Recruitment

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, arriving at Thursday, March 4th. During these few days, aside from going to the barracks in the mornings, Sean was forced to spend most of his time at the Baron's villa chatting with Aunt Angelina. In Aunt Angelina's words, after a month of grueling training at the barracks, he should stay home to rest and spend time with family.

Still, Sean found time to check on the house where Thor was now living and instructed Thor to find a way to verify the real situation of the young man Phil as soon as possible.

It took Thor less than two days to learn the basics about Phil through other soldiers in the Garrison. It mostly matched what Sean already knew, with one unexpected detail: the youth named Phil was also the leader of a small gang of a dozen or so teenagers active in the Slums.

Sean couldn't help but think that after three days in prison, that young man Phil must have learned his lesson. It was time to go see him. That morning, after making a round at the barracks, Sean took Thor with him to Linshui City Prison.

The two rode their horses to Linshui City Prison. From a distance, they saw a young woman in commoner clothes at the prison entrance, pleading bitterly with the guards.

As Sean slowly approached on horseback, he noticed the commoner woman was very young—her face suggested she wasn't even twenty. She had long black hair and gray pupils. Even in her faded, washed-out commoner clothes, she couldn't hide her delicate and somewhat pretty features.

Sean instinctively frowned and pointed his horsewhip at the woman, asking the guard, "What's going on? Who is she?"

"This lord, she's a prisoner's family member, wanting to inquire about the prisoner's situation," the guard replied cautiously, looking up at the young officer on horseback. At the same time, he subtly tugged at the woman, as if afraid she might speak out of turn.

After hearing the guard's answer, Sean glanced at the woman's face, which showed no sign of denial, and gave a slight nod of acknowledgment. Then he ignored them and prepared to leave.

According to regulations, family members of prison inmates were only allowed to visit on Sundays, and even then only for minor offenses. For serious crimes, they could only meet once a year at New Year's.

"Lord, please help me. My brother Phil was wronged. Please let me see him..." Seeing Sean about to leave, the woman pleaded with a sorrowful voice. Her face was full of helplessness, and her voice was soft and gentle, striking Sean as quite pleasant.

"You're Alice? Your brother is Phil?" Sean asked, momentarily distracted from her voice, his tone surprised.

"Yes, lord. Have you seen my brother..." Alice's emotions flared up immediately after hearing Sean's question.

Sean didn't answer right away. He needed to think it over carefully. But soon he made a decision—perhaps Alice's presence could bring unexpected results. So he said to Alice, who was full of hope, "I can take you in, but..."

"Thank you, lord. I'm so grateful. Whatever you ask..." Alice said excitedly, though her voice trailed off with hesitation at the end. Then she gritted her teeth and pressed on, "Lord, what do you require? I'll do anything..."

"Simple... You can only watch, not speak. Understand?" Sean looked at Alice, who was gritting her teeth. Clearly, by the end, she had braced herself for the worst. Sean deliberately drew out the word "simple," watching the light of despair flicker in the eyes of the delicate, pretty woman before him. Then, when she heard his actual demand, her face turned to gratitude. Sean couldn't help but feel a bit wicked...

"If you speak, I'll kick you out immediately..." Sean added, looking at Alice's beaming face.

"Yes... yes... lord, I won't say a word." After saying this, Alice clamped both hands tightly over her mouth.

Sean nodded in satisfaction, handed his horse to the guard, and led Thor and Alice into the prison.

It was the same interrogation room as last time. The young man Phil, hands in shackles, stumbled in as the prison guards pushed him. His hair was disheveled, his face pale, his eyes deeply sunken. From his gait, it was clear he was injured.

Soon he saw his sister Alice, her eyes brimming with tears as she stared at him. "Sister!" Phil managed only a short cry before Alice pulled him into a tight embrace.

Sean watched the touching scene, not entirely unmoved. After a moment, he coughed to interrupt the embracing pair and said to Alice, "Miss Alice, please step aside. Remember what you promised me..."

The young man Phil had been puzzled as to why his sister was here with the officer who arrested him. Hearing Sean's words, he immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion. His fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms without him noticing. His face twisted with rage as he glared at Sean, even a hint of murder in his eyes. If he hadn't known he was no match for Sean, he would have lunged.

"With your behavior right now, I could make you disappear completely..." Sean said coldly, looking at the furious Phil. Then he paused and sneered, "I suppose you can guess my identity... or at least part of it..."

"Brother, how can you..." Seeing her brother's expression, Alice suddenly realized his misunderstanding and jumped in. But before she could finish, she saw Sean's cold, sharp gaze fixed on her, and she instinctively covered her mouth.

Sean turned his head to look at Phil, whose expression was rapidly shifting. He was visibly struggling to suppress his anger. After a long moment, Phil spoke hoarsely, "You're so young and already a Second Lieutenant Officer in the Garrison. You must come from a great noble family..." He took a deep breath and continued, "You must have gotten a recommendation from the Noble Academy..."

"It seems you're not too stupid. You know about the academy recommendation," Sean said, a bit surprised, his tone flat.

"My father was once a soldier in the Garrison. Later, he... died in the line of duty," Phil replied quickly, though his voice grew strained and pained at the end. Then, with a hint of confusion, he added, "I vaguely remember my father mentioning the Noble Academy recommendation, but he said the conditions were very strict..."

"It doesn't matter if I tell you. I'm a Rookie Knight," Sean said, still in a flat tone. After a pause, he continued, "Look at your sister. She loves you so much. Now look at you—a thief. How do you plan to end this?"

Sean wasn't surprised to see the shock on Phil and Alice's faces when they heard he was already a Rookie Knight. Then, after his next words, Alice's face showed pity, while Phil looked deeply ashamed.

The interrogation room fell into a brief silence because of Sean's words. After a while, Alice spoke with difficulty, "Lord, Phil didn't want to do it either..." Seeing Sean didn't stop her, she choked out, "Lord, it's my fault... it's my fault. Back then, my father and several of his friends died in the line of duty. Their children all became orphans. Later, those kids became good friends with Phil, and they took care of each other, living in the Slums..."

Alice suppressed her emotions, paused, and then said with effort, "They all treat me like their own sister. To protect me, they'd do anything. This time... it was for me too. Boar Bill was extorting us. He said if we didn't pay, he would... would..." Her face twisted with hatred, and a bitter, unspeakable sorrow showed through.

"Sister, how did you know..." Phil forgot his initial anger, his voice panicked.

"You're in prison. How dare they hide it from me..." Alice's anger at Phil and the others for keeping it from her was palpable.

Sean tapped the table with his fingers, producing a dull thud. The arguing siblings suddenly remembered this wasn't the place for their quarrel. They both pursed their lips and looked toward Sean. Alice, in particular, showed a pleading expression.

"So someone was extorting you, which led your brother Phil to steal..." Sean asked Alice, the sister. Seeing both nod in agreement, he asked with curiosity, "Who is this Boar Bill you mentioned?"

"Lord, Boar Bill is a gang leader living in the Slums," Phil answered first this time.

"A gang? How many people do they have?" Sean asked, intrigued. He knew that in the Slums, there were people who made a living through extortion, threats, and theft, banding together into groups. These groups often fought and committed crimes like assault. But he wasn't concerned—not just because of his strength, but because of his noble birth. He knew clearly that in this world, gangs couldn't have an upper-class foundation. No noble would ever provide a protective umbrella for a gang, simply because they didn't need to. Nobles had the right to maintain private armed forces entirely under their control.

There were no large gangs with hundreds or thousands of members. Both local governments and the Noble Council would force the local Garrison to specifically target and suppress any gang that might grow too large. In short, anything that could threaten noble interests would be crushed. Once a gang's numbers exceeded a hundred, they wouldn't be far from a Garrison crackdown.

"Lord, they have over thirty people..." Phil answered again.

Sean lowered his head in thought for a moment, then looked up and asked, "If I want to arrest Boar Bill and his men, would you be willing to lead the way?"

Hearing Sean's question, Alice couldn't help but cry tears of joy. Her brother Phil also replied happily, "Yes... yes, lord. I know where they all are..." Alice choked out, "Thank you... thank you, lord."

"Then, in the afternoon... well, evening. Before dusk, I'll send someone to take you out. Get ready. Any problems?" Sean said warmly to the young man Phil. After a moment's thought, he decided on evening, since gang members might not be active in their area during the afternoon.

After seeing Phil nod in confirmation, Sean looked at him seriously and asked, "Phil, do you plan to spend your whole life in the Slums?"

Watching Phil bow his head in silence, Sean said flatly, "I'm short a few people. You can think about it..."