After resolving Lan Tulls’ issue, things naturally became much easier.
Although she had already roughly guessed that this person’s status in Demon Suppression City shouldn’t be low, it was only after listening to her description that Violet realized it was even higher than she had imagined.
In simple terms, the Interior Security Bureau was akin to the police department on Earth.
Demon Suppression City was a city extremely targeted at monsters. There were a total of five special squads within the Interior Security Bureau, each consisting of five hundred members. Four of them were specialized in hunting and fighting against monsters, while only Lan’s Third Squad was mainly responsible for suppressing crimes committed by humans.
Because Violet and her group were identified as human criminals by the Demon Hunters, this matter fell under human crime, so the search operation was fully coordinated by Lan, the captain of the Third Squad.
Ordinary squad captains wouldn’t have this kind of authority, but Lan was different. She was the daughter of the lord of Demon Suppression City, the current head of the Tulls family. Even though she rarely emphasized this point herself, others couldn’t help but consider the existence of this relationship.
After reaching an agreement, she promptly arranged accommodations that wouldn’t be inspected for several girls, including Violet, and shared all the intelligence related to recent events.
Although finding a place to stay wasn’t particularly difficult for the priestess, since Lan was willing to provide assistance proactively, she was more than happy to accept it.
Demon Suppression City was indeed searching for demons, and these demons were quite formidable. It was said that they were dispatched by the combined efforts of the three main pillars of the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains—Moon Shadow, Steel Claw, and Blazing Feather. Their objective was to locate the kidnapped offspring of the Moon Shadow royal family, who had evolved and was suspected to be of mythical lineage.
Although Demon Suppression City and the Human United Kingdom repeatedly declared that they were not involved in or instigating the actions of the poachers, and even Queen Lilya believed this, the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains seemed convinced that the offspring was still in the vicinity of Demon Suppression City.
Previously, they had repeatedly requested permission from the Human United Kingdom to allow some of their personnel to enter Demon Suppression City for the search. However, considering the severity of the matter, the national situation of the Human United Kingdom was at stake, and even if Queen Lilya wanted to mediate, she couldn’t agree to such a request.
After continuous refusals from the kingdom’s side, it seems they couldn’t hold back any longer and sent in this team of demons to infiltrate the city.
“So, even you don’t know where that Moon Shadow royal offspring is, right?”
In the temporary lodging arranged by Lan, Violet and others were gathered, some sitting, some standing, while the coerced third lieutenant who had been roped into their group sat on the sofa, explaining the causes and consequences of the incident she was aware of.
“Well, it’s a confirmed fact that the offspring was taken by poachers. Knowing the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains as I do, they wouldn’t fabricate such a thing just to cause trouble. But as to which group of poachers committed this foolish act and where they’ve hidden their target now, that’s hard to say. And this matter might even... sigh...”
After organizing the information a bit, Lan reiterated, emphasizing it seriously.
“Let’s get this straight, though I can assist you, I won’t engage in illegal activities or anything morally wrong. I won’t abandon my principles for the sake of improving martial arts.”
“Oh, come on, we wouldn’t need your help for such things anyway... Didn’t I say before, I’m just purely interested in this matter itself, and besides, what doesn’t concern you, Miss Lan, you also wouldn’t want a war between the Human United Kingdom and the Ten Thousand Demons Mountains to erupt, right?”
“............”
Seeing the priestess hit the nail on the head, Lan’s expression also became somewhat embarrassed, but she just nodded in the end, seeming to have made up her mind.
“Although I don’t know where the offspring is exactly, or what the demons plan to do, I do have some guesses about the poaching group from before.”
After hesitating for a moment, Lan gritted her teeth and finally spoke up.
“A while back, by chance, I saw someone who seemed to be a member of the 【Ghost Thief Group】 in my home... in the Lord’s Manor.”
“The Ghost Thief Group is one of the considerable poaching forces in the underground of Demon Suppression City. They have business dealings with many nobles and wealthy merchants, but after that incident, they suddenly went silent, and their subordinate forces quickly contracted. Although the reasons are unclear, it’s obviously very strange.”
“And father... Lord Taylor Tulls, the Lord of Demon Suppression City, his attitude towards this incident is also very suspicious. Instead of trying to find the offspring and ease the crisis, he has been secretly suppressing forces involved in this matter, even risking a falling out with legendary adventurers in the 【Reaper’s Scythe】.”
Lan took a deep breath, refraining from stating a conclusion directly and instead asking in return.
“What do you think, combining these two, implies?”
“The Tulls family colluding with and instigating the 【Ghost Thief Group】, deliberately stealing the offspring that the demons value, what could they possibly want to achieve?”
With no hesitation, the priestess openly voiced a conclusion that, if revealed outside, would send countless people into shock.
Lan neither affirmed nor denied, just fell into an uncomfortable silence. Perhaps she had harbored suspicions about this for a long time.
“Well... it seems to be correct.”
Is it indeed the Tulls family manipulating behind the scenes? Lord Taylor Tulls, the ruler of Demon Suppression City... no, could it be the clan leader, Prime Minister Gryffith Tulls, who is far away in the Courage City?
Now that it’s mentioned, Lilya seemed to have mentioned that the first person to bring up this matter at the court meeting was that elderly Prime Minister...
Although she felt like returning to the Courage City to cross-reference the information with Lilya, the situation in Demon Suppression City is chaotic now, and this place is just a temporary residence provided by Lan. It would be too wasteful to set up a teleportation gate here.
The black-haired girl stood up abruptly.
“Alright! Since we’ve figured it out, let’s go catch that Taylor Tulls, beat him up, and then make him spill everything!”
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“No!”
Almost immediately, Lan’s tense and urgent exclamation rang out.
Seeing the other girls casting puzzled glances and then seemingly understanding, Lan pursed her lips tightly, speaking almost in a pleading tone.
“I know you may have the power for this, but could you let me talk to my father first? It won’t take long. I’ll set off tomorrow. I know my father, he’s not the type to do something like this on his own. There must be someone advising him. Let me try to find out first... Please, think of it as my contribution of information...”
“Mm... I guess that works too.”
Though Lan’s approach undoubtedly mixed in some selfish motives, there was one point Violet agreed with. This whole affair, someone like Taylor Tulls, who was openly involved, was likely not the true mastermind.
Catching him would probably only result in a temporary solution. That’s why she hadn’t rushed to confront him.
She had just said so to intimidate this Tulls family heiress, deliberately leading her to make this decision.
See, she was the one who volunteered for this, it had nothing to do with Violet.
Now that they knew the specific name of the poaching group that had taken the offspring, their next steps became clear.
“Lan, is there a way for us to meet with members of this Ghost Thief Group, even if they are just peripheral members?”
Violet looked at Lan hopefully, but the deputy captain of the Internal Security Bureau shook her head decisively.
“It’s impossible. Didn’t I say it already? After the incident, the entire Ghost Thief Group went silent and went into hiding. I’m from the Internal Security Bureau, if I knew where the poachers were hiding, I would have led a team to capture them all long ago. Why would I wait until today?”
“Um, that makes sense...”
Just then, Theresa suddenly leaned close to Violet’s ear and whispered softly.
“Miss Violet, have you ever felt like you’ve heard the name ‘Ghost Thief Group’ somewhere before?”
“Hmm?”
“Wait a minute... now that you mention it, there is indeed a sense of déjà vu, but it’s quite faint... where did I hear it?”
Violet looked around, but apart from Theresa, who had reminded her and seemed lost in thought, the others didn’t seem to react much to this name.
Little Dragon Girl never bothered to remember the names of “lesser creatures,” so it was normal for her not to know. But if even Leila and the others didn’t know, then in Demon Suppression City...
Suddenly, a face with a messy fringe and a rebellious look emerged from the not-so-deep memories of the priestess, and at the same time, Theresa exclaimed beside her.
“Ah! I remember, Miss Violet, it’s Mr. Side-Swept Bangs!”
“Why are you calling him Mr. Side-Swept Bangs now...”
It seemed that was indeed the case. Back when they coincidentally met Mr. Side-Swept Bangs at the Adventurers Guild, and then Theresa beat him up, leading to Lester’s appearance, the old man did mention casually while apologizing for Mr. Side-Swept Bangs that he used to belong to an organization called the Ghost Thief Group.
Oh dear, it’s true what they say, after searching high and low... ah, stepping through iron shoes, it’s easy to find what was never lost in the first place.