Chapter 149

This… should I be careful around him?

After receiving a warning from the red-haired bureau director, Leon immediately couldn’t help but stiffen his expression.

Unlike last night’s “drunken limited edition,” the director is now sober and has returned to their normal state. At this time, the director is quite reliable.

So if she told me to be cautious of this experienced investigator, there must be a reason! The previous intentional “stirring up trouble” was probably well-considered, and her warning absolutely cannot be ignored! “Hey, Mr. Leon.”

Completely unaware that he had been marked, after waiting a few seconds without Leon initiating conversation, the old investigator turned around and asked with a gentle demeanor:

“I see from your file that you’ve been employed for over a month, right? Are you getting used to working at the Virgo Subdivision?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty comfortable.”

After stealthily switching out the [Elite Performer] badge, Leon reined in the wary look in his eyes, smiled, and replied: “There aren’t many people in the bureau, and the work content is rather dangerous, but both the director and the seniors have been very kind to me. Everyone in the bureau are good people.”

“…”

Everyone in the bureau… are good people? After hearing Leon’s words, the corner of the old investigator’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch slightly.

For other investigators, they might not fully understand the situation of the Sixth Bureau, but having investigated them extensively over the past few years, he knew all too well. The people in the Clearing Bureau Virgo Branch aren’t exactly evil-doers, but they’re also far from being what one would call “good.”

Take the Blood-Haired Princess, who mercilessly destroyed an entire country and killed billions; even the Level One Disaster Handlers Tom the Dice Player and Emma the Executioner frequently visit the investigation department.

Tom blatantly breaks countless rules but is extremely careful, so the bureau can never catch him in the act, while Emma uses excessively cruel methods, leaving cleanup sites more horrifying than when anomalous items were rampant. Despite repeated warnings, she doesn’t change her ways.

And then there’s Harry the Tape Guy, Jerry the Sewer Emperor, Pione the Silver Demon, and Armin the Toxic Pharmacist—all Level Two handlers, none of whom are easy to deal with. In large-scale joint tasks across branches, these individuals are universally disliked, and no one wants to associate with them.

Honestly, the main reason these guys have been able to stay in the Sixth Bureau for years probably isn’t because of the Blood-Haired Princess’s personal charm—it’s more likely that other branches simply refuse to take them in. Without the Sixth Bureau, they’d have nowhere else to go.

And yet, this guy not only gets along well with them but genuinely believes they’re all good people…

Looking at Leon, who appears handsome and smiles warmly—aside from being a bit thin—he looks like any ordinary kingdom civil servant. The elder investigator couldn’t help but take a deep breath and secretly sense the aura emanating from Leon.

Heaven forbid… someone who can get along with these people can’t possibly be normal.

Feeling the demonic energy behind him, which is as wild and dark as any demon’s, the elder investigator sighed inwardly and began pondering what nickname to give this new employee of the Sixth Bureau.

This person seems to have an affinity for demon-type anomalies, looks slim and scholarly like those intellectuals in universities, and has proposed the concept of “Leon Value” for measuring anomalies, showing great expertise in research…

How about… we call him the Demon Scholar? …

Unaware that the older investigator was secretly coming up with a nickname for him, Leon followed him into his office. He first invited the two investigators to sit on the sofa, then fetched a chair for himself, sitting opposite them. He took the initiative to open the conversation:

“Feel free to ask your questions.”

“In that case, I’ll start.”

At this point, the female investigator had regained control of her emotions. Although her face was still cold, it wasn’t as tense as before. She flipped through a stack of documents and said matter-of-factly, “First question: Do you have any personal grudges against members of the Lane family, especially Bobby Lane, who controls the Aspiration?”

“Well… I’m not sure if it counts…”

Hearing this, Leon hesitated for a moment but decided to tell the truth:

“Before joining the Clearing Bureau, my younger sister once contracted lung disease due to waste gas leaks from an alchemy factory. Because we didn’t receive proper compensation, she almost died in the hospital.

Although they were just a branch of the Lane family, if calculated this way, I suppose I do have some grievances with the Lane family.”

“…”

Upon hearing Leon’s candid response, the female investigator couldn’t help but pause momentarily. She then glanced down at the file in her hand and bit her lips in frustration.

What Leon mentioned was precisely what she had painstakingly uncovered today.

Based on public information, prior to the Lane Blood Night, he had no substantial interaction with the Lane family. To avoid bias, he would most likely deny having any grudges against them outright.

At that point, she could reveal this information, expose his “lies” and “cover-ups,” and use it to further interrogate him during subsequent questioning.

But unexpectedly, he directly admitted to possibly having a grudge against the Lane family. Given the size of the Lane family’s influence, living in the capital inevitably leads to interactions with them. Moreover, his issues were merely with some collateral branches, far from constituting a motive for instigating the Lane Blood Night.

All her hard work investigating these details had become useless scraps of paper under his voluntary confession, serving only as minor corroborations at best…

Damn it, how can someone not evade suspicion during an investigation and instead willingly incriminate themselves?

Frustrated, she bit her lips and shoved the files under her desk, then coldly said:

“Next question: Did you benefit in any way after the Lane Blood Night?”

“Yes.”

Leon sighed and said, “Due to my lack of ability, I failed to stop Bobby Lane’s atrocities. During the Lane Blood Night, I nearly got killed by him multiple times and was severely injured.

However, since I seem to be part of the Lane family, all the people ahead of me in line for the title were incapacitated by Bobby Lane, so while I was recuperating, I was dragged in and forcibly appointed as the new duke. The investiture ceremony is on Tuesday.”

Upon hearing Leon’s words, the female investigator couldn’t help but perk up, sneering as she pulled at the corner of her mouth, “So you admit that you are the biggest beneficiary of the Lane Blood Night incident, right!”

“No.”

Leon shook his head and said,

“I have absolutely no interest in this title, neither in the wealth nor the power it represents. It means nothing to me.

During the investiture ceremony, I will propose a marital alliance and donate all the assets to the royal family, thereby forcing them to find someone else to inherit the title.

The ceremony is tomorrow. If you don’t believe me, you can wait another day and see if I follow through.”

“…”

Damn… he’s willing to give up the entire fortune of a ducal family?

Seeing that Leon’s expression didn’t seem fake and that he truly intended to do so, the female investigator’s lips were almost bleeding from biting them so hard. She closed her eyes and sensed the overwhelming demonic aura radiating from Leon’s body. Clenching her fists tightly, she finally couldn’t resist mocking him sarcastically:

“Ho ho, sounds like a saint… But if you don’t want anything, how do you explain this aura that’s even more evil than a demon’s?”

(End of Chapter)