Chapter 37: Traces

  Nearly half an hour passed, and the thugs who had rushed in as reinforcements were forced to retreat when they saw that the area was densely packed with City guards.

  The field officers in khaki uniforms stood guard at the scene, ensuring nothing could slip through.

  Even though the khaki-uniformed officers noticed the thugs' reinforcements, they couldn't rush in to make arrests. They hadn't committed any crime yet.

  Inside the building, Unit 3 and the field officers dispersed to clean up the battlefield. The thugs who had been knocked unconscious by Napha and Gion were all apprehended. The Learners on the second floor were being treated by medical personnel before being taken for interrogation.

  During the cleanup, various kinds of spiritual energy spread out and covered the entire area, detecting anomalies, searching for evidence, and checking hidden passages within the building. Their goal was to find any traces that could lead them to the informant behind the scenes.

  "Leader, we found nothing," Kasa reported, her face contorted with frustration.

  "I've checked behind the walls and under the roofs. There are no hidden rooms or passageways," one of the field officers reported.

  "And what about underground passages? Has anyone checked those yet?" Leader Mei frowned.

  "I've already used my abilities through the ground. There are no hidden passages," another field officer replied.

  "Absolutely no trace at all? A massive convoy ambushing operation like this, and you are saying the mastermind just showed up, explained the plan, and then left?" Leader Mei grumbled irritably.

  "Maybe the Mastermind didn't even show their faces," Napha said, his face showing frustration.

  "They seem to be top-level professionals. They didn't even leave the slightest trace," Tawan added.

  "And what about the thugs who escaped? Is there anything linking them to anything?" Napha asked.

  "We have no excuse to arrest them. At most, we can arrest them for causing a disturbance, but we can't pursue anything more than that. What if they file a countersuit? It will be us who will be in trouble." Gion shook his head.

  "Nitaan, what about you? Did you find anything?" Leader Mei looked at Nitaan.

  "Nothing. If there are no specific targets, then I’m also at a loss." Nitaan shook his head. ‘Domain’ allowed him to meticulously inspect the surrounding area, but if he didn't know what to look for, he was helpless.

  Kiita walked out from the second-floor room that had just been the scene of a fierce battle. The giant dog drew everyone's attention with its deep, low bark.

  In Kiita's enormous mouth was a small pen.

  The pen was gold-plated, looking luxurious and expensive, unlike the other quill pens on the table.

  "Woof!"

  Nitaan! Nitaan! This pen smells strange!

  Nitaan took the pen and examined it. On the cap was a symbol of a four-headed elephant. He didn't find anything special about the pen. It just looked too luxurious for these thugs to possess.

  Leader Mei, seeing Nitaan receive a pen from Kiita, raised an eyebrow in suspicion and walked towards him. Upon seeing the emblem, her expression immediately turned serious.

  "Is something wrong?" Seeing Leader Mei and Nitaan silently examining the pen, Napha asked.

  "Kiita said this pen has a different smell from the others, but I don't see anything special about it. It's just a rather luxurious-looking pen," Nitaan frowned.

  "If we're talking about evidence on the pen itself, there's none. But if we're talking about something special about this pen, then there is." Leader Mei picked up the pen and held it up to eye level.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Tawan, seeing the symbol on the pen, also frowned. Nitaan and the others remained puzzled.

  "This emblem is the old symbol of one of the four Great Families under Her Majesty. It's the Kodchasan Family's emblem," Tawan pointed to the emblem on the pen cap.

  "If I remember correctly, the Kodchasan Family's emblem wasn't like this," Kasa said.

  "As Tawan said, it's an old emblem that the Kodchasan family no longer uses. They've now switched to the emblem you all remember," Leader Mei explained. The other members then began to understand. The only one who was baffled was Nitaan. He has never seen even the current emblem.

  "Looking closely, it does resemble the current Kodchasan Family emblem," Kasa scrutinized.

  "I only vaguely remember it from the past. This is my first time seeing it too." Leader Mei shook her head.

  "Such an emblem should only be used by the high-ranking members of the family. After direct heirs perform Engraving Ceremony, they will receive the emblem, the family’s robes, and other minor items. This pen is likely one of them," Tawan explained.

  "As for high-ranking members of the family, they will receive items with the old emblem as a status symbol," Tawan continued.

  "So we could speculate that a direct heir of the Kodchasan Family once entered this room, had a conversation, and needed to use the pen," Tawan said.

  "Or perhaps they accidentally dropped the pen, and then these thugs picked it up," Napha added.

  The room fell silent. If what Tawan said was true, the scale of this incident had escalated to a point where they were powerless to react.

  "Isn’t it too illogical? That's a Great Family. Why would they send their direct heir to deal with thugs for something so trivial?" Kasa frowned.

  Nitaan agreed. He felt that such a simple plan didn't require any of the heirs to be involved. There is no reason to risk further exposure.

  "It's as if someone deliberately placed this pen in this room to…" Gion speaks his mind.

  “frames the Kodchasan Family,” Leader Mei concluded.

  “That’s a Great Family,” Napha’s expression was difficult to decipher.

  In the Firegan Kingdom, where the sole ruler is Queen Gomain Akni Firegan, the next most powerful are the royal family, and below that are the four Great Families.

  These four Great Families hold the highest authority in the kingdom under the royal family. Even the highest-ranking nobles, like Chao Phraya families, cannot compare to the four Great Families. Ordinary titles and ranks are not considered equivalent to those of the Great Families.

  The heads of the four Great Families possess special titles bestowed only upon them. These titles are unique and cannot be transferred under any circumstances. Only the Great Families leader, who has been reigning for hundreds of years, can wield them.

  Even with this much status and bias, no one dares to voice their dissatisfaction. All four Great Families did earn their status from their loyalty and achievement. The story dates back to the kingdom's founding, when the queen rebelled and overthrew the past royal dynasty. Her main supporters were the four minor noble families of that time.

  And those four minor noble families gambled everything on the underdog and won, along with a large prize.

  The family leader at that time thus held the special title, a status that continues to this day, becoming one of the four Great Families under the Firegan Dynasty.

  "This...this...are we guessing too recklessly? Maybe a direct heir just lost it, and these thugs found it and thought it was valuable, so they picked it up," Napha said with a trembling voice.

  "That's the problem. Even if what we think were true, if a representative of the family simply said that one of their direct heirs carelessly lost his pen, the whole matter would be impossible to investigate further," Gion frowned.

  "Of course, besides the royal family cooperating, there aren't many people who can interrogate members of the Great Families," Tawan said.

  "That's true, but at least we should note this investigative approach." Leader Mei puts a pen into the evidence bag. Her approach clearly tells that she still considers these possibilities.

  Everyone dispersed to search the entire building again, but this time chatter noticeably subsided. The single pen made the atmosphere heavy.

  After more than two hours of searching and finding no further evidence, Unit 3 gradually returned to the headquarters. They entrusted the remaining duties to the field officers.

  They had a short follow-up meeting to summarize the mission. As time passed and they chatted casually, the worries on each person's mind gradually eased, and the atmosphere returned to normal.

  "Nitaan, are you free tonight? We're having a meal with everyone at Bharata Restaurant. Their Shooting Star Chicken is incredibly delicious! Come join us! It'll be your welcome party." Napha smiled from ear to ear.

  Nitaan glanced at Kiita. Most high-end restaurants don't allow companion animals inside. Nitaan didn't want to leave Kiita alone at home, so he considered declining.

  "Did you forget? Rain is also a companion animal. Of course this restaurant allows companion animals." As a fellow Beast tamer, Kasa understands what Nitaan is thinking.

  Hearing this, Kiita stood up and draped his two paws over Nitaan's shoulders. His eyes filled with joy. His happiness meter wag at full capacity.

  "Woof!"

  Kiita! Kiita! wants chicken!

  Nitaan smiled, scooping the giant dog into his arms.

  "I have to let you know first, we eat a lot." Nitaan chuckled with a smile.

  "Go ahead. Leader Mei will treat us," Napha laughed.

  "Then this time, Napha, you pay. I'll use your share to treat the new recruits." Leader Mei glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, a smirk playing on her lips.

  "Leader!" Napha groaned.

  Laughter filled the room. Nitaan smiled faintly.

  Before coming to the capital, he had many worries weighing on his heart. He had to participate in a tournament that brought together many geniuses in less than a year. Although his goal seemed difficult, there was something even more worrying to him than participating in the tournament.

  That was encountering new things.

  Nitaan was naturally quite introverted. Although he could converse well with others, that was a skill he developed as an orphan who had to rely on the help of others. He had only learned when to say, what to say, how to respond to different types of people, and what facial expressions to use in various situations to make those around him feel comfortable.

  All of this was to make those around him feel good about him. Not to the point of being close friends, but also to avoid being unnecessarily disliked. It was a way of surviving as an orphan.

  For many, encountering new things might be exciting, but for him, he was quite reluctant.

  It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid at all. After all, he had never left Silalai town before. He considered himself fortunate to have met such kind friends from his very first journey, allowing him to gradually adapt.

  Perhaps, being surrounded by good people was a blessing he received after losing his parents.

  Perhaps the world was repaying him for what he had lost.

  Nitaan secretly hoped this peace would last for a very long time.