Lama and Swift’s acquaintance.
Or rather, the fact that the two of them would join the team investigating the prison warden didn’t take Ronald much effort.
In the process, his role as an intermediary was almost unbelievably smooth.
Of course, this was understandable.
Both the detective and the young female investigator by nature of their professions had heard of or seen each other in their daily work, and being sharp-minded, they both understood the benefits of having an extra hand in the situation.
Thus, there was no need for Ronald to mediate their relationship.
They just met once, had a brief talk, and confirmed their collaboration.
It was after the three of them confirmed their collaboration that Nicole, as an elite investigator from the bureau, finally got the chance to obtain detailed information on Salamanca’s activities from the bureau.
However, the result was somewhat unexpected.
Recently, there were no notable activities of the Salaman members near Blenheim City, and members of this sect had no new applications to enter the city or records of passage.
With this, things became more interesting.
After ruling out some assumptions, Ronald and his two companions came to two possible conclusions.
The first was less likely; that is, the person who summoned the demon Lama had power far beyond that of an average caster, at least a reserve canonical controller.
After all, they were able to summon a demon from afar and control its movements.
Moreover, under such circumstances, they could keep an eye on Lama’s activities and choose to recall the demon immediately after Ronald’s attack.
From the perspective of an investigator, Nicole considered this possibility to be plausible.
However, if the assumption turned out to be true, then a person with such power would definitely be one of the sect leaders within Salaman, and it wouldn’t be easy to make a move on such a person, even if they appeared in Blenheim City.
As for the second scenario,
it was one that Swift suggested, and also the one that all three of them thought was more likely.
—Someone had bypassed the bureau’s intelligence network.
—And evaded the Church’s investigative methods.
After infiltrating the Blenheim area without God or ghost knowing, they not only summoned a team mixed with cult magicians but also secretly observed young and talented casters like Ronald and Nicole.
If that was the case, things were going to be troublesome.
First of all, one must remember that the demon Lama first appeared on the train from Wolfman to Blenheim City, where it assassinated a certain Nicholas on the Dongfeng train!
If they wanted to start from this angle, the matter wasn’t impossible to investigate,
but the level of difficulty in continuing would definitely be very thorny.
To go to Wolfman, the border city next to Entrod,
they would have to cross the Yuez Forest and communicate with the local bureau or the Church before being able to successfully carry out their activities. The effort and time involved were almost immeasurable.
Faced with this situation, Ronald and Nicole could only put this matter on hold for the time being.
After all, the pressing issue at hand was the current situation within Blenheim City.
The warden and Lumiel were shrouded in heavy doubts, which had to be addressed first.
If this was left unchecked...
The outcome was hard to guess, but based on the experience of the two individuals involved in the mysterious side of things, it would at least be much more troublesome than the problems brought by the previous group of cult magicians.
Once they had decided on the core issue that needed to be resolved first, the next steps became simple.
Wait for the right opportunity.
Find out the warden’s problem, and have Nicole deliver the most direct evidence to the bureau.
Faced with evidence presented by one of its elite investigators,
even if only to fulfill its institutional duties, the bureau would undoubtedly send people to deal with it.
And in the face of this rebellion of a public official...
The power and methods available to the bureau were definitely not something that an individual warden could contend with.
The warden and his heir.
One was a public official who often made appearances, the other a newcomer to high society who also needed to attend social events.
In actuality, opportunities weren’t rare.
It was the second Friday after Ronald and his team had united.
That perfect opportunity quietly arrived.
That afternoon at five o’clock, the warden was going out to the city hall for a public speech followed by an interview with the press, and then he would attend a subsequent dinner event.
At the same time, it was the beginning of the weekend rest day.
Lumiel had just received an invitation to attend a social ball hosted by the local nobles of Blenheim, and the mysterious sourcebook controller who accompanied ’the young lady’ would also leave with Lumiel.
For Ronald and his companions, this was the best opportunity to take action!
With the warden and Lumiel not at home, the enigmatic sourcebook controller would leave with Lumiel.
In such a warden’s mansion...
In front of an elite investigator, a capable detective, and a ’somewhat formidable caster’,
getting in would hardly be a problem.
At most, it would take a bit of effort to deal with some guards who happened to be left behind.
Time passed, and the day finally arrived.
Nicole had applied for annual leave in advance with the bureau to ensure she wouldn’t have any tasks; Swift, too, had instructed his apprentice early in the morning to postpone all unnecessary work.
after saying goodbye to his landlady who had been particularly kind to him recently, he also went out to the agreed destination.
That afternoon at a quarter past five,
when the people of Blenheim had not yet left work,
the three of them gathered at a little café by the roadside outside Linz Road.
At this moment, the street was bustling with people and vehicles, and pedestrians on the road were mostly citizens at work, and one could also see men and women strolling on the street.
Because it was located on the edge of Linz Road, with direct access to another commercial street,
the flow of pedestrians was quite dense and very complicated due to its location.
When Ronald walked into the room, Nicole and Swift were already sitting at the corner of the coffee shop near the window and wall.
Through the not so clean window, they could directly observe the situation on the street.
And if they wanted to hide themselves, it was entirely unproblematic to lean back and conceal themselves behind the wall.
Watching his two companions in front of him, Ronald checked the time, which was still over ten minutes away from the appointment, before he spoke:
"You two, I didn’t arrive late, did I?"
Swift pulled out his pocket watch, clicked it open and checked the time before nodding:
"Of course not, you’re twelve minutes early."
At this time, Nicole smiled at Ronald:
"Actually, we’ve only been here for a little while."
"Come sit down, I’ve already ordered your coffee."