has become difficult.’
“Then… Mountain Ghost, should we just go withdraw money from the bank?” After realizing their black-on-black plan had failed, Liana’s mood immediately sank again. “If we move fast, Father might not make it in time to catch us.”
“No. There will definitely be people watching the bank right now.” Lilith rejected the idea without hesitation. “And besides, I refuse to believe I can’t even solve something as trivial as a single meal!”
“Mountain Ghost, do you have another plan?” Liana’s eyes widened in anticipation.
“Heh heh.” Lilith looked at the thugs rolling and groaning across the ground, a smug smile creeping onto her face. “Speaking of the Inspection Bureau… I’ve actually thought of a rather good idea.”
***
Inside the Inspection Bureau, a solemn meeting was underway. Not only were all twelve captains present, but even the rarely seen Chief Inspector, Adrian, sat at the head of the table with a grave expression.
As for the topic of the meeting, it was none other than the killer who had stirred chaos in Maplefall Town for the past five years, nearly reducing the Bureau’s reputation to complete disgrace, the Moon Demon.
“Everyone, the issue of the Moon Demon has reached a point where our Bureau can no longer ignore it.” Deputy Chief Inspector Lauren rose to her feet and addressed the room with a serious expression.
“Since the Moon Demon first appeared five years ago, committing murders every full moon while our capture operations have failed again and again, our reputation among the people has essentially collapsed. Recent surveys show that nearly eighty percent of the populace have lost their sense of security in us. If this continues, no one will believe in the Inspection Bureau anymore.”
“If they don’t believe, then so be it.” The Third Captain shrugged indifferently. “It’s already rotten to the core. What difference does it make if it gets a little worse?”
“Exactly.” Another voice chimed in, “Those ignorant commoners don’t even have to face the Moon Demon themselves. Let them say whatever they want. No matter how much they talk, it won’t bring our fallen brothers back!”
“……”
The meeting had barely begun before the atmosphere plunged to freezing point. For five years, the Inspection Bureau had paid an immense price in their pursuit of the Moon Demon. Many of their comrades had been slaughtered before their very eyes.1 And yet, they had been powerless to stop it.
Every person in the room carried that frustration deep in their chest. Naturally, none of them cared what the common people thought anymore.
“Yes, we have sacrificed a great deal. But who are we? We are the Inspection Bureau!” Lauren clenched her fists and swept her gaze across the room. “The very purpose of our existence is to protect this city and its people. And yet now, we are failing again and again. Tell me, is that acceptable?”
“If you want to ask whether it’s acceptable, go ask those noble lords!”
“That’s right! If those cowards weren’t so afraid of death, demanding that we divert manpower to protect them every full moon, we would have caught the Moon Demon long ago. So many people wouldn’t have had to die!”
Some had already reddened eyes, while others spoke with undisguised hatred toward the noble class. Yet no matter how bitter their words were, they were impossible to refute.
A large part of the reason the Moon Demon remained uncaptured was precisely because of the so-called great families within the city, all of whom were dragging them down.
The Ye, Wang, and Gongsun families offered no cooperation whatsoever, not even allowing investigators through their gates. As for the other families, each one lived in constant fear, demanding protection from the Bureau whenever the full moon approached.
And the city lord’s government, now like a lion in its twilight years, had no choice but to comply under mounting pressure. That was why Lauren had formed her suspicion. The Moon Demon came from one of those great families, perhaps even sheltered by them.
And among them, the Ye, Wang, and Gongsun families were the three greatest suspects. But suspicion alone was useless. Even if they truly captured the Moon Demon and forced a confession from him, they still wouldn’t be able to convict any of the three great families.
In this city, the law of the jungle reigned supreme.
“Enough!” The long-silent Chief Inspector, Adrian, slammed his hand onto the table with a resounding bang, his voice erupting with authority. “We are here for a meeting, not a marketplace!” Adrian commanded immense respect within the Bureau, and the room fell silent in an instant.
Adrian gestured to Lauren beside him. “Deputy Chief Inspector Lauren, please continue.”
“Yes.” Lauren swept her gaze across the room once more before speaking, “I know everyone here has been holding their frustration in for years. As long as the Moon Demon remains at large, none of you can truly rest easy. So earlier, Chief Inspector Adrian and I went to the city lord’s manor and secured an opportunity—for all of us, and for the entire Inspection Bureau.”
“What kind of opportunity?” The others frowned, puzzled.
“Naturally…” Lauren raised five slender fingers, then clenched them tightly into a fist. “An opportunity for the Inspection Bureau to act with our full strength.”
“Could it be…”
“That’s right. On the next full moon night, the city lord will reject all requests for protection from the major families. When that time comes, the Inspection Bureau will finally be able to operate at full capacity!”
“That’s great news!”
The captains immediately grew excited.
“As long as we can unite our strength, a mere Moon Demon is nothing to fear!”
“Exactly! I almost had him last time!”
“If all the captains of the Inspection Bureau move together, is there anyone we can’t catch?”
“That may be true…” Watching their rising enthusiasm, Lauren shifted her tone. “But we only have one chance. If we still fail this time, the Inspection Bureau will be completely dissolved and restructured. And when that happens, those above us… will likely be the very great families we despise.”
“It doesn’t matter!” The captains rose to their feet. “We’re willing to stake everything on this. This time, we will definitely capture the Moon Demon!”
“There’s no need for such pledges.” Lauren motioned for them to sit back down. “But I advise you not to be overly optimistic, because this may be the most dangerous Moon Demon we have ever faced.”
“Why is that?”
“Because of the full moon.” Lauren stepped aside, revealing the wall behind her, now covered densely with organized information about the Moon Demon. “As everyone knows, the Moon Demon only acts during the full moon. But have you ever considered why it has to be the full moon?”
“Is it… some kind of twisted fetish of a serial killer?”
Someone frowned. “Aren’t most killers like that?”
“That is indeed one possibility,” Lauren replied, “but my hypothesis is…” She tapped the compiled reports gathered by the Bureau over the years, her expression turning grave. “The Moon Demon is only strong enough… during the full moon.”